A/N - Some smut at end. There is also a rather long author's note at the end (but since the chapter part is one of my longest, I don't feel too guilty about it!) in which I answer several reviews. There were a lot of reviewer questions this time, and it's perfectly understandable if you want to skip this, but I want EVERYONE who plans on reviewing any of my chapters to at least read the last paragraph (says "Everybody else" in front of it).
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Chapter 50
"...and then you guys showed up, wands blasting and one of you very nearly got me! I would have had him if you would have stayed out of the way." Harry said a bit moodily as the Aurors stood at his bedside, one of them taking notes diligently as the other questioned him. They had been questioning him for the better part of half an hour, and their insistence on asking the same question three or four different ways to try to get him to change his answer or contradict himself before moving on to the next was really starting to piss him off.
The Auror narrowed his eyes testily at the implication that they had interfered, but went on as if he hadn't caught it. "Back to the other Death Eaters... defending yourself was of course understandable since they were attacking you and your party, and of course lawful under the Defense act... but we must question the manner of their deaths..."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "I don't recall there being any rules as to how you can kill the bastards."
"Perhaps not, but never the less... six of them were killed in very... questionable manners... I mean it seems totally uncalled for that they were not only castrated using some kind of incineration spell, but also... well I don't even know what it was that you used on them that left them in that state... and the three behind Quimbly's... I mean there were three of them there, right? They were still trying to verify the number when I left... did you do that with your bare hands?" he asked, looking vaguely queasy at the memory of the scene.
Harry let out a little growl that didn't sound entirely human, actually managing to startle Pomfrey, who had been working on fixing up a wound on his arm. He glared at the Aurors, and they quickly began getting nervous as his eyes started glowing red.
"We were invited!" The Auror said quickly, taking an involuntary step back and nearly treading on his partner's foot.
"Perhaps, but Potter appears to be done answering your questions. He suggested you may wish to consult me directly." He said, glaring at them as if daring them to be as manipulative as they had tried being with Harry.
The Auror cleared his throat uneasily, "Yes... well... in that case I was just asking him..."
"I know what you asked him! I'm not deaf!" He snapped, then hissed in pain as Pomfrey pulled a splinter of wood several inches long out of his arm. "It was personal with those six." He said distractedly, watching Pomfrey working on, years of working at Hogwarts allowing her to remain completely unperturbed by the sudden demonic presence in her patient.
"Personal in what way?" The Auror asked, obviously puzzled.
The demon looked over at him, barely caged rage suddenly burning in his red eyes. "If you must know, they were some of the men who got their jollies from gang raping my hosts and then torturing them to death while I was still inside them! Good enough fucking reason for you?" He spat furiously.
The Aurors' jaws dropped and they just stared at him, struck dumb by the unexpected and shocking response. Everyone else in the room had gone silent as well, now all staring at Harry.
"I think that will be enough questions for now." Draco said softly after a moment, breaking the uneasy silence.
The Aurors seemed to snap out of it. The lead Auror quickly nodded, "Yes... um... we may have more questions later though." He said, valiantly trying to regain his confident bearing.
The demon rolled it's eyes at him, "Whatever. Just don't expect it to be Potter answering. He seems quite fed up with your ceaseless blithering."
"I see... very well then, we'll be on our way..." He said, his composure slipping a bit as the demon just continued glaring at him, his glowing eyes seeming to bore into his confidence. They turned and left a bit more hastily than necessary.
When they were gone, Draco went over, taking a seat in the chair beside the bed and looking over at the demon contemplatively.
"I know, I know." The demon said wearily, "Get out... but I might point out that he did ask me to take over this time." He said as Pomfrey finished and got up, going over to check on McGonagall again. She had been doing well, though she had not yet regained consciousness. From what Pomfrey could tell, she had been hit by at least three stunning spells. She wasn't hurt nearly as bad as she had been less than a year earlier, but she would still take some time recovering.
"No... I actually wanted to talk to you for a minute before you let Harry take over again..."
The demon looked over at him warily, "They really did deserve what they got. I can give you a blow by blow of every single thing each of them did to me if you want. I am, unfortunately, unable to forget..." He muttered darkly.
"Once again not what I wanted to talk about." Draco replied.
The demon blinked. "What then?"
"Why didn't you drop the shield? It can't possibly be just because you liked how I let you slaughter Death Eaters."
Ginny and Hermione were listening covertly from where they sat at McGonagall's bedside, Ron, Pansy and Blaise sitting on the bed on the other side, listening to the conversation with open interest.
The demon glanced around, noting all eyes on him. He shifted uneasily. "Do we have to discuss this now?"
Draco smirked, "Why not? You aren't going to declare your undying love for me and make Ginny all jealous, are you?"
It rolled it's eyes. "Hardly. Don't get me wrong, you're a great master and all... but overall I prefer women. Of course that might be because of all of your male ancestors. Well, not all... actually I quite liked Angus Malfoy. That was Darien's great-grandfather. Bent as a bottle of chips, but he was expected to produce heirs, so he had me possess his body and shag his wife! His wife was quite fond of me actually... he let me out to play once or twice a month... they ended up with six kids... I might not have lent anything more than the physical act to it, but it always made me feel a bit more attached to the family... if only his descendants had share his views on how to deal with me." He said, chuckling. "I had no problem at all being used as a marital aid."
Draco couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head ruefully. "You know I think I could have lived without knowing that... and you're getting off the subject."
He sighed, his expression sobering a bit. "Something most people don't seem to understand about shadow demons is that, to an extent, we are what our masters make us. We aren't inherently evil, despite the connotation usually associated to the title 'demon'... but most of the people who capture us and force us to do their bidding unfortunately are... I mean we each have our own little personality quirks and such, as most beings do... and, granted, we have a predisposition towards being sadistic, but so do cats, and I don't see people ostracizing them!"
Ginny had gotten up, no longer pretending not to listen. She came over, her arms folded irritably over her chest as she stood at the foot of his bed. "I see, so you are just a poor innocent tool! No choice but to follow their orders, and you really don't want to do bad things..." She said in a false commiserating tone. Then her eyes narrowed angrily and her voice lost all softness, "You expect us to believe that bullshit?" she snapped.
"It's more than orders. Certain aspects of our Master's disposition are imposed upon us. You really think I wanted to kill Draco? Ok, Darien I could have done without, but that's just because he has knowledge that could obviously be used to kick my arse, and was therefor very dangerous to be leaving about, but Draco is the last Malfoy! You think I want to depend on that bastard Lucius to father another one? Like he gives the women he shags a chance to bear his children! Even if he didn't wear that contraceptive charm all the time, he tires of them too quickly and likes killing them far too much. Besides, he prefers Muggle women because they can't fight back nearly as effectively, and he certainly wouldn't let one of those give birth to his heir." the demon said evenly.
"So? If the last of the Malfoys were gone you'd be free, now wouldn't you?" Ginny said hotly.
"Yes. Free. And what would I do then?" It asked softly.
She furrowed her brow. "I don't know. Whatever demons do when they aren't enslaved."
It nodded. "And what is that?"
"How should I know?"
It shrugged. "You've probably got as much of an idea as I do. I've never not been enslaved. My first Malfoy master was there waiting when I came into being. For all I know, he caused me to come into being. I was the first Malfoy shadow demon, and now I'm the last as well. If I should outlive the bloodline, I have no idea what will become of me."
