"Are you nervous?"
"Of course I'm nervous."
"You don't have to be," he reassures me. "Now, I'm going to push. I don't want you to freak out, okay?"
I nod my head and close my eyes.
"Open your eyes," he scolds and I exhale slowly before opening them. "Just remember what I told you and everything will be fine."
"Okay," I say in a small voice. When he pushes my boat out so it's gliding on the river, I try not to panic. "What if I fall out?" I ask in fear as I peer down at the green water that is way too close for my comfort.
"This is a very calm river," he says as I use the paddle to control the movement of the boat just like he told me. "There is barely any white water here and I made you wear that life jacket for a reason... You couldn't drown even if you wanted to."
I tug on the bulky blue vest before putting my hands on the long paddles on each side of the boat like he taught me. "Why aren't you wearing one?" I ask in suspicion. He's just wearing a pair of shorts and a cotton Slytherin house t-shirt. "What if you fall in?"
"I can swim," he says like I was a fool for asking. "And the water isn't very deep." He glances at me. "If you would have let me teach you how to swim instead of distracting me with that sexy swimsuit then you wouldn't have to wear it… but here we are."
"You were the one who got me that swim suit," I mutter and then he gives me a devilish smirk that I can't help but laugh at.
When I showed up at weird Clubhouse Five this morning, Draco was waiting for me with a smirk on his face. I questioned him about my job and what I was supposed to be doing, but he just shrugged me off and Apparated us to some outdoor rec park that I've never heard of. He rented two small boats and a life jacket before walking us down to this freaking river and making me get in after a short, impatient lesson.
"Are you sure my things are going to be okay?" I ask cautiously. He had taken my bag and heels and hid them along with his messenger bag among some trees. He promised me no one would be able to find them after he put a concealment charm on them, but I'm still nervous about it. My whole life is in my bag.
"Ginny, I'm a perfectly competent wizard," he says like I had offended him. "I can perform a concealment charm, thank you," he snaps and I nod my head as we travel along. "What do you think so far?" he asks as I try to steer the boat around a tree branch in the water.
I take a second to look around once the menacing branch is behind me. The river is surrounded by tall, thick trees that are heavy with green summer foliage and there are crumbling rocks on the banks. A few birds fly overhead and I shield my eyes from the sun as I watch their progression across the sky.
"It's pretty out here," I point out. The day is beautiful and the weather is just perfect. It's warm- but there is a slight breeze that comes whooshing through every once in a while, ruffling my hair and the leaves above. I'm grateful to be out here instead of stuck at Folk Hills and I try not to feel guilty again. "I don't think I hate this so much," I say and he laughs.
"Well, I'm glad you don't hate it," he says with a smile. I smile back, enjoying the way he looks. It makes my stomach flutter in a wonderful way and I'm reminded again about how much I like him.
We seem to be the only people out on the water, and I let the current take me downstream as Draco and I talk.
"I read in the paper that your brother and Potter were in Knockturn Alley a couple of days ago," he says as he rows beside me.
"Yeah?" I say as I try to make my boat go to the right because I keep on leaning uncomfortably to the left.
If I fall in, I swear I might die.
"Yes," he says. "The paper said they looked very upset and they quoted some unnamed source that admitted they had been missing all summer."
I glance at him. He's wearing those thick rimmed sunglasses so I can't see his eyes.
"They left the night before my birthday," I admit because I'm still bitter about it and he knows they've been gone, anyways. I put the paddle on my lap and let the current take me as I fix my head band. My hair keeps getting in my eyes, so I pull it all back. "Harry, Ron, and Hermione just up and left without telling anyone. They have my parents worried sick for them. We haven't heard from them since."
"What were they doing?" he asks and I shrug my shoulders before picking up the paddle again.
"They never tell me anything," I say honestly. "I don't care what they're doing."
When I look at him again, he smiles.
"When you were reading the paper, did you also notice the article about McGonagall?" I ask with my jaw tight. "They said it was a robbery gone wrong." Just like the Order had said.
"Yes, I saw that," he says seriously. "How did you know before the papers did?"
"If it was a robbery gone wrong, then where is her body?" I question, ignoring his question. "Why hasn't anyone asked that question?"
"How did you know that information?" he presses again as we pass through a section that's totally shaded by the tall trees.
"You know that my family believes that you-know-who is back," I say because I don't feel safe saying his name out in the open. "They have people over," I say, trying to be careful, but wanting to talk to someone about it. "They know things."
"My parents have meetings too," he says in a deep voice as he stares at me. Some light breaks through the leaves and freckles his body with sunshine. "They know things as well."
"Do you spy on them like I do?" I ask and he smirks at me.
"I don't have to," he says and before I can question him further, he cuts me off. "Make sure you go to the right here," he says as he starts turning his boat that way. I follow him. His t-shirt is Slytherin green with silver writing and the back of his shirt has his last name printed towards the top. It looks comfortable. I wonder if he'll let me wear it. "My mother says that she wrote to you and invited you to come to the Manor earlier than intended." he says.
I nod my head as I think about the lovely blonde owl that came tapping on my window with a blue envelope tied to its leg- my name so beautifully written in silver ink. Her pet was nothing at all like Draco's haughty eagle owl that never left me alone the week that I was determined to ignore him. He pecked at my fingers and rapped at my window… seemingly annoyed when I sent him off with the unopened letters back to where he came.
"The thank you letter was a nice touch," he says, tilting his head towards mine. "I don't think she expected it."
The way he's smiling at me makes me think that he's proud that I thought of it. I don't have the heart to tell him it was Daphne's idea.
"She's very intimidating, your mother," I say seriously. "I'm nervous about the whole thing... What happens at a debutante ball anyways?"
"Well, the girls get introduced by their fathers and then there's a lot of dancing," he answers. My boat starts swaying towards the left again where a large tree branch is sticking out right at head level. I try to paddle away. "My mother turned it into a charity event, of course, so they'll have dance cards that people will donate money to be on," he says, giving me a quick glance. "Don't worry. You'll only be dancing with me. You're still too new for my mother to exploit you for a charitable cause just yet."
"I'm going to run into this thing," I say in a panic. I'm not even listening to what he's saying anymore. The water is making waves, pushing me towards the tree branch. "Draco, I'm going to hit it!"
"Calm down," he says with a laugh. "Just duck your head when you get close."
I bend down and sigh in relief when I survive. I exhale slowly and try to paddle my way back.
"All better?" he asks, giving me an amused smile. I nod my head. "Did you see your life flash before your eyes?"
"Don't tease me," I say with a fake little pout that makes him laugh again.
"Now, do you see that rippling water up there?" he asks, nodding ahead of us. I nod my head. "I want you to follow my lead. There's a small drop off there, so you have to go into the middle and immediately get to the right side," he says. "Just follow me, right?"
"Right," I say with a head nod. "What kind of dancing is at the ball?" I ask to get back on track. I can't picture Mrs. Malfoy grooving to modern music, to be honest.
"Formal dancing," he says as he rows in front of me in his sleek green boat. "You don't have to worry too much about it," he adds when I frown at him. "The songs that have actual steps… we can sit out if you don't know them… and I'll be leading you in the rest. You don't have to fret. Pay attention now."
I try to pay attention. I really do, but the drop off looks more like a small waterfall and it makes me panic. I nearly scream as my boat flops over it and I'm so preoccupied with not tipping over that I forgot to paddle to the right like Draco said. I get stuck on one of the rocks, unable to move forward.
"Really?" I hear him sneer sarcastically as I try to get the boat to move. No, it's definitely stuck. "You would," he says as he hops out of his boat to come rescue me.
He holds onto his boat and swims towards me to give me a push. After I'm back on the water, he pulls his boat onto the rock so he can get back in. "I'm sorry," I say as I start paddling away. I watch him get himself off the rock and paddle beside me again.
"It's your first time," he says. "I can't expect you to be a professional."
"How long is this river?" I ask with a serious frown because my arms are starting to hurt.
"This river runs a long way," he answers and I make a face at the thought of going any further. "But we're getting off soon. I don't understand how you can be so nervous about this but you can ride a broom in the sky like it was nothing."
"I can't drown in the air," I point out and he shakes his head.
We row in silence for a while before I start thinking about Delsia and the club. "Is it right that this is happening?" I ask and he puts his glasses to the top of his head, finally letting me see his eyes. "I mean, I should be at work."
"Summer's almost over. I wanted you to enjoy it," is all he says as I paddle along beside him.
"It just doesn't seem fair to anyone else."
"Would you rather be there behind that counter?" he asks sharply and I shake my head.
"It just doesn't feel right," I whisper as I think about my talk with Delsia. "And... I don't want people thinking bad things about me." I admit in a soft voice and he scoffs.
"If people think bad things about you, it's probably because they're jealous." he says and then he gives me a charming smile. "Not everyone can have an amazing boyfriend like you do."
"Yeah," I say dryly. "Amazingly pompous."
"But you love it," he says as he puts his sunglasses back down and faces forward.
More than he probably knows, actually.
When the run is done, Draco helps me get out of the boat and he carries them both to shore as I sit in the grass and take off the bulky life jacket. I'm almost proud of myself for not tipping the boat or having a panic attack on the water and I find myself smiling a little to myself. I feel like I'm a step closer to getting over that particular fear.
Yay for me.
"We have some time before we have to head back," he says as he pulls out his wand from his pocket and waves it a few times until our bags appear. He dries his clothes and pulls out a blanket from his bag, setting it on the ground as I look up at the sky. Such a clear and sunny day. He pulls an apple out of his bag and cleans it with his shirt before sitting on the blanket, leaning his back against a tree.
"Come here."
I crawl over to him and sigh when I reach the blanket. It's soft and way more comfortable than the grass.
"Have you told your parents about me yet?" he asks as I sit between his legs. He props his feet up on either side of me as he takes a bite from the apple.
Will you be brave for me?
"No," I answer honestly and I feel guilty all over again remembering our conversation about it. Does it bother him? It would bother me if he did that to me… but I just know what they would do. "It's not because I don't want to," I try to explain. "They… I mean they would just lock me up forever, honestly. I wish our parents didn't hate each other. It's so stupid."
"My parents don't hate you," he points out. "Why would your parents hate me?" I don't answer as I bite the inside of my cheek. "Oh," he whispers as his free hand dances up my arm. "Not as tolerant as you all would like to pretend, are they?"
There's a pause. I hear birds chirping in the trees above us and bees buzzing along the grass.
"You're right," I whisper, not liking the thought.
He must sense how sad that makes me so he bends down and kisses my shoulder, putting his right arm around my middle to rest on my stomach. He stays there for a moment, his lips pressed to my skin as I place my hand over his and turn my face slightly. He gives me a gentle smile and then leans in to kiss me.
"Do you even know why our families hate each other?" he asks. Pulling back as I lean against his chest and place my hand on his knee. I shake my head.
"Do you?" I ask as I play with the edge of his shorts. I grab the apple from him and take a bite on the untouched side.
"Yes, I know everything," he says I can practically feel him smirking.
"It's silly to have a blood feud that no one but you remembers," I admit after I swallow and he laughs. It rumbles in his chest against my back.
"It's part of our history," he says as he takes my free hand and holds it up against his. Of course, his is much bigger than mine and I muse about the difference as he continues to talk. "It's actually an interesting story."
"Could you tell it to me?" I ask as I thread my fingers through his. I take another bite of the apple.
"Yes," he says, smirking against my neck. "It all started with some stupid dispute over land rights centuries ago when both of our families were the prominent pureblooded lines at the time." I get more comfortable in his embrace, shifting my shoulder a bit. "There was a section in the Black Hills that both our families claimed and for years they squabbled over it until it turned deadly. Each generation would have duels then there would be retaliation and then peace for a while… but it always came back to that little bit of land."
"What was so great about that land?" I ask. I feel like he's telling me a bedtime story and I even close my eyes, tilting my chin back to listen.
"It supposedly was one of those pockets of pure magic," he says and I crinkle my nose at the myth. Every magical child is brought up hearing about the caves that are so full of magic that you could have your wildest wish come true if you said the right words. It's all fairy tales, though. No one actually believes that anymore. "You can imagine how both sides would want that."
"Naturally," I say with a smile.
"So, they fought for years over this land until both sides decided that they had enough." He squeezes my hand. I bite into the apple again. "You are aware that your family is known for its powerful witches," he says and then he peeks his head around to see my face. I shrug as I swallow and he shakes his head. He takes off the sunglasses and places them in the grass beside us. "Honestly, how do you not know anything about your lineage?"
"I don't know," I say in defense because he sounded so annoyed by it. "Apparently your family kept better records."
"Do you even know what your coat of arms is?" he asks and I shake my head. "Ginny, honestly. How can you not know these things? You have such a rich heritage. Why wouldn't your parents tell you?"
"I guess they didn't know either," I counter.
He rolls his eyes.
"Prepare for a history lesson, then," he says and now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "Your family was once very wealthy and very powerful," he says as he rests his chin on my shoulder. "But it was known for giving birth to powerful daughters."
I bite my lip as I look out ahead of me. We're facing the river we just rowed down and the water is rippling with the wind, the sun glittering over the top.
"In a time when women were just there to have babies, your family really churned out some respected witches that did amazing things in terms of spells and wand work," he says and I smile at the thought. "Anyways, so our families decided to come to a peace agreement and what better way to seal two families together than with-"
"Marriage," I cut in because I know where this is going.
"Exactly. So my ancestor, Lancaster Malfoy, was engaged to your ancestor, Miriam."
"You even know their names," I say with a smirk.
"Of course I do," he smiles. I look at the apple, deciding if I want more. "Miriam was the youngest and most beloved daughter in your family," he says as he runs soothing circles on my thigh with his right hand. I'm wearing a yellow sundress- one of the simple ones my mother had made for me- and it has little daises stitched along the hem. "And Lancaster was the heir after his older brother died of Dragon Pox."
"Charming," I say and he shushes me.
"He courted her and fell in love. She was allegedly very beautiful," he says and then he places a gentle kiss against my neck. "Like you."
I smile.
"Of course, marriage contracts and agreements like that between families aren't as flimsy as they are today. If you entered one, it was basically set in stone and there was no way out."
He starts bunching up the skirt of my dress and I look at my knees as more skin is exposed.
"Did she love him?" I ask. I try to ignore the climb of his hands up my legs, but it's difficult and I can feel my body responding to his touch.
He shrugs. "I suppose not because the night before their wedding she ran off and eloped with a muggle."
"Oh," is all I say. "That didn't go over well, I imagine."
He laughs.
"Correct. Lancaster was so upset with the turn of events that he rode out that night to retrieve her. When he found them shacked up in some small tavern... he tore them both to pieces."
I make a face and sit up so I can face him. He sits further back against the tree to give me more room as I turn my body towards his.
"To pieces?" I ask with an eyebrow raised.
He nods.
"I'm talking about total dismemberment. He took their body parts and scattered them across the village," he replies and I make a disgusted face. "He felt betrayed. His pride and honor was in jeopardy and that's all a man has at the end of the day."
He said that like it was a perfectly just reason to mutilate someone.
"So he dismembered her?" I shake my head then resume my spot with my back against his chest. "That doesn't seem like the most positive thing to do to the woman you love."
"I think your family saw it that way too," he says with a smirk as he takes the apple from me, taking a large bite. He swallows it before continuing. "They were so distraught with his actions that they burned down the village around my family's home, killing hundreds and murdering five family members in the process."
"Fun," I say sarcastically and he smiles at me as he moves hair over my shoulder so he can place a kiss there.
"They say that Lancaster found that pocket of magic before your ancestors came to kill him," he says. His right hand starts creeping up my thigh again and then he gently nudges my legs open. I comply and inhale a deep breath when his fingers find the edge of my knickers. "He cursed your family so that no powerful witch would ever be born to break another man's heart like Miriam had broken his."
"He tore her apart, for Christ sakes," I say with a laugh as he traces the outline of my underwear. "Obviously he was a creep or she wouldn't have run off with that muggle."
"Will you let me finish," he says as he rubs me there and I lift my hips. "So, anyways, he cursed your line, our families were nearly wiped out from the bloodshed, and your house eventually fell into ruin... We've hated each other ever since."
I pause for a moment.
"That was a delightful story," I say with a laugh and then I bite my lip when he slips his fingers under my knickers.
"I don't think it's just a story," he whispers hot in my ear. How did he make that sound sexy? I guess it's because he's running his fingers against the most sensitive spot on my body. "There's some truth in there."
"Hardly," I say breathlessly. I look out ahead of me, at the trees and the sun and the sky. We're outside... anyone could be watching. I put my hand on his wrist and pull his fingers away as I close my legs.
He doesn't say anything as I move forward and turn to face him, trying to continue the conversation like the whole 'touching my private spot' thing didn't happen.
"Obviously there was no curse. I'm here, aren't I?" I say with a smile and he leans forward.
"When was the last time a girl was born into your house?" he asks seriously and I open my mouth before clamping it shut. I know I'm the only girl to be born into the Weasley family for generations, but I'm sure it doesn't go back that far.
"What does that mean, then?" I ask and he throws the half-eaten apple in the river. I turn to watch it splash in the water, but Draco surprises me by pushing me on my back and settling himself on top of me when my legs scoot out in front of me.
"That means that the seventh moon is in the second house," he says and I furrow my brows as he pushes my legs apart so he can settle between them after hiking up my dress some more.
"What?" I say as I try to sit up and place where I've heard those words, but he presses his hips into mine, keeping me in place.
"You were made for me," he says as he looks over my amused, albeit, slightly confused face. "That means," he says as he leans in closer and levels his silver eyes with mine. "That you really are mine."
I laugh at that. Honestly, he said it so seriously. He reaches down to kiss me and I smile against his lips.
"Is this how you get all the girls?" I ask in between kisses and he laughs a little as well.
"All girls get their knickers wet over a good blood feud story."
"Well, if I ever run off with a muggle please promise me to try to talk it out before you cut me into pieces," I joke and he kisses my jaw.
"If you ran off with a muggle there would be no talking," he says against my ear. I laugh that one off as well... a bit more nervously, though. "I would never allow that."
"Like you have much say in what I do," I say with a good-natured eye roll.
He pulls back to look over my face.
"You have a say in what I do," he says seriously as he rolls his hips against mine so I can feel his very prominent arousal. "I would expect the same from you."
I don't have an answer for that so instead I bring my hand up to his face, running my thumb over his lips and jaw. The truth is I would do anything he said if it meant he'd keep smiling his beautiful smile for me.
"Don't look so serious, babe," I say gently. It was the first time I had used a pet name with him and I was kind of nervous saying it out loud... but it made him smile and he leaned down to kiss me again.
I sink further back against the blanket with my eyes closed while a soft sigh leaves me. I remove my head band and throw it in the grass to get comfortable as his fingers slip through my hair. It feels good and I wrap my legs around his waist to bring him even closer.
"My sweet Ginny," he whispers against my ear.
I smile and roll us over so I can straddle him. It's a position I don't take very often and I throw my hair over my shoulders before leaning down to kiss him. He grips my hips and then uses his strength to move me against him the way that he wants.
"Lift up," he whispers, laying back and staring up at me with a smile. I lift up a bit. "Now go back down and..." I grind against him and he smirks. "Yes," he says. "Do that again." I go back up on my knees and then go down against his arousal before rubbing forward and back against him. "There you go." He leans up to meet me halfway so I can kiss him deeply again with my hands on his strong chest. He moves his hands to my thighs and he starts pushing up my dress until the skirt is up around my hips. "Keep moving like that," he whispers as I start again, enjoying the friction as I roll my hips against his. "You can feel that, can't you? It feels good?"
I nod my head.
"Keep doing that," he says darkly, watching me as I keep moving against him. "This part is for me," he says as I lift up and come down again. "This part is for you," he says as I grind against him. "See?" he smirks, always the arrogant teacher to my eager student.
It's hitting that good spot and I clench my jaw a bit at the sensation. He grabs my hips again and pulls me down sharply on top of him as he lifts his hips against mine so I can feel just how turned on he is. I gasp and close my eyes- stopping myself for a moment because it was getting too intense. When I open my eyes again, I find him staring at me, a weird look shining in his eyes as he props himself up with his elbows behind him.
"What?" I ask breathlessly, because I'm not exactly thinking straight. I'm uncomfortably wet now. I can feel it between my legs and I'm kind of afraid to move just in case I left a spot on his shorts.
"Remember how good my fingers feel inside of you?" he asks with a smirk, bringing his right hand between us and pressing his fingers against the wetness on my pink knickers. "Imagine how the rest of me feels," he says sinfully and I blush.
"That's a bold statement," I joke nervously and he looks at me more seriously.
"One I can live up to, I assure you," he says arrogantly with a straight face and darkened eyes. It rattles me and my body starts tingling. "When you finally give yourself to me, you will not regret it."
I believe that.
I inhale a shaky breath, really thinking about saying yes because my body wants it so much.
"What time is it?" I ask nervously because I'm scared.
That voice that usually screams no is nowhere to be found right now.
"It doesn't matter," he says, flipping us quickly and then sitting up to take off my knickers.
He slides them down my legs slowly and places them gingerly beside me on the blanket. He takes a second to lift my right leg to his shoulder where he gives my ankle an open mouth kiss. He runs his hand down the length of my calf and thigh adding more kissing as he lowers his head. He comments on the softness of my skin, his voice so very deep and full of lust. I start breathing a little heavier as I stare up at him and I lick my lips. He smiles when he notices and he gently places my leg beside him on the blanket. He looks into my eyes as he curls his hands around my knees and yanks me down so my hips are angled up. I inhale a sharp breath at the movement and laugh a little as he pushes the skirt of my dress up around my hips. He spreads my legs open a bit more and tilts his head as he looks at my sex before glancing at me. I sit up on my elbows to see him better- my cheeks now flushed with arousal.
His look is asking something... There's a heaviness to it and he raises an eyebrow.
I don't want the responsibility to answer the question he's asking. I grab his shirt and pull him down on top of me so I can kiss him again because that was safe and that wasn't so dangerous. We start getting hot and heavy again and I don't even protest when he pulls down the straps of my dress and bra. He leans back a moment with my hand on his neck as he looks over my face. He smiles at what he sees there and then he reaches down to unbutton his shorts, gently tugging them down just enough. He keeps his eyes on mine as he settles back on top of my body and he gives me a gentle kiss. I can feel his arousal right against mine and he tilts his head again to look in my eyes.
