Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Harry Potter and co. All rights belong to J. and the publishers.

A/N: Here's the dance! And I was wondering if anyone would like to be my Beta...I've been told my grammar's bad several times recently especially on my story Power of Will (Hides: I know the first two chapters rocked and the rest sucked. One of my review-ers for P.O.W knocked me down a peg or two making me realize I need a Beta.)

Remember: Photos of Ginny's Dress & Hair & Other Characters & Entertainment (parasol act). Link titled Cunning Like A Fox Pictures in my profile. *And I've added new things to the site since my last update.

Cunning Like A Fox

By: Jodelle

Warn your warmth to turn away,
Here it's December, Everyday.
Press your lips to the sculptures,

And surely you'll stay.
For of sugar and ice,
I am made. I am made.

-Love Like Winter, By: AFI

Chapter 9: Winter Dance

Ginny woke to a tapping at her door. She groaned a little as she sat up and slid off the edge of the bed. It wasn't cold thanks to the large fire that danced in the hearth. She pulled on a dressing gown over her silk night gown and made her way to the door.

Before she made it to the door someone rapped on it again. "I'm presentable," Ginny yelled and in stepped Narcissa. Mrs. Malfoy smiled at Ginny who had run into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth. Spitting into the sink Ginny wiped her mouth with the back of her hand opening the door to see Narcissa sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Good to see you up dear. Madame Malkin should be here within the hour so why don't you catch a quick shower and I'll send food up. If you hurry we can feed you a bit before she arrives." Narcissa said moving to leave the room before saying over her shoulder, "And dear you probably should stand as little as possible for the time being as during the fitting you'll be standing the entire time."

Ginny nodded hurrying into the bathroom and turning on the taps. She let the water almost scald her skin as she stretched out a stiff spot in her neck. Narcissa was so nice to do this for her but she couldn't help but feel bribed. The hidden meaning behind this was if you marry my son you can have whatever your heart desires.

Ginny scowled thinking, 'Whatever happened to marrying for love? And is it likely Malfoy could ever love me? I mean he teases me often enough but I'm not sure that counts as flirting.

Within ten minutes Ginny was seated at her vanity brushing out her now dry long red hair. She carelessly tied it up in a French twist just moments before there was a knock at her door. It seemed that Madame Malkin was earlier than they'd first thought she would be.

Opening the door to let her in Ginny saw Madame Malkin followed by Narcissa who came in carrying a tray of assorted fruits. She looked appologetic for tempting Ginny with food she couldn't have just yet, not when the fruits juice might drip onto the dresses she'd be trying on.

Madame Malkin threw a small ball on the floor and transfigured it into a stool. "Mrs. Malfoy if you would please choose a pair of high heels for Ms. Weasley in an easy to match color...like white, black, silver, or clear."

Narcissa had walked into the rooms walkin closet and came out carrying a nice silver shoe with a four inch high somewhat thick heel. Ginny wondered if they were comfortable and Narcissa said reading her mind, "These are spelled to be as comfortable as walking barefoot through the clouds but I'm not sure I buy such a romantic notion."

"But if they aren't satisfactory I can always get my money back and more." She added looking like she would be yelling at anyone who lied to her about the quality of something.

"Hmm..." Madame Malkin muttered as she circled around Ginny who shifted nervously from one foot to another under the accessing stare. She almost laughed thinking if only a guy would look at her like that although when she thought about it that way she'd probably slap said guy. This new this stare didn't mean anything. She was probably trying to figure out how much fabric she'd need and of what color it should be.

"Well no yellow, purple, or orange obviously. They'd clash with her hair. I'd suggest a nice blue or green...any shade would do as long as it's not ,Merlin forbid, neon." Madame Malking shuddered at the thought remembering a bride who had chosen neon green bridesmades dresses.

Enough said that one girl 'accidentally' spilled coffee on hers, another tore hers by 'accidentally' getting it caught in the car door, while yet another had hers ruined in the washer because she accidentally forgot it was dry clean only.

