Haven

Chapter 2

Sunlight filtered into the small room and illuminated the dark figure spread out on the bed. Draco, feeling rested for the first time in months, shifted slightly. He was still in his clothes, but missing his robes and boots. What time was it? He remembered riding for hours and reaching this little cottage, but what had happened after? His ears perked up as he detected some sounds coming from somewhere below him. A delicious aroma wafted up to meet his nose and he groaned. God he was hungry. Deciding to investigate, he swung his feet to the floor and got up.

When he made it into the kitchen, he saw that the table was set for two. Hearing someone humming, he walked to the back door and stood in the doorway. Weasley, he thought now remembering. He saw her kneeling in the mud, waging war with the foliage, her humming occasionally broken with several unladylike grunts. He watched her for a minute and as he took in her red hair, remembered his embarrassing little collapse earlier. He had thought she was an angel. Pushing aside the humiliating memory of having to rely on a Weasley for bodily support, he cleared his throat, hoping to alert her of his presence. He was hungry and it was about time he was attended to.

Seeing that she still hadn't noticed him standing there, he said, "Weasley, I know that wallowing in the mud comes naturally to you, but try to extricate yourself for a moment and make me some food."

Ginnyturned her head to where he was standing, got up off the ground and put her hands on her hips. "Make you some food? I'm not your servant, Malfoy. If you want some food, you'll have to ask nicely."

He let out a long suffering sigh, "Weasley, I'm in pain here. I haven't eaten in days and who knows-"

She rolled her eyes at his little petulant speech and cut him off. "Alright, fine." She walked towards the house but as she got within a few feet of him, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Merlin, you smell. There is no way I am letting you eat in my kitchen until you take a bath first," she said pushing past him.

Following her in, he exclaimed indignantly, "I don't smell! Malfoys never smell!"

"Well this one does, and if you know what's good for you, you'll march upstairs and take a bath."

Sensing that he wouldn't win this argument, he huffed his way up the stairs and threw the bathroom door shut behind him. It had been quite a while since he had had a decent shower. Turning on the shower head, he peeled off his clothes as steam started to fill the room. He stepped in and was instantly in ecstasy as the hot spray hit his body. He lathered up and was really enjoying himself when he heard a small knock.

"Malfoy? I have a towel for you."

"Just leave it," he replied, not bothering to thank her.

Finishing up, he opened the shower door and reached with one hand for the towel. Finding it, he jerked it towards him and his ears were instantly accosted with a piercing shriek.

"Malfoy! I'm not your towel you fool! Let me go," she insisted. He had pulled her flush along his body and it took a moment before he let her go. She quickly took several steps back and threw his towel at him and quickly ran out of the room.

Taking it, he covered himself up and stepped out of the shower. As he dried himself off he couldn't help smirking at the thought of her discomfort. She had gotten a good look he was sure and, never being one to question the obvious, he was certain that she had met his approval.

Meanwhile, a mortified Ginny was trying to put the incident out of her mind as she warmed up the stew she had made earlier. After ladling it into two bowls, she placed them on the table and sat in one of the chairs. She folded her hands in her lap and waited for Malfoy. Her hands didn't feel right in her lap. Maybe they'd be better off on the table. No, that doesn't feel right either. Shifting again, she folded her arms across her chest. There we go. Humming a broken tune, she rocked a bit in her chair. What's taking so long? He just has to put on clothes. This lead to a bad train of thought as a naked Malfoy popped into her head.

While she was thinking, Ginny was completely unaware of the fact that Draco had already come down the stairs and was standing near the table, watching her face change expressions, while blushing harder as time wore on. He smirked. He had a feeling he knew what she was thinking about. He would have to remember to find a way to use this to his advantage later, but right now, his stomach was achingly empty and as charming as her little display was, it was time to eat.

"Weasley-"

His voice had startled her badly and she somehow managed to knock over a glass full of water. Ginny quickly tried to pick up the pieces and, in her haste, she cut the side of her palm on a particularly nasty looking shard. Cursing, she rushed to the sink to let the water wash over her wound.

"Merlin, Weasley. Why did you pick that piece up?" Draco quickly strode over to the sink to look at her hand. Taking it out of the water to inspect it, he held her wrist and brought it close to his face. Where was the cut? Ginny quickly snatched back her hand.

"Its fine, Malfoy. Nothing to be concerned about," she said quickly.

"What are you talking about? I just saw you cut your hand open on that glass. Why didn't you just Reparo it?" He tried getting a better look at her hand but she was holding it behind her. "Weasley, not two seconds ago, there was a gash the size of Galleon in your palm. Now, it's somehow miraculously gone?"

"You hadn't been looking at it properly. It was barely a scratch," said Ginny as she pulled out her wand and put the glass back together. "I believe you said you were hungry. Why don't you have a seat?' she asked politely.

Draco was watching her warily. Large cuts don't simply disappear but he could see that she wouldn't be offering any explanations at the moment and so he decided to oblige her. There would be time later to find out what was going on.

Seating himself, he placed a napkin in his lap and spooned the stew into his mouth. Good heavens. What does Weasley put in the food? After taking a few more greedy bites, he looked up at her. She was dutifully eating her food, and kept her eyes fixed to her bowl. Feeling he ought to make an attempt at conversation he asked, "How long will it be before a member of the Order sees the signal and comes here?"

She shrugged. "Usually no more than a day. They're very quick to respond but it takes time to travel here since the wards around this place don't allow you to apparate in or out."

He raised his eyebrows. "This place is like a fortress. No owls, no floo, no apparition." He looked at her shrewdly. "They must be trying to protect something important if they're willing to go to all that trouble." Ginny shrugged again, saying nothing.

They finished the meal in companionable silence, neither really felt like talking. Ginny occasionally snuck glances at Draco, trying to figure out what he was doing here. She had heard that he had been working with the Order for some time but had no idea as to why or what he was doing. Draco could sense there was something going on with the Weasley. First that cut thing and then what was with all the protection? He needed answers and now with Dumbledore being dead, he had a feeling they would be hard to come by.

a/n: It's short I know, but the next one is going to be long so I thought I'd cut it down a bit. Thanks for reading and please take a minute and review! I'll be eternally grateful and I might just send all my reviewers a picture of Draco in the shower. I'm not above bribing people with images of a wet Draco if it helps me get reviews, lol.

Big thanks to sakura-no-hana-hoshi, Dragon, and wcoast-girl for reviewing the first chapter.