The Wife of the Emperor

Chapter Five

Two hours had passed since Ginny left her flat, one since she stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. She sat in a corner booth, enveloped by shadows, preoccupied by memories. She slowly traced the rim of the mug half full of now ice-cold coffee with her forefinger.

The engagement ring she discovered in her robe pockets upon her entering the café sat beside the chipped saucer. So small a thing, yet it filled her with fear and doubt. She stared at its large diamond center, the glittering rubies and the emeralds surrounding it winked at her, as if they kew her turmoil and mocked her for it.

For the past half-hour she had been contemplating her options. A life alone, overflowing with regrets, what-ifs and the blood of millions on her hands. Or, a life of misery, married to her enemy, her friends, families and strangers safe in their beds without knowing whom to thank.

Sighing, she came to the conclusion that in order to escape a fate similar to that of Lady Macbeth, the inevitable must occur. With a slight air of detachment, Virginia picked up the silver ring, and condemned herself to damnation by slipping it onto her finger. Without a second glance at it, she ordered another cup of coffee, though she already knew it too would be cold soon without her lips placing its imprint on the next cracking edge.

The ring's weight bore upon her soul and mind and she could not handle the immense pressure building up behind her eyes. She went to rip the ring from her fingers, but the cries of dying witches and wizards stopped her.

'Think of the lives you're saving.' A voice sounding uncomfortably like Hermione's whispered. 'You can't. You're forbidden to see that boy again.' Her father's mournful voice echoed in her head. The memories of that day added lines to her face and circles beneath her eyes. That was the day she wished her parents dead and to be in the arms of her love. The child-like innocence that began her relationship with Draco was stripped away that day, the day they took her from him. But she could not think of that now. It was so long ago and too painful to remember. Remember something happy. A memory of happiness that did not include her passionate relationship with Draco at Hogwarts. She scanned her brain for one, but failed to find any of true substance and gave in to the first memory made with him. The day she was told to marry Colin Creevy.

*******

Despite the Battle of Hogwarts having its climatic ending a few months ago, the Monday morning had begun like any other. Ginny endured a fruitless session of Divination with Professor Trelawny, then a quite lovely lesson on unicorns with Hagrid. Lunch rolled around and Ginny found herself oddly alone at the half-full Gryffindor Table. Normally, she sat with Colin and Neville or even Harry, if he wasn't buried in books or hunched whispering with Hermione and Ron. Today, however, Neville had sprained his ankle while trying to run away from an irritated Crabbe, Harry was nursing a Quidditch injury in the Hospital Wing, and Colin was nowhere to be found.

Disheartened, Ginny sat with her head down, her eyes not seeing the food she was absent-mindedly pushing around. Much to her surprise, it was Dumbledore's voice that brought her from her sulking. The surprise was the absence of his merry lilt often found in his voice as he made his way through the halls he ruled.

"Come with me, Ms. Weasley." He seemed troubled, his twinkling blue eyes darkened with worry. Silently, she followed him to his office where she was shocked to see her mother and father in quiet conversation beside the glowing ashes in the fireplace.

"Mum! Dad! What are you doing here?" They looked at her as if they didn't recognize her, yet fear danced in her father's eyes and determination set in her mother's. Colin walked from behind them and an air of dread followed in his wake.

"What's happened?" Ginny felt scared and nervous, like they were all keeping a secret from her yet she knew somehow she was the center of it all.

"I'll leave you to talk." Dumbledore said quietly before retiring to his private quarters.

"Ginny, there's something you must know." Her father said sadly. "We've had to make a decision that will change your life.

"What's happened?" She repeated. It wasn't like her father to dance around the point when something dreadful occurs. He didn't seem to want to tell her, and her mother stepped in front of her, sighing in exasperation at her father's hesitation.

"Our financial situation has worsened, our world is on the brink of war, and we aren't getting any younger. You are our only daughter and we can't trust your brothers to do this for us." Her mother's harsh tone and cryptic words frightened Ginny more than being kept in the dark. Why couldn't they just spell it out? If someone had died, she could handle it, she already had enough practice with the death of Sirius, despite the fact the curtain in the Department of Mysteries was merely a Portkey for him to escape the officials

"Good gods mum! Just tell me!" Ginny's fear melted into anger as her mother took the long way of saying what she meant.

"We've betrothed you. We've made an agreement with the Creevy's for your dowry. You are to marry at the end of this term and they are to pay us once a month for the duration of your marriage. We also want you and Colin to conceive a child by the end of the summer."

Ginny sat stunned in one of the overstuffed chairs. This wasn't real. Her mother had simply snapped. The ruthless side of her bi-polar nature had finally won over the motherly tender side.

She looked at her father who was pale from the stress of his assignment as the Ministry mole and the dark circles under his eyes, no doubt from the endless debates with his mother about whether to arrange the marriage or not, stood prominently out on his clammy skin. He stared at her with blank eyes and she knew she was alone. Finally, the shock released her throat and she attempted to voice her confusion.

