Posted: Oct. 23, 2004

Chapter Three: Man and Wife

It was one o'clock in the morning on January first as Angelina sat in front of the vanity mirror in the bedroom of the newest Malfoy Manor, built for her and Draco. She had been Mrs. Draco Lucius Malfoy for at least nine hours and it wasn't sitting with her well. She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her this whole situation was wrong, but what could she do? She thought as she played with the rope around her housecoat.

Soon Draco entered the room, his hair was damp from his shower and he was wearing a pair of silk purple pajamas that clashed with his slate gray eyes. He looked over at Angelina, but said nothing as he walked over to the bed, turned down the sheets and climbed in.

Angelina continued to stare at herself in the mirror. She drifted in and out of random thoughts, but mostly she thought about the day's event. Many of Angelina's relatives had showed up for the wedding, she never doubted they would, but what left her heart aching, was the absence of her friends. In fact, only one showed up and it had been George, but Angelina was certain that he hadn't told the others where he was headed for the day.

She met up with him at the reception, between her and Draco's act of playing the happy couple. "You look beautiful today, Angie," George told her.

She had given him a half-hearted smile. "Thank you." She hugged him. "I don't know how long I can do this," she confessed in a whisper. "How could my parents do this to me? Why was this union so important?"

"Maybe they just wanted you to be happy," he guessed as they pulled away from each other and took a seat at a nearby table.

"Don't play. How could I possibly be happy married to a man - a boy, in fact, that I don't love?" She played with a napkin on the table nervously.

"I don't know, but you looked pretty happy with him a little while ago," George commented, not meaning to sound insulting.

Angelina threw her napkin down on the table. "That's a lie!" Several heads turned her way. She smiled at them and gave them a forced chuckle, once again playing the part of the happy bride. She then swiftly turned her head back to George and leaned towards him so only he could hear. "That spectacle you just witnessed, was nothing more than an act and you know it," she said in an angered whisper. "I love Fred."

George leaned towards her as well. "I know that. I'm just saying, look at Malfoy's parents. You know that's an act too, a bad one at that, because you can tell they don't love each other. But for some reason, you and your new husband pull it off just fine." Angelina could tell that now he had meant to sound insulting.

"What are you trying to say, George?"

"What I'm trying to say is, that maybe there's something there that you can't bring yourself to admit." Angelina couldn't understand where this was coming from. Why was George talking to her like this?

"You have known me since I was eleven years old, have I ever, and I mean ever, expressed any interest in Malfoy?"

"That's just it Angie. This," he gestured to their surroundings, "just came out of nowhere. And yes I know this was arranged, but it looks like you didn't even try to fight this." George addressed his concerns.

Angelina tried to explain it the best she could. "My parents love me, and if they had chosen anyone else, I could have simply said no, and I know I would not have to face any kind of punishment. And believe me, there have been moments where I look at Draco and my mind screams 'No.' But then I remember that first day, in my parent's den, with Draco and his father. They only had a few words, but I definitely got the picture, Draco is afraid of his father. And if his own son couldn't convince him, how could I?"

"So you gave up without trying?" George asked her. "That's not like you."

Angelina shook her head. "I really hate to say this, because it's not my style, but some battles can not be won."

Angelina looked defeated in George's eyes, but something inside of him, told him to keep pushing. "Why did it always look like you were avoiding him in school?"

She wasn't expecting that question. "If it looked like I was avoiding someone - you're right I was - but it wasn't Draco. For one thing, he's two years younger than we are." She sat back up. "And he wasn't a threat to me, so he wasn't worth the effort," she defended.

"Is that what you used to tell yourself, Angie?" George said in a low voice.

"What the hell?" She looked at him as if he were a stranger. "This is stupid, George, and I do not wish to discuss this anymore," she said angrily, but then said softly. "So please just drop this, okay?"

George looked down at the table and nodded his head. "I'm sorry. It's just me and the others, we were talking, and Alicia was like-" He was cut off by the touch of Angelina's hand on his.

"No. I can't talk about them." She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "Please, don't let them turn you against me," she begged. "You're all I have left."

