Chapter 18 - In Eternal Whiteness
Ginny left the "Love" room and walked back to room 16 of the Blue Shutter Inn. It was nighttime already, and her head hurt from thinking through all her worries. She fell onto the bed. Thoughts raced through her mind, and she had a great need to cry. Was she destined to be in love with a man who couldn't be with her? And was she really going to love Draco? Ginny scoffed to herself. Her friends would never accept him, her family would worry that he'd treat her badly and he was an arrogant prat.
Then her eyes softened. Draco was proving to be more caring than she had thought. He had carried her up the hill when she fell, had given her his cloak when her clothes tore and had slept on the couch for several nights. She hugged a pillow. Draco may not have been the most tactful person in the past, but at least she knew anything nice he had said was sincere. His confidence was kinda sexy. And that body...
She stopped herself. What was she thinking? She couldn't fall for him even if she wanted to. They couldn't be together, and she wouldn't have her heart broken. But the way that he kissed her...
"Thinking of me?" Draco smirked, pointing to the pillow Ginny was currently wrapped around.
"No," she replied defensively, throwing the pillow to side and off the bed.
"It's all right." He grinned. "I don't mind."
Ginny shook her head and went to her dresser for a comb. She combed her hair as she returned to the bed, and Draco sat next to her. Laying back, his arms rested behind his head. His pose reminded her of a sprawled, sleepy cat. "Comfortable?" she asked.
Draco's room had continued years past the train station. Was he destined for a life like the one he had seen? It had seemed to be such a difficult journey to him. Infuriating his father, giving up his place in the company, forging a life on his own...Was all this trouble just so he wouldn't marry Pansy or was it for something else?
Draco stopped his daydreaming for a moment to watch her comb her hair to a shine. Someone else? he thought.
Just when Ginny thought he hadn't been listening, he spoke. "Yes, I think so." He continued to stare at her blankly.
He could reason that it was for himself, that he needed to be independent, to create a life of his choosing. He could argue that he hated his father, hated Pansy, and that he was just avoiding them, but he could have worked for the Ministry, like in the "Independence" room, for that.
"Are you all right?" She tilted her head and moved her face into his line of vision until he was forced to focus on her.
This was different.
"I asked if you were all right."
That seemed to register with him. If it was or wasn't for Ginny, he couldn't say.
"Oh." He nodded. "Yeah."
She was so beautiful. From the top of her head to the tips of her delicate toes, she was beautiful.
Guys had been saying things like that about Ginny Weasley since fifth year, but Draco had always scoffed at that. He had never really looked at her (why would he?), which was unfair, but made it a lot easier for him to dislike her. He hadn't wanted to see her, but now...now he wasn't sure if he wasn't to go a day without at least a glimpse of her.
Draco found himself touching her hair. It was so soft.
Ginny looked at him curiously. "Are you sure you're all right? What are you doing?" Draco was still running his fingers through her hair. "Malfoy?"
He shook his head. "Draco," he said. "Call me Draco."
He hadn't stopped playing with her hair when he said it, never shifting his eyes to her face, but Ginny felt a strong chill throughout her body. She trembled. She'd never seen him like this before. It scared her but excited her at the same time.
When she spoke, her voice was hushed. "Draco."
Draco's intense eyes shifted to hers. He scooped her body into his arms, pulling her closely against him. His hand wove through Ginny's hair as he looked into her eyes. Adrenaline ran through her body as she cupped his cheek with her hand. She knew he wanted her, so why was she so scared? She closed her eyes to kiss him, but then froze.
He felt it, but didn't understand. Maybe she didn't really want this. He looked into her tortured eyes and sighed. Releasing his hold on her, Draco left the bed and stood up. He ran a hand through his hair and was about to go sit on the couch when he realized that Ginny was standing next to him. There was a determined look in her eyes that conveyed more than she was able to say. Holding the back of his neck, she kissed him.
A flood of emotion ran through him as she wrapped her arms around him. He loved her, and even if he couldn't tell her, he'd show her the best he could. Draco's lips just brushed hers, making her shudder, and a little sigh escaped her lips as he kissed down her neck and across her collarbone. She kissed him softly. Shivers ran down his spine as her fingertips traced his sides and arms. He sat them both down on the bed, and she removed his shirt.
Sighing, she moved her hands across his chest. He kissed her, then his eyes met hers with a question as he thumbed a strap of her dress. He kissed down her arm. "It's okay," she whispered to him.
He kissed up to her ear. "You sure?"
Ginny's voice lowered to a sultry whisper that no one would have expected from her. "Draco..." She kissed him and turned so he could see the lacing on her dress to untie it. "...it's okay."
The sound of her voice sent a chill through him. Where had this seductress come from? He unlaced her dress, noticing the curve of her back, and the dress slid off her shoulders. He marveled at her softness, the freckles across her shoulders, the curve of her waist. He pulled her against him and nibbled across her shoulder.
Ginny had never felt this way before. Heat spread through her body at his touch and she gave into the pleasure he gave her. She wrapped her arms around him as he turned off the light.
Ginny woke up to sunshine streaming through the window. Yawning, she stretched her arms. There was one thing this morning that was different from other mornings. This morning, she had woken up cuddled in the arms of Draco Malfoy. She giggled. Draco Malfoy. She kept repeating his name in her mind, as if the repetition would keep this feeling forever. Draco Malfoy. She giggled again.