"I-You-what?" Molly stomped her foot at her daughter, resembling that of a child in a temper tantrum. Had the situation not been so dire, Ginny was sure she would have laughed. Molly approached her daughter and towered over her small frame, violently impatient with the young girl's stupidity. She wanted grandchildren, and she knew her sons to be too wrapped in their own petty romances to understand. She knew Ginny would be logical and see this was the only way. If not, Molly would drag the dense girl kicking and screaming down the aisle. As well as to her wedding bed, if the situation called for it. She was not going to die without her family line secured. She could no longer see the bewildered red-head as her daughter, only a breeding horse. This revelation was cold, but Molly had come to the conclusion that if she allowed her shell to crack, the one forged by the foreshadowed death of her family, common sense would seep through and nothing would come of it. No marriage, no honeymoon, no babies. There was no room in this arrangement for Molly to act as the loving mother she once was. Molly spoke again, desperation edging its way into her stern tone.

"Listen girl! The war is approaching fast, you are the only female Weasley left, and I am not going to wait for some half-blood daughter of a dentist to give birth, for there isn't time to waste while they fumble their way through courtship! I am not going to perish without knowing our family is taken care of. You are to marry Colin and conceive with him a child before you start school next year. There is no room for discussion." Her mother's callous words cut Ginny deeply and made her shake with anger. What had happened to the portly woman who knitted her jumpers, taught her to read and laughed at her crush on Harry? That woman was dead, scarred by the death of loved ones, past and future. She had been replaced by a mother not even Draco Malfoy would want.

"You selfish woman! How can you stand there and order me to marry a man I do not love? I do not know you, you monster!" The words spilled out of Ginny's mouth, fueled by hurt and anger.

"Spare me the dramatics girl!" Neither woman was going to step down, their stubborn Weasley pride coursing strong in their veins. At this point, the men tried to intervene.

"Molly, perhaps we should give her more time." Her father's soothing voice did nothing more than earn a stern look from the deranged woman. Colin spoke for the first time since Ginny entered the room, his small voice hardly audible against the rage passing between the two women.

"Give it some time Ginny, you'll-"

"No Colin, I will not give this woman the satisfaction of me even thinking about the idea!" She spat out "this woman" as though it left a dirty taste in her mouth. Ginny's head was spinning. She couldn't handle the information rapidly being shot at her. She needed to think, to find a way to escape this horrible woman's arrangement.

"There is no room for discussion." Molly repeated. Ginny turned her cinnamon eyes now blazing with disgust and fury towards the wild-eye nutter standing in for her mother.

"You really have lost it. You are willing to sacrifice the love of your daughter for grandchildren? Not only have you lost my love, you have forced me to do something I don't want to. I cut you off from my life and I hope you burn in Hell." Ginny gave a small smile to her father and Colin, for she knew that they had no hand in this dealing. She gave one last glare to Molly Weasley, and then ran from the room, ignoring the calls of her father, Colin and Dumbledore.

She barely contained her angry tears as she raced down the twisting halls of Hogwarts. How could they? My father is not a strong man, but how could he sit by and let his wife and the mother of his children make this pact? After Percy left, the love that Molly spread seemed to leave her and with each blow to her family and friends through death, she retreated further into shadow. Ginny was so distraught that she did not see the pair of snogging Slytherins in the middle of a deserted hallway. Her anger was broken by flailing limbs and hard concrete as she bowled them over.

"Move!" She snapped at the unfortunate who had landed on top of her.

"What gives you the right to order me around?" Draco's sneering voice only increased her anger as she pushed him of and stood. She turned to face Draco with such fury that he quickly dismissed the brunette girl behind him with a wave of his hand once she had stood. He gave her no more than a second glance as she huffed off, for he was too busy taking in Ginny's face flushed with anger, her slowly subsiding tears and wild hair.

His anger softened as he saw what distress she was in and gently offered her a handkerchief he had stuffed up his sleeve. She took it with a wary glance before muttering a thanks and mopping the tears off her face. She fumbled with it for an awkward moment, not sure if he truly wanted it back. He shrugged and gestured for her to keep it. She nodded another thanks and stood, feeling very venerable, unsure as whether to go or stay. Ever since she had healed him in the aftermath of the Battle, he had wanted to get to know her more, learn about what made up such a creature as she. Seeing she was on the verge of another breakdown, Draco swallowed his arrogance and revealed a side no one saw.

"What's the matter, Ginny?" Draco's concern would have surprised Ginny, had she not been at his side for two weeks, tending to his wounds and listening to his incoherent screams in the middle of the night. They had grown closer than even they knew, the time spent in the Hospital Wing forged a bond that they were trying to discover and comprehend. The worry in his voice brought on a new wave of tears as she slumped to the ground, sobbing. Gently Draco picked her up and....had nowhere to go. Return to the Slytherin Common Room and more injury upon them both. Return to the Gryffindor Common Room, and he would be seeing Madame Pomfrey for longer than he wished. With a flash of brilliance, Draco headed towards the dungeons, knowing the Head Boy owed him a favor for getting him out of a scrape last week. Ginny's sobs did not die down and Draco was afraid that if any prefect found them whilst on a midnight patrol he would suffer the wrath of the Gryffindors and Slytherins both. Seeing the Head Boy's door just down the corridor gave him hope and he walked as quickly as the sobbing girl's small weight would allow him. He whispered the password, and giving one last furtive glance around, walked quietly into the room.

