RING. The phone went off.
“Ginny,” Draco yelled, “can you get the phone?!” He had just gotten home from work. He was the CEO of a huge broomstick manufacturing company, and although he had to go to the store from time to time to check on how it was doing, he was so used to going there every day to work that he went anyway. Ginny didn’t like him going to work when he could be at their flat helping her get the place ready for the baby. It was due in August, only three months from now.
“Ginny,” he yelled again. He wasn’t in the mood to go charging around the house looking for the phone, and Ginny usually kept the phone near her since most of the phone calls were for her. Hermione would usually call to ask Ginny how she was doing and to ask for her advice on what to do to solve things like having morning sickness, having to go to the bathroom constantly, and other things like that that annoyed Ginny.
RING. The phone rang again. They only had a phone in the house because Mr. Weasley thought that it was much faster to communicate with than an owl, which, according to him, could fly all over the place before getting to where it was going, and by that time it might be too late.
“GIN-” He stopped. Ginny had left last week. They had fought over something. It was over something so stupid, something so pointless, something so trivial that he couldn’t even remember what it was. Maybe, just maybe, if they had sat down and calmly reasoned it out, she would still be with him. Maybe Ginny would have calmed down, and it would have been another stupid thing to add to the list of stuff they had argued about since she had gotten pregnant and laughed about later. It was completely his fault. She was the one with all the raging pregnancy hormones; he really couldn’t blame her for blowing up like she had, but he really hated himself for blowing up back at her.
That night, though, he had gone back to the shop. It always made him feel better. He was scared that if he stayed at home, Ginny would get angry at him again. He hated it when she was angry at him. He loved her so much and seeing her mad at something HE had done hurt him terribly. When he came back from the store late that night, Ginny was gone with only a note left in her place. ‘Draco,’ it said, ‘things really aren’t working out between us. I need some time to myself. Ginny.’
At first, it threw him into a rage. She had just decided to leave him, without a warning or anything. He literally destroyed the place in the throes of his anger. Then he sank into a deep depression for a few days, drinking fire whiskey, crying, and sleeping off the headaches. After that, he moved on to pretending that Ginny was still there, that she hadn’t left, that they had never argued, that they were the perfect couple everyone wished they were.
Gotta change my answering machine
Now that I'm alone
Cuz right now it says that we
Can't come to the phone
And I know it makes no sense
Cuz you walked out the door
But it's the only way I hear your voice anymore.
‘Hey, you have reached Ginny and Draco Malfoy. We’re not available right now so please leave a message after the beep and we’ll get right back to you. Thank you.’ It was Ginny’s sweet voice on the answering machine. Sometimes he wished that he could beat up the stupid little box; other times he relished listening to her voice. It was like music.
His thoughts drifted back to the days when they had first met. Ginny had walked into the shop back when he was still an employee. She had come in with her beautiful auburn curls bouncing on her back as she walked. It was her brother’s birthday, and she wanted to buy him a new broom. Draco treated her as he would any customer. He had long gotten over his childhood hatred for the Weasley’s. After Voldemort lost the war, his family had been ruined. He, a Malfoy, had to swallow his pride and start from the bottom of the hierarchical pyramid and move to the top. Draco helped Ginny find a broom that would suit her budget and would serve as a good gift for her brother, although she never specified which one.
Later, Ginny would come in just to look at the brooms, or so she claimed, and soon after they started going out. Draco started coming to her house for the family gatherings and no one was surprised when he proposed at Christmas dinner. They got married in September with Ginny’s family and his best friends there. It had been the happiest moment in his truly miserable life. The moments he spent with Ginny were blissful. He felt so full of love when he was around her, that sometimes he thought she could feel the love radiating from him.
“Hey, Draco.” The caller's message began. “This is Blaise. Just wondering if you wanted to join me in a night of chess. Men’s night out. Call me back soon. Bye.” A night of chess would be a nice way to spend the evening, especially when compared to a night wallowing in misery. He immediately called Blaise back telling him that he’d be there at seven.
*******************
“Checkmate,” Blaise said. The two of them had been playing for quite a long time, and Draco had yet to win a game. “What’s up, Draco?”
“What?” Draco had been lost in his thoughts of Ginny again.
