Victorian Lace

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Reviewers: I'm so sorry I haven't written in such a long time. Just life getting in the way, but things are better now. I'll get the chapters out sooner... promise! I love you all. I'll do names next chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 5: A Shocking Discovery

Days passed by slowly in silent whispers. Draco Malfoy, much to Ginny's dismay, had been gone for three months. The plan was beginning to slip through her fingers and doubt was becoming overwhelming.

"Narcissa," Ginny was now sitting while her new "mummy" tugged her hair back into a tight bun, "I can't do this."

"Sure you can. Why couldn't you?"

"It's a great plan for somebody who could actually love him, but I hate him. Actually, I think I'd rather be dead. What would Harry think?" She turned, her hair falling in elegant curls as it was pulled out of Narcissa's hands.

"Harry would think that it is the right thing to do as long as it keeps you out of harms way."

"You can hardly say that. Seducing him is probably just as dangerous as tying myself up and tossing him a knife…"

Narcissa sighed and wrapped her arms around Ginny. They had become somewhat close since the day Ginny was 'rescued' from one almost humiliating bath.

"Well then, it almost is like dying isn't it?" Ginny smiled a little at the comment. "Sometimes you just have to take chances. It isn't as bad as you think. Look at me; I had to marry Lucius. I did it and so can you."

"But I don't want to be like you." Ginny whispered, not intending Narcissa to hear.

Narcissa's eyes chilled. "Well, I guess you don't really have a choice now do you Ginevra?" With a harsh yank, Ginny's hair was being pulled back once again. "Now, Draco likes his women silent. It would do you good to practice holding your tongue." Another yank and Ginny screamed in pain.

"Be careful! This is stupid! Why do I constantly have to look like a whore? These dresses need to have a few extra inches of fabric and I don't like putting my hair in a bun everyday because you say it looks reserved and I don't like painting my face and sitting straight up! Draco isn't even he-"

"Trying to look your best for me, Weaslette?" Draco stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and a smug look on his face. Both women froze until Narcissa stepped on Ginny's foot.

"Ow!" Ginny squealed. Narcissa stepped on her foot again and gave Ginny a disapproving look until it keyed into her brain that she needed to respond. A decision had to be made… seduce to live, or seduce to kill? Either way she had to seduce…

Ginny rose up slowly and let a devious smile fall upon her face. Her heels clinked against the floor as she took small erotic steps toward Draco. She wore a blood-red muggle dress that accentuated her breasts and revealed much of her legs.

"Trying Malfoy?" She laughed. "I know your type… Parkinson perhaps? Compared to her, I don't have to try." Draco's gray eyes were glued to Ginny's brown ones, completely ignoring her promiscuous attire. Frustration flowed through Ginny's blood. With her foot, she slammed the door in front of Draco, leaving him laughing outside in the hallway.

"I guess he's back 'mum'."

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"Ginevra, you dropped this. It looks so oddly familiar. Where did you get it?" Narcissa held the crystal in her hand.

"Dumbledore gave it to me."

"Did he now?"

Ginny gasped. "Dumbledore! I forgot!"

"He is still alive. Nobody is harmed while Draco is away. Do you realize what this is child?"

Narcissa's words echoed inside of Ginny's head as she ran to the dungeons, shoes in her hands.

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"I'm so happy you haven't been harmed. I was worried I wouldn't get the chance to tell you." Dumbledore smelled of vomit and old age, but his eyes still lit up in front of Ginny.

"Tell me what? Do you need food? I can sneak it to you. And I can get you something warm if you'd like. I will. I'll try to come back tonight."

"Where is the necklace I gave you?"

"Narcissa has it. I'll get it back. You won't believe what she's gotten me into. She has come up with this absurd idea. Did you know my mother promised me to her when I was a baby? I was supposed to marry Malfoy."

"I know. You were to have had a child with him before Vol-", Dumbledore paused and took a deep breath. "before war… before Harry died. I wish you had, but young love doesn't always turn out the way we need it to."

"I don't understand. You knew that Harry was going to die?"

"Yes, of course. Well there was hope he wouldn't; hope that a prediction wouldn't come true, but they always do."

"Why didn't somebody tell me?"

"Nobody knew except for your mother and Narcissa. Your mother really never believed in it. Please, don't be upset with me."

Ginny sighed softly. "Oh Dumbledore, I'm through with tears. I've cried over Harry and everybody else for the past three months. Narcissa has been giving me this potion. It sort of numbs the pain."