Madame Malkin handed Ginny two balls much like the first one that she'd transfigured into a stool. She was told the first one was charmed to make it so no needles could poke her as many would be used to pin the fabric in the correct positions. The other ball turned colors each time she squeezed it.

"When the ball turns a shade of green or blue you like don't squeeze it again. Hand it to me and I'll get the fabric in a jiff."

Ginny went through colors like Hermione went through books. Frowning as her hand started to hurt she squeezed one last time delighted to see a beautiful rich mid-dark blue. "This one I think." Ginny said showing the ball to Madame Malkin who smiled and nodded.

"Yes dear that won't bleach you out or clash with your hair."

Ginny watched as Madame Malkin took a small box from her pocket and enlarged it. This huge trunk fell on the ground with a loud bang coming open and spilling large amounts of fabric & lace across the floor. Madame Malkin spent several minutes hunched over the truck sifting through its contents before triumphantly saying, "ah-ha! Here we are."

The fabric was a close thing to the shade the ball had taken although just about a shade off. She didn't complain as the color looked just as lovely.

"Now here's a magazine of dress cuts we could use and yes Narcissa dear this dress will be one of a kind as I haven't shared these with anyone. I think a nice sleeveless dress would do as she has such lovely skin and we want to show that in a ways that's not trampy such...as showing too much cleavage," she said looking scandalized. Besides the girl looked too innocent to wear such a lowcut thing, I mean Merlin, she'd probably wouldn't know what to do should she get that kind of attention.

Ginny bit the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing. It wasn't that she couldn't read minds but she sure could read lips. Too innocent? She was,okay so she wasn't really fourty anymore, but that didn't take away her memories of doing...grownup things she finished lamely.

Mrs. Malfoys eyes flashed back and forth across the pages of the magazine before her eyes stilled and she smiled widely. "This one!" she declared pointing at a picture with a manicured finger.

They passed the picture to Ginny who loved it the instant she saw it. "Simple but elegant. But Ginny dear is that showing too much skin for you. It wouldn't do for you to wear something you can't feel comfortable in." Ginny grinned widely interupting Madame Malkin, "No, it's perfect." Madame Malkin must stop trying to dress girls like nuns or she'd lose her customers...although Ginny wondered if she just did that to her younger customers. It wouldn't do for unmarried girls to look trampy as it might ruin their marriage potential.

Ginny did a twirl letting her dress flare out as she spun like a dervish. She ended up giggling as she hopped down from the stool. With the help of Mrs. Malfoy and Madame Malkin she got out of the dress and back into a grey dress with silver embroidery all over it with little glass beads scattered on it in no real pattern.

She felt completely drained from interacting with the two excited women. The last time she'd felt this way was when she'd been around an young energy vampire who couldn't control itself and therefore drained dry anyone near it. It hadn't been the vampires fault as its sire had abandoned it.

Ginny felt sympathy for vampires now because she'd learned that in a past life she herself had been a vampire. She'd learned so much from that one past life as she'd been surrounded by wise older vampires who knew more than they let on. She'd stopped being scared by them a long time ago as she realized even if they killed her she'd just go on to the next life.

Putting the thoughts away she decided to go out to the rose garden. Although it was winter Malfoy Manor laid host to many beautiful gardens some of the more fragile plants living in the greenhouses. Ginny walked through the garden her wand in hand in case some of the plants attacked.

She took a deep breath as she leaned in close to the rose bush. She jumped when she felt an arm on her shoulder. Wipping around she pointed her wand at Draco Malofy who looked just a tad bit frightened.

Lowering her wand she muttered some french obsenities as she caught her breath. "Geez, Weasley, a little paranoid are we?" Draco quirked an eyebrow taking her by the hand and leading her deeper into the garden. The approached a greenhouse and he shouldered the door open.

"Now we'll be needing flowers for your corsage and a rose of some color for my boutonniere." Draco ran hands over the smaller budding roses that would look good pinned to his shirt. Ginny transfigured a small basket out of a pebble that had been stuck in her shoe and handed it to Draco who took it before knealing down for a few more rose clipping each of a different color.

He'd always been good at Herbology and it seemed that this was why. The man was gentle with what he handled and didn't simply hack away at the plants like some might. But of course Draco had always been refined.

