Working for the Dragon
Chapter 6. Expect the Unexpected
Variety is the spice of life. And so is drama.
With this little phrase stuck in my mind, I've come to a conclusion. I'm glad I don't have an elder sister. Really, really glad. I figured, when you wanted them to react, they'd probably just look at you as though you just stated the obvious; like the Statue of Liberty was located in the United States of America or something like that.
I respect Nymphadora Tonks Lupin like an older sister and always went to her for advice whenever I was troubled. Today, for the first time in my life, I was actually disturbed about something that did not revolve around my sad life and she is wearing a look completely void of emotion.
C'mon, the news I just gave her was equivalent to the Statue of Liberty deciding to shift or something, I don't know. She wasn't reacting! I had just confessed to her that Draco Malfoy was indeed my boss feeling the need to pour my heart out to someone.
"Will you please say something?" I demanded as I banged my now-empty cup from which I had been sipping chamomile tea to soothe my nerves earlier. Oh yeah, chamomile tea did not work at all in situations like this. Mentally, I swore that I would never drink another cup of chamomile tea for the rest of my life. I abhorred tea anyway.
"Remus told me before we came to your house for dinner…" She stopped briefly, eyeing me and then taking a huge gulp of her piping hot tea and setting the cup down, leaning back to relax.
This is why I thanked Merlin and all the divine powers out there because my mother had been blessed with six healthy boys instead of girls. There was a reason for that.
Brothers would have exploded the moment they heard that. I know for a fact that mine would, undoubtedly. Especially Ron, his face would turn a brilliant shade of purple nearly making him look like unripe brinjals while he sputtered and tried to regain composure of himself.
Actually, any other ordinary brother would react if he found out that his little sister was working for the Slytherin Sex God himself. That nickname, by the way was a name that Channy and I came up with for him back in school because of his numerous affairs with girls.
I'd say Dragon, but I'm pretty sure that Charlie wouldn't have any objections being passionate about dragons, literally, himself.
So basically, all the drama resided with brothers.
I wanted drama right now; I could use a little yelling at. With all these little lies that I'm telling my family at the drop of a hat, I honestly felt like such a criminal. I do not lie. Of course, that's the biggest lie in the world. It's scientifically proven that the average human lies approximately five times a day.
That's a lie too; I made that up to make myself feel a little better about my situation.
"That's all you are going to say?" I looked at her in disbelief. I felt as though I wanted to bang my head on the table.
Today, with features like her tomato red hair, freckles, creamy complexion, slender yet incredibly toned body, she looked a lot like the elder sister I dreamt of having as a child but was now currently cursing.
Despite everything, Tonks was still the best person to break everything to. Or, that was what previous experiences in life had thought me to believe.
"What do you want me to say?" She asked me in a very gentle voice, making me feel much worse about myself.
That's it. I banged my head on the table out of frustration moaning to myself really loudly until little Teddy whom I had completely forgotten about looked up being distracted from creating an artistic masterpiece for their refrigerator and asked Tonks.
"Mummy, what is wrong with Ginny?" I could hear a little quiver in his cute voice.
"Nothing dear, she is just having a bad day. That's all." Tonks reassured him lovingly.
"Ginny," He tugged at my silk blouse innocently. –"Don't be sad…. Mummy will give you cookies."
I had to smile at little Teddy Lupin's words even though he did not understand the pressures of being an adult. Life was simple back when I was his age. I hugged him, planting a kiss on his cheek before he raced off to continue making pictures for their refrigerator.
"Yeah, I'll give you cookies, Ginny." Tonks eyes twinkled mischievously at me as I glared at her.
-" Alright. I do have something to say but that's not going to make you feel better either."
"Just tell me already!"
"I'm getting there…. Ginny, you shouldn't be keeping secrets from your family. They love you and only want what's good for you. Hiding will only hurt in the end." She advised.
"I know." I frowned, why anyone didn't understand why I didn't want my family to know about my job?
The reasons were simple; firstly, he is Draco Malfoy, we've got a family feud for Merlin knows how many centuries. Secondly, he is a Malfoy, they'd exile me back into the muggle world if they find out that I'm with danger himself.
I didn't want that to happen, my hopes, my dreams, everything would be dashed again all because of the fact that my 'valuable' life could be in danger. The last time, it was Voldermort; now I don't know who I'd be an alibi to.
-"I'll let them know." I promised meaning to keep it. Someday, just not today.
"Someday, just not today, am I right?" She grinned at me hoping to get rid of some of the tension in the air.
"What are you, skilled at Leglimens now?" I teased her, happy that we were close towards making the topic revolve around something or somebody else. I absolutely hated talking about myself.
"Nah, I'm just smart." She winked at me as I rolled my eyes to myself.