"For crying out loud!" Draco's voice boomed, shaking Angelina from her thoughts. She turned around to see him sitting up in bed. "It's two in the morning." He seemed extremely pissed. "I'm not going to bite, so turn off the lights and come to bed." He laid back down and pulled the blanket over his head, and then gave off a loud groan.

Angelina smiled at his frustration, and then George's voice crept into her mind. Maybe there's something there that you can't bring yourself to admit. She pushed the thought from her head as she turned off the lights. She then walked over to the bed where she dropped her robe, underneath it she wore a wife beater and a pair of boxer shorts with smiley faces on it. Both Angelina and Draco slept with their backs towards each other; both wondering why the other didn't complain about sleeping in the same bed.

It was early. Really early. So early that the sun was barely up. Yet it was up enough for some light to peak through the curtains. A beam of light hit Angelina square in the face; she squinted her eyes tightly as she made a mental note to have the curtains fixed. She slowly opened her eyes, but as soon as did, she noticed a figure moving around in the darkness. She was frozen for a moment, cursing herself for leaving her wand on the vanity mirror dresser. She gradually, so as not to be noticed, moved her hand to Draco's side of the bed. "What are you doing?" the dark figure asked callously. Angelina realized it was Draco and sighed in relief.

She then snapped up. "Merlin!" Her voice was shrilled. "What are you doing stalking around in the dark!" she said angrily, as she got out of bed. She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. "It's called sunlight." She turned around and put her hands on her hips. "Say it with me now, sunli-" she stopped.

Draco smiled as he watched Angelina's surprised face. He was standing in the middle of the bedroom with absolutely nothing on. He lifted his arms a bit and made a little circle. "Like what you see?" he asked her, once he had made a full 360 degrees.

Angelina looked up and down at the masculine body that stood before her. She shifted her weight to one side and scratched her head, and said with a straight face, "You need a tan." Draco cocked an eyebrow; it wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for. Angelina then picked up her house robe and put it on. "Put some clothes on before you catch a cold," she said, as she walked out the bedroom door.

It was later in the day as Angelina stood looking out the patio window at the winter wonderland that covered the Malfoy estate. The holiday break was coming to an end and she would be heading back to America to finish her studies. Draco would also be heading back to school to finish his last term at Hogwarts.

"I hired a gardener, to keep the grounds while we're away," Draco stated as he entered the living room with a book in his hand. He sat in an armchair near the fire, and opened the book.

Angelina took a seat in the armchair across from him. "A gardener?" he nodded. "So, I'm guessing you wouldn't just hire anyone to look after your home; it must be someone you trust."

He looked up from his book. "Your point?" He seemed annoyed.

Angelina rolled her eyes. "What's the gardener's name?"

"Grayson," he replied as his eyes drifted back down to his book. "Is there anything in particular you would like grown on the estate?"

Angelina thought for a moment, but shook her head. "No, nothing comes to mind, so anything you pick will be fine." She stared at Draco for a while and realized that he wasn't actually reading the book, but staring at something on one of the pages. "What are you reading?"

Draco immediately closed the book. "Nothing you would care about." He then got out of his seat and headed towards the door. He then turned back around. "What time do you plan on leaving tomorrow?"

Angelina turned her head towards him. "Actually, I was thinking about heading out tonight."

"Can't wait to get away from me already, huh?" he asked, but didn't stay around for any kind of response.

OoOoO

It was late May when Angelina arrived back at the Malfoy Manor. She soon discovered that Draco had put up some wards around the estate, making it impossible to Apparate into it, making her journey a little longer than she thought it would be.

When she was done unpacking, she explored the house since she hadn't had any time to do so before she had left for school. It was a beautiful house, although it had an eerie feel to it that Angelina couldn't quite place. She was on the second floor checking out each of the rooms, when she came to one that was locked. She figured she would ask Draco about it later.

When she was done exploring the house, she stepped outside to explore the estate. "I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to be here." Angelina suddenly heard a voice say from behind her.

