If Only
By Jeni Draco's Girl
Once more there has been a depressingly long break between chapters, eh? But I'm not really able to manage more than twice yearly updates. At least the chapters are longer than they used to be!
To recap, Jeni has discovered that not only is her mother alive, but she also has a half brother in Blaise. The last chapter left off on the night before Christmas Eve: the day of the ball and her performance dance with Draco to celebrate his coming of age.
Jeni stood by the window, the last glow of sunset lingering on the horizon. She was held, stiffly straight, by the magnificent blue ball gown which she'd been so looking forward to wearing, and as she stared out over the grounds, she saw a man appear below.
How strange, she thought. Wasn't the manor like Hogwarts, in that no one should be able to apparate within the grounds?
Perhaps it wasn't.
She turned her attention back to the man who was now storming up the path towards the entrance. And as she looked closer, and noticed his familiar stride, and the colour of his hair, she suddenly realised who it was.
Her father.
Her father had come. He knew she was here. Jeni began to panic as she pulled open the window, just in time to hear him cry "Malfoy!"
"Malfoy!" he called again. "Hand over my daughter!"
The doors opened with a bang and she heard Lucius reply.
"What are you and your lot up to now, McNite?" he sneered.
Jeni saw her father pull out his wand and spun around, determined to go down and do something before the situation escalated beyond all repair. But instead she crashed into Draco, who seemed to have appeared behind her. "Don't," he told her, his face blank. "You'll only make it worse."
Unable to move with Draco holding her so tightly, Jeni had no choice but to turn back to the window – just in time to see a flash of green light hit her father square in the chest.
She screamed as he crumpled to the ground, thrashing in Draco's grasp until he released her and turned to run, out the door and down the corridor, down flights and flights of stairs, finally making it, somehow, out into the foyer and out the door.
Streaking past Lucius as he stood in the entrance, she almost tripped as she raced down the steps and along the gravel path to where her father lay, lifeless.
She collapsed next to him, her skirts billowing around her, her hands on his chest, his face. "No," Jeni whispered. "Dad, you can't be dead. You can't be!" she cried desperately, face upturned toward the ever darkening sky. "Not now, not like this…" Her body seemed almost to deflate as she sobbed against his chest, hands clutching at his clothes.
Some moments later, she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. Turning her face and blinking through the tears that still flowed from her eyes, she looked up to see Lucius standing over her. He removed his hand only to offer it to help her up.
She didn't take it.
"Come," he said gently, his face at once commanding yet fatherly. "Come. You belong with us now."
As the words left his mouth, Jeni's vision began to blur.
Someone was calling her name, urgently.
"No!" she insisted. "I can't leave him! I don't want to go with you!"
"Jeni," the voice continued, and there was firm pressure on her shoulders. "Jeni, wake up!"
"What?" she murmured through the darkness that had engulfed her.
Jeni forced open her eyes to see Draco leaning over her, his face softly lit by moonlight from through the window.
"You were screaming," he told her. "Are you alright?"
"I don't…" She stopped, wincing at the pain speaking caused in her throat. She raised a hand to rub her eyes, and discovered her cheeks were wet.
"My dad…" she whispered, sitting up. "Lucius…he…"
Jeni glanced at Draco's enquiring expression and briefly related the events of her dream.
"It's alright now," Draco said comfortingly, rubbing her back. "It was just a nightmare. You'd best try to get back to sleep – we've a big day ahead of us."
"Draco, please," Jeni pleaded as he stood, her fingers catching his sleeve. "Please don't leave me."
Draco looked over at her, and then sat back down, moving over to lie next to her. He held her close and murmured comforting words, stroking her hair until she fell asleep once again. He lay there a little longer, listening her soft breathing, until he too drifted off, feeling more than a little disturbed by what she had dreamt.
When Jeni awoke the next morning, Draco was gone. Glancing at the clock, she realised that it was actually quite late already. She threw off the covers and got out of bed, making it halfway to the door before flashes from her dream pushed their way up through her mind. Taking a deep breath and shoving them away, she left her room and found Draco, sitting on the couch, deep in discussion with himself.
At least, that's how it seemed until a high pitched voice told her he was actually talking to Poppy, the house elf, who was hidden from her view.
"Happy birthday!" Jeni called over to him.
"Good morning," Draco said, standing and coming over to greet her. Jeni leaned up to kiss him. "Poppy and I were just discussing the finer points of your dress for tonight."