"Whatever, can we talk about something else already?" I was frank knowing that she wouldn't mind it.
That was the sort of relationship that we had and why I looked up to her as my sister. She would never judge me without getting her facts right and that was something I really appreciated and was truly looking for at the moment.
"So do you want to talk fashion?" She asked me, giving me the critical eye.
Tonks was a real fashionista for an Auror and a mother of a six year old. She had style and was always one of the best dressed people at the Ministry of Magic despite her ever-changing appearances.
I sighed, wait for it.
"What's up with muggle clothing, Ginny? You're working for the Malfoys."
I sighed once again explaining the whole situation to her about what I had previously worn to the office. She burst out laughing when I told her about how Draco had thought that I was an orphaned teenager during the interview and Narcissa's horrified expression on my first day with her.
Still the midst of laughter, she brought me up to her bedroom where she directed me to her wardrobe and told me to pick, her words not mine, anything I liked. Of course it would come with a fashion review, critiqued by yours truly, Nymphadora Tonks Lupin.
This place was like a bloody departmental store, she had that many dress robes. It was going to take me ages before I found the perfect outfit. A forest green dress caught my eye and I pulled it off the rack and showed it to her. It was really pretty, with long lacy sleeves and the rest of the dress being made out of velvet.
She took one look and said, "Too safe," before sending me back inside to find a dress that helped me being out my inner, wild self. Over my dead body.
"I don't know what is good, how about you pick a dress for me." I protested, wishing almost immediately that I had not completed that sentence.
She immediately walked right into the closet and pulled out a purple number.
"Try this on." She all but commanded.
I gave a submissive sigh and headed straight into her bathroom.
The dress was…. Holy mother of…. Too sexy for me.
"Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks Lupin, what on earth were you thinking. I'm not stepping out of the bathroom looking like a deranged hooker!" I thundered, hands on my hips even though she, sadly could not see them.
Only then I realised, holy mother of…. I was starting to sound like Mollyanne Weasley, herself.
She laughed from the outside, "Stop being such a brat Ginny. Honestly, you're worse than Teddy. That's just part of the dress. Now put it on and come out. I'll show you how to pull of the rest. Or, you can choose the second option and stay in there because either way you're going to wear that dress."
See what I mean about the fact that I was glad that I didn't have an elder sister?
In this case, brothers, or my brothers in particular would only be pleased if I left the house with a veil, actually probably a sheet with two holes for eyes. Sometimes that was a bane, today it felt like a boon.
I zipped it on muttering about the unfairness of the world to myself. Stepping out of the bathroom, I gave her a model pose while scowling. She laughed and used an air camera mockingly at me.
"Hold that pose, Gin, you look extremely sexy." I could feel my scowl deepening.
She pulled me towards her dressing table to show me my reflection. Good lord, that dress was freaking revealing, it gave me curves that I wasn't sure I had.
It was a tube dress which was in the darkest shade of purple imaginable. It was so dark; it could pass off as black. The cloak to go with it was lilac and gave it a really sultry appeal not to mention the peacock-shaped brooch with many emerald, sapphire and amethyst gemstones all over it. Oh and I nearly forgot, it had a hood. How cute!
Not to mention the fact that the dress itself was so short, it barely touched my kneecaps. I was going to have to wear leggings with this, I thought to myself as I examined my reflection.
"You should wear your black thigh high boots with that." Tonks observed.
I shuddered, picturing myself strangely with a mass of untamable curls and a glazed look in my brown eyes. I looked like a cross-over between Bellatrix Lestrange and … I-forgot-her-name, that Norwegian supermodel. No way did I want to resemble those witches anyway! I had style of my own and now was the perfect time to prove it to the Malfoys.
Leggings it is, I decided still pondering over what shoes. My mind deflected back to Fleur's Marvin Choques. Let me tell you, after the interview, I only started wearing them because of Narcissa. With Malfoy, I wore sneakers with those robes and most of the time, I roamed the office barefooted. Shhh… it's a secret.
"You could do your hair like this, and smoky eye shadow would make you look all sultry and mysterious." Tonks clapped her hands excitedly.
"I'm trying to look like a secretary; you're making me look part Death-eater and part supermodel which doesn't work for me." I chided.
She stared at me trying to work out the Deatheater part and finally chuckled when she realized that I was referring to her psychotic aunt. Her hair was done in a similar way except for the fact that it was a pretty dark shade of brown, chestnut or black, I ain't got a clue.
"You have to admit, she was hot." I nodded my head at this statement. If I were a Deatheater, I probably would want to look like Bellatrix Lestrange except for the fishnets and low necked clothing. I'd wear the kind the girl in the Matrix wore. I forgot her name, er….
We worked on my hair for a while as my mind wandered through the most randomest of random thoughts. Finally I gathered the guts and asked her quietly about the investigation at Malfoy Empire.
