CHAPTER 7: ARRANGEMENTS
DISCLAIMER: Nothing is mine; all this fantastic universe and characters belong to the amazing J.K. Rowling.
It was hard to believe that the Draco Malfoy who stood proudly in the middle of the crowd, holding Ginny Weasley's waist in a disdainful but possessive way, was the same Draco Malfoy who was on the verge of a panic attack just hours ago. This Draco Malfoy was enjoying Ginny's face of pure agony at his threats of revenge, Ron's face at the news of the marriage that would take place in two weeks, but above all he was enjoying Harry Potter's face at the sight of Draco and Ginny irrevocably together. Draco couldn't avoid to smirk, he was about to make a rude remark to Potter, but the Headmaster prevented it.
"I think Mr. Malfoy that we should discuss this affairs privately, in my office perhaps?, I'm sure that we will be more comfortable" Dumbledore's face was stern and his eyes were not twinkling for once, but his voice was steady and calmed. "Please Severus, take them to my office so we all can talk, I'll be there as soon as I attend some urgent affairs."
The Potions Master nodded and began leading the way without any comment. Ron and Hermione followed him in silence, perhaps Ron was exhausted and wasn't able to make a spiteful remark at Draco, so he let Hermione drag him towards the Headmaster's office. Harry stood there frozen gaping at the sight of Draco and Ginny, tentatively he extended his hand towards Ginny encouraging her to take it and walk with him. Ginny made a move to go with Harry but Draco's hold of her waist became tighter and prevented her to go with him.
"You can walk alone Potter can't you?" Draco's voice was colder than usual "I wasn't joking when I told you that you're not allowed near Ginevra, don't make me repeat myself" his voice was commanding and didn't accept any opposition "From now on she's mine and mine alone, thanks to you. Is that clear Potter?" Draco snarled.
Harry didn't say anything but he looked defeated. Deep inside he knew that the whole situation was his fault, he knew that Ginny was going to be miserable the rest of her life because he decided to let Malfoy marry her, so he just shook his head and looked apologetically at Ginny and began walking to catch up with Ron and Hermione.
Ginny looked up at Draco, he was definitely tall and muscular, not like he was in their years at Howgarts, his pale blonde hair was flying in the wind, tousled instead of his usual slicked back look, his silver eyes flashing like flint on steel and showing no emotion as usually, definitely sexy. He was the man she have loved with all her heart and in two weeks she was going to marry him, but somehow that thought didn't make her happy because she knew that Draco Malfoy didn't want her, and she understood him perfectly, she betrayed him when he trusted her with his heart, and she was scared of him right now. She knew that her life was not going to be pleasant at all, she knew that Draco wanted revenge more than anything else.
"I don't want to repeat this to you Ginevra, you're engaged to me, we are going to get married in two weeks like it or not, and I don't want to see you talking to Potter. You left me for being with him once, but that will not happen again, I will not tolerate people talking of how I can't control my own wife, so I don't want to see you near Potter, am I clear darling?" Draco hissed, cold rage almost unnoticed in his words.
"You can't control my life Draco, you won't control my life! I don't know what you and Harry promised to defeat Voldemort but there's no way I will marry you!" Ginny was shouting, she knew that there was no point in arguing with Draco, but she had to fight somehow, she wanted him to yell at her, she wanted to see him furious with her, she wanted to get any kind of reaction from him because she couldn't stand his indifference and his disdain. But Draco just smirked.
"You will marry me Ginevra, be sure of that!" his face was impassive and there was no emotion in his voice, but he tightened the grip in her waist almost painfully "You taught me that there was nothing more important in this world than the defeat of Lord Voldemort, I learned that lesson perfectly and I intend to apply it this time, so now I have to marry you as the price I have to pay for the help I received, and let me tell you that I'm not happy about it" the disdain in Draco's voice was evident but no other emotion was perceptible through it "Now my dear, we are expected at the Headmaster's office and as my fiancée I expect you to behave, you will be a Malfoy soon and I don't want to hear you complaining about this arrangement anymore, be a good little girl and I won't have to waste my time teaching you manners little one" Draco sneered and without expecting an answer, he began dragging Ginny along with him.
