Disclaimer: Not mine.
III Every Right III
Draco sat at a long table; in front of him was a large silver platter.
"I'm terribly sorry, but my wife will be doing the serving this evening." Lucius told him, "All our servants have died, and simply will not get out of bed."
"You should flog them," Draco whispered, still looking at the plate, "It's the only thing they understand."
"Quite." Lucius clapped his hand together twice, "Narcissa, bring the food."
Narcissa Malfoy tottered into the room, and Draco finally looked up. Her normally beautifully set blonde hair was straggly and slightly green looking, like seaweed. She wore the pink Muggle cocktail dress someone had sent her as a prank a few years ago. She also wore a pair of bright pink high heel shoes to go with the dress. Her eyes were wide and grey looking. She was holding a large plate that she looked like she was about to drop.
"I apologise for my wife." Lucius told him, "She, unfortunately, has also died, but unlike our servants she's still getting on with it."
"Quite right." Draco mumbled, looking at his mother, "What are we having for dinner?"
"The servants." Narcissa told him. Draco nodded, watching as she served him the food, "Would you like some blood with that dear?"
"No thank you Mother." He replied, "It doesn't agree with me."
"Really Draco, I insist." She said sternly, picking up his knife, "Wrist or neck, dear?"
"No, really Mother, I really don't want any." He insisted.
"Don't disagree with your mother." Lucius snapped, "He'll have some from the wrist Narcissa."
She nodded, and in a quick motion slit her wrist, holding it over the food, letting the blood dribble down. Draco wanted to run, but he couldn't move from his chair.
"Now dear, eat it all up." She said kindly.
"No!"
III
"No!" Draco shouted, kicking off the bed sheets. Sitting up, he found he was sweating, and his heart was racing. After he calmed down he climbed out of his bed and opened the window, leaning out into the cold air.
After he had stopped sweating he walked back over to his bed and picked up the box on the bedside table. He opened it slowly, and caught sight of the small shard of glass he had got from the mirror. It still had blood on it.
"I'm not doing it again." He whispered, picking up the shard, "I'm not. I'm just...just looking at it."
It glittered in the moonlight, and even the now brown blood looked beautiful.
"Not that I don't have a right to." He said, "I have every right to. But I'm not going to. Because I don't need to. But I have every right to. No one could blame me if I did, because I have every right to."
Afterwards, he put the shard back in the box and pulled out his wand to heal the cut, and then hesitated.
He had healed himself before, sure, but that was at the Leaky Cauldron, just after he'd found out about his mother. The Ministry would have known, but they were probably being lenient. Would they be lenient if he did even more magic? And what if they nature of the magic he was doing came out. What if people knew?
Well, they couldn't blame him if they did find out. He had every right to do what he did. He was in pain, he was allowed. He had every right.
But instead of healing the cut with magic he put his wand away. It wasn't because he was scared of them finding out, no, because he had every right to. It was because...because he wanted to keep it, that's why he didn't heal it. He wasn't scared of people finding out, because he had every right.
III
When Draco woke up the next morning, he found only Molly, Ron and Ginny sitting at the dinner table.
"Arthur and the twins have left for work dear." Molly explained, "What do you want for breakfast."
Ron had bacon eggs and toast on his table, and Ginny was eating some sort of cereal that was fizzling.
"Uh, could I have some toast and eggs...please?" He asked nervously. Ron was looking determinedly at his breakfast, and Ginny was making swiping motions with her spoon at the sparks that rose from her bowl, also ignoring him.
"Of course you can." Molly said, smiling, "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"
"That's fine...thank you." All this please and thanks you's towards the Weasley's was getting tiring, but Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had taught their son good manners, and he was determined to use them.
At that moment, two owls swooped into the kitchen. One was a largish barn owl, and the other was a magnificent snowy owl. Harry Potter's owl.
The barn owl flew over to Ginny, who blushed as she opened it, and Harry's owl flew over to Ron, who ripped open the letter eagerly, giving the owl some bacon at the same time.