"Why would you want to stay with the Malfoys after all they've done to you?" Draco asked curiously.
The demon dropped his eyes, "They haven't all been complete bastards. I just ride out the bad ones, hoping for another good one to come along who will let me live a little... experience life through hosts... and even if I was willing to leave the bloodline, I don't know of anyone else who has had a demon around since they passed that law all those years ago. People today wouldn't have a clue what to do with me. The only binding spells for us left in existence are in a language that is all but dead. That should tell you something right there."
"This is the same thing as with the house elves!" Hermione said crossly from her seat. "Why don't you just go out and live on your own? You don't need a master to enjoy life!"
It gave a snort, then glanced over at Draco, "Can you get a quill and parchment and make her a little sketch of what I really look like or something?" He looked over at her, "We get some of our power from our masters, which is why their personalities tend to creep in as well, so I'm not really sure I could take a host on my own, and I'm not exactly a treat for the eyes without one. Besides I'm ill equipped to have any kind of sexual relations at all in my native form anyway. Especially not with humans... and frankly they're all I've ever known, and therefore really the only species I find myself sexually attracted to."
"Can't you just live without shagging?" Hermione asked in exasperation.
"No!" The demon and Blaise exclaimed in unison.
Blaise chuckled and Pansy giggled, elbowing him. The demon smirked over at him. Hermione just rolled her eyes, settling back in her chair irritably and giving up.
"So basically you protected me just to keep the bloodline going so you wouldn't have to go it on your own." Draco said with a smirk.
The demon eyed him for a moment. "In part, yes. I also happen to like myself better with you as a master." He said softly, "Being a Malfoy demon, you're a lot better of a person than I've had the opportunity to be bonded to in a good long time. If I had dropped the shield, you could have died. I couldn't have actively protected you against Lucius, and he's a crafty bastard that isn't above cheating. On the other hand, if he took me I knew it would be bad... but you'd have a better chance of survival... and with luck you would either recapture me in time or Lucius would die before you and I'd revert to your control. I mean worse case scenario you'd leave me with him and he'd torture me for a couple of years or so before getting bored and finding some enchanted object to contain me in. It's what the others like him all did. I figured it was worth it to leave you alive."
"I see..." Draco said thoughtfully, eyeing him.
"Ok, then what about me? You killed me! Are you going to claim that you were only following orders and really didn't want to do that?" Ginny said, not buying the demons professions of being coerced, or the implication that it was now somehow 'good'.
"You remember that, do you? Well then you should remember that I didn't kill you. The water did that." The demon said evenly.
Her cheeks colored with anger, "It wouldn't have killed me if you hadn't of taken a swipe at me!"
He nodded agreeable, "True. But you were the one with the bright idea to make for the water in the first place! I hate water!" He grumbled, "Shadow demons are denser than water. We sink."
"I wouldn't have run for the water if you hadn't been chasing me!" she retorted hotly.
He sighed, laying his head back against the pillow staring at the ceiling. "I was bored!" He said in exasperation, "They had me cooped up in a ruby the size of a thumb nail for over twenty years! You can't expect me not to stretch my legs a bit."
"Sure. You were just out for a moonlit stroll and I happened to be there." She said sarcastically.
"I didn't deny that I was sent there."
"So you were just going to toy with me a bit before killing me, is that it?"
"I didn't say that. There was no need for you to die that night. If you had simply let me retrieve what I was sent for you could have lived a full life. Master made me pay for the slip, rest assured. Not that he objected to your death, but it cast too much suspicion on the family."
Ginny furrowed her brow. "What were you sent for?"
He smirked at her, "Now you're a very bright girl, Ginevra. I'll just let you figure that out." He said, folding his hands across his stomach.
Her eyes suddenly widened, her hand going to her stomach. Draco's eyes widened at almost the same moment, darting over to the demon, "You stole my baby?" He growled, springing to his feet and glaring down at the demon dangerously.
The demon shrugged. "Not as if it had much of a chance of being born anyway. The rest of the family was holding off on hiring assassins until they saw if master's plan would work. Rogue demons weren't all that uncommon back then before the Ministry hunts wiped them out. No one could have traced me since the Malfoy family no longer owned shadow demons as far that anyone knew, and it would have been seen as an unfortunate but easily written off incident. You just couldn't go walking about at night in that part of the country then like you can now. If I had failed she would have been dead within a fortnight anyway. They didn't want some bastard having a claim on any part of the family fortune. Besides, you never married her, so it's not like she was a Malfoy. I wasn't required to protect her."
"Maybe she wasn't a Malfoy, but my baby was!"
The demon nodded, "Of course. That's the only reason I was able to take it. It was in danger in her body, so removing it would actually keep it safe."
"How is handing an innocent soul over to the Malfoy family making it safe?" Draco hissed angrily.
The demon grinned. "Never said I handed it over. They never even knew I succeeded. Luckily, they never asked, assuming I'd botched it entirely."
Ginny moved closer, taking ahold of Draco's arm as they both stared down in shock at the demon as it smirked up at them.
"You mean... you have it?" Draco asked softly.
"Well, I was going to save it for a wedding present, but since you asked..." He said, He lifted his hands, holding them folded as if in prayer then slowly opening them like a book.
There, floating just above his palms, was what looked like a bubble the size of a galleon, a tiny blue spark of light bobbing around inside it. "The shield is to keep it intact. Once removed from their bodies, souls tend to start deteriorating after a while if not protected or allowed to pass over into the beyond... especially ones this young."
Ginny moved closer, peering at it with wonder. The closer she got, the more frantically the tiny light's movements became. She reached out tentatively. The second her finger touched the shield it popped, disappearing in a wink. She pulled back, startled as the tiny light immediately darted towards her, but she was far too slow. They all watched wide-eyed as it disappeared straight into Ginny's stomach.
She wavered as a flood of pure happiness rushed through her out of nowhere, making her head spin. She let out a laugh, clutching her hand over her belly as tears of joy trickled down her cheeks. She looked up, still a bit dazed, finding Draco holding onto her to steady her, watching her with concern. She wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him. "I can feel it..." She said breathlessly.
Draco's eyes darted over to the demon, "She's pregnant?!?"
The Demon chuckled. "Not that easy. Darien and Ginevra made the soul... now you two have to give it back a body. And do try to make it relatively soon. It would be silly for me to have saved it and protected it so carefully for over a century just to have you two let it wink out."
Draco held Ginny tight, fighting back tears as Darien's joy all but overwhelmed him. Draco sighed in relief, feeling the ever-present pain in Darien's soul dissipating at last. He couldn't help but smile. It just seemed fitting somehow. Now, their first born would belong not only to them, but to Darien as well.
They all looked over as someone cleared their throat softly. Dumbledore was standing there just inside the door. "I hate to interrupt, but weren't you supposed to be going somewhere?" He asked with a genial smile.
Draco pulled away from her a bit and jerked his watch into view. He stifled a curse, then looked down at the demon. "Ok, get cleaned up, switch back and get back to your room."
The demon's face fell as it sighed.
Draco smirked. "They should have your bed in there by now. Delse was picking out the linens when I stopped by earlier. Go have Harry take it for a test drive." He said with a mischievous smirk.
A brilliant smile lit across his face and he quickly grabbed up the old cloak Ron had given him to use.
Draco smiled down at Ginny, then gave her a kiss, "Come on. We're running late." He said, releasing her and taking her hand.
