AN: It's snowing! And snowing, and snowing some more! Haha there hasn't
been snow in Portland in ages, and I don't think we've ever gotten out of
school for it before. Ahh, this is great. Happy holidays (a few days late)
to everyone, and be thankful for the snow. And the ice. And the freezing
rain. Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Sing Like No One Is Listening
In all, Ginny didn't think the whole meeting thing went too badly; sure, there were a few snubs, and sure, she didn't like how they kept calling her "Virginia", but she wasn't sure she would have appreciated the familiarity "Ginny" hinted at, so it was all right. Her biggest concern, though, was Draco. On the broomride home, Ginny found herself second-guessing her decision- it had sounded like a good enough deal while she was sitting there, in the Manor, but now...Ginny shook her head to dispel her anxiety. But Draco, sitting there, silent the entire time, what did he think of this? And why hadn't he commented at all? He never had a problem speaking before. And why were the two elder Malfoys so...civil? She had not expected them to act be so cooperative, generally giving in to her demands (like the house), and bargaining for the rest. And they had even volunteered to pay for not only the wedding, but the engagement party, reception, wedding gown and just about everything. Ginny just had to assume that they did not want to be disgraced any more than they already would be by being related to a Weasley. Still, Ginny didn't think that the whole marriage thing would end up being too bad. Until she got home, that is.
It was a weekend, so there was no school, and considering Ginny's special circumstances, Dumbledore had allowed Ginny to go home for the weekend. And the second Ginny landed in the yard, her family came crowding up around her.
"What happened, dear?" asked her mother.
"Ginny? Tell us everything!" from one of her brothers, and Harry, asking, "Is it all settled?" The only immediate reply she made was to Harry, looking at him and nodding her head.
"Come sit down, honey," said her mother, shooing everyone else away. But Harry, Ron and Hermione refused to leave, and the five of them walked into the house together. After sitting everyone down, Molly made tea, and once everyone was settled, asked Ginny to tell the whole story.
"I got there, and sat down with them, and we planned it all out."
"Who was there?" asked Hermione inquisitively.
"Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa and Draco."
"When is the wedding?" Harry asked agitatedly.
"Before the end of the summer. Probably on the solstice." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, while Molly started.
"But that's so soon!" she demanded. "How will we have time to arrange everything?"
"Mum," explained Ginny, "they are doing all of the arranging. All we have to do is get a dress. Or two, actually- one for the wedding and one for the engagement party." Her mother looked like she couldn't decide if she was happy that they wouldn't have to pay that much or disappointed that she would not be as active a person in her only daughter's wedding as she would like to be.
"So, give us the details! Go over everything clearly!" demanded Hermione. And so Ginny did.
***
When Ginny got back to school, she was less distracted that she had been, and tried to cram as much information in her head for the N.E.W.T.s as humanly possible. She still had her pride, and so though she wasn't relaying on her scores for a career, she wanted to do her best. And maybe she would need to work at some point- Ginny couldn't imagine sitting around and doing nothing all day, everyday for the rest of her life. When she finally took the tests, she thought she had probably passed everything- not necessarily getting "Outstanding" on anything, but at least passing. It was unnerving to know that when she received her scores, she would already be married; the wedding seemed to be coming up way too fast.
She received a note from the Malfoys (no doubt Narcissa; Ginny didn't think the male Malfoys would have cared one way or the other about her) inviting her to a "family gathering" in honor of Draco's nineteenth birthday the week after meeting with them. Ginny, as much as she wanted to decline the invitation, didn't think she had much of a choice. It did not seem like anyone would be making the real reason for their marriage public, and thus it was up to Ginny to play the part of the doting fiancé. Or maybe the Malfoys would explain the circumstances of the marriage, and the reason their son had to marry such "muggle-loving filth" as they had once put it. Ginny had no idea; all she knew was that the prophecy had never been made public, and so apparently the only people who knew about it were those in the Order, the Malfoys, and perhaps other Death Eaters. Ginny shuddered again, wondering if there would be any Death Eaters at this "family gathering", or at the wedding. She wasn't sure if she could handle it -coming face to face with a murderer- but then she realized she already had. In fact, she spent most of an hour with him, writing a marriage contract. Whether her future husband was one was open to guesses. Ginny supposed she would find out when she saw his arm, but when would that be? When it was time to engage in baby-making activities? Could she actually do something that intimate with a murderer? There was only one way to find out, and that would be to go through with this marriage...Though at this point she had signed a contract, and Ginny doubted that any amount of second thoughts would be able to save her from fulfilling that promise.
