Theme: Oh(TP) No!
Beater 1: One half of your OTP needs to focus on their own life
Prompts:
7. (dialogue) "You told your mother?"
8. (dialogue) "It's for the best."/"Yeah? Best for who?"
Words: 1,205 words
SLAM
Draco could hear the angry stomps make their way down the hallway towards his study, where he was sitting at his desk. He reached for his wand nervously. His sense of self-preservation kicked in instinctively. He would never harm her, he loved her, but he knew she was volatile with her wand at the best of times, and based on the mood she was in, he wasn't sure she wouldn't harm him.
Misty, his house-elf, popped into his study nervously wringing her pillow-case dress. "Ms. Weasley is here Master Malfoy, and she's-"
Whatever the house-elf was going to say next was cut off by the door to his study being slammed open. Ginny Weasley marched in as if carried by a literal storm of emotion. Draco gripped his wand tighter.
Misty, wisely, popped from the room. Draco looked to the spot recently vacated by the usually confident and pleasant elf. Coward. Although, looking at Ginny's eyes blazing at him, he wondered if he shouldn't follow the elf's lead. It's too late now.
"Hello, my love," Draco began, trying to placate his fiery girlfriend. Or rather, his ex-girlfriend. Based on her reaction, it was clear that she was not in agreement.
"YOUR. LOVE?"
"My sweet-" Draco tried again.
"Arghhh!" Ginny interrupted his speech with an almighty screech. The ceramic vase sitting on the credenza cabinet behind his desk exploded. Draco ducked his head to avoid getting hit by the shards, with limited success. "I am not your love or your sweet... apparently...and I had to find out about that from the Witch Weekly reporter at a bloody press conference! After we lost the game. Do you know how humiliating that is?"
"I am sure-" He began to explain, brushing ceramic dust off his robes and out of his hair.
"No! You don't know how that feels!" Ginny carried on, as if he hadn't spoken, pacing in front of his desk. "Because I'm sure you would have been informed by your significant other as to the status of the relationship IN PERSON, and not from the tabloid press!" She stomped her foot in a fit of pique.
"Ginny, we talked about this," Draco tried again. Keeping his tone even. One thing he had learned from dating Ginny was to keep a level head. It didn't benefit anyone to have both of them flying off the handle. Their relationship wouldn't have reached the one year mark if he had let their tempers control everything.
"No, you talked about this." Ginny jabbed a finger in his direction. "I didn't agree to anything." She poked herself in the chest. "I thought we would have more than a fleeting discussion about whether or not we would be taking a break. But apparently I was wrong. Apparently, my desires and opinion don't matter in this relationship."
"Ginny, you know that's not true. I love you. There's just a lot going on with the company right now and with my mother. You know she's not taking father's death well. And you have the World Cup to prepare for. We both have a lot going on right now. I just suggested we take some time to focus on those things without having to worry about our relationship. You can focus on training and everything you have to do and I can focus on doing everything that I have to do without anything getting in the way-"
Ginny's eyes flashed and he could almost see the steam coming from her ears.
Bollocks
Draco knew the minute the words left his mouth that they were the wrong things to say.
"GETTING. IN. THE. WAY! You think our relationship is something that was GETTING. IN. THE. WAY?! Of what? Your normal life? So if our relationship was getting in the way of your life-"
"That's not what I meant. Just that we needed time to focus on higher priorities and I thought we were stable enough to handle a little break. I didn't think-"
"That's your problem. You didn't think at all. And worse, you thought you could think for me. You don't get to make my decisions about my life, without my approval."
"I was talking to mother about everything and she suggested that maybe a break-"
"You told your mother-"
"Well, yes. We were having a discussion about father's death and the changes happening with the company, with her stepping down from the Board, I just-"
"You spoke to your mother about changes to our relationship before speaking with me about changes to our relationship? Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Yes. I was just getting some advice. You talk to Molly all the time, why is this any different?"
"Because reporters haven't asked you about things that I've discussed with my mother. How did they even find out anyway? Is Rita Skeeter 'bugging' you again?"
"No. I met Blaise for lunch on Friday and we were talking and I might have mentioned that you wouldn't be coming to the Hogwarts Foundation Dinner with me because we were on a break and he-"
"Of course! Even Blaise 'Loose Lips' Zabini knew about the status of our relationship before me. Remind me again how many people I'm dating? I need to know how many more people I need to break up with. Do I need to make a list to keep them all straight?"
"No one is breaking up. We are just taking a little break so that you can focus on qualifying for the World Cup and I can sort out some personal issues."
Ginny took a deep breath, trying to calm down. His view of their relationship hurt her deeply. "I don't consider our relationship an obstacle to me doing my job properly, Malfoy. Being your girlfriend doesn't change the way I play on the Pitch. But apparently being in a relationship with me hinders your ability to run a company, or console your mother."
"I'm 'Malfoy' now? Draco asked, taken aback.
"If the behaviour fits."
"Ginny, I was just trying to make this whole situation easier. We would only be apart for a little while."
"And after you sort this thing out and we get back together and then something else comes up, are we going to go on another 'break' while you fix that? Will our relationship have to end every time some major change happens in your life? Am I just to remain flexible to your every whim, regardless of how it affects my life? I can't do that, Malfoy."
"No one is breaking up, Ginny. It would only be a little break, until everything is back in order. It's for the best."
"Yeah? Best for who?"
"For both of us."
Ginny stared at Draco for a long moment before speaking.
"You're right, it is for the best. I can't do this anymore. Goodbye, Draco."
Ginny turned and left the room. Draco dropped his head on the desk, his forehead connecting with the wooden surface hard. That did not turn out how he had intended. Worse, he thought he had lost her forever. On the bright side, at least she didn't use her wand. The front door of his townhouse slammed, signalling her exit. Perhaps for the last time.
SLAM
