Sweet Bondage

Chapter 19: A Tangled Web

Draco apparated himself inside Dianne's hotel room; it was just a few minutes past ten o'clock in the morning, and for such a fine day, he was looking decidedly grim. He'd been dreading this moment since it became apparent what he had to do in order to smooth his way back into Ginny's good graces, but really, he wasn't looking forward to Dianne's reaction on his supposed change of heart. Aside from the fact that he had seemed rather set on the engagement, Dianne had not only been his fiancée, she had also been a friend to him, and that alone made him loathe to disappoint her.

"Hello?" There was no sign of Dianne anywhere, but that didn't mean she wasn't lurking somewhere, waiting to ambush him for being an inconsiderate git. He was a lot of things, but never before had he been so out of it that he would forget somebody as important as his fiancée.

When on a date, those years before he met Dianne, and he would suddenly find himself wanting to conclude the evening with a woman that wasn't his initial companion; he had always extended the unfortunate ladies the courtesy of a prior notice. It was totally unexpected, and right embarrassing to be set aside with only a peremptory note stating he was sorry to be cutting the evening short, but would she mind terribly if she continued the night without him? As if they had the option to say no! He'd been telling himself that other men might not be so considerate and just disappear on them completely, but he knew that those women were probably still cursing him to this day for the way he treated them.

And he really wouldn't blame Dianne if she cursed his bits off, as his infernal cerebral resident had laughingly told him: You just don't humiliate a woman like Dianne Winters and expect to get away with it scot-free.

"Dianne?" he called out, preparing himself for any eventuality. There was no response, and he wondered where she could be; Dianne was never one to laze in bed, no matter how late she happened to be up the night before.

"Dianne? We need to talk." This time, he heard a faint sound coming from the bedroom. He didn't want to go in there; what he was about to discuss with her this morning would be better related in more neutral environs. The bedroom was too intimate a setting; that, and the fact that he wanted to avoid the news that he'd been closeted in a bedroom with his fiancée from reaching Ginny. Their peace was tenuous at best; he didn't want to ruin his chances with her completely by appearing to still be intimate with another woman.

Stopping by the door, he rapped on it loudly. "Dianne, can you come out for a few minutes? I really need to talk to you." He heard shuffling, then hurried footsteps before the door was wrenched open from the inside and a disheveled Dianne stood before him in her dressing robe.

"Merlin, what time is it? I must have overslept." She gathered her hair at her nape and looked at Draco curiously. "Why didn't you just come in? You never used to knock before."

Draco looked over her, avoiding meeting her eyes. "Could you get dressed and meet me in your receiving room? There is something urgent I have to discuss with you."

Dianne looked at him oddly before nodding. "All right. I'll only be a minute." She didn't close the door behind her as she swiftly went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Draco only waited 30 minutes before Dianne glided in, hair and make-up perfectly done. She looked every inch the society witch with her bright printed morning dress, her feet encased in dainty flesh colored sandals.

"I forgot to ask you where you were last night," she asked lightly, gracefully seating herself across from him, tucking her legs under her chair properly. "I tried looking for you but you just disappeared."

Draco cleared his throat. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Dianne sighed. "Don't tell me you went off with some random witch again. Really, Draco, you need to practice self-control. How would it look if it got out that you deserted your wife-to-be in favor of tumbling some woman you just met in some seedy hotel? We have an image to protect in society, you know."

Draco gritted his teeth in frustration. "I did not tumble anyone last night! And even if I did, don't you think society would be more concerned about your lackadaisical attitude towards that?"

Dianne gave him a placating smile. "Nonsense. You know very well that discreet extra-marital relations are accepted among our circles. Now, something is troubling you. You know you can tell me anything, sweetheart."

Draco visibly flinched at the syrupy sweet voice she was using. He hated it when she was treating him like a child with a temper tantrum; she was a few years older, yes, but he wasn't exactly walking around in diapers either!

"I came to talk to you about our engagement." Draco took a deep breath before mustering up his courage; if she can be this nonplussed by his disappearance, then really, she shouldn't be too surprised that he was ending their engagement. "I'm afraid that I can't go through with it, Dianne." There, that should be simple enough for anyone to understand.

Dianne was quiet only for a few seconds. "Don't be ridiculous, Draco." Her tone was still calm and sweet and reasonable. "Why would you think that? We agreed that getting married was the best thing for both of us."

"That was before last night," he blurted out. "Last night changed everything."

Dianne was quiet for longer than a few seconds this time. "Was it because of those two children at the Ministry?" she asked quite calmly, looking Draco straight in the eye.

"How'd you guess?" he said lamely.

Dianne shrugged. "I didn't, actually, but I'm not blind, Dray. I had my suspicions about who they were when I saw them, but I didn't think much of it. I was more intrigued about Moira's familiarity with them." She looked contemplative for a moment. "So they're the reason you're breaking things off between us?" she finally asked, looking at Draco with eyes that dared him to lie.

Draco thought discretion was the better part of valor and nodded. "I didn't know about them until last night; my father never told me. I want to be a part of their lives, Dianne, and I can't do that if I go through with marrying you."

She looked at Draco thoughtfully and he began to feel uncomfortable in his own skin. He wasn't normally so skittish around females, any female for that matter, with the exception of his mother, but he wanted Dianne to understand he wasn't doing this because he was out to hurt her. He had such high regard for her, despite his contempt for her loose beliefs on the union that was marriage; he didn't want her to hate him for such insignificant reasons as him being an insensitive ass.

Finally, she nodded. "I guess I can understand where you're coming from. I'm sure if I think about this more later, I just might conjure up some feeling of irritation for messing what would have been a good alliance. But I have to admit that I never really pictured myself as a mother. And you'd probably expect me to act motherly to those two if we do get married, am I correct?"