"Who's writing to you Ginny?" Molly asked, peering over. Ginny backed away, clutching the letter close.
"No one." She said quickly, looking shifty.
"Don't tell me it's from Dean Thomas." Ron said.
"Ok, I won't." Ginny snapped.
"Dean Thomas? Isn't he that boy in your year?" Molly asked Ron.
"Yeah, he's Ginny's new boyfriend." He replied nastily.
"Shut up Ron!" the young girl exclaimed, "I wish I hadn't told you now."
"Well I think it's lovely that you're seeing someone new." Molly assured her daughter, "Especially after that horrible break up with Michael."
"Mum, he got stroppy, so I dumped him, it was hardly horrible." Ginny reminded her, "Dean's nice though. He sent me a very nice letter."
"Can I see it?" Ron asked.
"No!" She exclaimed.
It seemed like this was how it would be forever. The Weasley's would act fine as long as they ignored him. As soon as the attention was on him, everyone went quiet.
"So what did Harry say?" Ginny asked, peering over.
"Nope, you didn't let me see the letter from Dean, you don't get to see the letter from Harry." Ron said stubbornly.
"But that was a personal letter." She whined.
"Here you go dear." Molly gave Draco his breakfast. He thanked her, and then continued listening to the youngest Weasley's conversation.
"Yeah well, this letter is personal too." The red haired boy told her.
"Really? I didn't know you and Harry were that close." Ginny teased.
"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, "Ok, fine, read it. Mum, Harry wants to know if he can visit soon. The Muggles are giving him a hard time, and he's still feeling bad because of...well...you know."
"Of course he can stay...but..." Molly glanced over at Draco, and Ron followed suite. Ginny was still reading the letter, but her eyes flashed upwards for a second "Well...would you mind terribly Draco?"
"Uh..." That seemed to be all he could say lately, "I...uh...Potter? I mean...Harry...Potter?"
"He comes to visit us most summers, Hermione Granger too." Molly explained, "And with recent events...I wouldn't want to leave him with the Dursleys, his aunt and uncle. He's lost a loved one recently too."
As if by fate, and that moment another owl swooped into the kitchen, a big black one. It landed in front of Draco, and held out a black envelope.
"Ron, Ginny, have you two made your beds?" Molly asked quickly, "I think you should go now, and make them."
Ron and Ginny were still; their eyes focussed on the black envelope. Draco, tenderly, took it from the owl, but didn't open it, not even after the owl had flown away.
"Ron, Ginny, go make your beds now." Molly snapped, and at last her children obeyed her.
"It's the invitation." Draco told her needlessly.
"When is it?" She asked gently.
"In two days." He told her, "2'oclock, Wednesday. It says here that I should go to the home of Andromeda Tonks, and I'll be taken to the funeral from there."
"Andromeda is a good woman." Molly told him, "I don't imagine Ted will be there, but you might get to meet Nymphadora, your cousin. She's really very sweet, if not a bit clumsy. She'll insist on being called Tonks though."
"You seem to know a lot about my family." Draco said after a moments thought, "I didn't even know my cousins name."
"If you're not too picky about who you associate with, you'll find you'll meet a much wider variety of people." She told him, "And many of those people will be interesting, good, honest people."
"Are you hinting at something?" he asked sarcastically, and she laughed, before stifling it quickly.
"I might be, but I won't put any pressure on you Draco." She sighed softly, "I won't pretend that I know you, but you seem like such a nice boy. I'd like to think you're sorry for some of the things you've done. And I'd like to think that one-day you'll be able to talk to me about everything. About your family, your mother."
"I'm not very good at talking about things like that." He told her, "And I don't know if I'm sorry for the things I've done. I'm just...not a nice person."
"Don't talk like that." Molly scolded, "You spent nearly all day with my children yesterday without saying an unkind word to them, and then, last night, you complimented Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. You've been a complete gentleman to me, and you've done all this while recovering from a terrible loss. Are those the actions of a 'not a nice person'?"
"I..." Draco shook his head; "I can't talk about her now."
