Something to Believe
Chapter Ten: Dinner
---
The next morning, Ginny found herself eavesdropping at the kitchen door once again.
"What's the trouble, dear?" Ginny rolled her eyes upon hearing her mother addressing Malfoy as such.
He didn't bother answering her. By the scraping sound of silverware, Ginny guessed he busied himself with eating his breakfast.
"Have you - " Ginny's mum voice dropped to a whisper, and she strained to make out the rest of the sentence, " - made any progress for Ginny?"
"No, not as much as I'd hoped to. Maybe after she's done listening at the door, she'll be willing to help me with some more research."
Her eyes widened and before she could react, the door swung open, revealing her mother, looking rather scandalized, and Draco, who was twirling his wand in his hand.
---
Ginny was seated at the desk in the study, excited about finally being able to help with something.
Draco slammed a stack of books in front of her and handed her a sheaf of clean parchment.
"I've marked several of the chapters in these books and haven't had a chance to go through them thoroughly yet. I want you to make notes," he gestured to the quill and ink pot, "On anything relating to the mode of action of the potions' ingredients. Understand?"
She nodded and reached for the first book. Noxious Elements for Innocuous Potions.
As she opened the old text silently, she watched Draco settle himself in an armchair near the window, with a ledger in his lap.
She flipped to the first marked passage, and started skimming the page. When she reached for the quill, she glanced over to Malfoy. His white-blond head was backlit from the overcast day and his handsome face was concentrated on his book. She watched his eyes move back and forth across a page several times before he glanced back at her.
He arched his eyebrow and she quickly turned back to the task at hand.
---
Ginny balanced the tray on one arm while she opened the door to the study.
"I brought dinner. You want to take a break?"
Draco ignored her, as he continued to pour over the ledgers. She set down the tray on the table near the roaring fireplace and slowly approached him at the desk. She peered over his shoulder to see he was making many notes and calculations. She leaned over the back of his chair.
"Draco?" His shoulders tensed. And his movements stopped. "Would you like some dinner?"
He remained tense for a few moments. Ginny hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, and rubbed gently. He shivered under her touch.
"How does it look? Is it really all gone?" she asked. He finally set down his quill and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Well, there's barely enough money to cover all the debts my father incurred. He's been spending very negligently the past few years. Between bribing important Ministry officials and flaunting his wealth with parties and charities, there's hardly anything left."
Ginny settled her hands on his shoulders, as she tried reading some of the parchments.
"I am going to settle all the debts with the funds still left in the banks. There's no way I'm selling the Manor, it's been in my family for twelve generations, and it'll be mine as soon as...," his voice trailed off, "But I can at least sell all of the ridiculous dark artifacts he's collected - and take whatever money that fetches and give it to my mother, so she can settle herself in Paris."
"Is that where she is now?"
"Yes, with her sister. She's rather happy there." His voice was quiet, thoughtful.
"Do you miss her?"
"Yes. She's my mother." She lightly squeezed his shoulders. He turned to face her and she saw his eyes were red rimmed.
---
"Come and have some dinner. Please?" He nodded and stood. Ginny watched him stretch his 6 foot frame before striding over to an armchair near the fire. He sat stiffly, and looked to her, waiting to be served. He looked like a small child.
Ginny handed him a napkin, which he settled across his lap. She handed him his plate and pointed to his glass of wine. She settled down on the floor near his feet, facing him, letting the fire warm her back.
"Aren't you having any?" he asked, already forking a bite into his mouth.
"I'm not so hungry right now."
It was quiet a few minutes, as Draco ate and Ginny watched. He took occasional sips of wine that drew her attention to his mouth. She must have been staring at him openly, because when Draco finally set aside his plate, he smirked at her.
"If you're going to stare, at least close your mouth."
She blushed deeply and turned to face the fire. Before she could think of a reply, he said, "I'm sorry about those things I said yesterday."
She remained silent, not trusting her voice at the moment, and nodded her head.
"It just shows you what a spoiled brat I really am. I'd always imagined that my family had an endless supply of wealth. Of course, that would be the illusion my father was aiming for. God, he spent everything. All our family savings. Most of my savings. Gone," he paused, sliding from his chair to the floor next to Ginny.