The question is back as he moves his hand down to adjust himself and then I feel him pressed right where my body is already open and waiting for him…. Only this time I'm not going to panic and move away.
I'm breathing heavily and I look at the sky again… the clear blue sky and pure white clouds… We were outside. Anyone could just walk upon us but there was something so beautiful about this day and this secluded part of the woods. Instead of looking up at the peeling ceiling of my childhood bedroom I was looking up at the wonderful summer sky. I glance at Draco. He's still looking at me, his gray eyes are beautiful too and I give him a little smile.
"Ginny?" he whispers. The eye contact is intense but I'm not going to look away. "Yes?"
I almost nod… but then we hear thunder in the distance as dark clouds cover the sun.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he says as it starts to sprinkle and he glares up at the sky like it would change its mind on the matter.
I take his arm and look at his watch.
"We need to head back anyways," I whisper, pushing him back so I can right my dress. I pull up my straps to cover myself and shake my head. That was so stupid of me. We can't have sex yet. It's too soon. It's too much. I'm not even ready for that yet. "It's almost time for my shift to be over."
I'm a little relieved it started raining, actually.
With a disappointed sigh, he sits back on his knees and watches me as I tug down the skirt of my dress. I go to sit up as well, but he puts his hand on my stomach to keep me in place. He's looking at me quite intensely now and I furrow my brows because of it.
"You were going to say yes, weren't you?" he says thoughtfully as he looks into my eyes.
I blush again and push his hand off so I can stand up.
"You'll never know," I joke but he doesn't laugh. "I want to," I admit uncomfortably because he keeps on looking at me like he wanted me to talk. "I just... don't want it to be too soon."
He doesn't say anything, he just nods his head and folds up the blanket. I grab my head band and slide it back on as I look around for my underwear…only to find him picking them up and putting them in his pocket.
"Draco," I say as I put my bag over my head to keep my hair from getting too wet. "Let me have them."
"Have what? He asks innocently as he gathers up his things and lifts his wand towards the boats and life jacket so he can magically transport them back to the warehouse where he had rented them.
"My…" I trial off, blushing when he looks at me.
"Your what?"
I give him a look as the rain wets his hair and he smirks when I don't answer. He picks up a nearby stick and I watch him use his magic to transfigure it into a large, brown umbrella. He pops it open and then walks towards me with his satchel crossed over his body. I frown at him and slip on my heels.
"These?" He asks, taking the bit of pink material out of his pocket. "I'm keeping them for now," he says, stuffing them back in. I must be pouting because he gives me an amused smile. "It's your punishment for teasing me."
"That's not fair," I say, uncomfortable that I'm wearing a dress without them as he holds the umbrella over us. It starts raining harder, drenching everything around us and getting my ankles wet. "Give them back."
"No."
That's all he says before he starts walking down a path cleared in the woods. I have to jog to keep up with him and to stay under the umbrella. He slows down to keep time with my strides when he realizes he is going too fast for me. I'm feeling completely uncomfortable and very aware of how unclothed I am under my skirt.
"We have to get to the Apparition point," he explains when he misreads my worried look. "It's down this path."
We walk in silence, and I resist begging him to give my knickers back because he seems so pleased with himself and I won't give him the satisfaction. After a while, I decide that it wouldn't hurt so much to say please- but as I open my mouth to say something- Draco's wand gets swiped from his pocket. He stops walking and pushes me behind him. Then my bag gets magically tugged off of his shoulder and it zooms towards the trees. Draco's satchel is tugged on too, but since it's strapped across his body, it doesn't get very far.
"What?"
"Sh," is all he says. His eyes scan the woods as he throws the umbrella down, letting it transfigure back into a twig.
I don't like that he doesn't have his wand anymore and mine was in my bag. I hide more behind him when a thin man walks out from along the tree line. He's holding a crooked wand that looks like it's been mended one too many times and he doesn't look healthy. He is impossibly thin with bulging eyes darting all around us like he was waiting for someone to jump out at him at any moment. He has odd scabs on his face and his clothes are ill fitted and dirty.
"Give me your bag," he says in a rough city accent and I crinkle my nose. The rain makes mud of the dirt underneath us and my heels start sinking into the ground. The man looks Draco over as the rain pelts us and I shiver, holding onto the fabric of his shirt when the man jabs his wand at us. "And that watch. Hand it over now, kid."
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Draco asks in a calm voice.
My heart is beating so fast I feel like it's going to burst out of my ribcage.
"I don't care who ya are," he says as he puts Draco's wand between his teeth so he can rummage through my bag.
My heart falls into my stomach as he pulls out my things. He takes my wand and puts it in his pocket. He throws my notebook in the grass like it was nothing and it lands open and face up. I watch as rain drenches it and I nearly start crying. Draco goes to take a step forward, but the man jabs his wand towards us again. I grip his arm. I wouldn't pass it by him to curse us judging by how crazy he looks right now.
When he finds my wallet, his eyes light up as he opens it. He sorts through it, throwing my I.D. and Apparition license on the ground. Shoving the few coins I have in the front pocket of his dirty jeans, I make a little noise when he pulls out my Gringotts card. I can imagine my savings... everything I've worked so hard for since I was thirteen... gone in seconds.
"Get my fucking wand out of your mouth, you disgusting wretch," Draco hisses and the man levels him with a wild glare.
Draco is much braver than I am. He just sounds pissed off… he isn't afraid at all.
"You shut your mouth," the man hisses after putting Draco's wand in his breast pocket. "I swear I'll curse you. Now give me that bag... and you," he says, nodding towards me. "Give me those earrings."
I would snort if I wasn't so scared. These earrings are cheap and worthless.
"I am going to give you one more chance to give me my wand back," Draco says darkly. "I suggest you take it."
That dominant voice of his wasn't just sexy- it could be chilling too.
"You don't tell me what to do, boy," the man wheezes. Draco slides the satchel over his head and hands it to me.
"Hold this," is all he says and I take it with shaky hands as the water drenches my hair and body.
He starts walking forward and the man drops my bag to shoot a curse right at Draco's heart. I scream and cover my mouth as it hits him, but instead of falling... or being shocked into inaction... It seems to have had the opposite effect on him. He lunges at the man, knocking the wand out of his hand as he wrestles him to the ground. The old man tries to fight him off in vain... he's no match for Draco's size and youth. He loses all the ground he had made when Draco grabs his crude looking wand and stuffs it in his back pocket.
I thought Draco was just going to grab our things and get off of him… but no. He straddles the man's chest and starts punching him again and again and again and again. On the head and the chest and the side…. His movements are controlled, razor sharp, and aimed to cause pain. I can see the muscles of his arms flexing each time he pulls back and he pauses only once to flick the wet hair out his eyes before doing it again.
The rain stops for a moment and I stand rooted to my place like one of the trees as I watch Draco beat the man without mercy, busting his face until it's almost unrecognizable. The man is making awful moaning noises… and the sound of knuckles hitting skin is making me feel a bit sick. I clench my eyes shut, wanting it to be over.
"Do you have any idea who I am?" Draco hisses as he continues his assault. "Do you have any fucking idea who I am?"
"Draco," I say worriedly once I find the courage to open my eyes again. The man has stopped moving and I take a step forward so I can see them better. His face looks like uncooked meat and I nearly gag at the sight. "Draco, stop."
He doesn't stop, he just keeps going. I fear he might actually be trying to kill the man.
"Draco, please stop!" I yell, emotion in my voice because I am afraid.
I don't know if he even heard me but he gets one last punch in before standing up. He gives the man a scathing look before shaking his hand out and then looking at me. His eyes are narrowed... His cheeks are flushed and his hair is plastered to his forehead and neck. He's breathing hard and I realize I am too as we stare each other down.
The man groans and I finally break eye contact to look at him, relieved as he tries to move on his side because that means he's not dead.
Draco sneers and then bends down to get his wand… he cleans it off with the edge of his shirt and then stands back up. The cold look he has in his eyes is frightening. There's nothing there... No emotion, no warmth... Just a creeping darkness that makes me terribly uneasy as he points his wand at the man's battered chest. He licks his lips and tilts his head to the side as he looks the man over and then he starts to flick his wrist around to start a curse…. I widen my eyes and run over to him, placing my hand on his arm.
He snaps his head towards mine.
"Don't," is all I say with a head shake. I don't know what he was going to do, but judging by that hateful look in his eye... I doubt it could be anything good.
His eyes dance across my face and that iciness in his expression seems to melt just the slightest bit.
"I can't hear you," he says dryly and that's when I notice his ears... they're bleeding.
I touch the blood that's running down his neck and I show him my fingers. It must be a side effect from that curse the man hit him with.
His eyes narrow again. He turns back to the man and kicks him hard in the side. I gasp once more and jump back. The movement makes Draco look at me again and he must notice how shaken I am because he takes a step towards me and runs his hand up my arm. He looks over my face for a moment before bending down and kissing my slack lips like that would make it all better.
"Get your things," he says gently.
I obey his order and gather up all of my possessions, stuffing them into my rain-soaked bag. Out of the corner of my eyes I see Draco bending down and reaching into the man's pocket to retrieve my money, bank card, and wand... I sigh in relief when I see it and I try not to be too upset when I pick up my ruined notebook. I try to peel the pages apart, only to see the ink blotchy and running together.
All that time I spent writing in this notebook is pointless now.
I feel my eyes tear up again, but I swallow the pain and stuff it in my bag. At least it was the new one that Hermione had given me for my birthday, so there wasn't too much lost. Draco points his wand at the man's chest again and before I can stop him he flicks his wand a few times, performing a familiar charm.
I'm familiar with it because I saw him use it on my mother.
"A group of muggles beat you up after they saw you doing magic in the forest," Draco tells the man. "You never saw me and you never saw her," he says, nodding towards me. He takes the man's wand from his back pocket and snaps it in half. I flinch. It was an awful thing to do to a wizard. "You should have listened to me," he adds hatefully before dropping the two halves of the broken wand on the man's battered chest.
He turns to me and hands me my things.
I put it all in my bag and look at the man as he moans on the ground.
"Come on," Draco says as he grabs his satchel and takes my shaking hand.
I reluctantly let myself get pulled away as I hike up my bag on my shoulder. When we get a little farther away, Draco stops and then he bends down in front of me with one knee on the muddy ground. My eyes are wet with tears but I try to hide them as he pulls out my knickers from his pocket and holds them out for me to step into. I slip off one heel to put my right foot in before putting it back in the shoe and then I do the same to the other side with my hands steady on his shoulders. He pulls them up my legs and I can't help but focus on his bloody right hand.
"Should we tell someone he's there?" I whisper worriedly as he tugs the skirt of my wet dress back down to cover my legs.
He stands up, his eyes flicking over my face before he grabs my head with both of his hands and he presses a hard kiss to my lips. I just let him because I don't know what else to do. I know kissing isn't appropriate right now but he seems so determined to do it. He pulls back, exhaling slowly as he presses his forehead to mine.
"I can't hear you, Ginny," Draco repeats as he stands straight. His voice is so much louder than normal because he can't hear how loud he's actually being. "We're leaving."
He still seems mad. He still seems upset and I don't want to push him further so I just let him lead us to the App Zone at the edge of the forest.
We pop outside of the arch at Folk Hills and I look up at Draco as he takes out his wand and dries my hair and clothes with a simple spell I've never been able to master.
He glances down at me with his jaw tight and twitching.
"Your shift is over," he says and I open my mouth to respond, but he cuts me off. "I'll see you later."
"But..."
"I'm going to take care of this, yeah?" he says. "Don't worry."
"But you—"
He puts his hand up to my face, running his thumb over my mouth so I'll stop talking.
"I know this curse. I'll be fine," he says seriously before pulling back.
Then he pops away and I just stare at his empty spot for a few moments. It cannot be good to have your ears bleeding... and that man... What if he dies? I'm not even sure what time it is anymore so I just sit down against the arches with my bag on my lap, nervously biting my nails and trying not to remember all the terrible sounds I heard.
I hear a pop, but I don't move.
"There you are," I hear my mother's voice and I look up reluctantly when she spots me behind one of the pink flowering trees. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah," I say with a nod, trying not to think of it as I stand up to take her hand. "I'm ready."
Pansy and Daphne had warned me about how intense Draco could get. I think I've only witnessed mild doses of it until today. That look he had in his eyes when he was beating that man...It gives me chills just thinking about it...
When we get home, I try to ignore the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that's warning me to run away now. To get away from Draco and everything I had built this summer, but I can't listen to that voice now. It's just the scared, naive part of me, right? I'm supposed to be brave and even though Draco did get carried away… he was just protecting us, wasn't he?
Is that what he was doing?
When I wake the next morning, that man in the forest is front page news.
A group of passing wizards found the beaten man's body that night, laying right where we had left him. The paper had called it a muggle/wizard hate crime and people were all up in arms about it. It triggered a debate on muggle/magical relations once more and the man, whose name I learned was Harold Milton, was seen as a sympathetic figure as opposed to the dirty thief he was. Thankfully he didn't die, but he did suffer terrible injuries. He had severe head contusions, three cracked ribs, broken fingers, and two of his teeth had been knocked out. All of that was because of Draco. I just couldn't wrap my head around it without feeling a bit sick.
I couldn't eat my breakfast as I read the article and when my mother asked me what was wrong... I told her I was tired.
And it was true.
I suddenly felt very very tired.
XXXXX
"Ah, muggles," my father says fondly as he puts his collection of spark plugs into a cardboard box. "What wonderful creatures they are," he says with a sigh.
He just finished telling me how awesome computers are and I listened dutifully... because I had no choice.
I roll my eyes as I pack up some odd looking wire things into another box and label it with green marker. I literally write 'odd looking wire things' on the lid before sliding it to the side. I agreed to help my father clean out the shed this morning and I'm glad to have the break from the constant chattering of my Mother who feels the need to pry into my personal life like she knew I was keeping a secret. I am… but she doesn't need to know that.
Dad was a better option. Even if I had to help him organize all his muggle crap.
"Know what I mean, Ginny Bean?" My dad sings and I smile at him.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I tell him as I start gathering up the old computer monitors my father had been collecting the past two years and putting them against the wall.
"So," he says he wipes his forehead off with the back of his arm. "What's new with you, huh? I feel like we haven't spoken in a while."
I shrug because I can't really tell him anything that is actually happening. "Nothing really," I say softly and he smiles at me.
"Your mother tells me you have a boyfriend."
I drop one of the monitors and it breaks against the ground.
"Are you okay?" he asks in a panic as he runs over to me and cleans the mess with his wand.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I say with a head shake as I help him lift the mended monitor back to the table. "I'm fine. I'm sorry."
"Accidents happen," he says and then he smiles at me. "So, about this boyfriend..."
"Why would she say that?" I ask nervously as I avoid his eyes and he laughs.
"She said you had 'the smile'," he says, making air quotations. "So... who's the lucky guy?" I bite the corner of my lip. I can't lie half as well to my father. "Does he work with you?"
I nod my head, giving in and not wanting to lie too much.
"I mean… I met him at Folk Hills," I admit because I'm tired of lying to my parents. They will have to meet Draco eventually, right? "He doesn't work there," I mutter and my father knits his brows together.
I know what he's thinking. He knows the kind of people who are members of that club.
"Who is it?" he asks carefully as he cleans the lenses of his glasses on his old shirt.
That I can't admit right now.
"I'd rather not say," I whisper and when he tilts his head curiously, I rush to make it not sound so bad. "I mean... it's just I don't want everyone knowing because you know how Mum and the boys are..." I say as I think of my brothers and he nods his head in understanding. "I'll tell you when the time is right. It's not too serious right now," I lie.
"You know, whoever it is, you don't have to hide him from me," Dad says seriously. "He can come over to dinner any time you like."
Yeah... right…
"Is he your age?" he asks carefully.
"He's in Ron's grade," I admit as I start moving the monitors again. "He goes to Hogwarts and he's really smart." I add for good measure and my father smiles at me. "He's good at quidditch too."
"Does he have all his teeth?" my dad asks and I laugh because he's being goofy.
"Of course he does."
"And you like him?"
"Yes," I say with a smile. "I like him very much."
"That's important," he says with a head nod. "Is he the reason you've been sneaking out so often?"
If I was holding something... I probably would have dropped it too.
"What?"
"Ginny," he says seriously. "I'm not stupid... and I hope that you're not either," he says.
I blush and look down. God, does he know that Draco has been sneaking into my room too?
"I remember what it was like to be your age and I know I can't stop you from doing something you really want to do. I can understand," he says. When I look at him, I realize he doesn't know everything I've been doing and I am so grateful for that. "Your mother and I... Well, we want you to be safe and I think we've sheltered you a bit too much. Much to your disadvantage," he says like he was working through it. "I just want you to make good decisions."
"I am," I say in a small voice... only half believing that. "Does Mum know?" I ask nervously. "That I've been... you know... leaving the house every now and then?"
"Ah, no," he says as he goes back to his spark plugs. "You probably would have bars on your window if she knew," he says.
"I don't think she's that extreme," I say jokingly and he flicks me a glance.
"We're talking about the same woman, right?" he says and we laugh at the thought. "You know," he says after a few moments of it hanging in the air. "It wouldn't hurt for you to be a little bit nicer to your mother," he says and I make a face because she's been annoying me so much lately. "She just cares about you so much and she's so stressed out with Ron gone and the Order meetings... You have to be understanding."
"Of course," I say sourly and he gives me a lopsided smile.
"The tension has been so thick in the house and I just want it all to go away," he says with a sigh. "We all have a lot on our minds. Speaking of which," he says as he eyes me. "I have to wonder why you haven't bothered to ask me about the last Order meeting we had here."
I shrug.
"Is it because I didn't successfully get rid of every stupid extendable ear the twins felt compelled to give everyone under the age of seventeen?"
"I'm almost of age," I point out lightly and he nods his head.
"I know you are," he says and when I look at him I realize how old my father has gotten. He's wearing a white t-shirt with dirty slacks and the wrinkles around his eyes seem deeper than ever. For some reason I feel guilty for it. "It seems like yesterday you were just a little thing with bright hair hanging off my leg."
He smiles wistfully and I raise an eyebrow. "You make me sound like some kind of odd growth," I joke and he laughs.
"Just be safe, okay?" he says and I nod my head. "Now is a dangerous time and I know I can't stop you from doing something you really want to do... but have a good head on your shoulders about it."
"I know," I whisper and he nods his head decisively.
"How about some music?" he says as he pulls an old carton of records out from under the table. They were banished here by my mother who refused to let Dad play them in the house anymore. He picks one out and accio's the record player from the den. My mum yells at him as it flings out theback door and I smile when it lands right in front of us. He smiles at me and puts the record on, putting the needle down when it starts spinning. The music starts to play and we go back to cleaning the place up in relative silence.
"Dad?" I ask after most of his things are boxed up and categorized.
"Huh?" he asks as he dusts off a rather odd looking telephone thing.
"Do you know how to dance?" I ask as I think of the ball at Malfoy Manor. "I mean... like formal dancing? I mean, the ones that have steps that people would dance to at a ball or something like that?"
"I know a few," he says as he stands up straight.
"Would you teach me?" I ask because I want to impress Draco. Even though a part of me was still frightened of his violence… I knew there was more to him than that. Just like there was more to me.
People weren't always so black and white.
"I didn't think you kids cared to dance like that anymore," he says. "All I've seen are a lot of awkward hip movements and some snapping."
"Dad, please?"
He looks at me like he was pleased and he nods his head. "Alright then," he says with a grin as he digs through his box of records and he pulls out a red one. "This one is called the clap, snap, and spin."
"The clap, snap, and spin?" I ask flatly and he smirks as he moves the table to the side of the shed.
"Well, it has a proper name, but I could never pronounce it... so I just call it the clap," he says as he claps his hands together. "And snap," he says, adding a snap. "And spin," he says as he twirls on his heels. I roll my eyes with a smile on my face. I love my dad. He's just ridiculous sometimes. "This is a popular one at big hall dances."
That sounds like what I need.
"Okay, now, this is a very proper dance," he says as he positions me at the center of the shed. "So, you stand across from your dance partner," he says motioning to himself as he stands a few feet across from me. "And I bow." He puts his arm across his waist and bends forward slightly. "And you curtsy."
I snort in laughter as I do it because I'm just wearing shorts and an old shirt.
"Good, now listen to the music," he says as he stands up straight like a proper gentleman. "Traditionally, people will be lined up on both sides. Girls on your side and, obviously, men on my side," he says and I nod my head in understanding. "When the music crescendos like it is now," he says as he steps forward and puts out his hand. "Every other person in the line trades places with their partner."
I step forward, and he puts his hand in mine, spinning us in a circle before we switch places.
"Always with that little move," he says. "Listen to the piano."
We do it a few more times until I get it down and then he smiles.
"Good. Now you clap," he says and I make a face before doing as he says. "Then you'd trade places with the person beside you and then you snap..."
It took me about an hour to learn the dance... I figured it must be a fun thing to do with a big group and I was hoping that they would play it during the ball so I could dance with Draco. I had a good time hanging out with my Dad. I didn't realize I needed the bonding time with him until it was over and I was feeling so content when we went inside to have lunch.
"How was cleaning the shed?" Mum asks when we come to the table. My father looks at me like he was waiting for my answer and I smile at my mum.
"It was fun," I admit as I take my seat and she gives Dad a curious look before smiling back at me.
"Well, that is just wonderful. I hope you two are hungry!"
"Oh, I definitely am," I admit as I start eating the food she places before me. She always cooks such wonderful meals and I glance at her as she takes a seat by my father. "Thank you, Mum," I say and she blinks a few times before smiling at me again.
"Of course, dear," she says softly and I go back to finishing off my plate. Some kind of pasta salad and a warm cheese sandwich with tomato.
As I finish my salad, I glance at the clock.
"I need to get ready for work," I say, wiping off my mouth and then running upstairs.
I get dressed quickly and slide on my heels before grabbing my purse. I'm braiding my hair as I skip down the stairs and my mum is at the bottom waiting for me.
"Short shift today?" she asks. "I will pick you up at six thirty?"
"Yes," I say. "Right before it gets dark."
