We Wasted Years

Suddenly Draco found himself pulling into the gravel drive of Mayberry Mansion. He seemed surprised that it looked the same way it did when he left it only some twenty-four hours ago. The white mansion still towered over the lengthy driveway, which was lined with the same beautiful white flowers. He made a mental note to pluck one up into Ginny's hair when they made their way up to the mansion, and it only took him a second to realize the thoughts that had been playing in his head. His eyes bulged as he stared up at the house, horrified with himself at the thought. What the hell? No, there would be no flowers, damn those white flowers! Get your head on straight!

But the problem was that getting his head on straight seemed too difficult of a thing to do. He didn't know exactly the right way to do it because there were too many thoughts in his head for him to figure out which ones were the right ones. The first thing that entered into his mind, well actually it had been there since last night, and hadn't once left, was that of Ginny. He didn't know what to think of their night last night. And he didn't know what she thought about it either. Words had hardly been used since he had hushed her last night before he had fallen asleep.

"I can drop you off up front, if you'd like," Draco offered slowing down in front of the house. He figured that seemed the polite thing, but more importantly her answer would help him find out what she was thinking.

"No, that's okay, I'll go with you to the garage," she answered quickly as she glanced to the house. He followed her gaze and saw Caleb coming down the steps toward them. "Is it very far?"

"Not really," Draco told her as he sped up past the house. They turned the corner around the right side of the house and there it was, "See?"

"Oh." Ginny cleared her throat and suddenly began to gather her backpack together. She'd kept it on her lap all the way home.

Draco pulled into the open garage and eased the Mustang lightly into its parking spot in the back of the garage, somewhat secluded from Gerard's other automobiles. Draco was sad to have to return the keys of the sports car; he almost would have traded his wand to have one of them. Not that he would admit that to anyone.

They were out of the car and walking out of the garage, when Caleb met them at the entrance. He looked slightly disheveled and his eyes were all for Ginny. He crossed to her with his arms wide and ready to embrace her.

"Ginny, I've been so worried. Are you okay?

"Yes," Ginny answered shortly, when she pulled away.

"What happened?" he asked her. Finally acknowledging Draco, he turned to him and asked again, "What happened? You didn't even try to phone."

Draco stepped back from Caleb guiltily, but Caleb took no notice because at the same moment Ginny stepped forward, "We tried."

"What?" Draco heard, and almost swore that he'd said it himself, but it had been Caleb who had made the outburst.

"We did. We tried to phone. There was a storm, a huge thunderstorm. The rain, you couldn't even see through it and it got dark so quickly. We couldn't drive in the weather; we had to go to a motel until it let up. The phone...we tried to call but the phone lines were down...on account of the storm."

Draco's chest almost burst and his mind went completely blank. She covered their blunder over, and Draco tried to feel relieved, but he couldn't. She didn't tell her husband, well really, did I expect her too? Hell no, he hadn't but he still couldn't decide...he was still confused.

Meanwhile, Ginny and Caleb were immersed in each other. Draco felt forgotten and he probably was. Caleb was holding Ginny and his eyes were closed under the weight of emotion. He couldn't see Ginny's face, because she was facing the other direction, toward the open garage door.

He passed them by and continued out of the garage; back toward the house. He was tired and perhaps a little irritable. He wasn't sure...to be totally honest. His chest still felt heavy, but that was probably just from the anxiety that last nights events had caused. He needed to relax because Ginny had taken care of it all without the slightest suspicion, but he couldn't help but feel edgy.

Surprised, but grateful, he opened the usually locked front doors and entered into the foyer. It was empty, reminding him of his Manor, he thought randomly, making his way through the foyer and down the hall to the right. After winding through the many halls, he finally made his way to the room he shared with Elena.

He opened the door sharply, and startled her resting form quite a bit. She had been lying back on the pillows of their canopy bed, reading a book, propping the hardback upon the tiny bulge that was their developing child.

"Sorry," he muttered, as he crossed the room toward the adjoining bathroom. He felt dirty and he wanted to shower. His clothes were dry now, they had been since Ginny had used a drying charm on them this morning, but still, they'd been laying on the floor of a dirty motel all night, and he wanted them off of his body.