"I wouldn't expect you too." She told him kindly, "Now, what do you think about Harry and Hermione coming to stay?"
"Could we arrange for me to be out when they arrive?" He asked. Molly laughed, and Draco couldn't help but like her.
III
When Ron and Ginny returned from their bedrooms Molly told them to invite Harry and Hermione over to visit in a few weeks. She explained that this was in order to give Draco time to adjust.
"Will you be seeing Dean over the summer Ginny?" Molly asked.
"He wants me to come and see a football match with him, whatever football is." She explained.
"It's a boring Muggle game." Ron told her, "He explained it to me once. There's only one ball, and you have to kick it through this massive net. Where's the fun in that? And you're not allowed to fly."
"Sounds boring." Draco agreed quietly. There was a silence, but Ron was not one to reject an agreement, and carried on.
"It is. If you make a foul, they can send you off! What's the point? In Quidditch, fouls just add the excitement of the game." Ginny and Draco nodded, both sharing Ron's love of Quidditch, "And you're not allowed to attack people in football. No Bludgers, no beaters."
"But one of the best bits in Quidditch is watching the players on the other team get hit with a bludger!" Draco exclaimed.
"I know, but the worst Muggles do is tackle each other." Ron told them, "That's where they kinda kick each others legs to get the ball."
"I think I might just have to tell Dean that I'm ill." Ginny said, sighing, "What boy would take his girlfriend to a 'football' match? Or a Quidditch match, for that matter?"
"What's wrong with taking a girl to a Quidditch match for a date?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, what is wrong with that?" Draco agreed, looking slightly panicked. He always took girls to Quidditch matches.
"It's not very romantic, is it?" Ginny told them, "You'd be better off taking them to Madame Puddifoot's. She always has couples in there, on their dates. I went there with Michael a couple of times."
"You did?" Ron asked, looking angry. She glared at him, and he changed course, "I mean...uh...how did he know that was a good place? Was there a memo that went round, telling all boys to take their dates to Madam Puddifoot's that I just missed?"
"Maybe." Ginny shrugged, "Uh, Ron? Did Dean happen to mention what you wore to a football match?"
"Do you even know who you're supposed to be supporting?" Draco asked.
Behind them, Molly continued to wash up the dirty breakfast dishes. The teenagers couldn't see her face, but if they could have, they would have seen that she was beaming.
III
The conversation had soon run dry, and the three teenagers were left with the awkward silence again. Ron began writing out two letters for Harry and Hermione, while Ginny wrote a reply to Dean.
"Oh, tell Harry and Hermione that I say hi, would you?" Ginny asked just as Ron was finishing.
"Write them your own letters." He snapped.
"Can I read the letters you're sending?" She asked her brother, "Or are they personal? Especially the one to Hermione."
"Sod off." Ron mumbled, going red, "We're just friends."
"Sure you are." She smiled, "Are you going to write to Neville or Luna? I really think we should, just to say hi, and ask them how they're doing."
"Luna still scares me." He told her, frowning, "She's good if you need someone to watch your back, but she's seriously weird."
"Are you talking about Loony Lovegood?" Draco asked, "The girl whose father runs the Quibbler?"
"Yeah." Ginny nodded, and then went pale. Harry's article in the Quibbler had named Lucius Malfoy as a Death Eater.
"The magazine where they talk about Humped Nosed Zingworts?" He'd never admit it, but he desperately wanted to have a conversation with these two people. He hadn't had a massive change of heart about the Weasley's, and he certainly did not want to be Ron or Ginny's best friend or anything like that. But Draco was a social creature, he was used to people being around him, people talking to him, and listening to him speak. And the truth was, he was lonely. And Ron and Ginny were company.
"Honestly Malfoy, don't you know anything?" Ginny asked, "Its Crooked Kneed Plutrums."
"No, I think you'll find it's definitely Humped Nosed Zingworts." He told her.
"You're both wrong, its Slack Backed Crockvaws." Ron snapped, "I should know, I sent in the story about them."
