Previously:
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy!" The Italian man greeted.
"Can we please have Ms. Weasley's dress charged to my account," he stated. It wasn't a question.
"Yes, yes. For the record, her dress comes to one thousand, five hundred, and eighty six galleons. This amount is fine?" He implored.
"Yes, yes," he said shortly. Ginny, meanwhile pulled on his arm.
"Draco, let me chip in at least," she begged. He bent down to kiss her rosy lips with a smile.
"No."
With that, they left the store, joining the other two couples.
"Alright," Madison started, once Ginny and Draco joined them, "we thought we'd split into girls and guys groups for about an hour or so for Christmas shopping, and then we can meet at Three Broomsticks for butterbeer. Agreed?"
More or less, they all agreed and turned to their respective other half, giving a quick farewell.
"Let me chip in," she implored one last time, wrapping her hands around his neck.
"No," he said simply with a smirk, as she frowned. "You are very stubborn."
"In case you forgot, I grew up with six brothers. It's the only way I got anything," she said with a smile. She gave him a peck on the lips. "Have fun shopping."
"Oh, I will," Draco said sarcastically. She smiled, giving him another quick kiss. "Bye love."
She smiled and waved goodbye as she walked over to Madison and Pansy. They walked in the opposite direction of the retreating boys and around the corner, arriving on the main street of Hogsmeade. All three looked onto the snowy scene before them and sighed. After a moment, Pansy broke the silence.
"Where do we start?" She asked, pulling a long list out of her hot pink blazer. Madison and Ginny shrugged and pulled out their own lists.
"We could start at Honeydukes and make out way down?" Ginny suggested, looking to her best friends. They nodded and the girls turned to Honeydukes to their left.
An hour later, they emerged with bulging bags of sweets and many names fewer on their lists. They minimized their purchases, stowing them away in some of the many pockets on their robes. They held up their lists again, studying them.
As Madison looked over her list, she glanced over at Ginny's, seeing with surprise the name "Ron" crossed off.
"You got something for Ron?" She asked, causing Pansy to look up from hers too.
"Yeah. I think it's the right thing to do," she said with a hesitant nod, indicating the issue was closed. Madison and Pansy gave her understanding looks as they rolled up their lists again.
"I don't know about you guys, but I only have the boys to buy for," Madison announced with happiness.
"Same," Ginny added, Pansy nodding in agreement. "Well, I suggest we split up for half an hour, and meet up here again after."
"Sounds good," Madison said with a smile. "But what do you like for a guy who has everything?"
Ginny and Pansy both shrugged, casually waving as the three split up. Ginny let out a breath as she looked down the seemingly endless street. 'What do you get for someone who has everything?' (A/N: All thoughts from now on will be marked with a single quotation mark. K?) She sighed and turned to the store on her left. 'Got to start somewhere…'
Draco lifted the lustrous object before him, letting the delicate silver chain (A/N: So it is not a ring. I really hope none of you thought they were getting married already! Lol!) slip in between his fingers. He held it at eye-level, carefully studying every last detail. It was perfect; he had known for months, since the talk with Dumbledore. This was the perfect present. Draco carefully laid it on the plush cushion atop the counter.
"I'll take it," he said with a nod to the jeweler standing before him.
"Certainly. Charm activated?" The woman asked kindly, carefully handling the piece.
"To the fullest extent," he said firmly. Then his face softened a bit. 'I hope she never needs this'.
The woman nodded and disappeared with the jewelry for a few moments. She returned shortly, carefully arranging it in a black, silk box, and then into a dark green pouch.
"Shall I charge to your account then, Mr. Malfoy?" She asked him. He nodded shortly as she handed him the pouch, which he immediately tucked into one of his deep pockets. "Thank you for your business, Mr. Malfoy. Good day."
"Good day to you as well," he said as he swiftly exited. He could feel a slight weight now in his pocket, reminding him that it was there. He was a bit nervous. Would she like it?
Ginny emerged from the shop, grinning from ear to ear. Finally, she had found Draco the perfect present. She spotted Madison and Pansy who walked casually side by side up towards Honeyduke's.
"Hey you two," she said, coming up from behind.
"Hey," Madison said with a smile. "Finished shopping?"
"Yep," she said happily.
"Great, we're all done then," Pansy announced with a sigh of relief. The other girls nodded in agreement. "So we should be on our way to meet the boys then."
The girls walked along, a conversation striking up about, what else, Christmas.
"I can't wait until Christmas," Madison said thoughtfully with a smile.
"Definitely,' Pansy agreed with a nod and smile. "Anyone have any special plans?"
Madison began to answer, but Ginny tuned her out as her cheeks turned a deep red, thinking about her "special plans". She felt her stomach knot slightly, but ignored it. She shook her head, looking back at her two friends, hoping they hadn't noticed her blush. Unfortunately for her, they had.
"What was that blush for Gin?" Pansy asked with a devious smile. "What exactly are you doing on Christmas?"
