White Noise

Chapter 10: Venice of the North

Ginny walked slowly toward the podium, trying to catch her breath as she did so. What have I done? Far from where it needed to be, she was afraid she left her brain out there on the balcony. Quite frankly, she was almost sure she left her heart out there too. She prayed she didn't also leave her voice.

She steadied her composure by taking a couple of deep, if not fast, breaths. Her mouth was still stinging from Draco's kiss. My kiss. I kissed him. Oh gods, what have I done?

Somehow she reached the dais and stepped into McGonagall's place, turning to look at a sea of people.

She took her time studying the crowd and picking out the familiar faces. Surprised, she found that she knew most of the people there and even if she had never spoken to them, she recognized them as relatives of friends or friends of friends.

Harry, I am so sorry. So unbelievably sorry. She'd made a mess of things; she knew that now as the partiers looked up at her reverently. They were expecting to hear a soliloquy of sorts: they wanted to hear a grieving widow talk about how she still loved her husband, the Savior of the wizarding world while she was still shaky from his supposed enemy's kiss.

Ginny swallowed hard and found herself staring hard at the French doors she'd just come from. Draco wasn't in the Great Hall, he was still out there.

She leaned in to the microphone and took a deep, if not shaky breath. Their silence made her all the more nervous.

"Harry would have given anything to be here this evening," she started slowly. A few people in the audience wiped their eyes.

She closed her eyes in an effort to regain composure. She opened her eyes just in time to see her partner slip through those doors. Her gaze skittered away from him, back to her audience.

"Next week marks the eight-year anniversary of the End of the Second War. I was there, as many of you were. All of us know someone who died during the war." Her voice was quickly gaining strength, for which she was grateful. "None of us walked away unaffected from it."

With startling clarity, she saw Harry standing in front of her, a huge smile on his face. He was joined by others, friends and family who had been lost, and found, because of the war.

"I hope that when we think of the Second War, we don't only remember Harry's bravery. Harry never wanted the responsibility of saving the world; it came to him by happenstance." By now some were outright sobbing. "I hope that when we think of the war, we also remember Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, Cedric Diggory, Padma Patil, Percy Weasley, Dean Thomas, Colin and Dennis Creevy as well as Horace Slughorn, Sybil Trelawney and Severus Snape."

There was a collective gasp with the mention of Snape's name, as she knew there would be. Although it wasn't well-known to the wizarding world, Snape had been carrying out a promise made to Dumbledore and Narcissa Malfoy: he had saved Draco Malfoy's life.

Some people would never be able to forgive him, though, and perhaps that was why she said his name at all.

With one last display of strength she hadn't known she possessed, she raised her chin just as some members of the audience lowered theirs in tears. She bounded off the stage just then and made way toward the exit.

Just as she was about to head out the already open doors, a tall figure stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

Irritated, she looked up into the face of Narcissa Malfoy. Ginny just about choked on her tongue, seeing the tall, thin blonde woman regarding her coolly.

Feeling as if she ought to say or do something, anything to keep her mind occupied, Ginny started to speak but was interrupted by piercingly cold gray eyes staring her down.

Then the older woman did something completely uncharacteristic of her: she reached out and faintly touched Ginny's arm. "I want to thank you for mentioning Severus," she admonished quietly.

Ginny hoped the shock she felt wasn't written on her face.

Mrs. Malfoy was staring intently at her. "He saved my son's life," she added simply, knowing that explained it all.

At the mention of 'her son,' Ginny's heart did a strange little flip-flop. She gulped air down and nodded weakly.

Narcissa seemed to regain her composure then, realizing she was in public and speaking with a Weasley, and she nodded once in Ginny's direction. "Thank you," she said simply before moving out of Ginny's way and disappearing into the throngs of people.

Ginny rubbed her face wearily, making a mental note to never appear at another public function. Ever again.

***

Ginny spent the rest of the weekend in her pajamas, opting to not leave her apartment rather than spend an afternoon at the Burrow enduring inquisitorial looks from Hermione; when it was time to leave for work Monday morning, she was more than ready.

Still, she couldn't quite quell all of her nerves, try as she might.

Les met with her in the hall, walking her to her office, where Draco was already waiting, looking as bored and impatient as ever.

She avoided his gaze, feeling like a five-year-old again.

Their boss waited silently until Ginny had settled into her chair to begin speaking, turning first toward Ginny. "I must say I was pleasantly surprised to see you at the Gala Saturday night; I wasn't sure if you would make it or not," he admitted with a jovial smile.

The smile she gave was bitterer than anything, but Les seemed to accept that and blundered ahead. "That speech you gave went over really well with the crowd--what did you think of it Draco?" he asked sharply, eyeing the younger man suspiciously.