"Tonight?" Jeni repeated, all thought of Draco's birthday forgotten. "But I thought it was finished?"
"That," Draco replied, "is your ball gown. You weren't expecting to dance our tango in that, were you?"
"Oh," Jeni said shortly. "Then what…?"
Poppy hurried forward at Draco's gesture, and with a wave of her hand and a loud CRACK! there stood a dressmaker's model, upon which was a black dress.
"You have got to be kidding," Jeni said flatly.
"I'm afraid not," Draco replied, although he didn't look very apologetic. "It has to allow for movement, you know." He was referring, Jeni assumed, to the slit that ran far too far up one side of the dress for Jeni's comfort.
"Well, what about that?" she retorted, indicating the extremely low V-neck. "You can't tell me that's to allow for movement!"
"It fits with the style." Draco didn't seem in the least perturbed by Jeni's indignance.
Jeni looked once more at the dress. It did, she had to admit, look appropriate. The slit swooped down either way to open out the skirt more with a slightly ruffled edge, the straps narrowing as they went up to form a simple, yet flattering, halter neck.
"Well, I suppose it's not so bad…" she said, still doubtful.
"Wonderful. Now, why don't you go and try it on, so Poppy can make the final adjustments, and then we'll go and practise for a while."
"Don't forget breakfast in there somewhere," Jeni called back over her shoulder as she was ushered towards the dressing room.
"I'm sure we can squeeze it in," Draco replied, just before the door shut.
As expected, the dress fitted perfectly, and was not only flattering, but it made her feel a little more confident, too.
Once she was back in normal clothes, they moved the couches out of the way in the lounge area and practised for a few hours – Jeni having first secured something to eat, of course.
It was then that Draco suggested they go and try it in the ballroom.
"The ballroom?" Jeni found herself repeating Draco again.
"Yes. You need to have a go getting down those stairs in heels."
Jeni sighed, and felt the butterflies that had lain dormant in her tummy for so long spring back to life. "There'll definitely be no one there?"
"Definitely," Draco assured her.
With a second sigh, though this was a slightly more determined one, she went to retrieve the black stilettos that matched the dress, and they set off for the ballroom, a path that was familiar by now.
The stairs Draco had mentioned were a double staircase at one end of the room, either side of which curved out and then back in, so the ends almost met up again. They originated from a balcony which ran around the second floor of the gaping hall, and where guests could stand to watch the festivities below. Jeni was going to have to get down these stairs twice – the first time before they performed their dance, and the second in her blue gown, when Draco would be 'introduced' as having come of age.
They were now standing at the very top, and Jeni was feeling increasingly nervous, just imagining what it would be like when the hall was filled with people.
"Off you go then," Draco prompted.
Jeni glanced at him, not having expected to be doing it alone, before resting her hand on the banister and starting off, holding herself with all the grace she could muster. It was certainly not as easy as she had hoped it would be, and she stumbled a few times, clutching the railing for support. Why the stairs had to be so long, or the heels so high, she couldn't imagine. The only thought she could draw upon for comfort was that this was about Draco, and hopefully all attention would be directed at him, and how good he was at throwing a girl around a dance floor. Or in any case, that was the most sense Jeni could force out of it.
It took several tries before Jeni made it all the way down without almost plummeting to her death, and several more before she could do it with the certain swing in her hips which Draco had demonstrated with alarmingly accuracy.
Thankfully, after she'd managed to demonstrate her proficiency to Draco's satisfaction, he suggested that they relax for the rest of the afternoon – or at least what remained of it before they would have to start getting ready. Jeni wholeheartedly agreed – there's only so many times a person can walk up and down a flight of stairs before it becomes apparent that no further progress will be made.
There were, as it turned out, only a few hours to be spared. Henri was nowhere to be found – Jeni hoped he was feeling better after his fight with Emily, and wasn't off sulking. They took their cloaks and went out with Draco's broom. He claimed flying was relaxing and after a few moments Jeni decided this was definitely true.
They flew out on a long circuit of the grounds surrounding the manor, although Draco told her that they were far more extensive than what she could see from there. The lake she had seen previously, where wizards had been racing their boats, was actually part of a far greater system of lakes, streams and fountains. Nearby were the stables, and a bit further out from that the woods that they had ridden through. The trees spread around all the way to the front of the property; where there was a long road leading, Jeni presumed, towards the entrance one came by if not by floo. The woods resumed their dominance of the landscape on the other side, and then there was a –
"That's not a…dragon, is it?" Jeni asked, awestruck. What she was referring to was, in actual fact, the jet of fire and smoke she'd just seen erupt from the trees' canopy in the distance.
