Disclaimer: I own nothing that legally belongs to J.K. Rowling or Warner Brothers, or Aretha Franklin (or anybody else.)
A/N: please remember that I wrote this chapter almost 3 years ago and so by the end of the story, the writing style will have changed a lot.
***~~~***
The pull from behind Draco’s navel stopped and he opened his eyes to find that he had been transported to a garden area. A brook babbled in the distance and sunlight streamed through a canopy of tree branches overhead. All around him were stone ruins of high frames and pillars, reminiscent of the times of the Ancient Greeks. Suddenly, Draco noticed the older man sitting on one of the two stone benches in front of him. The man’s features came into focus and Draco recognized him from one of the paintings that hung in the library of Malfoy Manor.
‘Great Uncle Albert! What are you doing here?’
‘Something big needs to be explained to you, and they thought that it would be a good idea to send along a familiar face. Take a seat, son.’
‘You look good. Heaven treating you well?’
Albert stretched back, relaxing a little. ‘As well as can be expected. Plus, you get to choose how you look. I think my early twenties was a prime time for me, and so, I don’t look a day over 24. I still get quite a bit of attention of the ladies as well. But this isn’t about me, so no more distractions.’
Draco looked worried. ‘You’re so serious. What did I do?’
Albert chuckled. ‘It’s not what you’ve done, it is what you’re about to do. It's your birthday today, isn’t that right?’
He nodded. ‘And like you, I also don’t look a day over 24 but that’s because I’m not.’
‘Damn,’ the older man muttered to himself. ‘I thought they’d give him more time.’
Noticing that he was still standing, Draco quickly sat down, his expression turning to one of confusion. ‘Who’s this they you keep mentioning? And what do I need more time for?’
Albert sighed deeply and patted his great-nephew on the arm. ‘The Fates, Draco. But this is going to be hard for me to tell you, so try to not interrupt me. I’ll answer all of your questions to the best of my ability but only after I’m done with my entire speech. What I’m about to tell you will affect not only your life but the life of your pretty young girlfriend.’
‘How do you know about Ginny?’ Draco burst out.
His uncle chuckled. ‘I watch people, especially those I know. What else am I going to do all day? Play a harp? But stop with this interrupting business. I don’t have a lot of time, but I have a lot to say.’
The garden area suddenly darkened, as if nature had picked up on the depressing mood. Draco couldn’t control the small shiver that ran through him; judging by everything, the news he was about to receive wasn’t going to be something that one wants to hear on their birthday, or any other day for that matter.
‘Many generations ago, your great, great, great, etc. grandfather, Draco Bartholomew Malfoy fell in love with a witch named Elizabeth who lived in the village near his Manor. They attended Hogwarts together: he in Slytherin and her in Gryffindor. Eventually she fell in love with him as well, as most women did; after all he was a Malfoy.’ Albert smirked to himself. ‘After graduation, they planned to get married. But considering her lack of social status and material assets, Draco Sr.’s parents did not regard it as a good match. In fact, they were quite set against it.’
‘Just like Ginevra and I,’ Draco interjected dryly, shaking his head at the stupidity of people.
‘Exactly but as we know, you two as a couple no longer raise any objections. And please no more interruptions because we’ll be here all millennia the way we’re going. So like I was saying, Draco Sr.’s parents were quite against the match and said that they would disown Draco if he married the girl. He, unlike you, really had no backbone and wasn’t prepared to give up everything he had for the woman he loved. Faced with the ultimatum of love or money, he broke off the engagement with Elizabeth which completely broke her heart. He retreated to the Manor and very soon after married a rich socialite who his parents actually approved of. When Elizabeth heard of the marriage, she was devastated. Secretly, she had been hoping that Draco loved her enough to endure poverty just to be with her.’
‘Spineless bastard!’ Draco muttered under his breath.
Albert nodded but continued on. ‘The canceling of the engagement and the ensuing marriage of Draco Sr.’s made Elizabeth a very hurt, angry and bitter woman who inflicted pain on those around her. She made it her life’s mission to see that Draco and all of his descendents were as miserable as possible. But although Elizabeth was an extremely powerful witch, she was also a realist and knew she didn’t have the power to make sure the Malfoy family was always suffering, so she focused on a curse that would affect the family in the distant future. She wanted a Malfoy to feel the pain that she did, but she wanted to take it a step further and made it so that the pain would be one of being torn apart from someone they loved to be forced into the arms of another.’ Albert paused for a breath, but Draco stayed silent, wondering how this would affect him.
‘Elizabeth’s curse stated that the seventh son with Malfoy blood would be ripped away from the woman (or man) he loved and would be forced to find another to marry. The kicker is that the Malfoy son would have to find this girl by the 8th month of his 24th year or the entire family goes down in one colossal ball of flames.’
‘A bit graphic,’ Draco thought, but then looked at his great-uncle blankly. ‘What does this have to do with me?’
Albert looked at the young man sharply. ‘Draco, I know you’re not as stupid as you’re pretending to be. But just for you, I’ll spell it out. You’re the seventh Malfoy son, so the curse comes to rest on you. Its not a coincidence that you were named after the man this whole situation stems from. Your parents have known this was coming since the moment you were born.’
‘So that’s why Mother looked so scared when I got this letter this morning,’ Draco whispered.
‘Exactly! But you know what this means, don’t you?’
Draco started at the comment. ‘It means that I … have to leave Ginevra,’ he said as his heart clenched.
Albert nodded vigorously, excited that Draco was catching on but his tone was sympathetic. ‘So now you’re starting to understand more of your mother’s distress.’
Draco jumped up and started to pace around. ‘I can’t leave Ginny. I love her! She’s the one, my soul mate, the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. I can’t ever leave her. I won’t!’
‘None of that matters because you have to leave her behind. But you know what; if you want your remaining family members to die a slow excruciating death, by all means, stay with your girlfriend. I don’t want to play the guilt card, but if you actually care about your mother and all of your other relatives, you’ll let Ginevra go and do what the curse dictates.’
Draco stopped pacing and slowly sank back down onto the bench, a look of grim determination on his face. ‘What do I have to do?’
‘After Ginevra is gone, the new girl’s identity will be revealed to you slowly through dreams. When you find her, you’ll have to go through some trial before you can marry her and all of this must be done by August.’
‘Great!’ The younger man exploded. ‘So I have 5 months to find some girl who’s going to ruin my life before some spell ultimately ends it?’
Albert shrugged. “So is the curse of being a Malfoy. Are you going to be okay?’
Draco’s shoulders drooped ‘No, but I’ll live…I hope.’
‘That’s my boy!’ Albert gave his great-nephew a short hug before his figure started to shimmer. ‘The bottle cap will bring you back to the Manor. But remember, 5 months!’ he disappeared.
Draco sat a little longer in the garden, gathering his thoughts to him, before he touched the tiny piece of metal and was taken back home.
***~~~***
The sun had just begun to set when Draco arrived back in the dining room of Malfoy Manor, although he could’ve sworn he hadn’t been away for longer than two hours.
Not knowing what he was going to say to Ginny but knowing that he needed to do it quickly, Draco went looking for his girlfriend. He found her in the kitchen surrounded by house elves, absolutely covered in flour.
‘Weasley, what are you going?’