The shower was quite nice, he reflected as he toweled his head roughly walking back into the room where Elena lay. He glanced over at her and saw that she had returned to her book, but in the moments that he took to study her, he saw that her eyes weren't moving. Her eyebrows were furrowed giving her a look of determination and Draco groaned inwardly. She wanted something; he knew it, but what? And how long would it take for her to speak up. He decided he'd help her along,

"These are the keys to the Mustang." He jingled the keys in his hand. "Could you return them to Gerard next time he's back in town? And tell him that the deal was settled to his liking."

She nodded and Draco laid them on top of the dresser where she would be able to locate them. He waited for a second for her to say something to him, to bring up whatever it was that she wanted and since his back was to her at the dresser, it would have been even easier for her to just spit it out, but she relented.

"Um, Draco?" Finally, he thought.

"Yes?" He turned around and she swallowed hard and her face went slightly blank.

"Well, there's...is Ginny okay, Caleb was very worried last night," she finished lamely.

"There was a storm. We had to stay the night," he rattled off quickly.

"Oh." She sighed and he knew they weren't through, but suddenly he was famished.

"I'll be back, I'm going to the kitchens," he called as he was closing the door.

"Draco, wait," she exclaimed frantically, rather out of character.

He stopped at the door, heaving another great sigh, and then he came back into the room.

"Yes?" he repeated as before leaning against the door.

"Well, it's just...well, I got a call," she finished as though Draco would know what she wanted to tell him without actually saying it aloud.

Draco, however, had no clue of whom she took calls from, and therefore was completely clueless. So he waited for her to continue.

"It's Emma, and her husband, they're coming to stay," she blurted out quickly.

"When?" he asked her.

"In about a month or so, it's a long way off, but I just wanted to let you...I just wanted to make sure you...Luke's getting a weekend off from work and so their coming to see how everything is going," she finished her sentence and heaved a sigh.

"Oh." It was Draco's turn to not know what to say. "And the children?"

"She's leaving them with my mother. She's been staying there ever since Emma had Henry a few weeks ago-"

"I know," he said quickly, and then he felt a rush of mild despair wash over him. "I'll do it."

She nodded, but then said nothing more, and truly returned back to her book. Draco did like he had told her and he removed himself from his room and set out for the kitchens. He didn't really know what time it was, or whether or not people were eating dinner in the dining hall, but he did know that he wanted to be alone.

Emma Ellington, Elena's only sister, and her husband Luke were coming for a visit. That was just great, Draco thought as he pushed the swinging door open and entered into the kitchens moments later. The house elves were accommodating and they were pushing him back out the door moments later with his hands full of sandwiches. He didn't really know where to go to eat them, not the dining room; too many people, he ticked off a mental list. Not in his room either, he didn't feel like being around Elena. He knew the house pretty well and he could have easily chosen an unused room to hide out in and stuff his face, but he decided that he'd rather go outside, and so he did.

The acres behind the house were expansive, but one wouldn't know it unless they knew the property. It was covered in trees and so most of the backyard was hidden in the forest. Gerard owned quite a lot of property, the forest being the greatest feature, but he also had stables for the horses. Gerard had had Elena and Emma taking lessons since they were big enough to pull themselves up onto the saddles. There were wide trails in the forest, paths to ride the horses on, and so Draco made for the opening.

Not too far in, after only a few twists and turns, there was a little spot on the side of the trail where there sat what looked like a wooden bench. It looked very old, and quite rickety, but Draco sat on it nevertheless. And lucky for him, it didn't break under his weight. Clearing his head, he bit into the first sandwich, and for a few moments he didn't think about anything else for the how good that sandwich tasted in his mouth.

His bliss didn't last long, as he broke into the second sandwich. He'd come out here to be alone, and to be able to think; might as well get it over with. Starting back to where he had lost his thoughts, he remembered what was troubling him: Emma, Elena's sister; the one who was deeply in love and wonderfully happy with her, now three, children. He had about a month or so to waste in agony before she would be arriving here with her perfect family, and then his whole world would go to pieces. Well, actually, Elena's world would go to pieces, but wasn't that what had started it all in the beginning?

He'd had quite a bit to drink, but it was a wedding and so he had a good enough excuse to be trashed. His life had gone down the tubes only seven months ago; that was the day that he had become a married man. And now seven months later, here he was sitting at a round table in a giant tent filled with people dancing, including a women in a fluffy white dress and a man in a crisp tuxedo, another wedding. Elena's sister Emma had married a completely horrid boy named Luke. They were very much in love, and the bastard had no problem showing it off for everyone to see.