"Hey, Tonks…." I paused, wondering if I should continue or not.
"Wotcher, Ginny?" She asked absent mindedly as she worked on brushing my tangled bird nest of hair into red silk.
"I was just wondering about Gerald McDomer, you know the man who worked….." Before I could complete my sentence, she took me by surprise, responding….
"About time now, I was waiting for that."
At least we knew she and Professor Dumbledore had something in common, they waited for people to ask them about stuff.
"Seriously?" I asked her feeling rather sceptical.
"Yes, I figured that you would be interested in that. There is nothing much I can say because I've passed the case down to my juniors. However, none of us can figure out the motive for murder if. Draco is the prime suspect you know." She frowned, thoughtfully.
"Draco?" I echoed after her, there was a time when she never used to utter his name and suddenly, 'Draco'. WOW.
"Based entirely on Mother's insistence, Remus and I have reconciled with Narcissa and Draco. We go to the manor every now and then for dinner, Teddy adores Draco, he is quite the charmer apparently." She smiled as though remembering a fond memory of her son and Malfoy.
I felt a twinge of jealousy that Malfoy was getting to spend time with the boy I used to babysit. I loved Teddy with all my heart and was always there to spend time and take care of him when Tonks wasn't around. I suppose though that I should have been happy at the fact that she found someone else whom she could also entrust Teddy with.
They were blood related. She could count on them.
"Do you possibly think that he is…." I stopped midway not really wanting to continue that sentence as I felt sick to the stomach.
"What?" She asked, confused.
A moment later, it dawned upon her and she gave me a revolted look, "Are you crazy? There is no way that he could have murdered Gerald McDomer, the evidences are against him. However, it doesn't help that they had quite an argument before he died. From what we've heard, they got along all the time. Draco appointed him when the Malfoy Empire was just at its beginning. He was Draco's legal advisor. He was quite distressed about the murder."
I nodded my head, "Narcissa told me that they've been giving him a hard time. I suppose that's their job though." I shrugged, not wanting to judge.
Her jaw clenched, "They have?" Oops! Maybe that was a wrong thing to say.
Once again, I nodded my head.
"Lucius Malfoy did own the Malfoy Empire afterall." I pointed out. It did make sense that they would be looking for items that were enchanted with Dark Magic as evidence for murder.
She looked at me in amazement, "How much do you know about Malfoy Empire, Ginny, apart from its extreme secrecy and good salary?"
"Not much." I admitted, flushing a little.
How the hell did people have the tendency to make me feel as though I hadn't done my homework? It's a bloody gift!
"Well, Malfoy Empire was founded by Draco with his own capital and everything right after he graduated from Hogwarts and the war ended. Around the time when you left for Oxford." That last bit caused me to flinch a little.
I looked at her in surprise when I heard that little bit of information.
"Yep." She confirmed it, "He is a real business prodigy, an inspiration to others being the youngest and most successful businessman in the wizarding world."
WOW. I knew so little about him and all that I heard about him kept me intrigued, wanting to hear more. There was so much that I had yet to uncover about him. So many hidden secrets, Malfoy is really a man of mystery.
My mind drifted on thinking about how much I wanted to protect them from Goyle's wrath and Audrina's powers of seduction. Merlin knows what they had in stored for them.
Tonks snapped me out of my reverie, "Ginny, you're not going to do anything with this new found information are you?" She looked at me suspiciously.
Did I mention that I was a terrible liar? I don't know how I managed all this while without getting caught.
I shook my head hoping to look outraged, "Of course not! What could I possibly do with such information?"
Of course inside, I was doing the Irish tap dance in glee.
"I don't know, you're weird."
"Well, you're weirder."
"Oh really?"
"YES!"
It went into childish, sisterly banter until we both started laughing. To sum it all up, I was now equipped with a dress that made me look like 'hotass' and also possessed enough information about Draco Malfoy, enough to help.
I had killed two birds with one stone today.
Back at home, dinner was a torturous experience. It started out with the usual as we all helped ourselves to the Weasley's special Shepherd's pie. Mum started lecturing me when she noticed that I had taken a rather small portion compared to the mountainous amount on all of my brothers' plates.
"Ginny dear, you have to take more than this. You're losing too much weight. I'm going to confiscate all those muggle fashion magazines that you're always buying. Being stick thin is not good for you at all."
It wasn't my fault that I barely had time to eat; I was always busy working on something or the other.
To make her happy, I agreed to take a little bit more and I accepted it rather grudgingly, ignoring the snickers from my older brothers. My mind was on the Marvin Choque fashion show which reminded me, wouldn't Fleur be going? Usually designers were invited these sorts of events. Not forgetting that Fleur was a diehard Marvin Choque fan.
