The Dragon's Savior

Chapter 11

The next day, Draco woke up and wasn't sure where he was. He wasn't in Percy's room that was for sure. The walls in Percy's room were white; the walls in this room were a light purple. Looking around, it appeared that he was in a girl's room. Suddenly, the events of the night before came rushing back to him.
He'd gone to bed and had been about to fall asleep when he had heard something from outside his door. He had exited the room and listened. At first he hadn't heard anything, but then a sound had reached his ears. It had been a scared whimpering sound, and it had been coming from Ginny's room. As Draco had approached her door, he had heard her saying something. It had sounded like she had said, "No, get away from me, Tom."
He had then pushed open the door and had looked for the problem. At first he didn't see anything, but then he saw Ginny, tossing and turning in her bed, obviously having a nightmare. He had walked quietly over to her and had shaken her awke. When she'd awaken, she'd looked really relieved. "It was only a dream," she'd said.
Draco had been about to go back to his room now that he knew she was okay, but she'd pleaded for him to stay. He's complied and had climbed into bed with her. She'd snuggled close to him and easily had fallen asleep.
Now, Ginny entered her room and was pleased when she saw Draco was awake. "Hey, you're awake," she said.
Draco merely nodded. He was looking at her oddly. "Is something wrong?" she asked nervously.
Draco shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong," he said and then continued to stare at her.
It was a little unnerving. "Then why are you staring at me?" she snapped.
"Sorry, it's just, that for some reason, you look beautiful," he replied, somewhat dazedly.
Ginny looked down at her outfit. It wasn't anything special. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a green long-sleeved T-shirt. "Thanks," she said uncertainly.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked, snapping out of his reverie.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she replied, confused.
"Last night, before I went into your bedroom, you said something about Tom. What were you dreaming about?" he inquired, not really answering her question.
"My first year at Hogwarts. Once in awhile I have a nightmare about it," Ginny told him.
"I'm sorry about that," Draco apologized.
"About what? My first year at Hogwarts? Why? You didn't have anything to do with it," she replied confidently.
"I know, but it was my father who gave you that diary," he said.
"I know, but Draco, you're not your father. You're nothing like him. If you were, you wouldn't be here right now, you'd be being initiated as a Death Eater," Ginny said reassuringly.
"I guess," Draco replied doubtfully.
"You can't" Ginny said disbelievingly.
"I know, but sometimes I feel like it's partly my fault for not stopping him," he admitted.
"How could you stop him? He's a powerful Death Eater, and you haven't even finished Hogwarts yet," Ginny pointed out.
"I know you're right, but sometimes I can't help it," Draco said mournfully.
"It's all right. Come here," Ginny beckoned. Draco walked over to Ginny, and she gave him a hug. "He won't be able to terrorize anyone, including you, anymore."
"I know, but Gin, I know this might sound terrible, but I think I might actually miss him. Well, not really Lucius himself, but I might kinda miss having a father. It doesn't matter that he was a lousy father," Draco confessed.
"That's not so terrible. If I didn't have a dad, I would be upset too," Ginny comforted. Then she kissed him, figuring it would cheer him up. Ginny had never realized before that Draco was so insecure. He had always seemed so arrogant.
Draco pulled her closer, and Ginny responded by moving her hands to play with his hair. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her even closer. He then broke away from her lips and began to kiss her neck. She moaned and arched her back towards him. His tongue flicked out of his mouth against the skin of her neck, and she moaned again. It only encouraged him more, and he moved his lips back to hers. Ginny ran her tongue against his bottom lip, and Draco froze for a minute in surprise at her gall.
He was going to open his mouth so her tongue could enter when Ginny pulled away abruptly. He looked at her, and then noticed the Charlie stood behind Ginny, looking annoyed. "What?" she snapped in irritation. She's obviously been enjoying herself and hadn't wanted to stop.
"Do you realize how many times I tried to get your attention? Anyway, Mum wants to talk to you two," Charlie reported and then left the room.
