White Noise

Chapter 13: Affected

Ginny was surprised then to be yanked back into Draco's home when the door opened, not of her doing, with her hand around the doorknob. She stumbled into the entryway, shock making her unbalanced and she toppled into his strong embrace.

"Oh god, I am such a klutz," she moaned pitifully, more than a little embarrassed.

Draco nodded absently and slammed the door closed with his free hand. She was mesmerized by the changing of his eyes. They'd gone from an icy silver to nearly blue in a matter of moments.

Her courage faltered under his intense gaze. She tipped her head up and moved closer to him out of instinct just as he lowered his mouth to hers in a slow, exploratory kiss.

Ginny's hands wandered up his body freely. She touched the planes of his chest with shaky fingers, reveling at the feeling of smooth muscles rippling beneath her light touch.

Draco pulled away from her only to kiss her again, finally pushing her from him. "You need to leave."

"Why?" she demanded.

Her question was answered with a blank look.

***

She wanted to why she needed to leave? The answers were simple enough but Draco was not about to voice them! Not to the mirror, not to his Fire Whiskey and most certainly not to her!

For one, there were too many demons chasing him. He couldn't allow them to catch up to him for one night of shagging. Although, with the way her hair was falling about her shoulders and her brown eyes were snapping Draco wasn't so sure it was worth it to ignore the shagging.

Draco shook his head, thinking of the other reason she really needed to leave. They were coworkers, plain and simple. He nearly forgot that piece of information every time they were together.

Then, last but not least, if she didn't leave now Draco was sure he would lose every ounce of self-control he had. He wanted her, there was no denying that, but he could deny himself of the pleasure of having her beneath him.

The thought of being with her like that, inside of her, sent shockwaves down his spine. He stepped away from her. "You've got to leave, now."

Ginny stepped forward defiantly. "No." Her gaze locked onto his, holding him in place. "I feel too alive when I'm around you to just leave now, Draco."

The exterior wall he had tried to keep intact when he was around her cracked with a vicious snap at those words.

Savagely, Draco pulled her against him, backing her into the wall as he did, and kissed her thoroughly with an intensity he hadn't realized was there. His hands roamed all over her body: her hips, the small of her back up her sides and to swell of her breasts.

It had been so long since he'd touched a woman intimately with the promise of something more that his fingers trembled slightly, just so, when his hands tugged at the hem of her top.

She sighed into his mouth as she lifted her arms over her head, allowing him to pull the garment up and off of her freely. Their lips barely broke contact.

"How in the name of everything holy have you managed to affect me so?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could catch them, causing them to awkwardly fall apart.

Ginny stood there before him, clad in her bra and low-slung jeans. Her cheeks pinked a bit under the intensity of his gaze and soon she was looking at him with a shy smile. Draco had never seen any witch more beautiful than her.

He longed to touch her, if even for the shortest of seconds. Feelings roiled around inside him that went as deep as his father's prejudices but felt as unknown as the weight of her breath on his skin.

"That's the most honest thing anyone has ever said to me," she admitted freely. Ginny took a couple of steps to him. When she got to him, she pulled his shirt over his head. Draco closed his eyes, knowing what she would see.

***

At first, Ginny couldn't look away from the hardened muscles of his chest. He looked much stronger without a shirt on than he did with one on. Her eyes skipped down from his chest, landing on the long, thin scar that ran across his torso.

Gently, she ran her fingers against the raised skin. "What's this from?" she asked gingerly.

By now, Draco's eyes were closed and his breathing had turned shallow. "Your husband. Our sixth year." He didn't explain further which was fine because Ginny vaguely remembered Harry (and Ron and Hermione) mentioning cursing Malfoy in the loo one day.

He brought his left hand up to Ginny's cheek, placing it against her warm skin. She pressed her cheek further into his palm, finding comfort in the simple gesture. It only took her a moment to notice the faded tattoo just past his wrist.

She'd never been so close to The Dark Mark and oddly enough, it didn't send shivers up and down her spine or make her fearful. She studied it for a bit and then brought her gaze back to Draco's face.

Though his eyes were closed, Draco must have sensed where her eyes had laid. She felt him tense before opened his mouth, offering up an explanation. "I was seventeen and ruled by my father--"

Ginny touched her index finger to his lips. "Shush now, I don't need to know."

