A/N: Chapter 3 is here! I'm sorry it took so long, but I'm sort of gone for summer vacation, so access to Internet is a little difficult lately… I'll try to update as soon as I can. A BIG, BIG, BIG thank you to all of the people who reviewed – please keep doing it, because it makes me look at my work from a different point of view, which is very refreshing and helpful. I didn't know reviews were important before, but now I understand their usefulness :) I hope that you will not be disappointed with this chapter… I'd really like to expand a bit more here and answer some questions of those who reviewed, but I'm afraid I'll have to do it next time, because right now I really don't have enough time in the Internet… Argh. Anyway, without further ado, here it is – Chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Ginny was sitting in her room in The Burrow, very unwilling to go down and have breakfast with her family. In fact, she was very reluctant to face her family ever again after yesterday's evening. The memories still made her shudder…

… She came back after a two-hour absence. Naturally, everyone was worried, especially knowing that Ron came back and told them that she said she was off to meet Malfoy. At first no one took the idea seriously, but Ron seemed so shaken that doubt crept into the Weasleys' minds. Harry was very anxious too – he knew the state Ginny was in and he could imagine that, being a Weasley, she could do any feat. All of them got really worried after an hour; after an hour and a half they'd discovered she'd left without her wand, which nearly caused Mrs. Weasley to collapse with a stroke. Hermione, Bill, Fleur, Luna and Aunt Georgina were taking it best: Hermione out of strong belief that Ginny wouldn't do anything as stupid as actually meeting Malfoy; Bill, Fleur and Luna just because they were naturally calm and Aunt Georgina because she was only delighted that her niece was seeing a Malfoy.

When Ginny entered, as if nothing had happened, she was nearly deafened with all the noise. People jumped at her from all sides, saying something loudly and excitedly and Ginny didn't understand what the fuss was about, because she hadn't taken into consideration that they'd be worried, engrossed as she was in her own thoughts. So when she was asked where she'd been, she answered casually:

'Oh, I went to meet Malfoy.'

And that was when they all lost it. Even Hermione. What Hermione – even Fleur showed surprise, mixed with approval.

Ginny was forced to repeat several times that yes, she went to see Malfoy, yes, Draco Malfoy, yes, THE Draco Malfoy, yes, exactly the one who was her family's enemy and no, he did not force her, she went out of her own free will and she'd gladly do it again and she's actually planning to. When it came to the "planning to" point, Harry spoke to her directly for the first time:

'What?'

And then she broke it to them, hoping she sounded offhand:

'Well, since me and Draco are going out…'

She completely understood everyone's reaction. She'd react the same way herself. She was actually disgusted to hear herself say Malfoy's name and sound all happy about it. Ginny knew she had no choice, however; she had to do it. So she tried to act her best. She was never good at acting, but fear for her life if the performance wasn't successful – as well as the recent experience of the dinner with Malfoy – helped her to pull it out.

'Yes, we've been going out for a while. I wanted to keep it quiet from you, because I knew you'd react like that,' Ginny was revolted to repeat Malfoy's words. 'However, our feelings for each other have developed into something deeper and I cannot keep it quiet anymore. I know it is going to be hard for everybody, but… well, you've heard about it already. I'm getting married to Draco Malfoy.'

A stunned silence followed her words. Then three people recovered.

'Oh but that is wonderful!' Aunt Georgina exclaimed. 'My congratulations, dear – this is a truly glorious day!'

'Zat was unexpected, but I do wish you to be happy togezer,' Fleur added gracefully.

'Interesting choice, but yeah, he's hot,' Luna said serenely.

That started everyone else off. All the Weasleys started shouting at her, except for her father: he looked just shocked for life. Harry looked gloomy as Ginny hadn't seen him since last several years at Hogwarts and he didn't take his eyes off her face. Hermione's eyes were wide and she greatly resembled a marble statue. Alicia and Angelina were just glaring at her as if she was some kind of a traitor. Ginny felt simply numb. The only thing that actually made her feel was Harry's reaction. No matter what Harry did to her, no matter how Malfoy mocked her – she still loved Harry. And now seeing him looking at her with concern and slight disappointment in his eyes was more than Ginny could bear. Especially after an emotional dinner with Malfoy.