"Ah, yes. After her marriage to Lucius she became quite good at potions."

"I feel like her. I've been spending most of my time in the library or trying to make myself look nice for Draco. There are wonderful books I've never even heard of. Muggle stories, I think. It isn't much, but it is enough to help keep my mind off of the situation I'm in."

Leaning her head against the bars, Ginny began to recite lines from novels and plays.

"I wish I could live then; in those times when men were gentle and women were beautiful."

"I'm afraid anytime seems better than right now."

"Yeah. I'll sneak you something. Maybe I can give you some of this potion. I haven't cried in weeks. It doesn't make you happy, though… just content for a little while."

Mist left dewdrops on the ground. The two seemed to have blended into the dreary scene in their depression.

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"The necklace… you can change all of this. Draco Malfoy isn't the man you think he is. You can change the future. It is simple, only it might take time. All you have to do is take the necklace to the old clock in the library, and wish to go back. Something happened to Draco Malfoy to make him the way he is. You need to find it and change it, ultimately changing the future."

"I don't understand. You want me to find out why Draco Malfoy is the way he is, and go back in time and change this?"

"Exactly."

"That is impossible. What makes you think one even made him a muggle-hating death eater? It could take years to change him!"

"Then spend years doing it, but I think you will be surprised to find only one event lead to this. When you succeed you will have a choice; let time replay with a changed Draco Malfoy, or let things be as they are now."

"Ha! Why could I want things to be as they are now?"

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled and he replied, "You will understand in due time; years from now, perhaps. Now go."

Dumbledore's chapped lips landed on her forehead in a fatherly manner, and she left in search of her necklace, knowing what she must do.

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Ginny had retrieved her necklace from Narcissa after arguing that it had no importance. The halls were so dark and she was beginning to understand how it might appear infested with haunted spirits. A musky fog seeped through the open doors. 'Why does the library have to be so far from my room?'

Ginny stopped to take her heels off. The loud noise they were making made her fear she might attract someone, or something as a terrifying thought. She walked slowly, trying to remember the way. The one time she needed to get there it became hard to find.

"There you are my little dove." Draco Malfoy sat on the edge of the large, open window. One leg dangled off of it and his eyes looked straight in front of him at the stones that made the wall, as if they mesmerized him.

"Y-yes. I was heading to the library. I couldn't sleep." It sounded incredibly lame even though it was partially true.

"Let me come with you. We have things to discuss."

"No!"

"No?" Draco looked surprised she had dared to yell at him over this.

"I mean, there is no need to discuss anything right now. I really would rather discuss whatever it is in the morning. There is a very good book waiting for me, and I'm really dying to get to it." Another lame comment… only this one was a complete lie. Ginny fingered the necklace that lay between her breasts.

"The book can wait, Ginevra." Draco's right eyebrow raised. "Am I making you nervous?" Draco ran his thumb down her arm, smiling when Ginny shivered.

"Yes." She felt herself swallow, her throat suddenly very dry. His fingers were making there way up her neck, and then the sensation was gone.

"Good. You better get to that book then." Ginny didn't realize it, but her eyes were closed. She awkwardly opened them.

"Right." She continued walking to the library, unaware that Draco was following her. She reached the doors, and to her distress, realized the doors were shut. She tried to push them open, but they didn't seem to budge.

Draco made a coughing noise behind her, and with one step towards the doors he pulled on the lever, opening the doors without any trouble. Ginny blushed a deep crimson red.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't enjoy a book in the middle of the night as well?"

Ginny opened her mouth, and then shut it at a loss for words. She walked slowly to the clock, aware that Draco was on her heels. Frustrated she grabbed a book and sat down beside it. Fortunately for her, the book was one of her favorites. A muggle story of a lady who met her prince charming at a ball, escaping the cruelty of her evil stepsisters and stepmother, with the help of her fairy godmother.

Draco sat next to her, knees touching, looking at the pages in curiosity. Ginny didn't mind much. She read quietly. She leaned her elbow upon the great clock, still fingering the necklace.

" My mother read this to me as a child and several others like it. Father wouldn't stand for it, though. He put them on the top shelf. You climbed all the way up there just for Cinderella?" Draco smiled… a real genuine smile.

Ginny watched him staring at the child story. "Yes. Oh, what I would give to live then and dance at great balls with my prince charming."

A shock went through them both, starting at Ginny's elbow and making its way through Draco's knee. Oops?