My pie which was usually scrumptious and left me craving for more tasted like dust today. I swallowed a bite feeling like I had just eaten pure concrete. The weight was now in my stomach. Mikayla, Charlie's wife looked at me in concern as she realized that I hadn't said a word all throughout dinner and I was usually one heck of a chatter box.
"Everything alright, Gin?" She asked me with a warm smile.
I nodded my head back, appreciating the kind gesture. She was really sweet.
"Knut for your thoughts?" She joked. I shook my head and muttered something about remembering that there was a Marvin Choque fashion show tomorrow.
That, of course, caught Her Royal Highness, Phlegm's attention and she jumped right into the conversation. Mikayla smiled at me sympathetically, my immense dislike for Fleur was not a secret among the Weasley's. Even Bill knew by now. I'll be damned.
"Of course, I vil be going to ze fashion show!" Fleur spoke so loudly, she practically yelled in indignance. Bill turned to us, curious, having ended his conversation on market shares with Fred and George.
"What fashion show?" He wondered looking at us for answers.
Fleur went right into detail and by the time that she was done, Bill's handsome face was set of nothing but steely determination.
"You're not going." He declared.
Fleur just could not back out without a fight so of course; they had a fight right at the table when Bill tried to explain that she needed to rest. Fleur had to understand that she looked like she was going to sink into labor any day now and she got tired really quickly.
I saw his point; he was just playing the role of a caring husband. As usual, Fleur could not see that and she launched into another tale about pregnant woman in France. Dinner had turned spicy; I gulped down a glass of cold milk. I hated seeing couples fight, it made my heartache.
Fleur was so downgrading, she had to criticize everything she set eyes on. True, she had a heart of gold but she was a princess first. Or at least, that was how she was treated, and while pregnant now, she was treated like a Queen.
Finally, the argument ended with Fleur bursting into tears and waddling out of the room in anger. Mum looked at Bill and told him to give in to her, crying was not good for the baby.
I rolled my eyes to myself, earning a disapproving look from Hermione. She thought it was insulting of me to be mean towards Fleur even though she, herself wasn't such a huge fan of her.
The topic moved on to a much lighter one, Quidditch. We discussed the Chudley Canons, Holyhead Harpies and a few other teams and their strategies before Harry and Ron changed the topic to the upcoming trip to Bulgaria.
"Are you sure you can't come, Ginny?" She asked hopefully only to be disappointed.
"Nope." I said, popping the 'p'. I explained to her about how my boss would have my head if I took a day off, let alone a week. He'd even commit murder upon finding out that I was missing. In that process, I nearly called his name. 'Malfoy', it was classy even though it had a bad meaning to it. Malfoy's forefather had bad taste in naming children as much as those names were highly intimidating.
"It's going to be a blast; I can't wait to teach you how to ski, mate." Harry explained to Ron who was extremely curious and clueless about muggle extreme sports.
"And betting. I bet we'd make tons of cash." Fred said, dreamily.
"That's right, Fred. We're rolling in cash right now, alright." George replied and both brothers grinned at each other.
"I wish I could go. You all have to have doubled the fun on my account." I made them promise, sadly. They nodded their heads sympathetically, understanding my plight.
The next morning was no better either. I spent it lounging around the house, relaxing and reading a couple of comic strips that I had found printed in the local muggle newspaper as well as catching up on the latest news from the Daily Prophet.
Finally, it was time to get ready. I showered and wore my purple dress robes with black leggings that made my pale skin strike out. I also style my hair and wore make up the way we decided, not at all looking like Bellatrix Lestrange or that Norwegian supermodel whose name I had forgotten.
By the time I was done, I realized that hey, I didn't look too bad after all. This outfit did scream 'Ginny!' all over it even though it wasn't what one would actually expect their secretary to wear. I just hoped that Narcissa appreciated me trying to look fashionably decent.
Oh and I was running late!
Nothing new about that though, there was never a moment when I decided to slack that I reached anywhere on time.
Bloody hell! I swore as I raced to the floo gate or chimney, whatever. It was really hard to run in heels especially when gravity was madly in love with you. I flooed right into Malfoy Empire and raced towards Narcissa's office where I'm absolutely sure she would have been frowning or even pacing. She liked to be anywhere right on the clock.
I ran past Audrina on the way, earning a sneer from her, "Where is the fire, Weasley?"
I yelled as loudly as I could, earning disapproving looks from the rest of the staff but not at all giving a damn, "Sadly, not at your house."
My hair resembled a birds nest by the time I reached Narcissa's office, I was also panting heavily like a dog. And guess what? She wasn't there.
After a few knocks and no given permission to enter the chic cabin, I pulled the door open and peered inside. And to think that I was late, I felt so irritated with myself, I wanted to laugh at my situation.