"I told you father keeps the dangerous animals on this side," Draco replied, amused. "And it's not the only dragon he's got."
"Not the only…I don't think I really want to know what's over there," Jeni decided, turning her attention in the other direction, towards the manor which was quite a sight to behold in and of itself.
Really, Jeni thought, it's more of a castle than a manor. The building sprawled out over a vast chunk of land. The main body contained the ballroom and main entertaining rooms, Jeni knew, and probably a lot of other things. There were three wings extending off this centre – towards each side and out the back. Jeni didn't have a clue what rooms were contained in all this space, but one of the wings – the one stretching to the right of the entry from where they were – was the one where their rooms were located.
The roofline of the castle was nowhere near as erratic as that of Hogwarts. In the middle, the roof rose up to provide the hemispheric dome of the ballroom. Then, at the end of each wing was an elegant turret, each as big at least as Jeni's house. She sighed at the view, which really was spectacular, and leant forward against Draco's back as he flew them towards the turret at the end of their wing.
Inside, the air was dry and warm – unlike outside where it was freezing cold and there was the feeling of an eminent thunderstorm. As she closed her eyes and breathed the warm air in deeply, Jeni noticed the slight smell of smoke. All of a sudden, she didn't have the option of opening her eyes.
"You have a thing for blindfolds, don't you?" Jeni asked lightly.
"Perhaps," Draco replied, so close she could feel his breath on her ear and hear the smirk in his voice. "This way," he said, taking her hand.
They moved away from the entrance and into the main room, which Jeni hadn't seen before, so happy had she been just to be somewhere warm. It was only a short distance to go before she was steered to a sitting position on a soft fur rug. Draco released her hand and she guessed that she was allowed to look. Once she'd tugged off the strip of black fabric, Jeni found herself to be staring into the fire that she'd smelled just before. But Draco seemed to have disappeared. Looking around, Jeni saw a couple of armchairs placed further back from the fire than the rug, and some other pieces of furniture around the walls, which were broken up by high gothic windows against which the first smatterings of rain were falling.
"Draco?" Jeni called quietly. The room was silent except for the pattering of rain and the soft crackling of the fire. Jeni didn't know whether or not she should be worried – Draco couldn't have gone anywhere in those few seconds, could he? She shifted around where she was sitting to see if he was hiding in some dark corner, waiting to surprise her. But when she turned back, it was to see the snow leopard that she'd become familiar with sitting smugly next to her, as if he'd been there all that time.
Jeni sighed, irritated yet relieved. She shifted over to lie down on her tummy facing him, her chin resting on her hands.
"Think that was funny, do you?" she asked with a little smile. Draco's only response was to nudge his head against her cheek so hard, he knocked her off balance and she rolled over onto her back with a giggle to stare up at him upside down. Jeni reached up to scratch under his chin and then behind his ears. Draco purred loudly, causing her to giggle again, her pre-emptive stress about tonight slowly melting away.
Draco padded around to lie down next to her, and they snuggled closely together. It was warm and the light was dim – Jeni felt herself drifting off…
The next thing she was aware of was Draco waking her. The rain outside had stopped and it was time to get ready.
They flew back down to the balcony outside Jeni's room, which was only a very short trip. Draco saw her into the dressing room where Poppy soon appeared with a crack, and then left to get ready himself. Once she had changed into the black dress, Poppy put her hair up with red roses. She took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror, trying to calm the butterflies who were threatening to escape.
Draco was waiting when she finally emerged from the room, and they started off toward the ballroom.
The guests would already be waiting in the hall, having spent some time there already, socialising. As if they haven't been doing enough of that already these past few days, Jeni thought wryly.
The walk to the second floor behind the double doors that would open to the stairs was far too short for Jeni's liking. She could hear everyone inside talking, the chinking of glasses and the rustle of all the ball gowns. And then the doors were opening.
Draco went down first, swaggering his way to the bottom of the stairs like the Draco she remembered from before they'd gotten together. The voices became silent, and from the little she could see, everyone moved forward to crowd around the space at the bottom of the stairs.
