Chapter 4


Tuesday March 31st, 1997
Wizarding Versailles, France
Château de Versailles
Salon de Saturne
4:21 p.m.

"My Queen," Andre spoke, pulling Louise from the records she was reading.

Looking up at first him, then to where he was looking, she smiled, "Your Imperial Highness," she rose and moved around the desk as Andre slipped out of the hidden passages so he could take up guard by the main door. "Bonjour Aleksander," she smiled brightly as he crossed the room to stand in front of her.

"Bonjour Isidora," he smiled as he clasped her hands in his own, bent at his waist and placed a kiss upon the knuckles of both her hands, before straightening.

Pulling her hands from his gentle grasp, she reached up, her palms resting against his jaw line as her fingertips touched the dark curls that rested against his neck. Stretching up she brushed her lips against his right cheek, then his left before lowering her heels back to the floor, pulling her hands back. "You are well, yes?"

"Quite so," Aleksander nodded, "And you? You look as if you have the weight of the world within your eyes," he continued, concern evident in words as well as manner.

"I'm Queen, Sasha, of not one kingdom but two, and both of those kingdoms are still dealing with the loss of the entire royal family save myself and Grandpère to a madman who is once more alive and well and has already made one half-hearted attempt to get to the Palace… Not to mention there is the work going into Draconis' reclaiming of the family title and officially becoming my heir for the time being, all of which is dependant upon him marrying by his eighteenth birthday. And his intended bride, while quite lovely and I see her being very good for him, but I also see that adjusting to our way of things is going to be very difficult for her. And with the events of this morning with her disappearance and the subsequent arrival of the twins and learning of her… well issues is a word I would rather not have to use but I'm afraid I can't think of any other possible wording at the moment… Anyway in the end the one woman in this world I think is best suited for my cousin and current heir as soon as he's reclaimed the title, just happens to have a connection to the same madman that likes to kill my family and has his eyes set on conquering not just England and France but moving on to my Abuelo's kingdom then the other remaining kingdoms and on to the rest of the world…."

"Breathing is a good thing my dear Dora," Aleksander smiled.

"Oh shush," she rolled her eyes before sinking down into one of the chairs in the room.

"So, I'm assuming that you didn't ask to see me merely to vent your frustrations my dear one…"

"No," she smiled, "but you do listen to them so well," she teased while he was the one to roll his eyes.

"Serious now Dora, what's going on? And yes I know things are quite insane, understandably so, we are all living in a state of fear with Voldemort's return, and everything with Draco and Ginevra is quite unexpected… But I seriously doubt that's the reason my Grandmother insisted I accompany her to the Winter Ball and you asked to see me today…"

"No," she nodded slowly, "That is not the reason…"

"Then what is it?" Aleksander asked as he sat down in a chair across from her, leaning forward as he watched her.

Taking a deep breath Louise nodded more to herself than him, before focusing her full attention on him. "As you know, there are certain… requirements, that have been placed upon me that haven't been placed as much upon my father before me and his before him, going back to the beginning of our family."

"You have to marry and produce an heir as soon as possible so the Line of Royal Succession will continue," he nodded.

"You know, it always sounds so frustratingly simply when stated that way," she rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately, in the life of a Royal, especially that of the Heir Apparent or King or Queen, we are held to higher standards than those of common birth. They who would never understand how we can accept the fact we must marry not for love but for the good of our country and people, and that we can do it without apparent argument."

"Love of our people is more important than any feelings we ourselves might have. It is for them we live, so they might have a life that is better," she agreed. "I think that is part of why I approve of Ginny so much. They have a chance at love; at least my dear cousin has a chance at marrying for love."

"He is lucky in that yes, but we aren't talking about Drac…" Aleksander reminded her with a small smile.

"No," she nodded. "Oh for heaven's sake, it shouldn't be this hard," she threw her hands up slightly before taking a deep breath and focusing on him completely. "Ten years past, your Grandmother came to my Grandpére and suggested a marriage treaty between our two kingdoms. I was informed of this a few weeks ago when your Father sought an audience with me to discuss the possibility. I agreed to the treaty on one condition, that he who they intended to be my husband agreed as well. And all of that came out far too political for such a conversation as this," she sighed as she looked down at her hands that had fallen to her lap after her initial outburst.

"It did come out rather political," he agreed with a small smile. "But if I read between the lines, obviously Nikolay is not a possible match seeing as he is heir to our Father's throne, which leaves me as the next eligible son and considering I'm the one you're having this conversation with…"

"Stop teasing," she snapped lightly as she looked up at him. "You know what's going on now, can you not drag it on. You have no idea how insanely difficult it is to tell a good friend that your Grandparents had discussed an arranged marriage between the two of you, and then you yourself had to be the one to arrange the marriage treaty with your future father-in-law," she finished with a huff before looking away from him.

"No," he nodded, the teasing tone in his voice gone, "I do not know how difficult that must be, but I can imagine. And you did do a wonderful job," he smiled gently before reaching out and gently turning her head to look at him. "Truth be Dora, Nikolay and I have often in the past discussed who it would be that would be your Consort, we needed something to do in the long winters after all," he winked, "And you do know how protective we both are of you since Grandmother was your mentor in so many ways and we've spent so much time together growing up…"

"Remind me to smack Nikolay next time we're in private," she muttered after she had swiftly smacked the back of Aleksander's head. "Honestly of all the things to discuss... Wait, did you have some sort of winner picked out?" she looked at him curiously.

