Chapter 3
Tuesday March 31st, 1997
Wizarding Versailles, France
Château de Versailles
The South Wing, Eastern Ground Floor
Ginny's Rooms
9:12 a.m.
"Ginny are you in here?" called Fleur as she opened the door to Ginny's room. When Ginny had not shown up for breakfast with Draco and the Queen, Isadora had sent Fleur off in search of Draco's fiancé when Draco had informed her that he had been told in no uncertain terms by his mother that he was not to set foot inside of his fiancé's chambers and that she would know if he had as she had charmed the door that morning. "Oh dear Merlin," she gasped in surprise when she took in the state of the bed. "Ginny!" she called as she ran through the chamber from the bedroom towards the bathroom. "Oh no…no…no…no…" she cried as she ran from the room, intent on finding Bill.
Tuesday March 31st, 1997
Wizarding Versailles, France
Château de Versailles
The South Wing, Eastern Ground Floor
10:05 a.m.
"So William and Lady Fleur, along with Monsieur Zabini have been searching since Lady Fleur discovered the state of Mademoiselle Ginevra's rooms and subsequent disappearance."
Louise glanced over at one of the guards as she and Andre turned a corner in the halls of the Palace before focusing back on the Captain, "What of Draconis and Narcissa?"
"Madame Malfoy refuses to allow Monsieur Malfoy into the chambers you gave to young Mademoiselle Ginevra," he explained simply.
Louise rolled her eyes before quickly glancing around, then back at Andre, "Laugh and I'll give you a reason to laugh thanks to a tickling curse," she warned as he merely smirked. "That woman can be so annoying at times," she sighed, "Abraxas had to have his son marry an Englishwoman..." she sighed before shaking her head. "The guards have checked to make sure no one got in during the night?"
"None of the wards were breeched, nor did anyone get past the guards at any of the gates. And only a select few know of the secret entrances to the Chateau, and even then the wards around those weren't breeched."
"So she is within the Chateau..."
"She must be, it is merely a matter of where, that is the question," Andre agreed. "William has contacted his brothers, the twins who she was with before she came here, to see if she went to them. Though that is a fact that I highly doubt since there is no evidence of her leaving the Chateau... But perhaps they might have an idea of where to look, they are the closest to her in age to my knowledge, save for the final brother."
"True," she nodded as they turned one last corner and they continued the rest of the trip to the door of Ginny's room in silence, outside of which stood Draco and Narcissa, the former looking into the open door of Ginny's room, worry evident upon his features, while the latter was actually looking through a book that she held. "Annoying Blacks," Louise muttered under her breath and quickly kicked at Andre's heels when he choked on a laugh, thankful for the fact her skirt hid her feet. "Draco," she called as they moved closer, both Malfoys looking up at the sound of her voice.
"Dora," Draco greeted, hoping the panic he was feeling was not portrayed in his voice, while he continued to curse out his mother in his head, this was all her bloody fault after all. He knew he never should have left Ginny alone last night.
"Bonjour Madame Malfoy," Louise greeted as she quickly gave Draco a hug, "Come, you and I shall go in together and face whatever it is that has everyone so worried," she continued as she linked her arm into Draco's, quickly sending Narcissa a look when she visibly straightened, in case she did, for some ungodly reason, actually protest.
"She's gone Dora," Draco said quietly as they made their way into the room.
Louise quickly took in the war zone that had been a bedroom the previous night before focusing on Draco, "She's not gone Drac, merely somewhere within the Chateau that we don't know. Do not make yourself ill with worry cousin; we merely don't know where to look for her. But that doesn't mean we won't find her..."
"Bloody hell…" cursed a voice from the doorway, only to have a secondary 'oomph' come from the same area seconds later as the newcomers took in the scene before them before sharing a look between them. "It hasn't been this bad since…" the first speaker began
"First year…" the second continued.
"Usual place you think?"
"Most like…" the second trailed off as they both made their way into the room, not even acknowledging the others present in the room as they passed them, heading straight towards the closet, much to the confusion of everyone gathered.
Those gathered in the room carefully made their way over towards the closet, curious to see what was going on as the two newcomers slowly opened the doors, cautious not to make too much noise, before crouching down and carefully pulling out a wide assortment and variety of dresses that had been pulled down off their hangers before pulling out what appeared to be the various blankets that had originally been used to make up the bed.