Ginny spun around guiltily. ‘Nothing! Well, something, but you need to get out of here.’ She started to push him out of the room, but he held his ground and tried to peer around her.
‘Looks like a little more than something. I demand you to tell me what’s going on in my kitchen.’ Draco folded his arms across his chest and glared.
The redhead mirrored his position. ‘Well, I’m not going to tell you; otherwise it wouldn’t be a surprise. But let’s just say that it’s a special birthday surprise, so get out of here so I can finish, you great prat.’
Momentarily forgetting the events of the past few hours, Draco seductively winked at her.’ Does this special birthday surprise include you naked, covered in chocolate and whipped cream, draped on top of my silk sheets? ’
Laughing, Ginny winked back. ‘Only if you’re good and get out of here now. Go!’
Chuckling quietly, Draco allowed himself to be pushed out of the huge kitchen. But as soon as he was out of sight of his girlfriend, everything came rushing back and his happy mood was destroyed. Draco needed to get away from the perfect domestic picture everything around him presented and ran out to the garden, Ginny’s voice following him out in a refrain of some Muggle song from the 1960’s.
‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T…find out what it means to me…’
***~~~***
It was in the garden that Ginny found Draco an hour later.
‘There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. First, you disappear for almost the entire day and then when you finally get home, you disappear again.’
Draco just shrugged, at a loss for words.
Ignoring his silence, Ginny grabbed his hands and led him inside to the door to the dining room. ‘Its time for your surprise but you have to close your eyes and keep them shut until I say to open them. No peeking, promise?’
Sighing, Draco nodded. ‘I promise, but you’re treating me like a child.’
‘Just humour me.’
Shutting his eyes, Draco allowed himself to be led into the room.
‘Okay, now!’
Opening his eyes, he was shocked. On the immense table lay all of his favourite foods, crammed from one end to the other.
Ginny was watching his reaction very closely. ‘I made a special birthday dinner just for you and me. That’s the surprise. Do you like it?’
‘It’s excellent. Thank you so much.’
Ginny’s smile lit up her entire face. ‘I’m so glad. I felt so bad this morning about forgetting your birthday and so I knew I had to make tonight really special. But sit down and start eating before everything gets cold.’
They both sat down and tucked in.
***~~~***
Ginny noticed that Draco had been unusually quiet all meal, even though she had made all of his favourites. He had always been quiet on his birthday, but this time he was more reclusive than ever.
Suddenly Draco looked up from his plate and focused on his girlfriend. ‘Gin, I love you. You know that, right?’
She beamed at him. ‘Of course I do. I love you too.’
“But I can’t marry you.’
Ginny started to laugh, caught off-guard by his comment. ‘Who says we were talking about marriage?’
Draco just looked at her, a grim expression on his face. ‘Seriously, Ginevra.’
Ginny sobered as well and put her utensils down. ‘Okay. If you don’t want to get married now, I’ll wait. I have time, and I’m not going anywhere. Getting married isn’t a deal breaker.’
Draco shook his head, and reached for her hands, enfolding
them within his warm grasp, needing to establish a physical link between her and him as he already felt her slipping away. “Gin, it’s not that I can’t marry you now. I can’t marry you ever.’
A sneaking suspicion entered Ginny’s mind, and she slowly withdrew her hands from his. ‘Can’t…or won’t?’
Draco shook his head as if to physically dispel the notion. ‘Ginevra, it’s not like that. I want to marry you but I just can’t. A curse was placed on this family many generations ago, dictating that the 7th Malfoy son (which is me) would have to marry a certain girl by the 8th month of his 24th year or bring about the downfall of the entire family.’
‘So you’ve just been stringing me along? This has all been just fun and games to you, some cruel joke?’ Ginny’s voice started to rise hysterically.
‘No Ginevra, don’t think that. I only found out about this stuff today. That’s where I’ve been all day, finding out about the curse and the girl.’
Draco was about to continue when he heard Ginny’s whisper. ‘Who is this girl?’
He shook his head. “That’s the thing. The curse doesn’t say. All I know is that her identity will begin to be revealed to me through dreams. And then to finally win her, I’ll have to be deemed worthy by some test or trial.’
‘Sounds like you’ll be a fitting knight in shining armour ready to rescue the damsel in distress on your white stallion,’ Ginny replied bitterly.
‘At first I thought that the girl must be you because you’re the one I want to be with. But I already know you, there’s no mystery as to your identity. And why would the curse make me pass a test for someone who I am already involved with? You understand all of this right?’
Insensitive bastard. Ginny nodded. “I understand. You want more salad? I made way too much. Here, have some.’
Draco stared at her. ‘Gin-’
She interrupted quickly. “Or bread. Can’t have too much bread. Oh, look at those dirty dishes. They’re just piling up. What a disgrace!’
Draco said nothing as he watched Ginny go from task to task, knowing he wouldn’t get anymore of a reaction out of her that night, also knowing that he’d definitely be sleeping in one of the guestrooms.
***~~~***
Draco woke up the next morning feeling a little disoriented. ‘Where the hell am I?’ he thought groggily. But then the events from the previous day come flooding back: the curse, the girl, the dinner, and finally the wise choice of sleeping in a guestroom far away from his girlfriend.
Groaning, he hauled himself out of bed and got into the shower. Soon, the pounding water drops from the showerhead were at work massaging the tenseness and knots out of Draco’s shoulders as he stood half-asleep leaning against the wall. Finally wrenching himself away from the relaxing warmth, Draco wrapped himself in a towel and tiptoed down the hall to his and Ginny’s room.
Opening the door slowly, he peered inside. ‘Ginevra?’ he called hesitantly but hearing no response, he rushed over to his wardrobe and dressed quickly. Best to avoid his girlfriend until the Birthday Ball, he thought, heading downstairs to check on the progress of the set-up.
Draco found his mother already in the Ballroom, clipboard in hand with lists galore, surveying the progress of the workers.
‘Good morning, Mother,’ he said, kissing the proffered cheek.
‘Good morning, sweetheart. How did yesterday go?’ Narcissa asked, watching her son with a pained expression on her still youthful face.
Putting his hands in his pockets, Draco shrugged. ‘It went okay, I guess, all things considering. I mean, I only have to break the heart of the woman I love because some witch couldn’t get over a spineless coward and his betrayal hundreds of years ago. But other than that juicy morsel of information, things went swimmingly!’ he practically spat out the last sentence.
‘Do not take that tone with me, young man. I am still your mother and as such, I deserve more than to get ‘dumped on’ when circumstances arise.’ But Narcissa’s voice softened. ‘Your whole reaction makes me think that you’ve already told Ginevra.’
‘Yes.’ His answer came out in a sigh.
‘And?’
‘And what?’ Draco paced around, trying to avoid the entire situation.
‘And how did she react? What did she say?’ Narcissa pressed on anxiously, ignoring her only child’s skirting of the issue.
‘She said nothing, absolutely no real reaction. I have yet to get a positive or negative response from her.’
‘Poor child,’ the older woman whispered, shaking her head.
‘Poor child? What about me? I’m your child, your only child!’ Draco cried.