She swallowed hard, suddenly remembering where he had told her they were going this afternoon. She took a deep breath and nodded, letting him lead her towards the door.
She shot a pensive look at Ron as she passed. He gave her an encouraging smile. When they were gone, he looked over at Blaise with a smirk, "If she gets knocked up soon, mum's head is gonna explode!"
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Ginny stepped out of the fireplace, coughing from the ash that still hung in the air from their arrival. She looked around. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as she was expecting. The room was furnished with fine, but subdued chairs and flower arrangements set about on tiny tables. The paintings on the walls were of pleasant pastoral scenery, and the lighting was warm and welcoming.
"Um... it's nice. Not quite what I expected..."
He chuckled, casting a scouring spell on her to clean the soot off her skin and clothing. "This is the Greeting Shack. We're inside the secondary defenses, but no one can Floo or apparate any closer to the Manor than this. We take a carriage from here." He said, casting scouring spells on himself as well.
"Oh..." She said softly. All this just for an arrival place for those flooing or apparating in?
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, then led her towards the front of the buildings. "That's the meeting room." He said pointing to a door as they passed down a long hallway, then he pointed to a hallway that branched off. "That leads to the rooms for guests. Over there is the dinning room and kitchen for them. There's a ballroom for parties down this hallway..." he said, pointing to another hallway that branched off the main one.
"The guests don't stay in the Manor?" Ginny asked, confused. From the size of the dinning room, they could entertain a good several dozen guests there.
Draco chuckled. "Father trusted very few people enough to let them in through the main defenses. Paranoia is a common Death Eater trait. They are untrustworthy themselves, so they tend to assume others are dodgy as well." He paused as he came to the door at the end of the hallway, glancing down yet another hallway that branched off there. "I can show you the rest when we leave. When I owled mother I said we'd be there at four."
Ginny glanced at her watch. "It's still twenty til!"
Draco chuckled. "Yes, but we still have the ride to the Manor and getting all the way to mother's parlor room... we're going to be late as it is."
She decided to just trust his estimation of their remaining travel time since she had no idea what the grounds were like. She was finding it hard to believe it would take more than twenty minutes still though. They were on his land already, weren't they?"
As he led her outside, she saw a carriage waiting. There were two very large horses strapped into the harnesses, waiting there almost completely motionless. They looked a like Clydesdales but bigger and completely jet black.
He opened the door of the matching jet black carriage and held out his hand, helping her in. She looked around as he closed the door behind them. The inside was very spacious. Even he could stand straight upright without so much as bowing his head, and the benches to the front and back were both deep and wide enough to comfortably seat six people side by side on each.
She quickly took a seat as he looked at her to see if there was a problem, pretending she hadn't been staring around like a yokel. He smirked and sat beside her, then reached over and rapped once on the rich carved wood side of the carriage. The carriage immediately started forward.
She looked out the window as they pulled away, looking at the expansive 'Welcome shack'. It was probably the biggest house she'd ever seen, even larger than Grimmauld Place. There was a huge dome topped structure on one side that was probably the ball room he had mentioned. It was easily bigger than the Great Hall. If she'd been nervous before, it was nothing compared to what she was starting to feel now. She had known that the Malfoy's were relatively well off considering how much money Lucius had always been plying Fudge with, and how expensive everything Draco owned looked to be, but she had no idea...
She watched as the scenery began racing by the windows faster and faster as the carriage picked up speed, though she could only feel a slight swaying to indicate they were actually moving. She brushed her hair back behind her ear, "Um... so are those Muggle horses pulling the carriage?" She asked, trying to distract herself from her nervousness.
Draco smirk. "I don't think so... I have no idea what they are actually, but they haven't changed a bit the whole time I've known them... and they look suspiciously like the same ones that pulled the carriages when Darien lived here..."
Her eyes widened. "You don't even know what they are? Doesn't that make you a bit nervous?"
He shrugged negligently, "They have never been anything but completely loyal. Who cares what they are? I'm sure whichever of my ancestors first employed them in service to the family wouldn't have done it if they posed any kind of threat. Perhaps my father knows... they were the only creatures in our service that he never so much as raised his voice to... I take that as a good indicator that they should be treated with respect." He said with a smirk.
Ginny shifted uneasily, "I'd say!" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Who's driving anyway?" She asked, not remembering seeing anyone since they arrived, let alone near the carriage.
"No one. They know the way."
She blinked, staring towards the front, but there were no windows in that direction. It was a bit unnerving to think they were just blithely riding along, completely at the mercy of two strange, unknown beasts.
He grinned at her apparent unease, then slipped his arm around her, pulling her close, his expression sobering. "Ginny... I think... maybe we should talk about the baby..." He said softly.
She sighed and shifted over, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know..."
"I hadn't really planned on us starting a family until you were at least out of school... but... well as you can imagine, Darien is absolutely ecstatic over the idea... and I must admit that propriety and my desire to see you finish school are really the only reasons I had to wait. And, come to think of it... fuck propriety, and you could still finish school. Snape's already gotten authorization to create a nursery in Slytherin House and hire someone to watch the twins while Pansy is in class next year... one more shouldn't be a problem... So I guess the question is really are you ready for it?"
Ginny rested against him, deep in thought for several minutes before replying. "It's... kind of scary... but... but I can't deny that I really want it..." She said softly.
He grinned, "So is that a yes?"
She lifted her head, a nervous smile on her lips, "Yes..."
He let out a blissful sigh, then reached around, pulling the ring bearing his family crest off of the ring finger of his right hand. He tossed it across the carriage, sending it skittering under the bench opposite them, then pulled her into his lap, kissing her deeply.
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When they were finally approaching the Manor about fifteen minutes later, Ginny was absolutely stunned. She climbed off his lap, where she had sat while they had been enjoying a leisurely, yet intense snogging session, and stared at it through the window as they approached. It looked gargantuan from the moment it came into view. Ginny just kept staring, sure it was some kind of optical illusion. The carriage kept moving forward, but the Manor didn't seem to be getting closer at nearly the rate it should have... but it did keep growing. By the time they finally drew up in front of it, she could no longer see the top or either of the sides through her bay of windows. She let Draco help her out without taking her eyes off it. It was at least several stories high and dotted with towers and parapets, and looked to be nearly the size of Hogwarts! The most notable difference between the two buildings being that all of the intricately carved stonework of Malfoy Manor was pristine white marble that looked like it could have been carved just yesterday, though if Darien had lived here it had to be well over a hundred years old.
"More what you were expecting?" Draco asked softly, startling her out of her reverie.
She looked over at him, blushing as she saw the smirk on his face. "Um... ya... I guess so..." She said meekly, feeling completely out of sorts.
"Well, let's not keep her waiting." He said, offering her his arm. She took it, trying to keep her eyes off the imposing structure as they entered. The inside was in perfect keeping with the out. The ceilings were a good five meters up, Suits of armor and sculptures dotting the hallway before them. There were paintings about every two meters along the walls, but they were all currently covered with fine swaths of crisp white linen.
"Looks like one of the paintings insulted her again..." Draco said with a smirk, noting the linen. "She has the house elves cover them all if she gets in a snit at one of them. She figures they are more likely to keep quiet if mouthing off to her will get the other portraits mad at them for getting them all covered up. They're all Malfoy ancestors, so they don't tend to approve of her drinking and lack of interest in father. They usually stay like this until father comes home and orders the house elves to uncover them, so I suspect it will be some time before any of them see light again."