She brings us to Folk Hills and I wave her off with a real smile. I take my time walking to Clubhouse Five. No one seems to care about me being on time anymore so I get to appreciate the grounds and the magic that keeps it all moving. I guess I should feel bad about it… I do get paid even more now than I did when I worked at the checkout counter… but maybe I should just appreciate it for what it is. This summer has been like a dream and now it's almost over…. But I'm not ready to wake up just yet.
When I get to the old stone building, I hesitate before going up the steps. I still get a weird feeling whenever I go inside so I have to build up my courage before going up the stairs and unlocking the door.
No one is waiting for me this time and I bite the corner of my lip as I walk in. I resist the urge to go outside and wait on the stairs… trying to be brave because it's just an old building. Nothing more. There is nothing here that can hurt me. The door closes behind me again and I try not to be scared when the torches flame to life all around me… making the thread in the tapestries on the outer wall shine and the floor gleam like a shining black pool.
I go to the center of the room and sit down carefully, taking off my cross body and placing it beside me as I cross my legs and look around. Why is it always so cold in here? I cross my arms and chew on the inside of my cheeks for a few minutes before I look up. I squint my eyes at the frescos on the domed ceiling and then I find myself laying on my back, pulling my purse behind my head to use as a pillow.
The frescoes are slightly moving now, the wizards and witches painted inside of it are gently swaying back and forth like there was an invisible wind blowing them harshly to the side… There are six of them divided by the ornate curved beams and I squint my eyes again to see them better. One has a witch with a pointed hat holding a beautiful swan. One is a wizard all dressed in black with a staff that has some kind of winged snake curling up the wood. One is a man with his hood covering his face… a crow on his shoulder….
I hear the call of a bird and I scramble to my feet when wings flap from the darkness and fly over my head. I watch the bird circle the dome before settling on the decorative edge of one of the large columns. I swallow hard and walk over to it… staring into its beady eyes as he turns its head to look at me, dark feathers glistening in the torch light.
"What are you doing here?" I ask before it takes off again and disappears into the darkness of the outer walls where I do not have the courage to go just yet.
I knot my fingers together nervously before going back to the center of the room. I look back up at the frescos with a frown before I stretch out my arms and decide to practice the dance moves my father had taught me this morning to distract myself. I imagine Draco standing across from me in a nice set of dress robes, his hair so perfectly combed. The thought makes me smile and I get lost in the fantasy of it for a while.
When I'm done with that, I fall to the floor again before I grab my bag and pull out my notebook. I look around to make sure that bird isn't going to scare me before opening it up and grabbing my quill. It's one of my older ones… the one Ron broke the spine to and there aren't many pages left but I suppose that's fine. I don't know what to write. So I write the first name that comes to mind.
Draco. I like his name. Draco Malfoy.
I especially like his last name because it looks so beautiful in cursive. I look behind me for a moment. I don't even know why but I guess I don't want anyone to see what else I'm about to write. I pull the notebook to my lap and draw up my knees to get closer and to cover the page just in case someone happens to show up.
Ginevra. I write biting my lower lip. Ginevra Malfoy.
I smirk at how it looks. So I write it a few more times in different ways with smooth cursive and then with slanted print.
When I was eleven I used to write my name as Ginny Potter on my notebooks. In fact, a lot of the girls in my grade did because Harry was famous and we all had little girl crushes on him. Once I even wrote Ginevra Riddle. But that was before I knew what Tom was… When I still thought he was my friend. When I still thought he was the most handsome boy I had ever seen. It was a silly girl thing, but I liked it. I smiled down at my name and his before scratching it all out just in case someone saw it.
I sit back and wait for something… anything…. to happen. But nothing does. I find myself doodling a picture of a snake and a crow before a winter's chill carries through the room and ruffles the hair around my face.
I stand up quickly and hug the notebook to my chest. I look around again as it moves around me… dead cold air swirling the hem of my dress and throwing the braid over my shoulder.
Nope.
I pick up my bag and run to the door.
I push it open but it doesn't move. I swallow hard and put my notebook in my bag to try again with both hands on the ancient looking wood. I push hard but nothing happens. I grab the curved handle and jiggle it, panic starting to settle on my stomach as I push with all my might. Still it seems stuck so I back up and take my wand out of my bag, my hand slightly shaking as I lift it.
Before I can say a spell, the door is thrown open and Daphne stands at the threshold, looking flustered and red cheeked.
"Oh, Ginny! I'm so sorry I'm late," she says, pushing past me like she couldn't see my wand pointing at her face. She's wearing a bright pink baby doll dress and dangerously tall high heels that click click click against the strange black floor. "I totally forgot I was scheduled to hang out with you today."
I frown as I put my wand away.
"Scheduled to hang out with me?" I ask worriedly as I hike up my bag and she nods her head as she tries to catch her breath.
"I had a dress fitting in the morning and I just forgot. Please don't tell Draco," she says as she spins on me, her face set and looking nervous. "Oh, Ginny, please don't tell him how late I was."
"I won't tell him," I whisper uncomfortably and she gives me one of her bubbly smiles as she skips over to me and grabs my hands.
"So... what should we do today?" she asks as she looks into my eyes. "We could go to the pool, if you want."
"Wait... when you said scheduled... Did you mean you were really scheduled to hang out with me?" I ask seriously and she blinks a few times before looking away. "Does Draco make you guys do that?" I ask, my voice sounding hurt as I pull my hands back.
"Of course not," she says.
"But you just said..."
"I didn't say anything," she says as she takes my arm and starts to walk us out of the building. "Let's go to my place. You haven't been there yet and my mother would sorely love to meet you."
"Wait, no, I want to know what you meant," I whine as I pull my arm away from her grasp once we get to the gravel path outside of the Clubhouse. I mean, I knew that they hung out with me sometimes to do things Draco wanted me to do… but I thought it was like a hangout among mates… not a work schedule where Draco was the boss keeping tabs on their efficiency. "I thought we were friends," I admit. "I didn't know I was a job to you."
"Of course you aren't, Gin," she says as she bats her eyelashes at me. "Don't be silly now. You know I just talk so much I forget what I say half the time."
"How is it okay that I get paid for hanging out with you people all day?" I question and she shrugs. "Why is someone always here when I am?"
"You know the Malfoy's own the building. Draco thought he was doing you a favor," she explains softly and I cross my arms. "It was a sweet gesture. Romantic, even."
"But he makes you hang out with me?" I snap hatefully because it makes me feel like some kind of unwanted child.
I have an awful thought that maybe he pays them to hang out with me… just like I was being paid to hang out with them.
"Of course he doesn't make us," she says with an eye roll but I can tell she's getting flustered because her cheeks are heating up. "Don't tell him I said that he made us."
I give her a disgusted look and turn away. I feel very upset and I'm trying to file all my thoughts into their appropriate places but everything seems jumbled and wrong. I knew this never seemed right but now I feel like a burden… like I was something people had to endure just for Draco's sake. Just like Ivy said.
"Ginny, don't be upset," she says softly as she touches my shoulder. I shrug her off. "I don't think you understand how things work," she says gently like she was talking to a child. "Look," she says with a serious tilt of her brows. "I know how this may seem a bit odd, but Draco just wanted you to enjoy the rest of your summer. He knew that you would want to hang out with your friends so he made that happen for you," she says as she motions to herself. "I just say things in stupid ways sometimes. Anyone can tell you that. I'm sorry that I made you mad. I didn't mean to imply hanging out with you is like a job or a chore… It's not… You know I like you, right? You know we're friends?"
I look at her. Her blue eyes sparkle and look earnest enough. I turn away and nod my head stiffly because I want to believe her.
"Gin." She takes my arm in her own and waits for me to look at her. "You're just going to have to get used to dating a man with influence," she says with a good willed smile. I don't smile back. "And, you know, it's just going to keep on going like this so you might as well get used to it now. He likes things a certain way…. He likes to know what is happening around him and to the people he cares about… "She brushes some hair out of my face. "And he does care about you a great deal."
She gives me a sweet smile.
"So... you're like my babysitter?"
Her smile falls.
"No," she says, trying to smile again.
"Do you report back to him?" I ask sharply. "Do you tell him what we do and what we talk about?"
"No, of course not," she says, pulling away and looking offended. "Don't be silly. I would never do that to you," she says, facing me head on so I have no choice but to look at her. "Remember? Us girls have to stick together and I know…" I trail off for a moment, looking serious. "I know how he can be, Gin. I've known him for a very long time and he has always been…"
"Always been what?"
"Um…" she looks down and blinks hard a few times. "Well, you know," she says, giving me a painful look. "He has always been a little… particular about things… but you know that, don't you? You're with him more than any of us are so you understand."
I look away and she takes my hand again.
"I know it's not easy." I stare into her light eyes and I'm not sure I like what I see there. "Let's just go to mine, yeah?" she says, smiling tightly. "We can relax and hang out… oh, and I can show you my coming out dress!"
I hesitate a second before giving in and nodding my head. She bounces on her toes and claps her hands, the weird heavy moment officially gone as we go to the Apparition point to leave Folk Hills.
Her house sits back in a dense forest off a winding dirt road. It's a large white mansion with black shutters and four large brick chimneys sticking out from the slanted slate roof. It all looked so new and modern… and I guess it is. She was new money, after all, and apparently that meant something to people. Her mother greets us at the door and pulls me into a very uncomfortable hug. A colorful housewife with dyed blonde hair, I could see where Daphne got her looks because Charmaine Greengrass was beautiful…. But she was nowhere near as refined as Narcissa Malfoy and the differences were staggering. In the way they dressed. In the way they spoke and carried themselves… It was just so different and I honestly couldn't see them ever being in the same room together.
"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, Ginny," she says with her hands on my shoulders as her eyes flick all over my face.
She has hazel eyes, but they are a similar shape to Daphne's and she wears thick, fake eyelashes that weigh down her lids. It makes her look a little sleepy. She's wearing a pink track suit with shimmering jewels lining the seams and matching trainers. She tells me she just got done exercising and to ignore how sweaty she was even though she had a face full of makeup and didn't look like she was sweating at all.
"Daphne and the girls have told me so much about you."
"It's nice to meet you too," I say politely as I slink out of her embrace. She smiles at me. I worked at Folk Hills long enough to recognize the cosmetic charms on her face pulling her skin tight by her hair line, but it didn't look too bad. "You have a beautiful home," I admit as I look around me. Everything is white and beige and beautiful…. And so incredibly open. There weren't many walls and I could see most of the house just by looking around.
"Thank you," she says as she picks up a rather large and fluffy cat that walks past. It looks grumpy as she pats its head and I almost laugh. "Can I get you girls anything to snack on or drink?" she asks as Daphne scratches the cat's head as well, calling him Mr. Bubbles and kissing his grumpy head.
"No thanks, Mama," Daphne says sweetly. "We're just going to hang out in my room for a little bit."
She waves us off and I follow Daphne up the metal staircase towards the second floor. We pass by a few doorways that all have girl's names written on them with glittering pink paint. I know that Daphne has a little sister that's around my age but I didn't really know much of the others.
"How many siblings do you have?" I question as we walk down the hallway.
"Four," she answers, like it was a subject that bored her. "They're all younger than me," she says with a shrug when we get to her room.
She has a large canopy princess bed with pale pink walls and a flowered bedspread. I sigh when I see it because the girl in me loves it so much. I close the door tightly behind me as I look around and admire the painfully pink space. She has a few posters over her bed of good looking blokes I think are from boy bands and she has a collection of ceramic horses on a shelf by a big round window that looks out over a sparkling blue pool.
"Make yourself at home," she says, taking off her high heels before flopping down on the bed.
I take off my own heels and sit down beside her. You can tell a lot about a person from their bedroom. She has a vanity table full of beauty supplies and perfumes… She has pictures of her and her friends tacked to a big board by the closet door and there are trophies, crowns, and ribbons displayed on one of her bookshelves.
"I like your room," I say as I glance down at her.
"Thank you," she says, and then she gives me a smile. "Want me to paint your nails?"
I look down at my fingernails, frowning at the dull bare things that are…. all different lengths from biting them.
"Yes," I nod my head. "Sure."
She jumps up and goes over to her vanity, pulling out a pink plastic bin from somewhere underneath it. She plops down on the carpet at the end of the bed and I go to sit in front of her when she calls me over.
"Alright," she says, opening up the bin. "What color do you want?"
She picks up a red and pink bottle and waves them in front of my face. I point to the red one and she smiles as she grabs my right foot and puts it on her lap.
"Astoria never lets me do her nails," she says thoughtfully as she shakes the bottle against her palm. "She bites them like you do."
"Where is your sister?" I ask, arching a brow because I haven't really seen her all summer.
She shrugs.
"You know," she looks at me as she unscrews the lid. "Once the school year starts maybe you and her can start hanging out a bit more," she says. "Since she's in the same year and all."
"I don't know about that," I whisper, thinking about Ivy and all the terrible Slytherin girls in my grade.
"She likes you."
I roll my eyes. "She does not."
"Well, I mean she doesn't really know you but she's a lot like you, you know." I glance at her as she starts painting my toes. "She's sweet like you… and she can be shy."
"I'm not shy."
She smirks at me like she didn't believe me before going back to the task at hand. I watch her face. She has such pretty features and I smile when she looks up.
"How old were you when you lost your virginity?" I ask curiously with my chin on my knees.
She flicks her blue eyes to mine before smiling.
"Thirteen," she answers.
"Thirteen?" I repeat, shocked.
She just nods her head like it wasn't a big deal. When she's done with that foot, she bends down and blows on the wet polish. It tickles.
Thirteen.
I think of myself at that age… I could never be sexually active then. I was still very much a child.
"Did you like it?" I question softly.
She laughs. "Of course, I liked it," she says as she starts on my other foot. "I was well prepared, though," she says.
"What does that mean?"
"I mean, you can't just go off and have sex. There has to be some foreplay beforehand."
"Oh," I whisper as I think about Draco and his amazing fingers and mouth. "Does it hurt the first time?" I ask softly and she shrugs as she starts painting the toes on my other foot, using light strokes with the brush.
"It didn't hurt for me," she says seriously. "But then I rode a lot of horses when I was a girl so I didn't have anything to break through, really. There wasn't any blood or anything," she says like it wasn't a big deal and it takes me a moment to realize what she's saying before I finally get it. Oh. "It gets better after the first time, of course. Why?" she asks after I stay silent. "Are you thinking of sleeping with Draco?"
"Maybe," I admit honestly and she beams at me.
"Oh, you should. He would be so sweet to you."
"I mean... I want to... but I don't want to regret it later... you know? It seems like such a big step and it's so soon… but he is just so…" I trail off with a sigh, not sure exactly how to explain it.
"Sexy?" she says, giving me a devilish smirk.
I give a timid head nod that she laughs at.
"Trust me, you would never regret having sex with Draco," she says.
"Have you had sex with him?" I ask, narrowing my eyes a bit.
"No." she laughs like it was funny. "Draco…" She looks at me before looking back down. "Draco has a certain type and I am definitely not it."
"What is his type?" I whisper and she looks at me again, giving me a funny kind of smile.
"You."
I smile a little and look away, pleased with that answer even though it wasn't much of an answer at all.
"Do you know who Draco has slept with?" I ask softly and she raises her eyebrows. I know I can get more information out of her than Pansy. Pansy scares me sometimes… just like Draco does. They were both so damn temperamental and I never knew what I was going to get when I spoke to them. "He told me he's only been with two girls, but he wouldn't give me names."
"If he wanted you to know," she says as she finishes with the nail polish. She sits back and screws the lid back on the bottle as I wiggle my toes. "He would have told you."
"Did he sleep with Pansy?" I ask uncomfortably as she grabs my hand and puts it on her lap. This time she grabs the pink polish and opens it after giving it a few firm shakes.
"God no. They've known each other since they were babies," she says as she opens the polish and starts on my fingers. "They're more like siblings, you know? Jesus Ginny, you really need to stop biting your nails," she says with a frown as she looks down at my hands. "You barely have anything to paint."
"Did he sleep with anyone I know?" I ask in a whisper, bringing the conversation back to what I want to know.
"It's not like he talks to me about that kind of stuff, Ginny," she says seriously as she finishes my right hand and then she grabs my left. "Honestly, you are asking the wrong person."
She starts humming and I look around her room again just to distract myself. There are stars painted on her ceiling a light pale yellow and I wonder if they glow in the dark.
"There now," she says, sitting back and smiling. "What do you think?"
"Looks good," I admit as I hold up my hand to get a better look. "Thank you."
She smiles at me and then she stands up to put away her polish kit. I watch her for a moment before getting up and blowing on my fingernails. I walk around her bed and then sit down as she goes into her closet. A moment later she comes out holding the puffiest dress I have ever seen.
"Wow," I say because it was… a lot. The skirt was made of layers and layers of white tulle and it had a beautiful beaded bodice. "It looks like a princess dress," I admit as she holds it up to her chests and flounces about a bit like she was dancing with someone.
"I know! Oh, I'm so happy!" she squeals at her reflection before putting the dress back and then running and jumping on the bed beside me. The mattress sinks and bounces back with the movement. I smile at her as she rolls on her stomach to look up at me. "I am so very excited for the ball this year. We are going to have the best time ever! Have you been to Draco's Manor yet?"
I shake my head.
"Well, I suppose that makes sense. He probably didn't want to scare you away too soon."
"What do you mean?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.
"Malfoy Manor really is…. an experience," she says, inhaling deeply and giving me a funny look. "It can be overwhelming… Even I get a little dizzy there sometimes. There really is nothing else like it."
I'm not sure what to say to that so I don't say anything. I have already seen their summer homes and Zabini's Manor. I can't even imagine what could be better than all that.
She sighs loudly after a while and then I feel her looking at me.
I lay back on her bed and stare up at the pink, sparkling canopy, trying not to fantasize about Draco again. I've been doing that a lot lately. Imagining what having sex with him would be like because I already have a pretty good idea. I knew it would be good, and hot, and he would use that voice of his that I like so very much…. and now I have the added thought of his great big Manor that was an experience to add to the background.
"You know, when you finally start doing that with him- I think it will be quite magical for you. Especially your first time," she says. "Draco can be so… so selfish about some things," she says, squinting like she was trying to be careful and I give her a curious look. "But he can be really generous in other ways. I feel like this is one of those areas where you will find him most obliging to your needs."
I think of what she means… I did find Draco very generous in that regard so I knew she was right. I have to bite back my smile at the thought of it but then the troubled thoughts come back… The ones that started to weigh heavy in the woods with the rain and the beaten man on the ground. There was another side to him. He wasn't always sweet and kind. He could be mean. He could be bossy and overwhelming and possessive of my body and my time… He could be violent. He frightened me sometimes.
"What did he do to Ivy?" I ask with a troubled frown as I think of the man he beat in the forest.
She flicks her eyes to mine.
"Did he not tell you?" she asks and I shake my head. She turns away and narrows her eyes at the wall over my head. "Draco has a very specific way he deals with people who upset him," she says carefully. "He can be…" she trails off and shakes her head like she didn't want to say more. "You know, I wasn't even there," she says, turning back to me. "I'm not really sure what happened but it was nice of Draco to stick up for you. What Ivy said was really awful and Draco kind of swooped in and put her in her place, didn't he?"
She smiles at me and grabs a piece of my hair to play with.
"He likes you a lot. You know that, don't you?"
She won't tell me. I can already tell by the way she has tried to twist the conversation but maybe she doesn't actually know. Maybe all he did was yell at her or have one of his stern talks like he does to me sometimes. It's not like he could actually hurt her or anything. He'd get in trouble, wouldn't he? Not even rich people are allowed to assault people without consequences. I think of the man in the woods again… the blood on his knuckles and the way his eyes went dead and glassy.
Draco won't hit girls but I'm sure he's not above cursing them….
"He can get really angry," I whisper, staring at a place just over her right shoulder.
"Yes, he can," she says like she knew that all too well and then she gives me a little look. "He hasn't gotten angry with you, has he?" she says, her eyes looking concerned for a moment. "I mean… he hasn't gotten really angry with you?"
"No. He gets annoyed with me sometimes but…." I hesitate a second as I think of Ivy Parkinson and the fact that Daphne won't tell me what happened even though it was clearly something bad. "Do you think he would ever…."
"What?" she asks, tilting her head.
"If he did get really angry with me…" I think of the way he kissed me so harshly at the party at his house. How he yanked me back when I tried to walk away at Zabini's house so he could talk to Cho… "He wouldn't like…"
I look into her big blue eyes and I turn away, not wanting to ask anymore.
"Nevermind."
"No," she says quickly. "What were you going to say?"
I give her a worried look. "I mean… he wouldn't like… hurt me if he was mad… would he?"
She pauses for a second before sitting up a bit.
"Of course he wouldn't hurt you. Draco is a gentleman, Ginny," she says, narrowing her eyes for a moment like she was mad at me and I look down, feeling bad for even saying it. "I can't believe you would think that of him. You should be ashamed."
I sit up and turn away from her, a blush staining my cheeks.
"You're right," I whisper, feeling gross for even asking. "I'm sorry."
I can feel her staring at me and then she sighs loudly.
"No," she grabs my shoulder and pulls me back down on the bed. "I'm sorry. I know how he is," she shakes her head. "But Ginny," she puts some hair over my shoulder. "You have to understand… You are his now. He will never do anything to intentionally hurt you."
"Why do you always say stuff like that?" I ask sharply, rolling on my back. "He doesn't actually own me, Daphne… I'm not his."
"If you're not his, Ginny," she starts and I glance at her. "Then who do you belong to?"
I don't say anything and she scoots closer to me.
"It's not a bad thing," she whispers. "To be had by him, you know. You really have no idea what it means that he has decided on you so completely. How lucky you are. How envious everyone is."
She bites her lower lip and then gives me a little smile.
"I see the way he looks at you. The way he touches you. He's never been that way with anyone…not even Sophie."
"Sophie?" She makes a face like she realized she said too much and she sits up. "Is that his ex? The French one?"
She nods her head and presses her lips together.
"What was she like?"
She doesn't answer right away and then she flicks her eyes to mine.
"I mean," she sighs loudly again before deciding what she wants to say. "She was beautiful," she says and I feel my heart sink a little bit. I didn't expect her to be ugly but I didn't want to hear she was beautiful either. "But I didn't like her very much. No one did. She knew what she had in Draco and she definitely abused that power."