He realized he was glaring at the married couple who were dancing in the middle of the dance floor and he shifted his gaze. He looked around the white tent, it reminded him of the circus, and then he looked to his right to the opening where he could see the stars shining up in the night's sky. He sighed, it had been a long day, and even though his frequent visits with the punch bowl were making him a little forgetful, he still remembered the entire day.

The wedding had been a complete waste of time; disgustingly boring, and the church was sweltering hot in the summer heat. He even had to waste more time sitting next to Elena in the pew while he listened to vows that each of them had written personally, it made him sick. The only thing that made the reception any better was that punch bowl. He looked around his table, waiting for a moment for his vision to focus, and then he saw that he was sitting by himself at the huge round table. Where was Elena? He couldn't remember when he'd last seen her, but then he did remember her saying that she was going to go to the bathroom. How long ago had that been? Oh well, speaking of needing a bathroom break, he needed one himself.

He rose from his table and crossed to the opening of the tent. He followed along the side of it until he made his way to the back. He saw the two blue port-a-potties a little ways away and sneering with disgust he made his way over to them. The farther he got, the more the music died down, but then the closer he got to toilets the louder he heard the feeble cries.

He found himself rushing quickly toward the sound of the cries. It sounded like a woman, but really, he couldn't tell. There was no one there, and so they must have locked themselves away inside one of the johns, Draco reasoned. Cautiously, he approached the farthest one and then he stopped and just listened. The cries sounded pathetic, and horribly weak, and Draco felt his heart go out to whoever it was that was feeling so down, well, however much of a heart he had left. He couldn't take it anymore and he stepped forward and knocked on the door.

The person within, coughed loudly, and then went silent. Draco couldn't wait any longer. "Are you okay?"

Slowly he opened the door, and the woman he saw standing there shocked him. She was wearing lavender colored bridesmaids dress; her fists were clenched at her sides, and her face was blotchy and red. The mascara she'd worn earlier was running down her cheeks and he saw a black smudge on the dress from where she had wiped some of it away.

"Elena." He almost gasped, but when her name came out of his mouth it sounded like an accusation. She looked horrible; he'd never seen such a mess. They'd already had a handful of troubled times in their seven months, and she had done some massive crying throughout, but this was by far the worst he'd ever seen her.

"Merlin, Draco," she started and if it were possible her cheeks got even redder. She moved past him and made her way back to the tent saying nothing else. Draco didn't know what to do. She obviously needed some comfort, but he didn't know how to give it to her. He didn't really think he was in the position to give it to her anyway.

"Wait, Elena! You can't go back in there looking like that!" he shouted, but not too loudly. He didn't want anyone at the reception to hear and come out here to see what was going on, but then again the music was deafening.

It might not have been comforting, but it made Elena stop in her tracks. She turned around slowly, and by that time Draco had crossed the soft grass to stand in front of her. He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to her. She eyed him wearily, but then an expression on her face made him think that something had clicked. Hastily, she wiped at her face, wiped all of the black from her eyes, and then promptly handed it back to him. He took it, hesitantly, and just when he thought she was going to leave again a new song came out through the speakers, echoing out into the lawn.

It was that Shania Twain song, the one that Draco knew nothing about, "From this Moment On." It was the song that one of Elena's aunts had sung at Emma's wedding. It was the song, the one and only song that Draco had danced to with Elena at their own wedding seven months ago, and now, Draco knew that Emma and Luke were dancing to it at that very second. Probably all alone on the dance floor just like how he'd done with Elena at his wedding. Draco looked to Elena and saw that she was rooted to the spot. She was staring right at him with her big brown, youthful eyes and he watched them slowly fill up with tears.

"What's wrong, Elena?" he asked with his voice full of concern. Looking back, he never knew why he'd even asked, why he suddenly cared, but to Elena, it seemed to light up her life.

She flung her arms around his neck, and half from surprise, half just because she looked like she needed it; he wrapped his arms around her tightly. The sobs started again as he held her, and the shaking too. He tried to steady her, and calm her but his efforts didn't seem to help. The more gentle and comforting he strained to be, the more upset she got. When he could finally pry her off of him, he grabbed her hand and quickly led her behind the johns where he could demand to know what was wrong without anyone seeing.

She squeezed his hand, and cried harder, but allowed him to lead her to seclusion. At first he was going to have her sit, but then he thought of her dress, and of his rented tuxedo and decided against it. Instead he just got down to business.

"What is wrong? What happened to you? Did someone-"

"No," she sobbed wiping her eyes.