Then he told her to turn around so that she wouldn't see the flowers that would make up her corsage. It was supposed to be a surprise he insisted.

When they left the garden Draco took her through a series of doors hidden behind vines and branches. They finally ended up in courtyard filled with statues. Ginny glanced at all the faces and looked down to see names engraved at their bases. Each looked like a Malfoy.

There were people in all states of dress and dress from all the centuries. Each statue wore what had been at the time the highest fashion. She got bored looking at all the faces that resembled Malfoy. That was until she a statue that had her staring.

"Dimitri?!?" Ginny said incredulously staring openmouthed. Draco looked on confused as Ginny ran to the statue of a man who was seated on the outer rim of a fountain. Tears came to her eyes as she took in the familiar face that she'd seen so many times as she'd ventured into her past life memories.

"Who's Dimitri?" Draco ask coming to stand beside Ginny. Ginny shushed him reaching out to touch the statue as if hoping it would jerk awake and in a way it did for her.

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Ginny flinched when she felt someone touch her shoulder. Spinning around she saw Dimitri smiling at her. He opened his arms to her and she ran into them giving the man a bone crushing hugg. She realized she was sobbing as the man stroked her hair making calming noises.

She pulled back holding him at arms length to get a better look at him. He looked just like Draco only older. As she smiled up at him she felt her lips stretch over something sharp. Reaching up she tapped her teeth with a finger gasping when something sharp poked that finger.

Dimitri was laughing at her. In French he asked, "Have you forgotten what you are my dearest?"

Pushing Dimitri aside she knelt down by a pool of water and opened her mouth wide. There was no reflection to look at. She looked stunned, "How?"

She was about to suck on her sore finger when Dimitri grabbed her hand and guided it to his mouth. His eyes closed as though the taste was blissful. Ginny pulled her finger free looking surprised to see it had healed shut.

Ginny out of character looked shy and nervous as she looked into the perfect silver blue sea that was Dimitri's eyes. He looked at her so lovingly so unlike Draco who simply teased offering no promises this man offered her the world on a silver platter. It made her wonder did she love Draco or this man and even though they shared the same form & soul were they truly nothing alike.

"Ah. Poor dear you've forgotten. But don't worry they'll come for you all the same. Soon I promise. The Royals will take you in and show you what I no longer can." Dimitri turned away and walked farther away as she reached out for him. The further away he got the less substaintial he seemed until he was like mist and then gone.

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"Dimitri!" Ginny screamed as she sat bolt upright...in her bed. She looked every which way panting her heart racing. She felt more tears stream down her face before she got ahold of herself.

"Dimitri's been dead for hundreds of years Gin. This is no time to get upset about what you can't change!" Ginny hissed angrily swiping the tears away with the back of her hand. Getting up she went into the bathroom for a tissue and blew her nose. She took deep breaths to calm herself and to stop from crying again.

Then she heard a knock at her door. Ginny's head whipped around and she cringed at the thought of Mrs. Malfoy or Draco catching her looking like a blubbering mess. She was relieved when she heard a shrill houselfs voice.

"May Tilly come in Ms. Weezy?"

"Yes," Ginny said trying to keep the croak out of her voice. Ugh! Ginny thought scowling. Getting worked up about the death of a long dead man was pointless and just left her feeling more drained than she had that morning.

Tilly poked her head in frowning as she took in Ginny's tear splotched face. The little houself went over to her vanity and took out a small jar of cream.

"Ms. Weezy please sit at the vanity so Tilly can reach your face." Ginny nodded taking a seat at the vanity. Still a cautious woman she couldn't help but ask what the cream was for.

"It's for covering up the tears." Ginny blinked but understood it was to take care of the redness in her face that was from crying. Thank merlin there was such a thing. She'd seen her mother give some to Fleur so that even if the woman cried her eyes out at the wedding there'd be no sign of it in any of the pictures.

Once the redness in her face was gone Tilly got to work. Ginny looked on in the vanity mirror as Tippy piled all her long hair on top of her hair. The hair on top of her head was something between curls and little loops of hair all put in place by pins. It wasn't messy but added an elegant flair to her look.