Draco opened his eyes slowly, blinking as he did. "Ginny--"

She shook her head firmly. "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters but here and now."

He nodded however reluctantly and Ginny chose to ignore the haunted look in his gaze, instead she pulled his head down to hers in order to kiss him.

And all at once, the barriers that had been erected between them crumbled to their feet.

The sense of Draco surrounded her and filled her to brimming. In what was one of the most ungraceful moments of her life, Ginny stumbled to the floor, taking Draco with her.

Together they moved in one fluid motion. Their breaths mingled together, dancing upon one another's skin. They touched one another in wonder and loved each other wholly, although they were too stubborn to admit it, even to themselves.

There was a moment when he peeled his lips from her neck and looking at her whispered, "You're beautiful."

His words didn't fully impact her until much later, after they'd traveled from the floor to his bedroom, making love once more.

He said I was beautiful. She smiled to herself, even as she wondered if he said it just because of the sex.

Ginny forced all negative thoughts from her mind, opting instead to focus on the man next to her. She lay on her side, tracing the lines of his muscles lazily.

A glimmer of a smile graced his mouth. "Stay the night," he said against the fingers now brushing his lips.

Her heart swelled with pleasure and something else, an emotion she wasn't quite ready to examine more closely. She nodded silently, hoping her glee wasn't so transparent.

"Good," Draco replied simply.

They stayed like that for a long time: facing each other, not talking, only looking.

***

Draco didn't sleep that night. Instead he watched Ginny as she slept. He took his time lingering over the planes of her skin, memorizing each freckle and marveling at the way the moonlight turned her hair into a long cascade of fire.

In the silent darkness Draco was forced to face, and then walk away, from how he felt for her.

He shifted uncomfortably, shoving the coverlet down to his waist, feeling quite hot suddenly.

What amazed him most was that she had seen the tattoo on his left arm and hadn't turned away in disgust. She had in fact accepted him as he was and allowed him to take full possession of her body and in turn, took possession of his.

With a head full of thoughts, Draco left the comfort and warmth of Ginny and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.

***

"What the hell do you want, Potter?" Draco snapped as soon as his old enemy walked into his office.

"Thanks for such a cordial welcome," Harry returned with dry amusement in his voice.

"Well, what is it then?" Draco plowed forward, intent on having this meeting over and done with as soon as possible.

Harry wrung his hands together. "Well Les and I...You remember Les?" At Draco's nod, Harry continued: "We've been trying to find the culprit behind a series of Muggle attacks--"

"And let me guess: in a moment of pure, unadulterated brilliance, you've decided that I'm to blame." Draco laughed caustically. "Well Potter, sorry to disappoint but as you can see, I've got better things to do than harm defenseless Muggles."

"No, believe it or not we didn't even consider you as a suspect," Harry replied reasonably.

"I suppose you were watching my every move then?" Draco prompted.

Harry cursed under his breath. "No Malfoy, unlike you I don't have the inclination to keep up childish feuds."

Draco's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits but he didn't anything in return.

Harry took a deep, deep breath. "I'm here because I believe this person is acting out of revenge for your father's arrest."

As he folded his hands together, Draco regarded Harry coolly. "I denounced my father year's ago, Potter," he growled. And it was true: he'd left his father in a wake of hatred and disappointment even before Voldemort had been defeated.

"Still, you know information that would be valuable to us," Harry countered.

"Oh? And that would be what?"

Harry leaned forward and a thatch of hair fell into his startling green eyes. "Consider this, Malfoy: all of your father's cohorts are in Azkaban or hell. So whoever is behind these Muggle attacks wasn't a known Death Eater or worse, they never were a Death Eater."

"So what is it you want me to do? Track down every wizard and witch my father associated with who hadn't openly pledged allegiance to Voldemort?" Draco's voice was a sarcastic drawl.

Harry lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. "If you would be willing to do that..."

Draco considered this for a long moment. "What makes you so sure I'd be willing to help you?"

A cocky grin broke out on Harry's face. "Because you despise everything representing your father. Including his business associates."

Settling back into his chair, Draco nodded. "True, but what's in it for me?"

"The satisfaction of knowing you've done one thing right in your life before you die," Harry replied earnestly.

Draco shrugged. "I'm not worried about the number of 'right' things I do before I die."