Draco shifted in his seat and as he did so, Ginny caught a glimpse of skin under the open collar of his shirt. "I was out on the veranda, sir; I didn't hear any of it."

"What were doing out on the veranda? You missed a spectacular speech!" Les exclaimed.

Her partner shot her look that seemed to ask, "Yes, Ginny, why did I miss your speech?"

Ginny moved in her seat and cleared her throat, bringing Les's attention back to her. "It's fine that he missed the speech, Les. It was rather impromptu anyway. It's probably better that he didn't hear it."

Les waved her off. "It was a fine speech, Ginny! In fact, I'd thought you had planned it in advance! If you had never told me, I wouldn't have known it was spur of the moment!"

Chuckling at that, Les's face turned a dark red before he started coughing. It was a couple of minutes before he was able to breathe properly and even then Ginny could tell he was straining himself. "I wanted to tell you two that you'll be leaving out of town for work tomorrow morning."

Tomorrow morning? Ginny felt her head begin to swim: she couldn't go away with him again, not so soon and certainly not after that kiss! She stole a glance in Draco's direction; her eyes immediately sought out his lips and she felt a slight blush creep up her neck. She had tried to not acknowledge that damn kiss all (day) Sunday, but now it was too much to avoid. And it was one hell of a kiss.

Oh God.

"I expect you'll be gone longer than before, quite possibly a week or two," Les told them. He threw them each a placating smile.

"Where will we be traveling to now?" Draco asked, although Ginny had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew where, since she was pretty sure she knew where they were headed. St. Petersburg--"

"St. Petersburg, Russia," Les replied matter-of-factly. "Don't forget to pack cool weather clothing." It was only August, but Ginny knew Russia could be cold, even at this time of the year.

Les left soon after that and Ginny was left alone with her partner.

They looked at each other, only to quickly look away.

Halfway through the day they still hadn't spoken a word to another. Ginny, who wasn't thrilled with her coworker at the moment, hated the silence that engulfed them.

She dropped her quill and put her parchment away.

Draco must have predicted the nature of her movements, for he said to her, "Don't say anything. I would rather leave well enough alone."

Ginny was taken back by this and uttered a simple, "Oh."

***

Draco had had a rather quiet Sunday, for which he was grateful. After that damned kiss he and Ginny had shared, he didn't want to be bothered. So he wasn't particularly concerned with Dakotah's feelings after he told her non-too-kindly where she could go when she'd invited him into her flat. Again.

So he spent his Sunday in his flat, with classical Muggle music playing low from a stereo. He had acquired a taste for a few Muggle things and classical music was one of them.

He had managed to shrug off the kiss by the evening, attributing it to drunken stupidity on her part and selfishness on his part. It had been a long while since he kissed a woman he'd been attracted to.

Still, he thought as he studied her sitting across from him in the office, that was one hell of a kiss.

And from the way she was avoiding his gaze, he knew she thought the same thing.

He wasn't surprised when, after Les left and silence consumed them for the better part of the rest of the day, he heard Ginny put her quill down.

"Don't say anything," he found himself saying. "I would rather leave well enough alone."

"Oh."

He turned around in his chair to look at her. "Can I help you Ginny?"

Her shoulders looked tense, even from where he sat. "About the other night..."

Draco didn't feel like discussing a kiss with her. Really, he didn't feel like discussing anything with her.

He raised an eyebrow to give her a critical look. "I won't mention it if you don't," he compromised, feeling generous at the moment.

Her posture visibly relaxed and Draco felt something in him deflate. "Thank you," she mouthed from where she sat.

Draco shrugged as if he didn't care and he told himself that he didn't care. They didn't say much else to each other for the rest of the day.

***

They reached St. Petersburg by noon and were all settled into the wizard hotel by one o' clock. After she'd unpacked, putting her clothes away in the dresser, she pulled on a more relaxed outfit: Muggle jeans that fit her hips nicely and a lightweight sweater. She liked the way the chocolate color of the sweater meshed with her hair.

She took a quick moment to plait her hair and when he rapped on her door softly, she was ready.

Ginny opened the door with what she hoped was an inviting smile. Their day had gone well so far. She didn't want to start a fight now.

He seemed to be taking her all in, even as he greeted her. She would have to be blind to not see his gaze drop to her mouth. Shit.

Everything had changed for them, Ginny knew this now, although she tried to tell herself he was just Draco Malfoy and she was just Ginny Potter. They hated each other. And actually, she thought tiredly, I'm not so sure we don't hate each other.

"You could have knocked on that door," she said stupidly, motioning toward the door that connected their two rooms.

