Disclaimer: If you recognise it from the books, I don't own it!
Author's Note: Who knows, perhaps a little D/G in this chappie… evil cackle Or maybe not!
Ginny felt her bracelet burn once more, and sighed. I left less than a minute ago, and already Kristiana is showing discomfort, she thought, then grinned at the idea. She got up and slipped through their adjoining cupboards to find Draco cradling a bloodied Kristiana.
She hurried across the room and knelt beside them. "What happened?" she asked him, concern in her voice as Kristiana wailed.
"She… she fell off the bed," he said, looking up at her with pleading eyes.
Ginny took a deep breath, and gently took the baby off Draco. "Get me some warm water and some towels," she ordered, and he got up quickly, heading into his bathroom and coming back a moment later carrying a basin half full and a bundle of towels.
Ginny tenderly dipped the corner of a towel in the water and began to dab at the baby's head. Her wails subsided to sniffles, and Ginny wiped away her tears with another towel.
"Episkey," she whispered quietly, her wand pointed at Kristiana, and the gash neatly knit itself up and disappeared. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked gently.
"Scourgify," Draco waved his wand, cleaning up the excess blood. He sat down next to Ginny.
"Thankyou," he said almost inaudibly.
Ginny smiled.
Ginny rushed across the grounds, knowing she was late for Care of Magical Creatures.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor," she said quickly as she skidded to a stop in front of Hagrid, hair flying everywhere.
"Tha's quite alrigh' Ginny," Hagrid said warmly as he clapped her on the shoulder (Making her knees buckle) and turned to address the class. "Today I thought yer'd like ter do somethin' interesting, so I brought some BillyWigs along for yers. Who can tell me abou' the BillyWig? Yeah Ginny?" he asked as Ginny's hand shot into the air.
"They're like insects, and if they sting you it causes giddiness
and levitation!"
"Excellent Ginny! Ten points ter Gryffindor.
Now I want yeh all to draw a sketch of 'em, labellin' the
important parts," he said jovially, and lifted up a cage from which
a slight buzzing could be heard. Ginny peered in to see little blue
blurs as the insects flitted around.
"Cast an impedimenta charm on 'em to keep 'em still," Hagrid said in response to their blank looks.
"Well come on then, ge' to it!"
Draco stomped into the Great Hall, is mood horrible. I said thankyou to a Weasley. I expressed gratitude to a Weasley! was running through his head, over and over. He turned towards the Slytherin table, remembered who he was now, and headed towards the Gryffindor table with a sigh.
"Hi Kiran," a pretty girl he recognised from the Quidditch team said, smiling shyly.
"Hello. Jessica, was it?" he asked.
"Yes. My twin brother is over there, making a fool of himself," she said, jabbing her finger towards a male version of herself flirting with half a dozen girls.
Draco grinned. "Looks like he's having fun," he murmured, looking at her with undisguised interest.
She blushed. "Ah well, you know…" she stuttered, her blush deepening. She got up abruptly. "I- er, have homework to do. I'll see you tonight at Quidditch practise," she added, leaving the hall at a brisk walk. Draco smirked. It was always fun to see their reactions.
I wonder what Weasley's reaction would be like, he thought to himself, and smirked. The glimmering of a plan started to turn over in his mind.
Ginny lay on her bed, staring absently at the ceiling. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular, she was just relaxing for a few minutes before she had to head down to the Quidditch pitch. Before long she became aware of her skin prickling, and she rolled over to see Draco watching her, an unreadable expression on his face. She jumped up and grabbed her robes, sliding them on quickly over her clothes.
"What are you doing in here Malfoy?" she asked harshly.
"Just admiring the local talent," he replied sardonically, and Ginny blushed. She picked up her broom and looked at him, once more in control.
"Quidditch practise in 10 minutes," she said quietly, and left the room.
If Ginny had thought to look back, she would have seen the flicker of confusion cross his face before he made to follow her.
"Okay guys, that was great. Let's wrap it up for the night," she said, her face flushed from the brisk air. The group headed back up to the castle, chatting amicably.
"Goodnight guys, Ginny said to the group and kissed Jae on the cheek. "Great play tonight," she said grinning, and left to return to her rooms. Jae stared after her for a moment before continuing up to the Gryffindor dormitories with the rest of the group. Draco watched him, expression unreadable, before heading in the direction of Ginny and his dormitory.
