Unaffected

Chapter Thirteen

Draco was at a loss. He had never been in love before, but now that he knew he was, he couldn't get Ginny off of his mind. He had picked up the two books she'd given him and disposed of the blanket, then began wandering aimlessly. What was he to do? Should he tell her how he felt? Would it do any good?

Before long, he found himself in front of the same Muggle bookstore that they'd been in earlier that day. He went in and began browsing through the aisles, and the musty smell assaulted his senses again. This time, though, he didn't seem to mind. It seemed to him that somehow he could smell her through that scent. He shook his head - that wasn't possible, was it?

He looked up at the shelves and saw a small sign hanging above the books. It read "Poetry." He smiled to himself and began running his index finger down the line of books, reading every other title. He pulled a leather-bound maroon book off of the shelf and flipped it open, scanning through some of the verses. With a soft snap, he closed it and took it and reshelved it. He was on his way out of the store when the clerk stopped him.

"Excuse me, sir, but are you a friend of Ms. Potter's?" Draco eyed him uncertainly, then nodded. The clerk held up a finger, then disappeared down the aisle Draco had just come from. When he reappeared, he was holding the book Draco had just been looking at. He held it out and Draco stared at it. "Go ahead, take it."

"But I don't have any money," he protested. The man shrugged.

"Ms.Potter is a good enough customer of mine. She pretty much keeps me in business, coming in here every week like she does. If you're a friend of hers, you're a friend of mine." Draco took it slowly and smiled at the man.

"Thank you," he said simply. The man nodded and gave him a friendly smile.

"Right nice lady, she is," he said, moving back behind the counter. He shot Draco a knowing look. "You take care of her." Draco started to protest, then thought better of it and closed his mouth. He nodded and waved as he pushed the door open and stepped out into the sunlight.

He sighed. He still did not know what he was going to do. Perhaps he should stop by her house again and bring her and Lily lunch. He had promised to pay for it, hadn't he? He ducked into an alleyway and disapparated with a loud pop, reappearing in the middle of Hogsmeade. He wandered through the street until he found himself standing in front of the Three Broomsticks, and ducked inside. He had placed his order to go and was waiting on it when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

He turned and found himself face to face with Remus Lupin and Hermione Longbottom. They were smiling and laughing at each other, and didn't seem to have noticed him yet. At that moment, however, Remus turned and caught sight of him. Draco met his eyes uncertainly until Remus gave him a warm, welcoming smile, which he was all too happy to return.

"Why, Draco," he said pleasantly. "Are you here alone, or is Ginny here with you?" he looked around, and Hermione did the same.

"No, she's at home," he said. "I'm hoping to surprise her and Lily with a bit of lunch." Hermione smiled at him, and his mind went totally blank. Never in a million years would he have thought to see a smile from her directed at him. When he returned her smile, he almost felt shy.

"Are you going to be waiting long?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he said, looking behind the bar.

"Why don't you sit and have a drink with us until your order is ready?" Remus suggested. Draco nodded.

"I'd love to, thanks." He followed them to a booth and sat down across from them. He was uncomfortable until Hermione noticed the book he was holding, and her eyebrows shot up.

"That's a Muggle book of poetry!" she exclaimed. He nodded, and felt the heat rising in his face. "May I see it?" He handed it gingerly to her, and she flipped through the pages with a rapturous look on her face.

"I didn't realize you were interested in poetry," Remus said, peering over Hermione's shoulder. Draco put the other two books he had acquired on the table, and Remus picked one up. He smiled at Draco. "Ah, a book of Inspirational quotes! Excellent reading." Draco smiled at him.

"Ginny gave it to me. It reminds me of a conversation we had once about you." Remus' eyes widened slightly, and he blushed.

"Oh?"

"She told me about how the two of you used to talk at night, and you used to recite quotes at her." A soft smile washed over Remus' face, and he nodded. Hermione was engrossed in the book she was still examining.

"Yes, I miss those nights. Ginny is such a fun person to talk to. It's very easy to speak to her, isn't it?"

