-Chapter Seventeen-
Draco apparated back to The Burrow's front doorstep with Harry and Ron, feeling as if the lightest of pushes would knock him over flat. Captain Firewhisky demanded they run two hours of laps around the building instead of one, three hundred push ups and sit ups and then a hundred laps in the pool. Then there were some gym exercises and after that there was the close combat training.
Of course no one could complete the whole set. It was impossible. Even Draco, who was very fit, collapsed with exhaustion at the end of fifty push ups. All his energy had been used in the running, which seemed like a ridiculous length. Firewhisky insisted, no, roared that the fitness course was required of them if they wanted to be Aurors, and sprayed the trainees with spittle when they failed a particular part. Though after the push ups and sit ups, nobody cared if their face was drenched in Firewhisky's saliva; they were simply too tired.
Draco didn't believe anyone could keep up that fitness regime, but wisely he kept silent. Ron, however, made the mistake of declaring how stupid this fitness routine was. He was rewarded with another ten minutes of laps. Currently, Ron was leaning on Harry, Harry was leaning on the wall, and Draco was trying not to collapse on his legs. Draco lifted an arm to knock on the door, but it felt far too heavy. He managed to thump the door with his limp hand as it fell downwards. It didn't matter though, Molly was looking at her grandfather clock and it said Ron was home.
Hurrying to the door, Molly opened it happily to find three utterly exhausted young men.
"Is that you mum?" mumbled Ron from Harry's shoulder. He was already half asleep.
"Goodness!" shrieked Molly, ushering them all inside. "What did they do to you?"
"Introduce us to a fitness regime," mumbled Draco, shuffling his aching feet up the stairs. Harry and Ron followed in suit. Before Draco disappeared completely up the stairs, he asked Molly "is Ginny home?"
"No dear, she isn't. She went shopping with Colin in Diagon Alley, and she's at Colin's house right now. She'll be home in time for dinner at seven," replied Molly as she entered the kitchen. Draco's final hopes plummeted. He was looking forward to seeing Ginny after a long, hard day. He'd just have to wait for Ginny to get home.
Ginny and Colin were lounging around on his bed, eating some of the lollies they had bought in Diagon Alley going through their books for their seventh year. Ginny was sucking on a new lollipop they had in the Honeydukes store in the alley; Liable Lemonballs. Ginny face completely puckered up as she squinted at her transfiguration book.
"Look at your face Gin!" laughed Colin after he noticed the expression on Ginny's face.
"Geez, it's how I feel about this bloody transfiguration book!" replied Ginny angrily, shaking her second hand book about. A dusty yellow page fell out and Ginny swore.
"You should have let me buy you new books," commented Colin as Ginny reached for his spellotape. Ginny looked up and shook her head fiercely.
"I'm not a charity case Colin. I can afford my own books. Besides, you worked hard for your money over at Fortescue's, don't blow it on new school books," said Ginny darkly, successfully taping the page back in.
Colin opened his mouth to retort, but he decided there really was no point in arguing with her. He knew Ginny would eventually start looking over his shoulder in class to read his book. It happened every year when Ginny's battered second hand schoolbooks wouldn't last. With a sigh, Ginny glanced at her watch and began packing away her new belongings.
"Oh right, it's just about seven. You still on for the beach tomorrow? The weather is boiling," asked Colin, helping Ginny put away her stuff.
"Wouldn't miss it," replied Ginny enthusiastically, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Colin exited the room with Ginny, briefing Ginny on the beach plans.
"Yeah, it's going to be pretty big. Just about all the sixth years from last year are coming, from Gryffindor of course. Luna is going to be there with all her friends and so is Dennis. All of his friends are going to be there too." Ginny smiled. It would be good to catch up with everyone in her year again. And the beach! She hadn't been there in over a year.
Ginny decided to detour through the kitchen to thank Colin's mother for letting her stay. Dennis, Colin's brother, timidly said, "bye Ginny," despite being sixteen. Ginny smiled warmly and bid her goodbyes, seeing Dennis melt. Ginny and Colin had figured out Dennis had a crush on Ginny in their fourth year, and now had learnt to deal with it comfortably. Ginny then proceeded to the Creevey's living room where the fireplace was. Only a very small flame flickered due to the warmth of summer.
