Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has read thus far- it's gorgeous outside, and after a rainy weekend in Maryland, I want to take advantage of it, so I'm not going to go into the whole thanking everyone individually thing… :) So deal with it! LOL!
I hope you all enjoy this, and don't worry, things will happen eventually… hehehe…
Ginny raised her eyebrows and cautiously advanced through the doorway. Draco shut the door behind her, and she forced herself not to jump at the sudden sound. It jerked her back to the present, (she'd been dreamily recalling that windblown look Malfoy had shown up in, imagining it under slightly different circumstances…) and she flushed slightly. Quickly, she found the closet and went inside- there was her little bag, lying shabbily in a corner where it had fallen.
"Well, thank you very much- I'll just be leaving then," she said as she emerged, but Draco was standing in front of the door.
"You'd like some tea," he said, and to Ginny's surprise it didn't sound much like she had a choice.
"Er…okay then,"
Draco could not believe how easy it had been to get her to stay; not that he was trying to make her stay…he'd simply asked if she wanted tea…Not that he really wanted her to stay either… Mere niceties, that's what it was. Draco turned before he gave himself away and ushered her into the sitting room.
"I'll have Sarah make some up- give me just a minute," he told her, and watched her look around the sitting room in amazement. She's really going to have to get over this shock of nice things…He thought, amused.
Much to Draco's surprise, Sarah wasn't in the kitchen when he entered. "Sarah?" he called, looking in the pantry. "…Where is she?" It was then that he remembered the house had seemed empty before- so far he couldn't find his mother, their butler, or their cook; and come to think of it, he hadn't seen any of the maids, either. "That's odd…" Scratching his head absentmindedly, he walked back to the room in which he'd left Ginny.
"This is a nice picture," she commented, looking at a photograph of Draco and his mother on the day of his graduation from Hogwarts. He scowled. He never liked it when outsiders saw the family's private photographs.
"We're quite a photogenic family," he sneered, before realizing that he'd invited her to stay- he might as well be civil. "Um, I can't seem to find our cook, Sarah, so I guess…I'll make us some tea," Draco hurriedly avoided Ginny's laughing eyes. Apparently the thought of Draco Malfoy stirring tea was too much for her.
"Don't you have a maid you could get to do it or something?"
"Well, yes, but… I can't find any of them, either."
"Show me the kitchen," Ginny commanded, taking off her cloak and laying down her bag on the settee. Draco eyed her with mild confusion but led the way.
"Here it is- I don't know why you want to see it…it's just like any other kit- what are you doing?" he asked, as she filled the teapot with water and set it on the stove.
"Making us tea,"
"Oh, no. I don't think so," With a swift movement, Draco had yanked the teapot out of her small hands and pushed her back from the stove. "This is my house, and I couldn't have a guest slaving over a hot stove. I appreciate the gesture, but I'll make the tea."
Ginny tutted impatiently at Draco and allowed him to fiddle with the stove. "If you really think that's the best idea, then maybe I could find some cakes or something to go with it…" she looked around, trying to keep herself occupied. Draco made her nervous, but this could almost be fun. As soon as she reached for a cabinet, Draco skidded over and stepped in front of her.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
"Well, you're making the tea, so I thought I'd look for something to go with it!" Ginny exclaimed, a bit irritated that he wasn't letting her help.
"I'll do that," he announced, and began rummaging through the cabinet.
"While you're doing that, I'll check the tea," she told him, and headed back for the stove. "Oh my- you turned the wrong burner on! Never leave an open flame!" Ginny started hurrying for the stove, but once again, Draco cut her off and switched the teapot to the other burner.
It was starting to get old.
"What on earth are you doing, Draco Malfoy?" He looked at her quizzically. "Why aren't you letting me help you?" Draco scowled.
"It isn't polite to have one's guest, especially a lady, fixing and serving food which should be prepared by the household!" he grumbled. Ginny felt a grin spread across her face. A lady? Oh ho, so it's a matter of honor, is it? Let's see what we can do with this…She was just about to make a snide remark when she realized that he was actually sincere in his dismay, and stopped herself.
"Look, Draco- if it means that much to you, go ahead and make the tea…but if there's anything I can do, just let me-" He waved her away, and banished, Ginny went to sit on a stool by a counter.
For a while, neither of them said anything. Ginny simply watched Malfoy scuttle around the giant kitchen, trying to find the correct tools with which to concoct this "tea stuff". Occasionally she would let a comment like, "whenever I make tea, I always try to prepare the leaves with such-and-such kind of knife" slip, lessening the grief that the poor boy was going through.
Finally, the tea was "finished", Draco announced, and he ushered Ginny back into the drawing room. He came back in with a magnificent tea set on a highly polished silver platter. A package of crackers was arranged around the edge of the tray. Ginny refrained from saying anything.
The tea was terrible, possibly the worst she'd ever had. But Draco seemed quite happy with his accomplishment, so she sipped it and smiled politely, never letting on that the taste was worse than the time her mother had enchanted a bar of soap to follow anyone around who said anything rude…
"Do you like it?" he asked, eagerly. Ginny could not believe how much Draco Malfoy, king of Hogwarts and the crown prince of society reminded her of her brother, Ron, whenever he felt he'd done something to be proud of.
"It's scrumptious…"
