As You Wish - Chapter 13
It felt like Ginny was waiting all night for him to return. Her emotions had run the gamut of curiosity, boredom, and, as loathe as she was to admit it, jealousy. The last one felt like a whisper, nagging the back of her mind as it teased her in only the way one's subconscious can.
If she lingered on it too long, she felt her cheeks flush and her body would need to rid itself of the rush of warmth it caused. Frantic to get rid of the energy building up inside of her, she began pacing around the living room, her Snuggie billowing beside her. This wouldn't do. She needed to relax.
Waving her TV off, Ginny ran upstairs and headed straight for her room. She threw her Snuggie onto her bed and headed toward the bathroom. She felt lucky that she had a lovely bathtub that was perfect for soaking in. She noticed too many of her Muggle masters only had showers and didn't seem to understand the luxury of a nice, warm bath.
The genie started the water in her tub, waiting until it was the right temperature before preparing her bath time necessities.
She made sure to close her bedroom and bathroom door, ensuring that no accidents would happen should her master suddenly return home. In the linen closet, she took out a face mask to wear while she was in the tub. While there were quite a few things Ginny now enjoyed doing the Muggle way, skincare was in the top three. It made her feel like a queen and she was fascinated by all of the different ways you could customize a routine. She first learned about Muggle skincare from her sixth master, a 20-something Korean American woman who found the Bottle while on vacation in New York. She thought she was simply buying a bottle of liquor to share with her friends. Bless.
This woman was one of the few masters who treated Ginny not like a plaything, but like a friend. They were around the same age and Ginny felt a camaraderie with her. They shared secrets, their hopes, their dreams, and Ginny even confided in her that she would still be magical even if she wasn't a genie. Ginny thought that Jen, her English-language name, would be the one to free her, but Jen used her last wish on helping her mother recover from cancer. And Ginny couldn't begrudge that.
So she moved on, thinking about Jen anytime she used a sheet mask, wondering if they would still be friends if she was a free woman.
The redhead waved her hand to conjure up a small speaker and placed it on the counter near her sink. It began playing music perfect for allowing your mind to either focus on other tasks, or aimlessly wander. Another wave conjured up lit candles of various sizes, allowing Ginny to turn off the bathroom lights and bask in the ambient glow of the candles.
She sunk into the tub, allowing herself to fully submerge under the water, letting herself take in the sounds of the surface from underneath. She closed her eyes and could feel herself begin to float, slowing rising back up to the top. Keeping her eyes closed, she breathed out, just letting her face peek above the waterline. In here, she could feel like her mind was a blank slate.
She began to organize her thoughts. The biggest things at the forefront were her relationships. Ginny thought she was emotionally steeled enough to eventually face Harry, but she wasn't and she needed to figure out why. Her eyebrows scrunched as she frowned, trying to figure out why she still seemed to have feelings for him.
She thought back to how she felt when she first became a genie. She remembered feeling stuck at that point in her life. As though she only had a single set path before her, with no opportunity to deviate. She remember how as she held the Bottle, she found herself seeing a new path, just as equally bright, urging her to have faith that it was okay for her to take time to figure out what she really wanted out of life.
She then thought back to her time with Harry. It was almost as though her feelings were perfunctory. She had only been in two other relationships besides Harry, but it was always meant to be Harry. She loved him the moment she laid eyes on him. Her 10-year-old heart felt it was going to burst the first time she saw him on Platform 9 3/4. And when he saved her from Tom Riddle? It was clearly a sign that he was to be her knight.
Ginny sat up, grabbed her shampoo bottle, and started to wash her hair. She began massaging her scalp, forcing herself to think harder. She allowed herself a giggle as she thought of a song she heard in one of those musicals she watched with her second master. Something about washing a man right out of her hair. While appropriate, she didn't need to linger too much on the song or else she'd never get anything done. Back to the matter at hand.
As the years went on, and Ginny and Harry actually began dating, it initially felt right. He was doing his part and she was doing hers. She was with the boy she could only dream about and she felt like only she could help him overcome his pain. She continued massaging her scalp and thought back to her first time with Harry. It was the summer the war started and Ginny was able to sneak him into her room. She was too excited to believe that he was there, with her. She now realized that this was a desperate attempt at additional intimacy after he broke up with her due to his noble quest. Everything felt frantic. Neither one knew what to do and it, again, felt perfunctory. Like this was what two people in the middle of a war did the moment they were alone. There was none of the romance Ginny was hoping for: just still-mostly clothed bodies, sweaty, and trying to rush through it should Ginny's family find out.