'Will you please just accept it?' She shouted, taking everyone by surprise, but she was just too fed up to care. 'I'm going to marry Draco Malfoy, I love him and he loves me and I knew that you'd have this kind of reaction, but this is just ridiculous! Do you think I can't make my own decisions? Do you think I cannot see what's good and what's bad for me? Well I can tell you that I know I and Draco will work and I'm marrying him no matter what anyone of you says!'

She thrust her head up high and walked past them all.

'Well, I think it's an excellent choice, dear,' Aunt Georgina said then.

'Thank you, Aunt Georgina. I'm glad that at least someone from my family understands me,' Ginny said and went upstairs, slamming the door behind her…

…And now she felt horrible for doing that yesterday. Of course she had no right to take her frustration out on her family. It was totally wrong. It went absolutely against her values. However, too much happened that evening for Ginny to just take it calmly. She tried to deal with Harry's engagement to Hermione, but then Ron came along. She blew up on Ron and then went to meet Malfoy – not exactly the person who is good as soothing down one's feelings. And after Malfoy, after the emotional rollercoaster of the whole evening, she had to go back and try to deal with her family's reaction to her marrying Malfoy; she had to try and make them believe she wanted to do it when it was actually the last thing on her wish list – well, Ginny wasn't able to cope with that. So she didn't. And she'd have to face the consequences today. She'd have to apologize a lot…

Ginny went downstairs to find only Mrs. Weasley down in the kitchen. Ginny stopped uncertainly at the kitchen door. It took Mrs. Weasley a few moments to notice her.

'Ah, Ginny dear,' she said in a restrained voice and Ginny suspected her mother'd been crying (that made her feel even worse). 'Come in, sit down. What do you want – cereal or fried eggs this morning?'

Ginny sighed.

'Mom…' The tone of Ginny's voice told Mrs. Weasley that serious issues were about to be discussed. Mrs. Weasley sighed, wiped her hands on the apron and sat down opposite Ginny.

'Ginny dear, I have to apologize for my reaction yesterday.' Ginny was so shocked that she couldn't say anything, whilst her mother went on. 'I understand that I was totally unsympathetic to you. I know how difficult it must have felt for you to finally tell us about your… engagement and I understand that we haven't been fair to you…' Ginny opened her mouth to speak, to stop her mother from saying more, thus making Ginny feel guiltier by the minute, but Mrs. Weasley continued: 'When Harry and Hermione said they were getting married, everyone was happy, but you received a very cold reaction. I understand that you were angry with us and I would feel the same if I were you. However, try to see the situation from our point of view…'

'I understand, mom,' Ginny sighed. 'That is why I didn't tell you at first. I knew everyone'd be against the idea, so I kept it quiet. He asked me to marry him yesterday… and I just couldn't say no,' Ginny smiled sadly, thinking that the irony of the situation was – she was telling complete truth. Malfoy DID ask her to marry him yesterday and she could NOT say no… 'You know what it's like.'

'Yes, I know, but… Ginny… I'm sorry to question you on this, but… are you sure that he is the right man for you?'

'Yes, Mom,' Ginny answered, trying to sound genuine. 'I'm sure. He's not as bad as he seems, really. He's got that bad-boy image, which he maintains just because it keeps him influential… you know those Malfoys, they want to be in control of things,' Ginny smiled.

'Ginny… please tell me one thing…' Mrs. Weasley's face was serious. 'Malfoy… was he a Death Eater?'

'No,' Ginny answered honestly. 'No, he wasn't. Even though his father wanted him to be one.'

Ok that last part was made up, but nobody was going to find out about that.

Mr. Weasley looked relieved.

'Oh. I'm glad, dear. However, you must understand it is still difficult for us to agree to this. The Malfoys have been our enemies for years…'

'I know… but we think it's time for us to forget old troubles.'

'Maybe you are right…' Mrs. Weasley looked thoughtful and then she stood up. 'Well, I'm glad we made that clear. The rest of us had a good talk after you left and we've discussed all this. Well, some people are taking it worse than others (Ginny imagined Ron's reaction and stuffed the urge to groan), but in general we agreed that you do have the right to do what you think is right and to follow your heart… After all, the War is over. We do not have to think about our safety all the time anymore.' Mrs. Weasley sighed and then continued on a brighter note. 'So would you like some fried eggs or some cereal with milk?'