"More than I thought it would be," Draco admitted. Hermione snapped the book closed and slid it across the table at him.

"You've chosen an excellent book, you know. I love Christina Rossetti. She really was gifted."

"I was just flipping through it and it looked interesting. I'm looking forward to reading it."

"Do you have much of an interest in other Muggle literature?" Hermione asked eagerly. "I could loan you some books if you do. I have tons at home!" Draco was surprised by the offer, but nodded.

"Yes, I'd like that very much."

"Anytime you'd like them, you're more than welcome to stop by," she said, smiling.

"Hermione loves to share books with anyone who will listen. You watch, now she won't leave you alone until you've read every book in her personal library," Remus teased. She pretended to be offended.

"Just because I like sharing knowledge with people doesn't mean that I'll pester them to death!"

"Right, like you didn't pester me to death to read Great Expectations, remember?" She blushed and smiled.

"That was different. That's a classic. You can't expect to get very far in life without reading Charles Dickens, you know." Draco grinned at their exchange.

"Funny, I seemed to get along just fine without it before," he said, his eyes sparkling. She laughed.

"You were not fine, you were miserable until I came along, remember?"

"Oh, is that what you're telling yourself now?" She poked his ribs and he laughed.

"You're being very rude by leaving Draco out of the conversation!" she said. Draco held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Don't drag me into it, you're doing a spiffing job being plenty entertaining." Remus and Hermione both blushed, and shot him embarrassed smiles.

"Well, I suppose being in love makes one act like a hormonal teenager all over again," Remus quipped. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Remus Lupin, you had better not be telling Draco that you love me before you've even said it to me!" Remus winked at her.

"Can I ask you a rather personal question, Hermione?" Draco asked, his face turning serious. She nodded, a bit surprised at hearing her first name from him.

"How were you finally able to move on and be with Remus?" He fidgeted nervously, and she frowned.

"I suppose I just realized at Ron and Blaise's party that life was going to move on, with or without me, and for Alice's sake, I'd better move on. Remus just happened to be by my side when I made that decision, and he didn't pressure me for anything more than I was willing to give. Although I have to admit that I found I was willing to give more than I thought after we went on that first date." She smiled at Remus, who was blushing profusely. "I meant emotionally!" she added quickly. Draco laughed.

"Draco, are you asking that for a reason?" Remus asked gently.

"I am," he said, his cheeks growing warm. Hermione eyed him thoughtfully, then nodded.

"Ginny is stuck in her own little world still," she mused. "She's going to need something to break her out of her shell and help her realize that it's okay to care about someone again. If she's anything like me, she won't be wanting to get involved again because she'll be afraid that the person she cares about will leave her, the way Harry was taken from her." Draco nodded.

"I can understand that fear."

"Look, I hate to be the voice of reason here," Remus said, casually draping an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "But don't you have a fiancée, Draco?"

"Yes," he said hesitantly. "But not for much longer, if I can help it." Hermione looked somewhat surprised.

"Do you really care about Ginny that much?" she asked. He stared down at the tabletop for a moment, before looking her straight in the eye, and nodding.

"I do."

"Alright, then," Remus said, grinning broadly. "What's our plan?"

**

"Natasha?" Draco called down the hallway. He was greeted with silence. He frowned to himself; she should have been home hours ago. "Natasha?" he called again, rounding the corner into another door-ridden hallway. Still no answer. He sighed and began peeking into every room, hoping to find her.

The meeting with Remus and Hermione had gone extremely well, if truth be told. Hermione had volunteered to scope things out and try to find out if Ginny was interested in him at all, and he had readily agreed to let her take lunch to Ginny's home, instead of him. He didn't want to go and expose his heart to her if there was absolutely no chance that she might reciprocate even a fraction of his feelings.

And Merlin, the feelings! He smiled to himself as he searched the Manor high and low for Tosh. Not even on his best day with her did he feel anything compared to what he felt in Ginny's presence for the briefest moment. He wasn't surprised, really, now that he thought about it. They were totally opposite; Ginny was warm, caring, and intelligent - everything that Natasha was not. Natasha was calculating, cold, and ambitious. That was what had appealed to Draco to begin with - her blind ambition. At the time, it had matched his own. Now, he wanted something different. He wanted more.