"Oh Ginger Bean what have they done to you?" sighed George sadly when he took in the sight of his sister, curled up in the corner of the closet, wand in one hand, while her other was poorly wrapped in a piece of fabric that looked like it had been torn from one of the underskirts of the dress she was wearing, a dress he could only assume she had been forced into after he had left her with Bill the night before. "Come on Ginger Bean, let's get you out of here," he said quietly as he reached forward to gently pull her towards him, hoping not to startle Ginny.
"No! Have to stay awake. Can't sleep. Can't get me if I don't go to sleep," Ginny mumbled sleepily as she tried to push George away from her.
"Ginger Bean, look at me," George instructed as he took a hold of Ginny's head, forcing her to look at him. "It's me, George. You're safe. He can't get you here. I promise. Fred and I won't let him or anyone else hurt you. We're going to take you home now okay?"
"George?" asked Ginny in confusion as she tried to focus her sleep deprived mind on the face that was swimming in front of her.
"Yes Ginger Bean, it's George…" George began.
"And Fred," Fred cut in with a smile.
"And Fred," George continued. "We're here Ginger Bean and we're going to get you out of here. I never should have left you here. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Oh George…" Ginny cried as she threw her arms around her brother, dropping her wand in the process. "George it was horrible…simply horrible…"
"I know Ginger Bean, I know," George sighed. "Come on, let's get you home," he said as he kept one arm around Ginny's back and slid the other under her legs before carefully picking her up. "Fred can you get her wand?"
"Sure thing," Fred said, quickly grabbing Ginny's wand off the floor before rising. "Come on Ginger Girl, let's get you out of here," he said rubbing Ginny's back soothingly as she cried into George's shoulder.
"Ginny…" Draco began worriedly as he stepped toward them.
"Back off Malfoy," Fred threatened, his wand drawn as he stepped between Draco and his brother, who still held his sister protectively in his arms.
"Excuse me," Louise stepped forward before anything could happen, such as Narcissa saying whatever Louise could tell was going through the woman's head. "You must be George and Frederick," she smiled at the two. "Before we all start using wands and things get entirely crazy, seeing as my Captain of the Guard over there," she pointed at André who had his hand on his sword hilt and was eyeing everything quite seriously, "would be forced to step in and things would get even uglier once the rest of the Musketeers were called and things got so very much a mess... Might I suggest we all take a moment, put wands away and try talking instead of threatening?"
"The only thing we're doing is taking our sister home with us to London," Fred said.
"I never should have left her here in the first place," George continued.
"I wanna go home George."
"I know Ginger Bean," George soothed. "Come on Fred, let's go," he said, indicating for Fred to go ahead of him out of the room.
"You are not taking my fiancé from the palace Weasley," Draco ordered.
"Oh heavens," Louise sighed heavily in the silence that fell over the room the immediate moments after Draco's announcement basically. "Look, let's all have a seat; explain a few things, such as Draco's comment..."
"Well, we're not about to do it in here," argued Fred.
"We're not doing it in the room you left our sister in by herself all night," continued George angrily.
"Well, that is most certainly something we wouldn't dream of. We can move to one of my parlours and I'll have tea summoned, and something light to eat for those who might be hungry."
"Come on Ginger Bean," George sighed as he started to follow Louise from the room.
"I don't want to be here anymore George… I just want to go home…" Ginny cried quietly into George's shoulder.
"Soon Ginger Girl, soon, we promise," Fred said, rubbing Ginny's back as he walked alongside his twin and sister.
"Have a seat," Louise waved her hand at the various couches, chairs, and even a chaise that filled the room before she made her way towards her favourite couch as Fred and George claimed another, Ginny between them. Draco reluctantly sat down on the couch with Louise while Narcissa took a chair near him, Bill and Fleur taking a smaller couch near the twins and Ginny after André nodded towards where Fleur had already taken a seat when Bill looked at him questioningly. Louise glanced back at André as Bill had looked at the man, where he stood behind the couch she sat, leaning against the wall and looking for all intents and purposes quite relaxed, but if you looked closer you would see that he was anything but as he kept an eye on everyone and every entrance and exit, including those that were hidden. Always on constant guard. Turning she focused on Ginny and the twins while mentally calculating how long it would take someone to arrive from the kitchen after getting the letter she had sent on the way to the salon about tea. "Alright, I'm beyond sure that right now everyone is confused about at least one thing yes?" she looked between them, quickly glanced at Draco who nodded, then at Bill who was nodding with Fleur before focusing back on the three.