He cleared this throat and continued, "It was just hard, accepting the fact that I have to count galleons and... make a budget. I just never imagined myself in this situation."
He wrapped his arms around his knees and looked at Ginny. She refused to look at him, keeping her gaze focused on the fire.
"I wanted to thank you, Ginny."
Finally she turned to meet his gaze. His silver eyes were sparkling as he reached for her hand. His cold fingers wrapped around her warm ones.
"For what?"
"For trying to comfort me. I didn't realize that's what you were doing, until I saw your mother..."
"That's what she always does. Wraps you up in her arms and just utters nonsense about everything working out. For some reason it always makes me feel better," Ginny concentrated on speaking to keep her hand from trembling. "Haven't you been comforted like that before?"
He tugged on her hand, pulling her closer. The lost look in his eyes told her his answer. She slowly pulled her hand from his grasp, wound her fingers around the nape of his neck and pulled his head to her shoulder. He relaxed against her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She felt him exhale against her neck and suppressed the urge to shiver.
"Say it, Ginny," he whispered against her neck.
"Say what?" she whispered, unable to stop herself from nuzzling her cheek against his hair.
"Tell me everything will all work out." His voice was so soft, that she barely recognized it belonged to Draco Malfoy.
She ran her fingers through the soft, silky hair at the base of his neck. "It'll all be alright, Draco. You'll see."
---
The following morning, a loud shriek and crashing sounds woke Ginny. She quickly threw her dressing robe around her shoulders and grabbed her wand. She jogged down to the kitchen, the source of the commotion. A strange site greeted her eyes.
Hermione was standing behind Draco Malfoy, examining a small cut over his eyebrow. Harry, who was sitting across from Draco, was looking on with an amused expression. Ron was furiously pacing, his arms crossed.
"What in Merlin's name..." Ginny stepped into a quick hug from Ron. She saw Harry eyeing her closely, as she went to the ice box and took out a cube of ice. She brought it to Draco, who placed it over his cut. Hermione sat down beside him and shot a silent glare over at Ron.
"Good to see you, Ginny. How are you holding up?" Hermione looked at her meaningfully.
"I'm fine. Had an incident the other night, but I'm sure you knew about that." Hermione nodded. Ron's anger seemed to cool for a moment, as he looked at Ginny with concern. Harry remained silent, watching Ginny stand behind Draco.
"What happened here? Anyone care to explain while I make us some tea?"
Hermione stood, and gestured for Ginny to sit.
"Have a seat, I'll do it," she said, as she prepared the tea setting. Ginny sat beside Draco, who was wincing dramatically, still clutching the melting ice cube to his forehead.
"It was his fault, he provoked me," Ron growled, crossing his arms again. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well, I thought we were all more mature than that, Ron," Hermione replied, as she distributed the tea.
Ginny reached over and took the ice cube from Draco and tossed it to the sink. "Quit being so overdramatic, it doesn't suit you," she said, pushing his teacup to him. "So what did you say to provoke my brother's wrath so early in the morning?"
Draco mumbled a bit, taking a sip of tea.
"He said that we must have the wrong house, and no, he's not interested in anything we're selling," Harry said, still looking amused as he stirred his tea.
"And that's when Ron clocked him one?" Ginny asked.
"Stop speaking about me as though I'm not here," Draco groaned, delicately fingering his wound.
"No, Ron lost his temper when he made some reference to you as a house-elf," said Hermione as she settled beside Ron with her own tea.
Ginny tried not to look hurt as she glanced at Draco from the corner of her eye.
---
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had come for an Order meeting, held later that night. After a long day, of playing peacemaker and reading about potions ingredients, Ginny settled in for a nice, relaxing bath. She dressed herself, and it was a few hours before dinner, when she heard the clatter of the umbrella stand and voices from the foyer.
Ginny went down to the kitchen, and when she saw her mother and father, she greeted them warmly with hugs and kisses. As her mum was fixing dinner, to be served after the meeting, she sat beside her father, wanting to catch up and hear some updates about the family.
He smiled and indulged her, telling her about Bill and Fleur and how Charlie was back in England for a bit, and when he slipped her a few sweets from his pocket, she noticed Draco, who was sitting in a corner, watching the entire encounter. She blushed when he smiled softly at her.
