Breaking All the Rules

Chapter Two

Breaking All the Rules

-Intentionally Accidental

~*~~*~~*~

"Where are we going? This is not on their schedule." Draco followed Blaise through Central London as they passed various stores and restaurants before stopping at one restaurant he had never seen before.

"It wouldn't be, it's our first kill anniversary. This," he said signaling inside, "is a surprise dinner, for us." The restaurant was enchanted with small fairies flittering about. This street was mainly known for Muggle shops. No wonder he had never noticed it before.

"You want me to kill him in front of all these people? Blaise, I thought I at least taught you some kind of sense. I hope you have remembered we can't use magic."

"We're not here to kill anyone." Blaise seemed to be searching for someone as they both entered. "We're here to eat."

"Eat?"

"Do I suffer with a speech impediment?" He walked past the small podium where an usher was standing to take them to their tables.

He rounded them and stood still causing them to stop. Blaise eyed the man with malice making him shrink back, but not enough for him to not stand his ground. "Can I help you?" he asked in a monotonous fashion.

"A table for two." Blaise eyed him scrutinizing what he was wearing. Draco did a double take and snorted at the accent that Blaise was using. It was notably posh and it didn't suit the Blaise he knew at all.

He glanced momentarily at the clipboard in his hand. "Ah, well it seems we have none available." Blaise raised an eyebrow. The man, thinking this meant Blaise was confused, attempted to clear it up. "You must have an appointment," he stated rudely, a routine only fashioned by the years of working with customers that refused to follow the way it works.

The impertinence of this man, Blaise thought to himself. "Look in your little roster and tell me if the name, 'Zambini,' rings any bells," he stressed so that the man could properly digest it.

The man stood wide-eyed and didn't even bother to look back at the clipboard in front of him. "Oh, I had no... ahem," he coughed nervously. "This way sir, we have a table reserved especially for you." He took great pains in trying to avoid bowing and led the way to a table that was a spitting distance from a certain other table for two.

"This is the table you requested, sir?" he offered.

"Yes, thank you. Perhaps next time you should acquaint yourself with all facts before molesting your customers in such a fashion."

"Yes sir - I mean, no sir of course I will." He left them and quickly made his way back to his podium.

"And what exactly was that all about? Since when has your name been frightening? And why on earth are you talking like that?" Draco asked.

"Since my family is responsible for most of the businesses in this area," he continued in his accent. Draco rolled his eyes at him. "There has been, since then, a respect that we take when our presence is graced upon them." He looked over to the man as he said his last words and the man glanced nervously at them and turned away quickly.

"Oh, so I have the pleasure of dining with a member of Central London's equivalent of the Mafia then? Is that why you're talking as if you were born from a dictionary?" he laughed.

"Jest all you like, but when you have required favors with your marks in this area, take a guess at who has had the pleasure of achieving your means." Draco looked again at the man.

"You don't mean?" he said pointing to him.

He shook his head. "No, but his family and many of the other wizarding families who own businesses here have."

"You're joking?" Draco said wide-eyed.

"Do I look like I jest you?"

"Can you stop talking like that please?" he said in an irritated tone.

"Fine," he sighed and reverted back to his common London accent. "Oh, heads up they're here."

Draco turned around and looked toward the entrance. He lazily turned back upon seeing his mark enter the door. "Oh, I thought we were just here to eat." He smiled.

Blaise took a sip from his water and nodded, he swallowed before he spoke. "Well, business and pleasure can be mixed."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "I hardly call this pleasure, Blaise."

Blaise's eyes came back from the door, he smiled cunningly. "No, no my friend, this is business. That," he pointed with his eyes, "is pleasure." He waited for Draco's reaction. "For you anyway," he added as an afterthought. He knew his curiosity would get the better of him sooner or later.

Draco turned again and spun back around immediately. "You are the biggest arsehole I have ever known."

Blaise smiled wickedly. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Her being here is purely accidental." Draco glared at him. Blaise sensed his anger and the obvious intention in his actions so he relented. "I know, but it's for your own good."

Draco rested his hands calmly flat on the table. Blaise knew that the tension between the two was great though, and that the table would viably snap any given second. "How is this for my own good? I have to avoid her at all costs. You're not helping me here; all you're doing is screwing with a perfectly good relationship."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he took the menu from the waitress. "What relationship?" he asked as he watched her walking away with interest.

Draco displayed his point with his hands. "Exactly."

Blaise pointedly ignored him and looked at his menu. After a few moments he said, "Well get out of here then."

"Where am I going to go?"

"I don't know. Clear your head." The waitress came back to their table. "I'll have a number fifty-four but could you hold the oregano. No pepper, I'm allergic to pepper. He'll have number forty-Seven. No salt, he hates salt. Hurry up. And you -." He looked at Draco. "You go to the bathroom." She looked at Draco as if she needed to step away from him immediately and instinctively looked to the floor beneath Draco's chair.

"What are you looking at?" Draco snapped. The girl looked away immediately and nodded to Blaise before walking off.

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

He looked around his chair. "What, right here?" he said angrily.

Blaise gave him an obvious look.

"Well, you know, I thought I should check. Don't want to screw with the Mafia do I?" He smiled and got up. As he turned he hit something, or rather someone, small almost knocking them over. "Oh, I'm..." he trailed.

"It's all right I'm... a bit clumsy sometimes - have we met before?" she said looking up at him.