Ginny was on the verge of tears at Draco's speech, when she decided to leave him she was certain that he would never forgive her, she was sure that Draco wouldn't understand her reasons to become Harry's girlfriend because she couldn't understand them herself, but at that time there was no other option, Harry needed her and the Wizarding World needed Harry to defeat Lord Voldemort, and she was ready to sacrifice her happiness for all the innocent people that otherwise wouldn't stand a chance to live. Her family and friends pressured her to leave Draco Malfoy giving her all kind of explanations of why she should do it and all of them were reasonable enough to convince her. And she did it. She sacrificed them both. She left the only man that she ever loved, and it was terribly painful to see Draco sink into depression but it was almost unbearable to see Draco indifferent to her presence although she knew that she deserved that indifference.
They made their way towards Dumbledore's office in silence and when they arrived everybody was already there expecting them. Ron, Hermione, Harry, Snape, Dumbledore and Ginny's parents. All of them with the same expression shaped in their faces. They should be happy for the defeat of Lord Voldemort, instead they were worried about the future. Draco never let Ginny go, his arm firmly set around her tiny waist, claiming her as his possession, daring anyone to tell him otherwise. He stood firmly close the door, arrogant and self confident, with Ginny at his side waiting for the Headmaster to speak. When all were settled in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore finally spoke:
"All of you know the events that lead to Voldemort's defeat. All of you are aware of the arrangement that Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy made with an ancient creature in exchange of her help. I won't go into the details right now because there is no time, but let me assure you all, that I never agreed to the terms and conditions of this arrangement, nonetheless there was nothing that I could do to cancel it, and now all of us are bounded to fulfill it. I expect from all of you, your total cooperation with the events that must be done, specially Harry's departure and Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley's wedding" at this point some murmurs of disagreement were heard but Dumbledore continued talking "I know it's hard to accept it, but it's inevitable and I want to ask your complete discretion in this matter, we can't let the rest of the world know the bargain we made in order to defeat Voldemort, so right now we should discuss the details as soon as possible, as there are a lot of issues to attend at the moment." Dumbledore looked suddenly very tired. "Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley, I want to ask you to announce your engagement today at the press conference the Ministry of Magic has arranged, and please tell the reporters that your marriage will be out of love"
At this point Ginny made a sound of protest and couldn't prevent herself from talking despite Draco's warning glance "Headmaster, with all due respect, how do you expect that everybody believe us when we say that we're going to get marry because we love each other, when almost all the Wizarding World knows that I am Harry's girlfriend?" At Ginny's remark Draco flinched imperceptibly. The Headmaster looked impassible.
"I trust Mr. Malfoy to come with a credible story for you being in love. It is of great importance to convince the press and the public that you love each other, this way we will put an example to the Wizarding Community that now that the threat of Voldemort no longer exists, it is possible for the different Houses to get along with each other. The press conference will be held in an hour and Harry and Mr. Malfoy are expected there, I think it will be a good time to announce your engagement. As for Harry's departure… we won't make any announcement yet"
Ginny was really annoyed, she was tired of people make decisions for her "The point is Headmaster, that nobody asked me if I want to marry Malfoy, and just for the record I don't want to", she was half expecting that Draco would say something spiteful to her, or that Ron and her parents supported her, but certainly she was not expecting to see her mother burst into tears and run to hug her. Seeing Molly Weasley approaching her daughter, Draco let go of Ginny's waist reluctantly. Molly sobbed.
"Oh my dear child! There's nothing we can do to prevent your marriage! Nothing at all!" she was hugging Ginny so tightly that Ginny was close to choke. "I'm so sorry my child! There's no way out!"
"Certainly Miss Weasley, there's nothing we can do to avoid it. It is a wizarding promise that we can't break, at least not without fatal consequences to our world. You must marry Mr. Malfoy" Albus Dumbledore said sadly "So I must ask you to do his for a greater good. I know it's hard for you, but I also know that you're strong, besides Mr. Malfoy will be a perfect husband for you"
Ginny disentangled herself from Molly's arms "I'm sick of everybody telling me that I must do things that I don't want to do! Why should I sacrifice myself once again? Why should I care about a greater good? You all ruined my life once, and now you want to make me the most unhappy woman on Earth because of you precious Wizarding World!" she was openly yelling at the Headmaster. "Besides it's clear that Draco doesn't want to marry me! Why should I consent to this farce?" Ginny didn't notice that Ron was positively furious at her little speech.