"What does that mean?" I ask gently.
"Ginny, you're just so kind," she says, giving me a smile as she lays back down. "She wasn't kind. She was… She was a lot like him and together they just…" She turns away and scratches her cheek. "They made everyone's life a living hell."
I frown at that.
"And to top it off… She wasn't very nice to him either. He likes a little bit of fight. A little bit of push back because he can be so demanding… you know that… but she always took it too far and she wasn't like you. I don't even know how much she actually liked him at the end of the day and it seemed like she just went out of her way to hurt him sometimes. Almost like she just wanted to get a rise out of him for no other reason but to make him miserable," she says, looking at me with a sad smile. "But that's all over now," she says, turning to me again, putting her hand on my back and playing with the ribbon on the back of my dress. "Now you know why I'm so happy to have you around… why Draco keeps you so close and why he can be so strict. He knows what he has in you and he won't let himself lose that. Not now. Not when you are just so perfect for him."
I shouldn't have asked. I don't like the way it makes me feel knowing about his past relationship with the mean, beautiful French girl who seemed more his equal than I could ever be. She touches my arm and I look at her again.
"You're good for him, Gin. I can already tell and when you finally give yourself to him I know that you won't regret it… and he will be so happy. You want him to be happy, don't you?"
I nod my head.
I look at Daphne as she twists a golden curl around her finger. I bet if I was dating Harry and thinking of sleeping with him, Hermione would have totally different advice for me. She would never tell me to do things just to make him happy. She would tell me to do what made myself happy and to hell with everyone else. She would never insist that I belonged to anyone either.
I find myself frowning and I turn away from Daphne.
"I should probably head back," I whisper, feeling weird about everything.
"Oh," she sits up and nods her head. "Alright."
I put on my heels and grab my bag, not able to really look her in the eyes.
I pass by Daphne's little sister's room on my way out and I look into the cluttered mess of clothes and toys that litter the floor. Laying by the door is a fancy looking children's book with golden pages and a dark green cover. I pick it up as Daphne watches me and I flip it open- letting it land on one particular story.
The Tale of the Serpent and the Queen
"Can I borrow this?"
"Uh, why?" she asks as I close it and look at her.
"Because," is all I say.
"Sure, whatever."
I put it in my bag and it weighs heavily at my side as I make my way back to Folk Hills. I wait for my mum to come as I look down at my nails and hope she doesn't notice they weren't painted this color when she brought me here. She doesn't. At home, I eat dinner with my parents before taking a shower and then going to my bedroom. I leave one light on by the bed as I lay down on my stomach and flip open the book wearing one of Bill's old worn out quidditch jerseys that somehow ended up in my room after being passed down over the years. This telling of the story isn't as gory as the one from Dr. Carroll's office but the beats are still the same. Jealousy, murder, betrayal, a promise and a dagger ...
Hours pass and my eyes grow heavy… I end up falling asleep with my light still on and my head buried in the middle of the borrowed book. I dream of nothing but I jump up in panic when I hear a knock on my bedroom window. I squint at my clock. It's three thirty in the morning and I fumble around as I try to get up on sleepy legs to open the window.
"You startled me," I whisper, rubbing the drool from the side of my face as Draco steps inside.
"I'm okay, if you were wondering," he snaps harshly.
I haven't seen him since the day in the woods and he didn't answer the owl I sent him yesterday. Maybe that's why he's being so harsh but that's not very fair considering I have tried to reach out.
"I'm sorry," I say as I help him out of his cloak and run my hand up his arm. "Did you see a healer?"
He nods his head.
"I knew the curse he used," he says as he lifts his wand towards the door to lock it and this time he adds a silencing charm. "It was weak anyways. One potion fixed it," he says and then he turns to me.
I give him a tired smile and hug him with my arms wrapped around his middle. I pull back and give him a kiss, ignoring all my worries just because I'm glad he's here and I like being close to him. He looks down at me with a tilt to his head, his light eyes flicking over my face like he was trying to read my thoughts.
He looks exhausted.
There are dark circles under his eyes and his hair is disheveled. He's wearing that black outfit again and I nearly question him, but I stop myself. It didn't seem like the right time. He goes over to my vanity and he pulls the shirt over his head. I watch his back for a few moments before walking over to him and wrapping my arms around him from behind, pulling him close.
"I'm glad you're okay," I say against his skin before noticing how stiff his body is. "What's wrong?"
He grips my hands and brings them up to his lips, kissing my knuckles softly.
"I'm just tired. I'm sorry I frightened you. It wasn't my intention."
"It's alright," I say honestly as I kiss his shoulder blade. I'm just happy that I can do that anytime I want and I seem to forget all of my worried thoughts when I have him close to me. "I'm glad you came."
"I just want to sleep."
He takes off his trousers and I go back to my bed, sliding in so I'm against the wall as I wait for him. I like the way his body moves. I like how long his limbs are and how hard his muscles look under his skin. He was just so attractive to me and sometimes I couldn't believe my luck.
"Do your parents ever notice that you're gone at night?" I ask with yawn as he takes my borrowed book off my pillow and looks it over for a moment before snapping it shut.
"As long as I'm where I'm supposed to be in the morning," he says, putting it on the nightstand before sliding in beside me. He turns off the light and lays back against the headboard. "They could care less about what I do."
"That's weird. My parents are always all over me."
"I'm sure your parents wouldn't appreciate me sleeping over so often," he admits and I smile a little as he pulls me close.
"I bet not," I say softly and he runs his fingers up my arm.
I notice his watch is still on so I take it upon myself to remove it for him. I sit up and turn his wrist to take it off, letting a little yawn escape as he watches me closely.
"I'm sorry I scared you, Ginny."
"I said it was okay," I say, giving him a little smile as I put his watch on the nightstand, leaning over his lap. "I was just sleeping so hard–"
"No," he puts his hand on my back and catches me before I settle back in my spot. "I meant in the woods. With that wizard. I know that frightened you."
"Oh." I sit back. "Yeah, that was kind of scary." He looks over my face before sighing and putting some hair behind my ear. "It's okay, though," I say, looking down at his chest for a moment before giving him a timid smile. I take his right hand… The one he used to punch that crazy man in the woods and I kiss his knuckles. "He could have killed us." I say with my lips pressed to his skin. "You were so much braver than me." I rest his hand against my lap and look at his lips. "I've never been in a situation like that before and I wasn't sure what to do."
"Hopefully we will never be in another one like that," he says seriously. "But if we are… I will handle it better."
I nod my head and then let him give me a gentle kiss before he pulls me down to rest against his chest. Daphne was right. I should be ashamed for thinking Draco could hurt me. My thoughts just run away from me sometimes but Draco can make them stand still when he's touching me and being so sweet like he is now.
"I like being around you," he admits in a soft voice after a while as he dances his fingers up my arm. "I can relax. I don't have to worry about what you're planning."
"I'm not planning anything," I say, half asleep again as I put my leg over his.
"I know," he says, kissing the top of my head.
"What are you planning?" I tease but he doesn't answer and I'm too tired to care.
I fall asleep before he does.
I'm back in the chamber of secrets, sitting in a puddle of black ink as Tom walks around me. He has a devilish smirk on his face as he looks me over, dressed in his Slytherin school robes. He stops walking and smiles at me, his onyx eyes looking deep into mine. All of a sudden I was back in his trap once more, helpless and young and stupid.
"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny," his smooth voice chastises me with each click of his tongue. "Why must you always disappoint me?"
"I'm sorry," is all I say as he starts walking about me again, his polished shoes tap against the old stone floor.
I try to get up, but I slip in the ink and Tom laughs.
"You can't get away from me," he says, like I was being foolish for even trying. "You know that. I own you."
"You don't," I say in a small voice.
He looks me down and raises a dark eyebrow. "I do," he says and I shake my head. "Dark magic lingers, little Ginny, and I've put enough in you to last a lifetime. I. Own. You."
"You don't."
"I do."
"You don't!"
"I do."
"You don't!" I scream and then I wake with a start. I catch my breath and lean against my pillow as I close my eyes.
"I do."
I snap my eyes open and turn to Draco. "What did you just say?" I hiss at him as he rubs his eyes out with the heel of his palm.
"I asked if you were okay?" he says in a voice thick with sleep and I furrow my brows for a few moments before letting myself get pulled against his chest again.
"You don't," I whisper before closing my eyes.
He doesn't say anything to that. His lips find mine in the darkness and he gives me a firm kiss before falling back asleep.
XXXXXXXXXX
Xxx
I think Draco dislikes Theodore Nott as much as I do. It would explain all the irritated little looks he keeps giving him every time he speaks.
To be honest, I was surprised when Luna sent me the owl asking if Draco and I wanted to meet her and Nott at the Magical Museum of Magnificent Things. Her letter was short and kind of impersonal but I was just so happy that she was reaching out that I didn't even care. I was excited that she wanted to include me in whatever she was doing.
Draco said no at first. He didn't really give a reason other than he just didn't want to go but when I pointed out that I have been hanging out with his friends all summer long and he has never really hung out with any of mine- he eventually relented. He questioned then- how close I really was to Luna considering I complained a lot about her ignoring my owls and ditching me for Nott…. but I ignored his line of questioning because I did not like it.
I hated when he pointed things out like that but I found if I pouted a certain way he usually would give in.
I've never been on a double date before. Draco didn't seem like the kind of person to like that kind of thing and I was right because he most definitely wasn't enjoying it… and honestly- neither was I. It was painfully clear to me that Luna liked Nott more than he liked her. She hung on his arm and his every word and looked up at him with sappy rounded eyes like he was just the best thing that has ever happened to the world.
I found him dismissive and short with her. He wasn't as loud and abrasive as Zabini, but he did have a smugness to him. He was more bookish and it was clear he was smart- but he wasn't as charming as Draco or Zabini. He couldn't seem to read the room very well. He was blunt and unwavering and I hated the way he smiled. He never touched Luna back and seemed almost annoyed when she touched him. He never listened to what she said and he rolled his eyes when she told stories. I glared at him a lot and he glared right back as it was clear he was not a fan of mine either. I know Draco isn't exactly Prince Charming but at least I got the feeling that he liked being around me most of the time.
It was also clear to me that Nott wanted to impress Draco. He spoke seriously about boring topics and constantly asked Draco his opinion on things that Draco didn't seem to have an opinion on. He ignored Luna and he ignored me for the most part besides the occasional irritatingly amused look he would have when Draco was being stern with me or a little too bossy. Like when I asked one of the male attendants to point us the way of the African exhibit instead of letting Draco read the map for himself. I told him he was taking too long…which earned me a glare and sharp "I had it taken care of" talking to- like I had done something wrong. I knew I did absolutely nothing wrong by asking someone who worked there for help… but I still hated the look Nott gave me as I had to sit there and listen to Draco tell me just how annoying it was that I didn't listen to him while I knocked my knees together and looked at his throat.
I had to apologize and tell him I understood before he would let up and I looked at Nott only once to find him smirking.
I knew exactly what he was thinking too and it pissed me off so I made sure he knew exactly what I thought of him. When Draco finally turned around - I was able to give Theodore Nott my dirtiest look that made him laugh.
Luna, annoyingly, was just as dismissive to me as Theodore Nott was to her and it bothered me more than it probably should have considering all that had already happened between us.
She also noticed me glaring at Nott a lot and I could tell she took that personally too.
"Didn't you say one of your brother's was a dragon tamer?" Draco steps up beside me as I look down at a jade dragon sculpture from ancient China.
I nod my head. Pleased that he remembered but still a bit annoyed with him for chastising me in front of his friend.
"Charlie," I answer, flicking him a little look.
"That's pretty impressive," he says, smiling at me and clearly thinking he did absolutely nothing wrong.
"It is, isn't it?" I say, crossing my arms at the sudden chill because this room seemed so cold and I was still so irritated.
He takes my hand and kisses it while giving me a little wink like he thought that would endear him to me more…. And I guess it does but he doesn't need to know that. I find myself sighing before shaking that away and I narrow my eyes at the back of his head as he walks us into the other room. He squeezes my hand without looking back like he could feel my eyes on him… and I guess I forgive him because he looks so good in his clothes and his face is so handsome.
As if he heard my thoughts, he looks at me over his shoulder and gives me that charming smile of his. I smile back, completely aware of how weak I am.
The room we go into is much darker than the others and spotlights focus on fossilized dragon eggs and bones. I stop to look at some ancient beast stuck half in a large rock when I feel Draco behind me.
"Do you think we lost them?" He whispers against my ear and I bite back a smile as his hand comes up to grip my hip.
"We can hope," I say with a smirk, smiling for real when he kisses my cheek.
I watch as he walks off, going to read one of the information plaques on the wall with one hand casually in his pocket. I look at his profile as he furrows his brows to read and I smile a little to myself with my fingers up to my lips. He is dressed in a short sleeve Henley shirt tucked into pressed gray slacks only a shade darker than his top. Draco always dresses so nice- even when he's casual. I find myself paying more attention to my clothes because I want us to look nice together.
I wonder if he notices.
I suppose I don't just do it for him. I like wearing nice clothes... I like dressing up a bit. I had been put into a little tom boy box for so long that I was just so relieved to finally be out of it. To finally be more myself. I liked the feel of being feminine and pretty for a change and I found that being with Draco brought that side out in me more just because he was so masculine and refined. I liked cotton dresses and flowy skirts. I liked having my hair down and soft cardigans with delicate buttons. I liked robin's egg blue, pale pink, and different shades of purple. I liked floral patterns and delicate lace that looked good against my skin. I liked ribbons and silk and my handsome, well dressed boyfriend who took the lead and made sure to take care of things before I even had a chance to think about it.
Yes, I liked that a lot.
I take a step forward to approach him but Nott beats me to it and I frown.
Where did he even come from?
"They're both so tall."
I jump and look at Luna with my hand on my heart.
"How long have you been standing there?" I ask in surprise. She shrugs and steps up beside me. She is wearing a denim dress… some patchwork structured thing but her makeup was subdued… not nearly as fun or as fanciful as usual and I wondered if that was for Nott's benefit. I guess we both wanted to impress the guys we were with. "I didn't even hear you walk up."
"Not long," she answers and then she sighs loudly.
I don't say anything. I watch Nott talk to Draco. Whatever he said earned him a glare and I smirk a little to myself. I'm not the only one Daddy puts into place with a look. Stupid Nott. I hope Draco makes him apologize too.
Luna sighs loudly again.
"Is there something you would like to say?" I ask, turning back to Luna, irritated.
"Oh, nothing."
I go back to Draco and Nott but when Luna sighs yet again I turn to her fully with a scowl.
"What is it?" I ask sharply.
"Theo has been in such a stormy mood," she says seriously. "Draco has been pretty rude to him lately."
I feel like Draco is rude to most people so I'm not sure what to do with that information.
"Looks like they might work it out," she says in a light voice like they were girlfriends in a fight. "Theo is just so good at articulating his feelings."
I make a face at that. I don't care about any feelings Theodore Nott has.
I look at Draco again. He still looks irritated and steps away from Nott to walk out of the room. I have an awful moment where I think that Luna only invited us because Nott wanted to talk to Draco. Maybe it had nothing to do with me. Maybe Nott had convinced Luna to use me to get access to him… but that just seems like too much work and I realize how paranoid it made me sound.
Draco looks around the room until he spots me and then he makes a motion with his head to let me know he wants me to come to him.
I comply quickly, smiling a little to myself because I like him so much. Leaving Luna behind.
He holds out his hand for me to take and I grab it firmly as we walk into the next exhibit. This one has dragons made of smoke that spin around the room as a voice-over speaks of the named dragons of legend. Famous creatures known to wizards and muggles alike. I let go of Draco's hand and walk over to one of the smaller smoke dragons that's spinning in the corner. When I get close it turns a deep purple color and the voice over tells me it is a sea dragon that used to sink boats in antiquity.
"Can you give it a rest?" I hear a hissed whisper and I look to my left to see Nott pulling Luna's arm off of his shoulder. I narrow my eyes at him again. "Just stop touching me for a while."
He walks away from her and she frowns after him. I look away quickly when her eyes turn to mine so she doesn't know that I saw it happen. I feel bad now. I want to approach her and tell her Nott is a no good scumbag who should be so lucky that she wants to touch him- but something feels different between us and I'm not sure if she would want me to do that.
As I worry, I feel Draco come up behind and he puts his arm around my middle to pull me close. He doesn't say anything, he just bends down and puts hair over my shoulder to place a kiss on my neck.
"Think that corner is dark enough?" he whispers against my ear after a moment and I smirk.
"For what?" I whisper innocently as he begins rocking us back and forth.
"Hm," he says and I can feel his smile against my ear. "For you to take advantage of me."
I laugh and then I feel eyes on me. I look to my left again to see Luna watching us, her head tilted and her brows furrowed.
For some reason I feel embarrassed, so I step out of his embrace and face him with a little smile.
"None of that, Mr. Malfoy."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he says, his eyes dark and twinkling.
"Behave yourself."
"Me?" He seems offended as he places his hands on my waist to pull me closer to him. "You have dragged me to a fucking museum in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, Ginny," he says. "I think that deserves a little misbehavior."
"I thought you didn't like it when I misbehaved," I say as I bite the corner of my lip and he smirks.
"You're right," he says, his eyes on my lips. "I especially hate it when you don't listen to me." He smiles like he came up with an idea and he pulls me close. "Come here, then. Show me you can be a good girl."
He bends down to kiss me, but a museum staffer comes into the room, announcing that they are having a demonstration in one of the main gallery rooms in five minutes. Draco sighs loudly in disappointment but then he asks me if I'd like to go and I tell him I would. All the fossils and artifacts were getting kind of boring, honestly, and I really didn't want to get caught doing whatever Draco had just thought up.
He seems annoyed, but he leads the way anyway to the gallery room at the end of a long lighted hallway.
It's a large round space with curved wooden benches facing the small stage at the center of the room. It's already pretty packed. I let Draco lead as he walks us up the stadium like stairs and to the very back so we can rest against the wall.
I sit beside him and cross my legs, watching the progression of Nott and Luna coming up to meet us. To my utter annoyance- it is Nott who sits beside me and he gives me a funny little smirk that makes me frown and turn away.
I turn more towards Draco and take his hand to put it on my lap. His foot is bobbing impatiently but he doesn't complain. After a moment I bring his hand up to my lips and leave a kiss there. He glances at me and gives me a handsome smile before putting his hand back on my bare knee and gently moving it up my thigh slightly under my flowy skirt.
The lights go down and a spot light comes on at the center of the room. First they bring out real dragon eggs lying on a bed of thick leaves. The man speaks about a dragon's life cycle and the way they form in the egg as he lights a fire underneath them with his wand. They start to glow and I tilt my head in interest because I've never seen real ones before. Next, they bring out a baby dragon that's no bigger than a small dog and I sit straighter to see it over the crowd below us. It's a little green thing that spits fire into the air and crawls around its handler almost like a snake. It is actually quite adorable and I smile a little to myself.
I glance at Draco, only to see him already looking at me and he matches my smile before turning away and putting his arm around my shoulders as he sits back. I sit back as well just to be close to him and I put my hand on his thigh.
The next dragon they're going to bring in is a little larger so they lift their wands to make a fireproof wall between the gallery and the stage. Draco taps his fingers against my shoulder and I turn to him. He leans in to give me a kiss, lingering there and deepening it in a way that I know is inappropriate…. but I can't help but kiss him back.
"Oh, Ginny," Luna whispers breathlessly and I spare her an irritated glance around Nott before realizing she is trying to get me to look down at the gallery.
A man has already brought out the adolescent dragon who is about the size of a small pony and when the handler turns around I sit straight again.
"What is it?" Draco asks when he senses a change in me.
"That's my brother," I say, as Charlie gives a lecture about the kind of dragon he's showing. A black scaled green eyed thing with spikes down its back.
His voice is strong and loud… His hand movements animated. He's good at public speaking and he's funny, making little jokes at his own expense that makes the crowd feel more at ease with the fierce looking dragon that he is taming with his magic and his voice. I can tell when he spots me. He's feeding the dragon some kind of raw meat and when he looks up- his eyes seem to snap right to mine. He smiles at me and he winks to let me know he sees me and I give him a tight smile in return. My stomach tightens a bit. I know he'll want to talk to me now and I'm not completely sure if I'm ready for my secret to get out.
Draco brings his hand down and squeezes my thigh. When I look at him- he has his head tilted and his expression is challenging.
Will you be brave for me?
When the lecture is over, we hang behind until the gallery is all but empty and then I see Charlie come out. When he sees me, a smile breaks out on his freckled face and he waits for us to come down before giving me a tight hug.
"Gin," he says. "I didn't realize you'd be here today."
"I didn't know you'd be here," I say. "I thought you were doing field work in Romania."
"Still am," he says, his dark eyes sliding to Draco who stands beside me. There is a heavy pause. "I'm Charlie," he says when he realizes I'm not going to introduce them and he holds out his hand. "Ginny's favorite brother."
Draco reaches out and shakes his hand. "Draco," he says, giving me a little glance. "Ginny's favorite boyfriend."
Charlie laughs. There was no glare or shame… no shocked surprise… I figure Charlie doesn't actually know who he is and why would he? He's so much older and so far away from Ron and Dad's drama that there is a good chance he has no idea who Draco Malfoy is or what that means to our family.
"What a wonderful name," he says, smiling at me. Of course, it didn't even register with me why his name would be funny for where we were. "Does Mum know you have a boyfriend?" he says teasingly.
"Not yet," I mumble, my eyes flicking to Draco. He's taller than Charlie and his skin just seems so clear next to my brothers all over freckles. "She also doesn't know I came here today if you could…" I trail off.
"Well, I guess I won't tell," he says before checking his watch. "Would you guys want to eat lunch with me? I've got some time before I need to head back."
"Oh," I look behind me at Nott and Luna who are still up in the gallery. "We came with friends."
He glances up. "They can come too if they want," he says and then he gives me a grin. "My treat."
I want to say no. I really do- but I can't be that rude so I tightly nod my head. Nott and Luna decide to stay and finish walking through the exhibits. I'm grateful that I don't have to suffer an already awkward lunch with Nott sitting there smirking every time Draco speaks to me. We meet up with Charlie at a small bistro just a street down from the museum that has yellow tables and plastic covered booth seats. It was a small and simple place, with low hanging lights and a counter along the right side that had freshly baked pies under glass domes.