He wanted Ginny.

He wanted the comfort that her presence brought. He wanted the intelligent conversations that she'd given him a taste of. He wanted to kiss her again, and have her look at him the way she had in the bar that night. He wanted all of that, and more. The only things standing in the way of him having everything he'd ever wanted were the question of her feelings for him, and Natasha. Hermione was going to snoop around and find out the former, and he was going to do his best to rid himself of the latter.

He sighed. He didn't know yet how he was going to break up with her. She had been with him and been faithfully by his side for just over two years now, and he'd had no complaints, up until recently. Once he'd exposed himself to Ginny's company and the company of her friends and family, he knew that Natasha was an embarrassment. Of course, he'd been an embarrassment, too; but they had been in the same mindset at the time, so it hadn't been a big deal. Now that he knew what his feelings towards Ginny were, there was no way in hell that he was going to spend another night with Natasha in his bed. Sex was no longer his primary concern.

He was meandering through an empty corridor when he heard a muffled giggle resonating towards him. He paused for a moment, recognizing the voice as Natasha's. When it echoed through the hallway again, he moved forward stealthily, pricking his ears for the room it was coming from. He finally stopped in front of a mahogany door with a serpent carved on it, and shuddered. It had been his father's study at one point, and had been locked up and collecting dust ever since. He knew his mother never came near it, and before tonight, he sure as hell never had. He was about to turn and go back to the library to wait for her, when he heard a second voice that sounded distinctly masculine. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his heart began jumping around in his chest, as he pushed the door open and stared.

Natasha was sprawled across his father's desk, naked, while a very young man stood behind her - also naked. They didn't notice him right away, and continued their frenzied activity. It was only after the man had finished moving and collapsed with his head on Natasha's bare breasts that Draco cleared his throat. Both of the guilty parties jumped up and separated themselves, and Natasha clutched some of her previously discarded clothing to her chest.

"D-Draco," she stuttered, surprise etched all over her face. "Y-You're not s-supposed t-to be h-home yet." At the sound of Draco's name, the younger male had the good sense to appear terrified and promptly threw himself into the fireplace, where he disappeared via floo. Draco leaned against the doorjamb and watched with amusement as Natasha tried to cover herself.

"Now, now, Tosh," he said, emphasizing the name he now knew she hated. "Why are you bothering to try and cover yourself? It appears that I'm not the only one you've showed your wares to." She glared at him.

"You drove me to this, you know," she seethed. He feigned polite interest and arched an eyebrow in silent question. "For the last two weeks, you've not been home - and when you are home, you're a totally different person than you used to be! I don't even know you anymore!"

"You're right. You don't know me anymore. But then again, I'm not sure you ever did to begin with."

"Oh, what do you care if I shag another man?" she asked nastily, picking up her shirt. "You're probably having someone on the side as well. Perhaps your little red-headed friend?" she suggested, curling her lip.

"I'm not having anyone on the side, as you so eloquently put it," he said dryly. "But I'm glad I walked in on this little scenario. It makes me feel better for what I'm about to tell you." She stood and eyed him warily, trying to guess what he was about to say.

"Careful, Draco," she hissed menacingly. "Don't go and do something you're going to regret."

"The only thing I'll regret about it is not having done it sooner. Pack your things and get out, Tosh. It's over." She snorted with laughter. When she settled down, she realized that he had not even cracked a smile. The bastard was standing there as calm as ever, just staring at her. Her mouth dropped open.

"Draco, you're really going to end our engagement because I let another man do what you've been neglecting to do yourself?" Her voice was full of the disbelief she felt. He arched an eyebrow at her, then waved his wand and muttered something. A small house-elf appeared and bowed at his feet.

"Please remove all of Miss Krum's personal items and have them sent back to her parents' home. I wish to be notified the moment that she's left the manor." The house-elf nodded and disappeared, leaving Natasha starting incredulously at Draco.