No, she wasn't correct; he didn't think along those lines at all: If he married Dianne, Ginny would probably Fidelius herself and his children just to spite him. Nevertheless, he nodded at Dianne's foresight; she was handing him a free get-yourself-out card, and he wasn't foolish enough to refuse the freebie.

Dianne sighed. "Just as I thought. Very well. Consider yourself unengaged then. Merlin knows I have no wish to go maternal all of a sudden." She smiled sweetly at Draco. "It's a good thing you found out about them before we got married. Divorce is such an ugly thing, don't you think?"

Draco marveled at Dianne's blasé manner; at the same time he was thankful she was the way she was. He didn't know how he would have handled it if she got all emotional on him. He didn't mind fending off hexes from irate females, but emotional outbursts were something else altogether.

Standing up, he approached Dianne and drew her out of her seat to give her a tight hug. "Thank you. You truly are a remarkable woman."

Dianne laughed and returned his embrace. "If I were a remarkable woman, Dray, I would be telling you that you having children didn't matter to me, that I would be prepared to welcome them and treat them like my own. Don't get me wrong." She broke the hug and gave him a stern look. "I adore children, just as long as they're somebody else's. I simply have no time for one of my own."

Draco shook his head. "Really, Dianne, you'll be a good mother someday. You just haven't met the man able to change your mind about that."

"You'll believe what you want to believe, darling," she stated laughing. "Now get out of here! Go play fraternal or whatever it is you fathers do with your children. And here, take this with you." She pulled off the engagement ring Draco had given her just a few days ago.

Draco closed his hands around hers. "Keep it. Something to remember me by."

She rolled her eyes at him. "What do I need this for? We're not getting married, and I don't need the extra cash it would give me should I hock it."

Draco grinned at her. "Consider it a donation to one of your causes then; you have enough of them that refusing to accept that little bauble would be more than foolish." He bent and kissed both her cheeks. "Now I have to leave; there's someone I have to go pay a little visit to this morning."

Dianne nodded. "All right. I'll see you around then, Draco. Best of luck, darling."

For a moment, Draco wondered why he'd ever thought Dianne would make a fuss about a broken engagement. He'd been attracted to her from the first moment he met her, true, but he had cherished the closeness they'd shared as friends more than the closeness they'd enjoyed together as lovers. Which should have warned him even before he'd gone and asked Dianne to marry him; she was a friend, a relationship he'd never wanted from a female before. It explained why he was so reluctant to hurt her feelings and yet, still find ways and means to do just that; it also explained why she couldn't find it in her to react the way a fiancée would towards her affianced's roving eye.

"I do - care - for you, you know that right?" Draco asked solemnly.

Dianne smiled tremulously and, grasping his face in both hands, gave him an affectionate kiss on the lips. "If you could only see your face right now, darling," she said quietly, her smile breaking off into an impudent grin. "You and I are two of a kind, aren't we? Both so afraid to show how we really feel." She wrapped her arms around Draco and gave him one last kiss on the side of his neck. "I will always be here for you, Draco. Remember that," she whispered.

Draco nodded and squeezed her back tightly before letting her go. "I have to go." With one last lingering touch to her cheeks, he disapparated, his heart lighter than it had ever felt for years.

Dianne's smile lingered for a few minutes more after Draco had gone. She was truly glad for her ex-fiancé; it was a shame that the intimate side to their relationship had to end, but if her sacrifice meant that the man who had come to mean more than a lover to her would be happy, truly happy for a change, then she wasn't going to be losing sleep over something as inconsequential as a broken engagement. She had known beforehand that she could never completely satisfy whatever it was that Draco needed, though she would have tried. Now? Well, now she didn't have to try so very hard for him.

Of course, there was still her father she would have to explain to. Two highly touted, broken engagements in five years. At least this time around, she could say with a straight face it wasn't her who broke it off. But she highly doubted whether that little detail would matter much to Winston Bradford Winters.

The smile quickly fell from her lips when she remembered her first failed engagement. It was a memory she had successfully buried beneath numerous affairs and a very active social and civic life. It had been five years after all; surely she could think about the whys of its failure without going into another rut. But the pesky twinge of pain that pricked at her heart would not be ignored for what it was.

Squaring her shoulders, Dianne pushed the memory back into the far recess of her mind. It didn't matter now anyway; she was a grown woman and she would go on like she did before. Her father could bluster all he want, but in the end, the decision was all hers; he would just have to live with her choices. And maybe, it was also time she tried to stand on her own without a man by her side? As an emotional crutch, the male of the species really wasn't all they were cracked up to be.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Your messages, Ms. Welsh."

Ginny looked up from the paper she was reading and eyed the pile of notes her butler carried. She was having breakfast in her private parlour, in her opinion the second best part of the home she had created for herself.

Folding the paper, she nodded in acknowledgment at her starchy but dependable butler.

"Thank you, Alfred." She didn't waste time and started flipping through the pile right away.

They were more of the same, her messages. One was from her chief financial adviser, Anthony Wendon, about a potential investment; there was one from Sarah, Nick, Dianne Winters, of all people, and one from George. There were other messages, but they weren't as important, or curious in the case of Dianne Winters, so the rest of the pile she set aside for later perusal.

After reading through Mr. Wendon's message, she made a small notation at the bottom of the page before refolding the crisp business correspondence. As expected, Sarah's note was inquiries about her whereabouts, while Nick's was a sweet reminder that he would always think of her. George had called up to tell her that should she ever think of staging a comeback, she should look no further than him to help her out with that.

As Ginny read Dianne's message, she was hard-pressed not to laugh. There was every likelihood that Dianne didn't know about Ginny's relationship with her fiancé, but really, they had very little else in common aside from their biblical knowledge of the same man. Well, that, and they had the same interest in charitable works, they probably shared more than a few acquaintances, they basically moved in the same social circles now, and, if the rumor she heard about her was right, they also had an uncommon fondness for lasagna. But really, was that anything to base a friendship on?