---
As she chewed a caramel, she watched Order members file into the kitchen, and when they were ready to begin, her father gently asked her to leave, with a promise of calling her when it was time for dinner. She noticed that she was the only one asked to leave, now that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Draco were Order members. She saw that Luna and Neville and several other former Hogwarts students were present were also present.
She was about to voice her complaints when her mother shot her a stern look, giving her all the encouragement she needed to prevent her from throwing a tantrum. Plus she saw Draco observing her, quietly, and she was not about to embarrass herself in front of him.
Reluctantly, she headed to the parlor, where a fire was blazing. She pulled out her knitting, and continued working on a green and blue scarf for her brother Charlie.
---
It was over an hour later, when she was staring blankly into the fire's flames, the knitting forgotten on her lap, that Harry came to call her for dinner. She watched him nervously make his way toward her.
While, Ginny put away her knitting, pushing the basket under a table, she saw Harry run his hands through his hair.
"Hermione told me about..."
"Oh. Right."
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Draco looks after me. He called for my mum that night."
"Oh, of course. Draco," his voice was full of spite.
"Well, he's been good to me. I wanted to thank you for vouching for him. He's going through a tough time."
"He called you a bloody house-elf! He was saying how well you take care of his needs or some tripe."
Ginny shrugged, not knowing how to reply. She wouldn't defend all of his actions, because though Draco has somewhat changed, he still needed to learn respect for others' feelings.
Harry scoffed and took a step closer to her, trying to appear nonchalant, though the tremors of his hands gave him away.
Ginny watched him struggle with something for a moment, and suddenly she found herself pulled flush against him with one of his arms tight around her waist and the other running through her hair. She froze.
He sighed and said, "Oh, Ginny..."
"Harry, what are you doing?" She tried to gently push him away, but he held her firmly, not willing to let go. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled.
"God, I've missed you," he tightened his grasp as Ginny struggled a bit, "I've missed this."
He tilted her head back, leaning his head forward for a kiss, when the door creaked open.
Ginny turned to see Draco standing with his hand on the doorknob. She struggled against Harry once again, trying to free herself.
"Time for dinner," he said, in a quiet voice, that had a sharp edge to it. She thought she saw his eyes flicker with hurt before he turned and stormed off.
She pushed herself away from Harry and ran to follow him.
---
She trailed Draco to the kitchen, where he entered and sat at his usual place at the table.
Ginny briefly noted that many of the Order had left. She pushed Fred over, so that she could have the place immediately next to Draco.
"I want to talk to you later," she whispered to him. He was scowling at his folded hands. She saw a muscle in his jaw clench.
"I don't need to hear it."
"Please," she said urgently, seeing Harry enter the room looking at her, confused. Draco shot him a glare, as he sat between Ginny's father and Ron.
Molly set the first plate in front of Draco with a kind smile, and soon dinner was underway.
"Draco, I wanted to thank you again for those spells that you gave Nymphadora. They've proven invaluable," called Arthur from the other end of the table. Draco lifted his head and nodded in reply. Ginny's curiosity was sparked.
"What spells?"
"When Tonks escorted Draco that day, to his house?" said Molly. Ginny nodded at her mother, who continued, "He gave her many books, full of ancient spells that the Death Eaters had been using. Gives the Aurors some foresight, so they can have counterspells prepared and such."
"Oh." Ginny turned back to Draco, who was focused on his dinner. She glanced around the table, trying to gauge others' reactions. They all seemed to know about this, most likely from the meeting.
Her father called down the table to Draco again. "Have you had much success in your potions research?"
Draco wiped his mouth with his napkin, and replied softly, "No, still working on it, I need to start brewing soon, before it gets to be too late," his eyes shot to Harry and narrowed. "Just need replacements for a couple ingredients."
"Perhaps Hermione can help you," suggested Lupin. Draco looked up at Hermione and shrugged.
She smiled encouragingly, and said, "I'd be happy to help you after dinner, if you'd like."
Draco nodded and returned his attention to his food. The others at the table started small conversations, laughing and smiling.
Ginny saw Harry watching her, carefully, while eating his dinner, and listening to her father.
Quietly, she turned her attention to her food, as well.
