Regret and Betrayal

Chapter nine

Unexpected Romances

~*~~*~~*~

"He that is not jealous is not in love..."

Two days later, Ginny was back lying on the sofa in her own home. She hadn't cried, not once. She was only angry at herself for not staying. She had seen something in his eyes that she had never seen in anyone. He worked it out for himself and she didn't even have to clue him in at all. What's more, he loved her. She knew it now and she smiled, amidst her anger, whenever she thought about it. Lesley had come in and they had talked for hours on end like they were doing now. It was Friday evening and Lesley had more or less hit her every time she brought up the whole Malfoy-Weasley thing and laughed at her. All Ginny had done was listen to her friend and realise everything she said was true and that she had been totally stupid for running away.

"What are you going to do?" she asked as she sat on the floor next to her lying form on the sofa.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I don't know what to do anymore." She chuckled a little. "He knows, you know."

Lesley opened her eyes knowing exactly what she meant. "You told him?"

"No, he just... figured it out." She looked confused. "I have no idea how though, but he did and I think I like him even more for it." She smiled.

"Well, it seems that you have your perfect man." Ginny looked at her in scornful way.

"Don't start that again."

Lesley snapped. "No, that's it." Lesley rose angrily. "You will listen and you will listen well, do you hear me?" She pointed a finger and waited for Ginny to sit up. "For the longest time, I have heard you moaning about not being able to find the right man. Granted, you have not had that good an experience with them as a whole but that doesn't mean you can't keep trying. As they say, 'you find love in the strangest places' and I think this can categorize itself as one of them."

Ginny opened her mouth to retort.

"NO!" Lesley yelled at her. Ginny's mouth snapped shut and she eyed her friend with respect. She had never seen this side of her, she must really be angry. "You will listen only!" Ginny nodded. "Over these past few weeks I have discovered what you really did, but I already knew who you really were. You are someone who needs to be able to trust, not find the right man. If you go about doing that you'll never find him if you can't trust him. You think too much with this," she said tapping at Ginny's head, "and not enough with this," she said as she tapped Ginny's chest where her heart was. "It's what you need." She went to sit down and started again in a softer tone. "Now speaking of what you need, I think he fits that category perfectly too." Once again Ginny opened her mouth but one look from Lesley and she shut it again.

"When you needed someone to be oblivious to your cover and just go along with it so you could do your job, who did that for you?" she looked at Ginny prompting an answer.

Ginny crossed her arms. "Draco did."

"And when you needed someone to save you from Lucius Malfoy, twice, who was that?" she looked at her again.

Ginny sighed. "Draco."

"When you needed someone to help you with all those bank statements so that you didn't lose your job, granted you were going to quit, but who helped you out?"

"Draco did."

"And when you needed him to be a friend, just leave you alone for these past few days so that you could sort yourself out, hasn't he been that person too?"

"Yes."

"Right, so it seems that for the first time in your life you have found a man who is everything you ever needed him to be. And I think it's been a while since you've found someone like that, so don't you think you owe it to yourself to take a chance for once?" Lesley sat back and watched the reaction of her words.

Ginny got up and looked around for a quill and parchment. She wrote a few words and then sent it with her owl out the window. She turned from the window and smiled at her friend before getting her coat and preparing to apparate.

"Wait!" Ginny paused. "Where are you going?"

"To take a chance," she smiled and apparated from the room.

***

The door to his room opened softly, he turned to see Samara walking in and turned back to the papers on his desk. When she saw him look away as if she had not come in, she felt the need to make sure her presence was known. She held the door handle in her hand and slammed it shut making him jump and look up startled. "What?" she said bluntly as she stormed into his room and stood in front of his desk.

He smiled a little as his head went back to the documents he had to sign. "Is that how you address a master of the household?" he asked as he felt her seething. She was still angry about the episode two days ago.

"When they've tried to kill me, yes it is." She stood waiting for him to say what he had to. She had been unconscious for the past few days and his attitude wasn't helping. When she woke up she was told that he wanted to see her immediately. "Is there something that you want or have you brought me here for your sick pleasure of torturing me again?"

"No, I haven't actually. I want you to work for me."

"I do work for you." Unfortunately, she thought to herself.

"No, you work for my father. I have told him that I want you to work for me. He has agreed." He didn't look up once.

"What?!" she cried.

He set down the pen and folded his arms. "You say it as if you're horrified. You owe me, Samara," he said trying her name on for size.

"You - tried - to kill me," she said pronunciating clearly and coming closer to his desk. "Twice!" she pointed out.

"Well no, the first time was an accident and I saved you," he compromised.

"What about the second time? That was no accident and you know it."

He shrugged, she had him there. "Well yes, yes that wasn't an accident. However I did save you then too."

She scoffed. "I'm still trying to figure out why."

He picked up the pen again. "Hmm, believe me so am I." After his chat with his father where he had brought up the 'under her skirt,' theory, he had been pondering the possibility. "Apart from the obvious of course."

"What obvious?"

"My father and company happened along," he said offhandedly.

"Oh," she laughed. "This is rich. This is very good. You saved me to save your hide, which has nothing to do with me. I don't owe you a bloody thing! Stay the hell away from me." She stormed to the door.

"If I were you I would refrain from speaking to me like that. That's if you like your job." She froze at the handle and spun around.

"Not at the moment, no."

He looked up. "Would you like to keep it?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Are you threatening me?"

He shrugged indifferently. "I could be."

"Then I quit." She opened the door.

"What?" He stood up.

She turned around. "I did not accept this job to be threatened and nearly killed on a daily basis. Not having a job would be much better than not having my life."