Again, he didn't know why he cared so much so suddenly. Maybe it was because he was still slightly naïve. He thought to his relationship with Elena now, and he figured it must have been because it was so early on in their marriage. They'd been married hardly over half a year, and perhaps he still had a little bit of compassion in him, at that point. Who knew; it'd all drained out of him by now though.

"Did somebody hurt you?"

"No, nothing like that, It's just...It's just this!" she burst, waving her hands frantically before returning them to her eyes to wipe them again.

"What do you mean by-" he began to ask but she cut him off.

"This, everything, this wedding, my life, I want it to be over. My head is pounding and my stomach is all tied up in knots and I can't take it any longer. She lied to me! She deceived me and betrayed me and left me to rot! I just can't believe that we share the same blood! It just doesn't seem possible anymore." She stopped gasping for breath, boring her teary eyes into Draco's as she regained the strength to go on.

"Your sister," Draco murmured knowing that was who she was speaking of and she confirmed it in vain, making his own stomach tighten. Elena's outbursts were taking him by surprise, for she had never been this bold, but his curiosity egged her on.

"Draco, you have no siblings. You don't know what its like. She was my best friend...my everything. We did everything together and we dreamed of the future together all through school. We planned out our lives together and we swore we wouldn't leave the other behind, we swore. There were supposed to be matching white houses, like fathers', and matching minivans for each of our three children, which we would have at the same times so that they could grow up together. She lied to me!

"I should have known. I should have known when she refused father's proposal for Gregory Simms. Why am I always so stupid?" She nearly shouted now glaring at Draco making him feel as though Emma wasn't the only one she thought was making her feel stupid. "Merlin, my life is a mess; our life is a mess but there is nothing I can do. And my sister, the filthy liar is in there having the time of her life, while I'm out here crying my eyes out to you! I hope she's happy with her life. Oh, bugger, I know she is happy! I know it for a fact she told me and she was positively beaming when she'd said it. Oh...did you know that she was jealous?"

"Jeal-"

"Of me, marrying you. She'd said I was going to go off and leave her and be all happy and content and leave her behind. She made me feel guilty for my father choosing you. She told me I was so lucky that I got you in the deal, and I believed her!"

At this Draco's jaw dropped, but he quickly closed it again. She'd gone off, she'd just gone insane, and Draco had no clue what to do about it. He couldn't speak at all, he had no idea of any of this, naturally, and he'd never asked her. He'd hardly ever spoken to her, unless it was absolutely essential. This was the closest thing to a heart to heart they had ever shared.

"But no, when it was her turn to get married off, she refused! She yelled at father and walked out on him and told him he had no right to choose for her. I couldn't believe it, she'd been so keen to get a hold of you, and I thought for sure she couldn't wait to have a man of her own. No, then she brought back Luke and it was perfect! Father respected him and mother adored him and now here we are; here we are at the bloody fucking wedding. Well, it really was a wonderful event I can't wait for the next one!"

She stopped to consider it for a moment, while Draco stood there watching her, his mind blown away, and then she burst out again. Apparently she hadn't yet finished.

"No, actually, I'd rather not come back to another one of these. I don't think I'd survive it. Do you have any idea what its like to pretend I live in a bed of roses with you?"

Draco had to snap his mouth shut again at this comment. He didn't think she saw it though, he didn't think she saw him at all. She was just erupting; it was blind fury and she wouldn't rest until everything came out. Draco didn't think he could bear to hear it all, though. He wanted to stop her from going on, from making him feel even more like he was sinking; he'd had no idea. He kept telling himself that over and over whenever she paused to breathe.

"I have to pretend that we're like her and Luke. I have to make up all kinds of romantic things we do together, and it gets hard. I don't have the greatest imagination and I'm running out of ideas!" She went towards him then, as though she was going to hit him, but she tripped and Draco snatched her up into his arms before she could fall to the ground.

He wrapped his arms around her body and over her arms so that they were bound to her sides. He took a deep breath, as she made some kind of hiccupping noise. She was going to start crying again.

"Elena, I'm sorry." She froze in his arms, and for once he was glad that she was so close to him so that she couldn't see his face. It would have been ten times harder to say this if he had to look into those innocent eyes and do it. "I'm sorry, I am. I can't stand this, I'll do whatever it takes to make it easier for you with your sister, I never knew. I promise to you that from now on, we'll be a happy couple around her...for you." He sighed and she pulled away to look at his face. Her eyes were squinted and her nose was scrunched up in suspicion, but he wanted to rid her of her troubles so he rephrased it to help her understand.