"See you tomorrow," said Ginny happily, giving Colin a chaste hug. Colin returned it and stuck his hands into his jeans pockets. Ginny subtlety checked out her best friend from the corner of her eye as she pinched some floo powder. She didn't have feelings for him, but she couldn't help noticed that Colin had grown up to be quite handsome. Just looking at him, you wouldn't imagine him as the mousey little boy who loved taking photos. He still had a passion for photography; but when he had his camera now, he looked very mature and professional. He had grown quite tall and the roundness of his cheeks had been replaced by sharper angles. The effect made him look older yet still good natured. His dress sense had also improved dramatically. All in all, Colin Creevey looked like the seventeen year old he should be. Luna was a lucky girl.
Ginny threw in her floo powder and waited a moment as the tiny little yellow flames roared up into a massive emerald one. With one last smile at Colin, Ginny stepped into the flames and said clearly; "The Burrow!" Immediately, Ginny was spun around madly as she was teleported to her destination. She squeezed her eyes tightly together and told herself, 'time to get my apparition licence!'
Molly popped her head out of the kitchen door when she heard loud coughing out in the living room. "Ginny," she had said disapprovingly, "I've told you many times, don't start breathing until you've gotten out of the fire. The smoke inhalation isn't good for you."
Ginny coughed a bit more in reply. "I know mum, it was an accident. I was thinking about getting my apparition licence anyway."
"Good idea," conceded Molly. "You should talk to your father about that when he gets home. How was Colin? And how was Diagon Alley?"
Ginny deposited her purchases beside the couch and went into the dining room to set out the tables and said, "yeah, it was great. Really warm. It made people want to come out and do some shopping so I caught up with some friends. And Colin's great, he's grown up a lot lately. I just realised."
Molly laughed and said, "I noticed that a long time ago."
"Is Draco home?" queried Ginny.
"Yes dear, he is. Be careful though, he's very tired. Something about a fitness regime," muttered Molly as she lifted her cooking pot off the stove.
Meanwhile, Draco had showered and gotten out of his sweaty clothing. He was currently lying on Ginny's bed, feeling utterly drained. He would have slept, but he was too hungry to. He gingerly lifted his left arm up and glanced at his watch. It read: 6:58. 'Time for dinner,' thought Draco and he was willing some energy into his torso and arms to pull him upwards. Just as Draco was going to heave himself upwards from the sheer will of his hunger, Ginny's light footsteps could be heard approaching. A brief smile appeared on Draco's face but then it disappeared and he pretended to be asleep. It wasn't particularly hard at that moment.
He heard the door swish open quickly and Ginny gasp softly. There was a pause where Ginny was probably determining whether she was sleeping or not and then her soft footsteps came closer. Every nerve in Draco's body felt like it was on fire, but Draco kept still and kept his breathing rate even. As Ginny neared, Draco's nostrils were filled with her scent… and the slighter scent of soot. Stupid floo network.
Ginny then got on top of Draco without actually touching him; he could feel the bed underneath him dip. He felt and heard Ginny's soft breath fall onto his face. He could sense Ginny's lips closing in on his and on the moment before they met. Draco's arms suddenly reached up and clasped Ginny close to his body, causing Ginny to scream in surprise.
"Rah," said Draco softly, feeling Ginny's hammering heartbeat.
"Oh my god!" gasped Ginny, clutching at her chest after she had pulled herself from Draco's grasp. "You scared me," she accused, glaring at her boyfriend.
Draco simply smirked and made all of Ginny's resolve disappear. "Well, you can kiss me now if you like," suggested Draco silkily, his hands roving up and down's Ginny's back sensually.
Ginny leaned in but stopped just as her lips touched Draco's. "No," she whispered and smirked herself, whilst wrenching herself from Draco's grip and running to the door. She expected Draco to chase after her and hold her close whilst claiming that kiss anyway, like he always did when she teased him; but he didn't. He sort of groaned and tryed to get out of bed.
"You okay?" asked Ginny with concern. "Merlin, what did they do to you?"
"Some fitness thing," muttered Draco, walking gingerly over to Ginny and taking her hand. "I'm starving. Let's go eat dinner." Ginny looked up in worry, but didn't say anything.
Hermione joined the dinner table when she had gotten back from work experience. She had applied as an investigator for the Ministry army. It entailed all sorts of undercover work and intelligence and Hermione seemed the perfect person for that position. Her presence cheered Ron, but he was still in some tired stupor. She looked on worriedly all night, but didn't say anything about it.
