The Laws Have Changed - Chapter 9
He realized a lot of things during that second repeat of the summer between his sixth and seventh year.
He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed lest Blaise or Pansy got any ideas. They were on the train ride back to school and he was grateful for the wide berth the other houses now gave the Slytherin students. He got a compartment to himself, only allowing the pair in front of him to share in his silent company.
Blaise's perfectly trained passivity now acted as a safety net. The Dark Lord could abide neutrality from pureblooded families as long as they didn't stand in his way. And his friend was doing an impeccable impersonation of Switzerland.
He felt bad for Pansy though. Her parents were wading chest deep into predatory waters, trying to lure in their daughter who was perfectly content to stay on the shore. After seeing the transformation he went through, she began to play Blaise's plan of careful neutrality. He felt Pansy was still more opportunistic than his dorm mate, though, and he was curious if she would toe the line in this life, too.
He thought back to his realizations. The first of which was that most of the pureblood families were fucking idiots. His time spent with Ginny and her, unfortunate, knowledge of the Dark Lord made him come to the conclusion that it's hard to continue extolling the virtues of a pureblooded society when following the orders of a half-blood.
This also made him knock down the pedestal he had still been putting his father on. Thinking of his father as simply a man, simply human, gave him the confidence he needed to continue on his own path.
This second viewing of that summer also made him question just how much Dumbledore was willing to sacrifice in order to achieve the end goal of defeating the Dark Lord. The first time he witnessed Professor Burbage's torture and eventual murder, he was deeply unsettled, but he thought it was due to how she begged Severus; believing the man to be on her side. But now that he knew Severus held stronger allegiances to Potter and his lot, watching the innocent woman die for the crime of teaching about Muggles cast his former Head of House in a new light.
Why didn't Severus do anything to prevent her capture? Why didn't he warn the other professors of what was to come? He never claimed to fully understand the inner machinations of the irascible middle-aged man, but he at least hoped the purported "good" side did more to save the people they claimed to protect.
He briefly thought to Ginny's words during one of their last meetings. She said the Dark Lord was not going to make war easy, for anyone, and maybe Professor Burbage's death was one of the things Severus had to endure in order to keep himself fully integrated in the Dark Lord's inner circle. Didn't mean he had to like it, but he begrudgingly understood the catch-22 Severus was in.
He also realized that using the Cruciatus Curse continued to be one of the worst experiences of his life, despite Aunt Bella's insistence that it was useful to train lessers like the animals they are. Performing it was just as bad as experiencing it, in his opinion, which was probably why the Dark Lord commanded him to torture Dolohov and Rowle as much as he did. It was as though he could sense his overwhelming discomfort at casting it, even in this life.
In those moments, he was actually grateful for the grueling training Aunt Bella gave him in Occlumency. Thoughts of Ginny kept him just enough in check that his sanity didn't completely break down from the pain he was forced to inflict.
The third thing he realized was that, despite Dumbledore's death, the Dark Lord had always intended to let his family fall out of favor. It gave the half-blooded piece of shit a visible sick thrill to see his father, a man of great power and pride, grovel. The scion of the most prevalent pureblooded house and his wife, the daughter of another powerful lineage, were brought to their knees in their ancestral home; desperately scrounging for any scrap of power like the lackeys Aunt Bella so clearly despised.
It was discomforting seeing the clear desperation in his parents' eyes. It was jarring to see his father disheveled and sleep deprived as he went from Azkaban to a prison of his own making. His mother became more calculating and he could see the wheels constantly spinning, thinking of ways to ensure the longevity of her family.
But the last thing he realized was something that seemed almost too perfect in its convenience. Despite his slipping grades from last term, the Dark Lord insisted that he be made Head Boy. It was considered to be an easy way to ensure the student body stayed in line as the new "professors" could only be in so many places at once. This gift of sorts was new for him as he wasn't afforded such a role in his previous life, but he wasn't about to complain or question it.
Because what the Dark Lord didn't account for was that he would have his own private room at school now, making it all to easy to keep Ginny safe should the time come.
That is, if she still wanted to be with him.
She was really starting to regret kissing Harry before the end of last term.
It truly had seemed like a good idea at the time, but she realized that she had inadvertently given him false hope.
Things seemed fine at the start.
She wasn't above giving basic empathy, even if she no longer found herself attracted to him. He had the safety of the entire world riding on his shoulders; a pressure she knew she could never hope to understand. When she began to notice the more urgent looks of longing he started giving her after that initial kiss, though, she knew how grave of an error she had made.
This error was made even worse when she extended her damnable empathy every time she saw him before he finally went off to save the world.
The first instance was after the nearly disastrous attempt to bring him to the Burrow from Surrey.