He watched her turn and somewhere inside of him, though he was not sure why, reached out and made him say, "Wait."

She shut the door and walked back. "What now? Care to throw me out the window now. Or perhaps you would care enough to lead me to the roof first," she offered crossing her arms.

"No, I care enough to..." He paused, what was he saying? He then realised that without finishing that sentence he let something linger in the air. Something that stood tensing around him so hard he could have cut through it. Despite it all, he pushed it aside unceremoniously.

"You care enough to what, make it painless?" she said sarcastically.

He smiled, "If you want it to be."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him perplexed as he came toward her. She backed away to the door and almost broke out into a run if he hadn't stopped her. She almost had it out of the latch before he shut it and turned her around, pinning her to it.

***

Draco had thoroughly given up hope on ever hearing from Ginny again. He had let her be because he knew she wouldn't want to talk to him yet and just had faith that she would in time. But two whole days had passed and he cursed himself for being so impatient with her. He shouldn't have pushed her so far, it was destined for disaster. He leaned against the cold marble walls with his hands allowing the hot water to rain heavily on his back. The bathroom was packed with steam as he had been in there so long. He closed his eyes feeling the tension headache begin in his head. He had to take something for that. With that he made to take off the water before pausing as a tune floated through the room and into his senses. He had heard that song before.

Dream now, my precious don't open your eyes. Sleep as the breeze blows your face...

Always remember my last lullaby and you in your dreams I'll embrace.

He sighed as the pain in his head subdued, and opened his eyes to the bathroom feeling a little lightheaded. He didn't know when he had turned off the water and slid back the door to get out of the shower, but he had and was now standing in the bathroom looking at the door. He paused again, his mind becoming sharp once more. The door was open and there was a figure leaning on the frame. He waited for the mist to clear, not moving his eyes from it. Some time had passed and they both stood there watching at shadows in silence.

"Nice towel," he heard.

His eyes widened, that was not the voice he had expected to hear.

Ginny.

"Get dressed, we're going out." She turned and left the frame unoccupied. Draco stood watching the empty frame and wandered if he had dreamt it. "Hurry up!" he heard her call again.

It was no dream.

***

There was a knock at the door. Pete had just finished dressing for his night out with the lads as they had pestered him to leave the office. He stumbled around looking for his other shoe as he made his way to the door.

"Who is it?" he called through the door.

"It's me." He froze. What is she doing here? He opened it anyway.

"What are you doing here?" he said repeating his thoughts.

"Well it's nice too see you too," she said as she entered the room and went to sit on his sofa.

"Um, sorry I - I guess I thought you-."

"Peter, it's nothing. I've forgotten about it already. Do you have anything to drink I'm parched."

Pete looked at her strangely, she never called him Peter. He then remembered what she had asked for. "Oh, of course." He made his way to the kitchen. He didn't even notice that he had left the door open. "You know, I'm going out with the guys to 'The Fridge Bar' in Brixton. It's a muggle club but they say it's fun to have a change. Do you want to come?"

"I'll think about it," she said.

"Oh come on, Ginny. You look like you need to get away for a while."

"You have no idea," she said in a relieved tone.

"Why, what has Malfoy done to you?"

"No, not him," she said looking behind him as Cyrus walked into the room from the front door. He pointed his wand to Pete.

"Then who?" he asked perplexed.

"Him," she pointed behind him. Pete turned to see a man in his home.

"Who are you?" he said defensively wanting to protect Ginny. "What are you doing in my house?" He looked at the wand pointed at him.

"I'm..." Cyrus trailed and scrutinized the looks of the man before him before copying every part of him to the one shoe he had on his foot, "you, for now. And this is my home, also for now." He straightened his arm and opened his mouth to utter a spell.

"Ginny get behind me." He pulled Ginny behind him.

"No need." He motioned for her to move toward him, she broke free of Pete's grasp and walked over to Cyrus. "She's safer than you'll ever be my friend," he said as she walked up to him and stood beside him. He pulled her behind him as Pete had done.

Pete looked at her. Her hair was changing as she walked and so were her clothes. She had on the same dress with the scarf draped over her arms but by the time she turned he noticed her face was not Ginny's at all.

"Who are you people?" he asked.

"No-one you need to know. Crucio!" he said as Pete curled up on the floor in pain.

***

"Where are you taking me?" Draco asked as Ginny pulled his hand through the park.

"Will you stop asking questions please? Just follow me," she smiled. He had a slight case of déjà vu when it came to her pulling him into treed areas. They had left his car out the front and he was sure that it would get clamped.

"I don't know if I can trust you to pull me through this park without getting hurt." Ginny stopped and turned.

"How did you know we were in a park?" she waved her hands in front of his blindfold.

"Ginny, you made me park my car across the road from the park. You may have blindfolded me but I'm not stupid. I do have a sense of direction you know. The 'watch out we're crossing the road,' did help though." He smiled devilishly under the blindfold as she huffed quietly. He was sure she was shaking her head too.

"Never mind. Come on." She began pulling him again. They walked for a while before stopping and she pulled the blindfold off.

His eyes adjusted to the dark long enough to see the candles on a blanket in the middle of the Serpentine Lake before she summoned it to her on the grass.

"I had to put it over the water incase anything happened. I don't want to burn down the park now, do I?" she smiled.

"No, we couldn't have that could we?" he looked at her as she sat down.

"Well?" she looked up at him and patted the spot beside her before opening the basket.

He sat down and looked around at the beauty of the park around him. The night sky twinkled above them as there were no streetlamps to black them out. He turned his attention to Ginny, who was now handing him a plate of food.

He looked at it. Those plates, he knew those plates. He looked up at her and wondered how she got his own staff to keep this from him.