"Oh..." Ginny said. Sounded like the woman was quite temperamental. The butterflies in her stomach redoubled their efforts.
He quickly led her forward. She just stared around in wonder as they just seem to walk on and on. Everything was so very exquisite it looked as if it should be in a museum. They had far more tapestries, sculptures, and fine looking rugs than she'd seen in her whole life. And the chandeliers... she had already counted over a dozen huge, amazingly wrought crystal chandeliers, and that was just the ones she was able to notice while looking at everything else.
After what seemed forever, he came to a stop in front of a huge set of double doors. He took a deep breath, then shot her a bracing smile before opening them. The room that was revealed was even more breathtaking. She tried to keep her eyes forward, but that was very difficult. There was a crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling that was at least two meters in diameter, not to mention a dozen or so chairs that looked so fine they had to cost a couple hundred galleons apiece at least. There wasn't a single portrait hanging in the entire very large room, the wall space taken up with carvings, sculptures and other kinds of art. There was another chair of a softer, more comfortable looking construction facing the fire. She could see a bit of white-blond hair over the back of it. As she watched, a slender hand reached over and took a half full glass from beside the open bottle of some kind of obviously fine alcohol.
"You're late." Her voice was cool, yet still unslurred. Ginny hoped this was a good sign.
Draco sighed, noting the bottle. "Mother..."
"What?" She asked flippantly, "It would be rude to start the tea without you, and I was thirsty. Stop lecturing. It makes you sound like your father."
Draco winced.
"Why are you late?"
"Ran into father actually." Draco said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Did you kill him?" she asked, her voice containing nothing more than mild curiosity.
"No."
She gave a snort. "It's not an excuse for tardiness then."
Draco glanced back at Ginny, rolling his eyes.
"What was so urgent anyway?" She asked, taking another drink from her glass.
Draco glanced at Ginny, then moved forward, going up to stand beside her chair, "Well, I had a couple of reasons... I had to come now because I wanted to ask you to come with me to the Zabini's for Christmas... Blaise invited me, and asked that I bring you along. Wouldn't do to have you sitting home alone on Christmas."
"I'll see if I'm free." She said in a dull voice. "Anything else?"
Draco shifted uneasily. "I... um..." He glanced up at Ginny pensively. His mother didn't appear to be in that great a mood, and now he was having second thoughts about introducing them, not wanting his mother to embarrass him in front of Ginny.
"Oh do spit it out. It's rude to just stand there stammering." She said, though her emotionless voice had barely managed to mustered a vague hint of irritation.
Draco took a deep breath, straightening a bit. "I'm getting married, mother."
"Do tell." She muttered, the irritation in her voice managing to rise just a bit.
"I brought her to meet you."
She set down the glass with a clang on the glass topped table, "Bloody Hell, what have I told you about warning me when you bring guests with you?!?" She said, starting to rise, trying to make her movements as graceful as possible, though it was obvious that wasn't her first glass.
Draco gave a little smirk. "I've never brought home a guest before, Mother."
She gave a little snort. "No excuse." She said, making her way around the table. She was just as tall, beautiful and elegant looking as Ginny remembered, despite the fact that she was well on her way to inebriation. Her long, flowing white gown made her look even more slender and willowy... though perhaps she had just lost weight.
As she rounded the table, she came to an abrupt stop, looking at Draco. She leaning forward a bit, peering closer,"Whatever is wrong with your eyes, Draco?"
He grinned, "Nothing's wrong with them. That's just how they are now. It's a very long story."
She blinked, pulling back some, "Well make it stop before you make me do something indecorous all over the imported rug. The house elves shant thank you for that!"
He smirked, fishing out his glasses and slipping them on.
Then she turned to Ginny. She stared at her, looking her over from head to foot in a puzzled, appraising look. Ginny was getting quite nervous as she continued looking her over for nearly a whole minute before speaking.
"Certainly doesn't look like a Parkinson. Did her mother shag the cauldron repairman or something? Wouldn't put it past her... she was quite the little tramp in school."
Draco cleared his throat, smirking as Ginny went red. "She's not a Parkinson, Mother. She's... a Weasley. Ginevra Weasley, this is my mother, Narcissa..."
"Black." His mother cut in quickly. She smirked, "Ministry said so. I'd show you the paper they sent, but I'm having it framed at the moment. So... I'm confused. Aren't the Weasleys that redheaded lot your father loathes? I thought he said he picked the Parkinson girl... what's her name? Daisy... Rose... Tulip... something like that..."
"Pansy." Draco said with a smirk, "Well, that's his plan. I have no intention of marrying Pansy, and she doesn't want to marry me either. In fact, right now she's pregnant with Ginny's brother's baby."
Narcissa was staring at him, "So..." She said slowly, "What you're telling me is that you are actually going to try to defy your father's wishes and marry a girl from a family that he totally despises...?"
Draco grinned, "That's a pretty good assessment. Yes."
They were both surprised as Narcissa let out a totally unladylike squeal, wrapping her arms around Draco and giggling. When she let up on him, she grabbed his head, planting a kiss on his cheek, "Oh that's my precious baby boy!" She crowed, "Oh thank Merlin! I was so afraid you would turn out to be a little Lucius!" She laughed and released him.
"And you!" She said, twirling around towards Ginny. Ginny watched wide-eyed, trying not to flinch back as the woman wrapped her in a big bear hug. "I get a daughter!" she said, sounding a bit giddy.
"Um... step-daughter." Draco said.
Narcissa released Ginny, then reached over and swatted his arm. "Semantics! Don't be a buzz kill Draco!" She said, looking a bit unstable. Her eyes went wide. "Oh Merlin! We have so much to do... I have to arrange for the food... flowers... you can wear my old wedding dress..." Then she paused, looking thoughtful, "Scratch that. That old rag brought me nothing but grief... besides, I do believe I incinerated it already." She said with a mischievous grin, looking around quickly. "Diamond!" She called out. After a moment, she stomped her heel on the floor, "Diamond!"
Ginny looked at Draco in askance, but he just smirked at her.
"Can never find them when you want them..." Narcissa muttered, going back to the table and picking up her almost empty glass. Without preamble, she tossed it to the ground a little ways away from them, making it shatter into tiny pieces on the polished black marble floor.
In seconds, a house elf scampered up as if appearing out of nowhere, carrying a cloth and dustpan. She snapped her fingers at it, making it pause, "Yes, Mistress Black?" It squeaked. She had obviously taken the Ministry decree to heart immediately, passing the change on to the house elves.
"Go get Diamond." She ordered briskly.
It eyed the mess, but bobbed it's head, reluctantly leaving it to run off on it's new errand. Another house elf appeared almost instantly, taking up the cleaning as Narcissa turned back to Ginny. "Do you mind if we don't invite anyone from our side? I doubt you'd want any of them there anyway."
"Um.. ok..." Ginny said, taken aback by the woman's sudden enthusiasm. She watched the second elf scamper away. She suddenly realized what was odd about their elves. They were dressed. In clothes. Actual clothes that looked special made for them. "Are your elves free?" She asked, surprised.
Narcissa smirked. "Of course not. Like I could keep this monstrous place up without them! I didn't give them the clothes. Diamond makes them for practice, and if she chooses to give them to other elves when she's done, so be it. It doesn't free them unless it comes from one of their masters. Personally, I can't stand seeing half naked house elves scampering about, and Lucius isn't around to preach about tradition and beat the poor things for it anymore."