Chapter Ten: Dinner
---
The next morning, Ginny found herself eavesdropping at the kitchen door once again.
"What's the trouble, dear?" Ginny rolled her eyes upon hearing her mother addressing Malfoy as such.
He didn't bother answering her. By the scraping sound of silverware, Ginny guessed he busied himself with eating his breakfast.
"Have you - " Ginny's mum voice dropped to a whisper, and she strained to make out the rest of the sentence, " - made any progress for Ginny?"
"No, not as much as I'd hoped to. Maybe after she's done listening at the door, she'll be willing to help me with some more research."
Her eyes widened and before she could react, the door swung open, revealing her mother, looking rather scandalized, and Draco, who was twirling his wand in his hand.
---
Ginny was seated at the desk in the study, excited about finally being able to help with something.
Draco slammed a stack of books in front of her and handed her a sheaf of clean parchment.
"I've marked several of the chapters in these books and haven't had a chance to go through them thoroughly yet. I want you to make notes," he gestured to the quill and ink pot, "On anything relating to the mode of action of the potions' ingredients. Understand?"
She nodded and reached for the first book. Noxious Elements for Innocuous Potions.
As she opened the old text silently, she watched Draco settle himself in an armchair near the window, with a ledger in his lap.
She flipped to the first marked passage, and started skimming the page. When she reached for the quill, she glanced over to Malfoy. His white-blond head was backlit from the overcast day and his handsome face was concentrated on his book. She watched his eyes move back and forth across a page several times before he glanced back at her.
He arched his eyebrow and she quickly turned back to the task at hand.
---
Ginny balanced the tray on one arm while she opened the door to the study.
"I brought dinner. You want to take a break?"
Draco ignored her, as he continued to pour over the ledgers. She set down the tray on the table near the roaring fireplace and slowly approached him at the desk. She peered over his shoulder to see he was making many notes and calculations. She leaned over the back of his chair.
"Draco?" His shoulders tensed. And his movements stopped. "Would you like some dinner?"
He remained tense for a few moments. Ginny hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, and rubbed gently. He shivered under her touch.
"How does it look? Is it really all gone?" she asked. He finally set down his quill and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Well, there's barely enough money to cover all the debts my father incurred. He's been spending very negligently the past few years. Between bribing important Ministry officials and flaunting his wealth with parties and charities, there's hardly anything left."
Ginny settled her hands on his shoulders, as she tried reading some of the parchments.
"I am going to settle all the debts with the funds still left in the banks. There's no way I'm selling the Manor, it's been in my family for twelve generations, and it'll be mine as soon as...," his voice trailed off, "But I can at least sell all of the ridiculous dark artifacts he's collected - and take whatever money that fetches and give it to my mother, so she can settle herself in Paris."
"Is that where she is now?"
"Yes, with her sister. She's rather happy there." His voice was quiet, thoughtful.
"Do you miss her?"
"Yes. She's my mother." She lightly squeezed his shoulders. He turned to face her and she saw his eyes were red rimmed.
---
"Come and have some dinner. Please?" He nodded and stood. Ginny watched him stretch his 6 foot frame before striding over to an armchair near the fire. He sat stiffly, and looked to her, waiting to be served. He looked like a small child.
Ginny handed him a napkin, which he settled across his lap. She handed him his plate and pointed to his glass of wine. She settled down on the floor near his feet, facing him, letting the fire warm her back.
"Aren't you having any?" he asked, already forking a bite into his mouth.
"I'm not so hungry right now."
It was quiet a few minutes, as Draco ate and Ginny watched. He took occasional sips of wine that drew her attention to his mouth. She must have been staring at him openly, because when Draco finally set aside his plate, he smirked at her.
"If you're going to stare, at least close your mouth."
She blushed deeply and turned to face the fire. Before she could think of a reply, he said, "I'm sorry about those things I said yesterday."
She remained silent, not trusting her voice at the moment, and nodded her head.
"It just shows you what a spoiled brat I really am. I'd always imagined that my family had an endless supply of wealth. Of course, that would be the illusion my father was aiming for. God, he spent everything. All our family savings. Most of my savings. Gone," he paused, sliding from his chair to the floor next to Ginny.