‘You’ll get over all of this eventually, dear.’ Narcissa patted his arm reassuringly, more for herself than for his benefit. ‘I know you love her deeply and the feeling is quite mutual, but Merlin willing, in time she’ll just be a happy memory.’ A thought crossed her mind, causing a worried expression to appear on her face, wrinkling her forehead. ‘Is she still showing up tonight?’
Grimacing slightly, Draco replied, ‘as far as I know.’
‘Good girl, she’s stronger than I thought. And what a Gryffindor, always doing what’s right, what’s needed. Ginevra is doing this for you, so you better be grateful.’
‘I am, Mother,’ he muttered.
‘I wanted to be in Gryffindor when I first arrived at Hogwarts though that feeling lasted for about a minute once I saw where I really belonged,’ Narcissa chattered as she launched off on a new tangent, re-reading her lists, leaving her son to do as he wished for the rest of the day.
***~~~***
Draco knew that Ginny’s favourite spots around the Manor were the library, the magically heated outdoor pool area and the orchard, and so he purposely avoided all three spots and headed to the stables.
He heard a horse’s joyful whickering as he entered the large wooden building. Draco’s footfalls were muffled by movements of the horses in their stalls and the straw on the floor as he went to investigate the source of the loud noise. It was to his great surprise to see Ginny saddling Dimples, the black stallion he had given to her. Dimples neighed at Draco’s approach and Ginny whirled around in surprise. But when she saw who her visitor was, her expression turned from happy expectancy to cold, contained fury.
‘Good morning, Ginevra,’ Draco ventured forth.
‘Morning,’ was Ginny’s clipped response and turning, she quickly mounted the horse and rode out of the stables, not giving Draco a backwards glance.
Shrugging helplessly, Draco turned and walked out of the stables. ‘She has to face up to this and me at some point or another,’ he thought.
Needing to cool off, he headed for the pool as the magically heated air around him grew quite stifling. The snow had melted quite early that year, leaving the Manor grounds wrapped in the illusion of spring, even thought it was still March.
Time passed very quickly that day which was fortunate for Draco, and it was time for him to get dressed for the Ball before he knew it.
Entering the bedroom, he spotted Ginny taking a clothing bag out of the wardrobe. Turning, she acknowledged him and then headed into the bathroom. It seems as if the horse ride had greatly improved her temper.
Sighing, Draco went to the wardrobe and took out his outfit for the night. Muggle attire was quite in fashion and so Draco quickly donned his tuxedo.
Hearing a click, he looked up to see the bathroom door open. Draco watched as Ginny walked into the bedroom, and his breath caught in his throat. Her champagne coloured sparkly dress hugged her curves, straps resting lightly on her shoulders and a square neckline showed a hint of cleavage. As Ginny walked towards the mirror, Draco caught a glimpse of the scandalously low back. The dress just brushed the floor, the material covering the glass slippers that peeked out when she moved. Ginny’s fiery locks lay in long loose curls, having opted to leave it down for the evening. A light coat of makeup accentuated her features, and to top off the outfit, a diamond butterfly rested in her hair.
‘You look absolutely amazing,’ Draco breathed as she made her way towards him.
Holding a hand up as if to keep him away, Ginny
snapped, ‘save if for your new girlfriend.’ Her amber eyes were now empty and glittering dangerously. ‘I’m only doing this for appearances. I still have some pride and a reputation to uphold. Just don’t touch me more than you need to or you’ll be missing valued parts of your anatomy.’
Brushing by him, Ginny walked briskly out of the room. Draco followed slowly. ‘Let the thrill ride begin.’
***~~~***
The redhead was waiting for Draco at the head of the main staircase that led down into the front hallway where the guests had congregated to wait for his arrival.
‘I was ready to go down, but your mother says we have to make an entrance together, to make a maximum effect or something. I wasn’t really listening.’ Ginny leant against one of the pillars that was part of the balcony, looking quite bored and effectively hiding herself from the hundreds of guests
below.
‘Okay, then.’ Draco cleared his throat and then held his arm out to her. Only hesitating slightly, Ginny took it and they walked to the top step, making their presence known.
The music wasn’t quieted but all of the guests stopped talking and turned to observe the couple as they made their way down the stairs, making both Ginny and Draco intensely uncomfortable.
‘We should go mingle for a few minutes, but dinner will be announced soon and then we should meet by the door to go in together. Okay?’ Draco muttered out of the side of his mouth.
‘Whatever you say Malfoy,’ Ginny said, smiling broadly for the partygoers.
‘Now is not the time. We can talk about everything after the party. For now, we’re happy and our relationship has no problems. Got it?’ Draco was getting a little snippy in his unhappiness.
They had reached the bottom step, but Ginny pulled on Draco’s arm to stop him from going off into the crowd. ‘I got it. But I really have nothing to say to you. You said your piece, and now you can have your cake and eat it too. I really couldn’t care less. Do what you want with your life.’ All of this was said in a low, icy tone, but the kiss Ginny gave to Draco’s cheek appeared genuinely happy and affectionate.
A few men Draco worked with pulled him away; leaving Ginny to let out the breath she had been holding and go find her family.
‘Please don’t kick my arse, but your girlfriend is the hottest thing I have ever seen,’ said a colleague that Draco didn’t remember the name of.
‘Yeah, can’t believe that she’s actually the littlest Weasel. She never looked like that at Hogwarts,’ drooled Marcus Flint as he watched Ginny (but mostly her back bottom half) walk across the room, occasionally stopping to talk to various people.
‘Well, at least not while you were still there,’ Draco agreed. ‘She really popped out in her fifth year. And then, no one looked better.’
‘But so untouchable. I mean, if you weren’t a Gryffindor or at least some one of notice, you had no chance. I can’t believe you finally got her, Drake. I remember you were obsessed with her in your 6th year, but she wouldn’t give you the time of day. She burned you every chance she got, and literally did once. But your eyebrows grew back all in good time,’ Blaise Zabini replied.
‘Yeah, it took me awhile but I got her.’ Draco’s voice trailed off, as he remembered the happier times, especially at school when they didn’t really care about anything but each other.
‘Lucky bastard.’ All of the men agreed to Blaise’s statement, but a bell rung and a servant announced that dinner was served. Draco excused himself to go find the object of the previous conversation.
He found her waiting as promised by the door, and she took his arm as she didn’t actually want to tear it off his body.
‘All of the guys were drooling over you. They say that you’re the hottest woman in this room. Marcus Flint’s eyes were practically glued to your arse,’ Draco mentioned to Ginny as they headed the group that was entering the dining room.
‘Good to hear. I’m in the market for a new boyfriend, maybe I’ll go check them out.’
‘Please stop it; you’re only making this whole thing worse. Don’t you know how much it hurts me when you keep saying these things?’
Ginny narrowly restrained herself from kicking Draco where the sun doesn’t shine, but she didn’t want to make a scene and just settled for snapping back at him. ‘Save it, Draco. I’m really not in the mood for all of your ‘this is hurting me much more than it’s hurting you’ bullshit. Just save it, and we can both try to get through the rest of this evening without any major explosions.’
Draco wisely kept his mouth shut and as they had reached their seats, he pulled out Ginny’s chair and then sat down himself.