"What are you saying Ginny?, that you didn't want to leave the Ferret and be with Harry? The way I see it, leaving Malfoy was not a sacrifice but an improvement. Marrying him sounds to me as a great sacrifice for you, but it's the only thing we have asked for you, besides you can always get divorced and marry Harry later, so stop acting like a baby!" At this point of his speech, Ron was shaking Ginny lightly, but shaking her nonetheless and Draco was starting to get annoyed.
"Get off her Weasley!" after the shouting match from Ginny and Ron, Draco's voice was soft but full of menace. Ron stared blankly at Draco for one second but reacted immediately.
"Stay out of this Ferret! This is a family business and she's my sister!" Ron, didn't let go of her and continued his scolding "You're so self centered Ginny that I can't believe you! Have you thought what Harry's feeling right now? He's going to see you marry his worst enemy for God's sake! His girlfriend is going to marry his nemesis in two weeks and he will have to leave after that! And for making things worst you're implying that you accepted to be his girlfriend because we asked you to do it! As if you never cared for him. Are you nuts?! Everybody here knows that you had a crush on Harry for years, it was only logical for you to become his girlfriend, nobody forced you to do anything!"
At her brother's harsh words Ginny began to cry, she realized that nobody believed her when she said she was in love with Draco, nobody believed that Ginny didn't want to be Harry Potter's girlfriend, and nobody valued her sacrifice when she left the only man she ever loved, painfully she realized that nobody cared for her feelings. Despair was beginning to fill her body, she did the greatest sacrifice anybody could have asked form her and nobody noticed it, not even Harry who took her for granted, not her family who was so blind to see her pain, nobody at all. And suddenly they wanted her to marry Draco Malfoy for "a greater good" when he didn't want Ginny as her wife, when he loathed her and when it would be unbearable for her because she still loved him.
Ron seemed oblivious to Ginny's distress and dug his fingers painfully into Ginny's arms "You are acting like a spoiled girl! I know is horrible to marry Malfoy instead of Harry, but for once, just for once Ginny, think about someone but you!"
Hermione noticed the turmoil in Ginny and noticed that Ron was hurting her not only with his grasp, she knew that for Ginny, having to marry Malfoy would be a nightmare because he didn't lover her anymore and once that they were married Malfoy would do nothing but ignore Ginny. "Ron stop! You're hurting her!", but Ron for once didn't pay attention to his girlfriend, he continued shaking his sister without noticing Ginny's terrified eyes. Things were getting out of control.
"That's enough Weasley" Draco yanked Ron off Ginny throwing him against a wall. He was able to see that Ginny was about to break, she was trembling and crying hard and Draco was sure that Ginny couldn't take it any longer and he never liked to see Ginny loose control the way she was losing it. He gave Ron a feral look and embraced Ginny with his strong arms, not a caress but a protective gesture he reasoned with himself, to placate Ginny's almost hysterical sobs. He felt Ginny's petit body shake with every sob and he didn't want anything but beat Ron for making her cry this way.
"If you ever lay a hand on her again Weasley, I will personally rip your limbs" Harry was about to say something, but in the last second reconsidered and went to help Ron, Malfoy's wrath didn't accept objections. Molly made a motion to held his daughter but Draco shot her a death glance and blocked her attempt. His attitude was one of defiance and the message was clear: Ginny was his.
"Listen carefully all of you, because I'll just say this once. I will marry Ginevra not because I want to but because I gave my word, I will remain married to her because Malfoys never get divorced, I will say that our marriage is for love not because I care about an alliance between Slytherin and Gryffindor but because it's better for my interests and I will take care of her because she will become a Malfoy herself. But don't expect me to tolerate any of you in my life, specially you Ron. After what I've seen, I've realized that you don't really care about her, you just expect her to be some kind of puppet you can control at your will" Draco was positively mad and was making a great effort to control his temper.
"And what will be the difference when she's married to you Ferret?" Ron was almost yelling, only restrained by Harry's arms. "You can't isolate her from her family!"