"Well there was Lord Henry…"

"He's older than your Grandmother!" Louise nearly shrieked in shock. "And he's English! They haven't had a Wizarding Monarchy in thousands of years; he wouldn't know how to be a proper Consort…"

"Breathe Dora," he laughed before quickly moving out of reach when she reached out to smack him once more. "We were joking about him…" he continued before smirking at the next thing she hissed in her native tongue. "You know, eventually I think I will have to find out what all of those colourful expressions you use actually mean."

"Never," she smirked. "Even Drac hasn't learned them and he is French."

"But that is in no way fair, you know the Russian sayings in such situations…"

"And English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Greek, Austrian…" she smiled. "And who is to blame for me knowing those lovely other languages, especially the Russian ones?"

"Thankfully your Grandpére and Abuelo never knew it was Nikolay and I who taught you those…" he shuddered. "But at one point I was attempting to say something before you interrupted…"

"Really? I thought you were getting you and your brother in trouble," she laughed, before seeing the look he was giving her, "Alright, alright, I'll be good and stay quiet. Have your say dear Aleksander and we can know what tomorrow will hold."

"Thank you," he nodded, before stopping and frowning, "I forgot what I was going to say."

"Well I would assume it would be some long, drawn out version of either yes or no, so the simple version of either would work as well…"

"And let you be the only one to stumble through an attempt to say something today? Never!" he grinned. "Now then, since I remembered my original thoughts, as I was saying, Nikolay and I used to discuss who would be the best Consort for you, and quite frankly we both agreed there was no one in the world quite good enough for you. Since Grandmother so kindly made her own suggestion…" he smiled, "You are an amazing Queen already, and I know you will only become better as the years go by. I would be honoured to be the one to stand behind you and support you however you need me to. You're one of my best friends Dora, and even if love is never in the cards for us, to be married to my best friend would be the greatest of gifts. So make the treaty with my Father. And when the day comes, I will stand up in the Chapel where your parents were wed, and every ruler since Queen Marie-Therese was wed, and we will be man and wife."

"Are you sure this is what you want Alek?" she asked softly. "As you said, love may never be something for us. Are you sure you want to promise yourself to me and my kingdom, and never have a chance to find love?"

"Dora," he gave her a look that typically she used for him or his brother or even Draco, the 'stop being an idiot' look. "I wouldn't agree if I wasn't sure. I made my choice, stop trying to talk me out of it. Besides, I happen to quite enjoy France and Navarre; it's much warmer here after all."

She blinked once, and then twice, before rolling her eyes, "Will you ever stop acting like a dork as Draco declared you when we were children?"

"Look at it this way dear one, life will never be boring."

"True, true," she chuckled before rising. "Well, I think I need to contact your Father about a marriage treaty… Are we actually doing this?"

"Yes, we are," he agreed as he rose and gently grabbed her shoulders to turn her towards the desk and push her towards it lightly. "Go, deal with all those political things that need to be done. I need to go and write Nikolay so he finds out before it's announced or he'll kill me and you'll have to find a new husband and Grandmother will kill him and Father will have to find a new heir.

"Well then I suppose I must get on with it so you can avoid getting killed and your Father can avoid looking for a new heir and having to deal with his mother killing his son and causing all sorts of disaster in the Russias," she giggled, turning quickly to kiss his cheek before making her way back to her desk to start a letter to her future father-in-law.

Hearing the door close a few moments later she looked up at André who was merely watching her as he crossed the room. "So, Aleksander agreed, yes?" he asked when he reached her desk.

"Oui," she nodded as she looked towards the windows that overlooked the Marble Courtyard. "Two weddings in one year, there will be much to do…"

"That there will," he nodded as he sat down, "Frederick and George Weasley have requested an audience with you."

Raising her eyebrows she looked back at him before nodding slowly, "I'll see them after I finish this," she waved a hand towards the letter to Nicholas III.

"As you wish my Queen," he nodded, watching over her as she turned her attention to the letter that would finalize the arrangements for the marriage treaty.


Tuesday March 31st, 1997
Wizarding Versailles, France
Château de Versailles
Salon de Mars
8:05 p.m.

"Where are we going exactly?" Ginny asked confused as Draco led the way through Galarie des Glaces, which looked somehow different then it had the night before when it was full of people, though honestly she was quite happy to be out of there when they entered the room they had passed through the night before when they left the ball to meet with Louise.

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure. All I know is that we were summoned to the Salon d'Apollon," he offered as they reached the door to the room, and the Musketeer standing guard nodded to them before turning and knocking on the door.

A moment passed before the door opened slightly to reveal André who nodded to the Musketeer then opened the door to usher them into the darkened room.

"André... what is going on?" Draco began before the lights flared to life and echoes of 'Surprise' filled the room from Bill, Fleur, Fred, George, Blaise, Louise, and Aleksander, who Ginny didn't know but Draco did.

The room was different from the night before, gone were the couches that made it look like a comfortable meeting area, instead it was done up with the chairs on one side of the room, a table against another wall that held various dishes of food and even a cake at one end, while the area by the windows that overlooked the Courtyard was bare, the curtains pulled back so the Courtyard was visible.

"What in the world…" Ginny trailed off looking around the room.

"We decided we need to celebrate your engagement," Fred answered with a smile.