So- The little Weasel has charm.
Ginny grinned as she spoke the password and entered their common room. She always enjoyed making the boys flustered, and had grown increasingly good at it. It was her way of keeping them at a distance by making herself aloof; unreachable. Of course, that wasn't what she told herself. What she told herself was she was too young to be tied down, and that it wouldn't harm them in the long run anyway. Ginny was not a malicious person, but as she climbed the stairs to her room, a thought popped unbidden into her mind.
I wonder what Malfoy's reaction would be like…
Over the next few days, Ginny found her time spent with Draco was increasing. Kristiana was teething and in an almost constant state of discomfort.
Malfoy was pacing the room, frustrated. "We can't keep this up. Sooner or later, questions are going to be asked, questions that we can't answer," he said, and pounded his fist into the wall. "Merlin this is so frustrating!"
Ginny sat on his bed, plaiting a strand of hair. "It's not as if we can stop her from growing teeth," she said practically, letting go of the plait and stretching.
Draco stopped suddenly, and smirked. "Of course, I do get to spend time with this lovely vixen, which does make it a little easier to stand."
Ginny smirked back, and moved closer to him. "And I get to spend time with such a sexy man," she said, reaching him and running a finger down his chest.
Draco stepped closer to her, his smirk growing. "Well isn't that something," he said quietly before his lips crashed down on hers.
It was a long moment before he remembered where he was. Damn, she's a good kisser, he thought to himself. A lot better than I thought. However, her reaction is normal enough, he added, a small trace of his smirk finding its way back to his lips. Her felt her trail her hand lightly down his arm, and felt the goosebumps rise. However, my reaction to her is certainly NOT normal! Draco dismissed the thought, and lightly flicked his tongue against her lips.
Ginny smiled against his lips. Well his reaction is certainly interesting… she thought to herself. However, my reaction to him is definitely alarming! She thought to herself as her body tingled with lust. She shrugged it off and trailed her hand lightly down his arm, feeling goosebumps rise. She could feel his tongue seeking entrance and she opened her mouth, letting him in and expertly exploring with her own.
Ginny grinned as she re entered her room by way of the wardrobe, and flopped down on her bed.
Merlin he's a good kisser, she thought to herself and jumped up in irritation. "Right, that was Malfoy you just kissed. Totally gross!" However, she couldn't get the feel of his lips against hers out of her mind, so she grabbed her robes and headed down to the kitchens to grab some hot cocoa and to distract herself by chatting with the house elves.
Draco stared at his sister, who was peacefully sleeping at the moment, thank goodness. The Weasel was certainly more than he had expected and then, when he thought about it, he realised he should have expected it. "I mean, temper always constitutes good make out sessions because it means you're passionate," he said to his sister, who slept on, blissfully unaware to the inner workings of the teenage mind.
-------- 3 Weeks Later --------
"You're an insufferable git!" Ginny's voice shouted at Draco, who was currently leaning against the wall, arms folded and eyes unreadable. Kristiana was watching her yell from Draco's bed with trembling lips and watery eyes. "I spend all my free time looking after your darling sister and I get absolutely no thanks from you! You're a selfish, stupid, mean prude and I hate you!" she yelled, her eyes fiery and her hair framing her face like an violent halo.
"Sorry Weasley but it's not in my nature to be nice," Draco said patronisingly, a smirk dancing on his face.
Ginny growled. "I've kept your secret, helped you make friends, and you don't even care!"
"And I was supposed to?"
Ginny was about to knock the living daylights out of him when a small hand tugged on her robes and she looked down to see Kristiana looking up at her sadly.
"Is mama mad at daddy?" she asked, eyes full of tears.
Ginny's mouth fell open, and she gaped at the little girl in amazement. Kristiana had called her mama, and Draco daddy. It was just too horrible to contemplate, and yet she felt a thread of warmth run through her at the thought of being Kristiana's mother.
"N-no love. M-mama's just very tired," she said before wiping away the little girl's tears and rushing from the room.
"Daddy made mama sad," Kristiana said reproachfully to Draco after Ginny had left.
"She's not your mother Kristiana. Your mother is dead," Draco said harshly and then silently berated himself for taking out all of his frustration on his little sister.