Ginny glared at the written words on expensive parchment; even Dianne's penmanship grated on her nerves. It was surely presumptuous of her to offer they become bosom buddies. Where the hell did she come off being so damned nice, anyway? Dianne Winters was so sweet Ginny could honestly swear she was getting a toothache just from reading the socialite's letter.

She debated whether to tear the letter to shreds, toss it to the fire or mount it on a block so she could have something to glare at all day without feeling guilty about acting so petty.

"I can see that your morning is off to a good start."

She looked up to see Colin, looking as fresh as the freshly cut combination of peach and white roses arranged carelessly in a Waterford crystal bowl set in the middle of her breakfast table. There were days where she felt the urge to also mount Colin on a block and just watch to see how long it would take before he started wilting; she felt confident that since she hadn't given in to that particular fetish, she just might have enough self-control to keep herself from obsessing over the incongruous letter one pesky little socialite saw fit to send her.

"Hey, Col."

Her greeting was so lackluster that Colin staggered back dramatically, right hand clutching his left chest. "I'm touched by the depths of your delight at seeing humble old me. Control yourself, my dear, I can only take so much enthusiasm."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend. "That's why you could never be an actor, Creevey; you not only suck, you stink worse than my brother's dungbombs." She waved the letter she had yet to put down at the blond and motioned for him to take the place opposite her. "Sit. I want to know where your ass was last night."

Colin plopped down on the wrought iron chair with the comfortable silk covered cushions and sighed contentedly. "This is nice," he practically purred; he looked so relaxed, he was in danger of sliding right off the furniture and into the floor in a puddle of Oxford shirt and denims.

Ginny gave him The Look. "You know what would be nicer? If you would kindly start talking and explain where you'd gone to last night. You promised to stay close to me."

Colin ignored The Look and frowned; his friend was acting oddly, even more than the usual, that is. "What's wrong with you? Why are you such a bitch this morning?"

Ginny shut her mouth. She wanted to snap at Colin but she knew he was right; she was taking her irritation out on him, and all because of a stupid letter.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, avoiding looking at her best friend.

Colin dismissed her apology as trivial with a little flick of the wrist. "Never mind that now; tell me what's up your arse."

Ginny bit her lip and debated whether to come clean to her friend. In the end, the choice was taken from her when Colin snatched Dianne's letter from her hands. She didn't say anything as she waited for him to finish reading the message penned by Draco's fiancée, observing the varying expressions that crossed his face.

It felt like forever before Colin finished reading the letter; in truth, it took him no more than two minutes, but waiting for him to say anything about Draco's fiancée's - suggestion - was a bit too much for Ginny. She wasn't a patient person at the best of times, and this day wasn't one of those better times.

"Well?" She watched as Colin folded the letter meticulously, following the original creases of the paper; she barely resisted the urge to shake him out of his composure. "Do you have anything to say about what you just read?"

"When did you get that?" he asked, giving the letter back to her.

Ginny looked at him incredulously. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

It was Colin's turn to roll his eyes. "Gin, it's just a letter; don't let it get your knickers in a twist."

Ginny huffed indignantly. "My knickers are just fine, thank you very much!"

Colin ignored her and helped himself to some coffee and sausages. "Coulda fooled me," he mumbled under his breath, resuming his previous position.

Ginny shook her head. "I cannot believe you're treating this so lightly."

Colin swallowed first, took a sip of the rich brew, before answering. "And I cannot believe that you're fretting about it. Look, Gin, there are two ways you can deal with this: One is, obviously, the way you're handling it. Or two, you could take Dianne up on her offer. Simple really."

"Of course I don't want to become that woman's best friend!" Ginny declared, outraged that Colin even made that suggestion.

"There you go then!" He took another gulp of the coffee; he looked momentarily as though he had just tasted ambrosia, his eyes closed in utter bliss. When he opened them again, he couldn't help but sigh. "Gin, no one will blame you if you refuse to be friends with Dianne Winters. Under the circumstances, you have every right to be a bitch to her."

Ginny frowned. She knew that tone of Colin's; whenever he used that tone with her, there was always a catch involved. "I know there's a but in there somewhere."

Colin shrugged. "What do you really have to lose? If you make an effort to befriend the woman who will eventually be the wife of your children's father, people will see that you are the bigger person in this conflicted love triangle of yours. I'm not saying you should invite her to dinner, or start planning sleepovers or anything like that," he quickly amended before Ginny could start in on him. "All I'm saying is that in the end, you will feel better about yourself."

"What have I got to lose? What have I got to lose?! My sanity for one thing!" She stood abruptly and started pacing. "And whatever gave you the idea that I wanted to be the bigger person?" she said, mimicking Colin's tone. Whirling around, she faced Colin who had sat forward, looking at her with intense blue eyes. "It's bad enough that people expect me to be nice all the time. I'm sick and tired of all this shit! For once I want to be as much of a bitch as I possibly can be and not feel guilty about it!"

Colin snorted. "Yeah, right. I might know of a few people who already think you to be quite the bitch: Clara from Accounting, Maxine Porter, Gustav Pachenko. And let's not forget Jeff Atkins."

Ginny folded her arms and frowned at Colin. "What's your point?"

"That I love you to death, but you're no angel," he answered, with the sensitivity of a blunt battle-axe. "You might look like an angel, but we both know there's more to a body than its physical appearance." He stood up and placed his arms around Ginny, steering her over to the wide-open French windows to look over at the gardens just visible to the far left side of where they were. "When I look at that," he pointed at the garden, "do you know what immediately comes to mind for me?"

Ginny looked at where Colin was pointing. The gardens was Ginny's personal pet project, and had a hand in its creation from the word go. She personally selected every shrubbery, flower and tree that were planted in it, and would not be swayed when the landscapers had told her that it would be next to impossible to put in a life-sized waterfall with the remaining land area available to them, especially if they hoped to keep its existence from muggle eyes.

