Title: Call Me Ginevra
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own any characters except those you can't research on the lexicon and aren't mentioned in the books. The plot is my own. Any resemblances to other plots are pure coincidence. Think about it this way, great minds think alike.
Full Summary: The war has the Weasley's worried about poor little Ginny. After checking her resources McGonagall claims she has the best caretaker for Ginny. Too bad it turns out to be Narcissa Malfoy. While at Malfoy Manor Ginny faces growing up, a strict regiment and Draco on a day-to-day basis. Can Ginny and Draco brave the unknowns of friendship? Will the buds of relationship form? What will Harry do when he finds out that only Ginny holds the key to defeating Voldemort?
Pairings: Draco/Ginny (I guess this sort of answers the "buds of relationship" question in the summary, huh?)
Rating: Eventually M, but pace yourself. (I will give fare warning of the chapters which that rating applies.)
Chapter Note: Although I have attempted to keep the end of this chapter as PG13 as possible it may still be offensive to people so I will place a warning before the content. It implies an attempt at rape but is a very minimal description of the event.
Author Notes: Please heed my warning! I don't want any flames for offending anyone!
Chapter Five: Betrayal
Ginny and Draco held each other in an awkward embrace as they moved about the dance floor. The first dance lesson had yielded what could be considered a close embrace and so this second was appropriately distant. Narcissa had yet again left the two to fend for themselves together in the empty ballroom. The music echoed across the tile floor and the rain clouds outside prevented sunshine from throwing beams across the floor.
As the song finally ended Ginny and Draco's arms flew back to their respective bodies. Draco turned hurriedly and pulled his wand out. Flicking it, the music stopped. Ginny watched him cross the room and grab two bottles of water that had been sitting on a table. He turned back and threw one of them to her. Catching it, almost dropping it from the condensation, she slowly twisted the cap and sipped at the rejuvenation fluid.
"Time for a break then?" Ginny asked to break the silence. They hadn't said a word since Narcissa had left over an hour before. To be honest Ginny much preferred the banter between them then the silence they now shared. Draco merely nodded and continued to drink his water.
Rolling her eyes, Ginny turned and headed for the garden, opening one of the French doors and making sure not to slam it behind her. She detested the way he refused to act civil with her. All that required was merely acting like less of an ass but apparently he was more than incapable of doing that.
Sitting down on the edge of the fountain she sipped at her water, remembering those moments that she had shared with Blaise. Since their conversation after that fateful breakfast, Ginny and Blaise had been having frequent conversations via coin. They had since charmed them to make chiming noises whenever one was wishing to talk to the other. There had been too many instances when Ginny had called for Blaise and he was at dinner with his father or when Ginny was called and she didn't notice it until Blaise was yelling (this of course had to happen during her lessons with Narcissa).
Smiling to herself she let her fingers fall to the pocket of her skinny jeans and rub along the rough edges of her favorite piece of change.
"What's got you grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Weasley? Dear old Blaise-y?" Draco plopped down on the opposite side of the fountain from Ginny.
Ginny raises a speculative brow. "A Muggle reference, Draco? How unusual. I wouldn't have pegged you for a fan of Alice in Wonderland."
"I'm a wizard, Weasley, not stupid. I may not think Muggles are worth my time but I certainly can't be against them without possessing information about them; that would just be idiocy." There was a silence between them. She had to agree with him on the concept. "You know he's no good."
Ginny almost dropped her water. Why, the arrogance of him! Telling her who was good for her and not. Well, he actually hadn't said for her but he had insinuated that Blaise was beneath expectations in some way. "And how exactly does that concern you?" She spat back, turning around and catching the outline of him from around the spouting stone tower in the center of the basin of the fountain and through the spewing streams of water.
He was sitting leisurely, legs thrown along the rim, elbows holding him up as he looked at the trees. Ginny thought, he must be thinking of ways to kill the baby birds. "It doesn't." He replied, and swung himself so he stood up. "Come on, break's over."