He cleared this throat and continued, "It was just hard, accepting the fact that I have to count galleons and... make a budget. I just never imagined myself in this situation."
He wrapped his arms around his knees and looked at Ginny. She refused to look at him, keeping her gaze focused on the fire.
"I wanted to thank you, Ginny."
Finally she turned to meet his gaze. His silver eyes were sparkling as he reached for her hand. His cold fingers wrapped around her warm ones.
"For what?"
"For trying to comfort me. I didn't realize that's what you were doing, until I saw your mother..."
"That's what she always does. Wraps you up in her arms and just utters nonsense about everything working out. For some reason it always makes me feel better," Ginny concentrated on speaking to keep her hand from trembling. "Haven't you been comforted like that before?"
He tugged on her hand, pulling her closer. The lost look in his eyes told her his answer. She slowly pulled her hand from his grasp, wound her fingers around the nape of his neck and pulled his head to her shoulder. He relaxed against her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She felt him exhale against her neck and suppressed the urge to shiver.
"Say it, Ginny," he whispered against her neck.
"Say what?" she whispered, unable to stop herself from nuzzling her cheek against his hair.
"Tell me everything will all work out." His voice was so soft, that she barely recognized it belonged to Draco Malfoy.
She ran her fingers through the soft, silky hair at the base of his neck. "It'll all be alright, Draco. You'll see."
---
The following morning, a loud shriek and crashing sounds woke Ginny. She quickly threw her dressing robe around her shoulders and grabbed her wand. She jogged down to the kitchen, the source of the commotion. A strange site greeted her eyes.
Hermione was standing behind Draco Malfoy, examining a small cut over his eyebrow. Harry, who was sitting across from Draco, was looking on with an amused expression. Ron was furiously pacing, his arms crossed.
"What in Merlin's name..." Ginny stepped into a quick hug from Ron. She saw Harry eyeing her closely, as she went to the ice box and took out a cube of ice. She brought it to Draco, who placed it over his cut. Hermione sat down beside him and shot a silent glare over at Ron.
"Good to see you, Ginny. How are you holding up?" Hermione looked at her meaningfully.
"I'm fine. Had an incident the other night, but I'm sure you knew about that." Hermione nodded. Ron's anger seemed to cool for a moment, as he looked at Ginny with concern. Harry remained silent, watching Ginny stand behind Draco.
"What happened here? Anyone care to explain while I make us some tea?"
Hermione stood, and gestured for Ginny to sit.
"Have a seat, I'll do it," she said, as she prepared the tea setting. Ginny sat beside Draco, who was wincing dramatically, still clutching the melting ice cube to his forehead.
"It was his fault, he provoked me," Ron growled, crossing his arms again. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well, I thought we were all more mature than that, Ron," Hermione replied, as she distributed the tea.
Ginny reached over and took the ice cube from Draco and tossed it to the sink. "Quit being so overdramatic, it doesn't suit you," she said, pushing his teacup to him. "So what did you say to provoke my brother's wrath so early in the morning?"
Draco mumbled a bit, taking a sip of tea.
"He said that we must have the wrong house, and no, he's not interested in anything we're selling," Harry said, still looking amused as he stirred his tea.
"And that's when Ron clocked him one?" Ginny asked.
"Stop speaking about me as though I'm not here," Draco groaned, delicately fingering his wound.
"No, Ron lost his temper when he made some reference to you as a house-elf," said Hermione as she settled beside Ron with her own tea.
Ginny tried not to look hurt as she glanced at Draco from the corner of her eye.
---
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had come for an Order meeting, held later that night. After a long day, of playing peacemaker and reading about potions ingredients, Ginny settled in for a nice, relaxing bath. She dressed herself, and it was a few hours before dinner, when she heard the clatter of the umbrella stand and voices from the foyer.
Ginny went down to the kitchen, and when she saw her mother and father, she greeted them warmly with hugs and kisses. As her mum was fixing dinner, to be served after the meeting, she sat beside her father, wanting to catch up and hear some updates about the family.
He smiled and indulged her, telling her about Bill and Fleur and how Charlie was back in England for a bit, and when he slipped her a few sweets from his pocket, she noticed Draco, who was sitting in a corner, watching the entire encounter. She blushed when he smiled softly at her.
