Four
"You think you're clever, do you?" asked Draco, sauntering up to Pansy Parkinson in the Slytherin common room.
"Draco, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course you do. Do you expect me to believe that you told the whole school that I kissed a blood-traitor and thought I wouldn't hear about it? Do you have any idea what you've done – what my father will say if he hears about this?"
Pansy laughed, "If. There's no if about it Draco. Your daddy does know about you and the blood-traitor. And from what I hear, he's not too happy about it."
Draco went paler than usual. "You're lying."
"Of course I'm not, but after all it's Christmas break tomorrow, so I'm sure you'll find out for yourself." The grin on Pansy's face was enough to tell Draco that she wasn't lying and he threw himself backwards onto the couch, head in hands.
"I didn't take you for a complete idiot," he said despairingly looking up at Pansy.
"I just thought he had a right to know."
"A right to know!" Draco scorned, "Did you really think that this would win you points in my father's book? Believe me, the only reason I haven't cursed you into the lake yet is because I know my father will want the satisfaction when I tell him that every word you've said is a lie."
Pansy gave a sly smile. "Of course, Draco. If you say so."
The train ride home the next day for Draco was just about as bad as it got. He couldn't understand why his father hadn't come to Hogwarts himself the previous day to take it out on him, because that was his father's style - sudden and brutal, he wasn't usually capable of holding in anger. The only thing that Draco could come up with was that he was taking his time coming up with some form of punishment, or else his mother had managed to stop him. Since he very much doubted the latter, Draco spent lots of time pondering the former while listening to Blasé drone on about his new job helping his father sell dark magical objects, as if Draco cared. The train pulled up at Kings Cross Station much earlier than he would've like but after gathering his trunk Draco hurried quickly off the train, there was point in making his father wait. He was rewarded for hurrying with a flash of long red hair and was involuntarily turning to stare when a hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"Now, now, Draco. I do believe we're in enough trouble as it is," his father drawled as he turned on the spot, taking Draco along with him in side-along apparition back to Malfoy manor.
When they arrived in the rather large dining hall Draco shook his father off him. "I don't know what you're talking about." He scowled.
"We mustn't lie, Draco," Lucius said, drawing out his wand, "Little miss Parkinson sent me perfect proof. A Weasley." Lucius shuddered, "I'm disgusted. You're a Malfoy, I thought I would've taught you a little more self-respect. "
Lucius Malfoy flicked his wand and Draco flinched, but the blow he expected never came, instead he heard the front door open with a click.
"As it appears that I appear to mean nothing to you, and since you certainly need to learn some kind of etiquette, your Aunt Bella who was here when Miss Parkinson's letter arrived, insisted upon helping."
Draco's eyes widened and his pulse quickened as Bellatrix Lestrange walked into the dining room. He didn't even have chance to speak before she was upon him, his father left the room as Bellatrix pulled out her wand.
"Crucio!" she cackled and Draco yelled in agonizing pain. He had never felt anything like it in his life, the pain coursed through him like fire and he fell to his knees, tears beginning to fall.
"Stop. Please…" he gasped, hands against the floor.
Bellatrix looked down in mock sympathy, "What's the matter Draco? Bitten off more than you can chew? I should really torture you, you know? I should make you beg to die, but first I should force you to kill that stupid little bitch you've been dragging along."
She sent another burst from her wand and Draco yelled again.
"You know what they say, you have to prune the family tree, and blood-traitor is next to mud-blood in my book, and I think that the Dark Lord would agree. What say you Draco?"
She let off her spell and Draco caught his breath, gasping for air.
"Yes," he gasped for oxygen again. "The Weasley's are next to mud-bloods."
"Good boy. Now, I don't care what she looks like, or what she has to offer you, you might be a male, but you aren't a dog, you're too good for a filthy blood traitor. So what do you suggest we do about her Draco?" Bellatrix smiled cruelly, as if she knew exactly what she planned to do.
"Ignore her?" Draco suggested feebly and Bellatrix sent him flying across the room with a spell.
"No. You idiot boy. We're going to make sure her family know and we're going to make sure that they know if she comes near you again that she will die, regardless of the 'consequences'. New times are coming, and the Dark Lord will rise more powerful than ever, by that time, killing blood-traitors will be a sport, and we're going to make sure she's the first on the list. Until then, however, you are going to go to school and you are going to win back this family's honour. Or else."
Draco quivered and nodded. He didn't want Ginny dead, but he was a coward, and arguing with Bellatrix would get him nowhere so he looked at the floor and muttered a frail "Yes Aunt Bellatrix."