And then it was her turn. Jeni closed her eyes as the music began and took another deep breath, pushing her fear away. She walked forward to the first step, holding herself as tall as she could, shoulders back, and looked down to see Draco wink up at her. The corner of her mouth tugged up into a little smirk, and she started down the stairs with newfound confidence, her fingers skimming the banister, her other hand holding the front of her skirt elegantly out of the way. She kept her attention on Draco, and managed to avoid looking out at all the people who were undoubtedly looking at her.
Jeni arrived at the bottom without advent.
She and Draco moved warily towards each other, not breaking eye contact. When they were within reach of one another, Draco put his right hand around Jeni's waist and pulled her close to him. Jeni looked down at his arm, as though shocked that he would dare touch her. She raised her left hand in a slow graceful arc to his shoulder, still not looking at him. Draco ran his fingertips down her right arm to her hand, then pulled it quickly into tango-hold – and the dance started.
The bang of the doors behind them prompted Jeni to release a relieved sigh. Then she laughed. She could still hear the approving applause of the audience and the raucous cheers of Draco's classmates ringing in her ears.
Draco hugged her tightly and whispered "Well done" in her ear. Then, "Come on – we have to go back and get changed." He took her hand and Jeni held it tightly. She was still grinning, high on adrenaline from their performance.
They got back to their rooms quickly and separated at the door. Jeni went and stood before her ball gown where it was on the stand at the end of the room. She took off the dress she was wearing, rehanging it carefully, and then removed the blue gown as gently as she could. She stepped into it, avoiding stepping on the hem, and felt the familiar sensation of it zipping itself up.
Poppy materialised, with a crack that no longer surprised Jeni, to redo her hair into a more appropriate style. Jeni thought she noticed a flash of light behind her – a new drawer had appeared in the seat in the middle of the room. When Poppy had finished, she got up and went over to see what was in the drawer.
Inside was a short but thick silver snake chain, with a diamond pendant the size of a galleon; along with matching earrings. Poppy helped her put them on, and Jeni noticed a card tucked in the corner of the drawer. It read: 'These are a loan from my mother – she wore them when she accompanied father at his coming-of-age ball. Draco.'
Jeni smiled, feeling warmed by Narcissa's kindness, and gave herself one last look over in the mirror before going out and letting Draco do the same, which made her smile even more.
"Shall we?" he asked formally, offering his arm.
Jeni inclined her head slightly in acquiescence, and placed her hand lightly upon his arm.
They made their way back to the same door above the stairs from which they'd already made their entrance once. This time, Draco's father would officially announce his coming-of-age. She could hear, once more, the noise of the party inside, and then how it became louder just before dying off as Lucius called for silence. He seemed to talk for a minute or so, although Jeni couldn't distinguish most of it, except for a few words like 'Draco', 'seventeenth birthday' and 'proud'. Then the doors were opening, she heard them be announced and they were on their way down the stairs again.
At least, Jeni thought, as she often did, I just have to follow Draco.
Soon enough, it was over. They were down the stairs and into the crowd, which was slowly making its way back to dancing, drinking and talking. Draco led her over to where Blaise, Henri and the others were. The boys slapped Draco on the back, congratulating him and wishing him happy birthday. Blaise greeted Jeni and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush slightly, surprised, and Henri handed her a drink. Jeni felt herself being accepted for the first time.
She and Henri turned away from the others, who were all crowded around Draco. "So," she asked, "how've you been?"
Henri smirked, amused. "It's only been – what? A day or two?"
"Well, yes," Jeni said, "but the last time we spoke was a bit," she paused to think, "emotional," she decided, "for both of us."
"Ah yes," Henri said. "Have you spoken to Scarlet since?"
"No," she replied, "I haven't. But don't change the topic!"
"Worth a try," Henri returned. He looked around. "You should be able to speak to her tonight."
"Only if Draco's there. Anyway, what about you? Have you spoken with Emily?"
"Not really. I mean, she's around her somewhere. I've seen her, but I don't think she really wants to talk to me. We didn't exactly part on the best terms last time."
"No," Jeni agreed. "But she'll come around in her own time. Henri, I can't help asking…"
Henri looked at her, slightly suspicious.
"Now that you're decided, do you, you know…"
He waited.
"Do you…have your eye on anyone?"
Henri laughed. "Not as yet, no."
Jeni looked disappointed.
"And I can't promise that, should that come about, you'd be the first to hear. You know, after last time…"
Jeni looked positively crestfallen. Henri laughed again. "Just kidding," he reassured her. She perked up again, just as Blaise was coming over.