Maybe she had gone somewhere else to do something, but I knew the answer, she wasn't here yet. The show had started a while ago and we were nowhere near close on reaching. I wondered then, if that was my cue to panic.
Haven't wizards ever heard of cell phones? At moments like these, they are quite the convenience.
Actually, Malfoy had a cell phone, my dream phone, a Blackberry which he gave me to organize. I'm quite sure he had a personal one but never had any sightings of it, so I could be wrong.
Narcissa made a grand entrance while I was standing in front of her gigantic, antique mirror fixing my hair. She gave me a real fright when she just apparated right into her own office causing me to greet the Italian marble tiles, painfully.
"How? What? How did you do that?" I stammered at her, stunned that she could apparate. Didn't Malfoy Empire have wards to protect apparition?
"I lifted the wards in my office so that I could apparate. Now that I'm here, the wards are back on." She smiled at me in greeting as she examined my dressing.
I wasn't a very glamorous sight on the floor with my legs spread out. I winced as I tried to get up, my ankle was aching. There was definitely going to be bruises present when I checked, later.
"Are you alright, Ginevra?" She asked me, not missing my grimace.
I nodded my head and asked her if she was feeling better today. She did look a whole lot better as though, yesterday after her break down, she went for a spa retreat, massage, facial and manicure. Now that was truly the life, it had been a while since I had last gone for one and I was still living in its moments. I'd be blessed if I actually received a foot massage in this lifetime considering my schedule.
Narcissa looked classic today with her white and gold dress robes, making her look like a goddess. Her platinum blonde hair was done in curls and she wore crimson lipstick that struck out on her pale yet healthy complexion. She glowed like the moon, if I didn't know any better; I'd say that she looked like the older version of the late muggle actress Marilyn Monroe.
She pulled off classically sexy so beautifully, it was epic. Did that line even make sense? Whatever, she just looked beautiful.
"You look wonderful, dear." She raised a perfectly arched blonde eyebrow as though she never expected me to pull of something this outrageous. I didn't know whether to feel insulted or triumphant.
"Aren't we late?" I asked her looking at my maroon watch.
"There is something called being fashionably late, Ginevra." She laughed, reminding me of all the reasons why I was not cut out to be her secretary again.
-"I am the guest-of-honour afterall."
"We're not flooing right?" I stared at her dress, trying to imagine soot on it but failing miserably. It was far too fantastically designed to be destroyed.
"Marvin has personally arranged for a Portkey." We walked along the corridors. I kept touching my hair nervously to make sure it was fine.
If I had known that my hair would lose its style easily, I would have resorted to the aid of hairspray.
Great, Portkey? Thank Merlin, if we had to apparate, I don't know what I would have done.
My fear of apparating is starting to get a little bit ridiculous.
Narcissa picked up something that looked like a Quaffle near the floo gate where I usually went home from. I hadn't noticed it earlier.
She urged me to put my hand on it and soon I felt that little tingly pull at my stomach, as though gravity was fighting for its rights on me to remain on the ground. A moment later, I did not recognize where we were at all.
The room was literally white, as though we were in Oblivion or something but however, Oblivion did not have furniture did it? Everything was white, from the curtain to the sofa oh heck, even the stationary was white. I did not even want to think about the stationery.
Narcissa seemed at ease, the polar opposite reaction of my personal one. Truly, we were not compatible at all, I don't know if she saw it but I sure as hell did.
"This is it?" I asked her, puzzled.
"I expect Marvin himself to be bursting in here any moment." She answered me, relieving my doubts.
My hyperactive and overly paranoid mind was under the impression that we would probably have to apparate somewhere else. She was about to sit down when the door burst right open and there stood Marvin Choque, himself.
"Narcissa, oh mon dieu, ma chérie tu es superbe!"
TRANSLATION: Narcissa, oh my goodness, darling, you look beautiful!
"Merci" She replied, as he kissed her dainty hands. He was gay, right?
TRANSLATION: Thank you.
"Qui est cette jolie fille?" He asked her taking a good look at me.
TRANSLATION: Who is this pretty girl?
I pulled at my cloak self-consciously wishing that they would get on with the damned fashion show.
"Elle est Ginevra Weasley, mon assistant."
TRANSLATION: She is Ginevra Weasley, my assistant.
Okay, she officially lost me after this Marvin Choque dude checked me out. The last I understood was him telling her, 'Narcissa, oh my goodness! Darling, you look beautiful!' Somewhere along those lines and her thanking him graciously. I admired the way she carried herself.
"Vraiment? J'ai pensé que Draco a décidé de s'installer. Elle est tout simplement superbe!"
TRANSLATION: Really? I thought Draco decided to settle down. She is simply stunning!