"Which now that you're here..." George exchanged a grin with his twin before a few fireworks exploded near the ceiling making everyone except the twins and André jump, André turning to glare at the two while Fleur and Louise held a hand against their chest, the latter staring at the two in shock. As they watched though, the bursts of colour began to spell out 'Congratulations Ginny and Draco'.

"I still can't believe you guys actually approve," Ginny said."

"Hey, we're not the one marrying him," Fred began with a shrug.

"So it's not like we have to like him all that much."

"But if you do, which apparently you do."

"Then we're not about to stand in the way of your happiness."

"Besides, he should know after five years at school with us..."

"...That we can hurt him quite easily if he hurts you," George finished with a grin

"Thank you," Ginny said, throwing herself into George's arms.

"You're welcome, Ginger Bean," George whispered as Fred wrapped his arms around the two of them for a three way hug, well with Ginny in the middle. "We just better be at the wedding."

"But we promise, no pranks or anything, but if you want fireworks or something, we're your twins."

"Of course you guys will be at the wedding," Ginny said stepping back. "I need some family there after all since I doubt Mum and Dad will be there. I'll let you know about the fireworks though since I think it will be a fairly formal affair," she said as Draco stepped up next to her, his arm going around her waist.

"Unfortunately, it will be fairly formal. But if you want you can have fireworks at a private party a few nights before," Louise offered.

"I'll let you know if I decide to have a private party for family and friends at which you can have as many fireworks as your hearts desire…as long as you promise to bring the dragon with you," Ginny smirked.

"Dragon?" Aleksander asked curious, as he joined them. "Hello Ginevra, we haven't been introduced yet. My name is Aleksander Romanov, I've known Drac since we were all children, and I have such lovely tales to tell you one of these days," he winked.

Ginny looked between Aleksander and Draco, seeing the slight nod that Draco gave her she turned back to Aleksander, "It's a pleasure to meet you Aleksander," she said. "My brothers Fred and George here are well known pranksters at the school we all attend and last year we had this really horrid professor who was basically trying to take over the school from Dumbledore for the Ministry, so my brothers here decided to get their revenge on her for everything she had done to our friends that during the O.W.L examinations they decided to set off a ton of fireworks in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, one of them being this gigantic dragon that chased her from the room. Course I only ever heard about this second hand from Ron, Harry and Hermione after it happened and then these two over the summer."

"Hmm, you never said such interesting things happened at Hogwarts. Perhaps it does have its pluses," Louise mused. "Though I think I quite prefer my tutors thank you."

"I as well," Aleksander chuckled.

"Tutors are lovely yes, but school is quite nice as well," Fleur shrugged. "I enjoyed my years at Beaubaxton immensely, and if it weren't for them, I would never have met Bill," she smiled. "But I do believe we are here to celebrate, no?"

"She does have a point," Louise smiled, "And on that note, we have food, we have a lovely cake, and more importantly, we have music so you might finally have a dance," she smirked before turning and shooing the others away from the windows and with a quick flick of her wand, a soft melody began to fill the air.

"I…uh…I can't dance…" mumbled Ginny.

"Would you like to learn?" Draco asked softly.

"Don't listen to her Draco," commented George.

"She knows how to dance," continued Fred.

"Remember the Yule Ball your fourth year?" asked George.

"Went with Neville Longbottom, she did," said Fred.

"Belle of the ball she was," said George.

"That she was and a mighty fine dancer she was too," admitted Fred.

"Oh God," Ginny groaned as she dropped her head into her hands in embarrassment.

"They're right though, I do remember that. You were beautiful, and you put the girls older than you to shame with your dancing. The only one who came close to you was Granger..." Draco smiled, carefully tipping her chin up so she would look at him, "More than one boy was jealous of Longbottom, myself included."

"That was different Draco. I can't dance like you do…"

"I only dance like that because I was taught. If you would like, I can teach you."

"It's probably something I should learn eventually…"

"Come on, nothing fancy I promise, just follow my lead I promise," Draco said as he led Ginny over to a clear section of the room and pulled her into his arms and started leading her in a slow dance, swaying in time to the music as he held her close.

"They make a beautiful couple," Fleur commented as the group gathered near the food to watch, and grab a few things to eat.

"That they do," Louise agreed softly. "And he loves her, and I believe if she doesn't already, or hasn't started to already, she will love him as well in time."

"Never quite expected our sister to be with Malfoy of all people, but... Gin loves with her whole heart, and I think she's already started to love him. She might not realize it, but she does," George shared a look with Fred and Bill.

"She does," agreed Fred. "Otherwise she wouldn't have called out for him this morning."

"Then they have the greatest of gifts," Aleksander nodded, "It is rare for those in our world, those with royal blood that is, to actually be able to marry for love. He is the first I know of in the last three generations to be able to marry for love. Even my parents and Dora's didn't have that luxury..."

"But not them," Louise smiled, "Look at us, standing here gossiping. Come, find some food and go find a place to sit for heaven's sake. I refuse to become one of those annoying members of the Court who hang around the sidelines talking about every which thing and have nothing better to do than make up stories. Shoo," she waved her hands at the others before moving towards a couch.

"Feorge we have to figure out a way to make sure Ginger Girl gets back here after Hogwarts lets out for the summer," Fred commented quietly from where they were standing as they watched Draco lean and in capture Ginny's lips in a kiss. "We need to be the ones to ensure our sister's future happiness."