She had been adamant about getting her way. She had once gone on vacation in South East Asia and had seen one of most beautiful waterfalls she would ever set her eyes on, and fell in love with it right away. She could not get the picture of that waterfall out of her mind, and had vowed that should she ever have the opportunity to buy land large enough to accommodate her dream, she was going to recreate the waterfall of her dreams right in her own backyard.

Her landscape artist told her no.

He gave her a lake instead. And told her to go fly or apparate across the globe if she wanted to see that waterfall again, but there was no way on Merlin's wrinkled arse was he going to even attempt such a monstrosity.

In a rare fit of irrational temper, something with which Ginny hadn't allowed herself to indulge in for quite some time, she had fired the man on the spot. Since becoming Moira Welsh, no one had dared say no to her. Granted, she had never acted so unreasonably before, but still, appearances had to be kept.

Colin merely hired the artist right back, telling her to stop pouting and leaving them to go at it again. Oddly enough though, after that initial unpleasantness, she and Jonathan had become quite good friends. And she had loved her lake; it was no waterfall by any stretch of the imagination, but she had learned to make lemonade out of the lemons Jonathan had given her.

She looked now at the masterpiece before her and wondered what Colin thought about it. "It's - pretty?"

The corners of Colin's lips lifted wistfully. "Not quite. That garden is you, Gin. Not because you helped create it, but everything about it is you. It's beautiful to look at, peaceful, enchanting, but if you make the mistake of thinking that it's harmless, you might never get out of it alive." He squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. "The dangers in that garden is only to those who dare trespass where they're not wanted, but we both know that at any time, the creatures in it will strike friend or foe should the need ever arise?"

"What are you saying, Colin?" Ginny's brow furrowed in confusion. "Are you telling me I have multiple personality or something? Because I assure you, I have only been semi-possessed once and have taken extra measures not to find myself in the same predicament again."

Colin knew Ginny wasn't being purposely dense; he knew it had never occurred to her that contrary to popular belief, she wasn't the nicest apple in the cart, and all those who mattered already knew that, and didn't care.

"I'm saying that we love you just the way you are, warts and all." He chuckled at the face she made at him. "We know what you can be like, and it doesn't matter to us. I know you've never cared about public opinion, except where your twins are concerned, and your family and friends, of course, and though you might think that you've been treading carefully around everybody, I want to tell you that you haven't really been all too successful with your attempts, so you should just stop trying. Be as much of a bitch as you want to be. You've earned it. You can hate whoever you want to hate, just as long as you don't use any Unforgivable while expressing that emotion."

Ginny sighed and dropped her head on Colin's shoulder. "I have been a bitch, haven't I?" She gazed at nothing in particular as she contemplated her life up to that moment. "Do you think I'm right in snubbing Dianne's offer of friendship then?"

Colin shrugged. "Like I told you, you have a right to do whatever it is you want to do. Just keep in mind though that it would be much better to accept and forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much as that."

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "I can just imagine Draco's face if I do that. It would be a picture perfect moment, I'm sure." Suddenly, she straightened as though she'd just had an epiphany. "You know what, Col, I don't really hate Dianne. No, really, I don't!" she insisted at the disbelieving look on her friend's face. "She irritates the hell out of me, yes, but she doesn't inspire the kind of animosity I feel towards somebody like, say, Pansy Parkinson. Now, that's one slag I wouldn't mind doing a stint in Azkaban for."

"Bite your tongue, woman!" Colin admonished, giving Ginny a reproving look. "You might look good in anything, but I don't think even you could pull off standard Azkaban issued stripes. Now go back to your breakfast and cease this talk about women who've been in the sack with Draco. You don't need to diet, so you don't need a reason to lose your appetite or vomit what you've already had down your gullet."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes, Dad."

"That's real mature, Gin, possibly ancient," Colin told her caustically, resuming his place across from his friend. "Maybe you can meet up with Dianne somewhere private and stick your tongue out at her too, after you tell her where she can shove her offer of friendship."

In answer, Ginny speared a fat juicy sausage and bit down on it, hard, laughing when Colin winced at her suggestive action.

They were well on the way to finishing the spread of eggs, toast, kippers, bangers and mash on the table when Ginny realized Colin had not answered her question when he'd first arrived.

"You never did tell me why you suddenly went MIA on me last night," Ginny reminded him, daintily wiping her lips with her napkin.

Colin's eyes grew wide as he remembered what it was he'd wanted to tell Ginny. "Oh Merlin, I can't believe I forgot about Sarah!"

"What about Sarah? Have you heard from her too? She told me she was going to be visiting her parents for a while, but I received a note from her this morning. Did something happen?" Ginny was starting to worry about her friend. When she'd left the US, Sarah had been in the middle of a crisis, and she'd hated not being there for her. If something had happened to her, she would never forgive herself.

Colin shook his head frantically, shooting to his feet in his agitation. "No, no, nothing like that. But she was the reason I wasn't around last night. I got a call from Kevyn, you know, my detective friend? Anyway, to make a long story short, Sarah's here!"

Ginny was bothered enough by Colin's squeak for her to look over her shoulder to make sure that the here he meant wasn't actually here here. Satisfied that no Sarah Carter was loitering around behind her, she looked to him for clarification.

"You're not making sense, Colin? Have you seen Sarah?"

Colin nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! She's in my apartment. And Merlin knows what she's probably up to right now! I had quite a time of it last night, explaining to her why I kept disappearing without going through a door. She even wanted to check whether I had a fire escape exit or whatever the hell she called it, installed in my bedroom."

As Colin was talking, Ginny was beginning to jump into panic mode. "What did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her anything, of course! I just laughed and changed the subject. But you know how she is, Gin. I can't keep her in my place for long. She's liable to found out everything on her own, or else I'd break down and just tell her if only to scare her into shutting up. You have to get her off my hands!"

