Thanks to Tearful Moon for a great beta! Sorry thishas taken so long to get up. I reckon about 2 or more chapters and it will be finito. Comments appreciated... this chapter gets kinda weird and a bit naughty
xxx
Chapter 8
Ginny lay spread out across her bed, head and arm draped over Draco's firm abdomen. She listened to the sounds of his heartbeat and breathing while he stroked her hair. It was early morning on the day Harry and the others were to return.
The past few days had been busy and exhausting, leaving their only alone time at night in bed. Ginny's mother had made a flippant remark or five about her sharing a bed with a man whom was not her husband. Ginny ignored her remarks, instead making comments about how good she'd been feeling lately or how well she had been sleeping. Molly would promptly stop her commenting.
Draco had taken up residence in Ginny's room, occasionally saying that perhaps they should find a different room on more 'common ground,' as he put it. By that she knew he meant somewhere that was not the room she had shared with her late husband, as well as a room that had been neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin.
"What do you think the big plan is?" Draco asked, propping himself up on his elbows and forcing Ginny to sit up.
"I can't even begin to fathom. They know you are here though."
"Potter you mean?" Draco asked. Ginny nodded. "I guess that's why they wanted me to go over those Durmstrang schematics and list locations of weapons, guards on the perimeter and such."
"I guess so." Ginny, bored with this topic, decided to distract Draco. She knew he was nervous about seeing his old enemies, though he would never admit it. Ginny pushed him back down onto the bed and assaulted him with kisses and let her hands do things she knew he would respond to.
Ginny never felt sated with Draco. She always wanted to get him alone in a closet or empty room or into bed. They had had each other on many surfaces in the Castle by now and had only been together for a week or slightly less. Draco was always ready for her and was always concerned with her pleasure, not just his own.
Afterwards, Ginny slipped out of the bed and headed for the shower. "Where are you going so quickly?" Draco asked, seeing her grab a robe and towel.
"To shower of course. You could use one too but if you join me, we'll be late." She grinned.
Draco launched from the bed and tackled her to the floor.
"You're right. We'll be late," he remarked as he pinned her wrists above her head. "I guess I'm going first!" he said as he jumped up and beat her to the bathroom, locking the door and leaving Ginny to pound on it while cursing at him and laughing.
xxx
Everyone sat anxiously in the Great Hall finishing breakfast, awaiting the arrival of the guests. Ginny heard a commotion in the hallway and guessed it to be Fred and George tackling Ron and Harry. She was right. Laughter erupted as the doors opened to reveal Fred, Harry, Ron and George all in compromising-looking positions while Hermione blushed in embarrassment nearby.
Draco was surprised to see how each of them had grown. Harry was much taller and more filled out. His hair was still shaggy but longer than Draco could ever recall it. He was missing his trademark glasses.
Ron was even taller than Harry, but still very thin and lanky. He hair was messy and not quite as long as Harry's. It had not turned a prettier shade of red like Ginny's: his hair was still a gaudy orange.
Hermione had probably changed the most:her once wild hair was tamed into a short cut that framed her face, which was much prettier than Draco remembered. She was shorter than either boy and probably slightly shorter than Ginny but she was thin and lithe. Her skin held a healthy glow that had surely come from spending some time in the sun.
"Different than you remember, yeah?" Ginny asked as she nudged him.
"Yeah. Where's Scar— I mean, where are Potter's glasses?"
"He's got these things called 'contacts' now. They are like little glasses you put on your eyeball."
Draco winced. That did not sound pleasant. "Granger looks much better."
Ginny smiled. "Most people get better with age, well after school age that is." Draco gave her a mock scowl.
"Settle down everyone! Settle down," Minerva McGonagall called as she motioned the returning guests to the front of the Great Hall. "We will have time for reunions later. As of this moment, we've serious matters to discuss. Harry, would you like to start?"
Harry nodded while making his way to the front, shaking a few hands and receiving a few hugs. Draco rolled his eyes. It was just as he remembered. Even if the Boy Who Lived had not won yet, he was still a hero.
"Er, hi everyone. Good to be back; we've so much to tell you that I don't even know where to begin." Harry looked around sheepishly.
Draco leaned to whisper in Ginny's ear. "Still all humble and shy, I see." Ginny elbowed him again, but gave him a small grin.
"Well, I guess I should start by saying that we have a great lot to prepare for. We're going to be joined by nearly one-hundred American wizards in a few days." Harry paused to let that statement sink in.