"I completely agree Gred," George nodded. "We'll write Perc and Charlie when we get home, get their suggestions. Between the five of us we can figure out a way for her to get here. After all, the only thing smarter than the Weasley twins is five Weasley brothers," he grinned.


Saturday June 14th, 1997
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The Entrance Hall
8:23 a.m.

The rest of the Easter holidays had passed rather quickly for Ginny and Draco both, and all too soon they were headed back to Hogwarts, where they were once more separated thanks to the combined efforts of Ron Weasley and Pansy Parkinson... The rest of the school year had passed in a blur of studies and attempts to meet interrupted by Ron on Ginny's side, Pansy on Draco's, and if that wasn't enough Ron continued to be further determined to get Harry and Ginny together. The youngest Weasley seemed even more determined since his attempts to win Hermione back from Krum had failed once more...

So it was with more than a little bit of eagerness that Ginny looked forward to the last day of school when Bill would be arriving to pick her up, at least to the knowledge of their parents who had no idea he had been at Hogwarts since Easter holidays, leading the small detail of five Musketeers who were there to protect Ginny as well as keep an eye out on Draco when the time permitted. Though at times Ginny had to wonder if anyone save herself, Draco, and Blaise knew the Musketeers were there, half the time she didn't even realize they were around, it was quite scary at times how well they could be hidden right in the middle of a crowded hall during the time between classes. The Aurors had nothing on the Musketeers...

Somehow though, her five brothers had managed to convince their Mum and Dad to let Ginny spend her summer divided up with the five of them, getting some life experience or something was the explanation. And the first stop on this little trip was to spend a few weeks with Bill in 'Egypt'. To be honest though Ginny wasn't quite sure she would believe it actually worked until she was back in France, which was why she was more than a little bit nervous as she waited in the Entrance Hall for Bill to 'arrive', Ron in the one place he would never think to wonder about where she was - stuffing his face.

"Ginny!" Bill's voice pulled Ginny from her worries, and she turned to see him standing by the open door.

"Oh thank God," Ginny sighed when she caught sight of her brother, only to look back over her shoulder towards the Great Hall.

"Relax Ginger, he's happily involved in the sausages," Bill chuckled as he gave her a quick hug. "Ready then sis?"

"As I'll ever be," Ginny admitted nervously. "As much as I've been looking forward to this, I've been dreading it at the same time."

"Don't worry; everything is going to be fine."

"How are we getting to France? We're not taking the Express are we?" asked Ginny worriedly.

"Oh definitely not," he shook his head. "We're going by portkey," he held up his hand where a gold ring with the Flur-dis-Lys rested on his right ring finger. "All of the Musketeers who are wizards have one," he explained. "So whenever you're ready..." he shrugged.

"I'm ready. I'd like to get out of here before Ron finishes his breakfast," admitted Ginny as she stepped towards Bill.

"Then away we go," he nodded as he quickly led her to a corner that was hidden in shadows and pulled her into a hug, "Here we go," he whispered before activating the portkey.

A few moments later they appeared in the Headquarters of the Musketeers, and Bill pulled away, "You okay?" he asked softly as he looked at her.

"I hate portkeys," Ginny mumbled, remembering the reason for the last trip by portkey she had been forced to take.

"I know Gin," he smiled gently, "Come on, let's get you to the Queen and you can get settled in okay?"

"Okay," Ginny agreed, swallowing down her nervousness.

"Breathe sis, everything is going to be fine, you already know the Queen after all," he pointed out as he began to lead her towards the exit, one of the other Musketeers who had been at Hogwarts falling into step behind them.

"I know, but things were different then Bill," countered Ginny.

"Why?" he asked curious about what was going on inside her head.

"I was only a guest then Bill, plus I had Draco," replied Ginny.

"He will be here this summer," he pointed out, "So, you will see him. You'll be with the Queen and the other Ladies-in-Waiting, one of which is Fleur so... And from what I've seen and what Fleur has said, the others are all very nice, sweet, kind... they're like a family."

"And have you forgotten Bill that I don't really know how to interact with bunch of women having grown up in a house full of men?"

"Well, you'll certainly have plenty of time to figure it out," he teased. "Besides it can't be that hard, it's sort of like Hogwarts except you get your own room and everyone isn't the same age. Fleur is the eldest at nineteen, the youngest is the Archduchess of Austria, she's thirteen."

"And I'm a fifteen year old nobody Bill…"

"You're the soon-to-be Duchess d'Orléans Gin, you're not nobody. You're also Fleur's soon-to-be sister-in-law which gives you another connection to the Ladies, and the Queen chose you to be one of her Ladies," he countered softly. "Everything will be fine; they're all very nice, honestly."

"I'll take your word for it brother," Ginny sighed. "Shall we get this over with then?"

"You make it sound like I'm taking you to the executioner," he teased as they entered the palace and he led her towards the northern part. "The Queen has moved to the rooms that have always belonged to the past Kings following the announcement of her wedding to Tsarevna Aleksander," he explained as they walked. "This time of day she and the other Ladies would be gathered in the Salon d'Apollon," he continued as they approached the doors of the Salon de Vénus, quickly passing through the other four salons until they reached the doors of the Salon d'Apollon, which was currently guarded by two Musketeers.