Ginny Weasley's Christmas break was passing awfully. None of her brothers would talk to her and everything seemed to be going wrong. The only thing she could be grateful for was that no one had yet spilled to her parents about what had happened between herself and Malfoy. They all believed it had been just one mistake, but Ginny had no doubts that if they knew about the second kiss they would've gone to hell with sibling support and thrown her in at the deep end with her parents. She was sitting next to Harry on the couch who was staying with them for Christmas, enjoying a game of exploding snap, thankful that at least she had one person to talk to.
"Snap!" they both yelled, throwing their hands down on the pile of cards so that Harry's hand landed on top of Ginny's with a forceful 'thunk' and they both laughed, grinning at each other. That was the way Draco Malfoy found them when his father pushed him into the burrow's small living room, followed by a rather baffled and annoyed Mr. Weasley.
When Ginny looked up and met Draco's eyes, she knew immediately that something was wrong, and that his father must have found out about them. But she also saw something else in his eyes. It clouded them, and it took Ginny a moment to recognise it as something that often clouded her own eyes, jealousy. Oh. She thought, looking down at hers and Harry's hands entwined over the snap cards, and quickly removed hers from the pile. She looked up and gave Draco the tiniest of smiles and at that exact moment the cards in front of her exploded with a loud BANG.
Harry took a leap back and Lucius Malfoy looked greatly alarmed.
"Now, Arthur, as you may have deduced, I'm not here on a social call."
"You don't say?" Asked Fred Weasley, pushing past him and into the living room.
Lucius shot him a dirty look and turned back to face Mr. Weasley.
"I merely came to see if you were aware of the situation, as it is?"
It was evident from Mr. Weasley's face that he was not, and Mr. Malfoy took great pleasure in illuminating him while both Draco and Ginny glared at the ground, cheeks turning red.
"And so… I merely came to tell you to keep your daughter under control, or else there might be, tragic consequences. If you get my drift."
"YOUR SON HAS BEEN DOING MERLIN-KNOWS-WHAT WITH MY DAUGHTER AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO THREATEN ME, LUCIUS?" MR. Weasley exploded, his face almost redder than his hair, shaking with anger, he pulled out his wand and Lucius chuckled.
"Now, now, let's not do anything we'd regret Arthur. And lord knows, it wasn't anything quite so graphic as what you have in mind, just a kiss. I can assure you, if it had been anything more, the little bitch would be paying."
Both Harry and Fred looked as if they were about to launch to Ginny's defence, but Arthur had other ideas.
"Harry, Fred, Ginny. OUT. We don't want any ministry cases on our hands. And Ginny, I'll talk to you later. Oh lord." Arthur sighed, his anger momentarily disappearing. "What will your mother think?"
Ginny wouldn't meet her father's eyes and dragged Fred and Harry from the room, leaving them in the kitchen before running off to her bedroom.
She listened out for any loud noises coming from the kitchen which would be a big giveaway if curses started flying and she cried silently, unsure of what to do now. That was the way Draco found her, bursting into the room.
"I'm looking for the bathroom," he drawled, before taking a double take and realising who it was on the bed.
"Ginny…"he began, and she looked up. For a moment she thought he was going to comfort her, but then he turned around and shut the door so that their conversation couldn't be heard.
"I saw you with him," he hissed.
"Who?" Ginny demanded, looking confused.
"Saint Potter," Draco spat. "I should've known. You were using me to make him jealous you stupid arrogant little bitch. What does it matter about me? As long as you've got famous, brave, noble Harry Potter, it's all okay isn't it."
Ginny blushed furiously. "That's not fair!"
"Oh I'll tell you what isn't fair. Potter swanning around as if he owns the place, because he gets to be the boy who lived. Well what about me? The dark lord expects me to go into his service next year. He has so much power Ginny. To refuse is death. Why do you go after Potter? He's not a hero, he has the easy path. He has a noble cause, he had a good family, he has everyone's protection. What do I have? Nothing. I have no choice but to join The Dark Lord, no choice but to serve. As long as you can look past the details I'm just another bad guy to you aren't I, another death eater to kill? It doesn't matter that I'm scared, does it?" Draco looked almost close to tears in his fury. "Although I suppose that to you cowardice is right there next to evil isn't it? You're just the same as the rest. You don't understand. You never will."
He raised his wand and cast a shot of white light at Ginny which she narrowly avoided.
"I wasn't using you to get at Harry, and I feel sorry for you. I do. But in case you haven't noticed, your father is threatening me and I have more than enough on my plate without you cursing me as well. Get out," she said calmly, before exploding, "NOW!"
Malfoy left, slamming the door shut behind him.