She wrote back asking what she should wear.
***
As it turned out, Malfoy Manor had a ballroom. Ginny knew that if she had thought about it, she might have guessed, but she had never stopped to consider. However, the ballroom was exquisite, and Ginny had to admit she would not mind living in such a beautiful house.
And tonight, Ginny felt pretty enough to belong in this house. As the party was on a Saturday, she had returned home after classes on Friday, and went shopping in Diagon Alley for some new dress robes. The ones she finally selected were fairly simple, just plain black. However, they were, at the same time, extremely elegant, and suited her well. Her mother had swept Ginny's hair up on top of her head, and after a very light application of cosmetics, was ready to leave. She took a deep breath before entering the ballroom, and immediately gasped. If this was a simple family gathering, what would a much more elaborate wedding look like? There were easily a hundred people in the room, and, looking around, Ginny thought she knew maybe five of them, including the three Malfoys. There were a few faces from Hogwarts that she recognized, but other than that, Ginny was completely alone.
Narcissa saw her, and waved Ginny over towards the group of ladies she was standing with. Although, as she came closer, Ginny realized that the group was not made up of all ladies- there was one man standing towards the middle, and it looked as though he was being fawned over. That man leaned over when he saw Ginny and gave her a fairly unenthusiastic and light kiss on the lips.
"So glad you could make it, dear." Draco said, with only the slightest bit of sarcasm. In fact, Ginny guessed that she and perhaps his mother were the only people who caught it, as it was almost unnoticeable if you weren't looking for it. She just smiled in return. Draco took her arm and put it through his own, and that was how Ginny spent the next few hours.
Her feet were beginning to hurt horribly, and she was completely sick of smiling at people by the time that dinner was served. Ginny was sure that people were completely unimpressed with her, and were probably gossiping even now about how plain, uncommunicative and lowborn she must be but Ginny did not care. In fact, right now the only thing she cared about was getting off her feet and putting something in her belly. Thus when dinner was announced, it was with a certain joy that Ginny accompanied her fiance to the dining hall. But she had not been expecting how slowly dinner would be served. There were easily seven courses (she didn't bother counting), and Ginny just wished they would just put all the bloody food out there so she could eat!
She was seated next to her groom-to-be, and so the conversation was never exactly easy. In fact, Ginny was beginning to think that this night was the least she had talked since she was in her second year and Harry had come to stay. There was simply nothing she wanted to talk about with these people, and Ginny had no particular desire to impress them.
She had planned to make a early exit, and thus three hours into the party leaned over into Draco's ear and whispered that she not only had to study tomorrow, but write a few papers as well, and so she should be going soon. He raised his eyebrows at her and whispered back that the party was just starting. And so Ginny did not get free.
The pile of presents at a table at the far end of the room was incredible auspicious, and Ginny felt a moment's apprehension at not getting Draco a gift. She wasn't sure how everything worked at such a fancy party, but at her family birthday celebrations, the person with the birthday sat down and opened all their presents. With so many people, Ginny thought it was unlikely that they would follow that tradition, but then again if six months ago someone had told her that she would be standing here, holding on to her fiance Draco Malfoy's arm, she would have laughed in their face.