Harry came and Ginny laid on her bed, wondering if she was supposed to feel anything too. After they had cleaned up, he gave her a brief kiss and a whispered "I love you" before leaving her room. It almost felt like a consolation prize for being his pillar of strength at Hogwarts.
She hoped things would change after the war, but things still felt the same: perfunctory. Each time they had sex prior to Ginny disappearing felt like something they both thought they should do because it's what couples did. And they both told the other that they love them, so why would they want to be with anyone else?
Ginny rinsed out her hair and began applying her conditioner, grabbing a wide-toothed comb to help detangle it.
In her daze, she let her mind wander to the present. Maybe part of her wanted to unpack her current feelings. She breathed out, feeling her eyebrows scrunch again in thought.
Once he got over the initial shock of her being his genie, Draco treated her like one of his friends. He teased her, but his words felt harmless; lacking the venom they might have had at school. He respected her opinion on things and allowed her to be her own person. There was a warmth about him now that she found fascinating. He knew how to comfort her, while still respecting her boundaries, and she found a safety in his company that she wasn't expecting. He literally made a place for her in his home and she realized that she felt more like the person she was always supposed to be when around him. It was a feeling that she hadn't felt for years and here was Draco Malfoy, making her feel like that in a couple of months.
The more she focused in on him, the more her body felt warm. Starting from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, she felt as though he had just given her a hug and she was resting her head on his shoulder, about to take a deep exhale in contentment.
Was this what truly being attracted to someone felt like? She was scared to say it was something more than simple attraction. While she may be feeling this way, she didn't want to assume his feelings and feel foolish.
Before she could feel too low about that train of thought, she heard a knock on her bathroom door.
"Ginny?"
Her eyes widened. The subject of her most recent thoughts was finally home.
Another knock. "Ginny? Are you okay in there?"
Draco could hear the music turning off and water sloshing about.
"I'm fine! I decided to take a bath since I didn't know what time you would be home. I'll be out in a moment."
He chuckled. "It's okay; take your time. I should probably shower myself, so I'll see you in the living room when we're done."
Ginny scrambled out of her tub as fast as she could without injuring herself. She was pouting. She was petulant. How dare he dangle his presence in front of her like that?
That thought made her gasp, placing a hand over her mouth to try to stifle it lest he hear. But it confirmed to her what she was so hesitant to acknowledge.
She, at the very least, had a crush on her new master.
Draco walked downstairs, hair still damp from his shower, and made his way into the living room.
Ginny was there in her normal spot, but something felt off. She wasn't paying attention to him, so he took the moment to figure out what was so different.
She was wearing an oversized sweater, similar to her normal uniform of a Snuggie or a sweatsuit. As he drew his eyes down, though, he could feel his face getting hot. Instead of pants, the sweater was a dress and that dress cut off just above her knees, giving him a glimpse of her thighs. How did they still look so strong after not playing Quidditch for almost a decade? And suddenly Draco didn't know if he was into the idea of Ginny crushing him with her thighs or if he was like some 19th century ponce who couldn't even handle the sight of a woman's lecherous ankle.
He thought being buried between her thighs was a much nicer option since it gave him easier access to — oh-kay. It's time to stop right there. He did not need to embarrass himself like that in front of Ginny. He did, however, tuck that little thought away for later. As a treat to himself.
Ginny finally noticed him hovering over the couch. "Welcome home," she said with a smile. "I'm sure there's a lot you want to talk about, but I'll let you decide if you want to let me know now or tomorrow." As she looked at him, she couldn't tell if his eyes were glazed over from being tired or being in lust. The mere thought made her feel tingly. The sweater dress was an experiment and her hypothesis might have been proven correct.
Draco was careful to sit down on the couch in his now normal spot, near her feet. She had fuzzy striped socks on and that, combined with the sweater dress, was almost too much. It was so playful, like Ginny was toying with him. He thought he'd probably let her if she asked. He looked at her face and it showed no ulterior motive; simply the face of someone happy to see a friend.
That's right, he thought. She's just more friendly with me now. Maybe she feels more comfortable around me.