"You can't mean it," she said quietly. "You just can't. I stood by you when you ran from your father and the other Death Eaters!"

"You may have stood by me then, but you're not doing it now. How many other men have you stood by since then, Tosh?" he asked calmly. Her face contorted with rage and she launched herself at him, clawing and flailing. Before he could protect himself, he heard someone whisper "Impedimenta!" behind him. He turned to see his mother glaring at Natasha, who was frozen where she stood.

"Mother, I'm sorry," he said, his eyes wide. "I didn't mean to disturb you, and-" she held up a wrinkled hand to quiet him.

"Don't apologize to me, dear. Just see to it that this foul creature never sets foot in my home again." He stared at her with something akin to wonder.

"Foul creature?

You don't mind that I've called off our engagement, then?"

"I have been praying for it for months," she said, sighing. He stared at her. "I'm hoping that you've finally come to your senses and realized who you're truly meant for." With that, she turned and headed leisurely back down the hallway in the direction she'd come from. Draco turned back to the frozen figure and smirked.

"Have a safe trip home, Tosh." He raised his wand and muttered, "Locomotor Mortis." Her body lifted into the air, and he guided it to the fireplace. Once inside, he threw her clothes down in the flames and shoved a very naked Natasha in with them. He grabbed a handful of floo powder, threw it at her feet, and yelled "Viktor Krum's home." She disappeared, and he laughed softly to himself.

At least now he had no reason to feel guilty for breaking up with her. He could only wait and pray that Hermione was doing as well as he was.

**

"Hey, Hermione," Ginny smiled, opening the door wide enough for Hermione to pass through. Remus followed behind her, and Ginny smiled at him as he walked past her. They were carrying a parcel that smelled delicious. "What are you two doing here? You should be off having a romantic lunch somewhere together, not coming to entertain a widow and her daughter." Remus flushed under her scolding, but Hermione tsk-tsked at her.

"We ran into someone who was on their way over here with lunch, but he asked us to bring it instead. Somehow he got the impression that you didn't want to see him again." Ginny turned her back as she shut the door.

"Oh?" her voice was cool and steady, and Hermione exchanged a glance with Remus. Ginny was not going to be an easy nut to crack.

"He asked us to bring this to you," Remus said, holding out a brown paper sack. She took it from him and peeked inside curiously. Tantalizing aromas rose from the bag. The scent was enough to bring three year old feet tearing down the hallway and bounding down the steps.

"Is Mister Draco here?" Lily called, running into the room excitedly. She stopped short when she saw Remus and Hermione, and glanced around for Draco. She frowned. "Where is he? He said he was going to eat lunch with us."

"He was, darling, but he had something very important to take care of," Hermione smiled at her. Lily studied her thoughtfully for a moment, then looked at her mother.

"Did he buy our lunch?"

"He most certainly did," Remus nodded. "And he's sent you a present to open after you've eaten your dinner." Lily's eyes lit up and she began bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"Hurry up, Mum! I'm hungry!" Ginny laughed as she went into the kitchen to retrieve some plates and glasses, then sat them on the table. She had pulled all of the food out of the bag and was scooping some onto Lily's plate when Remus interrupted her.

"Incidentally, Ginny, Draco has sent something along for you as well." She looked up, surprised. Lily sat down and began eating voraciously, and the three adults watched her with amusement.

"Don't you want to see it?" Hermione asked, turning to her. Ginny blinked.

"See what?"

"What Draco sent you." Lily's fork paused halfway to her mouth, and she watched the adults as Remus handed her mother a book. Ginny smiled softly at it and ran her fingers gently down the spine of it. Hermione and Remus watched her with bated breath as she opened it to a bookmarked page and began to read. Her eyes widened and she snapped the book shut.

"Thank you. I'll write him a note and thank him for it." She dropped it on the table and sat down. Hermione sat beside her and opened the book back up to the marked page, then began to read aloud.