Luckily, Ginny was right and nobody made any move to open the presents. In fact, everyone just seemed content to mingle, speaking to everyone they knew, making small talk. It wasn't until Ginny had drunk her third glass of whatever it was that the servants were passing around that she noticed that many of the men had left the room, and what was left was primarily women. It wasn't long after Ginny made this mental observation that Draco excused himself, saying that he had something to attend to. It wouldn't have mattered, except it left her alone in a room full of people. Such a contradiction, she thought to herself as she walked over to Narcissa, planning on finally excusing herself and returning to Hogwarts. But no, she mustn't, Narcissa said. It wouldn't do to excuse herself with saying goodbye to Draco. Since there was no one else around when Ginny asked this question, she proceeded with another one.
"Am I correct in assuming that nobody knows the real reason behind the marriage, about the prophecy and all?" she asked.
"Correct. It wouldn't do to get word of the prophecy out to too many people; someone intent on keeping this war from happening might think to murder one of you, and this stalemate could continue. I at least know that this war is inevitable, and the sooner it's over the better." She said with a sigh. For the first time, Ginny wondered if Narcissa was a Death Eater, or which cause she supported. Her own family was riddled with Death Eaters (no pun intended), but Ginny thought her perhaps brisk and unsentimental, not evil. "Plus, Malfoys marry for political or social reasons, perhaps even love occasionally, but not because of a prophecy." In answer, Ginny just took another glass from a passing servant, and downed it within a few seconds.
***
Draco was also sipping from his glass at that moment, sitting in a room that had was smoke-free despite all the men with cigars. "Anti-smoke charm," he identified it to himself. Then, another toast, and another drink from his glass. He was going to be smashed by the time this party was over, considering how many toasts were being made in his name. It was his nineteenth birthday, and he wasn't sure this was how he wanted to be celebrating, here with his family and "friends" of the family. They were his father's friends, or people his father wanted to impress and flatter. Many ministry officials, reporters, and even an Auror or two were present. There were no Death Eaters invited to this gathering; his father was high enough in the ranks that he needed to butter up no one, and those he would want to impress would not have risked showing up here.
Another toast, another empty, meaningless and most likely untrue kind word, and another drink from the glass. And suddenly, he didn't want to deal with it anymore. Draco's whole world felt incredibly weighty, and he did not want to have to cope with it anymore. A quick nod to his father was all it took, letting Lucius know that he was stepping out for a moment. The hallways did not seem any less confining, and right know, open air seemed the only place where Draco could just breathe in, just live. And so he headed for the open-air balcony that was off the corner of the ballroom- just in time to hear someone fumbling, looking like they were attempting tolocate their cloak. He looked closer, and saw that he recognized the someone as Virginia Weasley. Slowly, Draco walked off the balcony, toward the girl.
"Leaving already?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder. She jumped and Draco smirked. Without turning around she answered: "Yes, I have studying to do." Draco just snorted, but Ginny continued putting her cloak on. "Happy Birthday," Ginny muttered.
"What, no birthday present for your future husband?" asked Draco sarcastically. At this, Ginny did turn around, and answered simply, "No." He knew that his proximity was unnerving her, but Draco did not want to move away. He just stood there, breathing the same air as this girl, thinking thoughts that he would never have even considered if it hadn't been for all the Ogden's Firewhisky. And so he did the unthinkable. Or perhaps, he reasoned to himself, it wasn't unthinkable. He would have to kiss her sometime. And what better time than the present. Ginny stiffened, obviously startled, but she relaxed after a second, and Draco could tell that she wasn't entirely sober either. So he kissed her harder. He had nothing to lose, and it was his birthday. After a moment, he felt the weight of her arms around his neck, and he kissing him back.
"Um hum!" The two broke apart in record time, and Ginny spun to finish putting on her cloak without even looking to see who it was who had come upon them. But Draco obviously had.
"Fudge."
"Your father just told me to come find you...It seems you opened one of your presents a little early, eh?" Draco just looked stonily at the Minister.
"Minister, meet my fiance," he said, forcing Ginny to turn around. Fudge's eyes got wide when he saw who it was.
"I heard you were engaged, but..." his voice trailed off.
"Excuse me, I have to get back to school," Ginny muttered. Fudge didn't say anything, eyes still wide, but Draco replied, "See you later, darling." Once again stressing the last word in a way that imparted the maximum amount of sarcasm possible.