"Oh..." Ginny said, wondering who this 'Diamond' was.
Her unspoken question was quickly answered as a positively tiny house elf scampered in dressed in the cutest little dress of royal blue covered with paisleys accented with red dots and a matching hat. As she drew closer, Ginny saw that she was also wearing a necklace. She was no expert, but it looked like a real teardrop shaped diamond the size of her pinky nail dangling from the shiny gold chain. She had a large bound pad of parchment that was almost as big as she was under one arm.
"Mistress Black is wanting her Diamond?" The tiny elf squeaked.
Narcissa nodded, then took ahold of Ginny by the shoulders, shifting her around to face Diamond and pushing her forward a bit. "Wedding dress. Something simple, but elegant. White. None of that bloody fancy-named off-white. Always makes them look soiled." She said, a slight unsteadiness to her poise the only remaining hint of intoxication remaining in the obviously excited woman.
"Yes Mistress Black!" Diamond said, looking excited. She set down her pad of parchment and scampered over, pulling an odd little step stool out from under one of the tables near a full length mirror Ginny hadn't noticed before.
Draco just took a seat and watched with amusement as the tiny elf proceeded to measure every aspect of her, the stool magically expanding and contracting to whatever height Diamond needed. When she was done, she stood back, eyeing her for a moment appraisingly, then snatched up her pad of parchment and took it over out of the way, opening it and laying down on the floor. She slipped a thin case Ginny hadn't spotted before off it's hook at her belt, opening it and extracting several muggle art pencils. Then she flopped down on her belly, diligently beginning to sketch.
Ginny had to smirk. She looked like a little child coloring on the floor, her tiny feet up in the air and crossed at the ankles absently.
"What's she doing?" Ginny asked.
"Why sketching ideas for the dress of course. When she has a few we'll pick one and she'll make it." Narcissa leaned a bit closer, dropping her voice. "Very artistic, that one. Makes clothes better than the stores. Bit of an odd duck for a house elf actually..." She mused, looking down at the elf with a little smirk, "Don't worry, she's very quick. She'll probably have it finished by tomorrow. Thinking about it, forget the caterer. They always take too long and don't take orders well. I'll just have the house elves take care of the food. There probably won't be nearly as many people as at one of our parties anyway. I'll have them gather the supplies and get over to Zabini Manor so they can coordinate with the Zabini elves..."
Draco looked up, "The Zabini elves?" He asked, confused as to why they would be involved.
She looked over at him. "You did say that was where we were going, did you not?"
"For the Christmas holiday, yes."
"Well then the wedding will have to be there. What's your issue with that?" She asked, looking puzzled.
"I said we were getting married, but I didn't mean this minute!" Draco said, chuckling.
"Do you want to marry this girl?" Narcissa asked impatiently.
"Yes!" Draco said immediately.
"Well then you only have until New Year's Eve. That bloody marriage contract becomes legally binding on the first of the year in which the male will celebrate his seventeenth birthday. Didn't you even check into this Draco? Honestly... If only I had known before I got married... but unfortunately I didn't find out about that little loophole until it was too late. I always wonder who I would have picked if I'd found out in time. I always had my eye on that Remus Lupin... sure he's a werewolf, but even if he bit me I think it would have been better than being married to Lucius all these years... not to mention it would have made Lucius so mad he may just have spontaneously combusted..."
Draco was on his feet by this point, "What?!?"
"Oh come now Draco. I'm only human... and he always had such a cute arse... course he still does from what I've seen..." She said, a far off look in her eyes as she smirked.
"Agh!" Draco said in disgust, "Not that part! The time limit part."
Narcissa rolled her eyes, "Merlin... you aren't going to make me go repeating myself all night, are you? You have to be married before New Years or you're legally obliged to marry Pansy. In fact the ceremony will only be a technicality at that point. Catch it that time?" she said, rolling her eyes impatiently. She strode over to the desk, pulling open a drawer and rummaging through it, finally coming up with a scroll of parchment. She walked back over, handing it to him. "Feel free to read up. Your father was going to pay quite a small fortune for that girl. Not that she doesn't deserve it after what he put her through, but it's not like she would actually see any of it."
His eyes widened, "You knew what he did to her? And you didn't do anything about it?"
"Her and about five other girls he was 'interviewing', yes. He made contracts with all of their parents by the time you were one, with the marriage contingent on an elimination process to be carried out once they were at least eleven years of age. I'm sorry to say, I had no legal way of stopping him. Their parents all agreed to it in hopes of getting in on the Malfoy fortune. Amazing what greed will do, isn't it? If you find it disturbing, I don't suggest you go asking around Slytherin, because at least four of the other girls are Slytherins in your year or the one below it. He probably would have even made a contract with the Weasleys just to get the chance to shag little Ginny here before rejecting her if her parents would have allowed it."
Draco looked sick at the thought, shoving the contract into one of the inner pockets of his robe firmly. He would definitely be taking a closer look at that later. He was curious what price Pansy's parents had set on her innocence.
He quickly shook it off, trying hard not to imagine which of the other Slytherin girls his father had 'tested out'. He looked at Ginny, then walked up to her, taking her hands in his. "Are you going to be alright with getting married that quickly?" he asked worriedly.
Ginny was bright red and looking a bit faint. "I guess... I mean I want to marry you... it's a bit sudden... but..." Her eyes widened as a thought suddenly occurred, "Can I marry you? I mean I'm still only fifteen!"
"No problem." Narcissa said, waving it off, "Unless of course your parents don't approve. If they both give their blessings then it would be legal."
"Both of them have to agree?" Draco said a bit worriedly.
Ginny smirked. "Dad won't stop us. At least not if he ever wants to hear the end of it. Mum's nagging can have its good uses as well."
He grinned, pulling her close. "It's settled then. But when? I mean we have the whole holiday."
"No procrastinating, Draco." Narcissa said, wagging her finger at him, "No putting it off to the last minute! You know your father. If he catches wind of this..."
Draco sighed and nodded, "Ya..." He said, looking over at Ginny, "Christmas Eve? That way it wouldn't interfere with everyone's Christmas, but at the same time they wouldn't be all worn out from the festivities already."
She grinned. "Sounds wonderful to me... of course any day would..." she said, leaning up and kissing him. He kissed her back tenderly, pulling her closer.
When they finally parted, she smiled, then it fled. "Oh.. I just remembered... mum said Bill and Charlie won't be coming for Christmas this year!" She said sadly.
"Bill and Charlie?" Narcissa asked curiously.
Ginny nodded, "My two oldest brothers. Bill is a tomb curse breaker in Egypt for Gringotts... he has to work this Christmas. They just found a new tomb, and they want it opened and emptied as soon as possible so they can count it on the books for this year. And Charlie, he's a dragon keeper in Romania... they have a Antipodean Opaleye that's been gippy lately, so he has to stay with it. Normally the others could take care of it, but he's the one who knows the most about the Opaleyes and it's a brooding female... if it doesn't pull through they're likely to lose the whole lot of eggs too. Not to mention that their habitat they keep for the warmer temperature dragons has definitely seen better days, and he's the best at refreshing the warming charms. Them breaking down while he was out in the field is how it got ill in the first place."
Narcissa looked thoughtful. "Well, I want you to let me worry about the guest list. You can tell me if there is anyone in particular you'd like me to invite, but otherwise I think this will probably end up being just a close family kind of thing. Just try to relax and enjoy the holiday and let me take care of everything. I will get you some invitations to take back in case you want to invite any of your little friends."