"The only thing we care about is getting our sister out of this place and back where she's safe…" began George.
"She's safe here," interrupted Draco.
"Like hell she is," snapped Fred.
"My son's intended is perfectly safe within the palace walls. There is no place safer on this earth. The only harm is apparently what she can do to the furniture which is older than Albus Dumbledore for heaven's sake," Narcissa sniffed.
"Narcissa!" Louise spoke rather harshly as her gaze focused entirely on the woman. "I think it would be best if you attempted to contact your husband and learn how he fared in the aftermath of yesterday's events..."
"Your Majesty," Narcissa stared at her in shock, "But I should stay to assist in things with Draco and his fiancée."
"I believe that I can be enough of a moderator and assistant in any situations that might arise while we are here Narcissa, especially seeing as I am the one who will make the final decision in regards to things such as Ginevra's protection in the months to come, or what is to be done about anything that happened in the rooms that are Ginny's, this is after all the palace of my forefathers and shall be the palace passed to my children after me."
Narcissa turned a rather interesting shade of reddish-purple for a moment before her colouring returned to normal as she obviously got herself under control, and she nodded quickly. "As you wish, Majesty," she rose and sunk to the ground in a graceful, yet quick, curtsy, before leaving the room.
"Well... that was interesting to say the least," Louise mused before focusing back on the twins and Ginny, "Where were we?"
"We're taking our sister back to London with us," replied George.
"Don't even think about it Malfoy," continued Fred before Draco could say anything.
"Alright, let's calm down a moment," Louise quickly looked at Draco, urging him to hold his tongue. "I'm not going to argue about Ginny returning with you to London, I will ask however that if that is the direction you choose, that you give me enough time to arrange for the Musketeers I had planned to accompany Ginny back to Hogwarts to be ready sooner, and they will follow you back to London now to keep watch over Ginny. Though I promise that they won't be hovering where they are obvious to be seen and interfere in your life," she focused on Ginny.
"Well they better get ready damn fast because there is no way our sister is spending another night in this place," George said.
"Not if you're going to lock her in a room by herself again," continued Fred.
"What in Merlin's name did you say to her yesterday Bill?" questioned George.
"Attack aimed at me…" came a quiet response from between the twins.
"Wait, you told Ginny the attack on Diagon Alley yesterday was aimed at her?" demanded Fred.
"Bill what the bloody hell were you thinking?" insisted George.
"I didn't say the attack was aimed at her, I said it might have been. I wanted her to understand why all of us were reacting as we were. Would you rather I have said nothing and God forbid what happened yesterday was because of Gin, she have no warning and that madman make a second attempt and succeed since no one was prepared for the possibility?"
"Let's back up a second before further arguments are made and accusations are thrown," Louise raised her hands and looked around before focusing on Ginny as she rose and moved over to kneel in front of the younger girl. "Dearest one, can you talk to me about what happened? Help me understand so I can help you in any way I possibly can?"
"You can't tell Ginny that You-Know-Who might be after her and then leave her alone in a room by herself all night," explained George as Ginny just buried her face in his chest.
"It stems from the incident in her first year with…"
"The Chamber of Secrets," Draco finished, cutting Fred off.
Everyone who actually understood French sat back in their chairs when they heard the string of rather explicit statements that came out of the young Queen's mouth, everyone save for André, was left blinking in surprise when she was done. "Forgive me," she sighed once she was done, focusing on the twins. "I have my own rather large amount of anger and hatred for the man who calls himself Lord Voldemort, so hearing of what he has done to Ginny, even with very few details, makes me more than a little bit upset. I will quite happily welcome the day that that thing is destroyed once and for all and whoever actually accomplishes the feat I will be very happy to declare a holiday in honour of which I'm sure will be done in all of the Wizarding Kingdoms," she sighed softly.
"You-Know-Who always possessed her when she was alone," George explained.
"The first few weeks of summer after her first year we always found her hiding in her closet in the morning," Fred continued.
"She was exhausted."
"She hadn't slept."