Draco looked at Ginny questioningly, but she only shrugged. She headed towards the door to her room, and Draco followed her downstairs. They found Mrs. Weasley waiting for them, looking slightly uncomfortable, in the living room.
"What's up, Mum?" Ginny asked curiously.
"I wanted to talk to you two about something important," Mrs. Weasley replied.
"What is it?" Ginny inquired.
"Well, uh, you see, what I wanted to say was," Mrs. Weasley stuttered nervously.
"Spit it out, Mum," Ginny snapped, the suspense was killing her.
"I don't want you two having sex anymore while you're here," Mrs. Weasley blurted. Draco and Ginny both looked very taken aback, and Ginny was beginning to wish that she hadn't prompted her mother.
"What?" Ginny practically yelled. "What made you think we've done it before? How did this come about?"
"Well, I noticed that Draco wasn't in his room this morning," Mrs. Weasley told them.
"Oh, is that all?" Draco asked. "I was in her room because she had a nightmare last night. I heard her whimpering and woke her up. When she did she wanted me to stay with her."
"Oh," Mrs. Weasley said, clearly relieved. "So you weren't-"
"No, we weren't doing anything other than sleeping," Ginny cut her mother off.
"Oh, well, sorry about that," Mrs. Weasley apologized. "You can go now."
Draco and Ginny hightailed it out of the living room as fast as they could. When they arrived back in Ginny's room, Ginny said, mortified, "I'm sorry about that. My mother always thinks of me as her 'little baby girl', and she's always worried about me."
"It's all right; I think that's kinda cool actually. You know, that she cares that much. She obviously wasn't having a very easy time talking to us," Draco replied. "It was a little uncomfortable, but still cool."
Ginny smiled. "Ever since I was ten years old, my mother had planned on me getting married to Harry. She doesn't really like me dating anyone else, but I think you may be changing her plans," Ginny commented.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked.
"I think you've convinced her that guys other than Harry can be good for me," Ginny explained. Draco still had a confused look on his face. "I think she likes you."
If Draco had been confused before, now he was horrified. "I didn't mean it like that, you arrogant prat. I meant that she approves of you as my boyfriend, which is rare for her."
"Oh," Draco replied, clearly relieved.
"You are such a pervert," Ginny accused in disgust. "You want to go to your house today to get some clothes and stuff?"
Draco nodded. "Yeah. Do you think that your parents could un-transfigure my broom?"
"What's it supposed to be?" Ginny inquired.
"My laptop," Draco answered.
"Oh, yeah, my parents can probably change it back," Ginny said. "Let's go get your stuff. I can come with you, right?"
"Yeah, you can come. Let's tell your mum and go," Draco suggested.
"Alright," Ginny replied, walking out of her room.
Draco followed close behind her as they made their way downstairs. "Hey, mum, we're going to get some of Draco's stuff. Is that alright?" Ginny requested permission.
"Yeah, go ahead," Mrs. Weasley complied.
"Can you transfigure Draco's broom back into his laptop?" Ginny asked her mother.
"Sure," Mrs. Weasley replied.
"Thanks," Draco thanked her.
Then they went over to the fireplace and each grabbed a handful of powder. "I'll go first. Malfoy Manor," Draco yelled clearly, throwing the floo powder into the fire. He felt the familiar dizziness, and then he was standing in the fireplace in the foyer of his childhood home. A few seconds later, Ginny appeared in the fireplace also.
When she stepped out of the fireplace, she could only look around in awe. The house was ancient. It had stonewalls, and the ceiling was very high. Draco led her into his room, and once again, Ginny looked around, amazed. His room was huge, almost as big as the sixth year Gryffindor girls' dormitory. At one side of the room, there was a huge four-poster bed. On the king-sized bed was a green (surprise, surprise) comforter, and sticking out by the bed of the bed were black sheets. Wait, were those silk? "Draco, do you have silk sheets on your bed?" Ginny asked.