After a while, more people came down for breakfast. Most of them (those who protested yesterday) were very subdued and didn't talk much. Ginny felt that it had to be the other way around – she was supposed to feel guilty, not them – but life was too twisted lately. Several people had the "right" reaction, though. Ron didn't even say 'good morning', Harry was very quiet too and Hermione eyed her sadly; Ginny was sure her father would have had some kind of negative reaction too if he was at home, but he was at work already. On the other hand, Aunt Georgina was absolutely happy, Luna was calm, as usual, and Fleur was charming as always. Ginny felt positively thankful to them for being so relaxed about the whole thing, because otherwise the situation would have gone out of control several times at breakfast – Ron for one kept snapping at her and the twins were sending her death glares.

And it wouldn't have been that bad – at some point it seemed that the tension was going to lessen – but the arrival of an eagle owl well-known to Harry, Ron and Hermione prevented conflict from dissolving. The trio looked up at the owl that landed next to Ginny and saw immediately that it was from Malfoy. All of them immediately stiffened. Ron made an unintelligible sound which was probably aimed at Malfoy offensively – and that made everyone's attention centre on Ron and, consequently, on Ginny.

'Oh,' Luna said. 'Is this from your… fiancé?'

'Yep,' Ginny said, worried and annoyed, but trying to seem excited about the idea of Malfoy writing to her. Wondering what he had to say, she opened the letter and read:

'I'll pick you up at 2 o'clock. D. M.'

That was it. Ginny stared at the paper disbelievingly. What kind of a letter was this? It was an order rather than anything else, he didn't even say why or where they were going, didn't ask her opinion… the bastard, she thought angrily. Who does he think he is? A tyrant? Voldemort in making?

'Something is wrong, honey?' Mrs. Weasley asked with concern.

'Of course it is, a letter from Malfoy cannot be good,' Ron said through gritted teeth. Mrs. Weasley frowned at him.

'No, nothing,' Ginny replied, remembering that she had to seem happy about the note. 'Draco is taking me for lunch at two o'clock, that's all.'

'Oh.'

The majority of people at the table looked as disgusted as Ginny felt. Aunt Georgina exclaimed happily:

'Of course, of course, it's so natural for young people to desire to be together! Ah, an excellent choice you've made, darling, an excellent choice. I can't wait for the wedding. Undoubtedly, your and Mr. Malfoy's children will be of very good blood.'

Nearly everyone at the table choked at the thought of Ginny having children with Malfoy. Ginny went pale.

'I never thought you were interested in pureblood matching, Aunt Georgina,' Mrs. Weasley said in a tense voice. Aunt Georgina, whom everyone called 'Aunt' even though no one knew what she really was (some relation of Mrs. Weasley's, twice removed or something), only smiled.

'I do not insist, of course, but it is enjoyable to see two such good pureblood families uniting into one,' Aunt Georgina said, unperturbed.

A silence followed her words, because none of the Weasleys had a particular desire to unite themselves with the Malfoys, the worst wizarding family ever, in their opinion.

'So anyway… ze weazer's been great lately, don't you think?' Fleur asked casually, once again making Ginny want to stand up and thank her for getting them out of an unpleasant conversation…

Malfoy came at two o'clock sharp, as he'd promised. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley saw him from a window as he approached the house. Ginny felt herself tense up; she didn't want Malfoy to walk into her house just yet.

'I think I'll go outside to meet him.'

She was also scared of her relatives' reaction. Her mother seemed to think along the same lines.

'Okay, dear, whichever you think is best. Have a nice day.'

I'm sure I will, Ginny thought gloomily, walking towards the door. She shot one last look at her mom and walked out of the house, quite aware that she was being watched by Ron and the twins from their bedroom windows.

She met him several feet away from the house.

'Afternoon,' he said shortly.

'Hello,' Ginny answered sourly. Malfoy looked at her for a second, smiled and suddenly lowered his face to hers and touched her lips with a short, but deep kiss.