Ginny worried her lip, thinking furiously. As was her tendency whenever she was deep in thought, she tucked her legs under her and started tapping her fingers on her thighs. What was she going to do? She had not anticipated this visit of Sarah's, at least not this soon; it didn't even seem as though she'd spent any time at all in Kansas like she'd said she would.

She could always ask the younger woman to stay with her in Welsh Manor, of course, but then there were complications to that idea as well, a huge complication by the name of Lucius Malfoy. She wouldn't want to compound Sarah's emotional crisis by adding corporeal problems to it as well. But then again, faced with being transfigured into whatever form Lucius fancied at the moment, heart problems might seem trivial to Sarah in the end.

Shaking her head to clear it from such terrible thoughts, she looked up at Colin.

"I suppose I could talk to Lucius? You know, to ensure that he won't suddenly go trigger happy with such an attractive target in sight," she suggested, injecting as much hopefulness into her tone as she could.

Colin snorted again. "Good luck with that! I'd like to see you try and make that man toe the line."

Ginny's tapping bordered on the manic state already. "He's not that bad, really. I'm sure he'll behave himself once I tell him how imperative it is that Sarah not be turned into a toad. Or hexed with boils. Or be constantly called the M word." Ginny was reaching, she knew it, but what can you do when all hell was about to break loose?

Colin shook his head at her. "Gin, I'd walk through live coals barefoot for you, but your Lucius situation is one I am staying the hell away from. Talk to him, threaten him, bribe him, hell, Imperio him for all I care, but you know as well as I do that the very air that man breathes makes me want to reach for my wand in self defense." He looked wild for a moment as a vision of Lucius came to mind; he shivered. "You can be sure there won't be any sudden unannounced visits from me as long as that man is living here."

Ginny sent him a disgusted glare, her worry set aside for a moment. "Don't be such a coward, Colin! Lucius is not a rabid dog who'll pounce on you without the least bit of provocation. You're being nonsensical!"

"Ha! That's a matter of opinion, my dear. You say tomato, I say pumpkin, Hagrid's variety! I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Oh please! Forget about yourself for a moment and help me find a way to convince Lucius not to be, well, Lucius. I'm sure if we put our heads together, we'll come up with a way."

"You can grow another head and that still won't be able to help you with your dilemma."

Ginny didn't miss Colin's emphasis on your, and much as she would want to feel betrayed and abandoned by her best friend at such a time as then, she couldn't really blame him for his reticence towards the older wizard. Lucius may not be technically evil now, but he was also not helping his image any by appearing to be the same vicious Death Eater of old. The former Death Eater probably enjoyed the way people feared him still, and if she didn't know him any better now, she would assume the fascist in him got off on that fact alone.

"There must be a way," she said quietly and to herself. "I could get his word, of course, then ask him to do a Wizard's Oath for insurance, but that still leaves me with the problem of how to get him to agree to do the oath in the first place."

After nearly fours years of getting to know the wizard, it never really occurred to Ginny that all she needed to do was ask; Lucius was in enough hot water with Narcissa that only by being in his best behavior could he pacify some of his wife's anger towards him. If ignoring the presence of a Muggle in the home of his grandchildren could in any way ingratiate him back in his wife's favor, then he wasn't above doing that. Of course, he'd curse anyone to within an inch of their miserable life if they so much as voice that any part of him was getting soft; he was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's were never soft. Ever.

"Whatever you decide to do, you'd better do it quick. You have until noon before you add one more to your guest list. And if I were you, I'd throw in a healthy dose of prayer while you're at it. Now's your time to consider the benefits of religion."

In her agitation, Ginny did the one thing she swore she'd never do again. And before they left her parlor, she had to add fixing her abused nails to her list of chores that needed doing that fine Saturday morning.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you ready, Narcissa?"

Narcissa ignored her husband and went on combing her hair. She was in her dressing gown, and contrary to what she had already agreed with Lucius, she had no intention of getting ready.

"Narcissa?" Lucius poked his head inside his wife's door to see what was taking her so long to get ready. Frowning when he saw she hadn't even taken the time to get dressed, he advanced inside the room and stood behind her. "Why are you still in your bed robes? I thought we agreed on going at 10, and it is already 15 minutes past the hour. What's wrong?"

Narcissa calmly lay down her comb and stood up. "I have no intention of letting you drag me anywhere, Lucius. I am staying right here where I can go see my grandchildren any time I want. Merlin knows you'd probably move us to Timbuktu if I let you."

Lucius sighed. "Cissa, can we not do this right now? I already said I was sorry. I did swear to make it up to you didn't I?"

Narcissa glared at him. "Then you can start by staying put. Why would moving us be making it up for depriving me of my babies?"

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "They are not your babies, Cissa, they're Draco's. And we are moving, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming and in your dressing gown. You know I never say anything I don't mean."

"You do and I'll make sure you'll live to regret it for the rest of your sorry life!" she vowed fiercely, backing away from him. Her eyes widened when Lucius advanced on her. "What - what are you doing?"

"Moving." And without another word, he wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and disapparated them both out of Malfoy Manor.

As soon as Narcissa felt her feet touch solid ground once again, she freed herself from her husband's grip and rounded on him.

"You bastard! You good for nothing, misbegotten spawn of Grindelwald! I cannot believe you would dare do this to me!" She whipped her wand out and tried to disapparate. When she realized that she couldn't, her anger became something to behold. "I demand you take me back right now! Take me back!"

"Really, Narcissa, you're causing quite a scene. I thought showing any excess emotion to the servants was uncouth?" Lucius said calmly, arching a brow at her in challenge.

Narcissa snapped her lips shut and gave her husband a look that would have sent a lesser mortal running for his life; Lucius merely smirked at her. True enough, there were more than one pair of eyes witnessing her descent into unacceptable behavior.

"Lucius? Is everything all right?"

Narcissa whirled around at hearing that familiar voice. When she confirmed that it was, indeed, Ginevra Weasley, a frown marred her smooth forehead. What was going on?