They didn't say another word to each other for that whole dance lesson and frankly Ginny didn't care. But as she walked back to her room to ready herself for dinner she couldn't help but wonder why Draco had concerned himself with letting slip that information, no matter how false it was. Were his motives to drive Ginny away because Blaise was his friend and Ginny was beneath him? Or was it because since she and Blaise had started talking, surely Blaise had less time for Draco?
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Over the next few months, Ginny and Narcissa worked closely concerning Ginny's lessons. She was honestly amazed by the truth that was in what Narcissa had told her. She really didn't need any of the other subjects that had been offered to her at Hogwarts, in fact she was making due with all of the lessons she was currently in, and making what Narcissa considered excellent improvements.
Ginny was of course very proud of herself and could only find the purest joy in continuing to impress Narcissa. At dinner when Narcissa would tell Lucius of their lessons Ginny could even see a look in his eyes that told her something that she knew he didn't want to admit himself. She knew that she was doing better in her lessons than Draco could've ever done. It wasn't his fault, he just wasn't academically inclined and Ginny was. Ginny was also socially inclined, much to her surprise.
Narcissa had taken her out on quite a few luncheons with the other wives of Death Eaters, or at least Ginny thought so. Those were the only women she figured Narcissa would spend time with. At these lunches or sometimes breakfasts, Ginny would stun them with her recollection of history or laws or current events. Ginny also knew that she was prettier than some of the other daughters. She only knew this because she had seen them personally and could testify to their fashion blunders. Many of them lived in the sun, scorching their skin into a tight dry canvas on which they layered make up and other sparkley details and designed themselves only in trendy clothing which sadly was far too revealing for their own good.
Ginny on the other hand, now picking her own outfits out of her closet, would always choose classic pieces and adorned her face with moisturizer every night before dolling herself up the next morning. Ginny could also see the jealousy in the eyes of those mothers whose daughters she embarrassed. And in Narcissa's eyes? Well there was nothing but bold selfish pride.
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Ginny and Narcissa sat silently in the sitting room. Ginny was running her fingers over the luxurious fabric of the chair she was occupying and Narcissa was running her eyes over the invitations they were going to send out to the guests for the dance in Ginny's honor. As Ginny waited Narcissa searched every square centimeter of the invitations until she was satisfied that there was nothing more that could be improved upon.
The invitations were scroll parchment decorated with Greek inspired hieroglyphics depicting two lovers embracing in a dance pose. "Lovers Through Time" was written in calligraphy across the top of the parchment and beneath it were the details of when, where, etc. It did note that the party was in honor of Ginny and her coming out to society and that everyone was to dress in costume depicting famous couples through time.
Narcissa nodded and Ginny smiled, she knew exactly who she and Blaise were going to be.
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Ginny watched her green eyes twinkle in the mirror in front of her. Her eyelashes were mascara-ed and curled, her eyelids painted with gold sparkles. She looked intently at the reflection and wondered how it could be that this was real. This all had been quite a ride and she loved it more and more with each day.
She turned her head, watching her golden earring dangle inches beneath her lobe. The emerald gems shimmered in the light of her room and complemented her pink complexion and bright red hair. A few tendrils fell around her face, framing it nicely. The rest were twisted back into an up-do reminiscent of ancient Greece. She smiled, pleased with her appearance. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, she only hoped that Blaise would be appreciative of how she looked that night.
Picking up the skirt of her dress she turned away from the mirror and made her way to the bedroom door. Turning the knob, she stepped out into the hallway and listened to the silence of the corridor before letting the click of the knob sound behind her. She could feel her mind turn with all the possibilities of the night. She couldn't contain how excited she felt about the whole experience, and to think, she was dreading this night just a few months before.