Narcissa sat at the foot of the main table, and once all the guests were seated, she clapped her hands and the feast appeared. The dining room soon filled with busy chatter, and Draco was able to fix his attention on those seated around him. Ginny was engaged in an avid conversation with Blaise Zabini who was eyeing her hungrily, but she kept looking over at Draco with an unreadable expression on her face.
Soon, his attention was drawn away by the sound of a knife on a glass, signaling the start of a toast. Draco looked down the table towards his mother, but was quite surprised to see that all of his guests were turned towards him and that their eyes were focused on his neighbour: Ginny.
She cleared her throat quietly, but then spoke loud enough to not need a Sonorus charm. In a public display of affection only for the audience, Ginny reached out and squeezed Draco’s shoulder, flashing him a smile. Turning back to the group she smiled again. ‘The man sitting next to me is unlike any other I have ever met. He can get scared, but would defend those he loved until death even in the face of terrifying danger. And sometimes Draco makes me angry to the point of screaming, but then there are the times when I have to sit back and wonder how I got to be so lucky to have him in my life. Now he’s 24 years old, someone who has his whole life in front of him; time to do whatever he will.’ Ginny turned back to Draco again to address him directly. ‘You will face problems that you think you can never overcome, but look inside yourself and you will always find the strength you need. Fate does not control your destiny; that’s all up to you. Only you have the strength to change the course of your life, to bend it to your will. Success and failure is up to you, but just look inside yourself and at those you love, and you’ll find that you’re able to do anything you want. So here’s to Draco, I love you.’ Ginny lifted her glass to him, the crowd mimicking her, and took a sip. As she sat down, the guests started to talk amongst themselves again.
‘That was beautiful, Ginevra,’ Draco whispered to her sincerely.
‘Yeah, well, I wrote it a few days ago, and even after last night I couldn’t be bothered to change it so don’t get your hopes up. I’m still incredibly angry.’
‘Really darling? I hadn’t caught that,’ he drawled sarcastically, but stifled all other comments after he caught the glare Ginny shot him.
The rest of the dinner passed relatively peaceful, without any other undue interruptions. But Draco inwardly groaned as he saw his mother stand up and clear her throat.
‘Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. If you would all be so kind, please accompany me into the ballroom, and the dancing will commence with Draco and Ginevra starting the waltz.’
Knowing that the entire guest list was waiting for them to make a move, Ginny got up and took Draco’s hand, pulling him to the front of the group and then into the ballroom. Walking quickly to the centre of the room, she positioned them correctly and waited for the music to start up. Once it had, they skimmed effortlessly over the dance floor, impressing others with their presence and grace.
‘My, aren’t they a good-looking couple?’ a woman remarked to Molly Weasley.
‘Quite.’
‘And they really seem to love each other. Looking forward to having a Malfoy as a son-in-law?’
Molly laughed quietly. ‘As long as he treats my daughter well, I couldn’t care less who he was. But Draco is nothing like his father, and has already become like family to Arthur and I. He’s delightful and so charming. He even pretended to have an interest in Arthur’s Muggle spark plug collection.’
The older woman smiled in return. ‘And how do your sons like him?’
This caused Molly to laugh again a little loudly, drawing a bit of attention to herself. ‘They don’t mind him very much either. Granted, at the beginning of the relationship, Ron and the twins were ready to beat him into a pulp any time he was around.’
‘How about the older boys?’
‘Luckily, Bill, Charlie and Percy only made the one visit to Draco. But it was enough. I can’t imagine wanting to anger those boys, especially when it comes to their baby sister. But Draco dotes upon their children, and this always endears anyone to proud parents.’
Meanwhile, Draco and Ginny had kept up a stream of light chitchat, in order to not rouse the interest of others.
“It’s a beautiful party, Draco.’
‘Thank-you. And you look beautiful as well.’
‘Thank-you. You look quite handsome yourself.’
‘Thank-you.’
But the stream died there, and a tension-filled silence filled its place. Luckily, the music ended then, and they immediately stopped dancing.
‘Mind if I cut in?’ Harry Potter asked, sidling unexpectedly up to the couple.
‘No, be my guest, take him away,’ Ginny said, giggling.
Smiling wildly, Harry shook his head and swept her away. But Draco had no time to brood as a flock of girls surrounded him, and rendered him quite busy for the rest of the night.
***~~~***
Draco wearily said good-bye to the last guests long past midnight, and shut his front door heavily behind them.
Leaning against it, he sighed. The evening had been a success as parties go, and people were still oblivious to the precarious state that his and Ginny’s relationship was in. The petite redhead had gone up to bed a few minutes earlier, and Draco knew from past parties that she would already be undressed and partly asleep by the time he arrived at the bedroom, giving him time to quickly shed his evening clothes, grab pajamas and then go settle himself in the guestroom he had occupied the night before.
Ginny was indeed already in bed and already on her way to Dreamland when Draco got upstairs. As quietly as possible, Draco changed out of his tux and into his pajamas. He was about to sneak out of the room when he heard a sound coming from the bed. Tiptoeing over, he saw Ginny stirring restlessly. Leaning down, Draco kissed her softly on the forehead, breathing in her scent. Ginny quickly became still and comforted but as Draco was about to leave, he noticed that the smile that came on her face whenever he kissed her in her sleep was noticeably absent.
‘Her feelings are clear even when she’s dreaming,’ Draco thought, but shaking his head, padded out to his new sleeping area.
***~~~***
The next evening, Draco found Ginny out in the garden. By silent agreement, they both had avoided each other the entire day. He stole up to her and silently took a seat beside her on a bench.
After a few moments, Ginny spoke. ‘I’m moving out tomorrow.’
Draco quickly turned to her in shock. ‘What?’ he cried. ‘Why?’
She faced him as well. ‘Draco, you know that if there is no chance that this relationship can ever get to the next level, there’s no point in continuing it and getting even more emotionally involved than we are. If we do, and it comes to the inevitable end where you leave, it’ll be even harder and hurt so much more, especially because I know you’ll be leaving me for another woman. If we do it now, it’ll be easier and less painful. You don’t know who she is and I don’t know who she is so I can’t put a face to a name.’
Draco grabbed Ginny’s wrists. ‘But whenever you leave, it’ll be painful, especially now as this all so fresh. You can stay here and we’ll just live this way. Screw my family and the curse! You can’t just leave me like this.’
Ginny shook him off. ‘I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t. A clean break will heal quicker. In a few months, you’ll look back and thank me for ending it when I did.’ She turned away to stare at the horizon, where the sun was setting in a blaze of colour. ‘Draco, this may sound wrong or selfish, but I want more. Eventually, I want a husband and babies and a big house.’ Turning back, she stroked his cheek. ‘You said it yourself; those aren’t things you can’t give me. And one day, you’ll find the girl you’re supposed to marry, and you’ll want and have a wife and babies and a big house. It’s better this way.’
Draco raised his head, and Ginny saw that he had started to cry, which made her do the same. ‘But Ginevra, I want those things with you.’
‘And I with you, but obviously we can’t always get everything we want.’ Ginny tried to control herself. ‘Ron, Harry and the twins are coming by tomorrow to help me with my stuff. It’s best if you weren’t here. It’ll be easier that way.’ She got up, kissed his cheek gently, and started to walk away. ‘Bye Draco, it’s been fun,’ but the end of her sentence was lost in sobs.
