The Curse-breaker's Sister

The Curse-breaker's Sister
Chapter 7

It had been ages since Ginny had made dinner for anyone so she went all out that evening. At first she found herself preparing for a roast beef dinner- Hugh's favourite. But then she realized, she no longer had to cook the food that Hugh liked. She could enjoy her favourite foods. She didn't even care if Draco would like what she cooked or not. If he didn't enjoy it, he could conjure up his own meal.

In the end, she made salad the old-fashioned away, adding cucumber and red pepper slices because she liked their flavour. She seasoned a chicken by hand and then set it roasting in the oven with a flick of her wand. Crispy baguettes danced out of the oven into the waiting breadbaskets and everything was on the table by the time Draco returned with an olive coloured duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Smells delicious! Is there a house-elf you aren't telling me about?"

Ginny laughed and took the duffel bag from him so he could hang up his cloak. "No house-elf, I made it all myself."

She led him into the kitchen where Bill's tiny table was set for two.

"All that's missing is some candle light," quipped Draco.

"Very funny, Malfoy," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes. "We're here to talk business, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," he told her. He picked his napkin up off the table and tucked it over his lap. "I've been staring at that cuneiform for so long that I can see tiny geometric shapes when I close my eyes."

"How did you learn cuneiform, anyway? It's not a language that's used a lot. I can't see how it could be useful."

"It's useful in my line of business, at least. And Bill's as well, it seems. One of my first clients had me do some work in Mesopotamia, so I learned the basics while I was there. There are still groups of people down there that use it as their form of written language."

"Does your work keep you busy, then?" Ginny asked. "I've read about Malfoy International a few times in the Daily Prophet."

Draco shrugged. "Busy enough. This is good chicken, by the way."

"Thanks. It's a favourite recipe of mine. How'd you get into Treasure hunting?"

"I was broke after the war, as you also may have read in the Daily Prophet. Father was dead, mother insane and the Malfoy name meant nothing anymore. I had no family, no friends, and no status. I had to find a way to support myself. You're lucky, you know, having the family that you do."

"Lucky? Hah! Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly, but lucky is not what I call it. Living out of each other's pockets? Everybody telling you what to do and where to go? No thank you!"

"I don't know about that. I was broke and could have used some family then! I needed money to repair Malfoy Manor, put food on the table, you know how it is. I've always been good at ferreting out secrets." Ginny laughed at the ferret reference. "And I turned those skills to ferreting out treasure. Treasure hunting pays a lot of money, when you can get the contracts."

"Bill has lots of luck with contracts, if anything, he has too many of them. I have more postcards from him than I've had conversations with him in the past year."

"Bill works for Gringotts, though. They hook him up with the jobs. Not even Gringotts would hire a Malfoy to work for them. Not even a good Malfoy. So I went independent and started up Malfoy International. We're still pretty small; in fact, I'm the only employee. But we're getting bigger. It's a lot of in-between work, picking up treasure from the professionals and delivering it to the collectors. That way they can spend more time out in the field."

"Not as exciting as hunting for it yourself, I guess. But it's a start."

"Exactly." Draco had a few bites of chicken and decided it was time to change the subject. Talking about his job and how he would pick things up from treasure collectors was too close to Bill and his job. Too close to Draco picking up the staff from Bill and...

"What about you, Ginny? What have you been doing these past few years?"

"Not much of anything, really. Trying to make a name for myself in the jewellery industry. Bill helps with that. He always brings me back something from his work trips."

"I wouldn't say that's 'not much of anything'. I've seen your work, Ginny. It's fantastic."

Ginny blushed at his praise. "Portrait work wasn't paying the bills and I had to do something after Hugh..." Her voice drifted off, the words left unsaid.

"When Hugh...?" Draco inquired.

"Sorry, where was I?" Ginny continued, as if she hadn't mentioned Hugh. "Bill started bringing me back uncut-gemstones, lumps of precious metals and things like that from his trips and one day when I was bored, I turned some of them into a necklace. Bill took it for one of his girlfriends and she loved it. Asked where it came from and if could she buy one for a friend and that's how it happened, really."

"I've seen your work before, both on display and on different people. That ruby amulet you created for Fleur Delacour was stunning."

"Oh, that was one of my favourites!" Ginny exclaimed. "It wasn't just a necklace either, but a charmed blood amulet. The chain was woven from strands of white gold and her sister's hair. You remember Gabrielle? She died during the Second War. It's not often I'm commissioned to create amulets like that, but I do love making them."

"What are they charmed for?"

"I usually get asked for love charms, but in Fleur's case she wanted a reminder of her sister. We charmed the amulet to heat up when any member of her family is in immediate danger. That way she can get to them quickly and help them."

"I remember when Gabrielle died," Draco began in a subdued voice. He had not talked with anyone about the Second War or the final Battle before. "Gabrielle was captured when Beauxbatons was invaded. Fleur was working in England and by the time she got to France, it was too late."

Ginny's eyes took on a faraway look as she remembered the sad memory. She'd been with Bill when Fleur had returned to him from France, broken, bitter, and determined never to let a family member down again. "I'm glad that's all over," she said quietly, her voice a near whisper.

A silence fell over both of them. Ginny busied herself with removing plates from the table. Draco rose to help her, using his wand to make the dishes wash themselves in the sink.

"You don't have to help with that," she told him. "I can do it just fine."

"I'm sure you can," Draco said. "I don't mind helping."

The clock from the living room chimed eleven times, reminding them of how late in the evening it was. They had been together for twelve hours now.

"It's late," Ginny said.

"Yes, it is. I should get going. We'll work on this tomorrow then?" It was more a statement than a question. Draco reached for his cloak.

"Yes, we will. Draco..." Ginny paused, not sure what to say next.

He looked at her, his grey eyes radiating warmth. "Ginny?"

"Thank you," she gushed. "Thank you for believing me and helping me."

He replied with a smile and a mock salute then Disapparated with a pop.