With a nod to Bill, one turned and knocked on the doors, which opened a moment later to reveal André as light laughter was heard from within the room as the Captain slipped out into the Salon de Mercure where the now five were gathered, the laughter once more disappearing when the door was shut.

"William," André greeted Bill who inclined his head. "Welcome home," he smiled before focusing on Ginny. "Bonjour Ginevra, the Queen is expecting you," he smiled gently. "Are you ready?" he asked softly as the two Musketeers who had been standing guard seemed to disappear into the walls leaving the feeling of just the three.

"As I'll ever be," admitted Ginny quietly.

"Then shall we?" he offered her his arm.

Ginny looked between Bill and André before nodding and reaching out and taking André's arm.

"William," André nodded towards Bill before the two guards appeared once more and one opened the door, allowing André to lead Ginny into the room.

Once inside the Salon, which once more looked as it had the night of the Ball back in April; Ginny was able to see the seven women gathered in the room. The curtains were all open, and in a chair next to one of the open windows that overlooked the Marble Courtyard sat a woman with red curls that fell to her waist, in her lap was a pile of lace that she was doing something with, though exactly what was unclear. On a nearby couch were two women, one had a bit of a familiarity about her, with dark brown hair that had lighter brown and even a few blonde highlights throughout that fell to her shoulders and couldn't possibly be more any more straight if it was ironed, the other was younger, with shoulder length dark blonde curls; both were laughing about something as they played a card game of some sort.

Standing near another open window was another woman who was working at an easel as she joined in the conversation that flowed through the room, she was about five-six in height and had dark auburn wavy hair that ended against her upper-back, and was pulled back with a ribbon at the moment. Across the room sat Fleur in a chair next to a chaise where Louise was stretched out as she worked on some sort of embroidery, and on the couch near them was the seventh, and definitely the youngest, woman, well girl; she had dark brown hair to the middle of her back that fell in waves and like Louise she was doing some embroidery while Fleur was arranging fresh flowers in a vase.

"My Queen," André called and Louise looked up from her work towards where they stood, before she grinned.

"Ginny," she spoke with a smile in her voice as well as on her face, the others looking up from their things, then like Louise they set them aside even as Louise had risen and was making her way to where Ginny and André stood. "How are you dearest?" she asked softly as she took Ginny's hands in her own and placed a quick kiss on Ginny's cheek.

"Would scared out of my mind be too honest an answer?" asked Ginny quietly.

Louise chuckled, "Not at all, but breathe dearest," she smiled. "Come, let's do introductions, then if you wish Fleur can take you to the rooms that will be yours. I have you in the rooms next to her's so that if you need a friend..." she trailed off with a slight shrug. "I promise, no one bites. The worst anyone does is Bella might try to talk you into getting a tattoo, magical though so it's not nearly as painful as those Muggle ones."

Ginny took a deep breath before nodding and allowing Louise to lead her further into the room.

"Breathe," Louise reminded her softly as André drifted back to stand at the door and keep watch over those gathered, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Ginny, though Fleur already knows you of course," she smiled as she glanced at Ginny. "Ginny, this is Marina, but we all call her Rina," she began as they stopped next to the woman that was painting.

"Hello Ginny, it's wonderful to finally meet you," Marina smiled. "Fleur and Dora talk about you often."

"Hello," Ginny greeted quietly.

"Be warned, she'll probably make you sit for a portrait before too long," Louise smiled.

"Run for your life," the red-haired woman called.

"Just for that, I'm making you my next subject Anastasie," Marina shot back with a smirk.

"Evil woman," she grumbled as Louise rolled her eyes and led Ginny towards the woman.

"Anastasia, or Anastasie as we call her," she explained. "She's our singer..."

"Yes, we can't get her to shut up," Marina agreed with a smirk.

"Oh hush," Anastasia shot back, "Wonderful to meet you Ginny. Trust us, we're not all quite as crazy as we seem."

"Unless she's thinking that way about you," Fleur spoke up with a smile.

"Annoying," Anastasia rolled her eyes before sending Fleur a 'look'.

"Anyway," Louise spoke up as she turned towards the couch that held two, "Arabella and Rosabella, or Bella and Rose as we call them," she introduced. "You know Bella's brother Blaise..."

"I never knew Blaise had a sister," Ginny admitted.

"I'm his half-sister," Arabella smiled up at Ginny, she the one with brown hair. "Same father, my mother died in childbirth with me and father married his mother soon after. Not the wisest decision in the long run but..." she shrugged. "I grew up in Italy and here at the Court so those in England for the most part don't know about me."

"But we love hearing stories about England from Blaise," Rosabella spoke up. "Technically we're not cousins, but since he is my cousin's brother, I decided he's a cousin."

"In other words, we," Arabella waved between her and Rosabella, "are cousins."

"I shall take great pleasure in teasing Blaise about not telling me about this," smiled Ginny.

"Ooo, I like this one," Rosabella giggled, "She's fun."

"You haven't met my brothers yet," Ginny smirked.

"Oh?" she sat up straight and looked at Louise.

"No," Louise laughed. "You'll get to meet them soon enough at Fleur and William's wedding, you can wait until then."

"Fine," she sighed as she kind of slumped back into her seat.

"Trust me it'll be worth the wait," Ginny promised.

"Oh good," Rosabella grinned.

"And finally we have my cousin, Marie-Thérèse, or Marie as we call her," Louise nodded towards the youngest in the room.