"Natalie sends her regards. As does the rest of the house." In response he just smiled.

"No doubt there will be grand amounts of this in the fridge when I get home." He cocked an eyebrow.

Yes, I think there will be," she laughed.

They ate in a comfortable silence, occasionally engaging in conversation. When it was finished she had packed it up and shrank it for him to put it in his pocket. They walked through the park hand in hand to the car before driving home.

It was then that she realised they weren't going the right way.

***

"Hey! Pete, glad you could make it. Who's this?" Larry gestured to the very nice young lady that stood looking around warily next to him.

"This is Samara," he said.

"Oh, nice to meet you," he shouted above the music. "Come on mate, come and sit with us." He slapped him on the back and wondered why Pete looked so angry when he grabbed his arm to pull him over.

***

"Where are we?" Ginny said as he pulled her out the car of the parking lot.

"Somewhere far from both our homes outside a muggle club in Brixton."

She paused mid step out of the car. "You go to muggle clubs?"

"Yeah, my cousin got me into it. I would never set foot in them but then he put up a good argument about almost everything I owned and where I worked and what I drove." He gestured to the car. "In the end I relented."

"Hmm," she said.

"But you know what he taught me/"

"What's that?"

"Anything goes." He flashed a devilish smile. "Come on." He took her hand but paused when she yanked It back. "What?"

"I can't, I'm not dressed for a club. I'll feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, well I can fix that." He took out his wand and gave it an impressive flick. "Now you are." He gave a smug smile as he looked at his creation.

Ginny looked down at the dress she was now wearing. It was a deep shade of green. From the halter neck tie at the top hung a long ribbon with small silver beads that stretched down between her shoulders. It was beautiful.

"To match you," he said as if he could read her mind. She looked up at him and begun to wonder if he really could. He smiled and tugged at her hand. "Come on." They walked around to the entrance and he weaved his way through the crowd.

He stopped as a man put his arm in front of him to block the entrance. Draco looked up at the large man and just stared at him. They seemed locked by eyes alone. Ginny wondered what the hell he was do-. Oh no. "Draco, you can't use magic here." She tugged at his arm and looked around. No-one else seemed to notice.

"Shh, I'm concentrating." He shook at his arm to get her to stop tugging at it.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy and who is your party this evening?" the man suddenly said as he stared blankly. He spun around and gave her a smug look. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Er," he began pointing at Ginny, "she's with me. And er..." He stood on the platform to the door and turned around to the crowd in front of him and began pointing randomly in every direction. "Him, him, her, these two and that group over there." He pulled Ginny in behind him.

Ginny pulled him aside in the corridor. "Do you even know any of those people?" she asked him as they all walked past giving him thanks and smiling excitedly.

"No, but I've made them very happy haven't I? I have a gift I might as well share it." He pulled her in through the doors to the loud music leaving her smiling at him.

"Dance with me." It didn't sound like a question but she said no anyway. He watched her, she looked shy. Ginny watched him as he raised his hand in the air and a slow song began to play. "How about now?" he said as he led her to the dance floor.

Suddenly, as they danced, every person in the room disappeared. She looked around. "Am I dreaming this?" she said.

He looked around not seeing anyone. How did she do that? he thought. "Well I don't know about you but I'm wide awake." She smiled and put her head on his shoulders; if it wasn't such a sweet gesture to get rid of the crowd she would have reprimanded him for using magic again.

***

Cyrus looked around the club trying to get away from the loud banter that was taking place at their table. Samara seemed to be enjoying herself as she was laughing along with them. The room was crammed with muggles dancing away to the beat of the music and he cast an eye over the bar with interest.

"Does anyone want a drink?" he called above the music. A series of yeses followed and a list that he didn't really listen to before he got up and walked over to the bar that was calling him.

He decided to stay there for a while and drank to his pleasure without the noise from his body's companions. He looked into the mirror opposite him and clicked his tongue at his appearance. How does this man get laid? He turned his face to the side looking at all the angles.

Then the music suddenly turned slow.

He looked around at the dj; he didn't seem to know what had happened. Cyrus would have let it go if the room hadn't gone darker. No-one else seemed to notice though; they seemed tired and welcomed the slow song. The darkness was what got him though. It only meant one thing, magic.

He turned on the stool as the bartender handed him the round of drinks he had ordered for the table. He eyed the crowd searching for anyone that had a wand in their hands. There wasn't one. His curiosity grew as to who else would go to a muggle club. If there was another person besides him there he wanted to know. He held out his hand and swept it over the crowd. He saw Samara and various others from the group but he knew about them already. He took out the rest of the crowd in the club except for those with magical ability. The room looked larger after they all left.

Except for the two on the dance floor.

His eyes darkened with pure anger as he saw the two dancing and smiling at each other. They looked around but didn't see him. His hand tightened on the glass bar top so much it could have broken.

"Leave them alone," he heard from his side. He turned to see who it was. Samara was watching them too. "Let it go, it'll do no good to go at them angry. You'll just lose." She stood next to him and put her hands on the bar.

He looked back to the couple on the dance floor. Damn his curiosity. He let go of the spell and the crowd returned as he turned around to stare at himself in the mirror again. "What are you doing here I left you at the table." He downed another drink before ordering another.

"I wanted to know what took you so long. Then the room darkened and I wondered if you were using magic here, it's illegal you know." He cut his eyes at her and held the next drink from the bartender before paying.

He raised the glass to drink from it but she stopped him and fought down h is hand. "Then, you make the whole room disappear and I see two people dancing and you looking as if you want to kill them. Want to know what I noticed?"

