Chapter 21: - Understand Me
"I didn't know father had an assistant." Draco stated. "And if this is some ploy, I want no part of it. So assist in telling him that."
"I have been recently appointed as his personal assistant, to handle his Governmental affairs. Minister Malfoy, requests that you meet with him. He's waiting in the dining hall, supper will be served shortly." Louise stated, leading them away.
"I bet that's not all she's assisting him with." Draco muttered to Vir as they entered the dining room. Lucius sat prominently at the head of the table with Lee Dart sat next to him and a familiar looking red head. "Father, what a pleasant surprise."
"Draco, I believe you have met Dart and this is Becki Reilly."
"YOU!" Becki's green eyes flashed with anger as she stood up.
"Oh, God. Hello," he sighed and received an inquisitive glance from Vir.
"You know her?" Lucius asked.
"We've met. Congratulations on becoming Minister." Becki sat back down; Louise left the room and Dart approached. He shook Draco's hand, kissing Vir's cheek. Everyone sat back down in silence, eventually food was served and the silence remained as they ate.
"So, how did you meet the new head of Muggle Affairs?" Lucius eventually asked breaking the quiet once the dishes had been cleared.
"He insulted my home town and made me quit my waitressing job." Becki explained for Draco.
"It was a dive," he added.
"Mr Dart will be my Foreign Secretary. So, how is Hogwarts?" the Minister asked.
"Fine, I enjoy assisting Severus. I can keep my eye on Virginia."
"How are you my dear?" The elder Malfoy turned to Vir.
"I'm very well thank you," she smiled politely.
"Excellent, I hope you enjoy your holiday." Everyone except the young couple left the room. Draco squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"You all right?" Vir asked moving round the table to sit next to him. She held his hand and pressed her lips to his cheek.
"I'm fine, are you?" His silvery eyes looked wearily up at her.
"I'm just a bit tired and angry. How can he sit there like he deserves the Minister position and after what he did to you. Draco, he's...."
"Shush, let's go to bed. He'll be gone by morning." He took her hand and together they walked through the ancient house to Draco's room. They fell into bed and fell asleep entwined together.
*****
Vir woke up and smiled, Draco's arms encircled her and she felt at peace. Turning carefully within his embrace she turned to look at him, his expression was one of contentment. Stubble adorned his chin and his platinum hair fell over his face, she gently brushed it away and tenderly placed her lips on his forehead. His eyes fluttered and his grey orbs, clouded by sleep stared back at her.
"Morning," she said watching him, analysing the contours of his face.
"Ugh, 'ornin'," he grunted squeezing his eyes closed. "'m goin' bac' to s'eep."
"Okay." She turned back over and closed her eyes; it didn't take long for Morpheus to take hold of her. After about half an hour Vir was awakened by butterfly kisses down her jaw, subconsciously she knitted her hand into Draco's hair before opening her eyes.
"I'm awake now," he announced grinning at her.
"Mmm," she sighed. Snuggling closer to him she rubbed her stomach. Picking up on this Draco leant towards her stomach and pulling up the vest of her nightwear he placed a kiss on her rounded belly.
"Morning, baby," he cooed surprising Virginia.
"All right, who are you? And what have you done with Draco?" she teased.
"What? Virginia nothing is wrong, it's not Polyjuice or anything like that," he replied seriously.
"Draco, I was teasing. I've just never seen you like that."
"I'm going for a shower." He climbed out of the bed and disappeared. Vir sighed and threw back the sheets; she grabbed a silken robe from a chair and slipped it on. She walked to the kitchen and requested coffee from a passing house elf, taking the dark steaming liquid she ventured to a drawing room. She set herself down on the window seat and stared out at the Muggle town nearby, sipping at the beverage. That was how Draco found her, he was dressed in blue denim jeans and a pale blue checked shirt with a few of the top buttons undone. He sat besides her and gently rubbed her shoulders, she tensed briefly before relaxing into the massage.
"Go and shower, we can go for a walk into town if you wish," he whispered into her ear. Nodding she returned to the bedroom.
*****
She slipped the robe off her shoulders and stepped into the warm water. It caressed her skin and the magically induced scent relaxed her. She began to wash herself but stopped abruptly when she saw a mark etched into the skin of her right forearm. She briefly let a scream escaped her lips, grabbing the sponge she began to scrub at it. With each rub her skin grew redder and the mark became more vibrant, she began to sob. The door opened and Draco looked in at her, she was curled up on the floor sobbing and scratching uncontrollably. He turned off the water and crouched down besides her. He pulled her into his arms ignoring the water and blood that soaked his shirt. He stopped her scratching and looked at the mark. A dragon. He peeled back his shirtsleeve and a silvery vixen was adorning the skin.