"Don't worry, it'll all be okay. I promise that whenever you have to be around your sister anymore, you won't feel so down. We'll pretend to be like them; we'll fool them." It sounded like he was asking her if he could do it by the time he got it all out.

She gave him one last look through her shiny tears before she wiped her eyes savagely one last time. She pulled out her wand and muttered a spell and her face was clean. Then another charm and the make-up had returned back to normal.

"I'm going to go give our good-byes. I'm telling them that you don't feel well so just Apparate back right now and it'll save us both the trouble."

A bird squawked loudly in a tree nearby and Draco stood up frightened. He turned all around, dropping the last sandwich in his haste. It took him a moment to realize where he'd gone off to and then he sat back down heavily on the wooden bench. He leaned back against the nearest tree trying to piece that memory of his life so long ago with how his life was now. He sneered once again in disgust; it was such a natural expression on his fair face. He had pity for who he had been then, falling for something so feeble. However he also knew that all that Elena had felt that night and what she said was true, but he prided himself on the fact that he wouldn't have folded so easily now, as he did then. Then again, he could still remember the anguish and the dread that had come out of her voice and it still depressed him, when he caught himself thinking about it off guard.

That night hadn't exactly ended the way he thought it would, after he had vowed to help her rid herself of such a demanding burden. In fact, she seemed worse off when she arrived back to the Manor and pulled herself into their bed only half an hour after he'd arrived home. She'd cried herself to sleep again, he remembered. He'd been so confused that night that he didn't even fall asleep until after the tears wore her out and she grew silent. She had stopped the whole crying herself to sleep thing about a week before the wedding and he was so grateful for it. He'd feared that he'd have to go to sleep for the rest of his life listening to her miserable sobs. Yes, that was the night that she restarted that trend and if he could remember well enough, she hadn't stopped it completely until after their marriage had lasted a year.

They never mentioned their little row ever again, never specifically referenced in any way, not that they needed to. It was the first and last heart to heart they would ever share, he noted thinking back to his thoughts that very night. Yet even still, on Christmas and Easter, and on birthdays and yes, other weddings when the two sisters were brought together again Draco and Elena would assume the role of the smug married couple. They never spoke of it, they just did it, and when she was gone so was their façade.

Not having any more sandwiches to eat, and finding that his stomach was full anyway, Draco stood up and made his way out of the wooded area and back up to the house. By now it was dark outside, not completely though. The sun's last few rays were waving goodbye on the horizon. There was a large porch across the back of the house, but Draco decided to walk around to the front. It was quicker to get to his room from the front doors anyway; he might get lost if he entered through the back ones.

He was on the side of the house when he heard rustling ahead of him and the sound of feet shuffling in the grass. He had not a moment to prepare for whoever it was to approach him before Ginny appeared right before his eyes. He must have looked shocked because she smiled weakly.

"Draco," she said exhaling breath.

"Hi," he said, still perplexed.

"I just wanted to tell you...I just wanted to um..."

But he didn't get to find out what it was she was going to tell him because at that moment she threw herself onto him and attacked his mouth with hers. His lips tingled with the invasion and soon he felt her tongue in his mouth. Walking, stumbling he pulled her over to the side of the house and pressed her up against the siding. He brought one of his hands up to her face to hold her cheek and the other hand gripped her waist. He groaned low in his throat as he felt the blood travel out of his head and in the other direction.

Ginny pulled away just after he groaned smiling up into his face. She closed her own hand over the one he had cupping her cheek and then she brought it to her lips and kissed his palm.

"Monday," she said out of breath, "we'll use the car that Gerard lent you. He told me that. Anyway Monday," she repeated, "meet me at the Mustang at eleven o'clock. I have to get started on my job for Gerard, remember?"

He didn't have a chance to nod or to say yes or anything because her lips were on his again and he was drowning in her. Then she kissed his cheek and walked back toward the way she came, back toward the house. Draco needed to get up there and up to bed, too, but he couldn't bring his legs to move properly. He leaned back against the house and let himself cool off for a moment.

He didn't think he could take any more surprises today. How could one day do so much to him? Wasn't it just last night that he was taking Ginny all over again, just like it used to be? Women, the world would be better off without them most of the time. He scorned the thought, knowing full well that it was a lie. But he also knew that sometimes life would just be so much easier without the lot of them.

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