"For fear he would get her."
"Because that's always how he did it."
"We told her to come to us when she got scared," George said.
"She came every night the rest of the summer," Fred agreed.
Surely if you told her there was even the possibility You-Know-Who was after her then she would have been scared out of her mind," observed George.
"Scared enough to ask either you Bill or even you Malfoy, if as you claim, you're her fiancé, which I'm not saying I believe at this point in time, to stay with her over night to make her feel safe," continued Fred.
"She did," Draco admitted. "She pleaded with me to stay with her. She got frantic every time I left her side last night. I promised her I wouldn't leave her alone…"
"Then why did you?" demanded the twins in unison.
"The decision was taken out of my hands," snapped Draco angrily in return, glaring at Bill.
"I didn't have a choice. The laws state that an engaged couple isn't allowed to stay in the same room under any circumstances. Though if your mother hadn't mentioned it I would have never brought it up and played dumb if it was discovered," Bill argued, focusing his own anger over the situation towards Draco, much to the amusement of André and Louise though only the two knew the other was amused.
"Well, it seems to me that if a law is going to be changed, or altered given the special circumstances, then isn't it a lucky coincidence that the monarch just happens to be around to consider the options and such?" Louise asked as she looked back at Draco, then the four Weasleys and soon-to-be Weasley.
"And did nobody even bother to consider even calling either Fred or I last night when all of this was going on since neither one of us falls into the engaged couple category?" asked George angrily?
"Well, in the defence of those of us who didn't know the whole story, we never thought to contact you because we had no idea what might happen," Louise spoke up, sending Draco a look to keep quite to an extent.
"Did anybody bother to ask Ginny why she was so upset? Why she didn't want to be alone?" asked Fred.
"I knew she was upset about the attack..." Louise looked back at Draco.
Before he or Bill could speak up, there was a knock at the door, André swiftly moving to open it enough to see who was there before he closed it and turned towards them. "The Duque di Savoy."
"I was wondering where he was..." Louise murmured, "Let him in."
André nodded and turned back to the door, opening it to admit Blaise and behind him, a few ladies carrying trays with the tea and other refreshments.
"What the bloody hell is he doing here?" demanded Fred.
"You know, the ways of the English are quite annoying," Louise sighed as she rose and made her way back to her seat where she poured a cup of tea. "Blaise is the Duque di Savoy, a Peer of the Holy Roman Empire. But more importantly, he's here as support for Draco I am sure, as well as to see how Ginny is doing since he was in her company last night at the Ball."
"Well actually Draco, as much as I do love you like a brother, I have very little concern for you," Blaise looked at the blonde before focusing on Ginny, "My greater concern is how you are doing?"
Seeing as it was rather obvious to Louise, whose attempts to talk to Ginny had failed, that Ginny wouldn't be responding to Blaise due most likely to the fact she was pretty much as burrowed into her brother as she could get, Louise cleared her throat slightly, "Would you like some tea Ginny? Or either of you?" she continued to the twins, waving a hand towards Blaise to indicate he should sit somewhere, the seat abandoned by Narcissa being claimed by him.
"We'd like to take our sister home with us, but since you all seem so determined not to let that happen, and since I don't have the heart to wake her just yet you might as well pour me some tea," commented George.
"I'm not determined that you not take your sister home, I merely hoped we could sit and that you could explain what happened so we might take steps to prepare for anything that might happen in the future. Now that we understand what happened last night to an extent, and how to avoid it happening again, I already have plans to make arrangements so that the laws regarding engaged couples can be, shall we say disregarded for the health and safety of both sides of the couple, in Draco and Ginny's case. And the detail of Musketeers has already been arranged and they are simply awaiting their leader," she looked over at Bill at this point, "At which time they will travel to wherever it is you intend to go and keep watch over Ginny for her protection, but should be rather hard to be spotted, even by the three of you. I don't want to cause her more pain than she has gone through and is currently going through, I merely would like to make sure that she is safe as I'm sure you do as well. Come this summer, your sister will be under my protection as one of my Ladies, and safely here at the Palace where I assure you she will never be left alone so a repeat of last night might happen. But for now, I understand that being with you would be better for her, as I'm sure her fiancé is willing to accept and even understand," she looked back at Draco briefly. "All any of us want is for Ginny to be safe and happy."