Draco couldn’t bear to watch her walk away from him forever and so just stared at the ground, his tears soaking the pavement below.
A/N: please remember that I wrote this chapter almost 3 years ago and so by the end of the story, the writing style will have changed a lot.
The pull from behind Draco’s navel stopped and he opened his eyes to find that he had been transported to a garden area. A brook babbled in the distance and sunlight streamed through a canopy of tree branches overhead. All around him were stone ruins of high frames and pillars, reminiscent of the times of the Ancient Greeks. Suddenly, Draco noticed the older man sitting on one of the two stone benches in front of him. The man’s features came into focus and Draco recognized him from one of the paintings that hung in the library of Malfoy Manor.
‘Great Uncle Albert! What are you doing here?’
‘Something big needs to be explained to you, and they thought that it would be a good idea to send along a familiar face. Take a seat, son.’
‘You look good. Heaven treating you well?’
Albert stretched back, relaxing a little. ‘As well as can be expected. Plus, you get to choose how you look. I think my early twenties was a prime time for me, and so, I don’t look a day over 24. I still get quite a bit of attention of the ladies as well. But this isn’t about me, so no more distractions.’
Draco looked worried. ‘You’re so serious. What did I do?’
Albert chuckled. ‘It’s not what you’ve done, it is what you’re about to do. It's your birthday today, isn’t that right?’
He nodded. ‘And like you, I also don’t look a day over 24 but that’s because I’m not.’
‘Damn,’ the older man muttered to himself. ‘I thought they’d give him more time.’
Noticing that he was still standing, Draco quickly sat down, his expression turning to one of confusion. ‘Who’s this they you keep mentioning? And what do I need more time for?’
Albert sighed deeply and patted his great-nephew on the arm. ‘The Fates, Draco. But this is going to be hard for me to tell you, so try to not interrupt me. I’ll answer all of your questions to the best of my ability but only after I’m done with my entire speech. What I’m about to tell you will affect not only your life but the life of your pretty young girlfriend.’
‘How do you know about Ginny?’ Draco burst out.
His uncle chuckled. ‘I watch people, especially those I know. What else am I going to do all day? Play a harp? But stop with this interrupting business. I don’t have a lot of time, but I have a lot to say.’
The garden area suddenly darkened, as if nature had picked up on the depressing mood. Draco couldn’t control the small shiver that ran through him; judging by everything, the news he was about to receive wasn’t going to be something that one wants to hear on their birthday, or any other day for that matter.
‘Many generations ago, your great, great, great, etc. grandfather, Draco Bartholomew Malfoy fell in love with a witch named Elizabeth who lived in the village near his Manor. They attended Hogwarts together: he in Slytherin and her in Gryffindor. Eventually she fell in love with him as well, as most women did; after all he was a Malfoy.’ Albert smirked to himself. ‘After graduation, they planned to get married. But considering her lack of social status and material assets, Draco Sr.’s parents did not regard it as a good match. In fact, they were quite set against it.’
‘Just like Ginevra and I,’ Draco interjected dryly, shaking his head at the stupidity of people.
‘Exactly but as we know, you two as a couple no longer raise any objections. And please no more interruptions because we’ll be here all millennia the way we’re going. So like I was saying, Draco Sr.’s parents were quite against the match and said that they would disown Draco if he married the girl. He, unlike you, really had no backbone and wasn’t prepared to give up everything he had for the woman he loved. Faced with the ultimatum of love or money, he broke off the engagement with Elizabeth which completely broke her heart. He retreated to the Manor and very soon after married a rich socialite who his parents actually approved of. When Elizabeth heard of the marriage, she was devastated. Secretly, she had been hoping that Draco loved her enough to endure poverty just to be with her.’
‘Spineless bastard!’ Draco muttered under his breath.
Albert nodded but continued on. ‘The canceling of the engagement and the ensuing marriage of Draco Sr.’s made Elizabeth a very hurt, angry and bitter woman who inflicted pain on those around her. She made it her life’s mission to see that Draco and all of his descendents were as miserable as possible. But although Elizabeth was an extremely powerful witch, she was also a realist and knew she didn’t have the power to make sure the Malfoy family was always suffering, so she focused on a curse that would affect the family in the distant future. She wanted a Malfoy to feel the pain that she did, but she wanted to take it a step further and made it so that the pain would be one of being torn apart from someone they loved to be forced into the arms of another.’ Albert paused for a breath, but Draco stayed silent, wondering how this would affect him.
‘Elizabeth’s curse stated that the seventh son with Malfoy blood would be ripped away from the woman (or man) he loved and would be forced to find another to marry. The kicker is that the Malfoy son would have to find this girl by the 8th month of his 24th year or the entire family goes down in one colossal ball of flames.’
‘A bit graphic,’ Draco thought, but then looked at his great-uncle blankly. ‘What does this have to do with me?’
Albert looked at the young man sharply. ‘Draco, I know you’re not as stupid as you’re pretending to be. But just for you, I’ll spell it out. You’re the seventh Malfoy son, so the curse comes to rest on you. Its not a coincidence that you were named after the man this whole situation stems from. Your parents have known this was coming since the moment you were born.’
‘So that’s why Mother looked so scared when I got this letter this morning,’ Draco whispered.
‘Exactly! But you know what this means, don’t you?’
Draco started at the comment. ‘It means that I … have to leave Ginevra,’ he said as his heart clenched.
Albert nodded vigorously, excited that Draco was catching on but his tone was sympathetic. ‘So now you’re starting to understand more of your mother’s distress.’
Draco jumped up and started to pace around. ‘I can’t leave Ginny. I love her! She’s the one, my soul mate, the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. I can’t ever leave her. I won’t!’
‘None of that matters because you have to leave her behind. But you know what; if you want your remaining family members to die a slow excruciating death, by all means, stay with your girlfriend. I don’t want to play the guilt card, but if you actually care about your mother and all of your other relatives, you’ll let Ginevra go and do what the curse dictates.’
Draco stopped pacing and slowly sank back down onto the bench, a look of grim determination on his face. ‘What do I have to do?’
‘After Ginevra is gone, the new girl’s identity will be revealed to you slowly through dreams. When you find her, you’ll have to go through some trial before you can marry her and all of this must be done by August.’
‘Great!’ The younger man exploded. ‘So I have 5 months to find some girl who’s going to ruin my life before some spell ultimately ends it?’
Albert shrugged. “So is the curse of being a Malfoy. Are you going to be okay?’
Draco’s shoulders drooped ‘No, but I’ll live…I hope.’
‘That’s my boy!’ Albert gave his great-nephew a short hug before his figure started to shimmer. ‘The bottle cap will bring you back to the Manor. But remember, 5 months!’ he disappeared.
Draco sat a little longer in the garden, gathering his thoughts to him, before he touched the tiny piece of metal and was taken back home.
The sun had just begun to set when Draco arrived back in the dining room of Malfoy Manor, although he could’ve sworn he hadn’t been away for longer than two hours.
Not knowing what he was going to say to Ginny but knowing that he needed to do it quickly, Draco went looking for his girlfriend. He found her in the kitchen surrounded by house elves, absolutely covered in flour.
‘Weasley, what are you going?’