"Nothing important," she answered weakly. Any hope of keeping it a secret was not erased.
"You can't lie to us and you now it! Why would you want to anyway?" Madison asked with a smirk. 'A true Slytherin,' Ginny thought with a small smile. She looked back at her best friends, who had stopped walking and had their arms crossed, looking at her expectantly. Ginny stopped and looked to them with pleading eyes.
"Come on you guys," she complained," can't we just go?"
"As soon as you tell us your plans," they answered together with identical smirks. Ginny groaned and ran towards them, pulling them away from the main street. They grinned in excitement as she began to tell them.
"Oh my God," Madison exclaimed with her mouth open. Pansy opened her mouth to speak and shut it. A few moments of silence and Ginny looked at them impatiently.
"Please say SOMETHING," she prodded. They didn't speak. She gave them pleading eyes. "First thing on your minds…"
"You two haven't had sex yet?" Pansy asked after a minute. Now it was Ginny's turn to drop her jaw.
"What kind of a question is that?"
"You said first thing…"
"Well, whatever. But no, we haven't! Honestly! I am not some slut!" She huffed. Pansy and Madison looked at each other seriously, before cracking up, holding onto one another. Ginny raised her eyebrows, her eyes big.
"You have?" She screeched. Both Madison and Pansy sobered up and gave each other guilty looks before cracking up again. Ginny tried to act serious, but eventually joined them with a light chuckle. "Merlin…" (A/N: I am not trying to say that Madison and Pansy are sluts, because we all love them. It's just to emphasize how special this is for Ginny. Get it?)
Once their laughter died down, Madison whispered furiously in Pansy's ear, making Pansy grin mischievously and Ginny swallow nervously.
"We have to take you somewhere," Madison told her, grabbing a hold of her arm and Pansy doing the same. Ginny resisted, incredibly suspicious and nervous about their plan.
"But what about the boys…"
"We have ten minutes!" They pulled her along the streets, receiving many strange looks from other shoppers or even Hogwarts students. Finally, they began to pull her into one shop. Ginny looked at the shop name and the display windows and immediately stopped.
"Oh there is no…"
"Come on Gin!" Pansy yelled as they dragged a now fighting Ginny inside the store. They pulled her right up to a saleslady and held her in place as they began to converse.
"May I help you?"
"NO!"
"Yes," Madison cut in with a smirk. "Our friend here needs something to impress her boyfriend for a very special occasion."
The lady smiled at this and nodded. "I know exactly what you need."
Ginny groaned, dropping her head in her hands. "Girls, this was not necessary!"
"Think of it as a Christmas gift to Draco!" Pansy said with a smile and wink as the lady returned with a small handful of "clothing". She first held up a very racy little number. Red leather with a black leather studded belt.
"Oh hell no…" Ginny said, shaking her head.
The girls finally left the shop, a small bag in hand. Surprisingly, they had found something that Ginny had agreed to and Madison and Pansy were satisfied with. Now they stormed their way down the street to Three Broomsticks, realizing they were already ten minutes late. They burst inside simultaneously, immediately spotting their boyfriends at the bar already. They hastily made their way over, kissing their boyfriends and muttering hellos as they sat down.
"Where were you guys?" Blaise asked in between a kiss with Madison.
"We had some important, last minute things to do," Pansy said evilly. Ginny felt a tinge of pink make its way up to her cheeks but it disappeared before anyone could notice. Draco looked over to her, his hair still damp with melted snow and hanging in his eyes.
"Hey handsome," she said happily, giving him another, slightly longer kiss.
"Hey gorgeous," he responded with a smile. "Finish all your shopping?"
"Yes, finally!" She said, suddenly feeling exhausted from the day. He reached behind him, picking up a butterbeer.
"Ordered you one," he said, handing it over to her. She smiled gratefully.
"Thank you," she said, taking a swig. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he snaked an arm around her waist. The two sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the visit.
Ginny and Draco waved goodbye as they separated from the rest of the group, heading towards their rooms. Ginny still had her head on his shoulder, and it hadn't really left there since Hogsmeade. She couldn't wait to get back to the common room and just sit and relax. Draco felt the same. He just wanted to sit with his girlfriend and enjoy their break from school. He spoke the password and the two walked inside, immediately situating themselves on the couch. Draco leaned against one of the arms of the couch, with Ginny situated in his lap. The house elves, bless their hearts, had already lighted a fire, the room already a wonderful warm. Ginny sighed in content, wrapping her arms around Draco's chiseled abs (A/N: I love these parts! Yum-my!), her head resting comfortably on his chest as she faced the fire. She was just about ready to slip into sleep when a sharp tapping sound came from one of the synthetic windows and an owl, hooting softly came in and settled on Draco's shoulder. Draco, with a curious expression noticed it was the Daily Prophet. Raising an eyebrow, he removed it from the owl's sharp talons, wondering why on earth there was a second issue of the Daily Prophet this afternoon. He carelessly unrolled it, casually glancing at the headline. His eyes darted back to the headline suddenly and he tensed. Ginny felt this and looked up at him, seeing he was immersed in the front page article, his brow furrowed and a look of surprise evident on his features. As soon as he had finished, he laid down the paper, trying to clear out his thoughts.