"Leaving Ginny alone last night was the last thing I wanted but I was over ruled by my mother. I had made a promise to Ginny earlier in the night, after learning about how she ended up here in the first place, that I wouldn't leave her side for any reason and I had every intention of keeping that promise. You have to know that I have no intention of ever hurting your sister. I told her as much when she accepted my proposal back in January. All she had to do was say no and I would have taken my ring back and never spoken of it again," Draco explained.
Fred and George looked at him, before looking at each other, then down at where Ginny's hands were hidden between her body and George's, then back at Draco. "You are honestly saying you're engaged to our sister?" George asked after a moment.
"And that she agreed to it?"
"Yes I am," replied Draco. "And yes, she did."
The two exchanged another look before simultaneously sighing. "Well," Fred perked up suddenly as he looked at George with a grin, "At least we now have a reason to threaten him to within an inch of his life..."
"And hurt him very badly with lots of things," George nodded slowly.
"You just can't kill him. Until I get married and have a child, he's my only heir," Louise pointed out. "But Kings don't have to be pretty..."
"Thanks Dora," sighed Draco dramatically before turning his attention back to the twins. "Now might the two of you allow me to treat my fiancé's hand since I highly doubt she even thought of doing that last night given the frame of mind I was forced to leave her in?"
Fred and George exchanged another quick look before focusing on Draco, "So that bandage on her hand wasn't done by her?" Fred asked.
"Bandage?" Louise frowned. "What happened to her hand last night?"
"I don't know everything that happened last night that led to her needing her hand bandaged but what I do know is that I left her in the care of Blaise and my mother while I danced with Dora," he said, nodding towards where Louise sat. "The next thing I know, Blaise is interrupting us telling me I need to get to Ginny. I found her pacing out on one of the balconies. I tried not to startle her but she was so caught up in whatever was bothering her that she never heard me and when I touched her she jumped. Unfortunately she was too close to the railing but thanks to my years as a seeker I was able to catch her in time and pull her back over the railing. That's when I noticed her hand was bleeding. It's part of why she was having trouble holding onto the railing. After I pulled her back up, she had been holding onto my clothes, her hands fisted into them. When I took them off last night I noticed there was more blood on them. She called herself the laughing stock of the court. My guess is she was trying to take her engagement ring off and caused her hand to bleed and before I could reassure her that what the court thinks doesn't matter to me because it's her I love and before I could treat her hand properly we were forced apart," Draco explained.
"Bloody..."
"... hell," Fred finished for George as they exchanged another look. "We'll never say you stink as a Seeker again," he continued with a nod.
"So, we're not saying we're going to just not step in and do something because we aren't doing that."
"But we are saying that obviously there's more going on, and it's fairly apparent that you seem to care for our sister, and Bill is being a bit thick-headed but we know he loves her, and you, well we really don't know you all that well..." Fred looked at Louise, "You seem to care about her and there's apparently some whole thing about Musketeers and Gin coming here this summer and since you, we are assuming, are going to be standing up to Mum and Dad on Gin's behalf..."
"What Fred is trying to say is, we don't like it, we still want to take her back to London so she can calm down and everything, we know that you didn't know what to expect so you can't be entirely blamed for everything. But we still think it would be best to get Gin someplace where she feels safe and if she wants we would have no objection to you coming to visit and all that until the holidays are over and Hogwarts calls..."
"And we can trust the Musketeers to keep Gin and us safe since we know how good they are and how much Bill went through to join in the first place so they have to be rather good fighters and can keep her safe if anything were to happen again," Fred nodded.
"Thank you," Draco said. "What of your brother and Potter though, won't they be visiting? The last thing either Ginny or I want is word of our relationship getting back to your parents before Ginny is safely under Dora's protection this summer, we've even spoken of moving up the wedding…"
"Far as I know, Harry and Ron are back at Hogwarts attempting to get Hermione to realize the error of her way in getting involved with Krum again. Harry's supporting Ron completely and Ron has declared that he's going to get Hermione once and for all during the break from school. Which personally, we think is never going to happen."
"Girl is much better off with Krum."
"So basically they're not going to be an issue. Though you know, I wonder if Gin knows that's why Harry and Ron stayed at Hogwarts when she got to come visit her two favourite brothers..." George mused as he looked at Fred.