Immediately, whispering voices could be heard all over the Great Hall. "We're going to need their help for the plan I have. We've been working closely with a group of American wizards who work with the government and the military. Most American Muggles are not aware of the existence of wizards, but a small sect of their government is and they've utilized wizards and wizarding techniques for military purposes." This statement, again, set off a whirl of whispers throughout the hall.
"We will be employing a Muggle method in the attack. It is something we have been working on and planning for quite some time now. The information we have received from Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy," Harry searched the Hall until Draco was sure he had spotted Ginny and himself, "has given us the necessary schematics of Durmstrang and some information as to when a good time of attack would be."
"More details will be given in time.There will be a lot to learn. A special spell will be needed for what we have planned and we have spent months working on it. Many special potions— some of which I understand you have already begun to make, will be needed. Our first order of business will be to prepare for our guests and finish the potions.. Again, we will be hosting an extra one-hundred people. We need every available room and bed. I expect some old classrooms are still empty and those can be used as personal quarters. We will need extra potions and medicinal supplies."
Draco quit listening at this point and looked around him at the faces glowing happily now that Harry and his group had returned. 'This could really be it,' he thought. 'This nightmare might almost be over and I might be able to salvage a normal life.'
xxx
Ginny approached Harry, Ron and Hermione shortly after Harry's speech was done. She held Draco's hand tightly in hers and he gripped tightly back.
"Ginny!" Ron's face lit up and he darted for her, grabbing her and pulling her hand loose from Draco's. "We were so afraid once we heard you'd been captured, again," he added the last word disapprovingly.
"Now Ron, we all know how capable Ginny is of taking care of herself!" Hermione scolded.
"What's this, then?" Ron said as he let Ginny go and gestured to the hand Draco once more had hold of.
"This," Ginny motioned between herself and Draco, "is me taking care of myself and making myself happy."
Harry, Ron and Hermione had obviously not been told of the relationship that now existed between Ginny, beloved little sister, and Draco Malfoy, former enemy.
"I'm a might bit happy as well," Draco stated boldly.
Ron simply dropped his jaw, staring back and forth between the two. Hermione studied them both before smiling and shrugging. Harry made no face whatsoever. He simply gave a little tilt of his head and gripped Ron's arm, holding him back as though he knew what was coming.
"Hey, little bro!" called Fred, joining in the group. "So, before you pounce on the big, bad Malfoy, you may as well know Ginny's happy and fine and Malfoy's not so bad himself."
"Besides, we took the liberty of giving him a good talking to so he'll be sure to stay in line," George added. Ron turned and stalked away. Hermione gave a nervous laugh and hugged Ginny, then extended her hand to Draco. He took it grudgingly.
"Ron just needs a bit of time is all," she said. Draco nodded and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"He can bloody well get over it. There are far more important things to worry about than my sex li— er, my life." Ginny blushed furiously and noticed a small blush rise on Hermione's face, as her eyes grew wide. Hermione cleared her throat and excused herself from the group, leaving only Harry, the twins, Draco and Ginny to stand around awkwardly.
"Well, I mean I'm grown now. I've been married. I'm allowed to—" Draco cupped his hand over her mouth and dragged her backwards.
"I think Ginny has some things to attend to. Nice seeing you," Draco said shortly as he escorted Ginny out of the Great Hall.
Ginny flailed her arms wildly, giggling as Draco shoved her into a nearby classroom. He locked the door with a wave of his arm and immediately attacked her neck with his lips, swiftly removing her robes.
"Draco!" she shrieked.
"I have never," Draco said between nips and kisses, "been as turned on by anyone as I was just now when you flaunted our relationship— and our sex life— in front of Potty and the Weas—, er, Potter and your brother!" He slowly pulled the Muggle trousers she called sweat pants down her legs.
"Oh?" she grinned slyly. "So this is my reward, huh?" she whispered, nipping at his ear. He moaned into her neck. "I guess I'll have to keep it up when they are around, eh?" she gasped as she felt him push into her.
A few frantic thrusts and heavy breaths later, the couple was sated for the moment and there came a knock at the door. They looked at each other wide-eyed and dressed quickly. Upon stepping out, they discovered the knocker to be Blaise.
"Honestly you two!" Blaise snickered as he fell into step with them. "Throw up a silencing ward next time! You're lucky most everyone is still in the Hall with the late arrivals."