"Hello," she greeted with a smile. "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you," replied Ginny.

"You're welcome," Marie-Thérèse smiled.

"Well then," Louise nodded, "Fleur, would you show Ginny her rooms?"

"Of course," Fleur nodded. "Would you like to go now Gin?"

"Please," Ginny replied. "It was rather stressful trying to get out of Hogwarts this morning. I was so afraid Ron was going to find me and try to stop me, not to mention my fear of what my parents are going to try to do when they find out I'm not on the Express."

"Oh that reminds me, we need to get the guardianship finalized," Louise glanced over at Anastasia, "And no, you can't hit me for forgetting."

"Mean," Anastasia sighed.

"How do we do that?" asked Ginny. "My parents aren't going to just hand me over…"

"I'll come with you to your rooms then and we can get that done, and I'll explain everything on the way. Then you can relax for a while, alright?" Louise focused back on Ginny, ignoring the redhead.

"That would be nice," Ginny said.

"Then shall we?" Louise smiled as she nodded towards the way Ginny had come and as Fleur fell into step with them, they moved to where André waited then moved out ahead of him as they moved through the various salons and made their way to the second floor where the rooms for the Ladies were.

"Now then, a few things," Louise began as they walked. "First, you will be assigned a Musketeer who will follow you whenever you're on your own around the grounds, he won't be walking with you but he'll be nearby keeping watch. More than likely it will be your brother but... in the end if you would like you can actually pick someone from a group that André picks..."

"I thought Bill would probably be assigned to protect Fleur once they were married," Ginny said.

"Technically William is on the Queen's detail, he's the Captain's lieutenant," Fleur spoke up quietly before turning her body to point some distance behind them. "That is Raoul, he is my Musketeer," she continued. "He'll continue to be mine once William and I are married."

"Then if it's alright I think I would prefer to keep my brother if you have no objections, Majesty," Ginny said. "I do not doubt the ability of your Musketeers but I think I'll be more comfortable with Bill."

"That is completely understandable Ginny," Louise smiled, "William it shall be. You'll make the arrangements," she focused on André as he followed half a step to her left, as Ginny walked beside her on the right.

"Of course," he nodded.

"You'll get the choice, since it is William, he could easily walk much closer to you than Raoul and the other Musketeers do their charges, much like André does for me," Louise focused on Ginny once more. "But you can discuss that with William later. On to other things, such as the explanation of your guardianship yes?"

"Yes please. That's what has me the most worried…well that and Draco's insistence on marrying this summer instead of waiting until Christmas," Ginny shrugged.

"Well the matter with Drac, we can discuss later with him perhaps. As for the guardianship, it will be a simple spell so to speak. Have you heard the term, I believe in English it would be 'blood brothers'?"

"It's a blood spell?" asked Ginny, swallowing nervously.

"Oh please dearest, do not panic. Merely you and I will make a small cut upon our hand and join hands, our blood will mingle and we shall become blood sisters you might say. All it means is that your connections to France will outweigh your connections to England, and your parents, while still your parents, will be unable to control any part of your life as the fact you have royal blood in your veins, even for such a short time as my blood would be processed in your body, it is enough to establish the connection and only you can stand up and say when the connection to France is broken. It's not a spell that lasts very long truly, it merely is that once the connection has been established, only you can undo it, does that make sense?"

"Sort of," admitted Ginny.

"I know. It is... a bit difficult to explain, at least for me to do in English. It's a ceremony dating back to when Louis XIV separated the Wizarding world and Muggles I believe is the English term. Each of the five Kingdoms have their own name for it and their own way of explaining it, but translating it into English never seems to work right," she shrugged, before stopping outside a closed door. "These are your rooms, Fleur's are to the right," she pointed towards the door, "On your left is Arabella. After the wedding Fleur will still have the rooms here, but she and William will have a small home just outside the Château, though I believe she plans to spend the majority of her nights here..." she looked back at the blonde.

"Oui my Queen, only when William is off duty will I likely be at our home."

"I'm still not sure if I've made the right choice in everything, Majesty," commented Ginny quietly.

"Come, let's go inside and we can talk," she suggested gently before looking back at Fleur who produced a gold key on a long ribbon and passed it to Ginny, "The key to your rooms, but William can teach you the spells to lock anyone out save for your assigned Musketeer. They're quite similar to the spells you learned at Hogwarts, merely in French and with a slightly stronger power. Right now though, the only thing keeping us out is a simple lock."

"I'm not allowed to do magic outside of school," Ginny said, looking down at the key in her hand.

"Then it is fortunate, we are not suggesting you do any at this moment. Come dearest, we're merely going inside to sit down and talk, nothing must be done now," Louise prompted softly. "We'll have something to drink and eat, I'll answer any questions you have and we can figure out what we can do to make you the most comfortable... Only then will actions be taken, fair?"

Ginny nodded before turning and sliding the key into the lock, quickly unlocking the door and stepping into the room.

"This is all for me?" asked Ginny quietly, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice as she took in the size of the room she had just stepped into, noting that there was another door off to one side as well as a rather large fireplace and numerous windows.

"Oui," Louise answered with a smile.