Ginny slipped into her blue dress putting on her silver shoes with a little effort finally letting Tilly put them on and bending over was hard if your could sit down. If she sat down she'd probably get cat hair all over her dress as she'd seen a snooty white cat flounce out of her room earlier in the day. It was probably Draco's she thought with a snigger as it acted so much like him.

She heard yet another knock at the door turning away from the mirror image that had left her stunned she let Draco in. He whistled appreciatively making a red tinge come to her face.

Smirking Draco grabbed her wrist with one hand and took his other hand out from behind his back to reveal a stunning cosage made of white roses with little blue roses made of blue silk all surrounded and tied together by some sort of vine.

Draco looked worriedly at her before asking, "Are you okay. Mother said that you'd be fine but you scared me when your eyes rolled back in your head and you fainted! Mother tells me that I shouldn't of let you touch the statue as it's haunted which could be true as it's not actually a statue that's been in our family for very long...It's not even a statue of our family just a statued that my father bought because of it's resemblance to me."

Ginny stopped listening after that. Draco was cute when he rambled on without any real intent.

She finally cut in at the right point and declared, "Draco, it wasn't your fault. I touched it becaused it looked familiar...I felt almost like I knew the person that was being depicted."

Draco smiled, "I've had that happen to me before it's like a strong sense of Deja Vu! I felt it too when father first showed me that statue. I saw a redhead woman... I wish I could remember what she looked like but apparently the vision is only available the first time you come across a cursed object. I tried to see what it had to offer again not that long ago and all it did was bite me drawing blood!"

Ginny cracked a smile. Of course a vampire even a statue of one would draw blood...it was fitting. By this time they'd finally reached the entry hall. They were at the top of the stairs looking down on the guests who were seated at a long table.

Narcissa was at one end of the table while Lucius was at the other. Draco took the seat by his father while Ginny took the seat by Narcissa. Ginny frowned she'd thought she'd be seated by Draco but he was about thirty seats away. Sighing she settled in by Narcissa who in reality made great conversation not boring her with meaningless things but intriguing her making her wonder how the woman had such a wealth of knowledge...apparently she was much more than a trophy wife.

Ginny mindlessly ate doing the wise thing which was to eat a little bit of everything. Halfway through dinner there was something that made everyone pause.

They heard the steady clatter of footsteps coming closer. Looking up the stairs everyone stared. Standing there were the most beautiful women Ginny had ever seen and on the tip of her tongue was the word Veela.

She especially recognized the quarter veela Fleur's little sister Gabrielle. Next to the full blooded veela that must be her grandmother and the half veela which was most likely her mother the girl still looked stunning. The only boy who wasn't staring was Draco and that made sense as she suspected with his coloring he must have veela ancestors.

"Ve are zorry ve r late Narcissa dear. Ve took muggle transportation most of ze way but then got lost az zour portkey took us to the wrong location."

Narcissa stood up and ushered them in and within minutes they were situated. By now as many of the guests were finished eating Narcissa clapped her hands and out of a drawing room several figures poured out.

What Ginny noticed first was the red eyes then following that the red liquid in their glasses. Vampires. But she wasn't afraid as she remember what Dimitri had said. 'Have you forgotten what you are my dearest? '&' Soon I promise.'

'These must be the Royals,' Ginny mused. She froze when a young girl caught her gaze. The girls eyes flashed and unknown to Ginny her eyes took on a red hue for a moment flashing in turn. The girls jaw dropped as she tugged at an older vampires sleeve.

"What Ami?" The vampire wearing a blue bodice and a silver white dress asked leaning down to the childs level.

"She-She-" the little girl stuttered pointing a Ginny. Ginny's face flamed as the people turned to stare at her. Narcissa reached under the take her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Forcing her blush down she quirked a brow and looked questionly at the littlest vampire.

"Her eyes flashed red mama!" The girl finally forced out. The older vampire looked intrigued but said nothing else simply clapping her hands.