There was general laughter at that. They weren't getting on, not really, they were just arguing in a way that they all found amusing. That was ok. So long as everyone knew they weren't getting on. Not really.
III
They spent the day in the garden, mainly sitting in silence. Ginny read her book; Ron read the latest edition of Which Broomstick and Draco watched the Gnomes sneak back into the garden.
When the twins returned from work they joined their younger siblings in the garden, and watched with a mix of shock and disgust as Ron and Ginny conversed with Draco in what could almost be seen as a normal way.
During dinner Arthur gave them some news.
"Boys, Ginny, Bill, Charlie and Percy will be visiting shortly." He told them, "Bill is bringing Fleur Delacour."
"You're joking, Fleur's coming here?" Ron asked in amazement, and then his expression turned to dread, "If Hermione finds out she'll go mad."
"Fleur Delacour's going out with you older brother?" Draco asked, and Ron nodded mutely.
"I think Fleur's wonderful." Ginny said after a moment's thought "She's really beautiful, and she's not conceited She just knows she's beautiful. And she's always been nice to me."
"When Hermione finds out she'll go mad." Ron repeated, shaking his head.
"Where will they sleep?" Fred asked, "Percy's rooms taken now."
"Molly and I are going to finally move all the mess out of Bill and Charlie's old rooms." Arthur explained, "I'm sure Percy won't mind bunking with one of them."
"Dad?" Ginny looked worried, "They do know, don't they? About...about... Mal...Draco"
"Charlie knows." Molly told them, "He was surprised, but he understood. He's going to tell Bill. We haven't found the time to tell Percy, but we'll tell him before he arrives."
Draco swallowed involuntarily. He had seen the oldest Weasley son, Bill, and he was pretty impressive. A big tall man, with long red hair, and a fang earring. And he was, apparently, impressive enough for Fleur Delacour. What would he think of the new comer?
"Well, as long as they know." Ginny shrugged, "Can't wait to see Bill again, he wrote in a letter that he had a present for me." "That boy spoils you." Molly muttered, "Always bringing you presents."
The conversation continued, but Draco stopped listening. He was vaguely aware of a piece of rectangular card in his pocket. Black card with gold writing. An invitation to his mother's funeral. He didn't want to go, not really. There would be people there he didn't know, and he didn't know what was expected of him.
He felt a gaze on him, and looked up to see Molly's deep brown eyes looking at him. In her eyes where a mixture of emotions. Pity; pity which he despised, but also understanding and affection. Draco couldn't understand it. He's never been anything but unpleasant to the Weasleys, but as soon as he had needed someone, they had been there for him. And Molly Weasley, who had no reason to whatsoever, even seemed to like him.
He was also aware of one other thing. Even though he was nowhere near it, even though he couldn't see it, or feel it, he knew that somewhere in his room was that little shard of glass. And he wanted so badly to be alone with it. But that was ok, because he had every right to.
III
Thanks to:
Jadyn Potter: I didn't give up! I've just been a little...busy (Lazy). Who said that? I'm not lazy!
I-Wrote-A-New-Story: And I made a new update! I'm so obedient. I hope I fixed the problem with the scene changes. I really was putting in dividers, they just weren't showing up! As for plots...well, I have an idea. Just one though!
Feline: Thanks
Catmint: I'm a bit worried about people being out of character in this story, so tell me if they are!
VJ: Thanks for all your input! Unfortunately, I have to post the unbetad version as the betad one went missing!
Dementorchic: Well, the plots still twisted, but people are being nicer. Hope that doesn't ruin it!
ESP: Well, advice was taken! No twins, they hate Malfoy too much.
CHOCOBO: Malfoy's damn hard to write. Hope I haven't got him too far wrong. Thanks for the support!
Punk Up The Volume: Romance...I've had some thoughts...
Annay: And to contradict what you just said, I didn't update for ages! Well, it wasn't my fault...
Readingfreak742: Thankies muchly
MelissaAdams: Sorry it took so long! Yeah, Draco's getting into the family spirit!