"She is. Maybe not real mama, but mama in here," Kristiana said slowly before placing a hand over her heart. "Just like you are daddy," she said solemnly, and Draco found himself fighting to keep a lump from forming in his throat. He picked up the little girl and held her close, marvelling once again at the similarities between himself and his half-sister.
"I'm so lost Kris, you're all I have. You're all I can have. I don't know anything but fear and anger. I never had a Mum and Dad. I had Narcissa and Lucius."
"Love. You not know love?" she asked sadly, reaching out to touch his cheek gently.
"Love never existed for me Kris. Father didn't have the time nor the inclination, and mother, well, if she showed anything it was fear. Fear of her husband. Their relationship didn't involve love, it was purely for convenience. I don't know what love is. You, you're so lucky. Ginny can love you, she knows how and she gives her heart freely. My father would have said she's weak, but I don't know. Things have changed. She's still a Weasley however, and I don't know if we can ever overcome the barrier that is always forcing us to act the way we do towards each other. I shouldn't even want to."
"Love special. Mama love Kris," she said softly. "Maybe mama love daddy too."
Draco stood up quickly and pushed her away. "Kristiana, never mention anything like that again. She hates me, I hate her. The only reason we spend any time together is because of you."
"But-"
"I hate her, okay! Shut up you stupid girl! You don't know anything!" he said and stormed out of the room, leaving tears rolling down his sister's cheeks.
Ginny felt her bracelet burning and when it didn't stop, she got up, wiped her eyes, and headed into Draco's room. Kristiana was sitting on the bed, crying without a whimper, and Ginny picked her up and spun her around.
"How about you come into my room and play dress-ups huh?" she asked the little girl, who giggled and nodded, the tears still sitting like dew drops on her fragile cheeks, but forgotten for the moment.
Draco sat brooding underneath a tree by the lake when he was approached.
"Kiran, I brought you some breakfast," Jae said quietly, handing him a couple of pieces of raisin toast.
Draco sighed and took the offering gratefully. "Er, thanks mate," he said awkwardly, and began to eat.
"Something's worrying you," Jae said quietly as Draco stared away from him. "It's Ginny, isn't it?"
Draco stood up quickly, a scowl radiating from his face. "Why does everyone think that she is a significant part of my life? It's like a conspiracy or something to drive me bloody insane!"
Jae stood up with him and made a placating gesture. "Look Kiran, maybe it's not obvious to you, but it is to everyone else. You and Ginny have got something going on. It's like you both live in a separate world or something."
Draco sighed and ran his hand through his already mussed up hair. "Everyone has their secrets Jae. Unfortunately Ginny had to get dragged into mine and it makes me hate her because of what she's doing."
Jae nodded. "If there's anything you want to talk about, you know where I am."
"Unfortunately, what I need to talk about is the very thing I can't," Draco said quietly, and slowly began walking back up to the castle, his feet dragging.
Ginny watched as the little girl played grown up, and smiled wryly. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
And how I regret it.
Ginny smiled wistfully at the innocence the child portrayed, this beautiful child she had grown to love, despite where she came from. How can a child born from such evil be so innocent and pure? She asked herself. I was born from love, and yet my soul is tainted. I've seen evil; I've been evil. Ginny shivered at the thought of Tom. It had been 5 years since he had stolen a bit of her soul, and she didn't think it was likely she was going to get it back. Kristiana, noticing Ginny's silence, sat beside her and took her hand. Ginny felt a thrill of love and understanding pass through them and felt her resolve harden. I will never let her hurt.
Kristiana was looking at Ginny thoughtfully, and held up a book. "Mama read?" she asked her, holding up a muggle fairytale book that Ginny had picked up in muggle studies. It was Kristiana's favourite story, The Beauty and the Beast.
Draco wandered aimlessly through the halls, meeting no one, and glad for it. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, but he didn't feel like participating in the carefree affair today. He had a lot of thinking to do.