"Draco, what is it?" Ginny asked with concern. He simply handed her the article, letting her read over it.
Lucius Malfoy Dies In Azkaban; Narcissa Malfoy Mysteriously Disappears
Ministry officials were shocked this morning to find Lucius Malfoy dead in his cell. Apparently, he'd been dead for only a few hours upon discovery and the cause so far is unconfirmed, although it looks to be natural. Lucius Malfoy, a Death Eater and allegedly He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's righthand man and is responsible for several hundred deaths of both wizard and muggle. Meanwhile, upon arriving at the Malfoy residence, officials discovered the mansion empty of Narcissa Malfoy, who lives there alone while their son Draco attends Hogwarts. After a thorough search of the grounds, the Ministry detected nothing questionable and ruled the disappearance as a runaway, as strange as that might sound. With one Malfoy dead and the other missing, we wonder what will happen with young Draco in his years to come.
Ginny dropped the newspaper, her forehead now wrinkled in confusion and sympathy. She looked up at Draco, who had his jaw set, his strong features looking grim.
"Draco, I am so sorry," she said softly.
"Don't be," he said, looking down at her, his rock-hard features softening a little. But Ginny saw in his eyes a look of relief and anger and a hint of sadness. She creased her brows together, looking away from him. He had noticed her look though.
"I'm glad he's gone, Gin. He was an evil man from the beginning of my life, all the way to the end of his. He was a terrible father and I won't miss him," he said, his voice laced with anger. She nodded, not needing to say anything.
"What about your mom?" She asked hesitantly. At this, that look of sadness passed through his eyes again. He didn't speak for a long time. She waited for him to speak.
"What happened to her is unfortunate. She's probably dead. I don't believe what the Ministry says about it. I feel bad about what happened to her though," he admitted, looking down at her. She listened intently. "My mom was never like my father. She didn't deserve in any way to be with that horrible bastard. She was forced into it by her family. They were never in love. He treated her like a possession. She was in charge of providing him an heir, which she did, but he didn't seem to be very satisfied with me. She was never an amazing mother; I spent most of my life with my nannies. But she loved me. And what was so sad about her story, is that she never got to live the life she deserved. I saw how Lucius treated her. Knocked her around when he was frustrated, forced her into his heinous Death Eater activities, made her sit and watch him with his whores in their bedrooms. Made her watch me getting beat up by my father as a young child. He hated her, like he hated everyone else. I have no doubt she's dead, because of him. The only happy part about this story is that now she's away from him. She's escaped from him."
As Draco finished his story, now at a whisper, tears ran down Ginny's face, streaking her cheeks. She laid a hand on Draco's chest and looked up at him with teary eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said simply in a whisper. How could he ever have gone through that? She had never even known what it was like for him. How could Lucius be so cruel? More tears fell as she thought of Narcissa, a woman she had judged so harshly after seeing her just once at the Quidditch World Cup. What she had been through. Bless her heart. Ginny hoped that she really had moved on and finally received her peace.
Draco looked at her, seeing the tears running down her cheeks and realizing that those were the tears he had never shed over his mother. He wiped them away gently with his thumb, and lifted her chin.
"Let's not let this get us down during the Christmas season, eh?" He asked her. She smiled weakly and used the back of her hand to get the remaining tears. She adjusted herself so that she was sitting upright and crashed her lips upon his, kissing him passionately.
"I love you Draco Malfoy," she said genuinely. He smiled at her.
"I love you too Ginny Weasley," he answered back, going in for another kiss.
"It's good to see you again Lucius," Voldemort hissed, her red eyes flashing. Lucius smirked and bowed.
"I read the story on the Daily Prophet," Lucius announced with a smirk. "They're eating it up. Impeccable plan as always, My Lord."
Voldemort smirked but then turned serious. "You've been keeping up with our situation then?"
Lucius nodded and Voldemort continued his rant. "The first ridiculous attempt failed. Idiotic to begin with. Of course we should have known that Severus would have had to make the antidote or we would lose our spy at Hogwarts. So our next attempt will be foolproof. It's ironic that our way of killing of the girl will be a method of those foul creatures her foolish father worships."
He chuckled lightly, a haunting and chilling sound. Lucius smiled.
"When?"
"Just after New Year's. This plan must be perfectly executed."
"It will be, My Lord. It will be."
Author Note: Hey you guys! I know it took me forever to update because I got kinda stuck as always and I've been busy with school! But I gave you all a pretty gosh darn long chapter! Right? It was originally intended as just space filler for Christmas, but I added some very important plot twists obviously! What do you think? Let me know with a review! Anyways, REVIEWERS! I love you all! You are so good to me!
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