III Every Right III
Draco sat at a long table; in front of him was a large silver platter.
"I'm terribly sorry, but my wife will be doing the serving this evening." Lucius told him, "All our servants have died, and simply will not get out of bed."
"You should flog them," Draco whispered, still looking at the plate, "It's the only thing they understand."
"Quite." Lucius clapped his hand together twice, "Narcissa, bring the food."
Narcissa Malfoy tottered into the room, and Draco finally looked up. Her normally beautifully set blonde hair was straggly and slightly green looking, like seaweed. She wore the pink Muggle cocktail dress someone had sent her as a prank a few years ago. She also wore a pair of bright pink high heel shoes to go with the dress. Her eyes were wide and grey looking. She was holding a large plate that she looked like she was about to drop.
"I apologise for my wife." Lucius told him, "She, unfortunately, has also died, but unlike our servants she's still getting on with it."
"Quite right." Draco mumbled, looking at his mother, "What are we having for dinner?"
"The servants." Narcissa told him. Draco nodded, watching as she served him the food, "Would you like some blood with that dear?"
"No thank you Mother." He replied, "It doesn't agree with me."
"Really Draco, I insist." She said sternly, picking up his knife, "Wrist or neck, dear?"
"No, really Mother, I really don't want any." He insisted.
"Don't disagree with your mother." Lucius snapped, "He'll have some from the wrist Narcissa."
She nodded, and in a quick motion slit her wrist, holding it over the food, letting the blood dribble down. Draco wanted to run, but he couldn't move from his chair.
"Now dear, eat it all up." She said kindly.
"No!"
III
"No!" Draco shouted, kicking off the bed sheets. Sitting up, he found he was sweating, and his heart was racing. After he calmed down he climbed out of his bed and opened the window, leaning out into the cold air.
After he had stopped sweating he walked back over to his bed and picked up the box on the bedside table. He opened it slowly, and caught sight of the small shard of glass he had got from the mirror. It still had blood on it.
"I'm not doing it again." He whispered, picking up the shard, "I'm not. I'm just...just looking at it."
It glittered in the moonlight, and even the now brown blood looked beautiful.
"Not that I don't have a right to." He said, "I have every right to. But I'm not going to. Because I don't need to. But I have every right to. No one could blame me if I did, because I have every right to."
Afterwards, he put the shard back in the box and pulled out his wand to heal the cut, and then hesitated.
He had healed himself before, sure, but that was at the Leaky Cauldron, just after he'd found out about his mother. The Ministry would have known, but they were probably being lenient. Would they be lenient if he did even more magic? And what if they nature of the magic he was doing came out. What if people knew?
Well, they couldn't blame him if they did find out. He had every right to do what he did. He was in pain, he was allowed. He had every right.
But instead of healing the cut with magic he put his wand away. It wasn't because he was scared of them finding out, no, because he had every right to. It was because...because he wanted to keep it, that's why he didn't heal it. He wasn't scared of people finding out, because he had every right.
III
When Draco woke up the next morning, he found only Molly, Ron and Ginny sitting at the dinner table.
"Arthur and the twins have left for work dear." Molly explained, "What do you want for breakfast."
Ron had bacon eggs and toast on his table, and Ginny was eating some sort of cereal that was fizzling.
"Uh, could I have some toast and eggs...please?" He asked nervously. Ron was looking determinedly at his breakfast, and Ginny was making swiping motions with her spoon at the sparks that rose from her bowl, also ignoring him.
"Of course you can." Molly said, smiling, "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"
"That's fine...thank you." All this please and thanks you's towards the Weasley's was getting tiring, but Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had taught their son good manners, and he was determined to use them.
At that moment, two owls swooped into the kitchen. One was a largish barn owl, and the other was a magnificent snowy owl. Harry Potter's owl.
The barn owl flew over to Ginny, who blushed as she opened it, and Harry's owl flew over to Ron, who ripped open the letter eagerly, giving the owl some bacon at the same time.