“Well, something must be wrong. You have never lost a game of chess to me and suddenly, in one night, you’ve lost twenty, maybe thirty, games together,” Blaise pointed out.
“She left,” Draco muttered. Now that he'd finally said it, it made him feel all the worse. It made it sound all the more real. “She left me about a week ago.”
“You know mate, with women, they’ll never come back to you unless you go get them, and they’ll never leave unless they truly feel unloved and unwanted,” Blaise replied. “In other words, I’m saying you should go after her.”
“I don’t think I should. What if she’s not ready for me to be there? What if she really hates me? What if she found someone else?” Draco whispered. It was the first time he was voicing these thoughts that had been swimming around in his brain during the past week.
“Well, you won’t know until you try,” Blaise pointed out.
“I still think I should wait. I don’t think she’s ready. Anyways, I should be going, Blaise. I’ll drop by another time, or maybe we can have another chess night.”
Blaise cocked his eyebrow. It was only 11:00, not that late at all. “I expect you can show yourself to the door,” Blaise said. Draco nodded and walked out into the pleasant June night.
(It’s ridiculous)
It's been months
And for some reason I just
(can't get over us)
And I'm stronger than this
(enough is enough)
No more walkin round
With my head down
I'm so over being blue
Cryin’ over you
And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
“Check mate,” Draco said. It was a hot July night and Draco and Blaise were spending the night in the sitting room playing chess by firelight. Both of them were wearing thin T-shirts and boxers, and they were drinking ice-cold lemonade.
“I think we should call it a night, Draco.” Blaise said. “The heat is affecting my brilliant brain. Any other season and I’d beat you.”
“That’s what you always say, and you have yet to beat me in a fair match,” Draco retorted.
“Except for that night after Ginny left when you lost thirty games in a row!” Blaise pointed out.
“Yea. Except for that night,” Draco was now off in some far off land thinking about what life would be like with Ginny.
“Look Draco, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.” he stuttered.
“That’s fine,” he said nonchalantly.
“Draco,” Blaise said carefully, “Did you look for her?” Draco shook his head. “Inquire about her?” Another shake. “Wonder about where she was?” A nod this time. “And you didn’t do anything about it? Mate, don’t you think you’ve given her enough time? It’s been two months.”
“Yeah, I should do something. Any other man would. What if…there’s someone else by now? I mean, she isn’t exactly someone who would find it hard to…” he trailed off. It was something he didn’t even want to think of.
“Look, mate, what are you going to do? Sit in your flat remembering your times together as if you’re already old?” Blaise’s voice suddenly became soft. “You don’t do anything other than come to my house and play chess. You don’t even visit the store. You used to look so alive, but now, Draco, you look like you’re dying.” He stopped. He didn’t want to burden his friend with his own worries. Draco had enough for a man his age. We need a distraction, he thought to himself. He took his wand out and turned the radio on.
Draco’s head snapped up. It was the first song he and Ginny had danced to. They had gone to a ball celebrating his promotion to CEO, and he had been scared that Ginny would say ‘no’ if he asked her to dance. She had looked stunning in her Tinkerbell green robes that night. She had pinned her hair up, leaving a few auburn curls to frame her face. Draco had felt on top of the world that night. He would have jumped for joy if it weren’t completely undignified.
The next song was Ginny’s favorite. She loved to sing it while she was cooking or cleaning; sometimes, she would hum it while reading a book or looking for something. Most people had tired of listening to her hum that song, but after two wonderful years of marriage, Draco still wasn’t tired of hearing it from her.
The next song was the one they had danced to at their wedding. Ginny had looked like an angel. She was decked out in white robes and had her hair tied in a knot at the top of her head. Her smile that day was full of joy, and her eyes were full of laughter. Draco could still picture her that day as he was spinning her around. The next one was the song that was on the record Ginny had given him for their anniversary. Draco had wanted that record so desperately. Luck didn’t seem to favor him. Everything around him reminded him of Ginny.
“You know what mate, I think I’m gonna call it a night,” he said.
Blaise nodded, “That’s fine,” he said an understanding look on his face.