She jumped when she heard the man. "Who are you?"

"I'm Grayson, the groundskeeper here, and you're on the Malfoy's property." The thirty-something year old man explained to her.

"It's okay. I'm Mrs. Malfoy." It was still odd calling herself by that name.

"Oh, I'm sorry Madam Malfoy. I didn't recognize you. Your pictures in The Daily Prophet did not do you justice," he complimented her, hoping not to anger her.

"It's okay, really." She smiled politely. "So you're Grayson? Well, it's very nice to meet you." They shook hands. "I was just about to head inside for some tea, would you like to join me?"

"Oh, no thank you. I still have plenty of work to do."

"I beg to differ. The grounds look great," she said as she took another look at her surroundings and walked over to a row a bushes and laid in front of them in neat little rows of two were flowers. "Tulips?" she examined as she picked one.

"Yes, Master Malfoy specifically instructed that the only flowers that were to be grown were tulips."

Angelina brought the flower up to her nose. "Strange," she thought aloud, and then looked back to Grayson. "So how about that tea? I really would enjoy the company." And this time Grayson accepted.

OoOoO

It was late in the evening and the sun was beginning to set, as Angelina walked around Diagon Alley picking up some things that she needed. Her shopping was long finished when the sun had finally made its descent, yet she continued to walk down the alley, not really sure where her feet where carrying her, as she walked through the crowd of people.

When she finally decided to take a break from her walking, she realized she was across the street from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. She smiled to herself as she saw Fred and George come from out of the back room and into the main area of the shop. They were laughing and, for Angelina, it was such a good sight to see. Then someone else came out of the back room, it was a woman that Angelina had never seen before. She watched as the woman approached Fred and lovingly wrapped her arms around him. She continued to watch as Fred accepted her embrace, and greeted her with a kiss on the forehead.

Angelina took a sharp intake of breath; it had not even been six months yet and he was already over her, while she felt she was nowhere near being over him. As she blinked back her tears, she wished she had listened to George and had stayed away.

Not being able to watch anymore, she slowly began to walk away, but something was wrong, very wrong. She heard a scream among the crowd and while others ran way from it, others ran towards it. Angelina was confused as to what was going on until she saw lights from wands casting spells. People were still running and someone bumped into Angelina, causing her to lose her balance, she fell to the ground and dropped the bag of the items she had bought that day.

She stood back up and went to reach for her wand. "Ah, ah, ah." Angelina looked up to see a Death Eater standing before her with his wand pointed in her direction. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said playfully.

Angelina slowly released her wand. The Death Eater started walking closer, making Angelina retreat until she ran into the wall of a building. She was trapped. She could see that the Death Eater before her was not alone as others seem to invade the streets of Diagon Alley. "It's a shame really," the Death Eater spoke, "having to kill someone so beautiful."

Angelina watched as he lifted his wand ready to cast the spell that would kill her. She closed her eyes to await the inevitable. "Stop!" Angelina heard a thunderous, yet almost frantic voice. She opened her eyes to see what was happening.

"Why?" asked the one who was about to kill her.

A Death Eater emerged from the darkness and gracefully lifted his hand to his white mask and slowly pulled it off while looking towards the one that had questioned him. "Because, she is my wife." The Death Eater nodded his apology as he lowered his wand and backed away into the shadows.

Draco turned towards Angelina, who was almost in a state of shock. He grabbed her by the arm and shook her out of it. She stared at him with wide eyes. "I don't know why you're so surprised. You knew this is what I would become ," he said with a cynical tone. "Go home. Stay there," he ordered as he let go of her arm. Angelina opened her mouth to speak. "Now!"

Angelina realized that this was not the perfect time to disagree with Draco, so she simply nodded her head and Apparated. What was she doing here? Draco thought as he looked at his surroundings. He then spotted the Weasleys' shop. Of course, he thought as he walked towards the store.

To Be Continued. . .

Preview Of The Next Chapter:

The sight of her covered in blood, accompanied by more of it on the sheets, instantly threw Draco into a world of panic. "Angelina!" he screamed as he shook her.