To Die For
Chapter Seven
"Who is that beautiful girl?" Krum asked Harry, who was currently engaged in a conversation with Christine. By now the lush golden rays of the ceremony-provided by the sun for warmth and light- had completely depleted. The air was warm and balmy, and the stars twinkled beautifully in the velvety blue sky around a crescent moon. Many of the muggle and wizarding families had retired for the night, but the Weasley's- they were the complete opposite- the reception was still in full swing.
The dancefloor- which had been conjured to replace the marquee where Bill and Fleur were wed- was made up of tiles which flashed a different color each time it was stepped on, and were bright enough so that the party-goers could still see each other. The dainty golden chairs were now arranged around white-clothed tables lit by live fairies fluttering overhead.
Auntie Muriel- much to everyone's liking- had long since departed the festvities as soon as the crowd started to get too rowdy. Fred and George danced- or rather swayed drunkenly- in a sad, but rather comical attempt at burlesque on a table, hoisting up their robes while slurring the words to "Otto the Hero"- amongst gales of laughter. Swilling from tankards of Irish ale, they occassionally stopped to set off a new batch of their brilliant fireworks to much applause. Ron and Hermione were dancing to the raucous rythm pumped out by the wizarding rock band, and Bill was twirling Ginny and Gabrielle on either arm,w hile they laughed. Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were "gettin' their groove on." as they said. This left Krum to share a table with Harry and Christine, brooding silently as the two of them talked.
Harry looked up to see who Krum was referring to; the surly, internationally-famous Quiddtich player was indicating to a spirited red-headed girl, radiant in gold sequins, as she slow-danced now with Mr. Weasley- the band had finally slowed down the tempo to a soft, slow waltz for a father-daughter dance. She grinned as Mr. Weasley mumbled the words under his breath to the song, stopping every so now and then to acknowledge to his daughter how he couldn't wish for a sweeter daughter. Harry smiled vaguely- the Weasley's truly were the ideal, happy family, but even as he thought it he felt a deep panging in his heart- a loneliness pending for his mother and family, and the family he may have known had they been alive. "Ginny- Ginevra if you will. Ron's sister."
"Ginevra..." Krum said coyly to himself, letting her name roll off his tongue like a fine wine, conveying an expression of deep thoughtfulness. "She's a real vixen, ain't she?"
Before Harry could even respond, Christina piped up. "Not only that." Christine encouraged, straightening as she spoke, eagerly leaning forward. "But she's also single."
"Really?" Krum remarked with interest, stroking his stubbly chin in thought, smirking slightly to himself. As if on cue, Ginny trotted over to where they sat at the table, her long red curls bouncing with each step, and wearing a bright smile that lit up her whole face; she looked simply radiant.
"Hi, Christine- Hey Harry!" Ginny gushed, giving Harry her most winning smile, and he returned it kindly. "Um- Harry. I was just wondering- do you want to- you know, dance?" She stuttered nervously, her eyes gleaming hopefully.
"Erm- actually," Harry said, grinning shyly at Christine. "I was actually just going to ask Christine the very same. Raincheck?"
"Yeah, sure!" Ginny quavered, biting her lip to force back a moan of despair, tears threatening to escape the sanctity of her eyelids, as she watched them premonade hand in hand to the dancefloor.
What was I thinking? she thought miserably. wiping a warm, moist, unwanted tear from her eye and sniffing a little. He loves her now- not me. She's got everything- she's beautiful, sweet, smart, and rich. She's perfect.
Krum frowned to himself in obvious displeasure. Harry had always come across him as a good-hearted, moral-willed person- so why was he being so dismissive of this fiery-haired beauty- and his best friends' sister no less! Most of Krum's fans made him out to be this hunky, conceited womanizer, but in reality, he couldn't be more different. His own father left the family when he was only five, leaving him to be raised by his mother, and he grew up to be close to his mum, and rather sensitive. He hated to see women cry.