"I couldn't possibly…This is more than I've ever…"

"Breathe," she countered gently as she made Ginny look at her. "Dearest, this is the same as everyone else has, size wise. So you're not getting special treatment, so there is no reason to panic along those lines. Yes, it's more than you are used to, but Gin, you're used to your home and a castle that is a school, but this is France my sweet, we do things differently. We're strange, we like things on a grand scale... Just keep breathing all right? Your brothers do have the ability to frighten me after all..."

"How can my brothers frighten you, your Majesty?"

Louise raised an eyebrow as she stared at the younger woman, "They created a dragon out of fireworks... I have half a mind to hire them to help create some new interesting security features... They're ingenious, mischievous, and entirely too smart for their own good, they would frighten the smartest of men and women because there is no predicting just what they might be able to come up with. And please Gin, Isidora or Dora, we're in private..."

"Forgive me…I'm…I'm nervous…not exactly the picture of the brave Gryffindor, am I?"

"Dearest, you're here. The bravest person in this world is the one who stands and admits when they are nervous, and continues to stand and face what they fear. But I say we sit," she smiled as she pulled Ginny towards one of the couches, Fleur taking a seat as Louise gently forced Ginny to sit down.

"And I've sworn to marry the mortal enemy of my family without their knowledge or approval. What's going to happen when my parents show up for Bill's wedding?"

Louise looked over at Fleur, and the other woman sighed, "I highly doubt your parents will be coming to the wedding. William and I made a decision some weeks ago, we plan to go to England for a few hours and tell your parents the truth, that I am of the nobility and that I am one of the Queen's Ladies. Neither of us expects that to go well, and honestly do not expect them to attend the wedding once they know."

"Did you make a decision regarding William's place as a Musketeer?" Louise asked softly.

"We will keep that knowledge secret for now; the truth of my life is more than enough shock at one time, no?" Fleur shrugged, before focusing back on Ginny. "But if you want Ginny, if your parents do decide to attend the wedding, of which I'll admit I have doubts, it would not hurt either William or my feelings if you decide not to attend. We have your support, and we see you every day, if you are not there for the formal ceremony, the world will not end."

"But wouldn't Draco be attending? And wouldn't I be expected to be there as his fiancé?"

"The wedding is not a big affair," Louise spoke up, "Fleur is one of my Ladies yes, but her family is not a high family. There won't be a large formal wedding, merely one that will include the other Ladies as Fleur's guests along with a few of your classmates, I believe?" she focused on the blonde.

"Oui, and my immediate family, and your family," Fleur continued. "My Père does not exactly approve of William. He had intended for me to marry as high as possible in order to further his own connections, so he was not pleased when I chose William. But he could not object since Dora gave her blessing," she shrugged slightly.

"My parents are more likely to approve of you than they are of Draco," Ginny sighed.

"Well then, we can be in the same boat as they say, no? My parents do not approve of my husband, yours do not approve of your husband. But as least we are marrying men who love us, will take care of us, and we love, or have a chance to love in return, no? That is a rare thing indeed."

"Can we talk about something else please? This is making me more and more nervous about my wedding which Draco wants to have in less than two months…" Ginny trailed off, wringing her hands nervously.

"I'll speak with Drac about backing off for a bit. Right now you need to worry about yourself, not a wedding. The only wedding anyone should be worrying about right now is either Fleur's or mine..." Louise shrugged before frowning slightly as she looked at Fleur, "Drac does know my wedding is in September yes?"

"To my knowledge..." Fleur nodded.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Louise rolled her eyes before focusing back on Ginny, "You can stop worrying about the change in wedding plans, no matter how much Drac might want to move the wedding, it can't be held before my own so... you've got time for that to be worried about, but on to other things, yes? Is there anything you want to ask? To talk about?"

"Can we get this spell thing out of the way? I'd rather do it soon before the Express gets back to London since I'm sure Ron will have sent word off to my parents as soon as he learned I wasn't on the train."

"Of course," Louise agreed before she looked at André who was standing silently by the door. He quietly crossed the room and handed her a simple dagger he had pulled from, well, somewhere. "As I was saying earlier, this is rather simple. I'll do a small cut on my hand, and you do the same on yours. The magic involved really isn't more than something that lasts for about twenty-four hours, basically though it just breaks the bond your parents have over you, giving you the right to lead your own life, but for the time being while you're here as one of my Ladies, I'll take responsibility for your welfare..."

"What if they were to try to compel me to come home?"

"Compel you how?"

"What if they were to try to force me to go home against my will? What then?"

"Do you mean through the use of magic? Or actual physical means?" Louise asked curiously.

"Both," admitted Ginny. "I honestly wouldn't put it past them. Not given the way Ron's been pestering me all year."

"Well, first off, they would have to find a way to get to you in order to be able to do anything. And neither your parents, nor your brother Ronald, can gain entrance to the Château. If they did somehow manage to get within distance of you, say perhaps at William's wedding or some other way that would be rather impossible really, that is part of why you have a constant Musketeer guard, so he might be able to protect you. When it comes to magic, once this is done, you will no longer be held to the laws of England. You can perform any magic you want, there are no laws governing the use of magic if you are a certain age, to be honest I think the English are the only ones to have such laws, at least here in Europe. You will be able to protect yourself from any spells they might cast, and then again, even if it was not William who would be your Musketeer, we would make sure your Musketeer was a wizard who could protect you magically as well as physically. I will not force you to remain here, but I also will not allow someone to force you to leave, does that make sense?"

"I believe so."