Ginny and Draco nodded. "Most probably already have plans," Ginny said thoughtfully, "But I have to at least invite Hermione. She said she'll be staying at the school, and she's the only one signed up to stay. I haven't had time to give it much thought, but she'll probably be my maid of honor anyway."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Fine." He said with a humoring smirk.
Narcissa smirked, then clapped her hands together, "Well then... Ginny, it looks like Diamond is done... Draco, be a good boy and look away for a few moments. Don't want you peeking at her wedding dress, even in sketch form!"
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"Those sketches were amazing..." Ginny said as they made their way down the long corridor arm in arm. "I mean she had four of them done in just that few minutes... and they were simply gorgeous! I mean the way she put the..."
Draco quickly held up his hand to stop her, "Now now... don't want mother finding out I have any clue what you will be wearing. I know all I need to. Whatever you picked, it will be an undoubtedly breathtaking dress on an even more breathtaking woman." He said with a smirk.
She blushed and grinned. "What's with that house elf anyway? I've never heard of one who showed that much creativity... and she seemed awfully bold for a house elf... the way she argued with your mum over the placement of the trim... I've never heard such an outspoken house elf!"
Draco grinned. "Her whole line has been getting progressively more odd... I mean look at Dobby. Openly disobeying father like that... and he already knew what father's punishments were like. Diamond is lucky enough not to have met the business end of father's cane yet. She's mum's. Mum's had her since they got married, though Diamond was little more than a baby then. The whole family of house elves was included as part of Mum's wedding present from her parents. Father put the others to use, but Diamond was too young and a bit sickly, so he let mum keep her. He did think her choice of names was a bit inappropriate, but let it pass as a way to keep her quiet."
Ginny furrowed her brow. "Diamond is related to Dobby?"
Draco smirked, "Dobby's little sister."
"Oh..." She said, surprised. It had never occurred to her that Dobby might have relatives that were still owned by the Malfoys. She suddenly looked around, realizing something, "This isn't the way we came in... is it?"
"No... I wanted to show you something before we left, while mum's out of the way. Her greenhouse is huge, so she'll be distracted picking out the flowers for the wedding for a good long while."
Before she could question him further, he stopped, opening a door for her. She went in, looking around. They were in a large sitting room. There were a number of comfortable, yet elegant looking chairs placed about, the few tables between them stacked with neat piles of books. There was also a huge fireplace with snakes carved into the mantle piece with intricate detail, making them look almost alive. It looked a bit more subdued than the rest of the castle, the walls being made of a medium gray stone that did much to tone down the atmosphere, and the flickering torchlight giving the place a more familiar feel.
"Where are we?" She asked curiously.
Draco shrugged, "My rooms."
"Your rooms?" She asked, surprised.
"Yep." He said, taking her hand again and leading her over to the first door on his right. He opened it, "Bedroom," she caught a glimpse of a richly appointed bedroom much like his one at Hogwarts. He moved on to the next, beginning to make a circuit counter clockwise around the room. "Bathroom," Even bigger than the one at Hogwarts, with two others doors off it leading to the rooms on either side, "Training room," It was a room with thickly padded walls and a variety of exercise type equipment and an area towards the back that was obviously meant for the practice of magic spells, with a number of cushions and such about and a large bullseye on the wall.
He led her past the fireplace to the other side of the room and continued his tour, "Kitchenette," It looked like a full fledged kitchen from her point of view! It was bigger than her mums! "Study," It was what she would expect of a study. Lined with overfilled bookcases, everything in dark natural woods, the desk piled with papers and open books, "And lab..." He said, pausing as he opened the last door.
Her eyes widened. It was a Potions lab that looked better equipped than any other she'd ever seen! There were racks and shelving units around the walls, filled with more potion ingredients than she knew existed. "Wow..." She breathed. "You must have every potion ingredient in existence!"
He chuckled, leading her in. "No, unfortunately not. If I did, Blaise would have been cured before the curse even had a chance. I do have an awful lot though. I have about eighty percent of the ingredients listed in that 1001 Magical Potion Ingredients book Snape's always going on about. I grow quite a number of them myself in my greenhouse out back. You'd be surprised how many of the more questionable ingredients you can't buy, but can manage to get the seeds for... actually I did have a couple of the ingredients for that potion in my stocks. Wrote to mother using that stupid code father always insisted we correspond in, and had mother owl what I had over to the twins since the owls going into Hogwarts were bring monitored. My letter was disguised well enough to get out, but even Fudge couldn't fail to notice potion ingredients. And they weren't exactly amongst the more legal ingredients needed." he said with a smirk.
She chuckled, walking along the rows of jars and vials. "It's amazing..."
"Mmhmm..." He said distractedly, taking out his wand. She came over and watched as he started tapping scorch marks left in the stone of one of the open stretches of wall near the back corner of the room that looked to be a testing area. As he lowered his wand, he muttered something softly in elvish, then pressed his palm against the stone. She watched, wide-eyed, as the solid stone wall seemed to melt away, leaving a large, irregular hole in the wall. "This is what I wanted to show you..." He said, holding his hand out invitingly.
She stepped through. There was a single torch mounted to the far wall, which had burst to life as soon as the 'door' had opened, illuminating a smallish room that was quite out of keeping with the rest of the Mansion. The room was furnished only with a mattress laying directly on the floor, the covers laying piled haphazardly at the end of it, an old but solid looking trunk against the wall, and a number of large cushions tossed around in the corner under the torch. Clustered around the cushions, there were untidy piles of books, some laying open, lots of parchment with hastily scrawled notes, spare quills and a waste paper basket that was over full with wadded up parchment. The rest of the room was in a similar state with clothes and such scattered about. The walls, at least what she could see of them, had an oddly unfinished look to them, but much of their surfaces were now covered by pictures and posters.
Draco's pale cheeks colored slightly, "Sorry... was in a bit of a rush leaving for the train. I overslept." He said, whipping his wand around, making the clothes swirl up as if caught in a mini tornado, gliding over and dropping in a pile in the corner.
"You aren't supposed to do magic outside of school!" She said, alarmed.
He rolled his eyes. "The Ministry couldn't see onto these grounds if they wanted to. I've been using magic here since well before I started Hogwarts."
"Oh..." She said softly, then looked up again, "Um... don't the house elves clean in here?" She asked, surprised that they would have left any room in such a state.
He chuckled. "They've never been in here... no one else ever has. I made this room... well, kind of. Accidentally blasted a hole in the wall when a potion went wrong, and I discovered this architectural dead space. Apparently they are pretty common in the Manor. Boosts structural integrity... and makes the place look bigger without having to add still more finished rooms." He said with a rueful smirk. Now that she looked at it more closely, she saw that the shape was a bit irregular, and the ceiling seemed to slope down slightly towards the bed. "I think of this place as my real room... the only one my father couldn't violate with impunity. He doesn't know about it. No one does."
"But then how did you get all of this stuff in here?" She asked, eyeing the large mattress.
He followed her gaze. "Oh that. I just shrunk it, then engorged it once I had it in. Simple."
"But what happened when they found your bed didn't have a mattress? Didn't they ask where it went?"
"No. House elves don't question their masters. Next day I went into my room and there was a new mattress. Simple as that. They probably assumed I used a banishment spell on it or something. Which, admittedly I have done on pieces of furniture before. Need to practice after all."