"Bye."
Thank you to all the people who have reviewed the last chapter and the story. I love you! And you can be nice and continue this nice little trend and review some more!
Chapter Three: Sing Like No One Is Listening
In all, Ginny didn't think the whole meeting thing went too badly; sure, there were a few snubs, and sure, she didn't like how they kept calling her "Virginia", but she wasn't sure she would have appreciated the familiarity "Ginny" hinted at, so it was all right. Her biggest concern, though, was Draco. On the broomride home, Ginny found herself second-guessing her decision- it had sounded like a good enough deal while she was sitting there, in the Manor, but now...Ginny shook her head to dispel her anxiety. But Draco, sitting there, silent the entire time, what did he think of this? And why hadn't he commented at all? He never had a problem speaking before. And why were the two elder Malfoys so...civil? She had not expected them to act be so cooperative, generally giving in to her demands (like the house), and bargaining for the rest. And they had even volunteered to pay for not only the wedding, but the engagement party, reception, wedding gown and just about everything. Ginny just had to assume that they did not want to be disgraced any more than they already would be by being related to a Weasley. Still, Ginny didn't think that the whole marriage thing would end up being too bad. Until she got home, that is.
It was a weekend, so there was no school, and considering Ginny's special circumstances, Dumbledore had allowed Ginny to go home for the weekend. And the second Ginny landed in the yard, her family came crowding up around her.
"What happened, dear?" asked her mother.
"Ginny? Tell us everything!" from one of her brothers, and Harry, asking, "Is it all settled?" The only immediate reply she made was to Harry, looking at him and nodding her head.
"Come sit down, honey," said her mother, shooing everyone else away. But Harry, Ron and Hermione refused to leave, and the five of them walked into the house together. After sitting everyone down, Molly made tea, and once everyone was settled, asked Ginny to tell the whole story.
"I got there, and sat down with them, and we planned it all out."
"Who was there?" asked Hermione inquisitively.
"Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa and Draco."
"When is the wedding?" Harry asked agitatedly.
"Before the end of the summer. Probably on the solstice." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, while Molly started.
"But that's so soon!" she demanded. "How will we have time to arrange everything?"
"Mum," explained Ginny, "they are doing all of the arranging. All we have to do is get a dress. Or two, actually- one for the wedding and one for the engagement party." Her mother looked like she couldn't decide if she was happy that they wouldn't have to pay that much or disappointed that she would not be as active a person in her only daughter's wedding as she would like to be.
"So, give us the details! Go over everything clearly!" demanded Hermione. And so Ginny did.
***
When Ginny got back to school, she was less distracted that she had been, and tried to cram as much information in her head for the N.E.W.T.s as humanly possible. She still had her pride, and so though she wasn't relaying on her scores for a career, she wanted to do her best. And maybe she would need to work at some point- Ginny couldn't imagine sitting around and doing nothing all day, everyday for the rest of her life. When she finally took the tests, she thought she had probably passed everything- not necessarily getting "Outstanding" on anything, but at least passing. It was unnerving to know that when she received her scores, she would already be married; the wedding seemed to be coming up way too fast.
She received a note from the Malfoys (no doubt Narcissa; Ginny didn't think the male Malfoys would have cared one way or the other about her) inviting her to a "family gathering" in honor of Draco's nineteenth birthday the week after meeting with them. Ginny, as much as she wanted to decline the invitation, didn't think she had much of a choice. It did not seem like anyone would be making the real reason for their marriage public, and thus it was up to Ginny to play the part of the doting fiancé. Or maybe the Malfoys would explain the circumstances of the marriage, and the reason their son had to marry such "muggle-loving filth" as they had once put it. Ginny had no idea; all she knew was that the prophecy had never been made public, and so apparently the only people who knew about it were those in the Order, the Malfoys, and perhaps other Death Eaters. Ginny shuddered again, wondering if there would be any Death Eaters at this "family gathering", or at the wedding. She wasn't sure if she could handle it -coming face to face with a murderer- but then she realized she already had. In fact, she spent most of an hour with him, writing a marriage contract. Whether her future husband was one was open to guesses. Ginny supposed she would find out when she saw his arm, but when would that be? When it was time to engage in baby-making activities? Could she actually do something that intimate with a murderer? There was only one way to find out, and that would be to go through with this marriage...Though at this point she had signed a contract, and Ginny doubted that any amount of second thoughts would be able to save her from fulfilling that promise.