That night, Draco kissed Ginny once before falling into a deep sleep. Ginny was left to gaze at her wand light at nine thirty in the evening whilst listening to Draco's even breathing. She was surprised at how tired Draco actually was. All he did was peck her on the lips and then hit the pillows like a tonne of bricks. Ginny was worried too. Was all this "fitness" needed to be an Auror? It hardly seemed necessary. And if it was, was it even a good idea to be an Auror in the first place? Ginny's mind felt so scrambled.
Reaching over to her wand, she whispered, "nox." The entire room was now bathed in darkness but it took an hour for Ginny to drift off to sleep, worrying about Draco.
Sweat poured off Draco's face and dripped onto the ground, making footing dangerous.
"Keep your head up!" roared Capt. Firewhisky, bringing up a metre of poled wood and getting ready to strike Draco. Even though exhaustion gripped every part of Draco's body and sweat blurred his vision, he thrust his arms up and locked them above his head with his own pole to block Firewhisky's attack. The blow struck wood on wood, setting shudders rocking through Draco's body. Firewhisky wasted no time and spun around, sending an attack to Draco's side. Draco however caught up and blocked that, then jumping back warily, anticipating his trainer's next move.
"Everybody stop!" roared Odgens, banging his pole onto the ground for good measure. Everybody did stop, but Seamus Finnigan even fell over from slipping on the sweat. "Put your equipment back and get home," he snarled, banging his pole on the ground again.
Draco was just turning around to put away his pole when his trainer's voice stopped him. "Good work Malfoy. We'll make an Auror out of you," said Firewhisky in a quiet gruff voice. Before Draco had a chance to say anything back, Firewhisky had stomped off to the trainer's office, banging his pole all the while.
Sighing, Draco stayed where he was and leant on his pole for a moment, blocking out everyone else who was in the room and thought about Ginny. That night and the next morning would be the only time he would see her until she came back for the two week Christmas break. It was already August the 31st. It upset Draco to think that they hadn't talked properly for a while. He'd never be there in the morning, and would come back home completely exhausted. He'd eat dinner ravenously and then collapse into bed, usually spending only ten minutes talking to Ginny before having to sleep. The next day it would start all over again.
"Malfoy! Coming?" yelled Ron from the doorway. Draco nodded and hurried to put his pole away. Draco knew their relationship wasn't strained, but they both felt terribly lonely, even though they shared a bed every night. He simply felt too drained to do anything else but sleep. What Draco also knew was that Ginny understood completely. She understood that Draco wanted to be an Auror, he wanted an honourable career. She understood he was achingly exhausted every night and understood he just felt like sleeping. The fact she was so patient, so understanding made Draco feel so guilty even though he knew it wasn't his fault.
His only consolation was that after all his practical combat had been mastered, he'd be moving onto research and potion making. All the fitness and combat would have to be their responsibility to maintain, but at least Draco knew he wouldn't be so tired. The only thing now was when would he finish practical combat? When would he be able to spend some proper time with Ginny?
Ginny closed the lid of her trunk and locked it magically with her wand. She had spent the whole day packing for her final year at school. Before she had met Draco, it felt like making it through seventh year would be the most important thing in her life in the near future. After meeting Draco, it just seemed like another responsibility.
Sighing, Ginny sprawled herself over her bed, thinking about the past couple of months. Draco had barely been at home, barely even spoke to her either. She knew it was because he was tired, but she was missing him; a lot. She missed the little ministrations Draco would give her, stuff she took for granted. Missed the way he'd kiss her, tickle her. She mostly missed the conversations they had. Now he was bogged down with responsibility. Once, Ginny woke up at four am in the morning and Draco was getting out of bed. She asked him where he was going and he said he was going for a run. A run; at four am?
Now Ginny was headed for school the next day and she knew her loneliness would be crippling. Tears were beginning to form but she heard footsteps nearing and they were probably Draco's. Quickly, wiping the tears away from her eyes, Ginny sat up and pretending everything was dandy. The door swung open to reveal a weary looking Draco.
"Hey Ginger," said Draco with a tired smile. He began taking off his sweaty robes and dropping them into the laundry basket, revealing that he was only wearing track pants and a singlet. In the past two months, Draco had lost a lot of weight and he looked liked he had aged a couple of years. Sometimes Ginny would catch him with a hard look in his eyes when he was staring off into the distance. Ginny shuddered to think of how hard those eyes would get when he would go into battle.