Draco gave her a quizzical look but didn't say anything before turning away, leaving her to follow him.

They walked in silence until Ginny found her voice again. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Draco took her by the crook of her arm and led her to the small Apparition port in the corner of the lobby. "I spoke with the hotel manager earlier; according to him, we can Apparate to the Czar's Lounge from here with no trouble at all," he explained simply.

"The Czar's Lounge?" she repeated dully, mildly alarmed by the name of the place. Was she dressed appropriately?

She found herself trapped between the wall and Draco. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, even with her heart thumping wildly in her ears.

"You look fine," he admonished, his voice coming from above her head.

Ginny dared not look up and so she found herself staring at his chest for the duration of their Apparition.

As soon as they stepped out of the port, Ginny was ready to hex Draco into oblivion. "I thought you said this place was casual!" she hissed.

"It is. The downstairs is a casual lounge, the upstairs is fine dining."

"Please tell me we're eating in the lounge."

He snorted. "Please Weasel, don't be silly. I wouldn't waste that kind of money on you."

She was shocked speechless.

The wench that seated them was a full, buxom woman. Ginny could have sworn she was flirting with Draco too, as she leaned over to fill their glass with water.

"Can I get you two anything else?" she offered, although she was looking directly at Draco.

"I'll have the Dragon's Blood and just water for the lady," he answered her brusquely, not looking at Ginny to see if she wanted anything to drink.

"Excuse me?"

He didn't take his eyes off the menu. "What is it now, Weasley?"

"Don't I get more than water to drink?" she sputtered.

"Don't be foolish Ginny. We all know what happens when you drink," he said dryly.

Despite her best intentions, her face colored to what she knew was an alarming shade of red. "How dare you say that!" she challenged furiously when she'd felt her coloring go down just a bit.

He finally conceded to looking up at her. "What? You can't drink, Ginny, you do stupid things."

She was absolutely incensed. "And what about you? I may have been the one to start the kiss but you didn't exactly put an end to things!"

If he had been planning a retort, she would never know. A palpable silence fell upon them.

There. I said it, she told herself. One of us has to be mature about it. Oh hell, on second thought: no, one of us does not have to be mature about it.

Instead of following along that same topic of conversation, Ginny sighed and announced rather weakly, "I'm just going to get a drink."

He didn't argue with her and in fact, ordered her a Dragon's Blood simply because she'd never had one. Also, he figured that if they were going to be around each other today at all, they would need all the alcohol they could get.

He wasn't sure if it was interest, alcohol or stupidity (although more than likely it was a combination of the three), but it looked as though Ginny had to ask him, once again, what he was doing with Harry the night before Harry died.

"You're going to be a nuisance about this, aren't you?" he snapped back.

Ginny stared hard at him, apparently because she couldn't decide if she hated or loathed him. "Fine," she replied hotly. "Then at least tell me why someone wanted Harry dead. And how they succeeded," she added.

"Do you have to know everything?"

"If it involves me, yes."

"It doesn't involve you."

She grimaced. "Of course it does. Harry and I were married, Draco, don't you understand that? When you're married to someone y--"

"I don't need you to explain marriage to me, thank you kindly," he interjected sarcastically.

"Well then you should know why I need to know what happened to Harry," she spoke earnestly.

She gave him the look of death and waited for him to speak.

***

Draco settled back in his chair and took a long sip of the Dragon's Blood, enjoying the way the red hot liquid filled his gut languidly.

Careful now, don't tell her too much.

The grandfather clock chimed three. They'd only been there a little over an hour.

"How were you involved with Harry?" she inquired. She raised the mug of Dragon's Blood to her mouth and it hovered in the air there, waiting for his answer. Her eyes bore into his.

Draco's gaze swept the length of the room to make sure they were not within anyone's earshot.

"I am my father's son," he muttered.

Ginny spit her drink back into the mug. "Excuse me?" she asked between choked coughs.

He took his time answering her, hoping for an easier way out. None was found. "The person who killed Harry did so because Harry put my father in Azkaban." He was deliberately slow, taking his own time to taste the words for the first time out loud.

She was looking at him with curiosity. "I don't understand why we're here then, shouldn't we be looking for the murderer?"

Draco chugged the rest of his drink down before answering her. This conversation was much too serious for his liking.

"We don't know who killed Harry, but we do think the person who killed him was the culprit in your cases. We feel they were drawing you two across the globe in order to catch Harry at a weak moment."

Ginny seemed to consider this, her fingers tapping against the table and her eyes sparkling with thoughts. "We caught the person involved in each of those cases," she told him eventually.

"We don't think you did," he countered.

"Who is this 'we'?" she inquired.