"Remember me when I am gone away,

gone far away into the silent land;

when you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day,

you tell me of our future that you plann'd:

only remember me, you understand;

it will be late then to counsel or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while,

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leav

e a vestige of the thoughts that I once had,

better by far you should forget and smile,

than that you should remember and be sad."

She closed the book and glanced up at Ginny, who was crying silently.

"You don't have to forget Harry to love Draco," Hermione whispered. Ginny's eyes shot up and she stared at her friend.

"What in the world are you talking about?" she asked.

"Take it from someone who knows," Hermione said, shooting a tender glance at Remus. He smiled and covered her hand with his. "You don't have to forget your first love to be able to allow the next into your life."

"What is it with everyone lately?" Ginny asked, a hard edge to her voice. "The man has a fiancée! He's going to be married! And he is my late husband's sworn enemy! Am I the only one who remembers all of this?"

"Apparently," Hermione said gently. Ginny stared at her. "Gin, you have been a different person since Draco became your friend. The last time I can remember seeing you this happy is before Harry died." Ginny covered her mouth with her hand and remained silent, simply searching Hermione's face with her eyes.

"Ginny," Remus said. She turned her eyes to him. "He cares about you, more than I think even he realizes. He sat down with us for a bit in Hogsmeade while he was waiting for your food, and all he could do was talk about you and Lily. He's incredibly enamored of both of you, for obvious reasons."

"He loves your daughter, Ginny," Hermione smiled. A single tear slid down Ginny's cheek, but she said nothing. "You should have seen him talking about her. His whole face lit up! And then he told us about the Quidditch match, and being here last night. Did you know that he considers you to be his best friend?" Ginny stared at her.

"He went into a Muggle bookstore by himself today, Ginny," Remus added. "A Muggle bookstore. Draco Malfoy went into a Muggle bookstore. All because of you."

"I offered to let him read some of my Muggle novels, and he was actually interested!" Hermione said, not masking her surprise. Ginny had to smile at that.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me," she said, her voice taking on an air of professionalism. "He's made strides in his therapy, and it's changing him."

"You're changing him," Hermione pointed out. "And his feelings towards you have changed in the process."

"Come on, you two," Ginny laughed. "Of course his feelings towards me are changing. Don't you think this has happened before? I've actually had several male patients who made great personal breakthroughs in their life and as a side effect thought they developed feelings for me, since I was the one who lent an ear. His feelings, if he has any, will fade with time."

"But will yours?" Remus asked softly.

"I don't -"

"Ginny, you know exactly what he's talking about," Hermione said hotly. "And you can just stop insulting our intelligence by denying that you're attracted to him. I've already spoken to Ron and Fred, and they told me how you were with him yesterday."

"And how was that, pray tell?" she asked, forcing a smile.

"You were relaxed and happy."

"And that makes you think I have feelings for him? I'm relaxed and happy around Remus, too." Remus flushed slightly when she pointed at him.

"Why are you fighting this so hard?" Hermione whispered.

"There is nothing to fight!" Ginny snapped, standing up abruptly. "Except for everyone suddenly taking such an avid, expressed interest in my lack of a love life! The man is practically married, people! What would it matter if I had feelings for him or not? In the grand scheme of things, it will not matter a knut!"

"Mum?"

"What?" she snapped. Then, seeing Lily's stricken face, she sighed and sat back down. "What is it, poppet?"

"May I be excused?" Ginny nodded and watched as Lily plodded from the room, disappearing on the other side of the door.

"She obviously adores him as much as he adores her," Ginny said, massaging her temples. She closed her eyes. "The truth is that I don't understand what's going on any better than anyone else does. She worships him; the sun and moon revolve around him. She talks about him the way she used to talk about Harry."

"She's not going to forget her father," Remus said reasonably.

"I know; I know you're right. My mind knows it, but my heart doesn't want to believe it. Harry took part of my heart with him when he died, and I'm never going to get that back. I'm so afraid to give up any more of it, especially to Draco. I feel guilty for so many reasons."

"Like what?"

"He was Harry's enemy. He hated me and my entire family in school. My daughter already looks at him as a father figure. He's engaged. He's very vulnerable right now."