"Who's writing to you Ginny?" Molly asked, peering over. Ginny backed away, clutching the letter close.
"No one." She said quickly, looking shifty.
"Don't tell me it's from Dean Thomas." Ron said.
"Ok, I won't." Ginny snapped.
"Dean Thomas? Isn't he that boy in your year?" Molly asked Ron.
"Yeah, he's Ginny's new boyfriend." He replied nastily.
"Shut up Ron!" the young girl exclaimed, "I wish I hadn't told you now."
"Well I think it's lovely that you're seeing someone new." Molly assured her daughter, "Especially after that horrible break up with Michael."
"Mum, he got stroppy, so I dumped him, it was hardly horrible." Ginny reminded her, "Dean's nice though. He sent me a very nice letter."
"Can I see it?" Ron asked.
"No!" She exclaimed.
It seemed like this was how it would be forever. The Weasley's would act fine as long as they ignored him. As soon as the attention was on him, everyone went quiet.
"So what did Harry say?" Ginny asked, peering over.
"Nope, you didn't let me see the letter from Dean, you don't get to see the letter from Harry." Ron said stubbornly.
"But that was a personal letter." She whined.
"Here you go dear." Molly gave Draco his breakfast. He thanked her, and then continued listening to the youngest Weasley's conversation.
"Yeah well, this letter is personal too." The red haired boy told her.
"Really? I didn't know you and Harry were that close." Ginny teased.
"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, "Ok, fine, read it. Mum, Harry wants to know if he can visit soon. The Muggles are giving him a hard time, and he's still feeling bad because of...well...you know."
"Of course he can stay...but..." Molly glanced over at Draco, and Ron followed suite. Ginny was still reading the letter, but her eyes flashed upwards for a second "Well...would you mind terribly Draco?"
"Uh..." That seemed to be all he could say lately, "I...uh...Potter? I mean...Harry...Potter?"
"He comes to visit us most summers, Hermione Granger too." Molly explained, "And with recent events...I wouldn't want to leave him with the Dursleys, his aunt and uncle. He's lost a loved one recently too."
As if by fate, and that moment another owl swooped into the kitchen, a big black one. It landed in front of Draco, and held out a black envelope.
"Ron, Ginny, have you two made your beds?" Molly asked quickly, "I think you should go now, and make them."
Ron and Ginny were still; their eyes focussed on the black envelope. Draco, tenderly, took it from the owl, but didn't open it, not even after the owl had flown away.
"Ron, Ginny, go make your beds now." Molly snapped, and at last her children obeyed her.
"It's the invitation." Draco told her needlessly.
"When is it?" She asked gently.
"In two days." He told her, "2'oclock, Wednesday. It says here that I should go to the home of Andromeda Tonks, and I'll be taken to the funeral from there."
"Andromeda is a good woman." Molly told him, "I don't imagine Ted will be there, but you might get to meet Nymphadora, your cousin. She's really very sweet, if not a bit clumsy. She'll insist on being called Tonks though."
"You seem to know a lot about my family." Draco said after a moments thought, "I didn't even know my cousins name."
"If you're not too picky about who you associate with, you'll find you'll meet a much wider variety of people." She told him, "And many of those people will be interesting, good, honest people."
"Are you hinting at something?" he asked sarcastically, and she laughed, before stifling it quickly.
"I might be, but I won't put any pressure on you Draco." She sighed softly, "I won't pretend that I know you, but you seem like such a nice boy. I'd like to think you're sorry for some of the things you've done. And I'd like to think that one-day you'll be able to talk to me about everything. About your family, your mother."
"I'm not very good at talking about things like that." He told her, "And I don't know if I'm sorry for the things I've done. I'm just...not a nice person."
"Don't talk like that." Molly scolded, "You spent nearly all day with my children yesterday without saying an unkind word to them, and then, last night, you complimented Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. You've been a complete gentleman to me, and you've done all this while recovering from a terrible loss. Are those the actions of a 'not a nice person'?"
"I..." Draco shook his head; "I can't talk about her now."