She supposed she had Draco to thank. Without his teaching she wouldn't even be properly prepared for the night. It had been about two and a half months since she had been told about the ball. She looked up at the grandfather clock in the hall as she passed it. The date read clearly September 21st. She sighed; she should be in Hogwarts right now. But is that truly where she should be? She wondered now if that school had actually been the best place for her. As each day passed she found it easier for her to assimilate into the society that Narcissa had introduced her to.
More than anything though, she could finally explore a life outside of what Weasley traditions she was expected to maintain. She didn't have to cook and clean every day, she didn't have to pretend like she was a little boy, she didn't have to play pranks on people in order to not be prude. There were so many freedoms now. Yes, she had to watch her language which she didn't even notice not using anymore. Yes, she did have to dress like a lady as opposed to wearing jeans and a tee shirt around the house, but she appreciated being able to wear those things and now that she could walk in heels and not endanger herself, she was confident in those clothes.
She turned the corner at the staircase and step by step she went down until finally she found herself on the platform above the stairs from the entryway. Beneath her Blaise stood at the bottom of the stairs, back to her as he looked around at the guests walking by. He was gorgeous. He was wearing white linen pants that hung loosely around his legs but tightly around his waist. His torso was bare except for a set of wings that he had magicked onto his shoulder blades. They were magnificent, falling just beneath his bum and giving him an air much less of Cupid and much more like an angel.
Ah, yes, they were Cupid and Psyche.
Ginny smiled as Blaise turned and she caught his eye. His jaw fell open and she could feel herself blush as he watched her go down the last steps. Her hand lightly grasped the rail of the stairs until she got to the bottom and Blaise quickly claimed it for himself, twirling her around and then feasting on her with his eyes. "Ginevra Weasley…" He trailed off, voice light and filled with amazement.
Ginny was indeed a vision in her gown. It was bone colored fabric basically tied around her curves with gold rope. The rope crossed just above her breasts, just beneath her collar bone, crossed beneath her shoulder blades, crossed again over her stomach and then tied in the back at the small of her back, leaving a few inches dangling for affect where the rope transitioned into golden ribbon. Ginny loved magic.
Her dress flowed around her legs and as she lifted the skirt to walk her golden strappy heels which wrapped around her calves became visible from beneath the fabric. As they walked, her heels clicked against the floor and his were silent.
They entered the room and Ginny felt like she was the sun. She was brought around to each of the prestigious families and introduced.
"Ginevra Weasley, my charge." Narcissa's face was lit up with pride, even Ginny could see it as she brought Ginny forward to her friends. They each nodded in reply, and raised their curiously preened eyebrows at the new socialite before them. Ginny could sense their distaste… and their jealousy. Their daughters were careening around the dance floor with their dancing partners in a most salacious manner. Ginny did all she could to not smile to herself.
Narcissa of course, was right about everything. The girls nowadays weren't proper and Ginny was the best example of what a young lady should be, and their mothers knew it. Ginny smiled a bit, she was surprised about agreeing with Narcissa, and seeing her point of view on things. Ginny never thought that she'd be able to connect with a Malfoy, she never thought she'd be accepted in this kind of society, nor that she would survive. But she did, and she was, and she could.
Before she could think of much else, Ginny was brought in front of Blaise's father and a woman she was not familiar with. "Ginny," Blaise turned to face her. "You remember my father."
Ginny smiled and curtseyed a bit. "Of course, Mr. Zabini it's wonderful to see you again." Mr. Zabini raised an eyebrow and smiled. It was odd, all of these people raising their eyebrows. It made Ginny want to raise an eyebrow but she wouldn't dare sully her sanity.
"It's a pleasure miss, I hope your ankle is better." Mr. Zabini smirked. Ginny flushed to her ears and nodded. "This is Maya, my fiancé." He brought forward the woman next to him and she nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ginny curtseyed for the thirty fourth time that night.
"The pleasure is mine." There was something in this woman's voice that made Ginny uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Smiling when Narcissa came to gather her up, she excused herself and followed Narcissa away.