Pure French? If Fleur was here, I'd have direct translation.I can't speak French to save my life, my pronunciation was atrocious. I groaned inwardly to myself, having not understood a word they said.
Narcissa nodded her head in agreement to what he said, she also turning to look at me. I watched them both, uncomfortably wondering why the heck they were staring at me.
Trying to look inconspicuous, I scanned my outfit and peered at my reflection on the window pane, nothing wrong with it. I frowned; they were so weird, really. Maybe, I should say hi or something.
"Hi, Mr Choque. It's an honor to meet you." I smiled, genuinely feeling honored, Fleur would be so jealous if she knew I was here today while she couldn't be.
He kissed the top of my hand, charmingly, making me blush because his breath tickled my sensitive skin.
"Miss Weasley, you look simply stunning." His French accent alongside his smooth voice was really sexy.
Really? I was flattered but didn't say much. He laughed as my face reddened even more thanks to his compliment.
He was pretty good looking himself too, at like forty five; he looked like that male actor, Owen Wilson. It was so hard to imagine Owen Wilson being gay, despite the fact that his doppelganger, Marvin Choque hooked up with girls from time to time. (Sources from page 3 of Witch's weekly)
We walked out to the main hall where the event was held, Narcissa and Marvin Choque could be heard discussing something in French, I couldn't really be bothered to listen. Not that I was able to anyway, as we got closer, there was music blaring really loudly. Various wizard celebrities such as Quidditch players could be seen walking into the entrance. I thought I saw Oliver Wood and Katie Bell being interviewed by a bunch of reporters.
It was a really grand affair. Marvin Choque was like the Louis Vuitton of the wizarding world. There were press reporters everywhere
Marvin led Narcissa to a corner and instructed something to someone. All of a sudden, I heard someone announcing her name and she walked right in, gracefully like a dancer. She waved her hand demurely as the crowd clapped for her, she was a fashion icon, I realized. People admired her as much as they admired Malfoy's good looks.
And speaking of Malfoy, had I really gone this long without thinking about how much I missed him? I can hardly remember thinking of him at all. And now, when it just occurred to me, I had that pang of emptiness again. I was lost in my thoughts when I felt someone shoved me roughly to follow Narcissa's footsteps just like her shadow.
That was going to be so rough on my poor ankle. I regained my balance; turning to glare at the person who had the audacity to push me however was blinded by flashing lights of the camera before I could even turn.
Thankfully, they were focused on Narcissa and not on me though they hardly should be. From the corner of my eye, I saw really familiar looking red hair and my heart sank as I recognized the person who was communicating with the reporter.
Holy crap! I really needed to start washing my mouth with soap; that was my brother, Bill Weasley and his very pregnant wife, Fleur Delacour Weasley!
I gasped, my eyes widened and my hands covered my mouth. They looked like the beautiful, powerful couple that they were. Fleur looked flawless in a peach dress robes, her pregnant stomach looked as though she had placed a football underneath. Bill on the other hand wore a black dress robe that remotely resembled a tux.
Fleur wasn't looking very pleased, but then again, she could scowl and still look like the supermodels from Wizard Vogue, a pregnant one at that. In fact, she looked tired and maybe a little cranky even though she smiled for the paparazzi. Having lived with her and her tantrums for so long, I could tell her mood like I could say my alphabets. It was that easy.
Perhaps Bill gave her a scolding on the way over or something, I concluded. It was not like my brother to give it, once he was set on something, he was adamant about it. Changing his mind was like touching the sky, impossible.
At least they weren't looking in my direction; there were no pots nearby for me to hide. Damn it, Ginny! You just had to complete that sentence!
I ducked as I saw them turning, making it look as though I was tying my shoelace, except, I didn't have lace and neither did I have shoes. I earned a strange look from a snooty, familiar looking woman whom I totally couldn't place where I had seen from. She saw me air-tying laces as I tried to buy time to figure out a way to hide myself.
My cloak! Eureka! Bingo! Hallelujah! I mentally promised myself to make heaps of chocolate truffles for Tonks, it had never occurred to me, how handy a cloak with a hood could be in situations like these.
I pulled it over my head and stood up. My hair was totally gone right now.
I caught up with Narcissa and stood beside her feeling like the Grim Reaper as the press took pictures. After that, I held my hand up and made way for her to walk like the good assistant that I was. For some reason, there was no protest from the press; they were silent even though they were still clicking pictures.
Narcissa looked a little tensed. It hadn't occurred to me that this was her first event after those Malfoy scandals. The club one, I squeezed her arm reassuringly as we walked through the crowd. An usher directed us to our seats on the very best table. It was equipped with a bubbly in a bucket full of ice and crystal goblets that I always had a fascination for.
I guided her to her seat; she awarded me with a questioning look when she realized that my hood was up. She was not the only one; of course, it did not help the fact that I looked like a death eater under all the dimmed lights. I got a lot of wary stares.
