Diligite Inimicos Vestros

Chapter 6: Facta Infecta Fieri Nequeunt

Ginny went through the next few weeks in a fog. The days all seemed to bleed together.

Every chance they got Ginny and Draco sought oblivion in each other's arms. Sometimes they'd glance at each other across a room, or the breakfast table, and by unspoken agreement they'd leave the room separately and meet again in order to have a quick tryst in his office, or a marathon in either bedroom.

Sometimes Malfoy would send her notes, either via an owl or he'd get Servus to deliver them by hand. Usually the notes only consisted of three words: My room. Now.

Ginny really did try to break off the liaison, but her resolve weakened considerably at the sight of him, and it dissolved entire when he got close enough for her to smell him.

He did smell so divine. She wasn't sure what it was, except that he never seemed to wear cologne. Surely no man could smell that good without any help? Right?

They'd often pass each other in the hallways when either or both were in the company of others. Every time a thrill coursed through her being. Just knowing he was there made her weak at the knees with anticipation.

Sometimes, when they were just lying in bed, exhausted, he'd even manage to catch her off guard and engage her in conversation. Ginny often reminisced about their schooldays, or she'd talk about their godson, before she realised whom she was really talking to, and then she'd usually get dressed and leave.

It was much more difficult to get Malfoy to talk. Oh, he would engage in small talk and they often flirted outrageously, since, as Ginny told herself, in for a penny, in for a pound. Facta infecta fieri nequeunt. What has been done cannot be undone. Might as well go with it. But he never actually told her anything she didn't already know, never revealed anything at all about himself. Ginny had decided to let that one go. Not like she cared anyway.

Had Ginny been honest with herself, she'd had to admit that she wasn't at all sorry they were now sleeping together on a regular basis. The sex was great, no; it was amazing, and it alleviated the loneliness and the feeling of isolation, at least for a fleeting moment. After all, she did know Draco, even if she couldn't trust him even as far as their godson could throw him.

But it was better than nothing.

Somehow she had managed to lull herself into a state of absolute denial. She was no longer a hostage, kept from her friends and family by her sworn enemy and his minions. There was no war, no Voldemort, none of it seemed to matter. Of course when she allowed herself to be honest with herself, Ginny knew that what she was doing was wrong, she knew that it couldn't last, and that one of these days it would all blow up in her face.

But she just didn't care.

I've been lonely for so long, dammit, I deserve some fun, she groused to herself one day, after such thoughts had re-emerged from the back of her brain. It's just sex, what's the big deal? She pouted.

Yes, Ginny, keep telling yourself that, that will make it all go away, the other voice in her head said, dripping with sarcasm.

But most of the time she didn't allow herself to think at all. And Malfoy never questioned it. In fact, he didn't even mention their 'arrangement' until they'd been at it for a fortnight.

That night the castle was empty. It was a Sunday, and most of the Death Eaters were away.

It had been a hot day, and the weather didn't improve by dusk. Ginny had been too lethargic to do anything all day. It was bad enough to sit inside the stuffy castle, let alone do anything. But then she got bored, and decided to climb up to her spot on the roof.

Once out in the gallery, Ginny sighed at the sight of the full moon. It was breathtakingly beautiful. A happy smile on her face she climbed up to her spot and sat down, letting the gentle breeze blow her hair from her face. It was heaven. She almost felt like she was on a broomstick, flying across the night sky, free as a bird, all alone in the universe...

"So this is where you disappear to," came a voice from behind her, startling her from her thoughts, and before she could stop it, she let out a tiny squeal.

How does he always do that?

"Malfoy. How did you...?" Her brows shot up in realisation. "Did you follow me here?" she threw an accusatory look at him over her shoulder, before turning around.

All she could see of him was his head and neck, as he casually leaned against the dark stone of the wall, the rest of him fading into the shadows. He shrugged with a smirk. "Of course I did. Potter's not the only one with an invisibility cloak, you know."

Then he climbed up to her, bringing the rest of him to view.

Draco looked down from the opening in the wall, settling comfortably across from her. He looked moderately impressed. "Nice view. No wonder you come up here."

Ginny sighed. She obviously wasn't going to get rid of him. And, she had to admit, a part of her didn't want to. A teeny, tiny part. "Why are you here, Malfoy? No evil plans to execute? No moronic minions to order around?"