"Do I have much choice?" he said coolly allowing her to drag his hand back to the surface. He hadn't really noticed how soft her hands were.

"I see the woman you turned me into and I realise why you make me look like her. She is very nice."

"She's beautiful," he corrected and downed the drink anyway. She sighed and looked away down the length of the bar. A man was watching her and winking. Unconsciously, Cyrus turned at her sigh and saw her watching another man. He slammed his drink down on the surface making her jump.

"Are you trying to piss me off even more?" he asked her incredulously.

"What? I wanted to know what he was looking at." Cyrus scoffed in a 'yeah right' way. "I mean it."

"Of course you do."

She made to sit down next to him and sighed again. Her brown hair covered her shoulders as she jumped up on the stool. She leaned to him as she adjusted herself. "How do they sit on these things? It's like sitting on the tip of a broom."

He laughed into his glass and put it down as she turned to him. "Are you laughing at me?" she smiled.

"No," he said innocently, "but I just envisioned you trying to drink on a broom. If you can't even sit on a stool that should be quite funny." He laughed again. "How would you know what sitting on the tip of a broom felt like?" he asked slyly and grinned.

"You do enjoy seeing me squirm don't you?" She ignored his expression and shrug. "Merlin, you are inscrutable. I just don't understand you." He looked at her. "Don't look at me like that."

He rested won his drink. "Like what?" he said defensively leaning back.

"Like you're telling me off for thinking I can get to know you." She steadied herself and folded her arms on the bar.

"Oh, so you know my 'looks' now do you?"

She nodded. "Yes I do and they're much easier to read in this body you are inhabiting." He shook his head and took up another of the drinks he had ordered for the table. She glanced at the row of empty glasses. He seemed to have drank all of them but didn't seem the slightest bit intoxicated. "Do you plan on giving them those?" She pointed to them.

He shook his head and turned to the table. A rowdy laughter came over the music. "I don't think they'd appreciate empty glasses the rate they're going at." As he brought his gaze back to the bar he looked up to the balcony where Draco had taken the love of his life.

She followed his gaze and the smile she was carrying fell from her face as it did on his. She looked back at him, the anger had come back. She had tried to get rid of it but he just kept going back there. She didn't like him when he was angry. He tended to get violent and it was usually directed at her. She looked back to the man who had winked at her; he was still looking at her. What is he looking at? She bit her lip in thought. She glanced at Cyrus as he downed another of the drinks on the bar. The only way to get his mind off of that Virginia woman was to divert his attention. His possessiveness of anything he owned was definite and she knew that he would go to many lengths to keep whatever it was in his possession.

Even if it was something as small as her attention.

***

"How many times have you been here?" Ginny asked after they were shown to their seats on the balcony and he had ordered their drinks. He seemed to know everyone there.

"Not many, I usually come here with my cousin or a few dates but this is the first time I've had a conversation without using magic to shut them up. Not my cousin, the dates."

"Oh, you make me feel so special."

"Do I?" he said smiling. "Well keep that feeling and excuse me for a moment."

After he left, Ginny looked over the balcony and smiled. She had taken the chance and so far it was going well. The people on the floor were dancing to the upbeat music again the base made her chest vibrate. It wasn't like this is wizarding clubs, there were more tables than room to dance where here there was more dance floor than places to sit. That was all reserved for the balcony that stretched around the whole top half of the club.

"Ginny?" she heard and froze. "Ginny is that you?"

She turned in horror to come face to face with two shell shocked people staring at her as if she was someone who they weren't sure she was. She didn't blame them. They hadn't seen her in four years.

"Oh, it is you! How have you been? What have you done to your hair?" Ginny ran her hands through her permanently black hair, she was still quite miffed at Draco for that.

"Harry, Hermione. Hi!" she feigned excitement as much as she could and put on the fakest smile she could muster. "What are you doing here?" she held back the desperation behind that question as much as she could.

"Well, we just got here. We've been out all night," Hermione laughed. "We came for a night out in the muggle world for a change. We've missed it, you know. Not as much as we've missed you though. Where have you been?"

"Oh, around," she nodded. "Erm, you guys have to go."

"What? But we just got here."

"I know and I'm so sorry but I have an interview with my new boss here and I'd rather you weren't here. I'm sorry I can owl you tomorrow if you want."

"You're going to work here?" Harry asked her. Hermione grimaced and looked around.

"Sure," she said wanting them to go.

"Oh, well in that case we had better get home anyway. Your babysitter will want another raise at this rate."

"You have kids?"

"Not me! I'm a taken man. Hermione has one. Emily, but you'll owl tomorrow and we can set arrangements to meet okay?"

"Yeah sure," she nodded. They both got up and walked down the stairs waving at her. She followed them with her eyes down the stairs as they left.

"Well, if that wasn't by far the fakest smile I've ever seen," she heard Draco say as he sat down. She laughed and threw the remainder of her breadstick at him. "What did they ask you?"

"Oh the usual, where have you been why haven't you gotten in touch, what's up with your hair?" she said the last part with a bit of spitefulness.

"Yeah," he said feigning ignorance, "what is up with that anyway? You're hair was the colour of a carrot the last time I saw it."

"Shut up, Malfoy." She leaned back in her seat. "It's your fault anyway, you took off the damn charm and now my hair is permanently this way. I can't take it off only other high whatevers can - I wasn't listening that much because chief was offending me at the time." She sipped at her glass.

He cocked an eyebrow at her ramblings. He had no idea who she was talking about and the 'whatevers' meant something but he didn't know what. "Right..." he said slowly. "So, what about your life then?" he started in conversation.

She coughed at her drink. "What?" she spluttered. He handed her a napkin.

