Chapter 3

Truce

The Burrow.

Tuesday, August 7 th, 2004. 8 o'clock am

Ginny saunters down the hall to Draco's room. She had pretty much been his keeper since he got there because she is the only one who is willing to put up with his mouth for any length of time. Everyone else in the house had nearly hexed him every time he said two words. She doesn't notice the half opened door, she only sighs and pushes through the door to his room.

''Rise and shine Ferret boy. Time for breakfast.'' Draco jumps awake and looks up at her sleepily. Ginny strides over and begins setting up his breakfast tray on his side table like she does for every meal. When she finishes she steps back and looks at him as he watches her with that stupid, sexy smirk on his face. Sexy?! Since when the hell is his smirk sexy?! She shakes her head and meets his smirk with her own.

''See something you like Malfoy?''

''Yeah I see a lot of things I like, its just a shame that had to be on you.'' Ginny glares at him and steps forward to slap him now that his jaw is healed completely. She draws her hand back to strike but he grabs her wrist to stop her and starts tickling her ribs furiously with his other arm. She screeches and starts fighting back, being as careful of his arms as she can. He finally lets her go and she slumps off the bed onto the floor next to him, fighting laughter. Draco smirks down at her, panting slightly from the exertion.

''Ha...'' He exclaims. ''Thats what you get for trying to hit me. I haven't even touched you yet! Are you getting tired of my complements?''

Ginny stops laughing and stares at him. He admits it then. He is hitting on me. She gets to her feet again and begins cleaning up the breakfast tray that she had kicked over while he was tickling her.

''If thats your idea of a complement, Malfoy, then you have much to learn.'' She stands and walks to the door with the tray. ''I'll be back in a minuet with breakfast... Again...'' She rolls her eyes as he smirks at her and she strides from the room and back down to the kitchen to fix his breakfast.

Downstairs in the kitchen, her thoughts drift to the boy upstairs again. So... heis complementing me... hitting on me even. What is his problem? He's probably just desperate or something. Typical... Well I refuse to be his toy. I'll treat him according to how he treats me... yeah... thats what I'll do.

Draco had tanned a bit over the summer, not enough to look it but enough at least not to look like a vampire anymore. Ginny vaguely wonders about his hands. They had been warm when he was tickling her. Contrary to what she had previously thought about how he must feel if touched, they had been smooth and warm but very strong. She shakes her head free of thoughts and concentrates on making breakfast.

When she carries the tray back up to Draco's room, she is surprised to find him out of bed and wincing as he tries to dig in his bag that had been sitting by the door.

''Oy you great bloody fool! What are you doing out of bed!? You'll hurt yourself again! Your insides aren't healed yet!'' Draco grimaces in pain but keeps his fingers twisted tightly around his bag. Ginny sets the tray down and rushes to help him back to bed as he holds his ribs.

Once he is back in bed, he pulls his bag into his lap and carefully starts digging through it. As Ginny sets up his tray she watches him out of the corner of her eye, making sure he doesn't try anything. Suddenly she realizes that his arm is bleeding through the bandages again.

''Oh no... Your arm. Its bleeding again...'' She grabs a roll of bandages from the bed-table and pulls his arm to her lap against his complaints. ''You shouldn't have been trying to tickle me you dolt. You'll never heal if you keep pulling stunts like this.'' He whimpers as she carefully pulls the old bandages off and finds his wounds festering a bit underneath them.

''Oh shush you. You'll be alright...'' Ginny's tone is a great deal softer now that she can see his arm. He goes still at her words and just watches as she unwraps his wounds. Draco is positively astounded at the gentleness of her touch as she cleans his wounds. He finds himself watching her face as she tends him. A few strands of her silky, strait, wine colored hair fall across her face and he barely sees her blushing when she realizes that he is watching her. She tucks the hair behind her ear again and she pulls out another bandage to wrap his arm. She glances up at Draco with a soft blush dashing across her cheeks.

''Silly Ferret. You should have known you would hurt yourself again... Whats in the bag thats so important that you couldn't wait for me to get back?''

''Well. My wand for one thing, so I can heal myself. And...'' Draco grimaces as the bandage pulls one of the wounds open. ''Careful woman thats my skin there! .... And My sketchbook so I wont be so bloody bored anymore.'' Ginny looks up at him in shock and suspicion.

''I didn't know you could draw...''

''Well now you do. I'm sure there are a lot of things you don't know about me Weaslette.'' He pulls his sketchbook out and sets it on the bed next to him, digging for his wand now. ''Its not like its weird or anything. A lot of people can draw... Here let me look at my arm before you wrap it again.'' He pulls his wand out and pulls his arm from her light grasp, muttering over his wounds searchingly for a moment with his wand before finally breaking into a grin.

''I should have known... They wouldn't heal because he poisoned the nails in the ropes. Bastard...'' Draco mutters an incantation and the thick green puss that had been oozing from the holes disappears. He holds his arm out for her again and grins.

''There. Now you can heal it.'' Ginny pulls out one of her mother's potions and smears it over the holes gently. Draco isn't wincing nearly as much now and she waits for a moment as the potion dries on his skin and falls off to the floor in a fine powder, leaving perfectly smooth skin behind it. She looks up at him is shock.

''But... We checked for poison...'' Draco smirks at her innocence.

''You wouldn't know this poison. Trust me. Here, do this arm now.'' He holds his other arm out to her and she undoes the bandages, repeating the same process as before. When they finish, she just looks at him suspiciously and shakes her head in thought. She stands to leave but he grabs her wrist.

''No... please stay. Its dreadfully boring in here... I promise not to be to much trouble. Besides, I wanna draw you...'' He flashes an embarrassed grin. Ginny has never seen him actually smile before. Normally he sneers or smirks... but never smiles. She sits in her chair at Percy's desk.