"That much is apparent," Harry muttered in a barely audible tone.

"What does that mean?" Draco snarled.

"It means that you treated Irene poorly and she's probably the only woman who has ever, and will ever, love you," Harry explained easily.

"I thought you said you weren't watching me." Draco's voice instinctively lowered.

"And I was being honest. I overheard your secretary telling her friend about the whole sordid affair while I was waiting in the lobby."

Draco uttered a more than offensive oath.

Harry's eyebrows rose into his bangs. "Now that wasn't very nice."

"Fuck off and die, Potter. Not everyone has the privilege of marrying their childhood sweetheart. For that matter, not everyone marries anyone."

Draco eyed the gold band on Harry's left hand warily. "Besides, there isn't a Ginny Weasley out there for everyone." He practically spat out Ginny's name.

The smile on Harry's face was fond. Absently, Harry twisted the band around on his finger. "No there isn't and for that I am eternally grateful."

"Get out of here before I vomit all over you," Draco threatened after rolling his eyes.

Harry left Draco's office laughing heartily as he did.

***

"And that was the beginning," Draco mused. He raised the glass of water to his lips and started to sip.

"The beginning of what?" Ginny asked from kitchen's entrance.

Draco turned to find a very nearly naked Ginny standing there looking tousled and alive.

She was wearing his shirt and just that, for Merlin's sake! His eyes roamed over her body, taking in the way his shirt came just below mid-thigh, showcasing an incredible set of legs.

All of the sudden feeling quite warm, Draco raised his eyes to her face, noticing how her reddish-gold locks fell about her shoulders in a tangled mass, making her look thoroughly shagged.

I did that.

She grinned unabashedly. "I hope this is alright?" she asked, tugging on the hem of his shirt in a pathetic attempt at decency.

Draco nodded his approval. "It's more than alright. You look dead sexy," he added while running his gaze over her body.

Ginny visibly shivered.

He motioned for her to come closer and she obliged, leaning against the countertop in front of him. Draco placed his hand on her hip, under the fabric of his shirt and ran his hand along her side.

She bit her lip, looking down at him with heavily-lidded eyes. "Trying to get me in bed with you, Draco?" Her voice was a lazy drawl.

Draco nodded and took her chin between his hands, bringing her head down to his and kissed her thoroughly.

"Need...to get...you...to bed," he managed to say between alternating light and heavy kisses.

"What about your water?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Can wait," Draco replied with a growl.

Ginny giggled and kissed him.

"You're going to be the death of me," he said when she released him. The room was spinning around him: the only thing still was Ginny.

"Well then," she said as she ran her fingers along the length of his arm, "at least you'll die making lo--," she stopped short, her eyes widening in surprise.

Draco cocked his head to the side. "Making what?" he asked, even though he knew what she had been about to say.

She shook her head and cast her eyes away from him. "Shagging, of course. At least you'll die shagging. What a way to go!" She chuckled nervously.

He couldn't blame her for not saying the word love, for he didn't know if he was even comfortable with her using it around him.

Ginny brought her gaze back up to him. She was biting her lip, looking uncertain. "I'm sorry," she finally said.

"For what?"

She smiled but he could see something behind her bright eyes. "Never mind. Now I'm just babbling." Ginny reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him, effectively bringing him to his knees.

***

Ginny woke before the dawn. All was silent except the blood whirring in her ears, which was thunderously loud. Her heart hammered in her chest as she turned her head and looked at the man sleeping next to her.

He was so different from Harry. Everything about him...from his blonde hair to the Dark Mark to the way he shagged, even the way he slept was different. He slept as if he was not sleeping at all, but rather listening very closely with his eyes shut.

She didn't know what she felt toward him but she knew she'd almost voiced the word love out loud to him and felt like a fool because of the near slip. Ginny wasn't so dense as to believe he didn't know what she'd been about to say.

His back rose with each breath and Ginny knew she would have to leave, no matter how much she wanted to stay. There was too much that needed to be said for her to continue lying next to him.

Her mouth curled in a small smile. She had felt cherished. She had felt him in her, around her and most importantly, with her. He hadn't been thinking of other things, or other women. He hadn't been wondering about Dakotah's connection to Les' murder. He had been with her and only her. There had been very few times with Harry that she had felt him with her, totally and freely.