Charlie is already seated and Draco squeezes my hand for a moment because I think he knows that I'm nervous. We slide across from my brother and I exhale slowly as I pick up a menu, putting it up so I can pretend to read it as I cover my face.
"Gin," my brother laughs, reaching out to lower the menu. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I say, glancing at Draco who looks perfectly at ease.
"Good," he says, looking at Draco with a smirk as he pushes up his sleeves. He's wearing crimson dress robes… I suppose they are part of his uniform for work but he looked especially wizard-like and I was glad Draco got to meet him that way. "Are you guys in the same year?" he asks, trying to make conversation as he rests his right hand on the table after a waitress comes by to take our drink order. His arm is full of shining red scars and he has so many freckles that they almost make him look tan. He's stocky and full of large muscles… so different from how svelte Draco is… He just looked so hard and strong even though I knew how kind and soft he was.
"I'm a year ahead," Draco answers when he realizes I won't.
Charlie nods. "What house are you in, Draco? You a Gryffindor too?" he asks and it sounds so weird to hear him say Draco's name out loud without being mean about it.
Draco smirks. "Slytherin."
"Oh," Charlie looks at me and gives me a good natured smile. "A bad boy, then?" I blush and look down. "I'm only joking," he says when he sees that I'm embarrassed, his dark eyes earnest and almost apologetic. "Geez, I have never seen you acting so shy."
That just makes me blush more and I feel Draco's hand on my leg under the table.
"Being a dragon tamer seems like such an interesting career," Draco saves me from talking. "I imagine that is very exciting."
"Yes," Charlie answers, looking at me again when the waitress comes back with our waters. Sometimes I forget how charming Draco can be. How good he is at talking to adults because he can be so short and awful to his peers. "I've always loved dragons, you know," my brother says, looking at Draco again and smiling. His eyes are a lighter brown like mine and I wonder if Draco notices. "I never thought I would be where I am today but I'm grateful for the opportunities I've been given."
Draco nods and takes a drink before asking a few other polite questions about Charlie's job.
"Are you still writing, Ginny?" Charlie asks after a short pause. "I really liked that story you sent me last year. The one about the ghost."
I blush and tuck hair behind my ear as I nod my head. I can feel Draco's eyes on me. Charlie was my favorite sibling for a reason. He was the only one I felt actually saw me and took an interest in the things that made me… me. He was always so good at making people feel important when he spoke to them. Of remembering things that they liked and noticing things that made them special. Unlike Bill who was cool and aloof… Unlike Percy who was irritating and self important… Unlike Fred and George who were just so silly… and unlike Ron who could be so stubborn and self involved… Charlie was the kind of person who made you feel like you mattered even when the world was telling you otherwise.
I always tried to be like him when I spoke to people. I tried to look them in the eyes and remember things about them… but it always came so naturally to Charlie. It's why people like to be around him so much.
"I meant to come up and speak to you when I was last home," he says and I look down when I remember when that was… when they had their Order meeting and they spoke about McGonagall going missing. "I'm sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye."
"It's okay," I say quickly.
There's a pause as everyone looks down at their menus. I pretend to read mine and become distracted by Draco fiddling with the fabric of my skirt. It's a longer floral one that Draco said he liked because it had no structure and made it easier for him to–
"Do you play quidditch?" Charlie asks Draco when he realizes I'm just not going to talk very much and I blink out of my thoughts to look at him.
"I do," Draco answers. His voice is so smooth… so strong. How can one person always be so confident and articulate all the time? I was a mess when I met his mother. "I'm the seeker for my house team."
"He's also the team captain," I say, giving him a little smile.
"So you are good," Charlie smirks. "I was a chaser. I really miss playing the game." I can feel him looking at me again so I look up. "Ginny can play both positions really well."
"Yes, I know," Draco says, squeezing my thigh under the table. "I enjoyed playing against her last year."
I smile at him. He is so perfect sometimes.
"He's Head Boy this year as well," I say, glancing up at my brother and smiling a little bit. Proud for a moment of how intelligent and studious Draco can be on top of his other accomplishments.
"Ah, he's smart too," Charlie says with a charming smile. "What a catch."
I look at Draco's profile to see him smirking and then he looks at me, giving me a little wink before taking another drink from his water glass.
When the waitress comes back to take our order, Charlie goes first and then Draco… but I didn't even really read the menu so I panic a bit for being put on the spot. My eyes flick over the words that for some reason I can't seem to read and suddenly I feel Draco take the menu from my hand.
"How about you just have what I'm having, yeah?" he says and I nod my head before he turns to order for me.
I give him a grateful smile.
Draco and Charlie end up having a casual conversation about Hogwarts and quidditch. Charlie also likes the Falcons so they talk at length about the current season and the players… I can't seem to get away from that fucking team this summer… Charlie is good at conversation and Draco is charming with his answers so it was easy for them to go back and forth. Why am I so weird about this? It's great that Draco and Charlie are getting along. It's great that someone from my family is actually meeting him… but why do I feel like something bad is going to happen because of it. Like he is going to run home and tell our mum about today… and I won't be allowed to see Draco anymore.
But that's a stupid thought.
I look at my brother.
Charlie would never do that to me.
We eat in relative silence when our food comes. Draco had ordered some kind of sandwich and salad. Charlie was eating fried chicken and chips, his short, wavy hair shining like copper under the low hanging lights. I listened as he spoke of his job in Romania- of the dragons he was working with and the muggles who they had to confound.
Draco asked more courteous questions and seemed to take an interest. They talked about education and my brother Bill who was a curse breaker. Draco had no siblings but he did mention that his grandfather had been a curse breaker in his youth. That was something I did not know and I gave him a curious look as he divulged more of himself and his history with so much casual ease to my brother who I loved so very much.
I was so pleased with him. I found myself smiling and taking his hand under the table. Every once in a while, I would speak or answer a question Charlie asked me about my summer and my job and how our parents were treating me.
"I know it's hard," he said after I told him about all the unfair restrictions I felt they placed on me. "They're trying their best. It's such a strange time," he said, sliding his eyes to Draco. "I know you understand that."
He doesn't want to bring it up but I can tell he's curious to know Draco's thoughts on the matter. I try to change the subject then. I start talking about Fred and George's joke shop and Draco surprises me again by saying he was always impressed with the magic they managed to create on their own.
Eventually Charlie checks his watch and says he has to leave. He pays for our lunch even though Draco insists that he doesn't have to and I could tell that Draco felt a certain kind of way about it. I don't know if he has ever been to a dinner or lunch where he wasn't expected to pay for it. His insistence made Charlie smile and say it was his way of apologizing because we had to look at his ugly mug while we ate. That made Draco laugh. They shook hands again before Charlie turned to pull me into a tight hug.
"See you later, Gin," he says against my ear before taking off.
I sit back down and watch him leave the small bistro, a strange feeling settling in my chest.
"I didn't think that was possible," Draco says and I look at him as he places his napkin on the table.
"What do you mean?"
"That there is a bearable Weasley man out in the world."
I throw my napkin at his chest and he smiles.
"Come on," he says, taking my hand and helping me up. "Let's get out of here before Nott and your strange little friend decide they want to find us again."
I smile at him.
I am so happy now. I had been so nervous and so uncomfortable for the whole thing but now I feel like I'm floating and I don't think I will ever come back to earth. I know I have to go home. I know that… but I wish I could pull him somewhere and show just how much I appreciate how he handled himself. I keep my eyes on him the whole time we walk down the sidewalk and he seems to not mind me staring at him as he brings us to the safe app zone.
When we pop back at Folk Hills, I attack him.
I pull him into a punishing kiss and push him back to the arches just as he had once done to me. He laughs and gently pushes me back as a few pink petals fall around us from the tree branch above.
"Not here, Ginny," he says with a smirk when I put my hands on his belt. "Ginny," he shakes his head. "I didn't close the App Zone."
I look behind me at the blue fire sign and then I glance back to him… understanding for the first time that when he had put his fingers in me out in the open that he had made sure that no one was going to come and see what he was doing. He thinks of everything when I think of absolutely nothing at all. He checks his watch and then lifts his brows with sigh.
"We really don't have much time anyway."
"We could…" he looks down at me as I curl up on my toes to kiss him again. "Go into the supply closet?" I ask with a shy smile and he laughs.
"I think not."
"No?" I ask, confused as I fall back on my heels
I'm a little disappointed, honestly. He sees it and smiles at me again.
"No, I'm not going to be taking you in there," he says, leaning down to kiss my pouting lips. "But…" he looks down at me and then pulls me against him with his hands on my waist before locking his hands together behind my back. "Maybe you can tell me what you had in mind." he raises his eyebrow at the blush on my cheeks. "What exactly were you going to do to me in that closet, Ginny?"
I can't really say anything and he smiles as he runs his thumb over my lips.
"Come on," he whispers, his eyes dark. "Give me something to think about before you have to leave."
I swallow hard and then I look up at him. What can I do that he'd like? He won't stop looking at me so I lick my lips nervously and try to be sexy about it.
"I…." He tilts his head. "I want to try to take the whole thing again."
His eyebrows shoot up in surprise and a little smile comes to his face.
"Like you wanted," I say, looking at his throat and feeling embarrassed. "That first time… In my mouth. I think I can do it now."
"Do you?" he says, amused before he leans down to kiss me. He presses into me and I can feel just what my words did to him even if I can't be as confident with it as he is. "You'll have to show me later, yeah?"
I nod my head, feeling pleased with myself and just as turned on at the thought of it because I liked doing that to him.
Someone pops behind me and I turn quickly to see one of the waitresses in her purple dress looking frazzled. She doesn't even notice us as she puts on her hat and runs towards the building. My heart is hammering and I realize how it would look if my mother popped in next, so I step away from the wall and away from Draco to stand on the pathway where the sun is beating down so brightly. Draco stays with his back still on the wall. I squint my eyes against the sun as he props up his foot and I glance his way only to find him staring right at me.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Looking at you," he says with a smirk. "I'm going to come to your room tonight," he says seriously, his eyes looking down at my body in a way that makes my face hot. "I want you to have all your clothes off when I get there." He pushes off the wall and walks towards me. "Will you do that for me?" He smiles when he gets close. "That way I have another pleasant thing to look forward to?"
I nod my head.
"I like that thought," he says, leaning down to give me a gentle kiss. "That you'll be waiting in bed for me naked. Make sure it happens, yes?"
"Yes," I whisper as he pulls back to stare down at me. "I will."
There's another pop and I turn to the blue fire sign to see my mum. I try to school my features even though my heart is in my stomach. She looks at me as I turn to walk towards her… not even bothering to see what Draco is doing as her eyes slide to him with a tilted head.
"Is that the Malfoy boy?" she whispers harshly when I get close to her.
She takes my arm and I look over my shoulder.
Draco did not turn to walk away like I thought he would. He's just staring at us, one hand in his pocket and the other is up by his face, his thumb running over his lower lip. Why is he being all sexy while he looks at me and my mum? What is wrong with him?
"Was he bothering you?" she asks sharply before he smirks and turns to walk away.
"No," I say quickly as I let her pop us back home. "I just passed by him," I lie when we land in the fields outside the Burrow. "He didn't say anything to me."
She nods and doesn't ask about him again. I think she just bought what I said because what was the alternative? That I might actually be talking to Draco Malfoy of my own free will? That her daughter was actually in a relationship with Lucius Malfoy's son and liked it when he kissed her? That tonight he was going to sneak into my room where I would be waiting for him naked under my covers so I could try to take his entire dick in my mouth… and then after that I might even let him eat me out on the patchwork quilt she had made for me when I was still young and innocent?
No, she would never even think those things were a possibility.
Honestly, sometimes I can't even believe it myself.
When night comes with its twinkling stars and crescent moon, I leave the window propped open in anticipation. I take off all my clothes and make sure to put them in my hamper before sliding into bed to wait for him. I find myself smiling as I sink back against my pillows. I feel giddy… excited… knowing what's coming and I start fantasizing about him again… about his voice and his fingers and what his sex would feel like. I'm asleep when he finally comes and I wake to his hand on my face. He smiles down at me as he pulls back the covers to see my body and I lay back to let him look before I sit up with a smile. He stays standing beside my bed as I unbuckle his belt. He's already ready and I smirk at him before taking him in my hand.
"Open your legs," he whispers as I pull up my knees and open them for him. I can't help but smile when he bends down slightly to slip his fingers inside of me. "I've been thinking about this all fucking day," he says gently and I glance up at him as he pushes hair out of my eyes to get a better look at me. "You have no idea how excited I am for this."
"I'm excited too," I admit in a little whisper and that just seemed to make him smile more.
He pulls off his shirt and throws it behind him before cupping my face in his hand. He gives me a beautiful smile before bending down to kiss me.
"Ready?" he asks as he pulls back slowly. I nod my head. He looks over my face and then he smirks. "Open up, then." I do as he says and open my mouth so he can press himself inside. I hear him start breathing heavier as I put my arms behind me to prop myself up. "There you go," he whispers, gathering my hair up in his left hand and pressing his hips forward. He pulls back out and tries again. "Come on, Ginny." I can practically feel the smile on his face as he watches me. "You can take it," he whispers, pulling back out before pushing back in, deeper this time until I can feel it hit the back of my throat.
I have to pull back because it's too much and my chest heaves as I try to catch my breath. I crinkle my nose and look up at him.
"I'm sorry."
He takes my chin in his hand. "Don't be sorry," he says, giving me a reassuring smile. "You're doing a great job," he says with a little smile. He runs his thumb over my lips before using it to pop open my mouth. "Let's try again."
He waits for me to agree so I nod my head, leaning forward to take him in my mouth again.
This time I try really hard to relax.
"You almost got it, babe," he whispers, pushing in a little more firmly with his hand keeping my head in place. I move the way that he likes to save me some time before I try again and he makes a little noise that shows me he likes what I'm doing. "Here." He says, pressing his hips forward again, going deeper. "Take what I give you this time."
I end up shivering at his words and I press my legs together and move my hips to feel the friction.
"Use your fingers," he says breathlessly, stopping a minute to grab my hand and placing it between my legs. "I know you want to," he says, putting his fingers over mine to press it into my sex that's so incredibly wet. "I know doing this to me turns you on," he says, getting back into position and guiding himself back into my mouth with his hand fisted a little more tightly in my hair. "Do it so I can watch."
I don't know which one of us is happier when I manage to take the whole thing without gagging. I feel very proud and accomplished when I manage to do it and he makes a strange strangled noise before releasing instantly into the back of my throat. When I pull back, I laugh a little and he does that little chuckle that I love as he falls on top of me.
"Gods," he says, burying his face into the crook of my neck. "You're just amazing, aren't you?"
I laugh again, running my fingers through his hair before kissing the side of his head. He lays against me for a moment before sighing loudly as he sits back on his knees. He gives me a little smirk before grabbing his wand from the side table and settling at the end of my bed with his back against the footboard.
"What are you doing?" I ask, sitting up as he lounges there with his body slightly turned, propped up on his right elbow. He still has his pants on, but they are unbuckled and open.
"Finish what I told you to do," he says and when I give him a questioning look he takes my hand and puts it back between my legs. "Touch yourself," he says, settling back against the footboard and getting comfortable with one if his legs propped up on the bed. "I told you I want to watch."
I bite my lip, a little embarrassed before starting to move my hand. I don't really do this to myself this way so I try to imitate Draco's fingers as he lights his wand with a Lumos spell.
"Draco, really?" I say in annoyance as he puts his wand beside him on the bed. I close my legs and sit up a bit more.
I take the blanket and cover my stomach and chest because I find the angle so unflattering. Especially with a damn light pointed at me.
"I want to see," he explains, like it was perfectly reasonable. "Do you want me to turn on all the lights?" I shake my head with a blush as he reaches out to tug the blanket away. "Didn't think so. Now, open your legs and do what you're told."
He was using that voice. I close my eyes and open my legs again, bringing my hand down to touch that place in the front that makes everything feel so amazing. I'm kind of embarrassed that he's watching me so closely but it also makes me feel kind of sexy. I arch my back and try to find a good rhythm… one that his fingers always seemed to find so quickly but I can't seem to get it just right.
"Put your fingers in," he says in a husky whisper.
When I open my eyes, I see him staring so intently between my legs. It wasn't so much what my hand was doing that was making me so hot… but it was the way he was looking at me. His chin tilted down and his gray eyes slightly narrowed. He was super focused on my sex-like he was trying to remember every single detail about it. I barely even liked looking at his and here he was studying mine like there was going to be an important exam on it later.
I do as he says and I hear him click his tongue.
"Use more than one finger, Gin," he says flatly, flicking his eyes to me like he was annoyed. He brings his hand down to his lap and it disappears inside his briefs. "There you go," he whispers as I use my two middle ones to press inside, slightly lifting my hips so I can reach it better. "Can you add another?"
I shake my head.
"No?" He whispers smoothly as he strokes himself and then he gets up and hovers over me, pulling my hand back and giving it a playful lick that makes me giggle. "How about I try, then." He slides his fingers inside of me and I arch my back into his chest. Yes, that feels much better. "I can get three in sometimes," he whispers as he watches my face. "You're so turned on I don't think you even notice," he says with a smirk. "It's tight," he whispers, watching my face as I feel him add another finger. "But you were made to stretch for me. Did you know that?"
I bite my lip again and he pulls out to rub his fingers against the good place in the front. It makes me buck my hips against him and he grins before bending down to kiss me. When I'm finished, he falls against me again, his face back in the crook of my neck with his breath warm against my skin. He sighs loudly to himself as I wrap my arms around him with a pleased little blush on my face.
"I can't believe summer is almost over," he says, sounding half asleep as I wrap my legs around his hips to pull him closer. "What am I going to do when I can't sneak into your room and have my wicked way with you anymore?"
I smile a little before finding myself feeling sad.
Sometimes it's easy to forget about his temper and his darkness and all the weird things happening around us when it's just the two of us intertwined on my rickety little bed. I can pretend that things will be perfect and that there will be nothing to worry about with the coming end of this blissful humid summer that took me completely by surprise.
I start to worry… About school and about the fact that we are in different houses. I wonder if he expects me to sit with him in the Great Hall and what would I do if he did? The fact that soon everyone will know that we are together bothered me for some reason ... I couldn't even hide it if I wanted to… Not when he's always touching me and looking at me and demanding all my attention all the time. Would I want to hide it? I can already see how angry he would be if I did. Maybe it would hurt him too and all his friends would glare because how dare I think I was above dating The Malfoy…That coveted bloke every girl they knew apparently wanted so damn badly… but who every person I knew absolutely hated.
A part of them would understand, right? I mean… just the fact that I would have to go and look people in the eye… people Draco and his friends had been so cruel to in the past… and honestly tell them that I liked Draco Malfoy and wanted to be with him. The same people they had called such hateful slurs and thrown such dirty hexes at would probably look at me like I had lost my damn mind….
But.
It's not like any of those people I'm worrying about reached out to me this summer. It's not like anyone cared… So why should I care about what they think at all? Draco was the only constant thing I have going for me. He's the only person who cared and took an interest… and maybe it was shameful that I would even think of hiding my relationship with him when he saved me from myself and saw me when no one else did. I should be loyal to him… He was right. I should be brave for him because he was brave for me.
He pops his head up and looks over my face.
It's like he could sense my melancholy and my troubled thoughts because he brings his fingers up to run along my forehead and nose. He doesn't say anything but he does sit up a bit more and then he presses a kiss to my furrowed brow… and then to my cheek… and then to the other side… and then to my temple… and then to my chin… and then to my nose…. I end up smiling and he smirks when he sees it before pressing a long and gentle kiss to my lips- relaxing more against me, cradled between my thighs like he was always meant to be there... And maybe he was.
We fit so perfectly together.
The future was coming for us like a barreling train… I could feel it…. but right now I don't even care that we are tied to the tracks.
I was going to be steadfast for Draco Malfoy even if it killed me.
XXXXXXXXX
This can't possibly be real.
I stand at the front gate of Malfoy Manor, wearing the stupidly fancy vermillion dress as I nervously pick at my lower lip, ruining the lipstick and gloss the beautician so perfectly applied only an hour ago… but what else can I do? Hide? Run away? I kind of want to. I want to lift my wand and go straight back home where I belong... Right back to my small and messy home that's a collection of different spells and materials pressed together over years and tears and empty wallets.
As I stare up at the house in the distance, the reality of Draco's wealth finally hits me in a way it never has before. It's a heavy bag of stones that smacks me right in the gut and I put my hand over my stomach when I feel it land heavy there. What did you expect? The voice in my mind whispers. You knew his family had money. But who has this much money? Who even needs it?
I can't help but think about Draco coming to my dinky little bedroom in my shabby little home…. and then leaving to come back to this.
What was he even thinking?
What am I even thinking?
The house sits on top of a hill that looks down through diamond pane windows over seemingly never ending grounds of green hedges and beautiful flowering trees all lined in a row. It's a large, menacing thing and it doesn't even look like one house… but a collection of many homes all pressed together taking up the entire horizon with its beautiful symmetry and complicated architecture. It was something to be marveled at… something to be admired.
It was a work of art.
I laugh and cover my mouth when I see the white peacocks strutting around the fountains and flowers.
This can't possibly be real.
Lighted torches illuminate a straight stone road that leads up to the grand estate that is larger and grander than anything I could have ever imagined. Even Zabini's Manor house couldn't hold a candle to the beauty and scope that makes Malfoy Manor so… absolutely breathtaking. It was too much for one family… It was too much for one hundred families… and I feel a little sick, actually. I turn away and put a hand on my stomach again, trying not to panic.
I knew Draco was wealthy. I knew that. Everyone told me. Everyone felt the need to mention it at one point or another that Draco had money just as people felt the need to point out my lack of it… but… I glance back at the Manor. I don't think my mind could properly comprehend exactly what that meant. Money… Wealth… It was such an abstract thing to me… maybe because I never had it and I never expected to… but this was something else.
This was insanity.
A carriage approaches, led by two midnight black horses with funny little head pieces. I tear my eyes away from the house to watch them come near and I step back to get out of the way as they pass through the gate like it was made of smoke. The horses move sharply to the right and the carriage door pops open in front of me.