Oh chill alright, people; I'm not going to pull an Avada! Aren't hoods like in fashion now?
"Mrs Malfoy, Narcissa! What a pleasant surprise!" A haughty, female voice interrupted me from whatever thoughts I had just been having.
Narcissa and I both looked up at the same time only to see that woman who had given me a weird look earlier. She looked distinctively familiar.
"Oh Mrs Greengrass!" Narcissa exclaimed and stood up probably so that they could shower each other with air kisses and false greetings.
I smacked my head with my palm when I was sure that they were not paying attention to me. Of all the people!
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at my miserable situation. I couldn't cry the temptation to laugh was so strong; I had to stifle a giggle.
"I didn't know you were invited." Narcissa told Mrs Greengrass who sniffed at this harmless comment.
"Oh well, I'm here with Daphne, she is a huge fan you know. You look wonderful, Narcissa. You are glowing!" She replied, exuberantly, clearly not meaning every word she said.
I didn't have to be equipped in Leglimens to be able to translate the actual meaning of those words in her fickle mind. I rolled my eyes to myself wishing that the champagne was actually my favorite Cherry martini. At times like this, I seriously wish that I could pull a voldy and avada myself.
It was going to be a long night, thank Merlin that the bar was nearby.
"Draco is not back yet?" Mrs Greengrass questioned casually but I could see the plain motive in her evil eyes.
I felt a burst of irritation, this would probably be the millionth time that Narcissa would inform her that he was only due to return next week, after Christmas.
"He returns next week." Narcissa said briefly, I could sense a little agitation in her. Perhaps she was just antsy, or like me, annoyed but trying to keep her cool. I wouldn't blame her, if Mrs Greengrass could make someone like her who is as cool as a cucumber, there had to be something wrong with her common sense or something.
"What a pity. I was hoping that he could accompany my Astoria to the dance at ….."
"Next week." Narcissa interjected before turning her focus somewhere else. I tried not to laugh at the outrage on Mrs Greengrass's face as Narcissa tuned her out uninterestedly.
"Would you like a glass of water, Narcissa?" I asked her in a choked tone as I tried to shake the humour out of the situation.
She gave me a wry smile and nodded her head. I handed a goblet to her and she took a sip.
Bless us all, the fashion show finally started, I was awestruck at the intricate designs on the dressrobes, they looked practically fragile. Marvin watched the statuesque models pose on the ramp as there flashes of photographs being taken, of us included.
Thankfully, I wasn't sitting down, not because they lacked in terms of hospitality or anything but I just wanted to keep an eye on Bill and Fleur, who by the way, were having the time of their lives. Fleur would squeal every there was a new dress, clap excitedly and shriek a few words in French while Bill would stare at her incredulously, probably wondering if there was ever a day when males would understand the female obsession with accessories.
If I had galleons, I'd seriously invest all my money on Marvin Choque clothing, he really knew how to design. Oh well, with my next salary, I'll buy myself a new dress robe or something from him. Finally the first part of the fashion show was over, the fashion spectators applauded wildly, like me, seduced by his designs.
Let the socializing begin! Narcissa was brought around by Marvin as he introduced her to guests whom he thought would be influential for her networking list. She had this charm in her; I realized as she spoke to the others, she could make anyone feel good. Charisma; charismatic, yeah that was the perfect word to describe her with.
She moved around networking, left, right and centre. I hung back awkwardly earning strange looks from her new social contacts as my hood was still up. A few of them even asked about me, to which she replied thankfully in the most ordinary, airy manner.
"Oh, this is just my secretary, Ginevra."
At least, they didn't recognize me by Ginevra. Like I said, she was the only one who called me that. Everyone else knew me as Ginny.
She said that to OIiver Wood and Katie Bell too when they tried to peer at me out of curiosity, I had never known Oliver Wood because I only joined the Quidditch team after he graduated and I wasn't really familiar with Katie but I was pretty sure that they'd recognize the fiery mane of infamous, indistinguishable red hair.
I realized though, along the way, that Oliver and Katie were not the only people I knew whom were present. My ex-boyfriend, Dean Thomas was present and whoa, he hooked up with Romilda Vane. That boy crazy girl; honestly, she was so crazy, she made a Love Potion for Harry.
And because of that, until today, I'm exceptionally proud to say in my Harry Potter hardcore fan days, I never once thought of brewing him a Love Potion and neither did the thought ever cross my mind. HAH! So there!
A few others whom I recognized as ex-students from Durmstang and Beauxebatons, I didn't know them well enough to be able to tell recall their names, but I recognized a few as Fleur and her younger sister, Gabrielle's friends who had attended their wedding.