She memorized the time between his breaths, the way he shifted when her fingers traveled down his spine.

Ginny sat up, not bothering to cover her bare skin with the comforter and pressed the tips of her fore and middle finger to her mouth and then to Draco's shoulder. "Until we meet again," she whispered.

***

Draco rolled over as soon as he heard the bedroom door click shut behind Ginny's retreating footsteps. He had known that she couldn't stay. He had asked her in vain to stay, knowing full well it was wishful, or foolish, thinking.

He didn't go to the door or attempt to stop her because he knew she needed to leave. Instead he went to the large eastern-facing window. The sun was just beginning to break through the horizon, painting the sky with brilliant red brush strokes.

Watching the morning horizon become doused in scarlet, Draco was reminded of an old fisherman's adage. "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight." He couldn't remember where he'd heard it from, probably a fisherman long ago.

No matter how much he tried to appreciate the brilliance of the sky, he couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart. Change was coming today.

***

It was sometime late afternoon Sunday when the loud knock startled Ginny out of her reading.

She was wearing pajama bottoms and a hooded sweatshirt, no make-up on her face and her hair was pulled back into a lazy bun.

Ginny was surprised to see her brother's profile through the peephole. She opened it, a curious look already on her face. "Ron? Is everything alright?"

The look on his face was one she'd never seen before: impassable, impatient and totally not Ron. This person in front of her...he was cold, lifeless and professional. A queer feeling filled her stomach and she had the distinct feeling that she was going to throw up.

"Ron?"

He stepped inside her flat, brushing her aside. "I've come to tell you that we've made a couple of formal arrests for the murder of your husband."

Her ears were ringing so loudly she thought she might be deaf. She saw his mouth move, consciously knew he was speaking but to her his words sounded garbled or even worse, not there at all. They seemed to be coming from some other plane of existence altogether.

Ron took her hand in his and led her back into her living room, sitting her down on the plush sofa she and Harry had picked out together a year before his death.

Ginny forced herself to look at her brother and to focus on the words he was saying.

"We arrested Dakotah Prior for the death of Harry, as well as Les' death," Ron stated quietly, looking her evenly in the eye. His gaze was unwavering. "She named Draco Malfoy as an accomplice."

The words were not unexpected to her: somewhere in the very back of her mind, she knew Dakotah had murdered Les, if not Harry. She would have known, had she thought about it, that Dakotah would name Draco. Still, she felt as if the rug had been pulled from underneath her feet.

"Not for Les' murder. He was in St. Petersburg with me," she responded numbly.

Ron squeezed her hand. "No, only for Harry's."

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out...

"Surely you don't believe her?" she asked. Her voice belied a calmness she really did not feel.

"We had to make the arrest, just to be sure."

"He didn't kill Harry." Her tone was flat.

Ron stood up and began pacing. "We can't know that for sure," he argued calmly. "He's always hated Harry--"

"And Harry had always hated him. If Draco had been murdered you wouldn't go blaming Harry, would you?"

"Don't be daft Ginny, Harry's dead."

Ginny shot to her feet in anger. "If Harry was still alive and it was Draco who had been murdered, you never would have thought to arrest Harry. The only reason you've arrested Draco is because you hate him! You don't honestly think he's guilty!"

Ron thundered toward her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. "And the only reason you're defending him is because you fucked him!"

She recoiled as if she'd been hit. "What?"

Ron's eyes had darkened to nearly black. "You heard me."

"How dare you make that accusation!" she shot back, infuriated.

"I don't hear you denying it!" he roared.

Ginny stepped back from her brother, taking a big gulp of air as she did so. "You're right Ron: I'm not denying it. But I'm also going to remind you that what I do in my personal life is just that: my personal life."

She waited for this information to process in her brother's brain, knowing it might take a minute or two. "Ron," she started in a soothing voice. "Do you honestly think Draco would murder Harry?"

Ron shook his head. "It's not for me to say one way or another, Ginny. Don't you understand? Dakotah named him and he's not denying he took part in the murder."

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut. "Is he admitting to anything?"

"No."

"Then how can you be so sure he's guilty?" Ginny asked.

Ron reached out to her, once again putting his hands on her shoulders in a much more comforting gesture than he had before. "How can you be so sure he isn't?"