---
As she chewed a caramel, she watched Order members file into the kitchen, and when they were ready to begin, her father gently asked her to leave, with a promise of calling her when it was time for dinner. She noticed that she was the only one asked to leave, now that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Draco were Order members. She saw that Luna and Neville and several other former Hogwarts students were present were also present.
She was about to voice her complaints when her mother shot her a stern look, giving her all the encouragement she needed to prevent her from throwing a tantrum. Plus she saw Draco observing her, quietly, and she was not about to embarrass herself in front of him.
Reluctantly, she headed to the parlor, where a fire was blazing. She pulled out her knitting, and continued working on a green and blue scarf for her brother Charlie.
---
It was over an hour later, when she was staring blankly into the fire's flames, the knitting forgotten on her lap, that Harry came to call her for dinner. She watched him nervously make his way toward her.
While, Ginny put away her knitting, pushing the basket under a table, she saw Harry run his hands through his hair.
"Hermione told me about..."
"Oh. Right."
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Draco looks after me. He called for my mum that night."
"Oh, of course. Draco," his voice was full of spite.
"Well, he's been good to me. I wanted to thank you for vouching for him. He's going through a tough time."
"He called you a bloody house-elf! He was saying how well you take care of his needs or some tripe."
Ginny shrugged, not knowing how to reply. She wouldn't defend all of his actions, because though Draco has somewhat changed, he still needed to learn respect for others' feelings.
Harry scoffed and took a step closer to her, trying to appear nonchalant, though the tremors of his hands gave him away.
Ginny watched him struggle with something for a moment, and suddenly she found herself pulled flush against him with one of his arms tight around her waist and the other running through her hair. She froze.
He sighed and said, "Oh, Ginny..."
"Harry, what are you doing?" She tried to gently push him away, but he held her firmly, not willing to let go. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled.
"God, I've missed you," he tightened his grasp as Ginny struggled a bit, "I've missed this."
He tilted her head back, leaning his head forward for a kiss, when the door creaked open.
Ginny turned to see Draco standing with his hand on the doorknob. She struggled against Harry once again, trying to free herself.
"Time for dinner," he said, in a quiet voice, that had a sharp edge to it. She thought she saw his eyes flicker with hurt before he turned and stormed off.
She pushed herself away from Harry and ran to follow him.
---
She trailed Draco to the kitchen, where he entered and sat at his usual place at the table.
Ginny briefly noted that many of the Order had left. She pushed Fred over, so that she could have the place immediately next to Draco.
"I want to talk to you later," she whispered to him. He was scowling at his folded hands. She saw a muscle in his jaw clench.
"I don't need to hear it."
"Please," she said urgently, seeing Harry enter the room looking at her, confused. Draco shot him a glare, as he sat between Ginny's father and Ron.
Molly set the first plate in front of Draco with a kind smile, and soon dinner was underway.
"Draco, I wanted to thank you again for those spells that you gave Nymphadora. They've proven invaluable," called Arthur from the other end of the table. Draco lifted his head and nodded in reply. Ginny's curiosity was sparked.
"What spells?"
"When Tonks escorted Draco that day, to his house?" said Molly. Ginny nodded at her mother, who continued, "He gave her many books, full of ancient spells that the Death Eaters had been using. Gives the Aurors some foresight, so they can have counterspells prepared and such."
"Oh." Ginny turned back to Draco, who was focused on his dinner. She glanced around the table, trying to gauge others' reactions. They all seemed to know about this, most likely from the meeting.
Her father called down the table to Draco again. "Have you had much success in your potions research?"
Draco wiped his mouth with his napkin, and replied softly, "No, still working on it, I need to start brewing soon, before it gets to be too late," his eyes shot to Harry and narrowed. "Just need replacements for a couple ingredients."
"Perhaps Hermione can help you," suggested Lupin. Draco looked up at Hermione and shrugged.
She smiled encouragingly, and said, "I'd be happy to help you after dinner, if you'd like."
Draco nodded and returned his attention to his food. The others at the table started small conversations, laughing and smiling.
Ginny saw Harry watching her, carefully, while eating his dinner, and listening to her father.
Quietly, she turned her attention to her food, as well.
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