She wrote back asking what she should wear.
***
As it turned out, Malfoy Manor had a ballroom. Ginny knew that if she had thought about it, she might have guessed, but she had never stopped to consider. However, the ballroom was exquisite, and Ginny had to admit she would not mind living in such a beautiful house.
And tonight, Ginny felt pretty enough to belong in this house. As the party was on a Saturday, she had returned home after classes on Friday, and went shopping in Diagon Alley for some new dress robes. The ones she finally selected were fairly simple, just plain black. However, they were, at the same time, extremely elegant, and suited her well. Her mother had swept Ginny's hair up on top of her head, and after a very light application of cosmetics, was ready to leave. She took a deep breath before entering the ballroom, and immediately gasped. If this was a simple family gathering, what would a much more elaborate wedding look like? There were easily a hundred people in the room, and, looking around, Ginny thought she knew maybe five of them, including the three Malfoys. There were a few faces from Hogwarts that she recognized, but other than that, Ginny was completely alone.
Narcissa saw her, and waved Ginny over towards the group of ladies she was standing with. Although, as she came closer, Ginny realized that the group was not made up of all ladies- there was one man standing towards the middle, and it looked as though he was being fawned over. That man leaned over when he saw Ginny and gave her a fairly unenthusiastic and light kiss on the lips.
"So glad you could make it, dear." Draco said, with only the slightest bit of sarcasm. In fact, Ginny guessed that she and perhaps his mother were the only people who caught it, as it was almost unnoticeable if you weren't looking for it. She just smiled in return. Draco took her arm and put it through his own, and that was how Ginny spent the next few hours.
Her feet were beginning to hurt horribly, and she was completely sick of smiling at people by the time that dinner was served. Ginny was sure that people were completely unimpressed with her, and were probably gossiping even now about how plain, uncommunicative and lowborn she must be but Ginny did not care. In fact, right now the only thing she cared about was getting off her feet and putting something in her belly. Thus when dinner was announced, it was with a certain joy that Ginny accompanied her fiance to the dining hall. But she had not been expecting how slowly dinner would be served. There were easily seven courses (she didn't bother counting), and Ginny just wished they would just put all the bloody food out there so she could eat!
She was seated next to her groom-to-be, and so the conversation was never exactly easy. In fact, Ginny was beginning to think that this night was the least she had talked since she was in her second year and Harry had come to stay. There was simply nothing she wanted to talk about with these people, and Ginny had no particular desire to impress them.
She had planned to make a early exit, and thus three hours into the party leaned over into Draco's ear and whispered that she not only had to study tomorrow, but write a few papers as well, and so she should be going soon. He raised his eyebrows at her and whispered back that the party was just starting. And so Ginny did not get free.
The pile of presents at a table at the far end of the room was incredible auspicious, and Ginny felt a moment's apprehension at not getting Draco a gift. She wasn't sure how everything worked at such a fancy party, but at her family birthday celebrations, the person with the birthday sat down and opened all their presents. With so many people, Ginny thought it was unlikely that they would follow that tradition, but then again if six months ago someone had told her that she would be standing here, holding on to her fiance Draco Malfoy's arm, she would have laughed in their face.
Luckily, Ginny was right and nobody made any move to open the presents. In fact, everyone just seemed content to mingle, speaking to everyone they knew, making small talk. It wasn't until Ginny had drunk her third glass of whatever it was that the servants were passing around that she noticed that many of the men had left the room, and what was left was primarily women. It wasn't long after Ginny made this mental observation that Draco excused himself, saying that he had something to attend to. It wouldn't have mattered, except it left her alone in a room full of people. Such a contradiction, she thought to herself as she walked over to Narcissa, planning on finally excusing herself and returning to Hogwarts. But no, she mustn't, Narcissa said. It wouldn't do to excuse herself with saying goodbye to Draco. Since there was no one else around when Ginny asked this question, she proceeded with another one.