There is no driver and I send the horses a worried look before climbing inside with a nervousness pooling in my stomach that makes me feel almost cold. Like I was chilled to the bone even though it was a warm summer night.
The door shuts when I settle onto the cushioned seat and two little gas lanterns light up on the opposite wall to show a blue silk lining with silver brocade.
I swallow hard again. Suddenly my throat is very dry.
I resist the urge to hop out and run in the opposite direction. I know I don't belong here. I can feel it and I'm sure the house will be able to too. Like it was a living thing that would chew me up and spit me out once it realized I wasn't where I should be.
I glance out of the window as the horses trot forward to take in the complicated topiary sculptures on the front lawn. They are shaped into the likenesses of magical creatures. A unicorn, a griffin, a mermaid… and a dragon sit frozen in place around small lighted fountains that spit out strange black water. I can't even look at it anymore. I fall back into the seat and close my eyes.
This is just a house. I tell myself. The Malfoy's are just people.
I have a house and I am a person.
Somehow it doesn't feel the same anymore.
The carriage finally comes to a halt and the door magically pops open again.
I take a deep breath and try to be brave as I step out and then look up at the house. It's even worse close up. I can see all the details… The reliefs in the stone… The sculptures on the balconies… The diamond pane windows that looked so beautiful from a distance are even more impressive up close. The house was made up of gray, smooth stone and it had four impossibly large carved columns holding up a roof over the entrance where lanterns hang down burning with a gold, glittering light.
The carriage and the horses take off when my feet hit the ground and I watch them disappear into the darkness down another path along the side of the house.
There are two staircases in front of me. One to the right and one to the left… I don't even know which one to take but they both have the same destination. A very big wooden door carved with an intricate lace like pattern that was so very beautiful. I inhale another deep before hiking up the skirt of my dress and going up the staircase to the right.
I will be brave.
That's really all I have going for me, anyway.
When I reach the landing and those impossible carved doors, I stop and stand back a bit. Trying to tame my beating heart.
I hate walking into places by myself. It makes me so nervous… but Mrs. Malfoy had asked me to come early so hopefully no one is here just yet. Of course, I had to come. I couldn't wait. Or hang back…Not when she paid to have her salon do my hair and makeup. Not when she paid to have them paint my nails, wax my eyebrows, and put some weird feeling potion on my face that made my skin smell amazing and feel incredibly soft. My mum was never that kind of woman so I was never treated to that kind of pampering before. I found that I liked it and it made me feel guilty for some reason. Like I was betraying the woman my mother was and wanted me to be.
Maybe being here betrayed that too.
I never got to see the Prewett Estate. It was long gone by the time I came around but I have to wonder if my mother has ever been to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa was far too young to know my mother but Lucius Malfoy wasn't. Thoughts I never had before come to me... About my mother and her history and this stupid bloody house… but before I can fully realize them… the front doors slowly open to reveal an impossibly beautiful front hall. The floor was checked green marble and the walls were sculpted around large paintings of pointy faced men and women who looked down at me with curious tilts of their fine heads. I take a few steps inside, nervous and trying to still my hands from shaking.
The hall is large… and tall… I think my entire house could fit in this room alone.
When I hear a delicate cough, I look towards the grand staircase. Another large imposing thing covered in a fine patterned carpet of dark greens and blacks.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Ginevra."
Mrs. Malfoy stands towards the bottom, wearing a slinky blue dress that fits her well and hugs her slim figure.
"I've been waiting so patiently for you," she says as she walks towards me. I go to meet her because, honestly, if I made her walk all the way to me from across this long hall I feel like she'd need to take a water break. "How beautiful you look," she says when she gets near, giving me a closed mouth smile as she grabs my arms and air kisses my cheeks. "I knew they would take good care of you."
"Thank you," I say because I know I should… but my voice… my voice is a weak fluttering whisper. "Your home is…" I trail off, unable to say the rest and she squeezes my arm like she understands my meaning.
"Draco is still getting dressed," she says, taking my arm and walking us towards that imposing staircase. "We have to finish getting you ready."
The grand staircase splits off into two directions towards the top where there is a large curved stained-glass window that's made up of two dragons on either side of a coat of arms colored in greens, grays, blacks, and a steely blues. I can't see much of it in the darkness but I'm sure it's just as enviable as the rest of the house when the light is shining in. She walks us up the left side as I try not to gawk at all the finery around me. The sculpted ceilings… the long beautiful rugs under our feet…. The never-ending art works and random pieces of expensive looking furniture.
It's just… it's honestly overwhelming and she patiently answers questions I didn't even ask when she sees me looking at different paintings… and hallways… and staircases… because there are so damn many of them.
We end up in a pink dressing room on the second level….. Or, I suppose that's the way to describe it. It wasn't a bedroom and it wasn't a sitting room either. It did have a fireplace with two very uncomfortable looking blue couches that faced an empty wall. Mrs. Malfoy takes my purse to place on top of one of them. For safekeeping, she says as she takes out my wand and hands it to me. There were four ornate looking wardrobes on either side of a large window painted white with gold handles. I look at them as she takes out her wand and mutters a spell to one of the empty walls… turning the entire thing into a mirror.
I look at it and blink in surprise.
"Stand there."
She points her wand to a spot right in front of the mirror. I watch with my arms crossed as she walks to the wardrobe closest to the window. She opens the doors and I gasp at what I see there. The entire thing is lined in dark blue velvet and covered in jewels. They glitter against the darkness like a starry night and I try not to make a face at it because I have never seen anything like it before. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, hair clips, headbands… Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, gold, and silver… all shimmer in the firelight.
"Let's see," she sighs with her wand against her lips. "Oh, yes," she lifts her wand and levitates the set she wants. "Here we are," she says as she grabs them in the air and glides back towards me
She smiles that beautiful Draco smile as she steps up behind me.
"This actually belonged to my grandmother," she says, putting the necklace around my neck. It's a heavy teardrop stone that's a pretty yellow green color. It's surrounded by diamonds that line a gold chain until they get smaller and teeter off towards the clasp. "I hope you don't mind," she says, her ice eyes looking at my reflection. "Tonight, you will be wearing Black family jewels instead of Malfoy ones."
"It's beautiful," I say honestly, looking back down at it as she clasps it behind my neck.
I knew her sister was Bellatrix Lestrange… I knew of the darkness that lingered in her family line but her other sister was Andromeda Tonks… who I saw as wholly good. I'm just not sure where that put Narcissa Malfoy on my spectrum of good and evil. I blink and make a face at the thought because I just realized that Tonks and Draco are cousins. I couldn't even imagine them being in the same room let alone the same family... Mrs. Malfoy notices the struggle I'm going through. I see her eyes narrow for a second when she catches it but I give her a tight smile so she doesn't think I'm making that face over her generosity.
"This is such a beautiful color combination," she continues after a pause. "This green is actually my favorite color," she muses as she puts in the right earring. It feels weird to me and I try not to wince even though it doesn't hurt. "Peridot," she explains, touching the yellow-green gem before sighing and putting the left earring in. "One of my favorite stones as well."
The jewelry is heavy against my skin, mostly because it looks so expensive and it's weighing on my conscience. I look at the earrings. They dangle down and have the same tear drop shaped stone on each side.
"See," she says as she smiles at me from the mirror. "You look like a true lady now."
"Thank you."
She steps in front of me… her eyes looking deeply into my own. I'm not sure what she's doing or what she's looking for but she ends up taking my hand and smiling a little.
"All dresses made by this designer have a pocket for your wand," she says, taking my wand from my hand and showing me the opening under one of the draping folds by my hip that I never even noticed.
She pushes it inside and it disappears into the fabric, smooth and neat like it had never been there at all. I smile genuinely and look up at her because I like it. She smiles back and tilts her head.
"Now, I have something to show you."
I watch her walk over to a small side table. Her dress is completely backless and her skin is so impossibly smooth and pale. I could never wear a dress like that. My chest was too big and I needed support but Mrs. Malfoy was so slim…. it looked perfect on her. She opens up a small box and takes something from inside it. She glances at me before walking over and handing me a photograph.
"Pansy Parkinson showed me this earlier," she says as I bring the photo up to see it better. "Of course, I was too young to know any of them but I thought this might interest you."
It's a coming out picture. I can see about fifteen girls standing on the grand staircase that I just walked up wearing white dresses and beautiful headpieces.
"This is her mother," she says, pointing to a thin, dark haired girl. "Portia." She smiles. "She married Pierce Parkinson right after she graduated."
She's pretty. She looks more like Ivy than Pansy and I smile a little as my eyes scan the other debutants… but then I find a familiar face and suck in a breath.
"Someone you know?" she asks softly.
"My mum," I say, flicking my eyes to hers before looking back down at my seventeen-year-old mother.
She's wearing that beautiful ivory dress and her hair is down and curled, reaching well past her shoulders and nearly down to her waist. She was wearing that headpiece I didn't understand but this time a veil was attached to the back of it… All the girls had veils. My mother looked so pretty and so happy. She was already dating my dad at this point and I had to wonder if he came to Malfoy Manor too that night. If he was invited to her coming out ball just as I was invited to come tonight.
"Molly was a beautiful girl, wasn't she?" she says and my eyes snap to hers again because she used my mother's first name. "I just thought you'd like to see."
"There isn't…" I clear my throat and look back down at my mother, smiling at the camera. "There isn't much from before she married my dad," I admit. "Thank you for showing this to me."
I give it back to her and she smiles.
"Of course."
She puts the picture back in the box and turns to me again.
"Let's get you downstairs. People are arriving now and the other girls need my attention."
I look at her smooth back as she walks to the door… Her soft blonde is down, a shining sheet of straight hair over her left shoulder and she wears a long string of pearls with matching earrings that dangle down.
"The other girls?"
She looks over her shoulder.
"The girls that are being introduced tonight," she explains, opening the door and making a motion for me to step out with her. "They're in the room down the hall."
"Oh." Of course, that makes sense. It was such a stupid question.
She walks me all the way to the top of the staircase on the left. I can hear voices and violin music coming from down stairs and I feel a nervous flutter in my stomach as I run a hand over my hair to make sure it's smooth.
"I will meet up with you later," Mrs. Malfoy says and then she kisses my cheek again. I didn't expect it and I tensed my body up at the contact.
"Bye," I say weakly and I watch her walk away.
What am I supposed to do now?
I move a little bit into the shadows and go towards the railing where I can look down at the foyer below.
There are so many people here already.
They come in, flurries of colorful dress robes and ball gowns. Their voices crescendo over the music as waiters all dressed in yellow hand out drinks and walk around with trays of small finger foods. I recognize some of the people from the papers… Actual big names in the government and entertainment…. I have that awful thought of running away again. I don't think anyone would notice. If I just kept my head down and walked right through that crowd I could make it outside with no one the wiser.
I want to bite my nails but they are painted to match my dress and I really don't think it would be a good idea to ruin them… so I resist. I try to find Draco, but I don't see him anywhere and I chew on my lip nervously as my eyes scan the crowd. I find Zabini… he stands alone by a grand fireplace that could fit an entire family inside and he looks around the room with an eyebrow arched. I can see Vincent Crabbe standing with someone who must be his father because he also looks like a meaty moron… and I see the Minister of Magic with his wife.
I have no idea what to do with myself and I feel stupid… so incredibly stupid.
I just don't belong here at all.
"You clean up well," someone whispers in my ear and I jump in surprise.
Draco.
I would sigh in relief if I wasn't so damn startled. He puts his hand on the railing by my side as he laughs at my reaction.
"Laugh it up," I say as I face the crowd again, my brow furrowed in worry. "Sneaking up on people isn't polite," I scold and he smirks as he takes a drink from the fancy looking glass in his hand. It looks like champagne but I don't really know how to tell.
"How was my mother?" he asks as he studies my profile.
"She was nice," I admit softly and then I glance at him.
He's wearing a set of traditional dress robes over a crisp black shirt and well fitted waistcoat. He looks sinfully handsome in his clothes… like a true old-fashioned wizard. I like men in dress robes. There's something so distinguished about them. Especially the fitted black ones he was wearing that had some fancy silver embroidery around the wrists and collar. The same pattern, I realize… as the one on my own dress.
"I was a nervous wreck, though." I turn away, trying not to think naughty thoughts about him because my stomach hurts and I'm still deciding whether or not I should run away. "I think I only said a handful of words."
"That's all she needs," he says as he eyes me up and down then he pushes his robe to the side to place a hand in his trouser pocket. "She's always wanted a daughter to dress up... and dress you up she did," he says with a pleased smile as his eyes scan my body. "You look very beautiful."
I blush. "Thank you," I mutter as I shyly look away.
We stand in silence for a while and then he brings his hand up to run his knuckles up and down my arm as we look at the guests below.
"Are any halfblooded or muggle born girls ever introduced?"
"I believe you know the answer to that," he says as he takes another drink from his glass.
Fair enough.
"Why is your family so big on the pureblooded stuff anyways?" I ask with a frown as I think of my mother… When she was young and in that beautiful dress buying into all this stuff if only for a night.
He keeps stroking my arm like I was a cat on his lap and I suppose that's just what I am.
"Your family doesn't exactly practice what it preaches, now does it?" he asks as I watch more people enter the hall. "You're still a pure line even after all this time. So you can say your family loves muggles and half breeds, but none of the Weasley's marry them."
Half breeds. I bristle at the name.
"That's not what I asked," I whisper because he's right and I don't like thinking about it.
"The more muggles and half-bloods you let into a family, the more squibs it produces," he says and I furrow my brows because I'm not totally sure if that's true. "It's a fact," he says like he was reading my mind. "And our magic wanes around big groups of muggles. That's why we've kept separate from them for so long and why they shouldn't be allowed in our world. If someone doesn't care about the purity of our blood, then we will go extinct."
"Muggles have magical babies all the time," I point out. "I doubt that will ever stop happening."
"That might be true, but they aren't very powerful."
"Hermione is the smartest witch in your grade," I say hotly and he gives me an unpleasant smirk.
"She's smart but she's not powerful," he says seriously like he truly believed that. "She can read all the books she wants, it will not make her a better witch."
I don't agree with him at all and I turn my head away.
"It's all in the numbers, love. I'm not making any of this up." I don't say anything. It was a bitter topic to bring up and I regret it already. "Let's go downstairs," he says as he touches my ear, playing with the dangling earring. "It's getting a bit thick up here, don't you agree?"
"Yes," I say with a sigh. "I agree." Neither of us move for a while. I look at him, taking in his sharp profile as he looks down into the foyer below. "I'm nervous," I admit.
"Don't be," he says. "My father is obviously going to be here tonight," he says and I nod my head, trying to ignore the awful feeling in my stomach. "But I asked him to keep his distance from you." I look at him as he takes my hand and runs his thumb over my skin. "Until you're ready to engage in conversation with him, he will stay away. From your reaction the last time you saw him, I want you to know that it would not be considered rude for you to not greet him like it normally would be because he is the host." I look up at him worriedly. That thought literally never crossed my mind. "You're the lucky one that gets a free pass."
"Does your father hate me?" I ask. I know that he was the one who gave me the diary that had messed me up so terribly, but he was still Draco's father... and for some reason I didn't want his parents to not like me…. as messed up as that is.
"Of course not," he says as he lets our hands fold together so he can lead me downstairs
When we get to the landing by that beautiful window there's a loud bang that makes me jump and I stay still even though Draco goes down a couple steps. Suddenly lights shine from somewhere outside, bathing us in the greens, blacks, grays, and dark blues of the colored glass. I was right… It was beautiful and much more intricate than I previously thought. I admire it for a moment, my eyes slightly narrowed as I try to read the words along the bottom. Words in another language, I realize. Probably Latin. The pearl scaled dragons along the side move around the edge of the window and the shield shimmers with two wands crossed below a large and menacing letter M that's surrounded by curling green snakes. I look back at Draco. He's looking right at me, nearly eye level now as he turns his body to face mine with his leg propped up on the step in front of him. He studies my face for a moment, his head tilted and curious and bathed in the colors of his house.
"Come," he whispers and then I look down at the crowd and realize most of them were now looking at us.
I pale and swallow hard. Trying to pretend like I don't even notice as we walk the rest of the way down hand in hand.
When we get to the bottom, where the crowd is thick… he takes another glass of champagne from one of the waiters in the pale yellow robes and he hands it to me.
I give him a curious look.
"Can I drink tonight?"
He smiles at me again.
I didn't mean it like I was asking him permission but judging by his pleased look, I think that's the way he took it. I actually was asking because this was a room full of important adults and I was still very much underage.
"I wouldn't have handed it to you if you couldn't."
I've never had champagne before and I was kind of anxious to try it. I take a sip. It tastes okay but I do feel better holding something so I'm glad that he gave it to me. Draco starts working the room, talking to just about everyone and introducing me to the highest of the high society. Most of them look at me with mild curiosity but a few of them seem overly enthused to be meeting me… which was confusing and made me feel weird.
Mrs. Yaxley remembered me from that fancy restaurant and excitedly introduced me to her husband, Corban, and his unfortunate looking brother Richard. She called me Ginevra Weasley and I had to wonder when she finally figured out my last name because I know Draco didn't tell her last time we met.
A few people knew my mother and her family. They told me that I resembled the Molly Prewett they remembered but talked of her like she was dead and no longer out in the world. They lamented the fall of Fabian and Gideon and the ruin of my grandparents Winnie and Hugo. I could not believe how rude these fancy people were. They spoke so openly about the awful things that happened to my family and expected me to just sit there and take… and I did. I did take it because I wanted to please Draco and not make a fool of myself but even he shut a few of them down after a while. I think he could tell it was bothering me and I was once again reminded why it was so nice to be with someone who was so assertive and a little bit mean.
He didn't mind being rude right back and sometimes his sharp voice startled the people he was talking to. I found myself biting back a few smiles at their expense.
There were others in the room who looked me over with glittering eyes and curious little smirks that made me uncomfortable. One man said it was a shame I didn't have a dance card because most of the men in the room would donate a large sum to dance with me.
"Narcissa really missed a golden opportunity with that," he said, tilting his glass in my direction.
I assumed he was just trying to compliment me so I gave him a polite smile and thanked him for saying so.
"What a blessing," Vincent Crabbe's mother cornered me by the stairs when Draco left me to talk to someone who wanted a private word. Her dark eyes looked over my face and then she smiled at me. "You are so attractive. How wonderful."
I didn't even know what that meant and I was relieved when Draco came back and pulled me away.
I tried to stay polite and cordial. I answered all the questions that were asked of me and if I was unsure of what to say, I would look to Draco to answer for me. Most people were nice… They seemed interested in who I was- some even asked about my dad's side. One particularly ugly man congratulated Draco on a job well done as he looked at me, but I thought that was some old boy bullshit that I didn't understand so I just let it slide.
It was intimidating at first, but I liked watching Draco converse with others. He adapted to each person, changing the way he approached conversations to fit the needs of each personality. With Mrs. Cole, a prominent Wizengamot member's wife, he spoke with enthusiasm about her small corgi dogs and then he turned right around and agreed with another man's hatred of small dogs and their owners. In one conversation he was a die hard Quidditch fan, in another he preferred to read books over sports. He went from being a right wing conservative to a left wing liberal all within fifteen minutes.
It was actually kind of concerning because he was so believable in everything he said. It made me think of his conversations with Charlie in that little bistro outside of the museum. Was he putting on a front then too? Did he do that with me?
"What?" he asks when we have a moment alone because I've been staring at him.
"You..." I trail off and furrow my brows. "You lie particularly well," I say with a worrisome frown and he scoffs as he takes my drink and finishes it for me.
"It's called networking, Ginny," he says like I was silly as he hands off the empty glass to a waiter. "Building connections."
"By lying to people?" I question and he shakes his head.
"I hardly have a set opinion on half the things," he says. "To be successful, people have to like you, and for people to like you... they have to think you share their interests."
I narrow my eyes. "Do you lie to me?" I ask and he gives me a look before he grabs my chin, tilting it up to his face.
"You're my girl," he says with a smirk. "I don't have to lie to you."
"Right," I say as I shake my head out of his grasp. "So, what else happens now?" I ask as I look around the room.
"Well," Draco says as he checks his watch. "The girls will be introduced by their fathers soon," he explains. "There are a few more steps this year since my mother turned this into a charity event," he says like the thought annoyed him. "So once they're down here, the dances will be auctioned off."
"What charity?"
"Some kind of endangered sperm whale or something stupid like that." he says like he could care less as he cranes his neck to look over the crowd.
I spot Narcissa Malfoy in that silky dress. She is so tall and slim and under the golden lights of this foyer she looked so incredibly alluring.
I wonder if I could ever look like that.
"Your mother has been very nice to me," I say as I touch the jewel on my necklace. "Wearing this scares me," I admit. "I think it costs more than my house and I know I could never repay her for this dress."
"She wouldn't accept money from you," he says gently. "It was a gift and I must say, it looks like you were made to wear expensive things," he tells me with a charming smile. "Money suits you."
I'm not sure what I think about that, so I don't say anything.
The music stops and then a man in a white suit jacket and silver lined cape walks towards the stairs. He places his wand to his throat when he gets to the landing in front of that large, beautiful window where the light is still shining- making the Malfoy family coat of arms glow for the whole room to see.
"Witches and Wizards, may I have your attention," he says and his voice booms across the hall. Draco runs his fingers along the curve of my waist and hip and I smile at him before turning back to the man who is a strange shade of orange like the spray tanned people at Folk Hills. "First, I would like to take a moment to thank the Malfoy family for their generosity and for opening their beautiful home to us. Malfoy Manor has always been a beacon for our society. Something to aspire to and to inspire us all to walk the right path- the true path- in this magical life. We are lucky to be within its halls for such a memorable night."
He raises his glass in the direction of Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. People politely clap their hands and there are some cheers in the back from a gang of younger men. Mrs. Malfoy smiles that beautiful smile and tilts her glass towards the speaker. Mr. Malfoy stands beside her… looking regal and handsome in a pair of emerald dress robes. I look away quickly, not liking the lurch in my stomach at the sight of him.