Ginny spun around guiltily. ‘Nothing! Well, something, but you need to get out of here.’ She started to push him out of the room, but he held his ground and tried to peer around her.
‘Looks like a little more than something. I demand you to tell me what’s going on in my kitchen.’ Draco folded his arms across his chest and glared.
The redhead mirrored his position. ‘Well, I’m not going to tell you; otherwise it wouldn’t be a surprise. But let’s just say that it’s a special birthday surprise, so get out of here so I can finish, you great prat.’
Momentarily forgetting the events of the past few hours, Draco seductively winked at her.’ Does this special birthday surprise include you naked, covered in chocolate and whipped cream, draped on top of my silk sheets? ’
Laughing, Ginny winked back. ‘Only if you’re good and get out of here now. Go!’
Chuckling quietly, Draco allowed himself to be pushed out of the huge kitchen. But as soon as he was out of sight of his girlfriend, everything came rushing back and his happy mood was destroyed. Draco needed to get away from the perfect domestic picture everything around him presented and ran out to the garden, Ginny’s voice following him out in a refrain of some Muggle song from the 1960’s.
‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T…find out what it means to me…’
It was in the garden that Ginny found Draco an hour later.
‘There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. First, you disappear for almost the entire day and then when you finally get home, you disappear again.’
Draco just shrugged, at a loss for words.
Ignoring his silence, Ginny grabbed his hands and led him inside to the door to the dining room. ‘Its time for your surprise but you have to close your eyes and keep them shut until I say to open them. No peeking, promise?’
Sighing, Draco nodded. ‘I promise, but you’re treating me like a child.’
‘Just humour me.’
Shutting his eyes, Draco allowed himself to be led into the room.
‘Okay, now!’
Opening his eyes, he was shocked. On the immense table lay all of his favourite foods, crammed from one end to the other.
Ginny was watching his reaction very closely. ‘I made a special birthday dinner just for you and me. That’s the surprise. Do you like it?’
‘It’s excellent. Thank you so much.’
Ginny’s smile lit up her entire face. ‘I’m so glad. I felt so bad this morning about forgetting your birthday and so I knew I had to make tonight really special. But sit down and start eating before everything gets cold.’
They both sat down and tucked in.
Ginny noticed that Draco had been unusually quiet all meal, even though she had made all of his favourites. He had always been quiet on his birthday, but this time he was more reclusive than ever.
Suddenly Draco looked up from his plate and focused on his girlfriend. ‘Gin, I love you. You know that, right?’
She beamed at him. ‘Of course I do. I love you too.’
“But I can’t marry you.’
Ginny started to laugh, caught off-guard by his comment. ‘Who says we were talking about marriage?’
Draco just looked at her, a grim expression on his face. ‘Seriously, Ginevra.’
Ginny sobered as well and put her utensils down. ‘Okay. If you don’t want to get married now, I’ll wait. I have time, and I’m not going anywhere. Getting married isn’t a deal breaker.’
Draco shook his head, and reached for her hands, enfolding
them within his warm grasp, needing to establish a physical link between her and him as he already felt her slipping away. “Gin, it’s not that I can’t marry you now. I can’t marry you ever.’
A sneaking suspicion entered Ginny’s mind, and she slowly withdrew her hands from his. ‘Can’t…or won’t?’
Draco shook his head as if to physically dispel the notion. ‘Ginevra, it’s not like that. I want to marry you but I just can’t. A curse was placed on this family many generations ago, dictating that the 7th Malfoy son (which is me) would have to marry a certain girl by the 8th month of his 24th year or bring about the downfall of the entire family.’
‘So you’ve just been stringing me along? This has all been just fun and games to you, some cruel joke?’ Ginny’s voice started to rise hysterically.
‘No Ginevra, don’t think that. I only found out about this stuff today. That’s where I’ve been all day, finding out about the curse and the girl.’
Draco was about to continue when he heard Ginny’s whisper. ‘Who is this girl?’
He shook his head. “That’s the thing. The curse doesn’t say. All I know is that her identity will begin to be revealed to me through dreams. And then to finally win her, I’ll have to be deemed worthy by some test or trial.’
‘Sounds like you’ll be a fitting knight in shining armour ready to rescue the damsel in distress on your white stallion,’ Ginny replied bitterly.
‘At first I thought that the girl must be you because you’re the one I want to be with. But I already know you, there’s no mystery as to your identity. And why would the curse make me pass a test for someone who I am already involved with? You understand all of this right?’
Insensitive bastard. Ginny nodded. “I understand. You want more salad? I made way too much. Here, have some.’
Draco stared at her. ‘Gin-’
She interrupted quickly. “Or bread. Can’t have too much bread. Oh, look at those dirty dishes. They’re just piling up. What a disgrace!’
Draco said nothing as he watched Ginny go from task to task, knowing he wouldn’t get anymore of a reaction out of her that night, also knowing that he’d definitely be sleeping in one of the guestrooms.
Draco woke up the next morning feeling a little disoriented. ‘Where the hell am I?’ he thought groggily. But then the events from the previous day come flooding back: the curse, the girl, the dinner, and finally the wise choice of sleeping in a guestroom far away from his girlfriend.
Groaning, he hauled himself out of bed and got into the shower. Soon, the pounding water drops from the showerhead were at work massaging the tenseness and knots out of Draco’s shoulders as he stood half-asleep leaning against the wall. Finally wrenching himself away from the relaxing warmth, Draco wrapped himself in a towel and tiptoed down the hall to his and Ginny’s room.
Opening the door slowly, he peered inside. ‘Ginevra?’ he called hesitantly but hearing no response, he rushed over to his wardrobe and dressed quickly. Best to avoid his girlfriend until the Birthday Ball, he thought, heading downstairs to check on the progress of the set-up.
Draco found his mother already in the Ballroom, clipboard in hand with lists galore, surveying the progress of the workers.
‘Good morning, Mother,’ he said, kissing the proffered cheek.
‘Good morning, sweetheart. How did yesterday go?’ Narcissa asked, watching her son with a pained expression on her still youthful face.
Putting his hands in his pockets, Draco shrugged. ‘It went okay, I guess, all things considering. I mean, I only have to break the heart of the woman I love because some witch couldn’t get over a spineless coward and his betrayal hundreds of years ago. But other than that juicy morsel of information, things went swimmingly!’ he practically spat out the last sentence.
‘Do not take that tone with me, young man. I am still your mother and as such, I deserve more than to get ‘dumped on’ when circumstances arise.’ But Narcissa’s voice softened. ‘Your whole reaction makes me think that you’ve already told Ginevra.’
‘Yes.’ His answer came out in a sigh.
‘And?’
‘And what?’ Draco paced around, trying to avoid the entire situation.
‘And how did she react? What did she say?’ Narcissa pressed on anxiously, ignoring her only child’s skirting of the issue.
‘She said nothing, absolutely no real reaction. I have yet to get a positive or negative response from her.’
‘Poor child,’ the older woman whispered, shaking her head.
‘Poor child? What about me? I’m your child, your only child!’ Draco cried.
‘You’ll get over all of this eventually, dear.’ Narcissa patted his arm reassuringly, more for herself than for his benefit. ‘I know you love her deeply and the feeling is quite mutual, but Merlin willing, in time she’ll just be a happy memory.’ A thought crossed her mind, causing a worried expression to appear on her face, wrinkling her forehead. ‘Is she still showing up tonight?’