She grinned. She looked around, examining the wall coverings. Most appeared to be posters from bands, but most of them she didn't recognize. There was some pretty bizarre graphics on some of them, but very few were moving as she would expect. Her eyes came to rest on one of motionless posters. "Hey... isn't that a Muggle group?" She asked, recognizing the band name from a ratty old Muggle cap her father had brought home one time. He was so proud of that cap!
He chuckled. "Most of them are. Spent a couple days in Muggle London summer before last on a lark. Found a little music shop. Some of that Muggle music isn't too bad actually, but I don't have anything that would play it around magic, so I had to settle for posters. Got a couple of shirts too, but father got ahold of all but one of those and incinerated them after a good long bout of screaming about impropriety." He didn't mention the beating that had accompanied it as well.
"I can imagine..." She said, smirking as she spotted one of the few real photographs. It was a wizarding photo of Draco and Blaise that was obviously a couple years old. Blaise had one arm thrown around Draco's shoulders, the other waving enthusiastically. Draco had his arms folded across his chest, glaring at Blaise irritably, as if the boy was embarrassing him.
Draco stepped up behind her, slipping her robe off her shoulders, "Get on the bed. I want to show you something."
She chuckled, but kicked off her shoes and complied. He doffed his own robe and shoes, then followed her, laying down beside her. He raised his wand, pointing it at the torch. "Nox." The torch instantly winked out.
The darkness was more complete than any she'd experienced before, the entrance having sealed itself up behind them. She blinked, not sure her eyes were working correctly. There seemed to be dots of light appearing. As she watched, wide eyed, pinpoints of light began flaring to life all around them, then colors... in moments, it was as if they were out in space, the entire universe surrounding them as they appeared to float through it. There was a patch of stars amidst what looked like an aurora to her left, a whole miniature galaxy spinning slowly to the other side... it was amazing. She giggled as a comet streaked by, looking barely a few feet above her, leaving a glimmering wake that drifted down onto her, tickling slightly as it touched her skin.
"I got bored this summer..." He said softly.
"You did all of this just for fun?" She asked, amazed. The spellwork alone must have been staggering.
"Well... that and... I had the strangest dream..." He said, brushing his finger down her cheek.
She looked over at him. "A dream? About what?"
She could see a smile on his lips in the pale light of the stars, "Let me show you..." He said, leaning over and kissing her. She sighed contentedly as he moved away from her mouth, kissing his way down to the side of her neck, his hand working it's way under her shirt. She had to smile as she felt him unfasten her bra expertly (and one handedly no less!). She took a deep breath and sighed it out happily. She couldn't believe they were going to be married in just a few days! It was simply mind boggling! And then they would start their very own family. She could still feel the faint, but reassuring presence within her. It would be a baby soon... growing in her belly. She bit her lip. Things were going so fast, it was a exciting, but at the same time a bit frightening really...
Draco looked up, feeling the slight nervous tension in her. He grinned, "Just so you know... with men, the effects of contraceptive charms take a couple of days or so to wear off." He said, as if reading her mind. "But then again, that doesn't mean we can't start trying..." He said mischievously.
She giggled, glad to have one less thing to plague her thoughts for the moment. She relaxed some as he finished opening her shirt and settled down, kissing and gently teasing her breasts with his tongue. When he returned to the task of undressing her, she lifted up a bit, letting him pull her pants and knickers off. Then he broke away for a moment, quickly divest himself of the remains of his own clothing, then settling down beside her.
Ginny sighed with pleasure at the feel of his warm skin pressed up against hers. She slid her leg over his hip and he let out a groan. He sat up, sitting almost tailor fashion as he pulled her into his lap. She quickly shifted up and managed to get him inside her easily despite not being very used to the position. He groaned and pulled her tight to him, pressing her down until he was completely inside her.
Ginny shivered as he held her there, buried within her as he tenderly kissed and licked at her neck. She let out a groan of longing as she felt him throb within her. He eased his grip on her, letting her start to move as he continued to kiss and caress her. She opened her eyes and watched him. His hair almost seemed to glow in the faint light. Even in the dark, the mix of love and lust in his eyes was unmistakable. She groaned again, speeding up as she watched him, the crazy play of stars slowly swirling behind him. It gave the whole experience an almost mystical feel.
Despite the fact that this position didn't let him move much himself, the sheer novelty of the situation usher her peak on. She cried out as it crashed over her. Draco groaned, pulling her tight against him again, but wasn't quite there yet. As soon as she had relaxed a bit, he rolled them over, settling on top of her without even slipping out. She expected him to take her hard and finish quickly after that much stimulation, but when he started thrusting into her it was slow, deep and exceedingly tender.
He captured her lips, kissing her lovingly. As her breathing settled down a bit she let the kiss deepen. In no time at all, they were lost in a deep liplock, their tongues caressing eachother as he moved inside her. Their passionate union felt like it went on like that forever as time seemed to stand still, the stars wheeling overhead heedlessly. Ginny's second peak snuck up on her so subtly that it took her completely by surprise. She broke the kiss, crying out loudly as her body tensed and shook.
Draco groaned, unable to handle it. He buried himself in her as he crashed over the edge as well.
They lay there, both reeling from the incredible high for a while. When their hearts had finally slowed back down near normal Draco sighed, cuddling up closer to her. "That was just like my dream... only better..."
"You were having dreams about shagging out in the open under a surrealistic night sky?" she asked, highly amused.
He chuckled, "Not exactly... I dreamt about you... about making love to you while we drifted through the vast reaches of space... and making you mine... when I woke I felt an incredible loss... but I didn't understand it since you and I had never really been together... and... well, you were a Weasley..." He said with a smirk, "But the memory persisted... That's why I tried recreating the setting of my dream at least... It was comforting laying here and watching all of this... remembering the dream. Of course I realize now that the stars were just metaphorical... it's you that has become my whole universe..." He said softly, gently kissing her neck.
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A/N - BLOODY HELL!!! I took my computer in last week for what? Jollies? They tell me my power supply is just fine... ok, then why did it die? Deader that a doornail!!! I was literally running the last read through on this chapter, less than fifteen minutes from posting and PING! Power gone bye bye. I seriously thought I somehow kicked the plug out of the power strip or something. Nope. Power supply just gave up. I take it in... "Looks like your power supply is dead." NO SHIT SHERLOCK!!! Boy, I didn't see that one coming! So I ended up having to pay $80 to get a new one installed, but I was so glad it didn't take the motherboard with it (like my sister's did) that I just went ahead and paid it. Not that I can afford it (Especially since I was so stressed about if it was recoverable, I skived off work to take it in!), but I guess some people will just be getting like macaroni pictures or something from me for Christmas this year! ;) And before you ask, no I have not finished my shopping, so that is a possibility! How long do those take to dry? I think I have time... Guess I have to see if I can scrape together enough money for macaroni and paint... ;) I was hoping to get through Christmas in the story before our Christmas, but it doesn't look as if I'll make it. I'll give it a go of course, just don't hold your breath! I have no idea how much time I'll have to work on this, and my entire 'holiday' from work consists of Friday! (sighs) As you can probably guess, things have been a bit hectic lately. Well, if I don't have a chance to write you another A/N before then, Merry Christmas! I won't wish you a happy new year yet so that at the very least it will guilt me into posting before then! ;P
Now replies to some reviews:
whatever - Not being rude, but if I had wanted the demon to have a 'bloody name' I would have given it one!