"No, no I don't think so. I would surely remember." He turned once more to glare at Blaise and then made his way to the bathroom.

***

"The man didn't hurt you did he?" A hand came to give them their plates of food.

"Pardon?" Ginny looked toward Girard, she had been caught up in her own thoughts of someone she had bumped into on her way to her seat. She knew she had met him before but she couldn't place him anywhere.

Girard looked at his wife in worry. "The man over there. When he bumped into you, he didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, of course he didn't. I'm much stronger than you think you know."

Girard smiled at his wife. "I know dear, I was just checking. You seem... distant."

"Do I?" she said distractedly.

"Yes, since our holiday you haven't quite been yourself."

"I haven't?" she added looking off to a certain table.

He followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow. "And you've been answering in mostly two words."

Ginny turned back at his tone and smiled at him, taking his hand she said, "It's nothing. Honestly."

He let it go and continued eating. "Well, three words are decidedly better than two I suppose. Let's hope more comes with the next sentence."

She smiled again and continued pushing the food around her plate. She looked around the room again. It was a very nice restaurant and the people seemed friendly. It made a difference to being in the house all day long. She didn't know that by marrying him she'd be secluded from all of her friends and family. Not that there was much of any left.

Just then a man dressed in fully black dress robes came to their table. Ginny instantly knew he was one of her husband's 'workers.' In an instant, she knew what was coming next as he bent down and whispered into Girard's ear.

His face became set, but as he looked upon his wife he put on his best pleading face and tried to make his excuses.

"Girard no, you promised me that we'd have an evening out. Why did you even bother?"

"Darling, I'm sorry, business is like this. It's unpredictable. I have to go." With that he dropped his napkin and left the table leaving Ginny alone.

"Invite her over," Blaise whispered.

"What? No!" Draco answered between clenched teeth.

He took no notice and leaned to his side to have a clear view of Ginny at her table, she was sitting alone. "Excuse me?" Blaise called.

Draco almost spat out his food in a cough of surprise. He struck at his hand when he put it up to call at her. This only resulted in Blaise batting away his hand and putting it up again. "Zambini, what are you doing? Stop that! Stop it. Stop-."

"Yes?" Ginny answered sweetly. "Are you calling me?" Draco stopped hitting Blaise's hand down and sat still. He hid his face with his hand as Ginny leaned backwards to answer them.

"We noticed that you were dining alone and we wondered if you would like to join us."

"And we are going to have a serious talk when we leave," Draco whispered.

"Oh, thank you for the thought but I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Don't be so silly. We'd love it, wouldn't we?" With the kick under the table Draco turned around and smiled.

"Yes, we so would." It was the fakest smile he could create.

"Well, I suppose I could." She stood up with her plate and sat next to them.

"So what is your name?" Blaise asked her. Draco watched him in fascination. The guy could lie to the Wizengamot if he wanted to.

"Ginevra, Ginevra Thomas."

"Oh well that's a nice name isn't it? Very unusual."

"My mother gave it to me. Big fight between that and Virginia. Very messy." She concluded as she ate. She seemed to have more of an appetite now.

Blaise glanced toward the front of the restaurant. Another strategic kick caught Draco's attention as he turned too. Two men had just stepped out of a carriage in the middle of central London. No doubt they were wizards as the dress robes that bellowed around them proved it. That wasn't what caught their attention though, it was more the fact that they wore beige masks on their faces and had their wands pointed directly to Draco.

Draco sat straight and his face became set. He turned to Blaise and then glanced at Ginny signaling that maybe they should excuse themselves and leave. Blaise shook his head at him and his hand began to move for the inside of his pocket.

"Not here."

"They won't track us here."

Ginny looked at the two men who were having a conversation as if she weren't there. She began to feel she was intruding and almost excused herself when she caught sight of two men standing by the door of the entrance. The beige masks on their faces caused her to panic.

"Oh Gods," she said under her breath.

The two men turned to her. "What was that?"

"Nothing, erm will you excuse me?"

"Do you have to go somewhere?"

"Yes actually I was -." She screamed as a curse missed her by millimeters. It hit the table instead causing it to explode into splinters.

"Grab her and keep her down!" Draco grabbed Ginny by the waist as the rest of the restaurant fell into complete panic. People were running everywhere and food went flying in every direction.

"Zambini, don't use your wand!"

"Well what do you want me to use, you ruined my gun!"

"I told you I would buy you a new one!"

"I don't want a new one!" They all fell backwards as another spell hit the table they had hidden behind. It was then that they noticed the door to their right. Above it said: Kitchen, do not enter.

Just then Ginny stood up and took out her wand. "Recuto!" she yelled as she pointed it to the wall the two men had hidden behind to throw their curses. The wall blew up in front of them leaving them unshielded.

"Expelliarmus!" she said again as their wands flew out of their hands. "Incendio!" She laughed as the bottoms of their robes set fire.

"Let's go, we'll talk about this later." Blaise suggested as he looked back from the door. Draco glanced at it.

"Okay." He grabbed hold of Ginny's hand and pulled her across to the door.

"Hey, high heels do not enable me to run this fast!"

"Reducto," Blaise said as the exit blasted open for them to run through.

"We have to get home."

"Nice plan."

"Yeah, I have to get home too. I need an explanation."

"To what?"

"To why my husband just left me in there when he knew they were coming for him."