Grimacing slightly, Draco replied, ‘as far as I know.’
‘Good girl, she’s stronger than I thought. And what a Gryffindor, always doing what’s right, what’s needed. Ginevra is doing this for you, so you better be grateful.’
‘I am, Mother,’ he muttered.
‘I wanted to be in Gryffindor when I first arrived at Hogwarts though that feeling lasted for about a minute once I saw where I really belonged,’ Narcissa chattered as she launched off on a new tangent, re-reading her lists, leaving her son to do as he wished for the rest of the day.
Draco knew that Ginny’s favourite spots around the Manor were the library, the magically heated outdoor pool area and the orchard, and so he purposely avoided all three spots and headed to the stables.
He heard a horse’s joyful whickering as he entered the large wooden building. Draco’s footfalls were muffled by movements of the horses in their stalls and the straw on the floor as he went to investigate the source of the loud noise. It was to his great surprise to see Ginny saddling Dimples, the black stallion he had given to her. Dimples neighed at Draco’s approach and Ginny whirled around in surprise. But when she saw who her visitor was, her expression turned from happy expectancy to cold, contained fury.
‘Good morning, Ginevra,’ Draco ventured forth.
‘Morning,’ was Ginny’s clipped response and turning, she quickly mounted the horse and rode out of the stables, not giving Draco a backwards glance.
Shrugging helplessly, Draco turned and walked out of the stables. ‘She has to face up to this and me at some point or another,’ he thought.
Needing to cool off, he headed for the pool as the magically heated air around him grew quite stifling. The snow had melted quite early that year, leaving the Manor grounds wrapped in the illusion of spring, even thought it was still March.
Time passed very quickly that day which was fortunate for Draco, and it was time for him to get dressed for the Ball before he knew it.
Entering the bedroom, he spotted Ginny taking a clothing bag out of the wardrobe. Turning, she acknowledged him and then headed into the bathroom. It seems as if the horse ride had greatly improved her temper.
Sighing, Draco went to the wardrobe and took out his outfit for the night. Muggle attire was quite in fashion and so Draco quickly donned his tuxedo.
Hearing a click, he looked up to see the bathroom door open. Draco watched as Ginny walked into the bedroom, and his breath caught in his throat. Her champagne coloured sparkly dress hugged her curves, straps resting lightly on her shoulders and a square neckline showed a hint of cleavage. As Ginny walked towards the mirror, Draco caught a glimpse of the scandalously low back. The dress just brushed the floor, the material covering the glass slippers that peeked out when she moved. Ginny’s fiery locks lay in long loose curls, having opted to leave it down for the evening. A light coat of makeup accentuated her features, and to top off the outfit, a diamond butterfly rested in her hair.
‘You look absolutely amazing,’ Draco breathed as she made her way towards him.
Holding a hand up as if to keep him away, Ginny
snapped, ‘save if for your new girlfriend.’ Her amber eyes were now empty and glittering dangerously. ‘I’m only doing this for appearances. I still have some pride and a reputation to uphold. Just don’t touch me more than you need to or you’ll be missing valued parts of your anatomy.’
Brushing by him, Ginny walked briskly out of the room. Draco followed slowly. ‘Let the thrill ride begin.’
The redhead was waiting for Draco at the head of the main staircase that led down into the front hallway where the guests had congregated to wait for his arrival.
‘I was ready to go down, but your mother says we have to make an entrance together, to make a maximum effect or something. I wasn’t really listening.’ Ginny leant against one of the pillars that was part of the balcony, looking quite bored and effectively hiding herself from the hundreds of guests
below.
‘Okay, then.’ Draco cleared his throat and then held his arm out to her. Only hesitating slightly, Ginny took it and they walked to the top step, making their presence known.
The music wasn’t quieted but all of the guests stopped talking and turned to observe the couple as they made their way down the stairs, making both Ginny and Draco intensely uncomfortable.
‘We should go mingle for a few minutes, but dinner will be announced soon and then we should meet by the door to go in together. Okay?’ Draco muttered out of the side of his mouth.
‘Whatever you say Malfoy,’ Ginny said, smiling broadly for the partygoers.
‘Now is not the time. We can talk about everything after the party. For now, we’re happy and our relationship has no problems. Got it?’ Draco was getting a little snippy in his unhappiness.
They had reached the bottom step, but Ginny pulled on Draco’s arm to stop him from going off into the crowd. ‘I got it. But I really have nothing to say to you. You said your piece, and now you can have your cake and eat it too. I really couldn’t care less. Do what you want with your life.’ All of this was said in a low, icy tone, but the kiss Ginny gave to Draco’s cheek appeared genuinely happy and affectionate.
A few men Draco worked with pulled him away; leaving Ginny to let out the breath she had been holding and go find her family.
‘Please don’t kick my arse, but your girlfriend is the hottest thing I have ever seen,’ said a colleague that Draco didn’t remember the name of.
‘Yeah, can’t believe that she’s actually the littlest Weasel. She never looked like that at Hogwarts,’ drooled Marcus Flint as he watched Ginny (but mostly her back bottom half) walk across the room, occasionally stopping to talk to various people.
‘Well, at least not while you were still there,’ Draco agreed. ‘She really popped out in her fifth year. And then, no one looked better.’
‘But so untouchable. I mean, if you weren’t a Gryffindor or at least some one of notice, you had no chance. I can’t believe you finally got her, Drake. I remember you were obsessed with her in your 6th year, but she wouldn’t give you the time of day. She burned you every chance she got, and literally did once. But your eyebrows grew back all in good time,’ Blaise Zabini replied.
‘Yeah, it took me awhile but I got her.’ Draco’s voice trailed off, as he remembered the happier times, especially at school when they didn’t really care about anything but each other.
‘Lucky bastard.’ All of the men agreed to Blaise’s statement, but a bell rung and a servant announced that dinner was served. Draco excused himself to go find the object of the previous conversation.
He found her waiting as promised by the door, and she took his arm as she didn’t actually want to tear it off his body.
‘All of the guys were drooling over you. They say that you’re the hottest woman in this room. Marcus Flint’s eyes were practically glued to your arse,’ Draco mentioned to Ginny as they headed the group that was entering the dining room.
‘Good to hear. I’m in the market for a new boyfriend, maybe I’ll go check them out.’
‘Please stop it; you’re only making this whole thing worse. Don’t you know how much it hurts me when you keep saying these things?’
Ginny narrowly restrained herself from kicking Draco where the sun doesn’t shine, but she didn’t want to make a scene and just settled for snapping back at him. ‘Save it, Draco. I’m really not in the mood for all of your ‘this is hurting me much more than it’s hurting you’ bullshit. Just save it, and we can both try to get through the rest of this evening without any major explosions.’
Draco wisely kept his mouth shut and as they had reached their seats, he pulled out Ginny’s chair and then sat down himself.
Narcissa sat at the foot of the main table, and once all the guests were seated, she clapped her hands and the feast appeared. The dining room soon filled with busy chatter, and Draco was able to fix his attention on those seated around him. Ginny was engaged in an avid conversation with Blaise Zabini who was eyeing her hungrily, but she kept looking over at Draco with an unreadable expression on her face.