"Well given the way he's been tailing her every where she goes at school, I would be grateful of some time alone with my fiancé without either her brother, Pansy or my mother around to interrupt us," admitted Draco. "Now do you think there is even the slightest chance you might let me at least look at the damage I'm sure Ginny inflicted on her hand last night?"
One more look was exchanged before they nodded in unison and George carefully shifted Ginny with Fred's help so her hands weren't buried.
Draco rose from his spot and made his way over to where Ginny was laying in George's lap, gently picking her left hand up and carefully beginning to unwrap it. "She did more damage than I thought," he said quietly when he noticed the amount of blood on the lower layers of fabric. "I'd like to know just what she over heard to cause her to react in such a way…" he sighed as he removed the last of the fabric as carefully and as slowly as he could so as not to cause Ginny any undo pain when the fabric pulled away from her damaged ring finger. "We're going to need something to clean this with before I can heal it properly."
"André... would you?" Louise looked over at the man and he nodded before slipping out the main door and returning a moment later.
"Sébastian has gone to get the supplies," he explained, then opened the door when there was a knock a moment later and he took the basin and towels from whoever it was before shutting the door with his foot and bringing the supplies to Draco.
"As for what was said, I'm afraid that would be difficult to learn now, save from Ginny herself," Louise pointed out softly.
Draco took the basin and towels from André, handing the towels to Fred before carefully laying Ginny's hand in the basin, watching as she winced in pain as her finger was submerged in the water and breathing a sigh of relief when she remained sleeping. As carefully as he could, he slowly slipped Ginny's engagement ring from her finger, leaving it laying in the bottom of the bowl as he turned his attention to cleaning the area of Ginny's finger that she damaged. "Fred, can you pass me a towel?" Draco asked, ignoring Louise's comment for the moment as he slowly removed Ginny's hand from the bowl.
Fred silently passed the towel, as everyone remained quiet while they watched Draco gently tend to Ginny's hand.
Taking the towel from Fred, Draco gently dried Ginny's hand, careful not to cause her any undue pain, before pulling out his wand and casting the required healing spell on her finger. Once all trace of the former damage was gone from her hand, Draco laid her hand down tenderly before rising to his feet, picking up the bowl and towel and walking to the sideboard table that was situated behind where Louise was seated. Placing the bowl and towel down on the table, he kept his back turned to the rest of the room as he looked down at the ring at the bottom of the blood tinged water.
"Drac?" Louise spoke softly as she came up behind him. "Are you alright, mon cousin?"
"I'm fine Dora," Draco replied just as quietly, not lifting his eyes from the bowl in front of him.
"If you were, you would not be staring at the ring you placed upon your fiancé's hand as if it held either all the answers of the universe, or all the pain of the universe," she countered gently. "What happened is not your fault; you did nothing except love her and dare to dream that a life with the one you loved was possible; a dream that can still come true unless you let it float away."
"She wanted the ring off badly enough to very nearly remove her own finger Dora," Draco sighed in defeat.
"What was she saying when you found her last night Drac? That she wanted it off to be rid of you? Or perhaps that she wanted it off for you?"
"She was going on about not being good enough for me, that I deserve someone better, someone who knows how to act and won't humiliate me in public. She wanted to know how she could be stupid enough to take the necklace my father gave her because she'll never be one of them. She'll never be as good as them because she's a Weasley," Draco said.
"Then it seems to me Drac, that you still have a chance to have love. Don't let it go without fighting for it. One of us deserves to marry for love," she added softly, letting her hand rest on his arm a moment before she turned and made her way back to the others, "Would anyone care for something to eat?"
"If you'll all excuse me," Draco said as he started for the door.
"Draco?" mumbled Ginny quietly, stopping Draco in his tracks, although he did not turn to face where Ginny still lay in her brother's arms.
Everyone else in the room quickly looked at each other as Louise promptly sat in her seat rather quickly; no one quite sure if they should interfere in this or wait for Draco to make a move and pray it was a smart one.
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to gather his courage, Draco turned around. "I'm here Ginny," he said quietly as he walked over to where she was laying in George's lap, kneeling next to her.
"Oh God Draco, I was so scared. I thought for sure Tom was going to come after me again," Ginny said as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and practically fell into his arms and out of George's lap.