He looked at her, and his smirk reappeared, giving him the arrogant air she knew so well. "Maybe I just wanted to see you," he quipped, anticipating her reaction.

She rolled her eyes. "Come off it, Ferret. I'm not in the mood for your games tonight."

He raised a single brow. "Rough day at the office?"

"You could say so. Stuck inside a castle on a day like this isn't my idea of fun. Of course, being stuck in this particular castle makes for a bad day in any weather."

Draco looked back toward the landscape spreading in front of them. "I know what you mean," he said in a low, almost gentle voice. He sounded tired. "I would have given up half of my fortune to being able to fly today. I truly don't know how Voldemort managed before I came along," he added as an afterthought.

Ginny was taken aback. She'd been thinking along the exact same lines all day. He looked so weary. And she'd never seen him like that. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Then she remembered who and what he was.

"Life's a bitch," she managed to say, before averting her eyes away from him. "You still haven't told me why you're here."

Draco snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. "Hmm? Oh, right," he said, turning to face her, and she could see a glint in his eye. "I was bored. I saw you leave your room, and I followed, simple as that."

"And what is that?" Ginny asked, pointing at the dark shape next to him. It had been covered by the invisibility cloak, and had only been revealed when he'd moved.

Draco feigned innocence. "What, this?" he shrugged. "It's just something to nibble on."

Ginny was sure she was hearing him wrong. "You brought a picnic?" she asked, her eyes growing even wider. For a moment she was sure Malfoy was blushing, before she checked herself. Malfoys don't blush.

Draco set the item, which she now saw was a wicker basket, in between them, and proceeded to pull various items out of it.

I must be dreaming, Ginny thought, quite lost for words for once.

"Malfoy, have you gone completely insane?" she asked, bewildered.

"Aliquando insanire iucundum est," Draco said with a slight smirk twisting the corners of his mouth. "Sometimes it is nice to be insane. Wouldn't you agree, Weasley?"

Ginny didn't reply. Instead her attention was caught by the bottle of wine he pulled out of the basket next. She lifted her eyes to look at Draco, and found he was looking at her with an odd expression on his face.

"You know, how is it, that if you just happened to see me and decided to follow me on a whim, that you would also happen to be carrying a full picnic for two?" she asked coyly.

Without saying a word Draco took out two silver goblets and poured the wine. With equal silence Ginny accepted the offered drink and tasted it. It was sweet and full-bodied, just the way she liked it. Not that she drank wine much. She was more of a Firewhiskey girl.

"May I?" Ginny asked then, indicating at the delicious-looking food Draco had produced from the basket. "I'm starved!"

"Please," he offered her a plate of warm chicken. "What it's there for."

The mood was peculiar, to say the least, and not only because he was being strangely courteous. Neither said much while they ate and drank. Ginny found it disturbingly peaceful, just sitting there with him, enjoying the nourishment and the darkening scenery, and each other's company.

Draco lifted the bottle to replenish their drinks, but to Ginny's dismay the bottle was empty. As if sensing her thoughts, Draco simply cocked an eyebrow and produced another bottle from the seemingly bottomless basket.

Their eyes connected, and Draco opened the bottle and poured the wine without looking away. Ginny felt her face grow warm.

"What's this then?" she asked. Thrown by his eyes, she had to break the connection. "You trying to get me drunk?"

"'Wine encourages the minds and makes them receptive to the fires of passion; strong wine washes away worries: then laughter arrives, and then even the poor will raise their heads, then leave sorrow, worries and furrowed brow'. Ovid," Draco finished his recital with a theatrical sweep and a small bow to Ginny.

Ginny giggled. The wine was making her light-headed, and she wasn't used to seeing this side of Draco. "Who knew there was a poet in you, Malfoy," she said with a teasing smile, truly amazed. "Even if you are quoting an ancient Greek."

The wine has to be getting to Malfoy as well, Ginny thought, as he smiled back at her: a real smile, instead of the ever-present smirk. It made her stomach flip over. "And if you tell anyone, I am going to have to kill you," he quipped theatrically, with a twinkle in his eye, bringing Ginny back to earth.

"Yeah, well, here's to it," she muttered, looking down at her goblet, before downing its contents.