"I would like to ask you all to open your hearts and pocket books to the Waterford Foundation..." he starts talking about the whales and I lean my head against Draco's shoulder because it's boring. "Now, this year we have twelve lovely young ladies that will walk down these stairs and become part of the fabric of our society. Woven threads held together to make us stronger as a people… as a family… And as a race. Girls who will after tonight be women ready to take what life has to offer them and mold it into greatness…."
He goes into another long winded speech about society and the girls who will be presented. I try to shift my weight from foot to foot because the heels I'm wearing are killing my feet. I guess even fancy ones aren't that great. I don't understand how women wear them all the time and I nearly slip them off, but the music starts back up and the girls start coming down the stairs. They come down from the right side and their father's come down from the left, meeting on the landing in front of the large colorful window before linking arms and walking down the main staircase together.
The same man in the white suit announces their names, listing off their accomplishments and their family's bloodline as people clap. Cho is the first girl presented and her father is a handsome man in gray dress robes who looks just like her. She's wearing a beautiful white gown that sparkles and she has three large feathers sticking up from the back of her complicated twist. She does some kind of light sparkly thing with her wand that makes everyone clap and whistle like she had done something amazing with it.
I have to hide the face I can feel myself making because it seems so…. stupid.
Pansy in her beautiful strapless dress and elbow length gloves comes next and she takes her father's arm with a smug little smile on her face. Pierce Parkinson looked a bit bored with the situation and he raised his eyebrow as the crowd clapped for them. I had no idea that Pansy was a world class dueler and I clap softly with everyone else as she does her wand work, shooting orange fireworks into the air from her wand tip.
Millicent is escorted by her uncle and when I ask why, Draco says that her father died a few years ago in some kind of potions accident. That makes me feel a little bit bad, but I ignore the feeling of pity when she finds me in the crowd and glares.
Daphne is all smiles and bubbly waves when it's her turn. She is wearing the puffiest, most ridiculous dress I have ever seen that somehow looks even more ridiculous now than it did in her bedroom. I bite back a laugh as she nearly skips down the stairs to reach her father. She looks like a walking wedding cake full of tulle, pearls, and crystals…. When she gets to the landing, she turns to the crowd with one hand on her hip and gives the biggest fake smile I have ever seen. She has about four feathers sticking up from her head and it's just… it's just so ridiculous. I look at Draco just to see if he thinks it's as silly as I do, but he's not amused. He has a straight face and when he notices me staring at him- he rolls his eyes and doesn't even bother to clap.
I guess he doesn't find her as charming as I do.
Her father's appearance is actually quite surprising to me. He's shorter than she is and rather large. His shape is more like a ball and his cheeks are red like Father Christmas. She sees me and winks as the announcer goes through her beauty pageant history, her gymnastics medals, and her pureblood family tree. She lifts her wand, doing another light sparkly thing in the shape of a star that makes her bounce on her toes and clap for herself like she wasn't sure she would do it correctly.
"Why is this so important?" I ask because it just seemed so frivolous… so silly.
"It's tradition," Draco says, giving me a look and then letting a little smile curl at the corner of his lip. I look back to the staircase where a friend of Cho Chang's is walking down with her balding father. "It's important for all witches of our social standing to go through with it."
He seemed so serious and I think of Daphne saying that Draco needed me to be introduced next year…
"Why?"
He looks down at me again.
"It's not just a dance and fancy clothes," he explains. "After this, all the girls will go into the woods. They will stay all night like ancient witches and walk with the spirits of the forest like our ancestors did. Do you see what a disservice your parents have done you by ignoring your history to focus on muggle issues? There is so much you don't know. So much you miss out on. You will be a proper witch with me, Ginny."
With me…
His words make my stomach flutter again but I'm not sure if that's a good thing.
"What do they do in the woods exactly?" I ask, looking back at the stairs and ignoring the seriousness that has crept so steadily into his voice.
"I'm not sure," he admits. "It is one of the only things kept secret from wizards… We control so much, you know, we always have… but there is something about the power of a witch coven that will always be sacred." He looks at me again, narrowing his eyes. "Why don't you ask your mother about it, Ginny? After all," he turns away from me and looks back at the debutants. "She did her ritual here when she was your age."
"I heard you were dating a Weasley."
I turn around to the voice… surprised to see an old man sitting behind us in an elaborate golden wheelchair.
"Is that blood feud over, then?" he asks curiously as he glances at me with a smile.
He's old. Very old and he has short white hair slicked back away from his face. I can tell he was handsome once… his features were still pleasing even with the ravages of age. His eyes are light and intelligent, flicking over my face before sliding to Draco with a little smirk. I take a moment to look at his wheelchair when he's not looking at me. It's a beautiful thing. The wheels are made of gold with a relief of intertwined dragons instead of spokes along the side. The cushions on the back and armrests seemed to be made of over-stuffed green velvet and trimmed with decorative bronze nail heads. It places him high… his head is almost at my chin and I tilt my head, trying to understand what I'm looking at.
"Grandfather," Draco greets with a smile as he shakes his hand formally. I feel my insides do a somersault and my eyes automatically snap down to the floor when I realize who he is. "It's good to see you."
"Always a pleasure," he says with a regal voice and I keep my face looking down until I feel a finger on my chin, tilting it up. "Let me have a look then," he says as he sits forward in his chair and forces me to look at him. I finally find the courage to make eye contact and swallow hard at what I see. "Well, she is quite lovely, Draco," he says and I blush as he drops his fingers and sits back.
He puts his hands on his lap and looks me over for a moment.
"I've always favored redheads," he says, giving me a charming smile. I have to wonder what he really thinks of me or if he's just full of false flattery like so many people in this room. "It was so unfortunate for me that it seemed to be the dominant trait in your family. It was hard to hate so many redheaded children, you understand." He smirks like it was funny. "There was always something so charming about them, you know," he says with a laugh. "But, of course, that was when the Weasley's only gave the world rambunctious boys."
"Thanks?" I say softly.
He props his elbow up on the arm rest and taps his fingers against his lips as he looks me over.
"But," he says as he glances at Draco. "Perhaps this union would put an end to all of that nonsense?"
"Perhaps," Draco says as I try not to show how the word 'union' made my insides freeze up.
I look at Draco again as he finishes off the champagne and he hands it to a passing waiter. He pauses a moment and runs his ring finger over his lower lip like he had something lingering there. I look at his hand... Perhaps a union isn't actually such a bad way to put it. His fingers can do amazing things to my body and I bite my lip just thinking about it. I especially like when he uses his middle two fingers that are so long and beautiful.….
He feels me staring and he shoots me a quick and curious glance.
I shake off the thought of Draco's fingers and the amazing things they make me feel as I focus back on his grandfather.
"Well, Miss Ginevra Weasley," he says with an amused smirk. He knows my name. I don't remember telling it to him but I guess Draco must have told him at some point. They share a look and then he glances at me, catching me staring at his wheelchair again. "You keep looking at my chair," he says as he pats one of the wheels.
"I'm sorry," I say, realizing I'm being rude. In the background, I can hear the dance auction starting. "I've just never..."
"Seen a wizard in one?" he finishes for me and I nod my head. "Some curses are not reversible, I'm afraid," he says as he looks at Draco with his brow raised. "But it makes for an interesting time when going downhill."
Draco smirks and I find a small smile on my face as well. That was kind of funny.
"I have seen a lot of Weasley's in my lifetime," he says as he taps his fingers against the velvet armrest. "But I must say that you are the most refined one I have ever seen."
I blush again and feel all kinds of uncomfortable. Sometimes when these rich people talk to me I'm not sure if they are giving me a compliment or an insult in disguise. I don't want to embarrass Draco so I just assume all of them are being nice… I don't really know either way.
"It appears that we're moving into the ball room," he says when he notices the crowd moving towards the right and then he smiles at me. "It was a pleasure meeting you, my dear. Now I will take my leave."
He snaps his fingers and in a moment a woman in a plum dress is behind him, wheeling him away. I let out a breath and look at Draco.
"He liked you," he says and I bring my hand up to my neck to nervously play with the necklace.
"I barely said anything," I point out and he starts steering me with the crowd into the other room.
"You didn't have to," he says as he takes my hand. "Remind me to teach you occlumency when the school year starts."
I let that sink in before I realize what he means and I stop walking. "Wait, you mean he was..." I trail off with my cheeks turning red as I try to remember all I just thought about.
I remember looking at Draco's fingers and thinking... Oh God.
"Are you kidding?" I ask with a whine in my voice and he shakes his head. "Oh no." I bring my fingers up to my mouth so I can nervously chew on my nails but I stop myself again when I remember the nail polish.
Damn it.
Hopefully he wasn't looking in on my brain when I was thinking about his grandson fingering me.
"Why do you look so panicked?" he asks, amused like he knew all along. "What were you thinking about when you were talking with my grandfather, Ginny?"
I blush again and he gives me a dark smile like he knew.
"It's so rude to read people's minds," I whisper in a shaky voice, walking ahead of him so I can ignore the way he's looking at me.
I just want to go home right now, actually.
"It is rude," he confirms as he grabs my wrist to make me stop walking. "But it doesn't stop people," he says, pulling me to the side so we're out of the way of the crowd. "Most of the people in this room have been doing it for such a long time you probably wouldn't even know when they decided to dip into your thoughts. You have to be prepared and you need to realize when someone is digging in your mind."
It wasn't the first time I felt completely out of my depth around Draco and the people he ran around with. No one I knew would even think of doing such a thing to someone else but here I was in a house full of people who had no qualms about invading someone's privacy like that. I don't like it and I make a face as I stare off into space, uncomfortable.
"Ginny," he says. I look at him. "I'm sure he's heard worse than what bops around in your head."
"Do you know Legilimency?" I ask, still embarrassed.
"I do."
"Have you ever..." I trail off and bite my lip as I watch him grab another drink from a yellow dressed waiter. "Have you ever read my mind?" I ask and he raises an eyebrow.
"No," he says seriously and I want to believe him so I nod my head. "Don't worry so much. Nothing in your mind can be that bad. You are far too sweet."
I don't know about that but I won't argue with it. He takes my hand and walks us towards the ballroom where everyone seems to be and I stop in the doorway when I catch a glimpse of what's inside. It is a grand thing…. The grandest in all of England, apparently…. and it was an impossibly big space that fit everyone comfortably with some room to spare. The paneled walls were painted to look like a deep, dark forest and I could see golden stags running between the swaying trees. Painted birds were flying up towards a gray blue sky that swirled into darkness by the arched ceiling.
There are alcoves home to marble statues of ancient wizards and mighty looking horses…The parquet floor was polished dark wood set in different beautiful patterns that looked like geometric runes. The ceiling was dark… arched… and there were about a dozen chandeliers hanging down with burning black candles that made the entire room feel warm and otherworldly.
Six large windows faced the side yard and there was a full orchestra on the second level playing music from a curled gallery room.
Draco pushes me slightly forward with his hand on my back.
"Let's get out of the way," he says into my ear.
I know I'm taking up space and blocking people from walking past but I can't help it. I just want to stare at everything. I let myself get pulled more into the room and we end up by the wall… where a sconce that looks like the branches of a dark and twisted tree holds up a dozen lighted candles.
I send a troubled look around me and a few people make eye contact, giving me polite smiles in return.
I wish he wouldn't have said anything so I could just go through the night blissfully unaware that anyone could just look in my mind and see me remembering getting fingered by Draco Malfoy. I am now suspicious of everyone who looks at me and I cross my arms uncomfortably… but Draco was right, there's nothing in my mind worth reading, really. It's not like I'm all that interesting.
One of the editors of the Daily Prophet comes up to shake Draco's hand and I try to not let anything bother me so I can engage myself in the conversation too. I go back to playing the polite girlfriend while Draco plays his part as the amicable young Malfoy heir who has opinions on everything and then nothing at all depending on who's in front of him.
All of the discussions stop when it's time for the first dance and I turn towards the large archway at the end of the room.
The debutants and their male family members are invited to the center of the dance floor to start off with a kind of waltz. I watch them with a little smile. It makes me think of dancing with my own father and that makes me happy. It's a mercifully short song and when it's over- the dance cards are pulled. The music starts again as the white dressed girls- now women- dance with whoever purchased the pleasure of their company. I watched as Mr. Malfoy took Pansy's hand and moved her around the dance floor with ease. Vincent Crabbe, a hulking figure in plum robes, pulled Daphne close and I had to laugh at the look she gave him because I knew exactly what she thought of him.
"I wonder how much a dance with me would cost," I muse, only joking as I watch the girls being led around the ballroom.
"More than you know," Draco says gently.
I look at him and we share a little smile.
The third song is a dance that everyone can do and when the song starts playing, my eyes light up.
I know this one!
"What?" Draco asks, not even looking at me when he senses the change in me.
"Can we dance?"
He pauses for a moment and then glances my way.
The chandeliers above start to drip golden light down on the floor like rain made of magic and it makes everything look so beautiful and sparkling. The drops of light pass in front of his face, illuminating his pale skin and reflecting in his eyes.
"If you want to," he says carefully like he thought I was up to something.
I'm just too excited that this is something I can do and I pull him towards the center of the room as the boys line up on one side and the girls line up on the other. I stand by Pansy and she smiles at me.
"Your introduction was lovely," I say.
She smiles.
"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" she says arrogantly as Blaise stands across from her, running his thumb down his jaw with a thoughtful look on his handsome face. "You look so beautiful tonight," she says as she reaches over and touches my earrings. "Narcissa really went all out on you."
"Yeah," I say uncomfortably as I bring my hand up to my hair. "She sure did."
"I can't believe you got Draco to come out here," she says, smirking at me and then letting her eyes slide to Draco who stands a few yards in front of me with his hands in his pockets. "He usually doesn't do these kinds of dances."
I don't get to reply to that because the music starts up again signaling the start of the dance. I look at Draco as he bows down a little bit from his waist, staring at me the whole time with a dark smirk on his face. I smile at him and do the curtsy, feeling much more comfortable because this time I'm actually wearing a fancy dress.
"You and Draco look like a very dignified couple," Pansy says before she steps forward and reaches her hand out, doing the spin with Blaise.
He takes her spot. I ignore him and step forward to do the same with Draco. When I take his hand, he grips it firmly and winks at me.
I find myself smiling and when I get back to Pansy she turns to me.
"I didn't know you could dance," she says as we clap. The clap and snap. My Dad was right on that front. "These steps are very old."
"My father taught me," I admit as we switch places. We snap. Then I look at Blaise because I know I'm going to have to touch his hand next.
Ugh.
When it's my turn to step forward, Blaise turns up the corner of his lips in a barely there smile as he grabs my hand. "I always appreciate the look of pure disgust every time you're around me," he says, but I don't have time to retort because I end up by Draco.
"Everyone is curious about you," Draco says as he takes me by the waist and turns us until we're in a circle with another couple. I try to remember the steps for this part because this one is difficult and it was hard to understand when it was just me and my dad. "They're all very envious of me right about now," he whispers in my ear before the dance pulls him away.
I take the hand of an older gentleman who smiles at me before I get passed off back to Draco. "Why is that?" I ask before we're split up again.
"Because," he says as we pass each other. "You look exquisite tonight," he says and I smile when we pass each other again because I have never been described that way and it was such a wonderful word. "You are obviously the most beautiful witch in the room." He bends down to whisper in my ear and it makes me shiver a bit. "And you are so very obviously mine."
"Is that obvious?" I joke. "I'm not so sure about that."
I get pulled away, but when I pass him again he grabs me and makes me stop mid-step to place both hands on my neck- his thumbs tilting my chin up so he can pull me into a punishing kiss. He slips his tongue into my surprised mouth for a second before pulling back and looking down at me with such an incredible intensity that it makes my heart skip a painful beat. It was quick and it took my breath away.
"It is now," he says before gently pushing me to where I'm supposed to be… but I'm so disoriented that I miss my turn with some poor looking acne faced boy who looks decidedly uncomfortable.
It takes me a moment to find my footing again and I inhale a deep breath, looking around to make sure no one saw him do that and blushing scarlet when I realize that some people did. They look at me with raised eyebrows and awkward little smirks. I blink, unsure of what to do before Zabini comes up to me and takes my hand to spin me.
"How did that feel?" Zabini asks with a smile before moving me to the next place I need to be.
I don't answer him and I can't seem to look up anymore. What if his parents saw him do that? This wasn't a party with his friends at the lake house… This was some adult society thing. Something proper and fancy. I'm not sure how I feel. Excited maybe… I always feel that way when he touches me… and maybe embarrassed…. Yes, that too…. But mostly I just couldn't believe that he did that in front of all these people no matter how quick it was.
The girls line back up on one side and the men on the other. Pansy comes beside me and I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my face.
"What in the fuck did you say to him?"
I don't answer.
The dance starts over from the beginning, running through just one more time like my dad said it would… and when I move forward to take Draco's hand, he takes my waist with his arm across my stomach instead. He pulls me close to spin me with my arms hanging useless at my sides before I move to where I'm supposed to be. I suddenly find myself breathless and when I cross over to spin with Blaise with my hand in his. I can feel Draco's eyes on me.
"Well, this isn't awkward for everyone," Zabini says sarcastically. "It's always a treat to watch Malfoy claim territory."
I narrow my eyes at him and he laughs.
I get back to Draco and he pulls me close, ignoring the hand hold again to press me against his side with his arm wrapped around my middle. I put a tentative hand on his shoulder and he smiles at me. We end up in a circle with an older couple but I can't even concentrate and I run right into the old man when I step the wrong way. He tells me to pay attention… but what does he know? He doesn't have Draco Malfoy staring at him like that. I'm sure he'd be running into things too.
Every time Draco touches me it seems to send a shock wave through my body and I can't seem to keep my eyes off of him just like he can't seem to keep his eyes off of me… His gaze burns me in a way I'm not sure I understand and he keeps pulling me closer and closer each time we are near one another but I welcome the closeness and I lean into it- wanting more from him and the hungry way he's now looking at me. The light rain falls around us like glittering confetti and I find myself breathing heavier every time he comes near with that strange serious look on his face.
He doesn't clap. He doesn't snap. He looks like a man on a mission and I fear I just look like a flustered, breathless mess.
When the dance is finally over, I look up at him as he bows, his eyes never once leaving mine. I give him a half hearted curtsy, feeling the blush creep up my neck and flushing my face because I wanted nothing more than to take him out of this room and snog him silly in one of those dark hallways.
Everyone claps… couples are laughing when the music stops and I take a deep breath and step off the dance floor. Draco comes back to me and runs his hand up my back.
"I'm getting a drink. Would you like one?" I nod my head because I suddenly felt so very hot. "Stay," he commands, his voice so deep. "I'll be right back."
I watch him walk off with a little smile on my face and I bring my fingers up to my lips. I turn to find Pansy standing right beside me. In fact, her closeness makes me jump a bit and I make a little surprised noise.
"What do you think?" she asks, stepping even closer to me.
"About what? The dance?" I ask, still kind of shocked by her closeness.
"No," she smiles. "I meant, what do you think about Draco's home? Malfoy Manor is beautiful, isn't it?"
I look around the enchanted ballroom again and I find Blaise talking to some older witch. He looks perfectly proper and he smiles beautifully at whatever she's saying. I realize it isn't just Draco who can charm adults and I have to wonder what he's saying to her.
"I've never seen anything like it."
She follows my gaze and when she realizes that I'm looking at Zabini she steps in front of me as if to block my view.
"Could you imagine being the mistress of all this?"
"No," I shake my head, once again humbled by the thought of my own modest home. "Definitely not."
She smirks at me and then she brings her hand up and touches the jewel above my breasts.
"That was an intense display you and Draco just put on," she says lightly, looking at the embroidery on my bodice before her dark eyes find mine. "I wonder what got him all riled up?"
"I don't know," I say, embarrassed again that other people could tell.
"Maybe he heard something he didn't like…." she says thoughtfully, looking around the room for a minute. "Or maybe something he did," she says, looking back at me with her eyes on my lips.
I don't know what to say to that, so I say nothing. I try to pretend to be unbothered and I bring my hand up to my neck nervously, determined to laugh it off like it was nothing. Daphne approaches in her puffy monstrosity, red cheeked and beautiful and I welcome the distraction because it looked like Pansy wanted to say something awful to me.
"Oh, Ginny, thank you so much for coming," Daphne runs towards us and gives me a hug. "Did you like our introductions?"
"Yes, of course," I say with a smile.
I flick my eyes to Pansy. She's looking out over the crowd with her head tilted up.
"You know what this means, right?" she says with a smile and then she gives me an excited look. "We can be properly courted now. We can get married!"
"You want to get married?" I ask skeptically and she nods her head.
"Oh, of course. What else is there?"
"Daphne doesn't have the highest expectations for life," Pansy says with an eye roll as she crosses her arms.
"Well," Daphne sighs. "I just like the thought."
"Draco looks so very handsome in his dress robes," Daphne says with a roll of her toes and I see Pansy giving me a dark look from the corner of my eyes. "He seems to be very attentive to you tonight, Ginny."
With that, all three of us look towards Draco. He's speaking to some older gentleman with a serious turn on his face and I see him sneer a bit. When he notices us staring, he glances our way and I look down quickly so he doesn't notice.
"What are you doing in the woods tonight?" I ask to change the subject. "Draco said you'll go out there after the dance?"
"Oh, I can't wait for it," Daphne says, her eyes lit up and happy at the thought. "We do spells, and sing, and dance around an open fire and in the morning, we will be women. Full grown witches with a promise in our hearts." She sighs like it was romantic. "I just can't wait."
Before I can ask more, I see Ivy approaching us from behind Daphne's shoulder. She's wearing a silver number with dangling chandelier earrings that weigh down her earlobes and her hair is down and curled.
"Pansy, it was lovely," she says as she kisses her older sister's cheek. She does the same to Daphne and then she turns to me. The way she is looking at me is strange. It's not hate or malice… It's not even indifference… but it was something else and I don't understand it either.
God, this is such a strange night.
"Ginny," she says and I stiffen when she puts her hands on my shoulders and kisses my cheek.
What?
"It's so good to see you," she says with a tight lipped smile as I step away from her embrace.
Seeing her again brings back all the cruel words she had said to me and I resist turning around and running from her. I put a hand over my stomach self consciously and try not to let her get to me.
"Yeah," I say carefully.
"Could I speak with you for a moment?" she asks.