"Well done," he told her. "That was a very convincing performance."
Jeni smiled, so happy that he had praised her. "Later," he continued, "after you have your first dance with Draco, I am requisitioning your second."
She laughed at his formal request….or command. "Of course," she replied. "And," she added, turning to Henri, "I want to make sure I get a dance with you, too."
"I'll be sure of that," he said.
It was at this moment that Draco came over to stand by her side, bringing with him Pansy, Theo, Millicent and Gregory. Jeni suddenly found herself surrounded by Slytherins, and it was a little discomforting, although she felt almost safe at the same time. They talked for a while, mostly around her it seemed, although Jeni didn't mind. She eventually had a chance to take the first sip of the drink Henri had given her, which was…well, she didn't quite know what it was. It might have been champagne, but it tasted rather more pleasant than the last time she'd tried the stuff, so maybe it was something else.
Soon, Draco excused them, and they were able to talk to Scarlet, who had also extricated herself from her conversation with several old and boring looking wizards. It was the first time Jeni had spoken to her mother since that time in the library a couple of days ago, and she wasn't quite sure what to say to her.
"Oh, just look at you!" Scarlet said before Jeni had a chance to say anything at all, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Apparently, Jeni thought, this was something her new family did. "You've grown to be more beautiful than I ever could have hoped." Jeni blushed. "And your dance," she continued, turning to Draco, "was wonderful! I'm so proud of both of you! Anyway, what have you two been up to the last couple of days?"
"Oh, the usual," Draco replied. "Horse riding, flying."
Jeni spoke for the first time. "What do all the adults do, while they're here?"
"Terribly boring stuff. Which is why, I imagine, they blow up most of it." Jeni remembered the boats they'd seen the day before. "Let's see…croquet, horse riding too. That's quite fun I suppose. I've been spending quite a bit of time with Pansy's mum, and Narcissa, which is always nice – the three of us are all in the same boat, really. Henri's mother, Sylvie, is very nice too, although she's rather the social butterfly, so we don't see a lot of her." She glanced back over her shoulder, to where Christian was looking pointedly at her. "I'd better go – 'wifely duties' and all that to fulfil." She kissed them both again, then turned and went back to her husband.
"So," Draco said, "how about that dance?"
Blaise had obviously been paying attention – as soon as the first song that Draco and Jeni had had together was over, he was there by their sides.
"If I didn't know better, Blaise," Draco said with a smile, "I'd think you were trying to steal my girlfriend."
"Now, now, Draco," Blaise replied, "it's only a dance." Both boys laughed, and Draco went to offer Pansy a dance.
"I saw you managed a quick word to mum," Blaise said quietly as they started dancing.
"'Quick' being the main part of it," Jeni said. 'Your dad was practically breathing down her neck the whole time."
"Well, he does that. It's lucky Draco's her godson, else there wouldn't be much hope for you two seeing each other in public."
Jeni sighed. Whilst she was glad to know her mother was alive, what chance did they have of any sort of relationship? Jeni wondered.
"Again, you're lucky there," Blaise said.
"Gods, are all Slytherins mind readers or something?" Jeni interrupted.
"To some extent, I expect most of them are. In any case, what I was going to say was that Draco and mum are quite close; he's like a second mother to her. Narcissa…well, she does try, but I don't think she was really ever the hugs and kisses sort. She's much less strong-willed than mum is. So it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for her to take you…what do they call it?...under her wing, I think is the phrase. After all," he continued, putting on an aristocratic air, "you are but a lowly commoner, in need of instruction in the ways of the rich."
Jeni laughed. "Draco's taught me plenty."
"He has," Blaise agreed, "as you have demonstrated. But, well, forgive my intrusion, but have you thought about your relationship in the long term?"
Jeni looked at Blaise blankly. She had, now that she came to think about it, never really considered the future. She and Draco had only been together a few months, and despite the strength of her feelings for him, and their disastrous confessions to each other, she'd never thought much past the present – her main concern having been, recently, the event which she was currently attending.
Blaise smiled knowingly. "I can see that you haven't then," he said. "Don't worry about it, but it's probably worth some thought. Draco cares about you a lot-"
"I care about him too!" Jeni cut in.
"Yes, I know," Blaise reassured her. "But you're both still young, so there's no rush."
Jeni thought this was a very serious statement to be coming from someone only a year older than her.
"I'm your brother," Blaise said. "It's my job. And in a brotherly way, I thoroughly approve of you and Draco." He smirked. Jeni laughed.