"As can be expected, Ginevra." He brushed past his wife and gave Ginny a kiss on the cheeks in greeting. "As you can obviously see, Narcissa hasn't been inclined to kindness towards me after what I have done to her."

Ginny gave the confused Narcissa an understanding smile. "I did tell you, didn't I?" she told him archly before moving forward and extending a welcoming hand to the disoriented woman. "Welcome."

"Thank you," Narcissa said automatically, before remembering she didn't exactly know where they were. "Where am I?"

"My home," she answered simply. "I don't think you've met Colin?"

Narcissa saw a handsome young man come forward.

Colin wanted to kick Ginny for calling attention to him. Narcissa didn't really scare him, but that didn't mean he wanted to create any impression on the pureblood aristocrat, good or bad. He'd much rather remain the unknown entity in Ginny's life, thank you very much.

"Narcissa, would you mind very much if I borrowed Lucius for a few minutes? I have something I wanted to talk to him about." Without waiting for her consent, Ginny grabbed Lucius and ushered him out of the entrance hall and into the Pink Salon.

"What is so important that you have to torture me with all this pinkness?" Lucius had always hated this room for its sheer femininity.

Ginny ignored him and motioned for him to sit down. When he did, she started pacing in front of him, wringing her hands, not knowing where to start talking.

"What is it, Ginevra?" Lucius asked patiently, watching her pace.

Ginny peered at him and debated whether to just come out and say it, or whether she had to start offering him concessions first. There was always the off chance that he would be agreeable, though from the earlier scene she had witnessed, she didn't think he would be in the right frame of mind to be reasonable.

Lucius was beginning to worry. Ginny wasn't one to procrastinate, and if what she had to say to him was troubling her so much, then it must be something truly dire.

"Is it the children? Did something happen?"

"What? No!" Ginny denied immediately. "It's not them. But in a way it has something to do with them."

"What?"

Ginny decided to just say it and see where the truth takes her. "Luke and Nicole's aunt is coming over to stay with me for I don't know how long."

Lucius waited for Ginny to say more. When she didn't, he prodded her. "So?"

Ginny started pacing again. "Well, she's really more their honorary aunt, you know? She's one of my good friends, and the twins love her, and I'm sure that if you get to know her, you'll probably learn to like her too."

Lucius didn't understand what Ginny was so distressed about. "Then what's the problem? I'm sure you have another room available for her, and if, as you say, the twins are fond of her, shouldn't you be happy that she'll be visiting them?"

"She's a Muggle, Lucius."

That shut him up but good. A Muggle? His grandchildren had a Muggle for an aunt? Granted, an honorary one, but still: A Muggle!

"I see."

Ginny looked at him apprehensively. "That's why it's such a problem for me. I know how you feel about them, but I really can't let Sarah stay anywhere else."

"Then are you telling me you've changed your mind about letting us stay here?" His tone was calm, but inside he wanted to start cursing anything that moved.

"No! I don't want that either! That wouldn't solve anything, anyway."

"Then what do you propose we do, Ginevra?"

Ginny took a deep breath and plunged in. "I want your promise that you won't do anything to her while she's here - "

"Done," Lucius lied smoothly, the expression on his face unchanging.

" - and I want you to do a Wizard's Oath, just in case."

He stared at Ginny, admiring her sheer gall; if it were anyone else, he would have already reached for his wand for insinuating that his word wasn't good enough. Of course, in Voldemort's time, he would lie through his teeth in most of his dealings, but it was either that or die. Later on, after the dust had settled, he had endeavored to be as truthful as he possibly could. But to expect him to swear to treat a Muggle civilly all the time, and to enter into a binding contract to prove his sincerity, was asking too much of him.

"Don't you trust me, Ginevra?" he drawled lazily, reclining on his seat as though he had no care in the world.

Ginny folded her arms and smirked at Lucius. "Not where Sarah is concerned, no. You're not getting out of this room until I get an oath from you."

Lucius shot out of his chair and towered over Ginny. "You are asking too much of me, young lady. It may seem that my behavior towards you has modified over time, but you are truly pushing your luck." He wasn't shouting, but the threat was still there in his tone.

Ginny pushed him back in his chair. "You don't scare me, Lucius, so don't bother. Now, do I get my oath, or will I have to leave you here until you do decide to go easy on yourself?"

Lucius glared at the unmoved witch.

"Come on, you don't have to spend all day with her. You'll know she's here, but you don't even have to see her," Ginny cajoled. "I'll put her rooms as far away from yours, I promise."

Lucius still looked mutinous.

"She's a tourist anyway, so she's probably going to be spending all her time outside the premises. You know, visiting tourist spots? You'll never have to see her."

Lucius now looked contemplative, and Ginny waited for him to concede. Things could have been worse, of course; there was always the possibility that this Sarah person would decide to stay indefinitely, and if that happened, then it would be Italy for them, even if Narcissa would never forgive him again for moving so far away.

"Do you swear you'll keep her away from me?" he asked grudgingly.

Ginny nodded right away. "I promise."

"And you were saying the truth when you said she would only be staying a few days here?"

"Yes."

"I can still complain about her though, right? Or Muggles in general?"

"Complain all you want. You're just forbidden to curse her, hex her, or call her any derogatory word pertaining to her blood," Ginny enumerated quickly.

Lucius sulked for a few seconds before drawing out his wand. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

Delighted, Ginny drew out her own wand and quickly went through the motions before he changed his mind. When the Wizard's Oath was over, she squealed and gave him a brief hug.

"Come, let's get you and Narcissa settled."

That they didn't take long to finish their business was a good thing. As soon as Ginny and Lucius had disappeared, leaving Colin with the perplexed Narcissa, it wasn't long before the blonde woman was eyeing Colin suspiciously. It didn't take long for him to find out what was going through the woman's mind.

"Are you Ginevra's lover?"

Colin's eyes widened in abject horror, mingled with a dash of disgust. "No!"