"That's Maya Sukiyumi, Antoine found her in Japan one year. She's a gorgeous woman but an amazing adversary. I had the fortune of meeting her one year for the Triwizard tournament, she competed for her school and nearly won. She's amazingly clever and severely jealous. I've heard she and Blaise have to compete for Antoine's attention." Narcissa handed Ginny a drink and Ginny sipped at it.
"Why do I not feel comfortable around her?" Ginny asked, comfortable enough with Narcissa to confide in her. Ginny turned and saw Blaise and his father talking, by Maya hanging onto Mr. Zabini's arm.
Narcissa smiled and followed Ginny's line of site. "Because you have amazing instincts. Maya is a miserable woman and she's not just jealous of Blaise. I suspect she's even jealous of you, dear one." Before Narcissa could explain more, the music started and Blaise swept Ginny onto the dance floor.
They swayed from side to side and Ginny was twirled about, feeling no less than the belle of the ball. She could see out of her peripheral vision other girls looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and jealousy. Considering her upbringing and her previously low social status, she smirked and felt her heart flutter at the idea of others envying her. She had for so long been one of those girls jealous of the princesses of the school, twirling about in their cliques and their oblivions. Now Ginny could have hers.
As Ginny and Blaise threw themselves into the throws of the night, Ginny was whirling about in a blurred concept of time. It wasn't until the music had dimmed and she could hear the eleven chimes of the clock that she realized she had been dancing for roughly three hours. Feeling her feet pulsing, she pulled Blaise off to the side. Chuckling, the two nearly fell against each other before Ginny could find a chair to occupy. "I've got to sit down, I can barely walk!" She exclaimed, looping her arm through his.
Any normal person would be sweating profusely from the dancing they had done but the temperature in the room was cool and neither Ginny nor Blaise showed signs of that embarrassing plague. As she caught her breathe she saw a group of boys in the corner motion of Blaise to join them. Blaise turned to her and she understood, motioning for him to join them.
"I'll be right back." He smiled and left with a squeeze of her shoulder.
Ginny grabbed up the skirts of her dress and removing her shoes, massaged her poor feet. Looking around the room she observed the goings-on of the society she conceded she was now a part of. In one corner were Blaise and his friends, chuckling over something and slapping each other's backs. In another were the daughters of all the women, making flirtatious faces towards the first corner and continually checking their appearances in the nearby corner.
On one side of the room the adults stood in congregation sipping at their wines or other various colored and deeply odorous liquors, laughing at jokes, speaking in hushed tones of gossip, discussing business or merely watching as Ginny was. She tried to find Narcissa but wasn't successful, she wondered where the woman had gone. Surely she hadn't retired, she had told Ginny that it was entirely bad manners to be a hostess of a party and disappear unannounced. Ginny figured then, that if she had disappeared, it wasn't unannounced.
Taking up her shoes and sliding them back on her feet, she orchestrated the ties around calf until she was once again in full Psyche gear. Standing to resume her spot on the dance floor, mingling if not spending time with Blaise, she felt her feet give way and promptly fell back against her seat. A hand on her shoulder jarred her. Beside her stood three girls, one with jet black hair who now removed her hand from Ginny's shoulder, and two more with brown hair. They looked down at Ginny with that look of jealousy that Ginny could now so easily recognize.
"Ginevra Weasley?" Ginny felt her heart race. She was not up for a conflict on her night of social introduction.
"Yes?"
The girls smiled and laughed with each other. Ginny found this behavior odd and slightly irritating, standing she found herself to be slightly taller than one of them, but average height in the group. "What do you want?" She pressed for the reasoning behind this encounter.
"You're here with Blaise right? Good old Zabini?" Ginny's brows furrowed. Good old Zabini? That was an odd nickname for someone and these girls were not acting as if they had Ginny's best interests at heart.
"What about it?" Ginny challenged. Her fists were clenched, how dare these girls speak of Blaise that way!