"There, there." he said sympathetically, in his husky Bulgarian accent, patting Ginny comfortingly on the back, and she broke down into tears. She was usually good at maintaining her composure- until someone hugged her- then the waterworks came. "Now why is a beautiful lady such as you so sad on her brothers wedding day? You should be celebrating, not grieving, love." Viktor said softly, giving her an encouraging smile and handing her an unused tissue from the table."
"Th-thank you." Ginny stammered, wiping the tears away with the napkin, feeling silly, and rather ashamed of herself. It was Bill and Fleur's wedding- the day that was supposed to be all about them and being happy, and she was being selfish, crying because she didn't get what she wanted. She gave Krum a watery smile and he grinned charmingly back at her, making her stomach flutter slightly.
"There you go- there's that smile." he said sweetly, and she smiled even wider. "You should never cry, you know- you look so beautiful when you smile. Ginevra, isn't it?- your name?"
"Yeah." she said with a shy smile. She had always expected Krum to be an insensitive, arrogant prat, but he was turning out to be nothing but sweet and caring- far from how they described him in TWITCHES, or the Prophet. It was surprising to her how down-to-earth he was.
Ginevra, Ginny thought gushilly, blushing slightly. He makes my name sound so beautiful and mature. No one has ever called me by my real name other than Auntie Muriel and mum when they get mad.
"I'm Viktor Krum." he said grinning, and she laughed.
"I know." she replied, giving him a genuine smile which he couldn't help but return. "You play for Bulgaria. I'm a loyal Harpies fan, but you're the most brilliant seeker I have ever seen."
"Oh! You like Quidditch then, do you?" He said, surprised. Alot of the girls that he had met didn't follow Quidditch, or even know what team he played for. All they ever cared of was his social status and his money.
"Actually- I more than like it. I love it." Ginny replied enthusiastically, starting to feel more than better. "I play Quidditch too- not professionally obviously, but at Hogwarts I play for my House- Gryffindor." She was actually starting to feel glad that Harry had ditched her- talking with Krum was nice.
"Really? What position?" he asked with genuine interest- this girl was really something- original- one of a kind. Harry had no idea what he was missing out on.
"Seeker." Ginny said with a smile.
"That's vunderful!" he said, grinning. "We ought to play a game then or something some time. Hey- I know I'm not exactly The-Boy-Who-Lived-status, but- would you do me the honor of dancing with you?"
"Yeah, " Ginny said, standing up, beaming. She didn't need Harry after all. "I'd like that." She said sweetly, slipping her hand into his, and letting him lead her onto the dancefloor.
"Hey, Harry!" Christine whispered into his ear, just a waltz ended. "Come on, let's get out of here!" Taking Harry by the hand, Christine led him off the dancefloor, and out of the chaotic garden, through the backdoor, across the kitchen, through the living room, and out the front door onto the front lawn.
It was much quieter here- the loud noises and music from the party much fainter. The navy-blue sky was clealry visible as well as the pearlescent stars that dazzled it, its' beauty unperturbed by the flashing lights of fairies, lanterns, fireworks, or even the ridiculously tacky seventies-disco-hip dancefloor. Here, the grass was wet and shining with dew; the trees swayed gently in the light wamr breeze, the air cool and damp.
"Finally," Christine sighed in relief. "Finally- away from all that racket." She plopped down on her bottom- regardless of the fact that her beautiful- and expensive, at that- dress would now be ruined with grass-stains. Then- grinning- she pulled Harry down beside her, and scooted even closer to him, leaning her head against his shoulder- content.
"I just love the summer- don't you?" she asked quietly, a small smile curling her lips. "The stars are so beautiful at night."
"Yeah," he said dazedly, as though he wasn't fully there. He couldn't believe this- he was almost nervous. He was sitting alone with a beautiful girl in the middle of the night, while everyone else was at the party, and they had no idea that two of their guests were missing. It was...exciting.