Gently Draco set Ginny down on the cold leather couch and walked into the bedroom, searching for Blaise. The noises coming from behind the closed door, however, persuaded Draco to leave him be and talk with him after Blaise sent the girl away and Draco had time to make up a relatively Slytherin-sounding excuse for the Weasley girl in his room.. Quickly, Draco returned to the couch that Ginny now sat in. She looked tired, small and strangely desirable sitting on the large couch. Pushing that odd and slightly sick though back into the recesses of his mind, Draco sat next to her and brushed her unruly hair from her wet eyes.

"What's happened, Ginny?" He whispered, shocking her more with his soft voice and gentle hands. Why was he so nice to her? Perhaps it was because she saved his life a few months before, but still, his actions seemed a bit too loving for gratitude.

Ginny swallowed her courage and decided that if she didn't tell someone, someone not so close to her and her family, she would bust. Her sad story came out on a wave of anger and tears. He listened intently, making sure he kept his snide comments to himself. She finished, twice as exhausted than before and oddly anxious to see Draco's reaction. Ginny had to admit that since she kept a long vigil over his broken body, he started to creep into her thoughts and dreams more often than not. She could not deny that he was handsome, long hour of Quidditch and preparing for battle having leaned his frame and strengthened his muscle, but she had never thought of him as a romantic lover. She had caught him more than once in some broom closet or another, shagging the life out of Pansy Parkinson, or whichever poor witch had fallen for him that week.

But seeing him now, truly concerned for her well being and struggling to keep swirling emotions in check, entranced her, frankly. She could see now, with his silver hair hanging irritably in his steel eyes, the afternoon sun creating an angelic haze about him and the room, what exactly Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patil had swooned over many a time. The silence lengthened, as Draco attempted to make his emotions heard in some sage advice, but all he could think of sounded weak in his mind. It was in this silence that Ginny found herself increasingly attracted to him, as the minutes passed.

She could see herself spending many nights wrapped in his long arms; content in the warmth of someone she loved and loved her back. The word "love" took Ginny aback for a moment. Could she love him? She glanced at him shyly, before intently scrutinizing her fingernail. A small smile crept up her face. Yes, she could see herself falling in love with him. Perhaps that was the answer to her dilemma. If she proved to her parents that she loved another, and could marry him, then they would have no choice but to call off the ridiculous plan Molly Weasley cooked up. The smile broadened. Yes, this could work.

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Draco sat in the long silence, suffering in its smothering embrace as he tried to think of something to ease her pain. In reality, he was having a hard time keeping himself from rushing Dumbledore's office and hexing them all. An arranged marriage was just within his social status that he could wrap his mind around it, but with Creevy, and the reason being children sent him in a whirlwind of disbelief. He had always found the squat Molly Weasley to be tolerable, if taken in short periods spread far apart, but he couldn't even imagine Naricissa pulling something so wretched on him. He found himself wondering if the two mothers were to come together if a marriage between their only son and daughter would result. That thought sent him on a path that forced him to see that his recent obsession with seeing her at least once a day even across the Great Hall was actually him falling for the crimson goddess that sat silent in thought before him. He could persuade her of his love, then secretly make her his own, and hopefully have her fall for him as well. He stole another look and threw all caution to the wind.

"I may have a solution, Ginny." She looked up at him, her beautiful eyes full with a odd sort of anxiety lined with hope, her lips parted slightly with anticipation. Her lips, the color of crushed rose petals, beckoned his own to them and before he could continue, he felt his arms around her waist and the delicious combination of salt tears, vanilla and spring air invaded his mouth. Ginny barely had time to react before his heated kisses sent her spiraling into a world of bright colors and the scent of sandalwood. She never wanted to lose the feeling of his arms around her, his hands knotted in her hair, his lips against hers, but all too soon he pulled away for reasons unknown to either. He looked at her with a mixture of hope and disgust, as though he wanted to continue kissing her, loving her, but knowing that no one could share the glow of their love. Silently, without explanation, he left the room, leaving an emotionally exhausted and very confused Ginny on the cold leather couch.

*******

Virginia unconsciously placed a cold hand to her lips that tingled with the remembrance of their first of many passion-filled kisses. Her other grasped the second mug of cold coffee, slowly bringing her back to the present where Draco was Emperor and the fate of the world rested on her shoulders. The odd thought of whether he still had that passion within him fluttered at the back of her head, but was driven off by the loud crash of the Leaky Cauldron's door slamming open.