First and foremost in his mind was the sight of his sister as he had stormed out earlier. He shouldn't have said that to her, and he knew that she was probably devastated. So much for bringing her up properly, Malfoy, all you've done is shown her what you vowed you would never do. You hurt her, just like Lucius hurt you when he got mad. The thought made him wince. Lucius had gotten mad a lot when Draco had been a child, and Draco and his mother had born the brunt of his attacks. At first, it hadn't been too bad. He hadn't been the one attacked. However, he soon found out who was protecting him, and he grew angry with his father. Angry with him for hurting her, angry with him for forcing himself on her. He'd stood up to his father, and that's when it had started. But he'd taken it without complaint, determined to save his mother. However, it was not to be, and just after he'd turned eight, Narcissa had given birth to his beloved baby brother, Benjamin, but just before Ben had turned one, Lucius had gotten mad again and thrown the boy into the wall, killing him instantly. Up until then, Draco hadn't liked his father, but had admired him. Now all that was left inside him was emptiness, and a burning rage.
His head snapped up as a sickening thought occurred to him. I've treated Kristiana and Ginny appallingly. I'm acting just like Lucius did.
Ginny looked up from the book, startled, as a rumpled Draco burst in. She narrowed her eyes, and looked up at him coldly. "What do you want Malfoy?"
Draco rushed to his baby sister's side, and knelt before her on the floor as she sat on the bed beside Ginny, her little legs sticking out from the side of the bed.
"Kris, I'm sorry about before. I behaved appallingly. I love you more than anything, and you're not stupid."
Ginny looked at him, trying to gauge this sudden turnabout in behavior. She blinked, and looked more carefully at him to see tears shining in his eyes as his sister threw herself at him. He hugged her back, looking content. If it had been any other emotion, nothing could have surprised her more.
Draco then turned his gaze on Ginny, and put his sister down. "Kris, in the bathroom under the sink is daddy's secret stash of Drooble's Gum…" he said tantalizingly, and the girl squealed before running through the wardrobes and into Draco's room.
Once she had left the room, Draco looked questioningly at Ginny, who sighed and leant against the wall, still on her bed, and gestured for him to sit. As he did so, she pulled her knees up against her chest and hugged them, careful to look anywhere but Draco.
"Ginny, I'm so sorry. I was absolutely disgusting to you earlier. I had no right to act like that when you've done so much for me."
"I can't believe you did that. You let that girl stay the night for God's sake! What possessed you to do that? What if I hadn't already decided to let Kristiana stay with me last night, huh? Your secret would be out, and you'd have to run and hide again. Did you ever even think of the consequences?" Ginny asked him quietly, tears running down her face. She was still mad at him and with good reason too. He hadn't thought about it at all, hadn't looked after his responsibility to his sister. He could have completely ruined his cover, all for a one night stand. How shallow could he be? Of course, the thought that she might be jealous entered her mind and she dismissed it immediately with a laugh. There was nothing between them but hatred and an ancient enmity. They had nothing in common except for Kristiana. It was impossible that she could be jealous. Wasn't it?
Draco sighed. It really had been a foolish idea to bring the girl up to his room last night- well, this morning. He hadn't even enjoyed it, and had stopped it before it had gotten any further than snogging. It had annoyed him tremendously when a certain cinnamon-eyed beauty kept popping into his mind when he felt absolutely nothing for her. The ancient feud between the Malfoy's- a cold blooded, ruthless family- and the Weasley's- a loving, accepting family (tribe), ruined anything that could ever happen before it even started, and yet his mind had drifted inexorably back to her. The way her fiery red hair contrasted against her pale, creamy skin. The way her eyes were so warm and welcoming, and yet could be filled with such mischief-
Stop it! He ordered himself. Weasley + Draco Fall of civilisation and destruction of entire world.
However, he still needed to apologise.
"It was a stupid thing to do, I realise that now. But Ginny, I didn't do anything with her," he protested, wondering why he was even bothering. She'd walked in to find some silly bint in Draco's bed for goodness sake! Of course she wouldn't believe him!
His mind turned back to the look of utter betrayal on her face as she'd left the room without a word and wished he'd made sure the girl had left before falling asleep.
"Oh yeah, sure. That's just why she was on your bed!" Ginny said, before bursting into tears.
Draco felt something in his chest contract and tighten painfully, and wondered if perhaps he did have a heart after all.
Author's Note: Hope you liked that chapter! Am trying to make them a bit longer for you guys. I want to reach over 60,000 words by the end of the story, but if you don't review, I might get sad and give up. So please, click on the little review button, and drop me a line. And if you have any constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it. Also, anything you'd like to see happen in this story (Aside from the obvious D/G we all love), let me know and I'll see if I can work it into the plot.
Also, quote from bible. Can anyone pick it?
That's all for now! Please R & R!
Xela