*****
Vir calmed down and let Draco gently wash the blood away. He then touched the marks together, a sharp jolt wracked through their bodies. Her eyes flew open and silent tears trickled down her face, her skin felt like it was being zipped together. Their minds joined and images raced between them, they held on until shear force separated them sending them flying in opposite directions. They lay silently, their heads pounding with the sudden influx of information. A wave of emotion flooded over Vir and she cried. Draco sat icily a distance from her imagining what she'd seen. He'd only experienced a little pain from her life; she must have felt nothing but from him. He'd seen her memories of her family and Potter and the Dream Team. Her pain was rooted in the death of those she cared for and her experience in Slytherins chamber. She experienced the torture he'd endured and his isolation. They both felt overwhelmed and exhausted. Draco glanced over at her and saw her shuddering naked body; he crawled closer. He pulled her discarded robe over her and then left.
*****
She was back in the white place; she sensed the presence of the creature that existed in this plane. Her body ached with a pain that was real but not here; she turned and faced the creature. Its appearance had changed and become more human like. Foetal.
"What happened?" Vir asked cautiously glancing around.
"Ah my child, I have no concept of time in your world but I presume the marks have become apparent. Therefore as you visit me only during periods of unconsciousness I presume that your marks came into contact. It is a stage that must come to pass before the birth, both the moonchild and the fiery spirit must understand the others past before the new age." The creature kicked a twinge, which Vir felt coming from inside her. "After all though I as the third have great age and a deeper understanding of the two of you than you ever imagined was possible the two of you need to understand each other after all as the parents of the third you will of course understand it. Do you understand child?"
"I think so. But Draco won't and I doubt he'd believe me if I told him." The creature seemed to smile if that was at all possible.
"Child it is ancient magic that links a mother and child, it is something that the father will never experience. I cannot change that; while you now understand he never will that is an important feature of the natural order. Ancient magic refuses to be denied, he will appreciate this." The being rotated and turned away from her but Vir didn't feel ignored. "The moonchild is complex he won't intentionally push you away, stand by him even if it means deceiving those close to you. I must go, if you wish to stay here to think his past over however if you wish to leave and think in your own space do so. You must understand him before the birth otherwise everything will be worthless." The being melted away and left her alone in the Spartan white environment, she sighed and closed her eyes.
Vir sat alone in the white place, it wasn't cold nor warm, the floor wasn't soft nor hard but the silence deafened her. She pitied Draco, she knew he'd not appreciate it but she did so all the same. She saw every mark that had ever touched his skin and the emotional pain that had scarred him. The pets, the meetings, the punishments and the atrocities he'd witnessed. She could understand how he'd become so distrusting and bitter.
*****
Draco sat alone in the study sipping at his glass of whiskey; he'd surveyed the room, it was a mess. He scowled; he'd destroyed the desk chair by smashing it against the wood until the rosewood splintered. A former Ming vase adorned the floor in shards, books were scattered across the room and the leather chair he currently sat in had a deep tear in the upholstery. Images blurred across his mind, he saw Christmas scenes, birthdays and other important occasions in Virginia Anne Weasleys life. He saw no mental scars of trauma and pain. His body bore no marks of what tortures he'd endured during his eighteen years on this planet, in his mind however the scars ran deep an were that horrid vibrant shade of red that fresh scars had. He saw her mother and father, her brothers and their wives all-celebrating. The worst memory her mind held was her experience in the Chamber of Secrets; he'd never known what had transpired that year. His father, Lucius had never felt the need, all he'd known was that he'd found a perfect victim of Riddles diary and that it was all Potters fault that it had gone wrong. He didn't know anything until the summer after; as usual he and his mother were his fathers favourite stress relievers. Draco had long suspected that this person was from another house as though Slytherins aren't trusting by nature they were likely to bask in the glory that the other Slytherins would have bestowed on them. He envied Vir's life now, at one time he'd have laughed at the frugal way she lived but at that moment it seemed much better than his. He understood her caring, trusting nature, as she'd never had anyone to be distrustful of.
*****
They had to talk.
*****
Eep, I'm suffering from writers block so I may take even longer to write the next chapter but I know where I wanna get. I'm requesting that I receive 4 reviews to take the total to 100.
Peace, love, Draco Malfoy and Shane O Mac
Rissa