"Your life, I presume you have one?" he sipped at his own drink and waited for an answer.

"Um," she said not knowing where to begin. "What do you want to know?"

He contemplated it. "How about... past relationships?" She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. He thought she was going to change the subject, again.

"Well, I once went out with a muggle called Alex. He used to take me to places like this. I once talked mum into letting me stay by him during summer in school when I was sixteen. He was sweet, but he couldn't control himself. I remember once he got so drunk that he threw up on me-." She stopped as Draco took his turn in coughing up his drink. When he finished spluttering, he began laughing.

"He what?" he laughed out loud.

She gritted her teeth. "He threw up on me. Yes laugh it up but it was not a pleasurable experience. I had to wear one of his shirts when we got back to his home. I couldn't use any spells because of what he was and because I was underage, so I had to wear his vomit on the bus ride home. He was drunk out of his arse so I had to help him upstairs to his room. His parents, believe it or not, were out of the country. That was something I had not told my own but who cares it's in the past. Anyway, the only shirt I could find was this old white one with holes." She started laughing. "It had palm trees on it." She closed her eyes and laughed some more.

It was then that she realised he was not laughing anymore. She looked up at him and noticed he was looking at her with a hunger in her eyes. "What?" she asked.

He leaned forward and she did the same until his mouth was by her ear.

"How do you think you'd look in Armani?" he said.

She pulled back and smiled. She bit her lip in consideration, not long after that she had nodded and found herself being led through the crowd back to the car. It wasn't long after that, that they had both apparated to his house.

***

Samara glanced back at the man and waved at him. He looked surprised at first, and then waved back beckoning her to come over. She made to get out of the seat but a hand had stopped her from moving. She turned to see Cyrus' hand clamped around her wrist tightly and giving the man a murderous glare.

"Where are you going?" he said without taking his eyes off him. She winced under his grip.

"What? Let me go, you don't own me." She struggled to get her wrist free.

"Where are you going?" he repeated. He looked at her now and glared into her eyes. Somehow, without his face, the glares just weren't the same. She almost smiled. "You find me funny?" It wasn't a question.

She answered it anyway. "Yes, actually I do." He gave her a disbelieving look, all the anger was gone. She suddenly became aware that she was able to do that, to shock him enough and make him forget how angry he was.

He got up and practically dragged her out of her seat. As she got her footing she was being pushed around by the people on the dance floor. It wasn't long before they were back in front of the group at the table.

"We're leaving." He then pulled her outside through the front doors without giving them a chance to answer. It had started raining heavily but he walked through it anyway yanking her along with him.

"Stop it, you're hurting me!" she called to him as they rounded a corner. His grip tightened and she winced in pain. She knew she shouldn't have said that, it only gave him more pleasure if he knew she was hurt. He turned again up an alleyway and pulled her forward so that she entered first. The rain beat heavily on her and her hair stuck to her face. It didn't matter if she was crying the rain mixed with it so he could see it. She knew that he could feel it though.

"Walk." She stood there watching him warily. Turning her back on him was the last thing she wanted. She preferred to face him if he was going to attack her in any way. He took a step forward and pushed her backwards. "Walk!" he shouted. Slowly, she began walking into the alleyway and turned around so that her back was facing him. She closed her eyes and the tears fell, she mentally noted not to think that she knew him anymore. Every time she did, he ended up trying to kill her again.

"You still think you know me?" she heard behind her. At least this time she knew that she had to answer.

She closed her eyes. "No," she let out in a whimper. She could practically feel him smirking behind her.

Suddenly, he pushed her to a wall and held her hands above her slipping his knee between her legs to stop her from moving. She landed against the wall as it knocked the breath out of her. She looked up into his eyes in fear through the hair that had flown across her face and gasped. He had turned back into himself as they were walking. The glares weren't funny anymore.

He took his free hand and pushed the hair out of her face. "Do you have a death wish?" he said calmly into her eyes. Normally that line was used as a threat. It sounded as if he really wanted to know. His hand moved to cover her cheek and he held it there. She shivered, but she didn't know if it was from the rain or from him and he smiled at the fact he could make her react that way, even if she knew her life was hanging in the balance. "Inside, you wanted to know what that man was looking at. Why?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She did not expect that. She expected his hand to move away and then come back at her in a slap or something, anything but that. "What?"

"You're deaf now?" he said sarcastically. There was silence, he was waiting for an answer.

"I don't know why he was watching me," she answered truthfully.

"I know that, you said that already. I want to know why you'd think no man would look at you." His eyes ran over her face.

"I don't know." But she did, no one ever looked at her like that. She just put it down to what they saw if they did. They saw her, if that wasn't a good enough reason what was. "Well, there isn't much to look at is there?"

"On the contrary. I think there's plenty to look at." He scanned her face and his hand traveled with his eyes as they went further and further down past her neck.

Samara swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Her breathing sped up and her heart raced as his hand ran over her, traveling with the trail of the rain down her dress. She felt herself fall but his knee, between her legs preventing her from moving, stopped her from sliding to the ground.

"What's the matter?" he asked with a smile knowing full well what he was doing to her. Her eyes opened and blinked repeatedly from the water that was falling on them. He basked in what he saw.

Desire.

He brought his head down and kissed her forcefully, unconsciously letting go of her hands over her head and brought his own down to encircle her waist. He felt hers fall beside her from the lack of blood in them, but they didn't stay there as they made their way across his shoulders and snaked around his neck.