"Dakotah, Les and I," he answered her truthfully.

There was a pause in their dialogue as each took a drink from their mugs. Draco was sure he was going to need another one as soon as this was done.

"Why are you here, Draco?" she asked when she was done swallowing.

"We have reason to believe the person behind all of these cases, your husband's included, is someone I know. A relative or a close family friend, perhaps," he replied truthfully. It made him mad as hell to know he wasn't quite able to rid himself of the Malfoy name. After this was all done he swore he would leave England and never return.

She nodded, as if accepting his response as earnest. "Alright, that makes sense," she said out loud, slowly musing over this.

"Do you have any ideas as to who it is?"

"Unfortunately, no," he replied sincerely.

The bar maid came back, asking if there was anything else she could get for them. Wisely, Draco said no, they were fine. But thank you.

When the woman was out of their line of sight, Draco cocked his head and studied Ginny.

Her head was down as she seemed focused on her finger nails. Looking at her hands Draco had a fleeting thought of those fingers clutching at his dress robes almost desperately as they kissed.

Almost desperately, he repeated, realizing what that meant. She's still out of your reach.

He shook his head but couldn't peel his eyes from her. There was something about her...plainness that he couldn't quite put his finger on; it was what made her beautiful. To an extent. She still married Potter.

Subconsciously, he let out a low but loud enough growl, and Ginny looked away from her fingernail and up at him with large brown eyes.

Neither of us should be allowed to drink in the presence of the other, he mused.

"Maybe we should get back to work...?" she suggested with a smile on her face. She looked amused.

Draco nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes of course."

***

They spent the rest of the day traveling by foot around the city, talking amicably with each other. Ginny was surprised to find herself laughing at something Draco said or did more than once. She enjoyed his half-humorous, half-sarcastic jokes. They reminded her a little of Ron's attitude at times.

As they walked the length to Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Ginny marveled at the grandeur of the church, which looked more like a palace than a place of worship, she thought, although she'd never attended a place of worship other than for Ron and Hermione's wedding.

"It's rather grand, isn't it?"

Ginny nodded. "It is that and more," she agreed.

There were secrets in that building, she knew. "A Muggle was murdered there," she whispered.

She wasn't surprised when he didn't answer. "Of course, you must have known this already," she said lightly.

"Dakotah had mentioned it."

The fact that he didn't offer more information up irritated Ginny. "Draco, wait!" she demanded, stopping dead in her tracks. He stopped and looked back at her.

"I thought you said you wanted to work?"

Without realizing it, she started chewing on her lip. "What exactly is Dakotah to you?"

"Does it matter?"

No! "Of course not; I'd just like to know if you're shagging our boss, is all! Especially if you are doing it in our office."

He bristled. "It's none of your business." He began walking toward the cathedral again and Ginny followed after him, hating herself for playing follow the leader.

She didn't notice the way people started scattering around them or how the air suddenly seemed cooler than it had before, even as a forewarning chill ran down her spine.

Before she could wrap her mind around any of this, Draco shoved her into an alleyway, pressing her body between the hard brick wall of a building and his lean body.

Her heart was nearly hammering out of her chest and every sense was being accosted. She saw stars behind her closed eyelids, heard the shouting coming from the street and sidewalk. Where we had been. She felt his heartbeat against her face and could smell his skin and cologne.

"Shit, Ginny." His voice was muffled by her hair but she felt reassured knowing he was there.

Somehow she managed to disentangle herself from his none too gentle embrace. "What the hell happened?"

Draco pulled away from her and tugged at her arm, pulling her out from the safety of the alley.

The street was utter chaos: people ran this way and that. Muggle police cars were pulling up, tires screeching as they came to a dead halt. A woman was kneeling in the street, sobbing into her hands.

Dread welled up inside of Ginny as she realized the thing the woman hovered over was a body. "Oh, God." Tears welled up in her eyes for the man.

She remained still while Draco stepped into the sidewalk and looked around for anything, anyone, who might be guilty.

Mutely, Ginny surveyed the scene around her, comprehension dawning with each second. She had been standing approximately where the man was now lying. She could have been him.

Draco, still silent, made his way back to her, grabbing her hand as he did so and pulling her the opposite direction of St. Isaac's. She tried protesting but was too stunned to do so properly.

The came to a stop only when they were once again standing in front of the Czar's Lounge; Draco gave her a hard look.

"What happened back there?" she asked, barely above a whisper. She understood that if anyone knew they had been there, hell would be theirs.

He glanced around furtively, finally resting his sight upon her. She followed his gazes, feeling quite unsure and suddenly unsafe.

Draco brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered in barely perceptible words, "The Killing Curse."