"Hi," replied Ginny softly, looking at Draco carefully. Draco gave her a questioning look but Ginny shook her head. Draco then slung a towel over his shoulder heading for the showers. He stopped in his tracks when Ginny's soft voice said, "let's share the shower."
Spinning around, he saw Ginny slide off her bed and walk a few short paces towards him and then her lips demanded his attention. Forcefully, she pushed him into the bathroom whilst their lips were still locked together; their bodies were starting to warm up. Draco found his body responding despite his exhaustion and he smiled against Ginny's lips. Ginny grinned back and slammed the bathroom door and locked it with relish, making Draco feel like he needed both their clothes off. After some wild kissing, Draco managed to slide off Ginny's top revealing her in a simple white bra. Meanwhile, Ginny had tugged off Draco's singlet and was running her hands enthusiastically on his chest.
Groaning, Draco unhooked Ginny's bra expertly and tossed it in the bathtub, cradling Ginny's cleavage as she pulled his pants down. Soon, they were both naked and bruising each other's lips with furious pashing. They almost forgot to get into the shower.
"Tsk, it's already quarter past seven, where is Ginny and Draco? Ron, will you please go inform them it is dinner time?" said Molly, glancing at her watch disapprovingly.
Ron, who was too tired to realise what the pair could be up to, regretfully turned away from his food and stomped upstairs. As he neared Ginny's room which was at the top of the house, not including the attic, he heard a continuous thumping noise. He wondered what the hell they were doing and it took a long moment for Ron to realise. When he did, he physically felt like throwing up and suddenly he wasn't so hungry.
Ginny sighed and tuned out as Professor Sprout yakked on about the seventh year's NEWT grades; she had heard it all before. Instead, Ginny played with her hair that had grown quite a lot over the year. She couldn't have been bothered cutting it since she last saw Draco, which was back at Christmas. It now reached the beginning of June and NEWTs exams were about to be starting.
Ginny couldn't believe she had just about completed all of her compulsory education. After that wild night in the bathroom, everything else in Ginny's life seemed dull. She remembered how Draco bid his goodbye. He had decided to skip the first part of training to see Ginny off at the train station. Whilst Ginny was in one of the green houses, flicking dirt off the table, she remembered how Draco didn't let go of her when the train was about to leave. Ginny had murmur in Draco's ear about how she had to leave. It made his arms drop from around her but Ginny would never forget those sad grey-blue eyes watching her depart.
Then from September to December, Ginny managed to hold in the tears every night after the long schooling day had passed by. During the day, she thought about Draco as well, though her thoughts were always disrupted by the interrupting responsibilities of daily life. Ginny was subjected to a lot of homework. It was all she seemed to be doing. Attending class, writing notes, researching and then completing set tasks. She and Colin still held a strong friendship, but Ginny would always feel like something was missing, her other half; Draco. Ginny realised she was never absolutely happy without him.
Christmas break then approached; something Ginny had been looking forward to immensely. Instead of being greeted with her large family, only Arthur showed up the station. Everyone else was busy with work or other commitments. Ginny knew it was due to the war that everyone was suddenly busy. Voldemort had started his death raids. If people were unhappy before, they were downright sombre now. Unhappiness settled over Ginny, but as soon as she saw Draco enter the room, with his slightly pompous stride and an all-knowing smirk, Ginny felt okay again. She felt everything would be okay again. That's what being with your other half does to you.
Better yet, Draco had finished his 'fitness regime.' They were working on stealth and tracking now. It was hard work, but not as hard as conditioning their bodies as they had to do at the start of the course. And Draco no longer returned home like he was going to fall asleep standing.
Their second Christmas together was much more comfortable, since the Weasley's now trusted him. Then, all too soon, school started again for Ginny.
The days of the year slowly slid by in their usual monotony, and Ginny still ached after Draco. He was however pushed out of her mind since every waking moment was spent listening to teachers' sombre warnings about NEWTs, or studying. She barely made it for quidditch and would usually go to bed at 2 o'clock in the morning, due to the amount of revising required.
Days replaced days and the months then rolled by and now Ginny was in her final week before her NEWTs would start.