"Hey- Christine." Harry started, uncomfortably. "I was- uh- I was just wondering- would you erm- like to be my- I mean, would you like to you know date me?" He said this all so fast and inaccurately that he'd be surprised if she understood even one word he said.
"Harry, what do you think you're doing?" She asked smirking. His insides squirmed a little bit, not sure what she meant by that remark, and praying she wasn't going to laugh at him.
"Um- I dunno, what d'you mean?" he asked anxiously.
"What I mean is-" she said with a grin grin. "we're alone out here at night, when no one else is."
"Soo..." Harry said dumbly- he was getting the picture, he just wanted her to say it literally- for closure.
Christine rolled her eyes, laughing falsely to cover her obvious annoyance. "Yes." she clarified, her expression arranged carfeully to be a mixture of amusement and exasperation, when all she really wanted to do was just go to bed. Sweet though he was, Harry could sometimes be stupid and it annoyed her.
"Great." Harry concurred, his face cracking over into a grin. He leaned over, brushing Christine's hair out of her face, bringing his face ever closer to Christines...
"I can't believe I trusted you!" choked a familiar voice. Harry and Christine both froze where they were, their faces inches apart, before they looked up to find a despaired Ginny.
"I though that we could actually be friends!" Ginny cried, tears running down her flushed cheeks for the now the second time that night. She cast one last distraught glance at the two of them before storming up the porch steps and through the front door.
"Ginny!" Christine called after the youngest Weasley, but the damage was already done.
There was a faint crack like a whip from a nearby entanglement of bushes. Christine swore under her breath in rapid-fire French as a hood-shrouded figure appeared in the overgrown shrubbery. "I-I've got to go." Christine lied quickly.
She then unceremoniously left, disappearing into the woods. She spotted the person easilly, and she dragged him deeper into forrest surrounding the Weasley's home. When she was positive that would not be seen or heard, she snatched off the strangers' hood, revealing Draco Malfoy's blonde, handsome good-looks.
"Draco, what are you doing here?" she hissed. Her attempt was to sound alarmed, not bitchy, but that was just how it happened to come out.
"I wanted to see you." he said, his grey pleading, and his voice laced with longing and affection.
"Oh!" she said quietly, letting her guard down, her and expression softening. She wrapped her arms around Draco's neck as if she couldn't get close enough to him, an empty loneliness filling her. She had missed him terribly for the three weeks they had been apart, but seeing Draco now had just put the full impact of how much she had missed and longed for him.
"I missed you too." she said softly, burying her head in his neck before lifting it again to kiss him, driven longing and love.
Draco returned her affection eagerly, relieved to be in Christine's warm, soft embrace again. It was soothing- like a cool rain after a long, hot drought. He felt cheesy just thinking it, but even though they had been apart for only less than a month it felt like it had been forever, but he knew it was true.
"I want you so bad..." Draco whispered into her ear, sending a shiver of excitement coursing through her body. She could smell the seductive fumes of his cologne and her stomach ached with longing.
"I want you too." Christine said, tightening her arms around his neck to pull him even closer. Draco claimed her lips with long, searing, passionate kiss and she returned it lovingly, his arms wrapped around her waist as he pressed himself against her body. She felt as if her body were on fire- she had never felt this way before- it was intoxicating.
"Are you sure?" he asked, concernedly, kissing her temple gently, and running an affectionate hand through her long, luxurious golden locks. He loved her- the last thing he wanted to do was push when she wasn't ready.
Christine was not only sure, she was positive. They were meant to be- everything pointed out to it. They had known each other their whole lives- they had even taken baths together. They had always loved each other, and she knew that would never change, so why bother waiting? She had always known she'd up marrying him in the end anyways.
"Yes," she said, allowing him to pull down onto the grass, captivating with yet another sizzling kiss. "I love you, Draco." Christine whispered sweetly into his neck.
Draco grinned at her, pulling away from her a little so he could look into her crystal-blue eyes, his heart pounding like a sledgehammer. "I love you too," he said softly...