"It was never my intention to leave you last night Ginny. If I had known I would have made sure that you were not alone last night," he said, kissing her temple before pulling back slightly and taking a hold of Ginny's head in his hands. "And Gin, you have to believe me when I tell you that I don't care what anybody in the court says, I love you, and all your silly little Gryffindor idiosyncrasies. Nobody in this room holds your actions last night against you. We all know that you were thrust into a situation before you were ready for it and you did the best you could given the circumstances and it is completely understandable that you would make mistakes given everything you'd been through yesterday. My God Gin, you survived a Death Eater attack barely an hour before you were thrust into the spotlight here at the Royal Court, everyone that matters is going to cut you the slack you deserve and that is everyone currently sitting in this room."
"You still want me?" asked Ginny quietly, her nervousness coming out in her voice as she dropped her gaze to her hands.
"More than life itself Gin," admitted Draco, forgetting they weren't alone in the room as he lifted her gaze back to meet his.
"Then…why…why did you…my ring?" Ginny asked holding up her left hand revealing her newly healed finger.
"I took it off while I was healing your finger. I didn't put it back on because you were so determined to take it off last night I thought it would be better to leave it off and leave the decision up to you as to whether or not you really wanted me to put it back on your finger," Draco explained as a hand suddenly appeared between them with the ring. Looking up Draco nodded at Bill, thanking him for retrieving the ring before taking it from him. "Since I didn't get to do this the first time," he chuckled. "Ginny Weasley, will you do me the greatest honour of becoming my wife and allow me to love you for the rest of eternity?"
"Yes Draco, oh God yes," Ginny said as Draco slipped the ring back on her finger before kissing her.
"I was so afraid you would turn me away," Draco whispered quietly, after breaking the kiss and pulling Ginny close.
"Never," Ginny said into his neck.
"So congratulations are in order then I take it," George grinned.
"I would say they most definitely are," Fred nodded.
"What are you two planning," Bill asked warily as he stepped back towards Fleur's side, eyes darting towards each of the exits.
"Come on Ginny, let's get you up off this floor," Draco said as he stood up and helped Ginny to her feet, quickly picking her up when she had trouble staying on her feet.
"Would you like something to drink Ginny?" Louise asked as Draco moved to a free couch.
"Some orange juice would be nice," Ginny replied quietly trying to stifle a yawn as she rested her head on Draco's shoulder.
"Of course," she nodded before finding a piece of paper and sending a message to the kitchens, sometimes magic did come in handy. "I want to apologize for what happened last night dearest, and let you know that in the future, while I can't control the other members of the court, you will never have to be alone again. And I'll be very happy to see you again when you return this summer and we can have the chance to get to know each other better."
"I thought I'd gotten over this silly fear of mine," Ginny said in embarrassment.
"It's not silly Gin," Draco said. "I can only imagine what that monster did to you in the Chamber. You have every right to be afraid, especially after what happened yesterday. I'm sure if you wanted to stay here, Dora could arrange something…"
"You are more than welcome to stay Ginny, and you won't be separated from Draco if you don't want to be. You won't have to be alone again."
"Narcissa won't approve…" Ginny trailed off quietly.
"Dearest, Narcissa is not the one in charge here."
"Draco and I get so little time alone together at Hogwarts but I don't want to cause trouble for anyone here…"
"Typical Ginger Bean…"
"Always putting others before herself…"
"About time she took a little happiness for herself if you ask us," commented George.
"You know, I like your brothers William, you should bring them around more often," Louise chuckled. "And as for you my little Mademoiselle, you would not be causing trouble for anyone here. All anyone in this room cares about is you, for you to be able to feel comfortable here and find a place for yourself in our little world that you enjoy and are happy with."
"All those people from last night aren't going to be here are they?" asked Ginny nervously.
"No, the majority of those who attended the Ball last night have returned to their own homes. And those that are still here at the Palace are very likely not the ones who would be so rude as to make such comments."
"I'm scared to go back to London after yesterday," admitted Ginny quietly, not looking at either of the twins. "And if I go back to Hogwarts, I'll be separated from Draco and Ron will do everything in his power keep me away from everyone and to push me at Harry. But I'm also not sure if I'm comfortable with staying here after last night…"
"Would you perhaps be more comfortable if your brothers remained?" Louise suggested.