Dumbledore intervened. "It's certainly unfortunate the way things turned out to be Mr. Malfoy, but I trust you to know what you're doing, just keep in mind that Miss Weasley here has gone through a lot recently, even if Ronald doesn't see it that way and even if you don't believe it, she has suffered a lot, so please be kind with her, she deserves a man who loves her"
Draco snarled "She lost that right some time ago Headmaster and at her own free will. But let me assure you sir that she will have everything she needs and more, she will never have to worry about anything at all, I will take care of that" Those words were spoken more for Ginny's parents that for Dumbledore and everybody knew it. "Now, I think we've settled the more urgent business here and we have a press conference to attend shortly, so just let me clarify one more thing, Ginevra will come to live at my house right now, my mother need to teach her all her new duties as a Malfoy and there's no time to waste. I expect to see all her family at our wedding but not afterwards"
Molly interjected horrified "My daughter will not go living with you before the wedding Mr. Malfoy! No way! She's a decent witch! I will not tolerate people talking about her, it will be enough with what they will say with the wedding!"
Draco gave her an exasperated look "People won't say anything, in fact it is expected that a Malfoy bride lives at the Manor before the wedding to learn from the previous Lady all of her duties. And as Ginevra doesn't have the faintest idea of what is expected form her it will be though to teach her everything she needs to know, but not impossible I hope. Now if you'll excuse us, we really need to leave" Draco motioned towards the door, Ginny still firmly held in his arms "Severus, would you mind terribly if I go to your chambers?"
"Of course not Draco, you know the password. Take your time, I'll personally tell you when the conference is about to take place."
Draco nodded his agreement and left a very irate Weasleys behind him. Ginny was still trembling and Draco wasn't sure if she was still crying. "Are you all right Ginevra?" his voice was harsher than intended and Ginny stiffened slightly trying immediately to disentangle herself from Draco's arms, but he didn't let her.
"I'm sorry Draco… for what happened there, I think I embarrassed you?" Ginny's voice was soft, almost a whisper but Draco didn't like what she said, was she really apologizing for speaking? Was she apologizing for his prat of a brother? But what really bothered Draco was the way she said it, almost afraid, very insecure. She didn't sound like the Ginevra he knew and loved once, and that worried him. He lowered himself until he could see Ginny in the eyes and with the gentlest tone he could manage at the time he asked her.
"What's wrong little one?" he wasn't exactly expecting her to begin crying again and this time harder than before, and that startled him. He knew the day was terribly stressful for both of them and he just knew that Ginny was beyond tired to deal with her emotions at the moment. So he decided to postpone the discussion for later.
"It's alright Ginny don't worry, you didn't embarrass me, it was not your fault, please don't cry anymore" Draco was beginning to get uncomfortable, he didn't know what to do, so he carried her through the dungeons hurriedly hoping to arrive soon and leave her there, he didn't want to spend more time in her presence, Hell! he was supposed to make her life miserable, but how could he do it in her fragile state. Finally they arrived and Ginny already have stopped crying and was just staring at him with a certain longing in her eyes and Draco avoided her gaze.
"You need to rest Ginevra, I will take care of the press conference, you don't need to come with me. Besides it's necessary to convince the world that we love each other madly, and in your present state you will convince the entire world that you're perfectly miserable, and we don't need more problems right now, so just stay here and rest, I will come back later to take you to the Manor, I don't want to deal with all you relatives anymore" Draco's voice was polite but cold it was as if talking to a total stranger.
Ginny was completely confused by Draco's actions, first he threatened to make her life miserable, then he defended her against her brother's vicious attack, then he tried to comfort her to finally become again his usual cold. She only wanted to sleep and forget that her life was a mess.
"If you don't need anything else, I have to discuss some things with Severus" Ginny shook her head in denial but she didn't dare to say a word. "I'll be back later, try to rest" Draco nodded slightly and slammed the door behind him, so he couldn't hear Ginny whisper.
"The only thing I need is you Draco Malfoy, I've always needed you and you alone, and I swear to the Gods that you will love me again, no matter what"
Please don't forget to review and tell me what you think.
LittleLovelyGirl: I'm so glad that you like the story so far, your reviews are a great encouragement to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
LovesFantasy: Thank you very much for all your comments. You will find soon what Sarah has to offer to Draco and Harry.