For the first instant Ginny didn't understand what was happening because her mind was blank from shock; when she realized the whole situation, she tried to push Malfoy away, putting her hand on his chest and pressing into him. From the outside, however, it looked as if she was just touching him because she enjoyed his kiss very much, of which Malfoy was perfectly aware.

A strange feeling passed through her – and it wasn't disgust. It was as if some strings in her body were touched gently. However, the kiss was too short for her to get used to the feeling of Malfoy so near her, his cologne around her, his hands firmly on her waist without her remembering how they got there. Ginny felt a little dizzy; not that the kiss was long or passionate, it was just so unexpected…

'W-why did you do that?' she stuttered. He smiled, obviously pleased with himself. 'All of my family must have seen it.'

'That was precisely the point,' Malfoy replied. Ginny went red in the face. 'I'm you fiancé, am I not? I've got to behave like one… especially if I know that such stuff would piss the living shit out of your brothers. Now, come on,' he turned and started walking away from her house, still holding her by the waist. 'Let's go. We've got things to do.'

They arrived to the Malfoy Manor by a portkey, which Malfoy brought with him when he went to meet her. Evidently, they could not Apparate, because the Manor was protected by a shield, which prevented people form Apparating in and out of it freely. The portkey port was in a little colonnade made of some light stone, which led to the gardens of the Manor. Ginny looked around in surprise. The colonnade was actually quite beautiful and so were the gardens, at least the part of them which she caught the glimpse of. Malfoy didn't notice the look on her face as he went ahead, leading the way into the Manor. He didn't say anything either, except for one sentence just after they started walking:

'Keep your mouth shut about whatever you see here when you're at your burrow and be sure you're dead nice to my mother.'

Ginny didn't respond, so they went on in silence. Finally, they came to a large door with some signs engraved into it. Malfoy muttered something under his breath and the door opened. Ginny followed him into a corridor with paintings of some people – Ginny presumed they were Malfoy's ancestors – hanging on the walls. They went up the stairs and through more corridors. Ginny was astonished at how beautiful the Manor really was. She expected it to be a cold castle or something of the kind – her image of the Malfoy home closely resembled the dungeons at Hogwarts. She was amazed to discover that it wasn't true; that the Manor was in fact a warm, richly decorated, beautiful place – much like the Muggle stately homes she'd seen on her dad's pictures in The Burrow. This just wasn't right. Malfoy's house had to be horrible, not… stunning.

Finally, Ginny and Malfoy entered a large room, which Ginny immediately decided was a living room. There were two sofas, a couple of armchairs, a soft expensive carpet, a tea table and a chest of drawers in it; the walls were covered with light purple wallpapers with some signs in gold and there were more pictures on the walls. Ginny tried not to look impressed by the splendour as she walked into the salon to face Malfoy's mom.

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting at one of the silk-cushioned sofas, her back straight, not touching the back of the sofa. Her blonde hair was done up in an elegant knot; her face was well made-up and she had a becoming gown on. To her dismay, Ginny was forced to admit that Narcissa Malfoy looked completely like an upper-class lady and not like a vulgar power-hungry woman. That last part remained to be seen, though.

Narcissa smiled genially when Malfoy and Ginny walked in, but Ginny noticed that the smile didn't reach her cold blue eyes.

'Good afternoon, Miss Weasley,' Malfoy's mom said in a pleasant voice. 'Good afternoon, Draco.'

'Good afternoon, Mother,' Malfoy answered calmly.

'Good… Good afternoon, Mrs. Malfoy,' Ginny said, feeling a bit stupid as the words "Good afternoon" were repeated for the forth time already.

'You can call me Madame,' Narcissa inclined her head slightly and gestured towards the settee. 'Take a seat, please.'

Both Malfoy and Ginny trod over the soft carpet and sat down opposite Narcissa, but as far away from each other as possible – quite subconsciously, too.