"I wouldn't want to take them away from their business, Majesty," replied Ginny.
"Well," she glanced between Ginny and the twins, "The decision is to be made amongst you, but if you wish, there is a place for you stay here at the Palace, be it now or in the future."
"Would it be possible for Ginny and I to have rooms that were somewhere far removed from where my mother's rooms are located Dora?" asked Draco curiously?
"Actually," Louise began as she thought, "I had the two of you placed in the South Wing for a reason. The rooms belonging to the Duc and Duchesse d'Orléans are there, though those aren't the ones you were using last night. If you would prefer, I could arrange for the two of you to be moved to another set of rooms that are connected, near to the rooms that will be yours once your are married so you can get acquainted with that section of the Palace since in essence it will be mostly yours, and I can have Narcissa moved."
"How does that sound?" Draco asked, looking down at Ginny, who's head still rested on his shoulder, only to find her fighting to stay awake. "Would it be possible to have someone show me where the rooms are? I think someone here needs to get some actual, honest to God sleep," he chuckled.
"Don't leave me," came the quiet plea from his shoulder.
"I won't. You have my word on it," Draco said cupping Ginny's cheek with his hand as he kissed her forehead.
"Give me a few minutes to make the arrangements," Louise smiled as she rose and made her way towards the door that led to the Guardroom. "Before I go actually, would the two of you like to stay?" she focused on the twins.
The two exchanged a long look before looking back at her, "For tonight at least, so we can see how Gin does."
"And before you start arguing in your half-awake state dear sister, we'll agree to go back to London tomorrow if you do okay tonight," Fred continued to Ginny as Louise silently slipped out of the room.
"Mmm kay," Ginny mumbled sleepily as she snuggled down into Draco's arms.
"I love it when she doesn't argue," Fred grinned at George.
"Best time to tell her something," George agreed with a nod.
"So, since we're staying tonight, we can have a celebration later and let Ginger get some sleep now..."
"I do love how your brain works, my dear Gred."
"Hang on, no planning anything without discussing it with me," Bill spoke up quickly. "We're not at the Burrow, we're in a palace that is over three-hundred years old. If anything is damaged..." he shuddered.
"Let's just say it would be most unfortunate, I would loose my fiancé and Ginny would loose three of her closest brothers," Fleur continued with a shudder of her own.
"Hmm, definitely more protective of their history than people were at Hogwarts, which is interesting since Hogwarts is older," George mused.
"Fair enough then, we'll discuss things with the lovely lady who left a few minutes ago with your boss behind her," Fred smiled, and then grinned as Bill turned a rather interesting shade of white. Before the eldest Weasley could protest the apparent plans to actually bother the Queen with plotting a celebration of some sorts, that most likely would include a great many of the twins' creations, the door to the Guardroom opened admitting Louise and André behind her.
"Everything is arranged," Louise announced. "And I arranged for rooms across the hall from the rooms that Ginny and Draco will share for the two of you," she focused on the twins, raising an eyebrow at the rather manic grins on their faces. "If you'll all follow me, we can get everyone settled, William I'm sure can be released from his duties for the day so he can spend time with his brothers and perhaps show them around the Palace, Fleur you as well will be free from duties, and I have to get back to that treaty with Czar Nikolas..."
Careful not to wake his sleeping fiancé, Draco rose from his spot and lifted Ginny up into his arms and made his way over to where Louise was waiting, not really caring if the others came with him or not.
Once everyone was in a bit of a line, Louise turned and made her way back through the Salle des Gardes de la Reine, to the hall that led to the other area of the southern wing of the palace, moving past the room Ginny had used the night before to a few doors further down the hall, and opened a door on the opposite side of the hall. "Ginny's rooms, there's a salon through the door on the left wall, your rooms are on the other side of the salon when you want to use them," she explained quietly before nodding to a door across the hall from where they stood, "The same is for the two of you, you can figure out which room which of you would want," she looked at the twins.
"Thank you Dora," Draco said with a nod of his head as he stepped into Ginny's rooms, closing the door behind him before carrying Ginny into the bedroom and laying her gently down on the bed. Pulling out his wand he quickly cast the charm needed to change her gown into a simple nightgown and his own clothes into something more comfortable before climbing onto the bed beside her and pulling the blankets up over top of them and pulling Ginny close, holding her while she slept.