Lil trindle - Ginny stayed with the others. I forgot to list one. So sue me! ;P I might note that I'm only having time for at most one proofread on these chapters now since they are so long and I have so little computer time, not to mention I posted that at like 2 in the morning when I had to get up for work at 5:30! Of course I could always put off posting and starting working on the next chapter for another day or two to give it another couple run throughs if you'd prefer... ;)
My Kingdom - Think about it... anyone currently around them would be being very hypocritical if they were to hold stuff against Draco... they're all shagging Slytherins now! Ok, Harry is shagging a past Slytherin but still hates Draco, but she wasn't one of the ones they had been set against for their whole stay at Hogwarts, and besides, his hatred of Draco ran a bit deeper than anyone else's. Ron is with Blaise and Pansy (And Blaise being Draco's best friend... holding a grudge with him wouldn't fly), and Hermione is shagging Snape... and Snape was someone they hated almost as much as Draco! Not to mention she knows that Draco knew about their relationship and never told on them, and that has to count for something. And the twins of course never had more than indirect reasons to dislike Draco, being a year above him, and of course are rather fond of Pansy and Blaise as well, not too mention I think they're too easy going to maintain a grudge if given any reason to give it up. As for Ginny's parents, well you know why her mother accepts him, and as for her father... well you could tell he was less than completely comfortable with Draco, but with a wife like Molly, who has accepted them being together, he can't say too much if he wants any peace in his life now can he? ;) As for Ron & Ginny's relationship... I don't see as they have lost anything. Just because they are spending most of their time with their S/Os doesn't mean they care about eachother any less. And Ron knows Draco would protect Ginny to the death, so that's why he has been worrying more about Hermione and Pansy's safety if that's what you mean.
Confused!! - Pansy is pregnant. Even Muggles know alcohol is not good for babies. Blaise tends to be overprotective of those he cares about, and those two little ones certainly rank high up there, so you can't expect him to let her consume anything that might be detrimental to their health.
Virgin Vixen 666 - Harry is still being kept in the room the twins fixed up to look like the woods. All they gave him was a couple of blankets and some soft grass. It was meant to be a temporary setup, and they just never thought to add to it for more permanent residence.
Soulstealer6669 - actually, unfortunately it isn't uncommon for girls who were molested at a young age to become very sexually active when they hit their teens (or before!). It sometimes really fucks them up mentally. They get to thinking that sex is all they have to offer and it is the only way to express their feelings or that if they don't have sex with a guy the guy won't like them because that's all men are interested in or perhaps that men only want sex, so a guy will only like them if they let him do whatever he wants to them or some such rubbish. Unfortunately, I've seen it happen. Not me, just so you know, but she was chasing after boys worse than Pansy before she turned thirteen. She wasn't sleeping with them yet, but I imagine it's only a matter of time. As for myself, let's just say that I think that's the reason I write about teens so often. I'm reliving my own teens vicariously through my characters, but the way I now wish I had, not as the 'terminally shy' person I really was. I sometimes think that if I went to heaven, and it truly lived up to it's name, it would be someplace that I could actually live out the stories that run around in my head. And I'm not just talking smut, because this is one of my smuttiest stories actually, and it got that way in a large part because of you damnably persuasive reviewers! ;) Most of the stories I have written before have been just for my own enjoyment... I never really shared them with anyone... but here, it gets hard not to want to please you after a while, even if it's not what I would have normally written.
Petal - Damn it! I said no suggestions in reviews! Yes. I HAVE been planning that the demon had her baby's soul for a long time now. Since before she had the nightmare in fact. That, and the association of the demon with their past are WHY she had the nightmare. That's why I was sure to mention at least a couple of times that it's talons struck her abdomen. I wasn't planning on it giving it back so soon, but there was really no point waiting since the surprise had already been blown. This is really screwing with my timeline, and now I'm going to have to rethink a bunch of stuff! I almost decided not to give it back at all! That would have had less of an effect on my plans than her getting it this early. Please don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the rest of your review, and the seven others you have made of my story, but just understand that this is one of my biggest pet peeves as a writer. I don't mean to sound harsh, and I really hope you don't take this as a slap in the face or a personal attack or anything. You are only the most recent one to do this, not the first, so this little 'rant' is general, and not specific to you. K?
Everybody else - I like reviews. Ok, I LOVE reviews. Sometimes I lose the 'mood' to write and reading more reviews is the only way I can get myself back into it (so if I'm taking a while to post and you haven't reviewed my last chapter yet, review! Good, thoughtful reviews longer than one line work best. It not only gives me encouragement, but also guilts me into writing if I've been putting it off!), especially reviews that give me helpful feedback on what you like about the story and such, in fact these more detailed reviews have done more to shape this story than anything else. There are characters I never meant to be more than a little mention that have grown because of your interest. For example, Kulia and Delse never existed in my original story idea, they just appeared out of necessity, and grew out of your interest. That said, I'm sorry to have to go into this, because I don't want to discourage people from reviewing (this means you too Petal! I truly hope this doesn't discourage you from reviewing my story again). But from now on, if a suggestion is made in reviews where everyone can see it, I guarantee it WILL NOT HAPPEN even if I was already planning it! Now I need all the stuff I have planned, so that would totally fuck my plans for the story and make me take extensive amounts of time rethinking everything, and I get frustrated easily, so I might just give up or get severe writers block (which has happened before! In fact this is my longest spell without it (knock on wood) and I keep fearing it will rear it's ugly head!), so lets stick to emailing any suggestions, ok? I don't mean to rant or make anyone upset... don't mean to chew your head off Petal, especially since your past reviews, though occasionally odd ;) were some that had some detail, which I very much appreciate, and were enjoyable to read. It just really upsets me when I've already planned something, or even written it already but just hadn't posted it yet and someone suggests it in reviews, because then everyone else sits there thinking I stole someone else's idea! I can't stand the thought that people might question my integrity as a writer, even if they don't say anything to me about it. Suggestions are welcome, but ONLY when sent privately in email, and if it's something I didn't have planned but I decide to use, I will acknowledge you in the Author's note after the chapter in which I use it, but I won't take ANY suggestions given in reviews even if it's the most amazingly perfect suggestion of all time that would like solve ALL my plot problems or something, because if it's not going to be a surprise to anyone, it's not worth writing to me, and I can't assume that no one reads other people's reviews. If no one wanted to see other people's opinions, viewing reviews wouldn't be an option! Sorry. I just get a bit pissy on this subject if you haven't noticed yet ;) To me, it's like someone sitting next to you while you're watching a movie for the first time and telling you what's going to happen next. I hate that! I have actually not watched movies before just because someone told me what was going to happen, even thought it was a movie I really wanted to see. I lost all desire to see it after they spoiled the surprise for me. Oh, and don't take this as a way of manipulating the story by suggesting stuff you don't want to happen because I've had reverse psychology used on me all my life (mum used to read self help books! Argh!) and all that will do is make me stop writing while I have to take the time to look into seeing if I can somehow blacklist you. I don't think anyone wants that. Oh, and don't worry, I don't consider "Oh no! Don't let him die!" Or something of that nature a suggestion. Just when you say stuff like. "Wouldn't it be cool if..." Or "I think such and such should do this...". Please do keep reviews coming!!! (crosses fingers hoping she hasn't scared them all off)