My eyes slide to Pansy and Daphne. They are already walking away before I get a chance to reply and I inhale a deep breath… trying to be brave as I turn to her. I don't think I could take another cruel row with her at a place like this when I'm already feeling so out of place.
"I would just like to say that I'm sorry for the small misunderstanding we got into at Zabini's house."
"Misunderstanding?"
She nods.
"Yes," she says and I feel an amused little smile on my face that I try to hide because it isn't all that appropriate. "It was all in good fun, you understand. I was so drunk," she shakes her head. "Sometimes I forget that not everyone likes my cruel humor."
"Cruel humor?" I repeat flatly.
"Of course, I didn't mean any of it," she says quickly and she looks over my right shoulder. I do too to find Draco staring, watching our exchange from across the room. "I'm hoping that… going forward… you and I will become the best of friends."
I turn to her and frown.
"What did Draco say to you?" I ask curiously as I raise an eyebrow.
What did Draco do to you… I really want to ask- but I resist.
"He didn't say anything to me, of course," she says with a fake grin and I smirk unpleasantly. "I just realized that I was a bit out of line."
"Of course," I say in a way that tells her that I don't believe it.
"Anyways, Ginny," she looks down. "That's all I wanted to say." Her light eyes flick to mine. "Okay?"
I look over my shoulder at Draco again. He's not paying attention anymore… he's talking to some older wizard in a silver hat.
"Ginny," she says gently and I look at her. Her face doesn't look half as hard or half as cruel anymore. I find the iciness inside of me falters a bit when I see how painfully human she is and I almost feel bad that I told Draco anything at all that night. "Will you just please say it's okay? I will never talk to you like that again."
I can't get over the way she is looking at me now. I find myself looking down to get away from it and then I nod my head.
"Okay," I say, practically feeling the relief wash over her.
"Thank you."
I look at her as she walks away… and then I feel the slightest of pleased smiles turn my lips….It makes me feel a bit evil so I bite it away and look back down at the floor thoughtfully.
"You look like you're in a good mood," Draco whispers against my ear.
"I am," I tell him as I turn to him, giving him a little smirk as I smooth down the collar of his dress robes, forgetting all about the strange dance because my encounter with Ivy made me feel some sort of way… A good and slightly guilty way, I suppose.
"I told you I would take care of things for you," he says deeply and then he bends down to kiss me.
I'm smiling when he pulls back. He hands me a drink and I take a tentative sip. It's some kind of red punch and he warns me not to drink it too fast as there was a lot of alcohol in it.
I take a moment to watch the dancing couples, spinning around the dance floor to the music of the live orchestra. I look up at Draco as he takes a drink from his champagne glass and I smile at his profile because he looks so handsome in the golden light and I like him so very much.
"Here," he says, taking my glass and putting it down as the song changes to something slower and more sensual. "Let's dance again."
I smile…trying not to be too excited but I can't help that the girl in me really wants to slow dance with her boyfriend.
He walks backwards, smiling at me as he leads us to the dance floor with his hand in mine. When we get towards the center he pulls me against his chest with his arm around my waist and his right hand holding mine.
"Just let me lead you," he says, looking down at our hands and then to my face as the lights above dim. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Follow me, yes?"
I nod.
He starts to move us to the music. Like in all things he does, he is confident and precise. He never stumbles. He never missteps and because of that- neither do I. He is comfortable taking the lead and I guess I don't mind that… I guess I like it… and when he smirks down at me I realize that I like it a lot, actually. I know we are in a room full of people, but I can't stop looking at him. At the sharpness of his nose… At that one mole on his left cheek… At how straight and neat his eyebrows are… I look at his neck, liking the way it moves when he swallows and I bring the hand on his shoulder up to the back of his neck so I can thread my fingers through his hair.
"This will be you next year," he says gently, glancing around the room at the girls dressed in white. "I think my mother will offer up the house again just for you."
I shake my head with my hand back on his shoulder.
"My family would never allow that."
I couldn't even imagine.
I can feel him looking at me again so I glance up. The lights shoot from the candles above and it falls around us again like lighted rain, making Draco look like some dazzling, enchanted thing.
"Look around you, Ginny," he says and I take a moment to look at all the fancy people in their dress robes and beautiful gowns. "You are not a woman in our world unless you are introduced properly." He narrows his eyes as he looks down at me. "Your blood is purer than most of the people in this room," he says, tilting his head like the thought pleased him and I should be proud of it too. "If you are serious about being with me this is a step you will have to take," he says, leaving no room for negotiation. "You cannot carry my name otherwise."
"What?" I say stupidly as my stomach does a strange flip at his words.
"What part of that didn't you understand?" he asks before spinning me sharply and taking my breath away before yanking me back to him. "Do you not like my name?" he asks lightly.
Maybe I don't really understand.
"I like your name," I say, looking down at my hand on his shoulder as he leans down to press his cheek to mine.
"Do you?" he asks, his breath hot in my ear.
I don't answer because I'm nervous and he stops us, dropping my left hand to grab my chin. The force of it surprises me and I blink at him as he tilts my face towards his as the dancing couples move around us.
"What are we doing here, Ginny?" he asks, glancing down at me and looking so very serious again. "If that's not where we are going?"
I swallow hard and pull away.
"I have to go to the bathroom."
I run from him quickly. For some reason I feel this odd weight on my chest and I just need to catch my breath. Sometimes he's too much. Too serious and too intense. Sometimes I have no idea what to do with him. I leave him on the dance floor and I can feel him staring at me as I walk back towards the foyer, trying to resist the urge to pick up the skirt of my dress and run.
"Ginevra, are you having a good time?"
I stop at the voice and send reluctant eyes to Mrs. Malfoy who is standing in all her regal finery at the arched doorway with her husband. I can't just pass them and not say anything now that she's addressed me, right?
I inhale a deep breath and will myself into being brave. I turn to her and Mr. Malfoy with a nervous hand on my stomach and I plaster a fake smile on my face as I walk over to them. Working at Folk Hills has been good for something. I can fake a smile in the face of any pompous witch or wizard.
"Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," I say. I look down at the floor for a moment before gathering my courage to look at Draco's father. He's staring right at me- but he doesn't say anything. His expression is flat…unreadable. I could be just a speck of dust in front of him and no one would know the difference. "Everything is just so lovely," I say, looking at her to find her smiling. "I am grateful to be here."
There is a heavy pause. It weighs me down and I look at Mr. Malfoy again. He is still staring at me, his expression is almost bored and his hair is pulled back away from his face, knotted at the base of his neck.
"How are you this evening, Mr. Malfoy?" I ask timidly, unsure if I should even say anything at all.
He smiles a bit, like I had risen to a challenge I knew nothing about.
"Very well, Miss Weasley," he replies with a cool smirk. "I hope you are enjoying yourself."
I blush. I don't know why. I guess because that could mean so many different things. I can't answer, so I just nod my head instead.
I feel something prickling at the back of my neck so look over my shoulder once to see Draco staring at me- still where I left him in the middle of the dance floor.
His head is tilted down and his eyes are dark… It sends a shiver right through me and I can't believe he is looking at me like that when I am talking to his parents.
"If you'll excuse me," I say politely and they nod me off as I speed walk out of the room.
The hallways are dark and I get lost quickly. This house is too goddamn big and I have no fucking idea where the bathroom actually is. I fumble around the dark corridors, trying not to panic and over think anything… Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe he was joking. Maybe I shouldn't feel so weird that my boyfriend who I like so much would think that way about me. I'm the one who's been writing Ginny Malfoy down in my notebook like a fucking weirdo. Maybe what he said and how he's behaving is the boy version of that.
I find someone sitting alone on one of the benches across from a diamond pane window in one of the hallways. As I get closer, I realize it's Millicent and I stop short. Sitting on her lap is a plate with a large piece of cake on it. It's vanilla with white buttercream frosting dusted in glitter and swirling rosettes. She's staring at it with so much intensity that I fear it may catch on fire if she keeps at it. I have never seen anyone look at a piece of cake like that and I press my brows together because of it. I almost walk past her… I almost turn around… but I stop myself because she looks so alone in the pale moonlight and something like sympathy squeezes my heart.
I think about what Draco said about her father dying a few years ago, and kindness gets the better of me.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She glances up at me and then looks back at the cake.
"I haven't had cake in a year," she says flatly as she picks up her fork and pokes it.
I take a tentative step closer.
"Cake is good," I say softly. The feathers in her hair make it look like two wings are sprouting on the sides of her head and she's wearing a beautiful pearl necklace.
Her dress is more form fitting than the others and her breasts strain against the material, almost spilling out of the top. It seemed almost inappropriate and I had a vision of my mother scolding her and trying to make her wear a sweater to cover up. The visual is a funny one and I smirk at it.
"Cake is good," she agrees in a soft whisper and then she looks up at me. It's like she realized she was supposed to hate me and she narrows her eyes dangerously. "Draco is like cake," she says and I raise my eyebrows.
"What?" I ask dryly and she continues with a fire burning in her eyes.
"He looks good, tastes good, but when it comes down to it... he's really terrible for you."
"Draco will rot my teeth and make me fat?" I question sarcastically and she sneers.
"He will twist you and turn you into something so far from what you originally were that you won't even be able to recognize yourself in the mirror when he's through."
I'm silent for a few moments.
"Is that what happened to you?" I ask cautiously.
She did have all that work done and her body has been pulled in so many ways that I doubt anyone will know who she is when the school year starts back up. I know she wants him. Ivy made that very clear to me… but Daphne also said she hated him. Seems so strange to me that both of those things could be true.
She looks down at the cake again and then I see her shoulders rise with a deep breath.
"You never stood a chance, Weasley," she whispers.
She throws the cake at the opposite wall, shattering the plate against the diamond pane window and making me jump. She stands up, sending me one more scathing look before plastering a fake smile on her face and walking back towards the party. I watch the cake slide down the glass with a strange feeling turning my stomach.
She obviously has issues.
I should have asked her where the bathroom was.
I shake off that odd conversation as I continue on my quest for the loo. I can tell someone about the cake on the wall when I get back but I am not going to feel bad about Millicent Bulstrode or take anything she says to heart. I sigh in relief when I finally find a washroom and I have to stop myself from gawking at the place. It's bigger than my bedroom at home and it has a gold-plated sink and toilet. I nearly start laughing again. What the hell is this place? Why do people live like this? The walls are dark navy and the tiles on the floor have a fleur-de-lis pattern.
Such a fancy fucking bathroom.
It takes a while to figure out the best way to go to the bathroom with the dress I have on… but when I see blood in the water I cuss to myself. I knew it was coming- I was just hoping it wouldn't be tonight. What a perfect time to start. I panic for a minute when I realize I have nothing with me so I look in all the cabinets until I find an entire section full of feminine products. The cabinets are well stocked with mints and napkins and pads and tampons and soaps. Everything anyone could need. I sigh in relief and then grab one to use. I make sure nothing got on my knickers or dress before I wash my hands with the red soap, annoyed at my body for functioning the way it's supposed to.
I take a minute to look at my reflection before I leave.
He will twist you and turn you… Millicent's words come back to me as I finger the necklace above my breasts… you won't even be able to recognize yourself in the mirror.
Well, if that's the case I can't say I hate what I'm looking at right now. I smooth down a few fly away pieces in my hair before drying my hands and stepping back into the dark hallway. I take my time going back as I try not to overthink what Draco said again. I'm being silly. I should be happy. I should just appreciate what's happening now because this is a life I never saw myself living.
I keep walking and turning down corridors before I realize yet again that I have no clue where I am. I find myself in some kind of gallery room full of oil paintings of all different sizes. There's a really humongous one in the center of the right side wall. It's of a pointy faced man in knights' armor, holding a bloody sword with body parts scattered behind him. He sneers down at me and I sneer right back, making a face at the gore as I remember that story Draco had told me about our family's history.
"Did you enjoy the dance?" I turn around in surprise to find Draco standing right behind me.
"You startled me again," I say with my hand on my chest. "I didn't hear you come in here."
He just raises his eyebrow. "You ran away from me," he points out, seemingly amused by the expression on my face as I try to calm my beating heart.
"I had to go to the bathroom."
He looks around. "This isn't a bathroom."
"Obviously," I huff.
"What have you been doing?" he asks, looking around me like he thought I might be hanging out with someone without him. "You've been gone for a while."
"Honestly," I say, looking behind me as I drop my arms. "I kind of got lost."
"Really?"
"This house is really big and complicated and I cannot believe you live here."
A beautiful smile breaks out on his face and he reaches out for my hand.
"Come here," he says, pulling me to him. He takes a moment to look at me, his light eyes dancing all over my face before he bends down to kiss me. "You look so good tonight." He presses his cheek against mine so he can whisper in my ear. "You have been perfect."
"Did you expect me to fall on my face or something?" I joke even though my body is responding to his closeness.
"No," he says as he pulls me close with his hands around my waist. "I just didn't know I would be so impressed with you," he says with his eyes shining. "There is an ease to you when you speak to people… when you stand by my side. Do you see how natural it is to have you here?" he says seriously. "It's like you were born to it." he says gently with a little smirk.
What in the hell is he even talking about? I never know what the fuck he's talking about. I open my mouth to say something but he silences me with a kiss…. One of his all-consuming, open mouthed kisses that takes my breath away. He continues to kiss me; his movements seem more frenzied.
"What are you doing?" I ask as I put my hands on his chest to push him back. "Your whole family is here."
"It doesn't matter," he says seriously as he kisses my jaw. I can sense a sudden desperation in his actions and that confuses me. "You've pleased me tremendously tonight, Ginny," he says as he brings a hand down to one of my breasts and he squeezes.
"Oh my," I say as I inhale deeply as I put my hand over his. "Don't I please you every night?"
"Yes," he says breathlessly. He is being awfully needy right now and the suddenness of it surprises me. "But especially tonight. Come with me," he says as he takes my hand and starts pulling me down a dark corridor. "I need a place where I can take off your dress."
He pulls me up a back staircase… onto the second level where there are statues and suits of armor…
"Wait..." I say as I tug on his hand. "Millicent threw cake on your wall."
"I don't fucking care," he sneers and I snap my mouth shut.
Right.
"I thought we needed to be proper tonight," I say with a smirk as I follow behind him, trying not to trip as he uses his free hand to undo his dress robes. "I wasn't expecting this to happen."
"I'm not always so proper," he says. "I think that is something that you will find out in definite detail the longer that you're with me."
I smirk and grab his shoulder, spinning him around and pushing him against the wall as I press a harsh kiss against his lips. I hear him make a surprised noise and the sound is so unbelievably pleasing to me. I caught him off guard and it makes me laugh against his lips.
"Who wants to be proper anyways," I whisper and he spins us around until I'm the one pinned to the wall, trapped against his strong body.
"Don't tempt me," he whispers darkly.
He starts unbuttoning his waist coat and then shrugs out of it. His dress robes and the waist coat fall to the floor behind him before he's back on me with his mouth on mine. He's wearing braces again, only these are made of leather and his wand is secured in a holder on the left side.
He kisses me deeply and then moves his hands behind my dress to work on the zipper.
I stop him with my hands on his arms that I gently push back.
"We shouldn't do that," I whisper, slumping against the wall with my hands at my sides when he pulls back to study my face. "Besides it being inappropriate," I say, giving him a look. "I can't really do anything right now, actually."
"Why?" he asks suspiciously.
I don't say anything right away as I try to figure out the best way to explain it without embarrassing myself… but it dawns on him before I get the chance.
"You're bleeding?"
I blush at his words. Draco is even more comfortable than I am with the things that happen to my body but sometimes the blunt way he says things makes me blush.
I nod anyway and look at his chest. "It just started."
"Oh," he tilts his head. "Do you need anything?"
I shake my head. "There was stuff in the bathroom."
I'm really uncomfortable talking about it- but he doesn't seem fazed. I grew up in a house full of boys and my mum always treated it like some little secret that the precious men in the house were too delicate to process. I don't know why… but the ease in which Draco took the news makes me like him even more.
"Well," says after a minute and I glance up at him to find him smiling at me. "What terrible timing."
"That's what I thought too."
"Well, I guess we just have to be content with other things."
"Other things?"
"Hm," he nods his head before bending down to kiss me.
He pulls back with another sigh and I reach out to play with a button on his shirt as he props a hand up by my head. He looks at his fingers as he presses them against the dark wall like he was trying to distract himself from something.
"I don't want to go back," he says gently. "You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes," I say even though I'm not exactly sure what he means. I do like being alone with him… I do like kissing him and fooling around but there was something different about him right now and I'm not sure what to do with it. "Maybe you can teach me how to do another dance," I say, smiling when he looks at me. "I only know that one. I'd like to learn another– if you are willing to teach me."
He nods his head but he doesn't move.
"Maybe… actually dance with me and not be so weird about it," I tease and his eyes flick to mine. "No more staring contests."
He smirks after a minute and then he looks down, grabbing my hand.
"Sorry about that," he says, clearly not meaning it. "Seeing you here is doing something to me. That was too much."
After a few heavy moments, he stands up straight and tilts his head. I stare at his mouth, liking the shape of it and all the wonderful things it can do. He smiles like knew what I was thinking and then he bends down to press a gentle kiss to my lips. The sweetness doesn't last long… he deepens the kiss with a vengeance, his entire body pressing into mine as he brings his hands up to thread through my hair to keep me in place. The way he kisses takes my breath away. His hands in my hair loosens the pins and I can feel pieces of my perfectly crafted hairstyle falling down my back and around my shoulders as he ravages my mouth.
I pull back, trying to steady my breathing as he looks down at me. He's breathing heavier too and we stare each other down as the distant music from the ballroom dances down the hallway and moves around us in a muffled whisper.
Then we hear a loud bang that rattles the windows and a bright red and blue light illuminates the hallway.
"Fireworks," I say in awe as I move away from him so I can go over to the window. Another loud bang sounds and I watch as the firework goes off against the backdrop of the dark sky. It's green and it fizzles out golden. "They're wonderful," I whisper as Draco steps up behind me.
They start turning into animals that move across the sky and I lean back against Draco's chest as he wraps his arms around me with his chin on my shoulder. I can feel his wand digging into my back but I don't mind it. After a while, I bring my hand up to the back of his neck and I run my fingers through his hair as we watch the show. This is turning into the most mature relationship I've ever been in and sometimes it really does feel like a dream. I really should stop overthinking things so much and just enjoy it.
I can hear people oohing and clapping from the ball room after each display that's grander than the last and I tilt my head to the right so I can glance at Draco over my shoulder. He smiles at me and kisses my cheek.
Then he bites my neck.
"Draco," I snap as I push his face away. "You're going to leave a mark."
Again.
"How terrible," he says sarcastically.
I narrow my eyes. That would just be what I need. To walk back in that ballroom and have Narcissa Malfoy see a love bite on me from her son around her fancy Black family jewelry after he already fucked up my hair.
"I have something for you," he says. I pull back so I can face him fully. A purple firework goes off and it illuminates his face in an eerie glow. "I was going to wait until later but I realize I haven't been much of a gentleman tonight..." he trails off as he pulls something from his pocket and I furrow my brows as he hands me a small rectangular box. "Why wait?"
"What is it?" I whisper as I take it from him.
I don't know why I'm whispering, actually.
"You don't know what your family crest is," he says as I start to open the box. Whatever it is is covered in a black velvet cloth. I can feel something turning in the pit of my stomach and I identify it as anticipation…. And maybe even happiness. He makes me so incredibly happy sometimes and I find myself smiling at the realization. "I'm assuming you don't know your house colors," he adds.
"Scarlet and gold," I say automatically but he shakes his head.
"Not your Hogwarts house colors," he says like I was stupid. "Your family house colors."
"Oh," I say and when I remove the cloth, it reveals a silver bracelet. "Then no, I don't know my house colors."
"I thought so." He gives me a gentle smile that puts my nerves at ease. "I figured you could just wear mine then," he says. I look down at the bracelet. It's intricate looking… with two detailed dragons heads that have emerald eyes and diamond scales along a body of twisted silver. "I know it doesn't go with the outfit tonight and my mother will probably glare at me for it but I want you to wear it," he says as he takes it out and then gives me a serious look. "From my family to yours."
I let my fingers dance over the diamonds and the curved dragon's horns.
"Will you wear it?"
I smile at him.
"Of course."
He smirks and then places it on my wrist.
The dragon heads seem to come alive and I watch with my brow raised in surprise as they sliver around my wrist and intertwine around each other until they are fitted and secured. I smile at the magic and I look up only to find Draco staring at me so earnestly. I give him a timid smile before going back to admiring the gift. There are words inscribed around the side. They're hard to see but they etched around the edge in small, clean letters that I can see every time a fireworks explodes in the distance.
Sanctimonia Vincet Semper
"What does this say?" I ask curiously as I run my fingers over the words.
"My family's motto," he says as he watches my face. "It can be yours now too, if you want."
I look up at him and smile again.
"Thank you," I say softly. "It's so beautiful."
I resist crying even though I really want to. I have never in my life felt like this before… like I was special and worth knowing and… loved. Is that what he made me feel? That I mattered and that someone cared… It looks like an antique piece of jewelry, something that has been in a family for generations and I feel this strange feeling settle in my heart because no one has ever given me something like this. No one has ever cared enough about me to want to and I can't believe that it is Draco Malfoy who is the one who finally did it.
"Not as beautiful as you."
He smiles that charming smile and I've never seen someone so attractive before. I think of what Millicent said about him and I bat that thought away. I've always fancied cake, anyways. I don't care if it's bad for me. The good far outweighs any of the bad that may be lurking behind those gray eyes of his. I am convinced of that now.
He bends down to kiss me with the fireworks exploding in the distance lighting us in different colored lights. Perfect. It was all just so damn perfect. Maybe Daphne was right. Maybe my life is a fairy tale. I have never thought of myself as the kind of girl who could have this kind of story… This kind of relationship with someone who I truly cared about… Someone who wanted me so badly and said all the right things at all the right times…My heart pounds pleasantly against my rib cage and when we pull back, he brings his hand up to my cheek, smoothing a tendril of hair away from my face with his head tilted. A strand of his perfect hair breaks loose and falls across his brow. I take it upon myself to smooth it back for him and he gives me a warm smile as he tilts his head to kiss my wrist.
It's official.
I'm fairly certain that I'm falling in love with him.