Soon, his attention was drawn away by the sound of a knife on a glass, signaling the start of a toast. Draco looked down the table towards his mother, but was quite surprised to see that all of his guests were turned towards him and that their eyes were focused on his neighbour: Ginny.
She cleared her throat quietly, but then spoke loud enough to not need a Sonorus charm. In a public display of affection only for the audience, Ginny reached out and squeezed Draco’s shoulder, flashing him a smile. Turning back to the group she smiled again. ‘The man sitting next to me is unlike any other I have ever met. He can get scared, but would defend those he loved until death even in the face of terrifying danger. And sometimes Draco makes me angry to the point of screaming, but then there are the times when I have to sit back and wonder how I got to be so lucky to have him in my life. Now he’s 24 years old, someone who has his whole life in front of him; time to do whatever he will.’ Ginny turned back to Draco again to address him directly. ‘You will face problems that you think you can never overcome, but look inside yourself and you will always find the strength you need. Fate does not control your destiny; that’s all up to you. Only you have the strength to change the course of your life, to bend it to your will. Success and failure is up to you, but just look inside yourself and at those you love, and you’ll find that you’re able to do anything you want. So here’s to Draco, I love you.’ Ginny lifted her glass to him, the crowd mimicking her, and took a sip. As she sat down, the guests started to talk amongst themselves again.
‘That was beautiful, Ginevra,’ Draco whispered to her sincerely.
‘Yeah, well, I wrote it a few days ago, and even after last night I couldn’t be bothered to change it so don’t get your hopes up. I’m still incredibly angry.’
‘Really darling? I hadn’t caught that,’ he drawled sarcastically, but stifled all other comments after he caught the glare Ginny shot him.
The rest of the dinner passed relatively peaceful, without any other undue interruptions. But Draco inwardly groaned as he saw his mother stand up and clear her throat.
‘Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. If you would all be so kind, please accompany me into the ballroom, and the dancing will commence with Draco and Ginevra starting the waltz.’
Knowing that the entire guest list was waiting for them to make a move, Ginny got up and took Draco’s hand, pulling him to the front of the group and then into the ballroom. Walking quickly to the centre of the room, she positioned them correctly and waited for the music to start up. Once it had, they skimmed effortlessly over the dance floor, impressing others with their presence and grace.
‘My, aren’t they a good-looking couple?’ a woman remarked to Molly Weasley.
‘Quite.’
‘And they really seem to love each other. Looking forward to having a Malfoy as a son-in-law?’
Molly laughed quietly. ‘As long as he treats my daughter well, I couldn’t care less who he was. But Draco is nothing like his father, and has already become like family to Arthur and I. He’s delightful and so charming. He even pretended to have an interest in Arthur’s Muggle spark plug collection.’
The older woman smiled in return. ‘And how do your sons like him?’
This caused Molly to laugh again a little loudly, drawing a bit of attention to herself. ‘They don’t mind him very much either. Granted, at the beginning of the relationship, Ron and the twins were ready to beat him into a pulp any time he was around.’
‘How about the older boys?’
‘Luckily, Bill, Charlie and Percy only made the one visit to Draco. But it was enough. I can’t imagine wanting to anger those boys, especially when it comes to their baby sister. But Draco dotes upon their children, and this always endears anyone to proud parents.’
Meanwhile, Draco and Ginny had kept up a stream of light chitchat, in order to not rouse the interest of others.
“It’s a beautiful party, Draco.’
‘Thank-you. And you look beautiful as well.’
‘Thank-you. You look quite handsome yourself.’
‘Thank-you.’
But the stream died there, and a tension-filled silence filled its place. Luckily, the music ended then, and they immediately stopped dancing.
‘Mind if I cut in?’ Harry Potter asked, sidling unexpectedly up to the couple.
‘No, be my guest, take him away,’ Ginny said, giggling.
Smiling wildly, Harry shook his head and swept her away. But Draco had no time to brood as a flock of girls surrounded him, and rendered him quite busy for the rest of the night.
Draco wearily said good-bye to the last guests long past midnight, and shut his front door heavily behind them.
Leaning against it, he sighed. The evening had been a success as parties go, and people were still oblivious to the precarious state that his and Ginny’s relationship was in. The petite redhead had gone up to bed a few minutes earlier, and Draco knew from past parties that she would already be undressed and partly asleep by the time he arrived at the bedroom, giving him time to quickly shed his evening clothes, grab pajamas and then go settle himself in the guestroom he had occupied the night before.
Ginny was indeed already in bed and already on her way to Dreamland when Draco got upstairs. As quietly as possible, Draco changed out of his tux and into his pajamas. He was about to sneak out of the room when he heard a sound coming from the bed. Tiptoeing over, he saw Ginny stirring restlessly. Leaning down, Draco kissed her softly on the forehead, breathing in her scent. Ginny quickly became still and comforted but as Draco was about to leave, he noticed that the smile that came on her face whenever he kissed her in her sleep was noticeably absent.
‘Her feelings are clear even when she’s dreaming,’ Draco thought, but shaking his head, padded out to his new sleeping area.
The next evening, Draco found Ginny out in the garden. By silent agreement, they both had avoided each other the entire day. He stole up to her and silently took a seat beside her on a bench.
After a few moments, Ginny spoke. ‘I’m moving out tomorrow.’
Draco quickly turned to her in shock. ‘What?’ he cried. ‘Why?’
She faced him as well. ‘Draco, you know that if there is no chance that this relationship can ever get to the next level, there’s no point in continuing it and getting even more emotionally involved than we are. If we do, and it comes to the inevitable end where you leave, it’ll be even harder and hurt so much more, especially because I know you’ll be leaving me for another woman. If we do it now, it’ll be easier and less painful. You don’t know who she is and I don’t know who she is so I can’t put a face to a name.’
Draco grabbed Ginny’s wrists. ‘But whenever you leave, it’ll be painful, especially now as this all so fresh. You can stay here and we’ll just live this way. Screw my family and the curse! You can’t just leave me like this.’
Ginny shook him off. ‘I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t. A clean break will heal quicker. In a few months, you’ll look back and thank me for ending it when I did.’ She turned away to stare at the horizon, where the sun was setting in a blaze of colour. ‘Draco, this may sound wrong or selfish, but I want more. Eventually, I want a husband and babies and a big house.’ Turning back, she stroked his cheek. ‘You said it yourself; those aren’t things you can’t give me. And one day, you’ll find the girl you’re supposed to marry, and you’ll want and have a wife and babies and a big house. It’s better this way.’
Draco raised his head, and Ginny saw that he had started to cry, which made her do the same. ‘But Ginevra, I want those things with you.’
‘And I with you, but obviously we can’t always get everything we want.’ Ginny tried to control herself. ‘Ron, Harry and the twins are coming by tomorrow to help me with my stuff. It’s best if you weren’t here. It’ll be easier that way.’ She got up, kissed his cheek gently, and started to walk away. ‘Bye Draco, it’s been fun,’ but the end of her sentence was lost in sobs.
Draco couldn’t bear to watch her walk away from him forever and so just stared at the ground, his tears soaking the pavement below.
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