Gotta fix that calendar I have
That's marked July 15th
Because since there's no more you
There's no more anniversary
I'm so fed up with my thoughts of you
And your memory
And how every song reminds me
Of what used to be
That's the reason I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
Draco woke up the next morning and went to look at the calendar. There wasn’t anything special about it, except that it was the calendar Ginny had made. It was the one she had drawn and colored with her own long, slender fingers. He didn’t have the heart to throw it away. HIS Ginny had worked on it for at least a month, AND she had drawn beautiful pictures for the holidays. Draco gazed at the calendar.
“July 15th,” he murmured to himself, “our anniversary. Wait that’s…today.” He thought back to their last anniversary. How Ginny had looked even more stunning than she usually did. How soft her hands had been. And how happy she was.
The radio turned on. Draco was too lazy to turn it off, and the songs plagued him, reminding him of the many times they had danced together. He and Ginny must have danced together for every song that had ever played on the radio. They both loved to dance. It was an excuse to get away from Ginny’s brothers and other people who abhorred their union. It made her happy to dance, and it made him happy to see her happy. A tear started to slip down Draco’s cheek. He wiped it off with the back of his hand.
“Stupid love songs,” he growled. “Wish that they would just leave me alone.”
When he was little, he used to listen to the radio just for his enjoyment and get away from the homework and tests of Hogwarts life. It used to be so soothing, but now it caused him anguish.
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone
(Stupid love songs)
Don’t make me think about her smile
Or having my first child
Let it go
Turning off the radio
Cuz I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing she was still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)
Said I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing she was still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)
And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishin you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
Why can't I turn off the radio?
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)
Why can't I turn off the radio?
He thought about their child that was due next month. He thought about how it would grow up without knowing its father. How Ginny may hate him at this very moment. Maybe she still held that childhood grudge against him that all her brothers still did. Maybe…
“Stupid!” Draco growled to himself. “I’m talking like I’m some old miser who’s lost all his money. I’ve got time. It’s like Blaise said, I won’t know what’s happened to her until I go find her. I’ll leave tomorrow morning,” he said as he started making plans to go find his Juliet. Draco felt full of energy all of a sudden. He would see his child and be a great father. He would teach her to play Quidditch and chess. They would be the perfect family, the one everyone wished they were. Draco went to bed with a happy heart that night, dreaming of the family he, Ginny, and their daughter would one day be.
“Ginny,” Draco yelled, “can you get the phone?!” He had just gotten home from work. He was the CEO of a huge broomstick manufacturing company, and although he had to go to the store from time to time to check on how it was doing, he was so used to going there every day to work that he went anyway. Ginny didn’t like him going to work when he could be at their flat helping her get the place ready for the baby. It was due in August, only three months from now.
“Ginny,” he yelled again. He wasn’t in the mood to go charging around the house looking for the phone, and Ginny usually kept the phone near her since most of the phone calls were for her. Hermione would usually call to ask Ginny how she was doing and to ask for her advice on what to do to solve things like having morning sickness, having to go to the bathroom constantly, and other things like that that annoyed Ginny.
RING. The phone rang again. They only had a phone in the house because Mr. Weasley thought that it was much faster to communicate with than an owl, which, according to him, could fly all over the place before getting to where it was going, and by that time it might be too late.
“GIN-” He stopped. Ginny had left last week. They had fought over something. It was over something so stupid, something so pointless, something so trivial that he couldn’t even remember what it was. Maybe, just maybe, if they had sat down and calmly reasoned it out, she would still be with him. Maybe Ginny would have calmed down, and it would have been another stupid thing to add to the list of stuff they had argued about since she had gotten pregnant and laughed about later. It was completely his fault. She was the one with all the raging pregnancy hormones; he really couldn’t blame her for blowing up like she had, but he really hated himself for blowing up back at her.
That night, though, he had gone back to the shop. It always made him feel better. He was scared that if he stayed at home, Ginny would get angry at him again. He hated it when she was angry at him. He loved her so much and seeing her mad at something HE had done hurt him terribly. When he came back from the store late that night, Ginny was gone with only a note left in her place. ‘Draco,’ it said, ‘things really aren’t working out between us. I need some time to myself. Ginny.’
At first, it threw him into a rage. She had just decided to leave him, without a warning or anything. He literally destroyed the place in the throes of his anger. Then he sank into a deep depression for a few days, drinking fire whiskey, crying, and sleeping off the headaches. After that, he moved on to pretending that Ginny was still there, that she hadn’t left, that they had never argued, that they were the perfect couple everyone wished they were.