That was where the song ended. And, as if by some sort of magic, Henri was standing at her side. "Someone's popular tonight," Blaise said as he left to reclaim Pansy.
Jeni giggled, then turned to hug Henri tightly, ignoring the barely concealed looks of shock from several of the people around them. As they started to dance, Jeni noticed there was a difference between dancing with Henri, and dancing with Draco or Blaise. Maybe it was just that he wasn't as tall as them, or that he was slighter, but though he led just the same, there was less power in it, it was much gentler, or softer.
"Henri," Jeni said, "we really should do something together during the next few days. I mean, it's been great to have so much time with Draco, but I miss seeing you. What have you been doing? In fact," she continued, not giving him room to answer, "what's anyone been doing? You, or Blaise, or Pansy…?"
"Oh, nothing of great consequence," he replied, "but that's half the point, isn't it, of holidays. Um…we've been playing games, or just relaxing. Draco's got a great library here, and…oh, we've played Quidditch a bit."
"Quidditch? You mean there's actually a pitch here?"
"After a fashion, yes. Well, you have to get the house elves to put up the hoops for you, and we haven't enough people for whole seven against seven teams, but it works out quite well. Just cut out the beaters and we can cover everything else."
"We should all play together!" Jeni said. "Well, at least, you lot can, I'm horrible at Quidditch. I'll keep score or something… I can't believe Draco hasn't mentioned it!"
"Probably because he's been perfectly happy having 'alone' time with you," Henri explained. "But that's only to be expected, really. School's so hectic and all that."
"Don't remind me. I just remembered all that homework we've been set that I haven't even looked at yet. We were out of Hogwarts practically the second classes finished!"
"We'll still have some holidays when we get back. I don't think we'll be seeing much of each other then."
"No, I don't suppose so. Still, it's nice to have some time away from school. Big as the castle is, it's difficult being there all the time. Especially in winter – it's harder to get outside."
"Yes, I agree. And summer always seems so far away at this time of year. Although…"
"Although what?" Jeni asked, as Henri didn't continue after a few moments.
"Although you'll find out later." Henri seemed to take great delight in not telling her.
Jeni sighed in frustration. The song ended, and they stepped apart. And then, the person that Jeni least wanted to dance with was there, waiting to take over.
Lucius Malfoy.
"Miss Starre," he said, greeting her, his head inclined and his hand offered.
He doesn't…Jeni thought. He didn't expect her to dance with him, did he?
But a few seconds passed, and he hadn't moved. And she hadn't woken up screaming again. She curtsied in return, feeling that there was no escape from something which certainly terrified her more than the performance dance had.
Jeni took Lucius's hand, and followed him, albeit reluctantly, in the waltz around the room.
"How have you been enjoying your time here?" he asked.
It took a few seconds for her to register that he'd spoken, given the high state of anxiety that she was in. "Um," she said, "very much. The castle and the grounds are all very beautiful."
"Thank you. It's a tradition that every Malfoy generation adds something of their own to the estate. The dragon colony that I believe you've glimpsed is my legacy." Somehow, Jeni wasn't at all surprised. "But now, Miss Starre, Draco has told me very little of your family." Jeni swore something very unpleasant in her head.
"Well," she said, as conversationally as she could manage, "there's not much to tell. My parents are both healers, and they live in a small town called New Romney on the south-east coast where they have their own healing practice."
"I see. What years were your parents at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked. "I don't remember anyone with that surname whilst I was there…"
Luckily, Draco had thought of this. For Jeni's parents to have totally different years, they would need to either be much older than Lucius or Jeni would have to have been born when her mother was eighteen or younger. "Neither of them went to Hogwarts," she replied. "My father is Australian, and my mother is German, she went to Durmstrang. They met when dad was travelling around Europe, and decided England was a fair place to live – English speaking but not far from mum's family."
"That explains it," Lucius said contemplatively.
Thankfully, at that moment, the song ended and Draco appeared just as surprisingly as his Lucius had.
"Time's up father," he said with a smirk.
Lucius returned it quite identically. Jeni attempted an expression which she hoped seemed like she would have liked to continue their conversation. As soon as he had gone, she crushed Draco's fingers in her hand.
"All right, all right," he said, chuckling gently. "It's over."