On the first day of testing, Ginny downed a bottle of energy drink, giving her an instant buzz. After some non-stressful chatting about quidditch with Colin during breakfast, he and Ginny made their way down to the dungeons for their in-class essay on the magical classifications of mung beans.
There were three more days till Ginny's return home and Draco was at Auror training as per usual.
His eyes adjusted to the sudden semi-darkness and his hand gripped his wand tightly, focusing on keeping his breath and heart rate steady. When Draco's eyes adjusted, they scanned the room expertly. It was a death trap; in the sense that there were items that made loud noises when disrupted. In a real siege, loud noises meant an alerted enemy. That equalled death.
The room Firewhisky had conjured appeared to be Muggle. Unbeknownst to Draco, the room was a mechanics workshop that hadn't been packed away and was a occupation and safety hazard.
Scrap pieces of paper littered the floor. Strange drill like appliances with chords littered tables. Planks of wood and sheets of iron were placed haphazardly on tables, jutting over the edge and blocking walkways. The objective? There was a cat in the room and it was Draco's mission to track it with the least disruption and to stun the cat and return it to Firewhisky in the fastest time. It was a race. Everybody had their own conjured world where they had to find this cat to stun it.
Draco was semi-surprised that he had a sudden stealth and tracking exercise. At the time, they were working on curse breaking. However, Firewhisky loved throwing random assessments on past exercises. Draco was surprised that his trainer suddenly gave them an S&T exercise, just not surprised that Firewhisky would do so.
Pausing, Draco listened for any sign from the cat. He heard nothing, but saw a scrap piece of paper on the floor with tiny little pin pricks in them. Draco surmised they were cat claw pricks and his eyes immediately darted upwards to the shelf just before the paper. There was metal piping and as Draco silently neared it, he saw some frantic scratches on the paint work in the slight waning light from the moon, streaming through an open window near the ceiling.
His eyes climbed upwards to the cross beams on the ceiling, and bingo, he saw the flicker of a furry tail. 'This is too easy,' he thought, narrowing his eyes. His body threw itself into survival mode. Draco developed a strong skill of detecting something out of the ordinary, and it was a good thing he did because he actually heard a spell whoosh towards him from behind. Draco whirled around and mouthed 'protégé.' The antagonistic spell was easily deflected and Draco decided to hurry.
However, the cat had moved. Draco listened intently for it and heard a slight pawing noise in the right corner of the room. A tap started leaking, its steady beat attempting to drill into Draco's concentration. He knew Firewhisky charmed the room to do that on purpose, steady noises can freak the strongest person out on some occasions, wrecking concentration and weakening the will. Especially when you don't know what is behind the corner.
The next series of movements Draco initiated could be called graceful, and it would make any ballerina envious. He twisted, he turned, he limbo-ed and he twisted his body into strange positions to bypass all the strange objects placed haphazardly everywhere. Draco had absolutely no idea of what they were or what they did, all he knew was that they looked heavy and very noisy. Only Draco's padded black boots touched surfaces which were fixed so he never slid. Nothing else was touched, nothing was disturbed and no noises were made.
Draco's grey-blue eyes narrowed suspiciously at a cat shaped shadow lurking behind something circular and sharp with jagged edges on a wooden surface. The cat knew nothing. It sensed nothing and it was licking its paw when Draco pointed his wand into the darkness beside a cabinet.
'Stupefy.' The cat froze with its tongue cleansing its paw. Draco couldn't actually see the feline itself, but silhouettes don't lie; most of the time.
Again, Draco mentally thought 'accio cat' and soon a cat grooming itself zoomed out of the still shadows and soared surely into Draco's outstretched arm. Holding the frozen cat close to his chest, Draco's spine tingled. Somebody was watching him, in this strange muggle place. For the period of time that Draco was in that make believe room, he truly believed Death Eaters were lurking about, unsure of his whereabouts, though certain of some activity going on beneath their noses.
The dripping seemed to get louder, steadier, creepier.
Frustrated that it was getting to him, he willed himself to ignore it, willed the concentration to return and it did. The dripping faded away.