Narcissa pursed her lips in even more disapproval. "Well. If you were hoping to someday be Ginevra's lover, then I'm telling you right now that my son may have something to say about that. It's only a matter of time before they get back together."

Colin ignored the disgust he'd felt about ever being in such a position as being Ginny's lover and quirked a brow at the confident woman before him, a haughty woman who was wearing nothing but her dressing gown, albeit an expensive one.

"Seeing as Draco's already engaged to someone else, I don't think he'd be in a position to dictate who Ginny takes to her bed, do you?"

Narcissa's nose flared in indignation. "Well! See here, young man! I don't care who you think you are, but I won't have you talking to me like that! She is the mother of my grandchildren and - "

"Draco treated her like shit," Colin finished for her. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy, but it's true. Even if Draco hadn't gone and gotten himself engaged to someone else, I don't see how he could ever make up for all the hurtful things he said and did to her."

"Who are you?" she said softly, really looking at Colin for the first time and wondering whether it really was too late for her son to make amends.

"I'm Ginny's best friend, and the twin's godfather. Don't worry, the only way I'll ever be attracted to Ginny is if she grew herself a penis."

His bluntness had Narcissa blushing like a Weasley. "You mean you're - ?"

Colin nodded. "Gay, yeah."

If anything, the color on her cheeks grew some more. Then to Colin's amusement, Narcissa began to look at him now with something akin to awe in her eyes. "I've never met a gay man before."

"We're not a myth, I assure you," Colin said gravely. "We do exist."

The color was still high on Narcissa's cheeks when Ginny and Lucius emerged from the Pink Salon. Lucius, seeing the unnatural color on his wife's face, rushed to her side.

"What's wrong, Narcissa? Are you all right?"

Narcissa moved her eyes from Colin to her husband's. "He's gay, Lucius. He told me so."

Lucius was baffled. "Who is?"

Narcissa nodded at Colin. "Him."

Lucius turned to look at Colin and smirked. "Of course he is. Don't you know he presides over the Harry Potter Fan Club?"

Narcissa pursed her lips at him. "I am not jesting, Lucius. He really is gay! And he's our grandchildren's godfather. Did you know that?"

It was Lucius' turn to purse his lips. "Unfortunately, Ginevra could not be dissuaded from going through with making him one of the twin's godfathers, as well as Potter. But I did manage to get Zabini in as well, if only to even out the unfairness of it all." He smirked at the way Ginny was looking at him. "Since Draco could not be there, I took the liberty of pointing out that he would have insisted Blaise be godfather as well."

"Which was why the christening was three hours late," Ginny snapped at him.

"Ah, but if you'd given in, my dear, there would have been no need for a discussion." Lucius looked so smug Ginny wanted to hit him, just to make a point.

"You were at the christening?" Narcissa asked. "You were actually there?"

"Not during. I arrived after the ceremony was over. I should have said I persuaded someone to convince Ginny to include Blaise."

Ginny snorted. "By someone he meant my mother." She smiled at him evilly as soon as Narcissa turned and gave him a what-are-you-trying-to-keep-from-me look. "I have already left instructions as to your accommodations. Now if you'll excuse Colin and I, we have somewhere else to be this morning. Good day Narcissa. Lucius."

Taking Colin's arm, they left the couple. But they were still within earshot when Narcissa started demanding Lucius tell her what exactly he and Molly Weasley talked about.

"You are truly evil, you know that," Colin said, chuckling merrily.

"I have my moments," Ginny said, looking like the cat that ate the cream and the canary.

"Did you get it then?"

"Did you really think I'd let Lucius out of the Pink Salon if I didn't?"

Colin laughed. "Evil! Pure evil!"

"And you'd better not forget it." And with a last flirtatious look at her best friend, she disapparated.

Still chuckling, Colin did the same.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Like I've already told you, Mr. Merryweather, I only do the legwork. If you want to take care of this problem of yours permanently, look elsewhere for the solution. There's not enough galleons in your account to make me do that for you." William Chauncy frowned at the handset as the voice on the other line rose exponentially. "Listen here, Merryweather: You hired me to do a job, one job, and I've fulfilled my end of the bargain; it's not my fault you can't keep your wife happy. If you ask me, you should have kept your balls playing in your home team, maybe then the Mrs. wouldn't have had reason to stray! Oh, don't give me that shit, you sanctimonious prick! I know all about that little apartment you keep in London. Yeah? Well, screw you too!"

The loud crashing sound made when the phone crashed down on its receiver gave William Chauncy immense satisfaction. His mood was worse than black, and the unfortunate person who was foolish enough to cross him while he was in this mood would probably wish they'd never been born.

"I see I've come at a bad time."

Or not.

Slowly, William turned around and looked towards the source of the voice, a voice he'd hoped never to hear from again. Was it really asking too much for the gods above to give him a break once in a while?

"Mr. Malfoy! How may I be of service to you this morning?"

Draco took a moment to enjoy the squirming of the man before him; William Chauncy had a lot to answer for, and he, Draco Malfoy, was not going to let him rest until he was good and ready. In fact, he had no problem with getting his pound of flesh off this way, for starters anyway.

William Chauncy had met a lot of terrifying people in his career, but none had ever made him as uncomfortable as the man standing just inside the door to his office. It was ludicrous, really, but you never know when it comes to a Malfoy.

Draco tapped his wand nonchalantly against his palm. "I have a question I need to ask you, Chauncy."

"Of course, of course! And what might that be, my lord?" William inwardly cringed at how cheerful he was coming off.

Draco's brow rose at the way the other wizard addressed him, news certainly traveled fast, but ignored it for the moment; what he came there for was far more important than some silly title. He advanced into the room, idly twirling his wand in his hand. "If I remember correctly, I had contracted you for a job oh, when was that?"

William Chauncy knew then he was right to be afraid. "That would be four years ago?"