"Yes," he answered hesitantly.
After he replied, Ginny burst out laughing.
"What's wrong with silk sheets?" Draco protested.
"I don't know, I just find it incredibly funny that you, of all people, have silk sheets," Ginny replied, trying to stop laughing but failing.
Draco chose to ignore her and went back to collecting his things. When Ginny finally regained her composure she said, "I'm sorry, Draco. I don't know why I was laughing. I've actually always wanted silk sheets."
"You have?" Draco asked in surprise.
"Yep," she replied.
Ginny then looked around the room again. She'd been distracted by the silk sheets. He had a nightstand next to his bed, and next to that, a dresser. On the wall opposite the bed was a desk and bookshelves. He also had various chairs scattered around the room. There was a private bathroom connected to his bedroom. What really caught her eye was his desk. It wasn't anything spectacular, just a mahogany desk with drawers and shelves set above it. It was what was on one of the shelves that caught her attention. It was a picture. Upon closer examination, Ginny saw that it was a picture of a smiling, four year old Draco, sitting on a pretty blonde woman's lap.
"What's this Draco?" Ginny asked him curiously.
Draco looked at what she was pointing to. "A picture," he replied nonchalantly.
"Who's the woman in the picture?" Ginny inquired further.
"My mum. I remember that day, but barely. It was when Lucius was on one of his Death Eater missions, and my mum took me to my first Quidditch game. That was when I fell in love with it. We got ice cream afterwards," Draco remembered with a smile.
"That's so sweet," Ginny swooned. "You were so cute when you were little."
"Are you implying that I am no longer cute?" Draco inquired.
Ginny thought for a minute. She then said, "Yes."
Draco blanched, clearly not expecting that answer. "What?" he croaked in surprise.
"Relax. It's just that you can't really be called 'cute' anymore. Hot? Yes. Gorgeous? Sure. Sexy? Definitely. Cute? Not really," Ginny explained.
"So you think I'm sexy?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"Hell, yeah," Ginny replied dramatically. "Especially when you do that."
"What? Smirk?" he asked.
Ginny nodded. "I don't know what it is about you and smirking, but it makes you look incredibly sexy when you do it," she said.
"Really? Well, I'll keep that in mind," Draco noted.
"I remember the first time I thought that. It was on the way to Hogwarts, and I almost had a heart attack when I realized what I was thinking. That was the first time I realized what a hunk you were too," Ginny added flirtatiously.
Draco turned towards her, still smirking. "You do wonders for a guy's ego. Do you realize that?" he said.
Ginny smiled and replied, "As long as you don't get too big of a head."
"Me? Get a big head? I'm appalled that you would think that," Draco stated with a look of mock surprise on his face.
Ginny just rolled her eyes and kissed him. She soon pulled away and was rewarded with a protesting groan from Draco. "Are you almost ready?" Ginny asked.
"Yep. Let me grab one more thing," Draco replied, walking over to his desk. He opened one of the drawers and pulled something out. He put it in his jeans pocket and Ginny didn't see what it was. "Alright. Let me just check if my mum's here, and then we can leave."
Ginny followed Draco out of his bedroom and down the hall. They came to a stop in front of a closed door. Draco raised his hand and knocked. "Who's there?" came a startled woman's voice from inside.
"It's me, Draco, Mum," he called.
The door was whipped open, and a woman closely resembling an older version of Christina appeared in the doorway. "Draco. It's really you," she cried joyfully and gave her son a huge hug. "I've missed you so much. I had no idea if you were dead or hurt or unconscious. I'm so glad you're all right. You are alright, aren't you?"
"I'm fine, Mum," Draco replied to his mother's hysterics.
"Where have you been?" Narcissa asked, very close to tears.
"I'm staying at the Weasleys'," Draco informed her, bracing himself for her reaction.
"The Weasleys'?" she exclaimed in surprise.