Draco's ticket out of the muggle room was a door on the other side of the room that Draco was in. He immediately made his tricky way through the jumble of objects, his task made more difficult by the animal he clutched close to his body. Suddenly a shadow flitted by very quickly. Draco knew he didn't imagine it. He almost slipped and fell onto a pile of scrap metal heaped carelessly on the ground. Draco's concentration broke and the dripping broke through, menacingly. Every drop splashed forever on the rusty basin in another corner of the room. Every drop making Draco think he was going to die with a stupefied cat in his arm; every drop causing Draco to seal up his emotions as much as possible to get himself out of the room; every drop instilling a splash of fear inside him.
Somehow, Draco retained his cool, even when that shadow flitted past again unexplained. 'This was supposed to be a god damn stealth and tracking exercise,' thought Draco angrily as he manoeuvred his way complicatedly from the random objects littered everywhere dangerously.
Draco just reached the door when he started to get the chills very badly. Draco began shaking uncontrollably, the cat's furry ears tickling the undersides of Draco's jaw. Suddenly, sucking noises could be heard and Draco's eyes widened when they saw the withered and decaying hand of a dementor reaching for his neck a metre in front of him. Pure horror and fear engulfed Draco, freezing his brain in sheer terror dementors could instil.
It wasn't until Draco started seeing a image of a dagger going through Ginny's heart repeatedly, her mangled; petrified scream and the liquid red life pouring from her wound did Draco react. Raising his wand, in a hard, controlled voice, Draco pictured Ginny and he kissing and he yelled, "expecto patronum!" Out from the tip of Draco's wand erupted a huge, silvery and translucent diamond python. The sudden force of Draco's patronus coming in contact with the now screwed dementor thrust him backwards through the door, falling and falling until Draco realised he was on the Auror HQ training room floor with Firewhisky leaning over him and smiling a rare-as-gold-in-the-toilet smile and was chomping away on an apple.
Gasping, Draco squeezed the poor cat against his chest tightly out of shock and fear.
"Good work boy!" roared Odgens Firewhisky happily, finishing his apple and tossing it into the bin. He then took the cat away from Draco and gave him a hand up. Draco took it and leaned against his trainer's shoulder for a moment, trying to get his bearings. The shivers wouldn't go away. He saw in his mind the hand of the dementor now held the dagger, and the dementor was the one stabbing Ginny in the chest.
Firewhisky reached into a box of chocolate frogs next to him and handed Draco one and said in a gruff grunt, "eat." Draco moved off to a close bench and sat down, gratefully sinking his teeth into the confectionary. Relief was immediate and the awful image of Ginny being murdered faded away.
"Sir," managed Draco in a first-time shaking voice. Firewhisky looked at him almost, proudly. "I thought you said that was a stealth and tracking exercise. There was a dementor in there."
"I know. I set everyone's room differently, but after everyone finds their cat, the dementor lets loose. It's a test Draco. You can't expect war to be fair out there. You were the first to find the cat. You were first out of the room. Be happy about that," said Firewhisky gruffly. The cat itself had been returned back to normal and was now resting in Draco's lap whilst Draco scratched its ears in an absent minded way.
He had been first to complete the exercise and he was now completely drained. He had the shits scared out of him. What was the real war going to be like?
Ginny had unpacked her school belongings for the last time back in her room at The Burrow. Smiling victoriously, Ginny snatched her score sheet off her table and read it for the fiftieth time since receiving it. Half her marks were E's and the other half were O's. As soon as she got home she presented her score sheet to her parents in an almost pompous way like Percy. Of course Arthur and Molly were extremely proud of their daughter and raised her allowance… not that it would matter though, Ginny would be job hunting soon.
Now Ginny had another reason to be happy, Draco would be home soon! Ginny waited till it was 6 o'clock and paced impatiently around the entranceway, waiting for Draco's arrival. When she heard the three cracks of Draco, Ron and Harry apparating outside, Ginny wrenched open the door and ran to Draco, jumping on him without warning. His arms immediately wrapped around her body to hold her securely and they grinned idiotically at each other before sharing a long passionate kiss.
"I gotta good mark, I gotta good mark," said Ginny breathlessly when Draco had let her down. She shoved the paper in Draco's face and went to greet Ron and Harry.
"Ginny," smiled Ron, holding out his big arms and giving Ginny a warm hug. "How's my favourite sister going?"
"Still amazed you use that line over and over. I'm your only sister Ron," gushed Ginny, leaning in to give her brother a kiss on the cheek.
"Shucks Gin," blushed Ron, pretending to be bashful and Ginny laughed. She didn't know why she was so happy. She had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with seeing the love of her life.