Tom had decided to ambush the group to terrible results. His beloved Hedwig had died and they were betrayed by the bumbling idiot that was Mundungus Fletcher; effectively ending the life of Mad-Eye Moody. Hell, her own brother lost himself an ear during that mess of a retrieval.
So when she saw Harry, upset and frustrated at the events of the night, she couldn't help the embrace she gave him as a means of comfort. All the while her words to Draco about war rang in her ears.
The second mistake was giving him a hug on his seventeenth birthday. She had a feeling that what he really wanted was a repeat of that kiss, but she had to be steadfast. A hug could be seen as platonic. She hugged her family, she hugged her friends, and because Harry was in that weird space between friend and family, she reasoned it was okay to provide him with a bit of comfort on his special day.
But when she overheard a disguised Harry try to dissuade Viktor Krum at Bill and Fleur's wedding, claiming that she had a "big and jealous boyfriend," she could've smacked herself. And him.
One kiss. One kiss — and two hugs, but who's counting? — and Harry's implying to acquaintances that she was his. Did she have a boyfriend? Yes, but he was far from the imposing figure he once was. In her opinion, at least. Although she did concede that the present, ahem, circumstances made it difficult to tell if he had any jealous tendencies regarding her. She supposed he might've if they weren't in the middle of a war, but it could be interesting to see if he did once everything was over.
However, any irritation at Harry that night was dashed when Kingsley notified them of Minister Scrimgeour's death.
Everything seemed to move too quickly at that point. As soon as the missive ended, they were attacked and she found herself throwing hexes left and right; just barely seeing Hermione grab Harry and Ron to Apparate away. They weren't coming back, that much she implicitly knew. They weren't coming back until they were ready to face Tom.
The fight ended as soon as it began once the Death Eaters realized Harry was gone. But their efforts had convinced her of one thing: they needed to prepare.
As she sat on the train ride into Hogwarts, now aware of how the next school year was potentially going to unfold, she pulled Luna and Neville aside. They were all resolute in their shared decision. Dumbledore's Army was needed now more than ever. She knew it was safe to discuss amongst the older Gryffindors still in attendance, while Luna decided to bring it up to her older housemates. They all still had their charmed coins, so notifying everyone else would be relatively simple. The coins were discreet and could be mixed in with any student's pocket change should they be inspected.
When she entered the Great Hall, in her little trio, she was feeling quite pleased with herself. This was something she had taken the initiative on. Something she could kind of call her own. It gave her purpose; made her feel like she wasn't relegated to the sidelines and she could do something useful in their fight against Tom.
She listened to Snape's speech with disinterest, unsurprised at the machinations Tom had set up for the school year. When he reminded the student body of their Head Boy and Head Girl, though, she straightened a little in her seat; discreetly trying to make eye contact with their new Head Boy.
He was already way ahead of her, though, and when she made eye contact with him, he smirked for the briefest of moments. Not one of his smirks that could pass for a sneer, but one that contained amusement at his situation. She raised an eyebrow and glanced back down at her empty plate, biting her tongue to keep her face carefully blank.
She wanted to laugh at how easy Tom had inadvertently made things for them. She supposed he thought he was being incredibly clever; not only had he installed some of his lackeys as professors, but he made his youngest disciple the highest authority in the student body. She could feel her shoulders relax as she realized that Draco must've done enough of a convincing job over the summer that Tom didn't sense his waining loyalty.
The only problem now was, how would she gain access to Draco's room?
Her answer came to her almost a week later.
Seeing him and not being able to touch him was becoming torturous. She knew they were playing a dangerous game and she still trusted him, but it was almost too much to bear.
She should've known that he'd find a solution, though, and it came to her one evening in the library.
The library was, luckily, one of the few areas that the new professors stayed away from, so when she saw a flash of his hair in between one of the stacks as she walked by, she discreetly followed.
He stood for a moment at the end of an aisle near the back, far enough away from prying eyes, before making eye contact with her. He said nothing, only glancing at a stack of books on the second shelf. He walked away, lest someone question why he wasn't harassing her, and she waited for a moment. Once she was sure no one else was nearby, she strolled over to where he previously stood. Wedged underneath a massive tome was a small piece of parchment. She smiled when she saw his surprisingly messy script.
2nd floor, 3rd hallway on the right off the main corridor. Portrait of a sleeping dragon. Password is lemon tart.
He was pacing. Then he was seated. Then he was running a hand through his hair. Then he was jiggling his legs. And then he started pacing again.
He couldn't stick around long enough to see if she got his note, but he was certain that she did. The only problem was that he didn't know if she would be bold enough to try to see him tonight.
He was about to sit down again when he heard his portrait door creak open and then gently close.
He held his breath as he turned, letting out a shaky exhale when he saw her smile.