"I wouldn't expect you too." She told him kindly, "Now, what do you think about Harry and Hermione coming to stay?"
"Could we arrange for me to be out when they arrive?" He asked. Molly laughed, and Draco couldn't help but like her.
III
When Ron and Ginny returned from their bedrooms Molly told them to invite Harry and Hermione over to visit in a few weeks. She explained that this was in order to give Draco time to adjust.
"Will you be seeing Dean over the summer Ginny?" Molly asked.
"He wants me to come and see a football match with him, whatever football is." She explained.
"It's a boring Muggle game." Ron told her, "He explained it to me once. There's only one ball, and you have to kick it through this massive net. Where's the fun in that? And you're not allowed to fly."
"Sounds boring." Draco agreed quietly. There was a silence, but Ron was not one to reject an agreement, and carried on.
"It is. If you make a foul, they can send you off! What's the point? In Quidditch, fouls just add the excitement of the game." Ginny and Draco nodded, both sharing Ron's love of Quidditch, "And you're not allowed to attack people in football. No Bludgers, no beaters."
"But one of the best bits in Quidditch is watching the players on the other team get hit with a bludger!" Draco exclaimed.
"I know, but the worst Muggles do is tackle each other." Ron told them, "That's where they kinda kick each others legs to get the ball."
"I think I might just have to tell Dean that I'm ill." Ginny said, sighing, "What boy would take his girlfriend to a 'football' match? Or a Quidditch match, for that matter?"
"What's wrong with taking a girl to a Quidditch match for a date?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, what is wrong with that?" Draco agreed, looking slightly panicked. He always took girls to Quidditch matches.
"It's not very romantic, is it?" Ginny told them, "You'd be better off taking them to Madame Puddifoot's. She always has couples in there, on their dates. I went there with Michael a couple of times."
"You did?" Ron asked, looking angry. She glared at him, and he changed course, "I mean...uh...how did he know that was a good place? Was there a memo that went round, telling all boys to take their dates to Madam Puddifoot's that I just missed?"
"Maybe." Ginny shrugged, "Uh, Ron? Did Dean happen to mention what you wore to a football match?"
"Do you even know who you're supposed to be supporting?" Draco asked.
Behind them, Molly continued to wash up the dirty breakfast dishes. The teenagers couldn't see her face, but if they could have, they would have seen that she was beaming.
III
The conversation had soon run dry, and the three teenagers were left with the awkward silence again. Ron began writing out two letters for Harry and Hermione, while Ginny wrote a reply to Dean.
"Oh, tell Harry and Hermione that I say hi, would you?" Ginny asked just as Ron was finishing.
"Write them your own letters." He snapped.
"Can I read the letters you're sending?" She asked her brother, "Or are they personal? Especially the one to Hermione."
"Sod off." Ron mumbled, going red, "We're just friends."
"Sure you are." She smiled, "Are you going to write to Neville or Luna? I really think we should, just to say hi, and ask them how they're doing."
"Luna still scares me." He told her, frowning, "She's good if you need someone to watch your back, but she's seriously weird."
"Are you talking about Loony Lovegood?" Draco asked, "The girl whose father runs the Quibbler?"
"Yeah." Ginny nodded, and then went pale. Harry's article in the Quibbler had named Lucius Malfoy as a Death Eater.
"The magazine where they talk about Humped Nosed Zingworts?" He'd never admit it, but he desperately wanted to have a conversation with these two people. He hadn't had a massive change of heart about the Weasley's, and he certainly did not want to be Ron or Ginny's best friend or anything like that. But Draco was a social creature, he was used to people being around him, people talking to him, and listening to him speak. And the truth was, he was lonely. And Ron and Ginny were company.
"Honestly Malfoy, don't you know anything?" Ginny asked, "Its Crooked Kneed Plutrums."
"No, I think you'll find it's definitely Humped Nosed Zingworts." He told her.
"You're both wrong, its Slack Backed Crockvaws." Ron snapped, "I should know, I sent in the story about them."
