Well, not that anyone really cares, but I'm back from a wonderful week at ODS. Why is Outdoor School just the best place in the world? MC Spring 05 week 10 fo life!
Halfway to the dining room, Ginny abruptly turned around and stalked out of the mansion. She was too angry to stay inside another minute. Despite the fact that it was late spring, the evening air was cool and seemed to assault Ginny's lungs. She could smell the flowers in the gardens all around the house, and a subtler scent of the pine trees off in the distance. The gravel on which she was walking crunched under Ginny's feet, but that was the only sound that marred the silence of the night.
Why would Harry do such a thing? And more importantly, why did it hurt so badly that he had betrayed her so? The idea that Ginny would not be part of the Order was painful enough, but why would he let her down so badly! Ginny picked up a handful of gravel and threw it as far as she could, gaining satisfaction from the sound of it hitting objects in the distance. It felt so good, Ginny grabbed another handful of gravel and hurled it again. Then she sighed. Destroying something wouldn't serve any true purpose, and Malfoy Mansion looked glass-like enough that Ginny didn't want to be throwing stones.
There was no clear solution to this problem, and Ginny sat down heavily in the middle of the pathway in which she had been walking. The flowers were so aromatic they were almost suffocating, especially now they were on level with her nose. She just wanted to cry, but after already breaking down once today, Ginny was unwilling to lose control of her emotions twice in a day. Life had never been simple for Ginny and her family, but never before had anything been this complicated, so full of changes. Just wanting a blanked to cover her, so she could cuddle up, Ginny couldn't keep her childhood out of her head. She was leaving that all behind, and soon. In another month or so, this would be her home. She was sacrificing everything, and it felt like no one appreciated her. Ginny just wanted someone to hold her, and to tell her that they loved her, and she didn't have to go through with everything if she didn't want to do so.
Ginny had just calmed herself down enough to consider going back inside when the sky lit up, a vicious green color. Her breath froze in her throat, and her heart stopped. That's when Ginny looked up, her worst fear realized. The dark mark lit the sky, seeming to hover over a space perhaps only a hundred yards from where she was sitting now. Biting down on her lip to keep from making a sound, Ginny hugged herself tightly, and when she had finally recovered her breath, scrambled up and made a mad dash for the house.
Ginny's first thought was they had gotten to Harry. She imagined him following her outside, but losing her in the gardens, only to be slaughtered. She burst into the dining room, where people were milling about unconcernedly, her eyes desperately sought Harry, and when she saw him, her breath came easier. She scanned the room, looking for anyone who might be auspicious in his or her absence. Ginny saw her parents, and her brothers. The people who really mattered were safe, but someone was dead.
Draco stalked his way over to her, obvious annoyance on his face. "Where have you been, darling? Harry has been back for fifteen minutes already."
Ginny couldn't even reply. She just looked at him, then tugged him out of the room.
"What are you doing? We don't have time for this kind of shit!" Draco was trying to be quiet, but his hiss carried across the room, and Ginny saw several people sneak looks in their direction, then avert their eyes, acting as though they weren't curious in the least. Because the dark mark had appeared on the North side of the house, and the dining room was on the South, no one had yet noticed anything, and Ginny was wise enough even in her horror to realize that was a good thing. Ignoring Draco's objections, Ginny pulling him as hard as she could, but when Ginny never explained her reasons, Draco just stopped, and no amount of tugging on Ginny's end could budge him.
"What is going on!" he demanded.
"Please, " Ginny whispered. "Please."
"Not until you tell me what's going on. What is the matter with you?"
"I don't know, please just come." Draco stayed motionless for a moment, before sighing and letting Ginny pull him along, grumbling under his breath the entire time. His mutterings fell silent when they reached the entrance to the garden, and Draco stood completely still, his eyes wide.
"Merlin's balls," he whispered.
"I didn't know what else to do," Ginny whispered.
"I don't know either... I wonder... Father would probably know better than I what to do... Go find him and bring him out here. I'm going to see who it is."
"I-I don't think that would be a good idea" Ginny said in a hushed voice. "It's not safe. What if they're still here?"