"I figured we could relax for now. Daphne's father spent all night about a possible business deal and I don't think my brain could take anything else." Which was mostly true. All he wanted was to enjoy Ginny's company and not think about his conversation with Daphne.
"Sounds good to me. Did you want me to put something on TV for us to watch?"
"Sure, I'll let you decide." He smiled, but he finally felt as tired as he initially said he was.
Ginny had recently started exploring various Muggle disaster movies. She had already watched a bunch of natural disaster ones, which made her think that surely the wizarding world could do more to help should those occur. But she was currently fixated on disaster movies that had monsters involved. Luckily, for her, she had plenty to choose from and she was working her way through the various Godzilla movies she stumbled upon.
She put on a newer one that she thought Draco would enjoy that mostly focused on the humans and didn't show much of the titular creature until the later half of the film. Satisfied with her choice, she waved a hand, waiting for 2 bowls of popcorn to fall into their laps. Another wave and she lifted up her popcorn bowl to allow a blanket to drift down, covering her legs and Draco's lap.
Ginny wiggled herself deeper into the couch, lifting up the hood to her sweater dress as a way to help her set the mood and focus. She dimmed the lights of the living room and waved her hand in front of her TV, allowing the movie to begin.
"So you mean to tell me that that monster was entirely fake?"
It was the next morning and Draco and Ginny were seated at his kitchen table, eating breakfast. He was fascinated by the idea of Muggles being able to create things entirely out of thin air, without the use of magic.
Ginny chuckled as she placed down her cup of tea. "One of my previous masters called them 'special effects.'"
"Okay, but does that mean the movie you showed me and Blaise had these so called 'special effects?'"
Another giggle from Ginny. "Yes, although I was told that movie used a lot of practical, or real, things to make it look like that."
Draco squinted, not entirely sure he believed Ginny's explanation. "Is there another one of these movies we could watch?"
That response made Ginny laugh in earnest as she clutched her stomach and bent over. Her laughter reverberated through the downstairs rooms. Draco looked down at his plate and smiled. He had never heard her laugh like that before. It made him feel good knowing that he could bring her that much joy. For a brief moment, it made him forget about his worries and insecurities regarding her.
"Yes, there is," Ginny replied, finally calming down. "However, before we get to that, don't you think you should tell me about your dinner with Daphne's family?"
Draco's early morning malaise turned into churlishness since he had to talk about his conversation with Daphne after dinner. He almost wanted to give some excuse to stop it from happening, but he remembered how big of a deal his mother made the last time he was avoiding Ginny and thought it would be best to actually be an adult and talk.
"Like I said last night, I spent most of it getting interrogated by Reginald Greengrass over my family's company. I know he's been eyeing it for a while, but we have no reason to sell it off. Business has stabilized a lot since our profits are no longer affected by my father's, meaning Voldemort's, whims."
"And…?" Ginny asked with a knowing look. Dammit. He couldn't get this one thing past her.
"And," Draco began with a sigh, "I made plans for Daphne to come over here for dinner in a couple of weeks so she can meet you as Crystal."
"And there's nothing else you're hiding from me?" Ginny squinted her eyes at him, suspicious that he was yet again trying to get out of having a difficult conversation with her.
He pursed his lips and looked up, thinking. "Well, I guess the only other thing to add is that Daphne did figure out that Crystal is my genie. She said she wouldn't mention anything to her family or Astoria, but expect her to not be surprised by you as Crystal."
Ginny was chewing on a piece of her omelet as he spoke. She supposed that did make things a bit easier for her. Somehow the thought of Daphne knowing Crystal was a genie relaxed her. "Thank you for the notice. I'll make sure to be on my best behavior during dinner with her."
This time, her master laughed. "I wouldn't worry too much about Daphne. She puts on a tough front, but she's just very, hmm, focused, is what I would call it. Her and Astoria are extremely competitive, so sometimes that can be the only thing she can think about. But if her sister isn't around to egg her on, she can relax a bit more."
Ginny eyed Draco wearily. "If you say so."
"I'll be here with you both the entire time, so I don't think you have to worry too much. If anything gets out of hand, I'll be there to deal with it."
His genie nodded in reply, picking up her tea cup and taking a sip. Like he said, it would be fine. She had nothing to worry about.
A/N - Thank you for reading! And thank you for the continued support y'all have been giving this story!