Draco nodded. "Actually, this is Virginia Weasley, my girlfriend. Ginny, this is my mum," Draco introduced.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy," Ginny said, politely, sticking out her hand.
"Nice to meet you too, dear," Narcissa replied, shaking her hand.
Silence reigned for a few minutes. Then Narcissa broke it. "So, you're the one who saved my son," she said, surveying Ginny coolly.
Ginny nodded. She was a little nervous that Mrs. Malfoy wouldn't approve of her. "Well, all I have to say is, thank you," Mrs. Malfoy announced cheerfully and surprised everyone by giving Ginny a hug. When she pulled away, Mrs. Malfoy smiled one of her rarely genuine smiles. Ginny returned it happily. Draco watched in delight, seeing his mother and his girlfriend getting along.
"Well, it was wonderful to meet you, but my mother will be expecting us back," Ginny said reluctantly.
"Now that Lucius is gone, I don't really have to stay at your house anymore," Draco pointed out.
"But I want you to," Ginny pleaded. "I'm sure your mother would be welcome too."
"Oh, no, I couldn't impose," Mrs. Malfoy declined.
"It would be so much better than staying in an empty Manor. Besides, you wouldn't be imposing, I invited you," Ginny coaxed.
"Are you sure?" Narcissa asked uncertainly.
"Definitely. Believe me, if I like you, my mother will too," Ginny assured.
"If you're sure then I'll be over soon," Narcissa accepted.
"See you then. Bye," Draco and Ginny bid Mrs. Malfoy good-bye. Then they flooed back to the Burrow.

*~*~*~*

When Draco and Ginny arrived back at the Weasleys' house, Ginny went in search of her mother. When she found her, Ginny said, "Mum, I hope you don't mind, but I invited Mrs. Malfoy to stay with us. Otherwise, she would have been all alone in that huge manor."
"I think that that was a lovely idea, Ginny," her mother replied, smiling.
"So it's okay?" Ginny asked anxiously.
"Of course it is," Mrs. Weasley answered cheerfully.
Ginny iled at her mother, who returned it. Then Ginny pulled Draco out of the room. "Come on, put your stuff in Charlie's room. Percy and the twins will be here tonight. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve after all," Ginny said, pulling him up the stairs.
"All right, all right. I can walk by myself you know," Draco informed her dryly.
"Sorry," Ginny replied contritely. "I'm just so excited."
"About what?" Draco asked.
"I don't know. Everything, Christmas, the ball, seeing my brothers, getting to know you and your mother better," Ginny began. "You know what? The first night you were here, I thought that my vacation couldn't get any better. I was wrong. It's already gotten a lot better, and it isn't even Christmas yet."
Draco smirked and kissed her lightly. He had just planned on a quick kiss, but Ginny had other plans. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He was about to pull away when his brain yelled at him, "Are you mad? It feels too right to stop." He smiled slightly against her lips and moved his hands to wrap around her waist. He began rubbing circles on her lower back. She moaned quietly. He stopped for a second and she whimpered in protest. He moved his hands under her shirt and continued rubbing her back. She gasped when his fingers touched her bare back.
"Oh, get a room would you?" Harry joked in mock disgust.
"Shut up, Potter, I'm busy here," Draco mumbled jokingly against Ginny's lips. She smiled and pulled away. "Oh, thanks a lot, Potter."
Harry adopted a look of innocence and looked at Draco. "I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy," he said innocently.
Draco glared at him, or at least tried to, but his face soon broke into a smile. Ginny watched the scene unfold before her eyes and couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I don't believe it. I never thought I'd see the day when Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter could joke around with each other. I am truly amazed," Ginny announced with a huge smile.
Draco looked at Ginny then Harry and then at Ginny again. "Well," Draco began mischievously. "We could always go back to insulting each other."
"No, no. I like this much better. Believe me," Ginny replied quickly.
Draco only smirked at her. "I don't know," he began slowly. "I think I prefer the insults. What about you, Potter?"