"No one is foolish enough to stay after doing this. Go. Now." Draco's voice seemed to gain confidence as he spoke, and Ginny worried he was just deluding himself, but she didn't have time to reply before Draco walked off into the night, the eerie and unnatural light reflecting off his hair, making him a beacon for Ginny''s eyes to follow. It was only after Draco had walked far enough away that she could barely see him that she remembered to return and seek Lucius.
Again she ran through the silent halls of the house, and again anxiety wrapped it's tangled arms around Ginny, jarring her heart every time it beat. Her entrance into the dining hall was only slightly less dramatic, but Ginny didn't even stop to pay attention; her focus was entirely on finding Lucius as she waded through hundreds of people. Looking intently, Ginny was unable to spot him. After several minutes of searching, she came upon Narcissa and, interrupting the couple with whom she was talking, demanded to know if she knew where Lucius was.
" I don't know," huffed Narcissa. "I believe he went walking with some associates." Ginny froze, a feeling of dread washing over her. She turned abruptly from Narcissa and doubled her pace to make it to the door. As soon as Ginny was free of the people, she ran as fast as she could through those same halls, and this time, when she reached the door leading to the outside, she didn't stop, but continued on. Legs feeling as though they were going to collapse from under her at any time, scenes of terror in her mind, Ginny continued on until she saw the green light reflecting, and Ginny knew she had found Draco. He was standing, wand in hand, staring at the body on the ground, the green light reflecting off the corpse's hair the same way it reflected off of Draco's.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "So sorry."
Ginny knelt, her hand in Draco's, and the wizard standing over them recited the benediction. "...Potestate consenescentorum et in quos nomine gaudemus... Iam denuntio vos vir et uxor esse... in iuguo matrimonii sanctissimi... Iubeo vos exequi inter se..." The words faded in and out of Ginny's consciousness. She could hear someone crying, but other then the tears and the benediction, it was completely silent. Which was odd, because Ginny's heart was beating hard and quickly enough that she thought she should be able to hear it. Draco nudged her with his elbow, and she repeated the words as she was supposed to say. "Sic consentio."
So much had changed, in so short a time period. An hour, a day, a month, a year ago, she had been could never have imagined something like this happening. After they discovered the body, Draco and Ginny had no choice but to call the Ministry and Aurors in. They hadn't had much to say; the cause of Lucius Malfoy's death had been obvious, and the Ministry didn't have enough clout to catch the murders. The Ministry had stayed out of the war, and because they couldn't do anything about the body count, they didn't even try. There was no investigation for people who died as an obvious result of the war, and not even Lucius, who was an important official, got an investigation. Everything happened so quickly after the Ministry arrived. Narcissa wailed, the city was in a state of shock, Harry immediately left, and Ginny and Draco were commanded to marry. Many of the people at the party demanded retaliation, but they couldn't get the retaliation for which they strove- complete victory and dominance. The stalemate at which things now existed had never been so strained, but both sides knew that it would continue until Draco and Ginny's marriage. Anger clouded the minds of everyone, and both sides were out for blood. Ginny was too stunned to say no; she couldn't think. If only someone could give her time to think, she just wanted to think. Just wants to think.
"You'll have time to think after this is done," she was told. "You don't need to think- you already agreed to this, it's just happening a little sooner." Everyone was talking, talking too much. She couldn't think when they were talking so much. If only everyone were quiet so she could think. "Time is running out, we need to go now." It felt like people were screaming inside her head. "You look lovely. You'll make a beautiful bride." They told her thinking was overrated, that it wasn't important, the only thing that was important right now was moving, not stopping, not thinking.
The wizard standing in front of Ginny and Draco began to smooth something on their forehead, saying "Hodie ungo, et numquam in crastinum differre honos, fides, sodalitas, et pulchritudo in vestras vitas." He spoke the words, and they felt like a death sentence to Ginny. She still couldn't comprehend how this was happening. Everything was too chaotic. She felt as though she were drowning, or choking, or maybe her organs were just being twisted around inside her body. She wanted to tell him to wait, but the words never came out of her mouth. Why was everyone so eager for this marriage? Why couldn't it wait? Ginny just wanted to go home and never thing about this again, but she couldn't. She couldn't do anything. Draco pulled her closer, and whispered something into her ear. She couldn't hear, and Ginny was too confused to even ask him to repeat himself. It didn't matter, nothing really mattered. Nothing.
