Crawling
Chapter Four
"You have got to be fucking kidding me."
"Please make attempts to be somewhat ladylike, Weasley. And, no, I am not kidding you. I rarely kid."
She started to pace. "You are out of your mind, that's it…you've finally went 'round the bend, and I'm paying the consequences of simply being here! If you don't—"
"Would you calm yourself before you have some sort of seizure? I wasn't actually proposing marriage, Weasley, just making a suggestion that it would benefit each of us to pretend to be engaged for a short time."
"How in the hell would that benefit me?"
This is the part that I disliked…the payoff. Mind you, it isn't the act of bribery that bothers me so, in fact, I rather enjoy it as a pastime…No, it is the act of paying off a Weasley that gives me just cause to flinch.
"I will obviously pay you for your services."
"Like I'm some common whore? I'll have you know that I cannot be bought, Malfoy. Go find yourself someone on the corner."
"What corner? What are you rambling about now?"
"The…you know, whores stand on the—oh, just forget it! The point is that you cannot buy me to be your little…disgusting fake fiancé. There is not enough money and prestige in the world to tempt me to do that."
Prestige? I simply nodded as if I had the slightest clue as to what she was speaking of.
"And furthermore," she continued, "you didn't even have the decency to inform me of why you so desperately require a fiancé. You can't just bust in and expect me to go along with some plan that is probably illegal without letting me into the loop!"
"I believe that you have all ready made it quite clear that nothing will induce you into this agreement, so I see little point in informing you of that which in my business."
She bit her lip, "Well…I mean, maybe if you tell me then I'll be more…sympathetic."
The day a Weasley is sympathetic towards a Malfoy is the day I eat my own foot. She was up to something. Unfortunately, I had not the time, nor the patience, to discover what exactly she was attempting to pull. She was looking for a reason to agree to this. Fine, if she desired a way in without making herself appear as a 'whore' then I would give her one. And I would expose her motivation at different time.
"Very well, Weasley," I obliged. "As you know, I have business guests staying with me. For matters of appearances I require the look of the well-adjusted life which I lack. I do not have the time to hunt for a suitable 'fianc' so I must take my chances with you, assuming that you will agree. As stated, you will be compensated in any manner of your choosing; a home, money, a business of your own…anything within reason."
A pained expression overtook her features momentarily before she covered it expertly. With her quick emotionless trick, I felt something relative to hope that she could help me pull this off.
"All right," she said flatly, "but I get to pick my payment."
"I previously told you that you could. Name your terms, Weasley."
"Not now. I'll inform you of my imbursement when it is convenient to me."
I took a sharp intake of breath. The idea of her holding the upper hand was unappealing, to say the least. However, I was running out of time as we had all ready been in this discussion for far too long. They would grow suspicious if I took too long to bring in my fiancé. I did not have the option of denying her, and that fact irked me to an extreme.
"As you like it, Weasley." I extended my arm to her, "Shall we go?"
She looked down self-consciously at her stained outfit. Before she could comment, I pulled my wand out and transfigured her disgusting jean apparel to a sleek black dress robe. With another flick, her hair piled itself elegantly atop her head.
A smile nearly came to her lips before she caught herself. "Fine, Malfoy, we can go."
I led her to my study, and whispered to her as we walked. "I think it would be best for you to refer to me by something other than 'Malfoy' Ginny dear. And do make attempts not to flinch when I call you endearments, it gives an unpleasant effect, you understand."
"Of course…Draco."
I nodded down at her, "Better. Again though, lose the look of disgust."
She brightly smiled, but the hatred in her eyes could not be disguised. "I understand, Draco. I am, after all, your lovely and complacent fiancé without a brain or a clue. I am here to look good and, in turn, make you look good."
"That's the spirit. However, sarcasm will land you nowhere, so I suggest you misplace it temporarily."
We stood silently in front of the double oak doors. She nodded to me and I opened one door, guiding her through it.
The three men immediately stood and it was impossible to miss their clear judgments of her initial appearance.
"Gentlemen, may I introduce you to my fiancé, Ginerva Weasley?"
She flashed them a grin, "Call me Ginny, please, only my mother refers to me by Ginerva."
"Miss Weasley," Donaldson spoke up quickly, "delighted to make your acquaintance." He gave me a wink, "Now we see why you'd hide her. She is a lovely young thing indeed, Malfoy."
"Thank you," I responded. Ginny's smile faltered as I read her mind, the role of trophy was a position that she had never been placed in, obviously.
"Ginny," I coaxed her back to her reality, "this is Timothy Donaldson, Jonathon Bates, and Marquis Bolander."