His hands traveled to her thighs to raise the dress to her waist as she felt for the buckle of his belt. A brick that stuck out of the wall pressed into her spine. She started unbuttoning his shirt but stopped when he lifted her causing that brick to press into her back even harder. She heard his trousers unzip and his hands ran up her thighs, along the wet material of her dress, past her stomach and chest, and to the straps on her shoulders. Her legs wrapped around his waist, as his mouth found hers again and the pressure of the brick rubbed against her back making her hiss in pain.

He smiled against her mouth and broke the kiss, looking into her eyes brown met coal blue and, suddenly, he went serious again. He could feel her shaking to the cold, and he knew the rough texture of the brick wall behind her was not helping. As she looked back at him, he could read the desire for him to continue regardless. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time.

He pushed a wet lock of hair out of her face "You're beautiful," he said kissing her passionately. He squeezed her waist and pushed against her causing her to moan and close her eyes. She gasped a bit as he repeated the motion rubbing against him. He growled deep down in his throat as her arms tightened around his neck, his body and the wall was all that kept her from falling.

"You are mine, Samara. Don't you dare think any different." She nodded into his neck feeling the heat of him through the cold of the rain.

***

Ginny woke up in the darkness of the bedroom. She tried to turn, but found she was restrained by an arm that was holding her tightly so that she couldn't move. Probably thought I'd run away or something, she thought with a smile. Her stomach grumbled and she then realised that she hadn't eaten since nine o'clock that evening. She looked at the clock on the wall, it said five. She carefully moved Draco's arm and rose from the bed looking around the ground for something to put on. Bits of everything, his and hers, were strewn everywhere. Thankfully, she found her underwear but her dress was nowhere to be found so she made do with a shirt she found near the bottom of the bed. Well, he did ask, she thought with a smile.

She grabbed her wand from the ground and stepped out onto the corridor. She flinched as she felt the cold ground beneath her feet and closed the door.

"Lumos," she said to the dark and her wand tip illuminated the corridor so she could see the stairs.

She made her way down the steps looking at the large entrance hall. Two months ago, when she had first set foot inside of this place, she would have hexed Draco if he ever came near her. Now, well...

As she reached downstairs she looked around trying to remember the way to the kitchen. She had only ever been there once and she hadn't really paid attention to it when he led the way.

Just then, Cordon appeared from the floor. She screamed before realising it was only him and what time of the morning it was.

"Merlin's coat!" she exclaimed after screaming.

"Was there something you were looking for ma'am?" he asked ignoring her comment.

"Where did you come from?" she asked him as he cocked an eyebrow at her attire.

"I came from my room, Madam Virginia."

"You could just call me Virginia if you want," she compromised. She looked at the ground. "Your room is down there?" she said pointing to the floor.

"My rooms are downstairs yes. I was watching the television, Master Malfoy gave me one for my 'triple five' birthday as he called it. I do not sleep therefore he gave me something to occupy my time." Ginny's stomach growled once more. He cocked his eyebrow higher if that was possible. "Perhaps, Miss Virginia, I could show you to the kitchens?" he said to her knowingly.

"Thank you, you're a god send." She followed him through small corridors until they reached the kitchens. It seemed when there was nothing cooking this room was just as cold as the rest of them.

"Goodnight, miss." Cordon turned and left.

Ginny looked into the fridge and found, as predicted, masses of food pre-prepared and stacked inside. It was only serving that every single piece would be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

"Do these people know nothing of hunger? How am I supposed to survive when everything has a force field?" she let out in a huff. She opened the fridge some more to let the light fall into the kitchen. Quickly, she rummaged through the cupboards and found two familiar looking jars next to each other and half empty.

"Oh, Draco, you gem." She took them out and immediately went for the bread bin.

***

A scream woke him up. Draco sat up in his bed and looked around the room. The empty space next to him grounded his attention and he quickly made to get some clothes. After dressing he grabbed his robe and his wand and took the backstairs from his room to the dining room downstairs.

"Lumos," he whispered and walked through the dining room and passed the living room to the entrance hall. As he approached he heard voices, one was Ginny's and the other was his butler. He ousted his wand and stood watching her.

She does look good in Armani.

She was shivering though. I must get those heating charms fixed for the summer, he thought to himself as Cordon led her to the kitchens. Softly he followed behind them.

When they reached, Cordon left her and stopped at the entrance to ask if he wanted anything. Draco said no and dismissed him to his rooms again. He stood at the door and surveyed Ginny tearing his kitchen apart to find some food muttering something about force fields and such. She then exclaimed something about him which caught his interest and tore a line to the bread bin.

Oh, she found my secret stash then, he thought with a smile.

"Spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon..." she repeated to the light of the kitchen before opening every drawer in sight.

"Far left," he said to her.

"Thanks," she said oblivious to him. He walked into the kitchen and seated himself on the island behind her whilst she worked on her sandwich.

She turned and gasped loudly in surprise. "Don't - do - that!" she said holding her chest to her. "You people in this house seem to have the notion that I have eyes behind my head. Stop it!" she said.

He just looked at her. "Nice shirt." He gave her a smile.

"Thanks," she said bringing her work over to the island next to him. "I found it."

"Really, you did? I heard they're very hard to find in the Wizarding world, worth a few hundred in the Muggle world actually. I have a few, our cousins went to school together."

"A few hundred? That's rent where I live." She laughed a little. "I'm wearing my rent."

"I woke up when you screamed," he said.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that your butler scared me."

"I was worried,' he said taking the spoon when she was done. "So I came downstairs."

"Mmm." She held up her masterpiece and bit into it. A light spread from the horizon into the kitchen, the sun had begun to rise. She turned to watch it before it left the ground as his arms came around her middle from behind her.

The chill from the room crept under her shirt and the sun's heat began to touch her face. It was nice compared to the rest of the room. A sudden draught swept across her stomach and she looked down to see two hands undoing the buttons of her shirt.