She woke up, and before Ginny even opened her eyes, she tensed. Please don't let it be true, she thought. Please don't let it be true. Opening her eyes carefully, Ginny breathed in a deep sigh of relief when she saw the Gryffendor colors surrounding her bed. Praise Merlin! It was just a dream. A huge smile spread a cross Ginny's face. It was just a dream.
"Good morning, Mrs. Malfoy." Ginny sat up abruptly.
Don't call me that. Whatever you do, don't call me that. I'll do anything, just don't call me that. "Good morning," said Ginny calmly.
"I hope you are well." Professor McGonagall walked slowly into the room, pulling back the curtains so Ginny could see out.
"I am, thank you for asking." Taking a deep breathed, Ginny closed her eyes. Was it true then? Did she truly marry Malfoy last night? It was looking as though she had. Bloody hell.
"I really married him, didn't I?" Ginny whispered. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she realized that though the room was decorated in Gryffendor colors, it wasn't her own room.
"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy, I'm afraid you did," McGonagall paused a moment, as if considering, then continued. "I have taken the liberty of moving all you possessions to this room. Hogwarts has not had many married students, but there have been a few. I believe you are the first student to be married to someone other than other student, but this is still the room they have always been assigned. I'm assuming you want to finish up your classes this year?"
"Yes," said Ginny quietly, her mind still spinning. She never thought it would actually come to this. To be completely honest with herself, Ginny had always believe that someone, anyone, would save her from this fate. Even as the day of her wedding approached, Ginny never believed she would actually go through with this marriage. It was just so ridiculous, and Ginny just expected someone, everyone, to jump out and tell her, "Just kidding!"
But this was no joke. This was truth, and the truth had never been so scary.
"I suppose I should congratulate you on your nuptials, Mrs. Malfoy."
"Please don't call me that," Ginny asked. "I can't think of myself as Mrs. Malfoy."
"I understand. You have been excused from your classes for today, but I'm afraid you must return tomorrow."
"Do-Dose everyone know?" Ginny asked quietly.
"No. From what I heard, it was a very small ceremony. However, while they don't know today, I'm not sure how long anyone can keep it a secret. It might be better to just be open about it."
"I-I don't think I can do that. I'd rather keep it as quite as possible, if that is alright."
McGonagall sniffed. "You don't need my permission, Mrs- uh, Ginny. It's your business."
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. I appreciate your support."
"Good luck, Ginny," said McGonagall as she turned to leave. "I have a feeling you'll need it."
Ginny sighed, as as soon as McGonagall stepped outside, she collapsed against the bed. Oh Merlin. What had she gotten herself into? She was married. Married. "I'm too young to be married, " Ginny whispered, "and I can't be Mrs. Malfoy. Merlin, why did this happen to me?"
Why did they make her and Draco marry, Ginny wondered. What possible purpose could it serve? Why had Lucius' death triggered an early marriage. Ginny wanted answers, and she wanted them now. She stood, her legs still shaky. Dressing quickly, Ginny walked over to the pot of floo powder, grabbed a handful, threw it into the fireplace and shouted, "Number twelve, Grimmauld place!"
As Ginny stepped out of the fireplace at the other end, the house was swarming with activity. Men and women alike were scrambling about, holding papers, practicing spells, going over maps and schedules. It felt as though Ginny had stepped into a war zone, an analogy which was truer than Ginny would have liked.
Ginny saw Hermione rounding a corner, walking straight towards her, her head buried in a book. "Hermione!" she called. "Can you spare a moment?"
Hermione looked up, startled. "Ginny, I didn't expect to see you here," Hermione paused. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling alright, I suppose," she paused. "Hermione, what happened last night?"
"You married him, Ginny. You married him. I don't know how it happened. It happened after we left... What did you do Ginny?"
"I honestly don't know."
I believe my Latin works, I conjugated as best as I am able. I would translate it back to English, but I left my dictionary somewhere. Just know that it's marriage words.
Much Love, Miss Auburn