"I'd have to say I agree with you, Malfoy," Harry agreed.
"Don't you dare. You better not go back to insulting each other. I will not stand for one of my best friends and my boyfriend glaring at each other every time they look at each other," Ginny commanded adamantly.
"Well, since you're so adamant about it, I guess I could try," Harry replied.
"Yeah, I guess I could try," Draco said.
"You better bloody well try or there will be Hell to pay," Ginny threatened.
"Yes, ma'am," Draco and Harry replied in unison, each giving her a salute.
"Oh shut up," Ginny snapped half-heartedly. Then she smiled at them. "See what you missed out on Harry? You could have had this six years ago when you first came to Hogwarts."
"Yeah, well at the time, he didn't seem a like the nicest person. Now though, I don't really blame him. He was brought up by Lucius Malfoy, what do you expect?" Harry asked.
"I resent that," Draco replied with mock indignation.
"Oh come on, you were terrible. 'You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there,'" Harry shot back, doing an almost uncanny impression of Draco at age eleven.
"Well, I had to say something. Besides, Weasley laughed at my name. I had to get him back somehow," Draco defended himself.
"You have to admit, it is a stupid name," Harry commented.
"It is not a stupid name!" Draco exclaimed. "I happen to like it."
Harry snorted at Draco's words. "Please, who names their child Draco?" he demanded.
"No one. If you must know, that's not even my first name, it's my middle name," Draco shot back in a huff.
"All right, all right, don't get your knickers in a twist. What's your first name anyway? What could be worse than Draco?" Harry asked curiously.
"Lucius," Draco informed him with a glare.
"Then I don't blame you for liking the name Draco, much better than Lucius," Harry said.
"Harry?" a voice called from downstairs.
"What, Ron?" Harry yelled back.
"What's taking you so long?" Ron asked.
"Oh sorry, I'll be right down," Harry called guiltily and then hurried towards Ron's room, where he was staying.
"Well," Ginny began. "That was certainly an interesting conversation."
"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" Draco agreed. "Let me go put this stuff in Charlie's room now, like I was going to do before I was side-tracked by a certain red-headed temptress."
"Me? A temptress?" Ginny exclaimed innocently. "I think not."
"Whatever you say, dear, whatever you say," he replied. "So, which room is Charlie's?"
"The one right next door to mine," Ginny told him. Draco took the bag he had put all of his stuff in and put it on the floor of Charlie's room, next to his bed. He then exited the room in search of Ginny. He found her in her bedroom.
"Now," she whispered seductively in his ear when he entered. "What do you say we get back to what we were doing before we were so rudely interrupted?"
"I say, whenever you're ready," Draco said before pulling her into a steamy, passionate kiss.

*~*~*~*

Later that day, after Mrs. Malfoy had arrived, Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Malfoy, Draco, and Ginny sat at the Weasleys' kitchen table, drinking tea. When Narcissa had arrived, Molly had welcomed her with open arms. Now, they were all getting along great and were waiting for the twins and Percy to arrive. Percy, who had realized what a power trip he had been on, had asked his parents forgiveness, was Apparating to the house with Mr. Weasley. When Percy had realized his mistakes, he had quit his job as the Minister's assistant and taken a job in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office with his father. Fred and George were also Apparating home for Christmas, but they were doing it from their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes joke shop in Diagon Alley. Their business was flourishing, and they were about to open another shop in Hogsmeade soon.
Ginny was nervous of what her brothers' reactions would be of Draco staying at their house and dating their sister. She was especially worried about the twins. If they didn't approve, by the end of the day, Draco would have probably had his body altered in some way, shape, or form a minimum of five times. Ginny shuddered at the thought and vowed to keep a close watch on Fred and George.
Turning back to the current situation, Ginny took a sip of tea. Her mher and Mrs. Malfoy were talking about their school days. As it turns out, they had been in school together, and, despite the differences in houses, they had been good friends. Then they'd married into feuding families and had simply lost touch. "Remember the time when you and Cornelius were caught snogging in the Astronomy Tower by Headmaster Dippet?" Mrs. Weasley asked girlishly.