Harry smiled gently and gave Ginny a close but quick hug.
"Hey Harry," said Ginny confidently. She looked at Harry's face carefully and knew what was going through his mind.
'Am I going to get kissed as well?'
After a moment's indecision, Ginny quickly leaned up and gave Harry a chaste kiss on the cheek as well. Draco had finished reading Ginny's NEWTs results and had looked up just as Ginny's lips came in contact with Draco's face. Draco's blood pressure immediately sky rocketed and he felt his fists clench involuntarily. He felt like ripping off Harry's cheek. However he kept calm and reminded himself that Ginny was only being polite.
"This is a great score Ginger," said Draco as they walked inside the house hand in hand. "And I've missed you a lot. Sleeping in your bed alone every night drove me crazy. I'd see all your stuff, it'd remind me of you. I turn off the light and then all I smell is your scent. In your room, on your sheets, everywhere."
"I wish the school beds had your scent. All I had was bloody professors breathing down my neck for company, and then after that it was the constant stream of homework suffocating me," responded Ginny. They had reached her room and before Draco knew it, Ginny had shut the door behind his back and was kissing him furiously.
Draco returned the favour with much fervour and was beginning to take off Ginny's shirt when a thought suddenly came to mind and he paused. Ginny however urged his hands and whispered breathily, "we can do this before dinner starts."
"Can I dress you?" asked Draco a week after Ginny had arrived home as he watched Ginny search her wardrobe for a presentable outfit for her job interview. Ginny pulled out a new robe that looked professional and handed it to Draco. It wasn't until lately that Draco was allowed weekends off and he had decided to escort Ginny to her job interview.
Ginny tried not to blush as Draco pulled off her pajamas and smirked. Ginny's 'job' was actually an application for law study. There had been a number of Death Eaters who had been captured by the Ministry and they all had to be sentenced. A special court would be made to deal with the presumably vast numbers of Death Eaters capture. It was obvious the Ministry had a lot of faith in their Aurors to create a temporary court. Instead of the Wizengamot, young and older witches and wizards, a mix of people who had studied some type of law would act like multiple magistrates to sentence Death Eaters. Never before had a court been created like this in the Ministry, but it was necessary to cope with the presumable amount of Death Eaters captured.
The Ministry also believed it would be a great opportunity for younger Law graduates to gain experience, boosting their careers in the future. Of course this court system would run like any normal court, following the same rules stringently. The only difference was there'd be younger magistrates and the only objective is to sentence Death Eaters. The court was to be called "Sentencing Court for Death Eaters." Simple and straight to the point.
Ginny also planned to apply for a part-time job in the Wizengamot courts. She'd only be an assistant to the judges, handing them sheets of paper and pouring glasses of water, but the pay was surprisingly good and Ginny knew she would learn a lot by observing. The application for that job wasn't so stringent so she decided she would apply later on.
Draco managed clothe Ginny who was about as co-operative as a kid who was denied chocolate without too much hassle. A lot of cajoling was needed from Draco and perhaps a few threats of tickles. Ginny didn't deny it though, she loved the attention.
In the end, Ginny was wearing a white oxford shirt that just peeked out underneath her new robes with black pants and pointy black shoes. Ginny then walked over to her dresser and brushed her crimson hair up into a neat ponytail whilst Draco lay on the bed they shared and checked her out. It was different seeing Ginny looking so grown up and professional looking. Usually Ginny was clothed in ripped jeans or shorts and a singlet top during the summer with her long hair left loose around her pale shoulders; and Draco loved it.
Ginny looked damn good covered up with clothing like that too, decided Draco as he tried not to let his knowledge of what was under the clothing get the best of him.
Ginny had finished applying some make up and she stepped away from her dresser and turned around in a slow spin. Draco let his open admiration show and was rewarded by one of Ginny's lovely blushes. Ginny rarely wore make up but when she did, she looked a million bucks. (Galleons, whatever.) Today she only wore a bit of mascara and some eyeliner; that coupled with the clothing she was wearing gave Draco the impression that Ginny was twenty five, not eighteen.
The interview was at ten and it was only seven so Ginny and Draco decided to have a relaxed breakfast; though Ginny wasn't very relaxed. She kept shuffling her references and papers around nervously and eating very little.