The first girl rose her eyebrow in reply and shook her head. "What a naïve little girl, dealing with someone you can't handle." The girls behind her giggled. "Why don't you ask Blaise himself what his plans were for you tonight? The ones he's bragging about to his friends right now." The girl pointed an anorexic finger to the corner where Blaise was speaking in cautious tones to his colleagues.
None of this looked good. Feeling the room closing in on her, the fear of another illusion, more lies, she stepped away from the girls who went back to their place in their own corner and continued to flirt and pretty themselves. Ginny made her way for the hall and stepped into it, someplace that she could think about what she had just been told. As she stared at the floor, a figure leaned up against the wall beside her. "Problem, Weasley?"
Turning, she saw Draco Malfoy poised like a vulture in a dying tree. Blushing, she turned away. He was a parasite, feasting on her misfortunes when they occurred. Why could he not find her when she was in a perfectly good mood? "Draco, be honest with me," She started, turning with seriousness, facing him and staring him down in earnest. He seemed shock that she would approach him so straightforward about anything. Eyes wide with this surprise, he waited for her to continue. "Blaise… is he… does… What is he really doing? With me?"
She couldn't let him see her so broken down but she had to know the truth and if anyone knew it would be Draco. As she swallowed harshly, fighting back the tears welling up in her eyes, she watched as a variety of emotions crossed Draco's face. He shook his head and began to walk away from her.
"Draco!" He stopped and turned back to her.
"Leave him, Ginny, don't mess with it." And with that Draco disappeared down the long corridor outside the dance hall.
Well, Ginny had had enough of this and knew what it was that she had to do. Walking back into the dance hall she found Blaise crowded by her friends in their corner. Crossing the room to his side, she tugged on his hand. Nodding, he turned and walked away with her, and as she looked back to the group of boys that they left behind she saw their eyes and the smirks on their faces and knew what she had been told was true… but needed to hear it for herself from Blaise.
Deciding it best to not speak about such things where others could eavesdrop, she brought him up to the hall where her bedroom was, but took care not to bring him into it, knowing what might be on his mind. As they stood there in the hall, the thrumming and humming of the room beneath able to be heard even there, Ginny could feel her heart dropping. "Blaise…"
He frowned. "What's with all of this? What's going on Gins, why are we doing the secrecy thing?" He brought his hands up, his gentle hands up to her face and brushed her cheek.
"No!" She pushed his hand away. "Blaise tell me the truth! Are you just trying to… to… Are you not even interested in me? Everyone's saying it! Don't lie to me I can't take it!" Her back was pressed against the wall, she could barely stand on her own it was too hard with all of these thoughts flying about and the emotions swirling inside of her.
Something happened next that she couldn't explain, and didn't want to. Blaise reddened in his face and before Ginny could react, her arms were grabbed and she was pushed back into her room, the door closing and locking behind them.
((Warning time! Please discontinue your reading and move to the next chapter if the scene described at the beginning of the chapter in the Chapter Notes is offensive or rough to you.))
"Don't struggle" Blaise's hands were ringing Ginny's arms nearly off. "You know you want this!"
"Get off me!" Ginny screamed, twisting and flinging herself against his grip. As the two wrestled, she screamed at the top of her lungs for help, but she knew the familiar sound the silencing charm Blaise had put on the door. Refusing to give up hope she pulled away from him, feet pulling against the floor, back bent and fighting for the freedom of her limbs.
A sharp slap to the side of her face made her dizzy and she nearly fainted. Another pushed her to the ground. Her ears began to ring and everything in the room went silent as grayness narrowed her sight. She could feel the cold air of the room bite at her skin as he started to rip her clothes off. Through her tears she saw the gilded ribbon that once wrapped about her body was now falling through the air and piling up on the ground. Tears streaming down her face, eyes closed in fear she did her best do fend him off but felt him overpowering her as her consciousness waned…