"Whoa there, Weasley," Draco said, but looked at her appreciatively. "I have no desire to have to carry you don't those steps," he chided.

"Oh really," Ginny chirped at him, batting her eyelashes, suddenly feeling giddy and reckless.

Draco looked at her appreciatively. "Well, I suppose you don't weigh that much, but I might break a sweat, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" He cast his eyes down to look into the basket, and brought out a bowl full of fresh strawberries.

"Why you..." she started, but was suddenly quietened by the berry Malfoy stuffed between her enraged lips. "Mmm, sweet," she commented, closing her eyes with pleasure and concentrated on the delightful flavours of the treat.

"You like that, do you?" Draco enquired with a raised brow.

"Mmm-hmm," was all Ginny could force out, so delicious was the strawberry.

Draco smiled bemusedly, picking up another strawberry and dipping it quickly into the tub of white chocolate sauce he had in the basket, and waved it temptingly in front of Ginny.

"Gimme," was all she said, making him tut-tut at her playfully, before lowering the chocolate-covered berry into her mouth.

Ginny took a bite of the gorgeous treat in front of her, and thought she was going to die, it tasted so good. Malfoy looked at the display of pleasure on her face and raised a brow suggestively.

"You know," he drawled in a low voice, "there are other things we could do with the chocolate sauce..." he trailed off, letting the suggestion hang in the air.

She peered at him from under the fan of her lashes. She knew he'd meant it. Despite her every effort she couldn't stop her face from flushing, and some very naughty thoughts popped into her head. Ginny looked down to hide her face, and pretended to be choosing which strawberry to eat next.

They enjoyed the silence for a while, and nibbled at the food, but Ginny's mind kept creeping back to the gutter. Damn you, Malfoy, she cursed at him silently, at last looking up.

Draco gave her a look of wide-eyed innocence, and instantly Ginny knew he was up to no good.

"What is it?" she asked him, determined to best him at his own game.

"What is what?" Draco asked, still looking like butter wouldn't melt. He picked up his glass. "Can't a man enjoy an afternoon without being suspected of foul play?" he asked in mock hurt, his lower lip jutting out into an adorable pout.

Adorable? No, I did not just refer anything concerning Malfoy as adorable. I meant evil! Incensed with herself, Ginny pressed on. "Not where you're concerned, Malfoy. Now, spit it out. And quit the pouting. It doesn't suit you," she said. Liar, her inner voice berated her.

"Well...as it happens..." he smirked at her, the innocent look vanishing with it. "I was thinking you might want to go out, for a bit. See the sights, that sorta thing," he said quickly, then added: "Fully magically warded, of course," he finished and drained the contents of the cup he was holding.

"Of course," she muttered as she mirrored him and finished her drink. She held out her cup for a refill, earning a raised eyebrow from Draco. Her mind set, Ginny raised both brows in silent answer. After a moment Draco shrugged and cracked open another bottle.

***

"So would you say you're a typical Gemini?" Ginny asked Draco, wincing inwardly when her words came out too shrilly.

"Well, as we both know, Geminis rule the nervous system, and I think I'm in control of mine pretty much always, so I'd so say, yeh," Draco responded in a very candid tone. "Not that I believe any of that rubbish anyway, but they do say that Geminis are intellectually inclined, which I am, of course, quick-witted and pretty much the life of the party. Sounds like me, doesn't it?" Draco finished with a wave of his goblet, spilling some wine.

"Pfft!" Ginny burst into a fit of giggles, and nearly choked on her drink. Her face turned red as she waited for the cough to subside. "Right, Malfoy. But Geminis are also noted for their arrogance, vanity and the fact that they can never shut the hell up!"

Draco seemed to consider this, and then said: "But we are never boring."

Ginny couldn't help but smile at that. "No, that you are not."

For a bit the two of them smiled at each other goofily, but then Ginny's body seemed to gain a will of its own. She watched, intrigued, as her hands extended to move all the food and wine out of the way, and then, with the cooperation or her legs, proceeded to crawl over to Malfoy. Feeling like a predator, Ginny used the surprise tactic to tackle Draco to the ground, straddling his waist as she did so.

"What..." Draco regained his speech, only to be silenced by a finger Ginny placed against his lips. "Ginny..."