*Remember pictures of this in my profile link...youtube vid featuring the parasol act this is based on*

Out marched a beautiful girl with black hair and red eyes carrying a parasol. She spun the parasol showing the audience the top of it which held a picture of a snake. As the speed increased the snake seemed to writh so much that people stared transfixed. This reminded her of a muggle flipbook.

Tapping it on the ground the parasols top caught fire disinigrating until she held a torch in each hand which she began to juggle. After a few minutes she clapped her hands and the flames died out the torch sticks become a single piece of blue fabric.

She flicked the scarf out an it expanded she then tossed it in the air and it broke in half each end becoming a blue parasol. The guests clapped heavily.

She used scarves and fire several times producing parasols out of thin air much to the guests delight. As she finished with a parasol she handed it to a boy dressed in casual clothes. From what she guessed the boy was either a normal boy or a blood boy.

Blood boys were raised to provide blood to entire vampire families. In return they got whatever was their hearts desire. Some became teachers in their old age and taught the vampires children when it was no longer safe to give blood due to their failing health.

He looked ordinary enough but even in his casual clothes he moved like the vampires did stealthily. Blood boys could also become vampires protectors. Many chose to be scholars just because it was safer.

As the act ended Ginny watched the group retreat amid more clapping.

Then out came a Dragon Tamer. She was a small girl dressed in all white to match her small white Dragon. Ginny remembered Charlie mentioning that these small Dragons were the kind that you could legally keep as pets and were used rarely for entertainment. Rarely as they were hard to control. The Dragon tamers had to raise the dragon from birth if they wanted to be able to control them.

The Dragon went through a series of arial dives and loop d' loops. It breathed ice which clattered heavily to the ground shattering into a million pieces but before it fell to the ground it shown like diamonds surrounded by a flame. It was sheer beauty.

The girl held up a metal rode both hands clutching and the dragon grabbed it pulling her into the sky. The girl did many aerobatics much like muggle acrobats in the circus. The girl would do flips and at one point walked across the length of the metal rod in a way that resembled tight rope walking then she dropped to the ground landing in just the right was so as not to do any damage.

The girl smirked and bowing once retreated to one of the drawing rooms.

The follow up act was an illusionist which bored many as any first year could do those things although to the poor girls credit her illusions took a lot of effort as she was a muggle.

It was then time for the dance.

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Drawing Room

"I know we can be reborn but this is eerie the two of them being together. Usually soul mates must be searched for but the two of them have met in their youth." Danica said bouncing Ami on her knee. They were seated in the drawing room watching their blood boy playing with an intricate globe of sorts. He was also playing with the daggers he liked to juggle. When he accidentally pricked his finger a sweet faced boy came to sit by him grabbing his wrist.

"Don't tease us James." The purple haired boy said breathing in the scent of the blood. The other boy with black as night hair snorted tossing a couch cushion at the purple haired boy.

"Don't be a glutton, Alec. Even if we can't get fat it's disgusting to watch you gorge yourself." The boy said tossing his head back to get his hair out of his eyes. When this failed he blew his bangs out of the way.

"Geez, Jacob, I was just kidding. I actually had my eye on that rocky road icecream they were serving the humans. I have eaten real food in ages so I probably won't get sick after eating it. You know the whole you can have what you want in moderation idea."

"The last time you had human food was one month, two weeks and six days ago." James offered as it was his job to make sure everyone was fed he generally knew these things.

Ami whistled sharply getting everyone's attention. Danica frowned at them, "Didn't you hear what I said about the redhead girl and the blond boy with the silver eyes!?! That's Dimitri and Genevieve reborn." Danica looked sad for a minute before continuing.

"They were killed by muggles who thought we were evil. As they can also use magic in this life they are an asset to our race. But we must be cautious they may hate us for waking up their vampire instincts as I plan to."

*Part two of the Dance: "It's in the blood..."

*And remember there's a link to pictures titled as one might guess Cunning Like A Fox Pictures there you can also find a youtube video that shows parasol tricks which I found amazing trust me it's worth a look as I've added things.

A/N: Sorry it took so long I had writers block! -Jodelle.