"No! No, Draco not here! It's too cold, no." she strategically maneuvered to the other side of the room.

"Oh come on, live a little." He moved to come after her.

"No!" she said as she moved away. She screamed as he began chasing her around the island in the middle of the kitchen before catching her and pinning her against the fridge and kissed her intently.

She tasted of chocolate and peanut butter and he couldn't get enough if it, three of his favourite things all at once. He pressed her into the fridge and his hands came into contact with the freezing cold stainless steel of the fridge door. He broke the kiss and looked down at her.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked her.

She sighed. "You have no idea," she said.

He stepped back and took off his dressing robe. "Then why didn't you say so?" he said as he draped it over her. He held her sandwich as she slid it on.

"I tried," she said taking it back, "but you were too sexually charged you wouldn't listen." She paused looking at him. She stepped back. "Hold on, you heard me scream and ran to my rescue? But yet, you still had time to look for a t-shirt, boxers, your robe and a pair of slippers to wear?" she asked incredulously.

"Well," he shrugged. "It's cold."

"Ha!" she scoffed. "You're unbelievable."

"That I am," he said leaning closer and once more pinned her to the fridge. She responded immediately and her arms went up around his neck.

He picked her up and pressed her into the fridge, she was heavier now with the robe that weighed her down. She had to wrap her legs around his waist and hold on tighter so that she didn't fall. This resulted in her dropping her sandwich. She broke away.

"Oh no," she said suddenly.

"What?" he asked her.

"My sandwich, I dropped it," she said in a sad voice.

He looked at her. "You're really hungry aren't you?"

She nodded and he turned with her in his arms to sit her on a stool. He picked up her sandwich from the floor and threw it in the bin. Ignoring her little groan at him throwing away her masterpiece, he took out a frying pan from one of the cupboards and lit the stove.

"Are you sure you should be messing around with Natalie's kitchen this way?"

"Hey, who's house is this?" he asked her and she smiled.

***

Samara sat up in the morning with a groggy head. She looked around the room she was in and didn't recognize it at all. Where am I? she thought to herself and jumped when something moved to her side.

She froze in horror. Oh Merlin no, please just this once let the fates be on my side. She turned to her right, the fates hated her. He moved again. She had to get out of there before he woke up. She looked at the clock on his bedside table, it said six o'clock. She still had a few minutes to get downstairs and into her clothes before the shift began for the morning.

She slowly began searching the room for her clothes and slipped them on loosely before leaving the room and running down the stairs to her quarters. When she reached she entered the shower quickly scrubbed off any remnants of last night. She looked at the bruise on her wrist. He had squeezed it tight until no blood was able to circulate. She winced as she brought the washcloth to her back. She gingerly felt where it was tender and felt the rough part of her back where the brick had grazed her repeatedly. She knew he had done it on purpose and she hadn't cared, she wanted him and he knew it, he could see it in her eyes. She went back to her small room and changed before going to the kitchens. She twisted her wet hair into a tight bun. She couldn't bear seeing it loose now. She pulled down the sleeves over her arms to hide the bruise on her wrist, looked at herself on the mirror and left the room.

The hustle around for the morning had begun the second Lyra entered the room. She beat out a load of instructions before starting on breakfast. Samara sat through it all and hadn't heard a thing. She only snapped out of it when a bucket was being handed to her.

"Apples, Samara, apples. The orchard. Walk and pick." She stood up and walked outside with the bucket in hand just letting her feet take her. It was half an hour before she reached the first apple tree. She had thought about using her wand but thought against it as she didn't want to go back to the house anytime soon. She stood under the tree for a good few minutes before even approaching the branches.

Why did I do that last night? What was it about such a prick that could make me act that way? She blindly felt for the apples on the lower branches and looked at her wrist as she reached up. It had a red raw ring around it. She shook it out of her mind and ignored it as she filled her bucket. She looked down and noticed it was full. She turned back to the house at one of the top windows knowing that he was probably still sleeping in his room. She chose to ignore it and knew that there was no way that she was going back to that house any time soon. She looked around to see if anyone was looking then threw the apples to one side before moving onto another tree.

She did this a few times until there was only one tree left.

"Morning!" she heard behind her and turned. It was one of the valets from the front door. She had spoken to him many times, especially when she tried to pass through the house if it was raining. That thought cast her mind back to when she had first met Cyrus. She faintly smiled.

"Hey Samuel, how's everything?" She turned back to the tree.

"Oh boring, those ministry people keep coming in and out giving and taking back their coats and such. I finally had a few minutes for break and I saw you walking so I came to see you. You've seemed distant since your accident."

"Accident?" she asked perplexed. "What accident?"

"You've forgotten already?" he laughed. "I fail to see how falling four stories can be easily wiped from your memory." He smiled at her. She had a feeling he was trying to be charming, somehow it just didn't work on her anymore.

"Oh yeah," she said remembering her near death experience. She counted how lucky she had been that Mr. Black had happened along, if he hadn't Cyrus would have let her fall. She did a double take and wondered when she had started calling him that. She smiled at the fact that he finally got what he wanted. Just like he always did.

"Oh you've filled your bucket then, would you like me to walk you back?" he asked.

"No, it's alright Sam. I can manage. I've done this before you know and in different weather conditions, I 'm sure I can do it again." She felt sorry for saying it to him, but the last thing she wanted was male company.

Well, not his anyway.

"Oh," he said in a sad way.

"I'll catch up with you later though. I promise." She smiled at him and hoped that he would forget her promise by the time he got back or have an extra shift or something. All she wanted to do was go somewhere far away from this place.