Ginny blushed and Draco smirked. "It's not like I haven't walked in on you and Padma, Z. I had trouble pushing that frightful sight out of my mind for quite some time. I still have nightmares!" Ginny giggled, still blushing wildly.
"Oh Ginny, you know you dream about it, er, well you did until Draco came along." Blaise corrected himself when he caught Draco's glare.
xxx
A few days later, Ron still scowled every time he saw Draco and Ginny. Hermione and Harry were subtler about how they felt towards the couple.
Everyone was gathered in the Great Hall to welcome the American wizards that Harry brought in to help. Harry had been talking to various groups of the Order, which were assigned to different tasks.
The sound of multiple sets of footsteps announced the arrival of their guests. As the doors to the Great Hall opened, Ginny saw a large group of oddly-clad men and women— no doubt American simply by their appearance— led in by Ron and Hermione.
"Ah!" Harry called as he clapped his hands together once and sped towards the front of the hall to sound a welcome from the podium. "Our guests have arrived! Since there is no way to make introductions and expect everyone to remember names, magical nametags are going to be put on all your robes, etcetera. That way, we won't just say, 'hey you there!' So, let's all tuck in and then after dinner we will get down to business.
Ginny saw Draco eye the American wizards disdainfully. "Draco! Quit staring!" she hissed.
"What? I mean look at how they dress? It's an utter disgrace. Almost worse than Mug— er…. um…" Ginny stared him down until he nearly cowered before her. "What I meant was… they don't appear to have the refined taste in couture that I am used to. However, I am sure they are all very well and good," he finished through clenched teeth. Ginny smiled at him and nodded. He rolled his eyes and reluctantly decided to keep his mouth shut on the subject of the American wizards.
As they were finishing dessert, Harry once more took center stage. "Well, that was lovely, wasn't it?" He seemed almost nervous. Ginny supposed he ought to be. This could very nearly be the end… in one way or another, she supposed.
"So, I think all of you would like to know about the big plan." Nodding and whispering was heard.
"Oh, do get on with it!" Draco said under his breath. As if on cue, Ginny elbowed him and he gave her a rather snide glare then tickled her in return.
"Well, we've weighed a lot of options and we think we've found one that will get the job done and not require too much clean up on our end— you know, of Muggle memories and such. The United States Government has given us something. The tricky part is that we've got to be there when it, er, hits yet we've also got to shield ourselves from its effects. That's what has taken us so long: coming up with the shield."
"What is he on about?" Draco whispered, leaning in to her ear. Ginny glared and he sat back up straight.
"Let me give you a more visual explanation." With a wave of Harry's wand, a large white sheet fell from the ceiling and it appeared as though a Muggle film were playing on it. There was a whizz, then a boom, and all of a sudden there was a large cloud of fire resembling a mushroom. "This is the effect of what is known as a nuclear bomb. We're going to drop one on Durmstrang," Harry said matter-of-factly.
"Observe this… mushroom cloud, if you will. The air in the cloud carries a harmful byproduct of the bomb known as radiation. Radiation is lethal, to Muggle and Wizard alike. We must throw up a shield around Durmstrang to keep the radiation in and protect not only ourselves but also any Muggles within five hundred kilometers of the area."
The Hall had gone completely silent by this point. Ginny looked at Draco to see that even he had no comment. He simply sat there with his mouth gaping open and his eyes wide. He slowly moved his gaze to her eyes. She frowned slightly and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.
"We've been doing some testing on a smaller scale and have come up with a spell for a shield. We've also created some potions that should help prevent radiation infection. We've got only three days to learn and practice the shield and make all the potions so we've our work cut out for us. However, I have no doubt that we can accomplish this and end the war. Are you with me?" Harry exclaimed. A roar went up in the Hall after a slight pause and lots of exchanged glances.
"Are you with me?" Harry yelled as he jumped down and ran around the room. The crowd continued to roar.
"He's gone 'round the bin," Draco remarked as he slowly joined Ginny and everyone else in the Hall in standing. He clapped his hands lightly.
Ginny looked at him and smiled. She knew he thought it was a good plan. Certainly a plan that Voldemort and his lot would never expect. But he couldn't very well portray how he really felt about it, now could he?
Draco caught her knowing grin and wiggled his eyebrows, sticking his tongue out at her.
"Is that a threat or a promise, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked with an even slyer grin. Draco's eyes widened and he reached for her arm. "Be patient. I am sure the meeting is very nearly over with," she said as she swatted at his arm.