"Oh, yes. I was so terribly embarrassed," Narcissa remembered, a slight blush rising on her cheeks.
Suddenly a thought struck Ginny. "When you say Cornelius, you don't mean Cornelius Fudge, as in the Minister of Magic, do you?" Ginny asked.
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Malfoy replied in unison.
Draco adopted a look of pure horror and disgust. "You snogged the Minister of Magic!!" he sputtered in surprise.
"Yes. We almost got married actually," Narcissa informed her now even more horrified son.
"You have got to be kidding me," Draco said.
"No, dear, I'm not," Mrs. Malfoy replied with a chuckle.
"Why didn't you marry him?" Ginny asked with interest.
"Well, my parents were a lot like Lucius. The Minister may be pureblooded, but doesn't come from the most well off family. My parents didn't like that and kept me away from him," Draco's mother explained.
"That's terrible. Did they set you up with Lucius after that?" Ginny inquired further.
"No, they just said that I had to marry an upstanding, pure-blooded wizard," Narcissa answered.
"With all due respect, Mrs. Malfoy, then why did you marry Lucius, if your parents didn't set you up with him?" Ginny pressed further.
"Well, that's where it gets a little complicated," Mrs. Malfoy began the story of how Lucius had gotten her pregnant, and how her parents had made her marry him. "And that's why I married Lucius," she finished.
"Oh my," was all Mrs. Weasley could manage to say.
"Wow, just wow," Ginny said in awe. "You are one strong woman to endure all of that."
"Why, thank you, Ginny dear," Mrs. Malfoy replied.
"Hello?" called a deep voice from the living room.
"Hello, dear," Mrs. Weasley yelled back. "We're in the kitchen."
A few moments later, Mr. Weasley and Percy appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Hello, Arthur. You remember Narcissa, don't you?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Of course I do," Arthur said politely. "Hello, Narcissa. Haven't seen you in awhile."
"Yes, it's been awhile hasn't it? Hello Arthur," Narcissa greeted warmly. "I really appreciate you taking care of Draco these past few days."
"It was no problem, really," Arthur said modestly.
"Narcissa is going to stay here for awhile instead of staying in that huge house all alone," Molly explained.
"I hope that's all right with you," Mrs. Malfoy cut in before Mr. Weasley could reply.
"Yes, I think it was a wonderful idea, Molly," Arthur approved.
"It was Ginny's idea actually," Mrs. Weasley informed her husband.
"Ginny's?" Mr. Weasley asked in surprise.
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley replied.
"We went to get some of Draco's stuff from his house today, and I met her then. She seemed so lonely," Ginny explained.
"You always were the compassionate one, weren't you?" Mr. Weasley asked rhetorically.
"Percy, this is Narcissa Malfoy, and Mrs. Malfoy, this is my brother Percy," Ginny introduced. Draco cleared his throat subtly. "Oh, and Percy, this is my boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. Draco, this is my brother, Percy."
"Yes, I believe we met at school," Percy said. "So, you're dating my sister?"
Draco paled very slightly and replied with slight apprehension in his voice, "Yes."
"Well, I'll say one thing, you have great taste in girls," Percy commented with a smie.
Draco looked visibly more relaxed after Percy said this. "Thank you," he said, grateful that Percy wasn't going to yell or try to beat him up for dating his precious baby sister.
Ginny smiled at her brother's approval. She began to relax slightly when she heard a pop, indicating that Fred and George were home.
They appeared at the doorway and smiled at everyone present. "Hey, family," Fred greeted. "So, Gin, Ron said your boyfriend was staying here. Who is he?"
Ginny visibly paled and took a deep breath. "I think you know each other from school. Fred, George, this is my boyfriend, Draco Malfoy," she introduced nervously.