"Hi," was all she managed to say before he raced over to envelop her in the tightest hug he'd ever given.
He heard her sigh as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he couldn't get enough of her giggles when he ever-so-slightly lifted her up off the floor.
He kissed her forehead then leaned down to place his head on her shoulder. "I was worried you wouldn't come back to me."
She grabbed his head between her hands, forcing him to look at her. She slowly pressed her lips to his. "I couldn't stay away once everything kind of fell into place." His raised eyebrow prompted her to continue. "After Harry told me what he saw leading up to Dumbledore's death that night, a lot of things started to make sense." She brought her hands down to hold his. "I thought I'd be mad when I found out, but I thought about what I said to you regarding Tom making war difficult for everyone. And I realized that he had given you that task on purpose. Part of him probably wanted you to fail."
He held her close again. "I only made it this far because I carried you with me."
He could feel her nod and he barely caught the small sniffle she made. When she looked up again, her eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"I'm so happy to see that you're okay."
He sighed, knowing that he would eventually have to share with her what he was forced to do over the summer, but that could wait for another time.
Instead, he led her over to the loveseat in front of his fireplace, a golden glow encircling the area, and pulled her into his lap.
"I have to say, this is a definite upgrade from where we would normally meet," she murmured, snuggling into his chest.
He gave some kind of affirmative noise, too wrapped up in the sensation of holding her again. She hadn't crossed the bridge. Even better was the fact that she realized what he had been assigned to do and understood. She understood. In that moment, he knew he would be spending the rest of his new life showing her how treasured she was. He wanted to give her every part of himself, he wanted to shower her with the kind of luxuries she so clearly deserved.
Basking in the companionable silence she enjoyed so much, he realized a few more things.
The first was that he may have gotten a bit taller over the summer since she felt smaller than he remembered. Before, she'd have to stretch her neck a bit to place her head comfortably on his shoulder when seated. But now, she could rest her head on his chest with ease, letting her hair drape over him. He kind of liked that more than he was expecting.
The thing he realized the most, though, was that certain assets of hers felt different. When he nearly crushed her in his embrace earlier, he felt more of a cushion between his chest and hers. And her bum felt a little rounder as she sat in his lap. Not that he was complaining in any sense of the word, but he got the feeling that if things were slightly more normal, he would probably be fighting off the advances of boys that deserved her more than he did.
"Draco?" She sat up, adjusting herself so she was straddling him.
"Yeah, Gin?" His breath hitched in his throat at her sudden movement. It had been so long since he'd seen her and he needed to keep it together. It wouldn't do to behave like the only slightly depraved seventeen year-old boy he was. So if his hormones could just shut the fuck up, that would be great.
She sighed and looked down. Her brows were furrowed, which meant she was thinking about something serious.
"I think it's only fair to tell you this now that I'm here with you in person."
Well, that sure as shit didn't bode well for him. "Did something happen over the summer?"
She began worrying her lip, eyes getting glassy again as she seemed to struggle with what she needed to tell him.
"I kissed Harry after what happened with Dumbledore." Before he could respond, she pushed forward. "It was a moment of weakness for me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to cross the bridge, so I did it as some kind of test."
"And how did that work out for you?" He couldn't help the stilted tone of his words. It was especially irrational considering she was in his room, cuddling with him on his sofa.
"Terribly. It felt wrong. I was comparing him to you the entire time." She chanced a glance up at him through her lashes and he was failing to keep the smirk from appearing on his face.
"Did you now?" He let his hand rest on one of her thighs. Hearing that she kept thinking about him while kissing Potter was the biggest ego boost he'd had in a while and maybe it wouldn't hurt to give in to his depravity for a little bit.
She flushed at his simple touch as she nodded. "I feel like such an asshole because I'm pretty sure I gave him false hope during the worst possible time, but it doesn't change the fact that I like being with you more."
He brought a hand up to cradle her face, his thumb wiping away the one tear that had fallen. "I know you — and I, if needed — will handle the situation with Potter at the appropriate time." The hand still on her thigh gave it a small squeeze. "However, considering you're here, with me, I think it's safe to say that I have nothing to worry about," he mumbled as he brought his lips to hers.
A/N - Thank you for reading or commenting! I appreciate y'all! I also had to give these two a little bit of fluff to make up for the last chapter lol.
And a special thank you to Longxlive for their review on chapter 8! I'm thankful for your kind words and they gave me a little boost of encouragement.
And and, before I forget, I'm participating in a D/G Fic Fest through the Draco x Ginny Discord server! The fics are submitted anonymously, but I have TWO that will be released on Ao3. I also have my extra smutty story that I can only post on Ao3 due to all of the stuff happening with . So if you'd like to follow along on there, you can find my profile under the username Alexandria_Malfoy (for some reason link embeds are not working)