Gotta change my answering machine
Now that I'm alone
Cuz right now it says that we
Can't come to the phone
And I know it makes no sense
Cuz you walked out the door
But it's the only way I hear your voice anymore.
‘Hey, you have reached Ginny and Draco Malfoy. We’re not available right now so please leave a message after the beep and we’ll get right back to you. Thank you.’ It was Ginny’s sweet voice on the answering machine. Sometimes he wished that he could beat up the stupid little box; other times he relished listening to her voice. It was like music.
His thoughts drifted back to the days when they had first met. Ginny had walked into the shop back when he was still an employee. She had come in with her beautiful auburn curls bouncing on her back as she walked. It was her brother’s birthday, and she wanted to buy him a new broom. Draco treated her as he would any customer. He had long gotten over his childhood hatred for the Weasley’s. After Voldemort lost the war, his family had been ruined. He, a Malfoy, had to swallow his pride and start from the bottom of the hierarchical pyramid and move to the top. Draco helped Ginny find a broom that would suit her budget and would serve as a good gift for her brother, although she never specified which one.
Later, Ginny would come in just to look at the brooms, or so she claimed, and soon after they started going out. Draco started coming to her house for the family gatherings and no one was surprised when he proposed at Christmas dinner. They got married in September with Ginny’s family and his best friends there. It had been the happiest moment in his truly miserable life. The moments he spent with Ginny were blissful. He felt so full of love when he was around her, that sometimes he thought she could feel the love radiating from him.
“Hey, Draco.” The caller's message began. “This is Blaise. Just wondering if you wanted to join me in a night of chess. Men’s night out. Call me back soon. Bye.” A night of chess would be a nice way to spend the evening, especially when compared to a night wallowing in misery. He immediately called Blaise back telling him that he’d be there at seven.
*******************
“Checkmate,” Blaise said. The two of them had been playing for quite a long time, and Draco had yet to win a game. “What’s up, Draco?”
“What?” Draco had been lost in his thoughts of Ginny again.
“Well, something must be wrong. You have never lost a game of chess to me and suddenly, in one night, you’ve lost twenty, maybe thirty, games together,” Blaise pointed out.
“She left,” Draco muttered. Now that he'd finally said it, it made him feel all the worse. It made it sound all the more real. “She left me about a week ago.”
“You know mate, with women, they’ll never come back to you unless you go get them, and they’ll never leave unless they truly feel unloved and unwanted,” Blaise replied. “In other words, I’m saying you should go after her.”
“I don’t think I should. What if she’s not ready for me to be there? What if she really hates me? What if she found someone else?” Draco whispered. It was the first time he was voicing these thoughts that had been swimming around in his brain during the past week.
“Well, you won’t know until you try,” Blaise pointed out.
“I still think I should wait. I don’t think she’s ready. Anyways, I should be going, Blaise. I’ll drop by another time, or maybe we can have another chess night.”
Blaise cocked his eyebrow. It was only 11:00, not that late at all. “I expect you can show yourself to the door,” Blaise said. Draco nodded and walked out into the pleasant June night.
(It’s ridiculous)
It's been months
And for some reason I just
(can't get over us)
And I'm stronger than this
(enough is enough)
No more walkin round
With my head down
I'm so over being blue
Cryin’ over you
And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
“Check mate,” Draco said. It was a hot July night and Draco and Blaise were spending the night in the sitting room playing chess by firelight. Both of them were wearing thin T-shirts and boxers, and they were drinking ice-cold lemonade.
“I think we should call it a night, Draco.” Blaise said. “The heat is affecting my brilliant brain. Any other season and I’d beat you.”
“That’s what you always say, and you have yet to beat me in a fair match,” Draco retorted.
“Except for that night after Ginny left when you lost thirty games in a row!” Blaise pointed out.
“Yea. Except for that night,” Draco was now off in some far off land thinking about what life would be like with Ginny.
“Look Draco, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.” he stuttered.
“That’s fine,” he said nonchalantly.
“Draco,” Blaise said carefully, “Did you look for her?” Draco shook his head. “Inquire about her?” Another shake. “Wonder about where she was?” A nod this time. “And you didn’t do anything about it? Mate, don’t you think you’ve given her enough time? It’s been two months.”