"Okay then, my break is probably over by now anyway." He left her and began walking back to the house.

She stood there watching him until he passed the last tree and turned back looking at the last apple tree she could possibly pick from without throwing the produce away. She had relented after throwing away the last of the apples in her bucket and resounded to actually picking them to take them back.

"So now I'll have to go back," she sighed. It was the furthest tree from the house now and she found solace here just knowing that no one would look for her. She was, after all, just a maid and no man in the house could say otherwise.

Be he the master's son or not.

After jumping for the last apple and failing to grab it for the umpteenth time, she began to ponder on whether it was worth it. Leaving the apple there and going back to the house or staying to fight with gravity for it. The latter seemed much more fun on its own so she decided to stay and leaned against the tree for leverage but only managing to grasp leaves. She laughed as the leaves fell into her face and she blinked them away. She stretched up for it one last time before she felt herself being lifted toward it. She screamed and looked down at the two hands around her waist before grabbing hold of the apple so they would let her down. When she turned her face went pale.

"You," was all she could manage.

"Yes, last time I checked I was me, though after last night I can understand why you'd ask."

"Um, I - I - um, I have to get back to the house." She picked up her bucket and began to walk before he grabbed her. She winced a little, that wrist was still sore.

"No you don't or you'd be there already." He surveyed her with an icy glare. It was obvious she was trying to avoid his company and he didn't like it.

"Yes I do, I've wasted enough time. I should have been back ages ago." She tried to yank away her arm.

"Yes, I wondered why so many apples were falling in summer. It was like following breadcrumbs, just bigger." He turned and she saw all the apples she had thrown on the ground in an attempt to avoid the house. She hissed at the waste, there was a lot more than she remembered. A lot more.

***

For the second time that morning Ginny woke with an arm tightly fastened around her. Her hair spilled over her face in the dark waterfall that it was. She could get used to the colour after a while but it was still strange to see it so black, brown, blonde-. What?

Her hair was changing colour from blonde to the red she knew to green and there was a hand running through her hair each time.

Green. Him. Then it turned blue.

Blue? Oh no you don't. She sneakily faked stretching and turned to him so that he stopped and opened her eyes sleepily.

"Morning," he said with a smile. I could get used to waking up with that too. She smiled at her thought and held him tighter.

"Morning," she smiled. "What are you doing to my hair?"

"Just something I picked up from my cousin." He smiled as she kissed him.

"You really like this cousin of yours don't you? How come I haven't met him?" she asked.

"Well, I haven't seen him lately. I should schedule a drink with him when I can. He lives with his father in the south of London. We used to spend lots of time together but then he got a girlfriend and then I never heard from him."

"Oh the curse of the girlfriend. Who was she?"

"I don't know, he never introduced me. He said his father didn't want me to meet her, which was weird." She gave him a baffled look. "Don't ask me to explain, I don't know, he's a raving lunatic anyway." She laughed.

Just then Cordon came out of the floor once more scaring Ginny to death. "Cordon, next time could you knock?"

"I am sorry sir. I just thought that you would like to know that your father has arrived and that he is coming to see you." He exited through the door.

"What?" he exclaimed as he jumped out of bed. Ginny followed suit and started looking for a place to hide. "Here," he said as he opened his walk-in closet. She ran inside and Draco dove on the bed just as his father entered the room.

There was silence as Draco pretended to sleep. His father coughed and Draco stirred before turning over and opening his eyes. He sat up and looked at his father waiting for him to speak.

Lucius looked around the room knowing that something was wrong with it. He had seen the butler leave his son's room which meant that there was something he was hiding. It was then that he spotted a dark green garment just poking out from the bottom of his son's bed. He cocked an eyebrow and glared at his son knowing that it was a dress.

She's here.

It was then that he chose his moment of revenge.

"There is a young woman downstairs to see you. She says that you came to her looking for a favour. She says that she has finished with her engagement and is here to give you all her services and has returned you your jacket which you left in her home a few weeks ago when you visited." He stood waiting for something to happen and smiled when he heard someone apparate out of the closet.

"Did you have to do that, father?" Draco asked angrily as he grabbed his robe and ran down the stairs.

Ginny apparated downstairs knowing full well that she couldn't leave the premises. She just wanted to see if it was true. After all, who could trust Lucius Malfoy right? She snuck up to the living room entrance and saw the woman he was talking about. She was quite tall and had on an expensive navy blue dress. Her hair fell around her shoulders in a cascade of dark brown curls and she was looking around. Her back was facing Ginny so she couldn't see her face but she was looking at one of the paintings on the wall in admiration. She then reached out and tugged at a corner to straighten it. Ginny broke down and began to back away when she saw the crème jacket in her hand as the woman leaned forward to straighten it. She began to turn when Draco called her name but Ginny didn't see her face as she had started to run for the front door.

The bastard was actually going to try and explain what his father had ever so graciously confessed for him. She reached the door and tugged it open and ran outside before he caught at her arm.

"Ginny, wait!" he pleaded.

"Save it!" she spat as she spun around. Her voice caught in her throat as she searched for the right words to convey her feelings. "You - you did this to me, you broke me. I have tried to avoid men in general, without the help of my best friend, and you broke me!" She held her head with both arms as if it hurt knowing that she didn't make sense and raked her hands through her hair. "You knew about my past, you knew and I know you did because you said so... and you still did this to me!"

"Ginny." He reached out to hold her but she flinched away.

"No!" she yelled. "No," she repeated softer. "You don't get to touch me anymore." She backed away to the bottom step and stood on the gravel of the driveway.

She looked at him through her teary eyes feeling disgusted with herself. "I hate you," she said to him and apparated home.