''Oh, alright. But only cause I have nothing better to do.'' She says. Draco tucks his wand away again and pulls out a sketchbook from his bag. He digs around a bit more and pulls out a set of charcoals. Ginny leans forward slightly. ''Oh! Are those charmed charcoals? I've seen them around, I've never been much of an artist but I've always wanted to try them...'' She blushes and looks down at her knees, embarrassed by her outburst. Draco just looks at her with a cocked eyebrow and emotionless mouth.

''I'd let you if these were the charmed ones but they aren't. These are plain charcoals. They are much harder to get in the wizarding world and much harder to work with.'' Ginny's blush deepens slightly.

''Oh... Why do you use those instead of the charmed ones?'' Draco frowns down at his paper and begins making marks.

''I prefer to feel what I am drawing instead of blindly drawing a perfect picture. It's the imperfections that make it real art. Now shush so I can concentrate.'' He turns his attention to his sketch again and Ginny nods. She is absolutely amazed at this side of Draco. She never knew that he could be so... pensive. She tucks her feet up under her bottom and tilts her head over on her shoulder, watching his severe concentration with a half smile. He glances up and takes a double take with his eyes wide.

''Perfect!'' He exclaims, franticly scribbling and glancing up at her repeatedly as he draws. ''Stay just like that...'' He sketches furiously and Ginny tries to be still. She cant help but grin at his excitement and she watches as his face grows happier in his quick sketching. They sit together in the same way, speaking briefly every once in a while until about 9 o'clock (am) when Ron comes looking for her.

''Oy Ginny! Are you still in bed? Its time for breakfast...'' Ginny and Draco jump as Ron's voice sounds from the hall. Draco quickly stashes his sketchbook under the blankets as Ginny answers.

''I've already eaten. Go ahead without me.'' Ron pokes his head in the room and glares when he sees its occupants.

''What are you doing in here?'' He demands snidely. They both scowl at Ron and Draco opens his mouth to answer but Ginny beats him to it.

''We're talking. Not that you actually care.'' Ron just glares at the two of them and Draco pipes up.

''Whats the matter weasel? Afraid the big bad Malfoy is gonna steel your baby sister away?'' Ginny suppresses a grin at his taunt. He sure does like calling himself that... She thinks to her self as Ron glares between the two of them.

''I'm not afraid of Ferrets Malfoy... Come on Ginny... breakfast.'' She glares hard at him.

''No! I don't want to go I am perfectly comfortable where I am thank you very much. Go eat with the rest of the family. I'm sure I won't be missed.'' Ron's jaw drops for a moment but his face soon grows hard and he glares daggers at the pair.

''Fine!'' The door slams. Draco looks over at Ginny, who is still glaring at the door.

''Well done weaselette.'' Ginny just repositions herself in the chair.

''You don't have to call me that you know...'' Draco looks up at her with slight surprise.

''Well? Are you gonna finish the drawing or not?'' Draco recovers with a smirk as he pulls the sketch out.

''I had just finished it when the Neanderthal came in.''

''Well can I see it then?'' Ginny asks, leaning toward the bed.

''No.'' Ginny looks slightly indignant.

''Why not?'' Ginny pouts and Draco breaks into a grin of amusement at that.

''I don't show my work to anyone.''

''Well its a picture of me isn't it? I have to make sure you didn't draw me naked or something.'' Ginny glares at him and Draco bursts into laughter, surprising Ginny. It wasn't his usual evil laughter. No... This was a rich melodic laugh, bubbling up from deep in his chest. A sound of pure mirth.

''Alright little phoenix. Here.'' Draco hands her the sketch of herself and she smiles smugly at him, liking his new name for her. She turns her eyes down to the picture and gasps.

She doesn't know how the girl in the image could possibly be her. The image looks like that of an angel. The smile being one of pure contentment and the light dashing across the girls face lighting her features in a very flattering way. The girl is surrounded by simple things. The same things that surround Ginny now but the girl... seems almost out of place there. How had he caught her thoughts of not belonging so very thoroughly in the sketch? And all on his own talent! Without charmed charcoals! Ginny looks up at Draco, noting the pink in his cheeks and the shy grin on his lips.

''Draco...'' She whispers in awe.

''I know its not good or anything... its just a sketch... You are the first person who has ever seen my work other than my mum...'' Ginny shakes her head and she smiles at him.

''Draco... Its absolutely beautiful.'' She says sincerely. He looks up in disbelief but when he sees the dreamy look in her eyes he is put to rest. He takes the sketch back a bit sharply.

''Yeah. Well... don't get used to seeing my work. You are the first and last to ever see it.'' Ginny looks hurt at first but when she sees the pleased smile on his face from her praise she stops. He was just covering his arse. Ginny chuckles.

''Get some sleep today Dragon.'' Ginny stands and walks to the door. ''Oh and by the way, I'm going to Diagon Alley tomorrow so I wont be here to bring your meals. Bill will take care of you tho.'' Draco sits up a little straiter in his seat.

''Oy, Weasley. Could you do me a favor?''

''Depends on the favor Malfoy.'' She turns back to him and smirks with one hand on the door. Draco sneers back at her.

''Get your mind out of the gutter Little Phoenix. I just need a new sketchbook and some more charcoals. I was wondering if you could order them under your name while you're in Flourish and Blotts.'' Ginny relaxes slightly.

''Why not under your name?''

''Because I'm sort of trying not to get found, thats why. I've got the galleons for it.'' He says reassuringly. Ginny looks at him critically for a moment.

''Oh, alright. Write down what you need and I'll get it for you.'' Draco grins properly again.

''Good. I'll have it for you when you bring me lunch.'' Ginny rolls her eyes and steps from the room, closing the door as she goes.