'I'm glad that we meet here today for such a glorious reason,' Narcissa Malfoy went on – obviously, she was going to be in control of the conversation. Ginny raised her eyebrows at "glorious" – she couldn't really believe Narcissa could be delighted that her only son was getting married to one of the Weasleys – but Narcissa didn't appear to notice. 'I congratulate you both on your decision and I do hope that it was a wise choice you made,' Narcissa looked at her son as she said that and Ginny understood that Narcissa just wasn't going to say anything, but in fact the idea of Ginny marrying into her family disturbed her.

Malfoy didn't respond. He actually looked like he didn't really listen.

Ginny thought it was a little bit weird – the relationship between people in the same family was far from warm. Malfoys and Weasleys clearly had different notions.

'I gather that since the wedding is only in two weeks, we need to work as speedily as possible to prepare ourselves for it,' Narcissa said. 'We will need to decide on the time, the place, the arrangements, the wedding dress, the rings; the young bride will be in need of great attention…' Narcissa paused, surveying Ginny and obviously taking everything into account: her sporty T-shirt, her jeans, her battled shoes, her unruly hair, done in a simple ponytail, and her make-up-free face.

Ginny felt uncomfortable under Narcissa's look, but then she forced herself to become angry instead of embarrassed. Who was that Narcissa woman to judge her? Ginny proudly raised her chin and pursed her lips. Narcissa didn't seem to notice that either.

'I suggest we go through the important details together,' Mrs. Malfoy said.

'Mother, I do hope you understand that those details do not interest me much,' Malfoy answered in an even voice, devoid of any mockery or scolding. 'I think that you and… that the two of you can do without me, whilst I just pay all the bills.'

Narcissa gave her son a good look, but Ginny couldn't tell what she was thinking.

'I understand, Draco. However, are you sure you would trust our judgment on matters of such importance?'

'You know I always trust you wisdom, Mother,' Malfoy said with a slight smile.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled in return.

'I see, Draco. What will the bride say, though? Is the decision fine with you?' She addressed Ginny directly.

'Y-yes,' Ginny answered uncertainly. 'Of course.' For some reason, she felt stupid. She was aware of Malfoy's eyes on her and knew that he saw how shy she was in front of his mother. As far as Ginny could remember, she'd never in her entire life said "Yes, of course" to anything any of the Malfoys suggested.

Well, things have obviously changed.

'Oh! Wait, Draco dear,' Narcissa said suddenly. 'You and Miss Weasley will need to do one thing together – you will need to purchase your wedding rings.'

Ginny looked up at Malfoy automatically and saw him looking displeased. He didn't contradict his mother, however.

'Yes, Mother, you are right.'

The world had definitely turned upside down in the Malfoy sitting room, Ginny thought. She herself was suddenly speechless in front of a Malfoy and agreed to what that Malfoy was saying – and Draco Malfoy turned into mommy's boy. Then again, Narcissa Malfoy had that superior air about her, which was a little difficult to oppose.

'I suggest then you and Miss Weasley go and choose the rings in Diagon Alley,' Narcissa said, looking at her son, 'whilst I summon Etienne Beaufort.'

Malfoy glanced at Ginny with a grimace, but he didn't say anything unpleasant.

'Good. Shall we go then, Mother?'

'Yes, let us make it quick. Oh – unless Miss Weasley has any objections, of course,' Narcissa Malfoy, as if suddenly remembering Ginny's presence, looked at her expectantly.

'No – um – it sounds like a good plan to me,' Ginny replied.

'Wonderful,' Narcissa said, standing up. Malfoy rose immediately too, so Ginny felt obliged to do the same. 'What time should I expect you back, then?'

'I don't think I'll come back here, Mother, but – um – she will return in about half an hour,' Malfoy answered.

'Splendid,' Narcissa Malfoy concluded. 'I shall see you again in half an hour then,' she said to Ginny and then turned to Malfoy, 'See you at dinner, I suppose.'

'No, I might get held up, so don't count on me,' Malfoy answered. 'I will owl you if that happens.'

'Good, good. Now, have a good time choosing the rings!'

'Goodbye, Mother,' Malfoy answered.

'See you later, Mrs. Mal – Madame,' Ginny said and she and Malfoy started to walk back towards the door. After they exited, Malfoy led the way in silence and Ginny followed him. She didn't really know what to think about Malfoy and his family anymore. It became much more confusing after she saw his beautiful house and his charismatic mother…