"People change, Ginny. Don't you preach that all the time?" Hermione asked, smiling gently. Ginny gave a hollow laugh and sighed.

"He's incredible, isn't he?" Ginny asked, not meeting their eyes. She stared down at the tabletop. "I see so much of Harry in him that it's scary. They have the same insecurities; the same interests. I don't want to fall for Draco because he reminds me of Harry. It's not fair to him, and it's not fair to me."

"You can't put qualifiers on the people who capture your heart," Remus said, reaching over the table to pat her hands.

"You should know that better than anyone else," Hermione said. "How many times did you tell me that you wished you could love someone other than Harry when he wasn't interested in you yet?"

"You're right," she sighed. "But that doesn't change the fact that it isn't right."

"Since when has love been wrong?" Remus asked, starting to sound irritated. "The boy has feelings for you that surpass friendship, Ginny Potter. If anyone should feel wrong about the situation, it should be him, not you. He was the one who disliked Harry. He was the one who disliked you. He's the one that cares about you and your daughter now, despite everything he has been raised from birth to believe! That abomination of a father of his raised him to think your family was less than the dirt beneath their shoes, let alone what he was told to think and feel about Harry! He's had to live in Harry's shadow since their first year at Hogwarts together, always playing second best, and here he is, doing it again! He's fallen for Harry's widow! How do you think that makes the poor boy feel?"

"I didn't realize you liked him so well," Ginny marveled, more than slightly impressed by Lupin's speech.

"You can't stand back and be objective about other people's lives if you can't do the same thing for your own," he said, taking deep, calming breaths. "We're not saying you have to marry the boy, Ginny. We're just saying that for both of your sakes, and for the sake of your daughter, who already sees more than you do, that you don't shut him out. Give him a chance."

"He's engaged," she reiterated. Hermione sighed.

"This is a big problem. What if he wasn't engaged? Would you consider him then?"

"Well, seeing as how that's not likely to happen, why should I even bother to dignify that with a response?"

"Do you really think he's that happy with her?"

"I know he's not happy with her. I can see it written all over his face whenever he's with her, or when he talks about anything that involves her. She's a foul woman; he's got every right to be miserable around her."

"Why haven't you told him to leave her if you know he's so unhappy?"

"It is not a practice of mine to tell a patient directly to leave his or her boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, or significant other."

"But you're making a damn good practice of making yourself miserable over it!" Hermione shot back.

"What are you on about now?"

"If you have no feelings for him, then why do you care what his fiancée is like?"

"He's my friend," Ginny sputtered righteously. "I can feel any damned way I please about her! That doesn't mean I have to tell him what I think of her! It's my job as his friend to be supportive of his decisions!"

"It's also your duty as a friend to tell him when he's screwing up his life, just like we're telling you that if you don't do something about him, you'll be screwing up yours!" Ginny fell silent and stared at the two people in front of her as though she didn't know them. Realization and guilt flooded over her with such ferocity that it made her stomach churn.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she said, paling. She stood and darted for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She gripped the side of the toilet, feeling the waves of nausea rolling over her. When she had emptied the contents of her stomach, she flushed and rinsed her mouth out with cold water. She reached for a towel and pressed it to her face, remembering how he'd stood there and watched her cry not so long ago. She sobbed into the towel.

He can't have feelings for me. Can he? No, he's getting married. They're right; he'll ruin his life if he marries her, but I can't tell him that. I can't take that chance. If I tell him that, he might leave her, and I will have ruined his life, too. Either way he gets hurt. He deserves so much better than her. He's so sweet, and she's so... petty. Oh God, Harry, would you hate me if I had feelings for him? Would it be a grievous sin to let him play the part of stepfather to our daughter, if he chose to?

What am I doing?

She sunk down on the floor with her back to the wall, and cried harder. I am being a twit, that's what I'm doing. Why is it always their eyes that haunt me? First Harry's emerald eyes followed me everywhere, and now I'm being chased by eyes the color of a stormy sky. Lily loves him. She told him so. My daughter loves her father's enemy... and now...

So does her mother.