"Shh," she cooed, her face mere centimetres away from his. "S'kay, Malfoy. Just relax. This won't hurt...much..."

"Minx," Draco sucked in a mouthful of air, which made Ginny laugh.

"You're not as evil as you'd like everyone to believe, you know," she stated out of the blue.

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Never said I was evil, Weasley. Lucius was evil. I just made a choice, and once I do, I stick to it. It's a thing," he shrugged. "I picked what was most advantageous to me," he concluded, eyes firmly in the scenery, like its contents held all the secrets of the world.

Ginny wasn't sure how she felt about what he'd said. But she knew one thing: Malfoy never lied. Ever. He was terrible at it, and had been so for as long as she'd know him.

The semi-uncomfortable silence lasted for a beat, until they both spoke up at the same time.

"Malfoy..."

"Weasley..."

Ginny couldn't help but grin at him. Malfoy seemed a bit taken aback, but didn't say anything. But Ginny could see a ghost of a smile on his face. She was, after all, sitting astride him, so she couldn't help but see the comical side of it.

She was at two minds whether she ought to tell him what she'd overheard on that very spot three weeks ago. By Merlin, has it only been three weeks? Seems like three months, she marvelled to herself. She'd finally made up her mind, and was about to say something, when she was startled by a voice nearby.

"Well isn't this cosy?" the female voice drawled.

Draco simply raised one lazy eyebrow, refusing to be put off. "Blaise. Can we help you?"

Blaise turned her emerald gaze to Draco's grey one, and for a moment she seemed to be challenging him to an intense staring contest. But then her hard demeanour crumbled under Draco's steely eyes, and she looked away. "There's a message you need to see right away," she muttered, before turning to Ginny. "And I'd wager it is about you, Weasley."

Ginny wasn't intimidated by Blaise Zabini. Back in her 6^th year at Hogwarts, after Harry and Draco's adventures, she'd actually considered Blaise a friend. I have no people-reading skills whatsoever, she thought grudgingly. "Good. Maybe I'll finally get the hell out of this place," she said with more confidence than she felt.

Blaise laughed. "Yeah, don't bank on that. Come, Draco. The owl demands a reply."

With perfect lazy grace Draco lifted Ginny off of his lap, got to his feet and motioned Blaise to lead to way. He didn't even look at Ginny as he left, and simply said: "Later, Weasley."

And just like they'd appeared, Draco and Blaise were gone.

"Hmpf," Ginny huffed to herself. Then she shrugged. "Oh well. More wine for me."

***

"Alright Blaise, what was so bloody urgent?" Draco demanded as soon as the office door was shut behind them, his eyes revealing his unnaturally agitated state.

Blaise sat on the edge of his desk, a seldom seen grave expression on her face. "It's bad, Draco. This could fuck everything up. Everything we've worked for. It's..."

When Blaise didn't continue, Draco threw himself onto one of the chairs opposite the desk and sighed. "And are you ever going to tell me what could possibly have rattled your cage so? I'm not growing any younger here, you know. I have things to do," he drawled and inspected his fingernails.

Blaise looked at him oddly. "Draco, are you drunk?"

"Pfft!" came his reply. Little did Blaise know that Ginny had used that very same exclamation on Malfoy a mere fifteen minutes ago. "You have seen me drunk. I was drunk at Mother's wedding to Sirius. I was drunk at our graduation party. Hell, I was even drunk at Ron and Hermione's wedding. This is not me being drunk."

"Hmm," she huffed doubtfully and crossed her arms. "You can deny it all you want. I've known you since we were still in nappies, Draco Thomas Malfoy. I can tell you're drunk. Besides, you had a Weasley draped across your lap."

Draco smiled at Blaise. A genuine, pleasant smile. "Okay, so maybe I'm just a little bit drunk," he then admitted affably. "You've been known to have a drink or two on your free time."

"But that's just it, Draco!" Blaise exploded into her previous panic-mode again, making her voice shrill. "You are never off duty, and you know it! This is serious, Draco, we have got to find a solution and fast!" she raved.

Draco smiled placatingly again. "I might be better help if you told me what the problem actually is," he said in a carefree tone and started rocking on the chair.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Draco. We received an owl from The Dark Lord. He is coming here, next week! What are we going to do?"

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