“Yeah, I should do something. Any other man would. What if…there’s someone else by now? I mean, she isn’t exactly someone who would find it hard to…” he trailed off. It was something he didn’t even want to think of.
“Look, mate, what are you going to do? Sit in your flat remembering your times together as if you’re already old?” Blaise’s voice suddenly became soft. “You don’t do anything other than come to my house and play chess. You don’t even visit the store. You used to look so alive, but now, Draco, you look like you’re dying.” He stopped. He didn’t want to burden his friend with his own worries. Draco had enough for a man his age. We need a distraction, he thought to himself. He took his wand out and turned the radio on.
Draco’s head snapped up. It was the first song he and Ginny had danced to. They had gone to a ball celebrating his promotion to CEO, and he had been scared that Ginny would say ‘no’ if he asked her to dance. She had looked stunning in her Tinkerbell green robes that night. She had pinned her hair up, leaving a few auburn curls to frame her face. Draco had felt on top of the world that night. He would have jumped for joy if it weren’t completely undignified.
The next song was Ginny’s favorite. She loved to sing it while she was cooking or cleaning; sometimes, she would hum it while reading a book or looking for something. Most people had tired of listening to her hum that song, but after two wonderful years of marriage, Draco still wasn’t tired of hearing it from her.
The next song was the one they had danced to at their wedding. Ginny had looked like an angel. She was decked out in white robes and had her hair tied in a knot at the top of her head. Her smile that day was full of joy, and her eyes were full of laughter. Draco could still picture her that day as he was spinning her around. The next one was the song that was on the record Ginny had given him for their anniversary. Draco had wanted that record so desperately. Luck didn’t seem to favor him. Everything around him reminded him of Ginny.
“You know what mate, I think I’m gonna call it a night,” he said.
Blaise nodded, “That’s fine,” he said an understanding look on his face.
Gotta fix that calendar I have
That's marked July 15th
Because since there's no more you
There's no more anniversary
I'm so fed up with my thoughts of you
And your memory
And how every song reminds me
Of what used to be
That's the reason I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
Draco woke up the next morning and went to look at the calendar. There wasn’t anything special about it, except that it was the calendar Ginny had made. It was the one she had drawn and colored with her own long, slender fingers. He didn’t have the heart to throw it away. HIS Ginny had worked on it for at least a month, AND she had drawn beautiful pictures for the holidays. Draco gazed at the calendar.
“July 15th,” he murmured to himself, “our anniversary. Wait that’s…today.” He thought back to their last anniversary. How Ginny had looked even more stunning than she usually did. How soft her hands had been. And how happy she was.
The radio turned on. Draco was too lazy to turn it off, and the songs plagued him, reminding him of the many times they had danced together. He and Ginny must have danced together for every song that had ever played on the radio. They both loved to dance. It was an excuse to get away from Ginny’s brothers and other people who abhorred their union. It made her happy to dance, and it made him happy to see her happy. A tear started to slip down Draco’s cheek. He wiped it off with the back of his hand.
“Stupid love songs,” he growled. “Wish that they would just leave me alone.”
When he was little, he used to listen to the radio just for his enjoyment and get away from the homework and tests of Hogwarts life. It used to be so soothing, but now it caused him anguish.
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone
(Stupid love songs)
Don’t make me think about her smile
Or having my first child
Let it go
Turning off the radio
Cuz I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing she was still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)
Said I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing she was still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)
And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishin you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
Why can't I turn off the radio?
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)
Why can't I turn off the radio?
He thought about their child that was due next month. He thought about how it would grow up without knowing its father. How Ginny may hate him at this very moment. Maybe she still held that childhood grudge against him that all her brothers still did. Maybe…
“Stupid!” Draco growled to himself. “I’m talking like I’m some old miser who’s lost all his money. I’ve got time. It’s like Blaise said, I won’t know what’s happened to her until I go find her. I’ll leave tomorrow morning,” he said as he started making plans to go find his Juliet. Draco felt full of energy all of a sudden. He would see his child and be a great father. He would teach her to play Quidditch and chess. They would be the perfect family, the one everyone wished they were. Draco went to bed with a happy heart that night, dreaming of the family he, Ginny, and their daughter would one day be.
Author notes: Please Review
-Draco'z Devil
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