"Ginny, eat," said Molly mercilessly over the top of her Daily Prophet. Ginny made a face and tucked into her cocoa pops. (Nutritious!)
"Ginny," said Draco soothingly, reaching for Ginny's sweating hand and squeezing it. "You'll be fine. They're going to love you." Draco's voice was so silky smooth Ginny almost believed him.
"But there's always the chance I won't get in!" wailed Ginny, smacking her forehead with her other hand. "There are probably some other people who are like you and got all O's and then I'll be blown out of the competition and and…"
"Ginny… think about it. You're applying for study. If you prove you're willing to put in the hard yakka and that you're actually interested in the program, they'll take you in. It's not a job interview, more an application… interview. After that you'll just be studying," said Draco seriously, looking Ginny straight in the eye.
"Eck. Those people seriously have a stick up their arse though. If it wasn't for the fact you'd all tie me to the chair and never let me leave the house, I'd apply to be an Auror," said Ginny.
"Damn straight," muttered Draco darkly.
After breakfast was over, Ginny and Draco apparated into Diagon Alley. (Yes, Ginny got her apparition licence!) and headed for a Ministry building located there. They arrived at the building which was large, square and boring and entered, seeing a lot of other boring people. Ginny signed in with the clerk at a large receptionist's desk and waited patiently with Draco. They had an hour's wait.
Draco believed the hour's wait would be well spent getting their lips working, but it was a professional building and he didn't want to ruin Ginny's image. Instead, he contented himself with holding Ginny's hand and staring off at a large chandelier. 'Not as big as ours though,' thought Draco, surprised at how he suddenly missed Malfoy Manor.
Another thing, the building was extremely quiet. So lively conversations would sound quite out of place. Eventually hour passed when Draco and Ginny perused recent Wizarding newspapers and magazines. Before they knew it, a (handsome) young man stepped out from a corridor and said clearly, "Ginny Weasley?" Ginny immediately stood up and gave the man a warm smile, hoping she didn't have food in her teeth. Draco's eyes narrowed as he noticed the way that guy had been staring at his girlfriend.
"Your average scores for your seven years at Hogwarts have been extremely high. All your teachers comment on your work stamina and responsibility. I'd be very, very happy to accept you into our study program for law. I guess you'll have to put up with me for the next three years."
"Thank you Mr Sayle," beamed Ginny, collecting all her documents. Throughout the half hour Stephen Sayle had been interviewing Ginny, she felt quite awed by him. He was unbelievably good looking. He almost beat Draco. Almost. Ginny was too nervous about her application to notice the lingering looks her new mentor was giving her. But Ginny had picked up he was a very easy-going person who didn't have a stick up his arse at all. He also looked to be twenty seven years old.
They had talked about issues other than the study application and the conversation was quite light hearted. Ginny knew they would get along just fine and couldn't wait to tell Draco that she had been accepted.
Stephen on the other hand was admiring Ginny's obvious good looks. He hadn't seen anyone so pretty for a long time, and he had to keep preventing himself from leaning over his desk and kissing her senseless. He had also completely forgotten about the young man holding Ginny's hand when he entered the main foyer of the building.
He escorted Ginny out of the office back into the main foyer whilst trying to get a look at her arse. Stephen decided he really needed to check the professor-student relationship laws thoroughly. He really wanted to make Ginny's his. And he decided that irrefutably in that half hour he spoke to her. She had been sweet, charming, gentle yet courageous.
Draco's fists clenched involuntarily when he saw that sleaze try to take a perve on Ginny's backside but he was disrupted when Ginny hurried to him to give him a hug.
"I got in!" bubbled Ginny happily, clutching an enrolment form in her hands. "I got in!"
For a moment, Draco was taken aback and smiled along with Ginny, congratulating her. He wanted to talk to her about that sleazebag, since Ginny didn't tend pick up on behaviour patterns of people when she was nervous. But she was so happy and Draco didn't want to ruin the moment, so he kept his mouth shut and led her outside of the building where he could give her a congratulatory kiss.
Hey hey, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I know is VERY short compared to my other chapters and I've taken longer to post it, it's just that I'm on holiday right now, and I've been going out heaps with my mates so I've been knackered when I get home.
Anways, not so much fluff! Lol you're probably thinking "fewf what a relief!"
Anywho, please review, I really appreciate them.
Lots of love,
Jessica/yourbeautifulnightmare