"And what could possibly be so funny this early in the morning?" Draco asked, pushing hair out of his eyes. After noticing the extremely cuddly position he was in, he drew away and propped himself up on his side.
Ginny pulled the bed sheet up to her shoulders and grinned. "Good morning," she said cheerfully.
Draco looked her up and down. "You're choosing to be modest now?"
She stood up, taking the sheet with her. "Well, you don't just expect me to parade around naked, do you?"
Draco grabbed a towel, preparing for a shower. "I don't see why not." He smirked almost slyly at her before locking himself in the bathroom.
Raising her arms up as wings, Ginny fell backward onto the bed. Was anything going to change after what happened last night? What did Draco really feel toward her? Was she merely an object of his desire or did he really care about her? She had tried to suppress her feelings for him. A life with Draco would be nearly impossible, yet... She remembered the "Love" room. He did love her, or, at least, he would. How would she feel about him if she gave into her emotions? Even now, her heart raced when she was near him. Would anything change if they went home?
Draco appeared from the bathroom, mopping his hair with a spare towel. Ginny took her turn in the shower as he got dressed in the main room. Sitting on the couch, he pulled a small piece of parchment from his pocket. "Your turn." His mother always had been crafty. She had sent him to Lyseria to teach him a lesson about himself and she'd done it. He knew what he had to do now. It was time to go home.
Ginny wore her yellow dress, and her combed, wet hair began to dry as it lay upon her shoulders. She turned toward the mirror as she smoothed her dress, and she then turned to Draco. "Ready?" she asked.
"Of course." Draco stuffed the scrap of parchment into his pocket as he stood up. He and Ginny walked into the octagonal room. It was different now. The words marking the doors were gone, and the riddle across the top of the room was illuminated as if by firelight.
Ginny turned to Draco. "Do you think this is it? Do you think we'll go home now?"
Draco spoke in a slightly bitter tone. "That anxious to get rid of me, huh?"
The way she looked at him conveyed her mixed feelings as she placed her hand softly on his shoulder. "Well, I just...I..."
"Come on." Draco walked away from her hand and toward a blank door. He looked back at her with impatience. "Come on!" Ginny hurried in behind him as he opened the door and walked inside.
The room was white. Nothing was different about the beginning of this room than the beginnings of the others. Well, nothing except that this time they were together. And, this time, the room wasn't changing. Endless whiteness, nearly blinding in its clarity, surrounded them. Ginny stood out in her yellow dress and Draco more so in his black cloak, but nothing else could be seen. She looked at him with a face that tried to mask her worry. "Why isn't it changing?" She looked around for a sign of something, anything, in the room. "What are we going to do?"
Draco stood for a moment, then put out his hand for her to take. "Come with me." She complied. They walked aimlessly for what seemed like an eternity. Ginny was about to speak when they saw a black dot in the distance. Draco watched open mouthed as she sprinted forward. "WEASLEY!" he shouted to the girl so far away, already she couldn't hear him. He ran after her. Slowly the dot came into focus. Ginny had stopped, confused, and he caught up.
"The Wooden Duck", Lyseria's bar, was sitting on a field of white emptiness. It looked exactly as it had, except Ginny was already there. Both Draco and Ginny faced her. It wouldn't have been very odd to see another Ginny in this room, considering the past ones, but this time she was looking straight at them. She wore a white dress with a bright red sash around her waist and red trim around the sleeves, collar and skirt. Her hair was behind her in a single braid, and she looked five or six years older than Ginny did. Ginny had a necklace around her neck and a baby in her arms. She looked at them with a peace and amusement that unsettled Draco. "It's okay," she told Ginny. She turned to Draco who was looking at her suspiciously. She smiled knowingly. "Settle down, Draco. You know, you'll end up with wrinkles if you keep scowling like that. Come on in, I'll send you home." She walked into the bar, leaving the two of them outside.
Ginny turned to Draco. "That was me...talking to me..."
Draco grinned. "You'd almost think we'd be used to stuff like this by now."
She laughed. "Yeah, almost. Still it's odd to experience that..."
"We're going home." When she looked up into his eyes, he looked away. He knew what she wanted to ask him. "I don't know what will happen. Who ever really knows? You know our families and friends...how hard everything would be..."
"Yeah." A few tears slipped from her eyes. "This is it, isn't it?"
When he didn't answer, Ginny turned away, not wanting to cry in front of him. He put his arm around Ginny's waist and pulled her close to him. "That baby was mine, you know. The baby you were holding." Ginny nodded, wiping tears from her cheeks. It was impossible not to know that baby was his with those eyes. He tilted her face up to him. "Don't worry about what happens. This is us. This is now." Ginny poured every bit of feeling - anger, frustration, love - everything she had ever felt for him into that kiss. They broke apart and opened the door to the bar.
Ginny sat at one of the bar stools with the baby, and she smiled when she saw them come in. "Ready to go home?"
Draco was oddly silent then, but Ginny lifted her head and spoke for them. "Yes. We're ready."
Ginny nodded at the two of them and lifted her wand. Speaking clearly and moving her wand through a spell neither Draco nor Ginny knew, she finished by pointing at them. With an explosion of yellow light, they were gone.