She gave each a polite inclination of her head, "A pleasure, gentlemen."
I gestured for them to resume their seats, and helped Weasley to her place by me.
"I was under the impression," Donaldson said after a moment, "that Weasleys and Malfoys had something of a blood feud waging."
I stared down his blatant challenge. "At times maturity and reason overtake petty disputes. When you stumble upon a diamond in the rough, only a fool retreats."
"Undeniably so, Malfoy." He turned to my play-fiancé, "I knew a Weasley once."
"Congratulations," she said dryly.
I shot her a reprimanding look; she needed to learn to control that damn temper of hers.
"Name was Bill," Donaldson continued, "hell of a guy."
Ginny paled noticeably before jetting out of the room.
"Excuse me," I said lowly before taking off after her. I found her in the hallway, sitting on the floor, knees clutched to her chest as she rocked herself back and forth in sobs.
I squatted down awkwardly next to her, unsure of what to do for once. Obviously, this was not a stellar start to the whole thing.
She raised her tear-streaked face to meet my own. "I-I apologize. Just give me a moment."
I nodded. "I'll make your excuses for you. I shall come collect you in your room in an hour for dinner."
I didn't like Weasleys, but that didn't mean that I wasn't informed about them. Bill was Ginny's brother…I say was because it is well-known that he was murdered not even six months ago.
I gathered my composure before entering back into the room.
Donaldson regarded me with narrowed eyes, "Your fiancé always have that reaction to the mention of the name Bill?"
"Only when it is in reference to her recently deceased brother."
"I was unaware. My apologies to you and your fiancé, Malfoy."
I said nothing. He was more than aware that Bill Weasley was Ginny's brother, and even more aware of the fact that he was dead. Or, at least he should be, as Donaldson's lackey killed the man.
I stood outside of Weasley's door, pondering the recent change of events. This entire situation was strange before, but now…now it seemed like a b-rate horror novel. I must admit, I did not entirely think the whole ordeal through at first, of the details that it would entail and whatnot.
Of course, I knew the proper etiquette of an engaged couple in high society, but I feared that Weasley would require a few lessons. Alas, I did not possess the time or the patience, to teach her. Being engaged as a Malfoy is a far cry from simply being engaged.
Public displays of affection are in no way permissible. Obviously, this should cease to be an issue for Weasley and myself. Other things though, from something simple as proper dining seating, to acceptable conversations, worried me immensely. I highly doubted that she had exposure or training for situations such as these, I could only hold out hope that she wouldn't spoil the entire deal for me.
I rapped three times on her door; all guests were currently resting before dinner, so I had time to cram as many manners in her as possible.
The door opened slowly. Weasley's eyes were still red, and her cheeks botched. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes skyward; it had happened over half a year ago…get over it.
She retreated back into her room, leaving the door open for me to enter. I followed after a moment and surveyed the room silently. Everything was a mess. Clothes and papers were just everywhere, it was disgusting, not to mention embarrassing. This muddle did not belong in my manor.
She perched herself upon the unmade bed as I stood in front of the doorway. "What do you want, Malfoy?"
"I hardly think that you are in any position to be hostile to me. Your little display could have ruined me, keep your damned emotions in check, Weasley. When you appear weak, I appear weak, so buck up."
"Wow, what a motivational speech. Really, you should look into public speaking; you are just oh-so good at it." She threw herself back against the covers. "I can be emotional if I want to be, leave me alone."
"You will be as I tell you to be. There are a few things that you need explained to you, Weasley, for as long as you remain within the title of my fiancé you will act accordingly, or I will see to it that your life becomes Hell."
"Well maybe I just won't be apart of your plan then. You mistake who is holding the power here."
"I am not. You agreed to it—"
"And it is my right to take it back. I can leave if I so choose."
"You agreed to it," I continued, "within my walls. It was a verbally binding magical contract, Weasley. You hold no power other than what your payment shall be, so it is you making the mistake."
Her mouth dropped open. "You dirty vile ferret! You are supposed to inform people when walls have ears!"
"I inform at my own discretion. I assure you that the contract is legal. You will find that you are literally unable to walk away from this, Weasley."
"I really hate you. I just hope that you know that."
"I'd worry if you didn't.
A/N—It's short, I know. But my computer crashed recently and I lost everything that I had saved on there, including part of this chapter. I really despise rewriting things, it's just boring and repetitive, so this chapter was somewhat of a bitch to get through. But I did, and it's done, and now I can move on, lol.
But I've had a shitty few weeks, so review and make me feel better. Insert sad puppy dog eyes here.