"Basically Ginny, your parents, they will not be able to contact you or see you as long as you are here, unless you wish to see them. And neither they, England, nor even Dumbledore, will be able to make you leave here unless it is your decision. They will have to get past Dora first, and that is a fight that none of them would want," Fleur joined in for a moment.

"Exactly," Louise nodded before holding the dagger out to Ginny, "Whenever you are ready, you can set the pace. It need not be a large cut."

Ginny took the dagger from Louise and slowly pulled it across her open palm, hissing slightly in pain as the blade opened a small cut on her skin.

Louise smiled gently as she took the blade and cut her own palm before passing the dagger to André and holding her hand out, palm up, to Ginny

Ginny slowly reached her hand out and placed it palm down in Louise's.

For a moment in time there was a brief glow around their hands before it faded, and Louise squeezed Ginny's hand gently. "All done," she smiled.

"Why do I suddenly feel like nothing's ever going to be the same ever again?"

"Because my dear one, nothing will ever be the same again," she answered softly. "But that does not mean it will be bad," she smiled gently. "Would you like it if I left you be for now to rest? Fleur can stay... or would you rather not be alone with your thoughts?"

"I'm afraid there's only one thing that could put my fears to rest right now and unfortunately he won't be arriving for a few hours yet and even then I still have to contend with his mother," Ginny sighed.

"Well," Louise nodded, "Narcissa will have her hands full, and not have all of her time to dedicate to hovering over you and Drac."

"She has to participate in the many little things a Courtier is involved in from day to day," Fleur smiled. "So she will be quite busy spending time with all those other women who have nothing better to do all day but gather around and play polo and drink tea. The future of all noble ladies who aren't titled," she chuckled lightly. "I can laugh; I escaped that future due to being one of the Ladies."

"It would be nice to be able to spend some time with Draco without having to worry about my brother, his housemates or his mother bothering us," admitted Ginny. "We haven't been able to spend any time together since the last time we were here together thanks to my annoying brother and his bloody housemates."

"Most annoying," Louise sighed. "Well then, we can most certainly arrange for you to have time together. After all, one of the things we had needed to do during your time here was teach you the traditional dances, who better than my dear cousin..." she smiled knowingly.

"Especially since I'm going to need to know how to dance for not only my own by your wedding as well, right?"

"Dancing won't be a requirement at mine. Mine is actually a weekend affair, the wedding ceremony will be Saturday in the Chapelle, then there will be a ball in the Galerie de Glaces, where basically everyone comes up and gives us congratulations and such. The wedding is early in the morning, the ball, if you even want to call it that is in the afternoon but it ends before the dinner hours since after time for a meal, later that evening, Aleksander and I will be officially opening our wedding gifts with a group of witnesses. And that will be in the Galerie des Glaces... so I doubt there would be many dances. Then on Sunday will be my formal coronation, which hasn't been done, yet, there will be dancing at the ball following the coronation so... I imagine that will be the day you might dance."

"I see…"

"It's going to be a very busy weekend," Louise sighed. "But anyway," she smiled, "even if you don't have to dance, you might enjoy learning..."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're hinting at something that I don't know about?" asked Ginny curiously.

"You'll see," Louise laughed. "Would you like to be rid of us yet and have some quiet?" she asked with a smile.

"I wouldn't mind lying down for a little while actually," Ginny admitted.

"Then away we go, and William will be here when you wake," Louise nodded as she rose. "Get some rest Ginny, and we'll see you this evening for sure. We're having dinner out on the Parterre du Nord," she pointed out the window at the gardens, "which would be that one," she continued with a smile.

"Thank you," Ginny said returning Louise's smile.

"You're welcome dearest," she answered softly before gently taking Ginny's hand and flipping it over, "Just so you know before I go," she explained as she nodded towards Ginny's palm that was missing the cut from earlier. "Have a good morning and afternoon if we don't see you until dinner."

"Thank you Dora," Ginny replied as she rose along with the others. "Goodbye Fleur."

"Goodbye Ginny," Fleur smiled before she followed Louise and André from the room.

Ginny was making her way across the room towards what she assumed had to be the bedroom when she heard a soft knock at the door. Turning she made her way back over to the door, figuring it was just the Queen, having forgotten to tell her something, needless to say she was quite surprised when she opened the door only to find the last person she expected to be standing on the other side of the door. "Dra…" Her words were cut off when she found herself quickly pulled into a heated kiss that soon had her pressed up against the doorframe. "Miss me?" she asked when Draco finally broke the kiss a few minutes later, his forehead resting against hers.

"You have no idea," he replied. "Come on," he said stepping back and taking her hand before pulling her away from her door and out into the corridor.

"Where are we going?" she asked as Draco led her through various passages, finally stopping outside a door in an area of the castle that looked familiar to Ginny.

Opening the door, Draco led Ginny into the room that he had transformed from its original purpose to suit his needs. Stepping up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder so his lips were mere inches from her ear. "So what do you think?"

"Of what? I don't understand? Draco what's going on?"

"I am going to teach you to dance my love. This is to be our sanctuary while we're here. I'm going to teach you every form of dance I know and trust me I know a lot, it's the one thing my mother insisted on when I was younger and now I'm going to teach you," he said stepping around her, taking her hand in his as he did so and pulling her gently out into the centre of the room as a soft melody began to play. "We'll start with a simple waltz first and go from there…"