"You seem uncertain. Are you sure you have the years correct? No, don't answer that, I know it's been four years." He stopped in the middle of the room and crossed his arms across his chest. "And in that four years, do you recall ever giving me any pertinent information about the matter I wanted you to look into?"

William nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes I did," he said with some relief. "I came to your place and left a message with your butler; I didn't get his name - "

"No you did not!" Draco exploded in fury, his hands fisted at his sides, his wand hand trembling from his efforts of keeping from cursing the balding older wizard before him.

William stood up and put up his hands. "Mr. Malfoy, please, you need to calm down," he said gently, trying to placate the enraged younger man.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Would you calm down if you suddenly find yourself fathering twins!" he bellowed angrily.

"Mr. Malfoy, please!" William warily kept one eye fixed on the gleaming piece of wood on Draco Malfoy's right hand. "I know it must be a shock for you, finding out you have children the way you did."

Draco's glare grew even blacker. "Don't patronize me, you worthless piece of shit! How would you know how I felt?"

"Because I was shocked myself when I found out, and I was only doing what I was paid to do," William said. "I had expected a lot of sensitive information from the little you've given me, but fatherhood was the last thing on my list of expectations."

Draco counted to ten in his head to try and control his anger; he got to three and knew it was a lost cause. "I could kill you right now and I'd be well within my right to do it," he threatened forcefully.

William shook his head; oddly enough, having the threat voiced out loud wasn't as terrifying as the implication of the same by the pale wizard. "Look, Mr. Malfoy, I did leave a message with your butler to call on me as soon as you got in. If I'm not mistaken, that would be about two weeks ago, before, and I'm sorry to say this, you got engaged. I didn't know if knowing about the twins would have otherwise changed your mind about going through with the engagement, that's why I stayed for two hours, waiting for you to turn up. When you didn't, that's when I left the note with your butler." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand; he shook his head again as he looked back at the unimpressed young man.

"I expected you to come see me the next day, but when you didn't, I assumed that you didn't care about the twins. It was wrong of me to presume such a thing, yes, and I should have tried to contact you again, but I had to leave the country unexpectedly. My hands were tied, and I had to make a decision. I'm sorry."

Draco could discern the sincerity in the investigators voice but he refused to feel guilty for venting; whether or not the investigator left a message with his butler was not the issue anymore. He had been blindsided, plain and simple, and his instinct strongly urged him to lash out, whether indiscriminately no longer mattered: He was angry, he felt slighted and completely helpless, a feeling that didn't sit well with him.

William hesitated in bringing the matter up, especially since he had so little corroborating evidence to support what he was about to say, but he didn't want to have to see Malfoy again because he'd withheld information that the blond could consider important.

"Since we're on the subject, Mr. Malfoy, there's something I also have to tell you about Ms. Weasley. I don't know if you're already aware of it, and I'm not sure if you'll find it all that important, but I don't want there to be any misunderstanding between us again."

Draco snapped to attention and looked at the investigator with expectant eyes, forgetting for a moment that not a minute ago, he had been seriously contemplating doing bodily harm to the other man. "What is it?"

William Chauncy cleared his throat. "Well. By now you probably know that Ms. Weasley had been in America all this time, working as an actress under the assumed name Moira Welsh - "

"Yes, yes, I know all of that. Get on with it, man," Draco prompted impatiently.

William suppressed his irritation at being interrupted. "Yes, well, what you probably don't know is that while there, Ms. Weasley formed a, shall we say close friendship with one of the actors she worked with."

Draco felt like the room was closing in on him; his head felt oddly heavy, he felt cold all over and he had the sudden urge to gouge his eyes out. He had feared that Ginny might have been intimate with some other man, it had been four years after all, but he had never thought having his suspicions confirmed would affect him in such a way.

"How many times?" he asked quietly.

William immediately realized his mistake. "Oh no, Mr. Malfoy, I don't mean to imply that I have incontrovertible evidence Ms. Weasley had a sexual relationship with Nicholas Sterne, not at all," he said hastily.

Draco's glare returned in full force. "Don't take me for a fool, Chauncy; what other reason would there be for a man and a woman to have a close friendship," he spat bitterly.

"You know Ms. Weasley better than I, Mr. Malfoy," William offered uselessly. "Do you think she might have had that kind of relationship with Sterne? Because as far as my investigations went, I wouldn't be able to give you a definite answer about that. I know Sterne is practically obsessed with her, but other than that, there hasn't been a whisper of an affair between the two."

But Draco was no longer listening to what the older man was saying; his ears were still ringing with the awful truth he'd just heard and he could not accept that Ginny had allowed somebody else to touch her.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco abruptly turned around and started for the door. "I have to go."

"Wait! Mr. Malfoy - " But Draco was already out the door and by the loud cracking sound that William heard from outside, had already disapparated. "Bloody, hypocritical git," he muttered, dropping back down on his chair and ruffling his balding head in frustration. "Three guesses as to what that rich prick would do next," he said to himself. "I honestly don't blame the Weasley chit for wanting to get rid of him, damn temperamental fool. As if he really had room to criticize that young woman's sexual activeness, the way he himself was banging his way through Europe. Impossible!"

As William Chauncy checked his calendar for the day, at the back of his mind he knew he had not seen the last of Draco Malfoy.

--------------

A/N: I have not given up on this story folks. Now just a few tidbits for the readers: I understand that Draco may have come off as cold and unfeeling towards the twins, but really, wouldn't it have been incredibly unbelievable if he suddenly turned into a doting papa? He didn't have a great experience with his own father, ergo it would be unlikely for him to develop paternal skills in the span of a few hours. This is just my opinion of course, and you all are free to curse the hell out of our favorite anti-hero. But when I started this story, I had every intention of keeping it as close to the Draco in the book as I possibly could. And if I do say so myself, based on some of the responses I got from my readers, I think I have been somewhat successful. But don't give up on our favorite Slytherin yet, he'll straighten his act in the end.