There was general laughter at that. They weren't getting on, not really, they were just arguing in a way that they all found amusing. That was ok. So long as everyone knew they weren't getting on. Not really.
III
They spent the day in the garden, mainly sitting in silence. Ginny read her book; Ron read the latest edition of Which Broomstick and Draco watched the Gnomes sneak back into the garden.
When the twins returned from work they joined their younger siblings in the garden, and watched with a mix of shock and disgust as Ron and Ginny conversed with Draco in what could almost be seen as a normal way.
During dinner Arthur gave them some news.
"Boys, Ginny, Bill, Charlie and Percy will be visiting shortly." He told them, "Bill is bringing Fleur Delacour."
"You're joking, Fleur's coming here?" Ron asked in amazement, and then his expression turned to dread, "If Hermione finds out she'll go mad."
"Fleur Delacour's going out with you older brother?" Draco asked, and Ron nodded mutely.
"I think Fleur's wonderful." Ginny said after a moment's thought "She's really beautiful, and she's not conceited She just knows she's beautiful. And she's always been nice to me."
"When Hermione finds out she'll go mad." Ron repeated, shaking his head.
"Where will they sleep?" Fred asked, "Percy's rooms taken now."
"Molly and I are going to finally move all the mess out of Bill and Charlie's old rooms." Arthur explained, "I'm sure Percy won't mind bunking with one of them."
"Dad?" Ginny looked worried, "They do know, don't they? About...about... Mal...Draco"
"Charlie knows." Molly told them, "He was surprised, but he understood. He's going to tell Bill. We haven't found the time to tell Percy, but we'll tell him before he arrives."
Draco swallowed involuntarily. He had seen the oldest Weasley son, Bill, and he was pretty impressive. A big tall man, with long red hair, and a fang earring. And he was, apparently, impressive enough for Fleur Delacour. What would he think of the new comer?
"Well, as long as they know." Ginny shrugged, "Can't wait to see Bill again, he wrote in a letter that he had a present for me." "That boy spoils you." Molly muttered, "Always bringing you presents."
The conversation continued, but Draco stopped listening. He was vaguely aware of a piece of rectangular card in his pocket. Black card with gold writing. An invitation to his mother's funeral. He didn't want to go, not really. There would be people there he didn't know, and he didn't know what was expected of him.
He felt a gaze on him, and looked up to see Molly's deep brown eyes looking at him. In her eyes where a mixture of emotions. Pity; pity which he despised, but also understanding and affection. Draco couldn't understand it. He's never been anything but unpleasant to the Weasleys, but as soon as he had needed someone, they had been there for him. And Molly Weasley, who had no reason to whatsoever, even seemed to like him.
He was also aware of one other thing. Even though he was nowhere near it, even though he couldn't see it, or feel it, he knew that somewhere in his room was that little shard of glass. And he wanted so badly to be alone with it. But that was ok, because he had every right to.
III
Thanks to:
Jadyn Potter: I didn't give up! I've just been a little...busy (Lazy). Who said that? I'm not lazy!
I-Wrote-A-New-Story: And I made a new update! I'm so obedient. I hope I fixed the problem with the scene changes. I really was putting in dividers, they just weren't showing up! As for plots...well, I have an idea. Just one though!
Feline: Thanks
Catmint: I'm a bit worried about people being out of character in this story, so tell me if they are!
VJ: Thanks for all your input! Unfortunately, I have to post the unbetad version as the betad one went missing!
Dementorchic: Well, the plots still twisted, but people are being nicer. Hope that doesn't ruin it!
ESP: Well, advice was taken! No twins, they hate Malfoy too much.
CHOCOBO: Malfoy's damn hard to write. Hope I haven't got him too far wrong. Thanks for the support!
Punk Up The Volume: Romance...I've had some thoughts...
Annay: And to contradict what you just said, I didn't update for ages! Well, it wasn't my fault...
Readingfreak742: Thankies muchly
MelissaAdams: Sorry it took so long! Yeah, Draco's getting into the family spirit!