"Am I correct in assuming that nobody knows the real reason behind the marriage, about the prophecy and all?" she asked.
"Correct. It wouldn't do to get word of the prophecy out to too many people; someone intent on keeping this war from happening might think to murder one of you, and this stalemate could continue. I at least know that this war is inevitable, and the sooner it's over the better." She said with a sigh. For the first time, Ginny wondered if Narcissa was a Death Eater, or which cause she supported. Her own family was riddled with Death Eaters (no pun intended), but Ginny thought her perhaps brisk and unsentimental, not evil. "Plus, Malfoys marry for political or social reasons, perhaps even love occasionally, but not because of a prophecy." In answer, Ginny just took another glass from a passing servant, and downed it within a few seconds.
***
Draco was also sipping from his glass at that moment, sitting in a room that had was smoke-free despite all the men with cigars. "Anti-smoke charm," he identified it to himself. Then, another toast, and another drink from his glass. He was going to be smashed by the time this party was over, considering how many toasts were being made in his name. It was his nineteenth birthday, and he wasn't sure this was how he wanted to be celebrating, here with his family and "friends" of the family. They were his father's friends, or people his father wanted to impress and flatter. Many ministry officials, reporters, and even an Auror or two were present. There were no Death Eaters invited to this gathering; his father was high enough in the ranks that he needed to butter up no one, and those he would want to impress would not have risked showing up here.
Another toast, another empty, meaningless and most likely untrue kind word, and another drink from the glass. And suddenly, he didn't want to deal with it anymore. Draco's whole world felt incredibly weighty, and he did not want to have to cope with it anymore. A quick nod to his father was all it took, letting Lucius know that he was stepping out for a moment. The hallways did not seem any less confining, and right know, open air seemed the only place where Draco could just breathe in, just live. And so he headed for the open-air balcony that was off the corner of the ballroom- just in time to hear someone fumbling, looking like they were attempting tolocate their cloak. He looked closer, and saw that he recognized the someone as Virginia Weasley. Slowly, Draco walked off the balcony, toward the girl.
"Leaving already?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder. She jumped and Draco smirked. Without turning around she answered: "Yes, I have studying to do." Draco just snorted, but Ginny continued putting her cloak on. "Happy Birthday," Ginny muttered.
"What, no birthday present for your future husband?" asked Draco sarcastically. At this, Ginny did turn around, and answered simply, "No." He knew that his proximity was unnerving her, but Draco did not want to move away. He just stood there, breathing the same air as this girl, thinking thoughts that he would never have even considered if it hadn't been for all the Ogden's Firewhisky. And so he did the unthinkable. Or perhaps, he reasoned to himself, it wasn't unthinkable. He would have to kiss her sometime. And what better time than the present. Ginny stiffened, obviously startled, but she relaxed after a second, and Draco could tell that she wasn't entirely sober either. So he kissed her harder. He had nothing to lose, and it was his birthday. After a moment, he felt the weight of her arms around his neck, and he kissing him back.
"Um hum!" The two broke apart in record time, and Ginny spun to finish putting on her cloak without even looking to see who it was who had come upon them. But Draco obviously had.
"Fudge."
"Your father just told me to come find you...It seems you opened one of your presents a little early, eh?" Draco just looked stonily at the Minister.
"Minister, meet my fiance," he said, forcing Ginny to turn around. Fudge's eyes got wide when he saw who it was.
"I heard you were engaged, but..." his voice trailed off.
"Excuse me, I have to get back to school," Ginny muttered. Fudge didn't say anything, eyes still wide, but Draco replied, "See you later, darling." Once again stressing the last word in a way that imparted the maximum amount of sarcasm possible.
"Bye."
Thank you to all the people who have reviewed the last chapter and the story. I love you! And you can be nice and continue this nice little trend and review some more!