Of course, Fleur Delacour Weasley had obviously gotten to them; she was the whole reason for the recognition. Narcissa turned to mention something to me in the midst of her contact building process and when she realized that I wasn't paying attention, her gaze followed mine and landed on Fleur's.
"Isn't she your sister-in-law?" Narcissa commented, startling out of my stealth spying. Apparently, I sucked at that.
"Unfortunately." I muttered to myself, and nodded my head; I think Narcissa caught on to the fact that I wasn't a huge fan of Fleur Delacour Weasley however even if she did; she did not make it clear.
"Let's go and meet her, that way, you can talk to her too." Narcissa said kindly, I think she felt as though I was feeling bored and lonely. At least it answered one question, though. She did not hear me.
If we met Fleur, I'd be totally screwed; she'd demand an explanation as to why I was here. On the other hand, I couldn't leave Narcissa because she'd want an explanation too. So I just followed her lead as she headed right towards Fleur, my mind blasting me with millions of escape plans. Half of those were not fool-proofed.
As we came nearer, Narcissa called out to Fleur and on an impulse, I ducked doing the whole, 'I-am-tying-my-shoelace' thing again but without proper shoes that had laces. I earned a few weird looks as well.
"That's funny, I could've sworn, Ginevra was right behind me and suddenly she is not." Narcissa looked around, searching for me. I remained on the ground, the crowd hid me well and so did the dimmed lights.
"Hu izz Ginevra, Mrz Maalfoy?" Fleur asked her politely in her thick French accent.
Fleur thankfully had always recognized me as Ginny and we had not, thankfully, bonded over time, for her to know simple things about me, like my real name for example.
Narcissa looked at her in amazement and at that moment, my brother Bill decided to join the conversation. He shook hands with Narcissa and they chatted a little about the wizard stock market and some financial situation thing which was really just small and unimportant talk.
Trust me to be saved by my own brother. The irony. And bloody hell, the moment I finished that sentence in my thoughts, Bill had to ask them about their conversation, Ginevra's identity in front of Fleur was cleared really quickly and she wrinkled her face in distaste the moment she heard my name showing that she was not really a huge fan of me either.
Bill, on the other hand, straightened and his eyes narrowed with suspicion upon hearing my name.
That's it; I officially had to flee from here.
I made up my mind and went or rather crawled in a more literal sense away from the scene. Looks like fate was not on my side today, the exits were closed for security reasons. No one could leave the event until the show was over. Marvin really liked to show-off.
Did I mention that while planning an escape that would make Houdini proud, I twisted my ankle a couple of times lightly, it was throbbing badly. That was not the worst part; it was that Fleur's Marvin Choques were on the verge of being damaged. I'd take them to the cobblers tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I promised to myself.
Finally, managing to get in a direction, I was sure they wouldn't look; I leaned against a wall with my eyes closed, trying to catch my breath, feeling the rush of adrenaline swim through me. One thing was for sure, if I wasn't careful, I would become an adrenaline junkie one of these days and that involved being reckless.
I peered from the corner into the crowd, trying to find them just to ensure my personal safety and curse my luck they were nowhere to be found. Oh, damn!
Looks like I was going to have to crawl again, I sighed and walked down the small stairs to the floor. It was too dark for me to notice what I was walking on and being the clumsy git that I was, I tripped and fell, officially spraining my ankle and ruining Fleur's Marvin Choques in the process.
There was a huge commotion about it, I suppose, it wasn't everyday when someone fell down in a fashion show. I was right in the middle of display, trying not to shed tears of pain while people fussed over me. My hood had fallen off and frankly, that was the least of my concerns at the moment.
I was told to relax and close my eyes as someone wrapped ice around my swelling foot. It was hard to do that but I managed.
Of course, I couldn't relax for long, someone had gone to inform Narcissa, whoever who had recognized me as the hooded freak with her.
"Ginevra, are you alright?" The crowd parted for her to walk through, seriously, how much of power did this woman have?
I looked up at her and to my horror, Fleur was right behind.
"Ginny?" She waddled over only to stop near my feet and shriek in the process.
Not to mention that there was a huge puddle near my feet which was definitely not from the ice wrapped around my feet.
I was so screwed, big time.
I promised Draco would be back in this chapter, but I changed my mind, wanting to give y'all some insight on Draco and the Weasleys. No worries, he SHOULD be back in Chapter 7. Keep the reviews coming, thanks. ;p
Draco [suspicious]: Why are you wearing glasses?
Goyle aka Harry [deer caught in headlights look]: I was reading.
Draco [raised eyebrows]: I didn't know you could read.
-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
LOL. I loved this scene, it's adorable.
Got this off Twitter,
Knock! Knock!
Who's there?
You know….
You know who?
YES! Avada Kedavra! *green light* *silence*
Alright, we're done here.