As the night wore on, Jeni grew tired. She'd danced and danced, and drunk more of that champagne-like-stuff than she probably should have. And so after some time, Draco kissed her good night, and got Henri to escort her back to her room – it wasn't long until the other reason for their being there would commence, and he wanted her well out of the way before then. Henri saw her back and left her at the door. Jeni made it indoors and to the bed, and after that…well, she fell asleep right away.
The next morning, Jeni woke slowly. She was lying curled on her right side, face buried in the pillow. Her head felt foggy, and she had the sense that not only was she still wearing her ball gown, but she wasn't in her own bed. Well, she thought, she knew she wasn't at home…Cracking open an eye, she noticed that the sheets were black. Okay, she corrected, definitely not even her bed at Draco's. Her mind began to clear, and she realised that there was a weight across her body.
Draco's arm was protectively across her, his hand resting on her breast.
Moving his arm gently, she slipped from under it and forced herself to her feet, her dress rustling softly around her. Draco stirred, but he didn't wake. Jeni left the room, being careful to go as quietly as she could through the door.
Back in her own room, she remembered faintly that she'd gone to Draco's room to await his return from the ceremony. She must have fallen asleep straight after that, as she couldn't remember anything else.
Halfway to her bedroom, an idea struck her. After all, Draco had gone to all that effort buying that nightie, even if it had just been to embarrass her. It seemed a shame not to try the thing on, didn't it?
It took Jeni a few minutes to locate where she'd stuffed it at the time, since she hadn't been in a very thoughtful mood.
Once she'd found it, she took it into the dressing room, removing her gown and replacing it carefully on its stand before slipping the nightie over her head. It was made of the darkest emerald green satin, with frothy silvery grey lace around the neckline and hem.
Well, she thought, once she had it on, it wasn't as short as she'd feared. Not that she'd venture out in the thing, but…it would serve its purpose. She left the room and tip-toed back to Draco's bedroom, sliding under the covers and moving close to him, settling one hand over his waist, the other tucked neatly between them, and nuzzling her nose under his chin. She sighed the sigh of one who was about to drift off to sleep, noticing, as Draco's hand moved possessively back around her although he still had not woken, that his forearm was tightly bandaged. And then she was asleep again, the sound of Draco's soft breathing filling her ears.
Jeni didn't know how much time passed before she became aware of the feeling of someone gently kissing her forehead. She moved her head upward as she stirred, and they moved down, kissing her eyelids, her nose and finally her mouth.
"Merry Christmas," Draco murmured, breaking the kiss.
"Merry Christmas," Jeni replied with a smile, her eyes still closed.
"Is this my Christmas present?" Draco asked suggestively, running his fingers lightly over the silky fabric that covered her back.
Jeni shivered, arching slightly against him, before answering "No…but," now with the sense that she should perhaps move, "I'll go and get -"
"Later," Draco cut her off. "There's no need to move now."
"Did…" she began, in an effort to change the topic, before stopping. She was desperate to know at the same time as not wanting to know anything at all. Draco waited. "Did it hurt terribly?" she eventually asked.
"Yes," Draco replied after a long pause. She didn't think him inclined to say anything further, but a moment later he continued.
"Jeni, what I had to do…well, there were terrible things involved, and I could never put that upon you."
It was as she had expected then – Draco wasn't going to tell her anything of what had happened. "What about…you said that they were planning to …"
"Luckily they failed. But…even without the Dark Lord, the Deatheaters themselves are enough of a force to be reckoned with. It seems they intend to continue his work – getting rid of the muggleborns and restoring the influence that the pureblood families, like the Malfoys and the Parkinsons, used to hold. And they will do so, with or without their leader." Draco sighed. "Although, I can't help but feel that he still exists. Such a man could not have been defeated so easily, particularly given the measures he took to guarantee his own immortality."
Jeni shivered again, although this time for a different reason, and Draco tightened his hold on her.
"I will never let anything happen to you," he said. "Jeni," he moved his hand to tilt her chin up, looking her in the eye, "you're the reason I have to continue, the one thing I have worth protecting. And I will never let anyone take you from me."
"I know," she whispered, leaning forward to bridge the gap between their lips.
They lay there some time more, Jeni drifting in and out of sleep, until she decided it'd been long enough.
"I don't know why you do it, but I can't abide by this staying in bed until god knows what hour on Christmas day. I'm going to get your present." And ignoring Draco's protests, she wiggled out from under the covers and went back to her room, again struggling to remember where she'd put it.
It certainly hadn't been easy – after all, what do you get for someone who can buy anything they want? But nonetheless, Jeni felt she'd done the best she could.
Back in Draco's room, she lay down on her stomach on the bed, and placed the black, leather covered book in the lap of the now upright Draco. He glanced at her, then back to the book, and opened the cover. From the first page, Jeni, Draco and Henri waved back up at him – Draco somewhat less enthusiastically, but all the same... He turned the first page, and the next, and from each one some combination of the three of them smiled, waved or smirked, Draco's photographic-self occasionally pulling Jeni into a close embrace.
Draco was silent.
"It's funny, isn't it," Jeni commented, noticing the silence was a good one, "that even if you don't know your photo's being taken, your photo-self knows." Draco's expression told her that he was trying to think when they'd been taken. She'd noticed in the manor the complete lack of any photos of their family or, well, of anything. Draco didn't seem about to speak any time soon, so she continued. "I asked Colin to take them…with some incentive he was completely up for it. You know, it's amazing what people will do if you're nice to them…or pay them, whichever."
Still seemingly unable to speak, Draco put the book aside and shifted over, leaning down to kiss her. "And now," he said, after a long moment, "it's your turn."
"But!" Jeni objected, pushing herself up on her hands, "I didn't think…you've already given me so much! You shouldn't have…" Draco placed his finger on her lips to silence her, and then handed her a small black box that he had produced out of nowhere. Hesitantly she took it. Glancing up at Draco cautiously, like he had done to her before, she carefully clicked open the lid of the box.
Inside was a thin silver ring with a star-shaped emerald set in the middle. Jeni's breath caught in her throat, and she looked back up at Draco.
"It's not…"he began, then stopped. "Well, it's…a promise ring."
Jeni blinked. She'd heard of such things, but only in the romance books she used to read.
"Since you're not seventeen yet…it's the closest thing I could get…and you don't have to think about it or anything…"
"Draco…"Jeni finally managed to say. He looked at her, and for the first time that she could remember, she could see that he was nervous. Of what? she thought. That she would reject him? Putting the box aside and moving forward, she crawled across the bed to him, placing one hand either side of his body, her knee between his legs, and leaning forward until their noses were almost touching. She looked straight into his eyes; although she couldn't focus they were so close to each other.
"Draco, I love you." She smiled slightly. "And you can't stop me saying it ever again."
Draco half closed his eyes, sliding his hand up her arm to the back of her neck. "I love you too," he replied, tugging her the last inch forward.
Around lunch time they met up with Henri, who Jeni presented with a dark blue leather bound journal.
"It seems to me," she said, "that you need it more now then when I first bought it."
Henri smiled, in turn gifting her a beautiful scarf in shades of pink and orange. "It was mum's idea," he objected when she threw her arms around his neck.
Jeni had noticed, when they'd finally emerged from Draco's room, that it was snowing outside, and a thick blanket of the stuff already carpeted the ground. And so after they had exchanged gifts, Jeni returned to her room to put away Henri's gift, and get ready to go out. On her bed, however, was a large, square, wrapped present, which she was quite sure hadn't been there before. She put down the scarf and experimentally picked up the box – it was heavier than she'd expected. Sitting down on the edge of the bed and placing it beside her, she carefully unwrapped it.
Inside was a mahogany jewellery box, with a lid and several drawers of varying size down the sides. But when she opened the lid, the space inside seemed to occupy the entire box. Jeni frowned, and opened a few of the drawers. It must be enchanted in some way, she thought, since there were so many more compartments than would fit in a box even twice its size.
One of the drawers contained a letter, although Jeni was already quite sure she knew who it was from. She felt she could almost sense the smile that Scarlet must have had whilst writing it.
Merry Christmas.
I think that from now you will have great need of this, given what you have already received. And take note, the box has more than one secret.
Haha! The end of the chapter. I'm now down to twice-yearly updates, although that's all I can handle really. However, I don't believe this story has much longer to go (this does translate into probably a couple more years, but there you go). TT Uni takes a lot of time…
I think when this IS finally finished, whenever that may be, it will be relieving, but sad. Since this has been going on for…almost four years? And even…or should I say especially I can see how much my writing's improved. It's amazing to think that in the story's timeline only a few months have passed…almost four months. That's a month of story for a year of writing…sortofnotreally. DX
Anyway, I'll stop blabbing now…it's like talking to myself but written D
Please review!! But don't say anything mean… happy comments!! (Although anyone who's made it this far must like it, right??)