Hey, I wish I had the ingredients to do the Polyjuice Potion, to make myself look like J.K Rowling, but I would still lack the writing talent, so stick with me…
I do not own Harry Potter… And, I'm really sad that I don't own Draco Malfoy (*sobs*). Oh well, life goes on!
Chapter 3 - High Society
"Mom, I'm home!" Ginny announced as soon as she Apparated home, later that day.
The sun was starting to set and the air was starting to become cooler, although it was still abnormally hot for England's standard.
After a very tiring afternoon, all Ginny wanted was to lie in her tub, enjoying a nice bath and then go to bed and sleep for the whole weekend.
"Hello darling… You look tired!" Mr. Weasley said with a gentle smile, when his daughter entered the Burrow's kitchen.
"I am tired, Daddy… How was your day at work?" she asked with a smile, kissing his baldhead.
"The usual… Nothing worth of your time." He chuckled.
"Ginny, dear, I'm glad you're home! Carlo just sent someone to deliver a package and a letter for you… They're on your bed." Molly Weasley said to her daughter, kissing her cheek before she proceeded to make dinner.
"Oh no… I just remembered we have a party tonight! I wish I didn't have to go…" she complained, dropping her suitcase on the couch. Looking at the big old grandfather watch, Ginny found out that she had little more than half an hour to arrive at the Fashionable Hotel.
Immediately she ran to her bedroom and as soon as she opened the door, her whole body stood still, unable to take another step.
"Oh dear Merlin! Is he nuts?" she yelled.
There, on top of her white bedcover was a red silk dress, with a humongous cleavage and a tight long skirt with a small tail that brushed the floor.
The dress was beautiful, of course, but she hated that Carlo made her wear the dresses he chose for her… Yes, they were gorgeous and expensive, but they made her feel like a toy he loved to play with and show off in front of everyone.
`Dear Virginia, don't forget to be there on time… I'm sure you'll look perfect in this dress. Best wishes, Carlo Moretti'
Even his damn letters sounded impersonal and uncaring!
Sadly, Ginny took a quick bath, dried her hair and with a quick spell made it tie itself at the back of her head, in a tight bun, with a few red curls adorning her face. Next step: she applied a little of make up and for effect, painted her lips red.
Now that she was ready, Ginny put on the dress and wished she wouldn't asphyxiate after a whole night being so tight in it. Actually, the dress fitted perfectly her curves. It was strapless, showing off her beautiful shoulders and accentuating her narrow waist. The long skirt was tight until her knees and then flared in a beautiful tail. Putting on red sandals, Ginny was ready to go to the bloody party.
"WOW!" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley mumbled when they daughter entered the kitchen, looking like a very elegant and rich woman. Yep, their little Virginia had grown up into a beautiful woman. "You look wonderful, darling…"
"Are you nuts, Dad? She's bloody naked!" Ron yelled, his face red with fury, as he watched his little sister in the tight dress. "You're not leaving this house dressed like that!"
"Ronald Weasley, I am not naked or whatsoever!" Ginny replied in a calm voice. "I'm 24 years old and I do not need you to tell me what I should or should not wear… What are you doing here, by the way? Did Luna throw you out?"
"No… I just came to talk with Dad, but don't change the subject!" Ron said, trying to contain his anger by not looking at his sister. "You shouldn't walk around with those tight dresses and big cleavages!"
"I agree, Ronniekins!" Ginny laughed amused. "But, I have a party to attend and I have to look elegant… Mom, Dad, do you approve?"
"We sure do, Gin! Carlo will love to see you in that dress…" Mrs. Weasley replied with a big smile on her face.
"Great, I must go now…" she smiled sweetly, kissing both her parents and her favourite brother. "Don't worry Ron, the dress covers the important parts…"
He only grunted in reply and watched has Ginny Disapparated.
As she had expected, the Fashionable Hotel was extremely high-class, with its high marble ceilings and the expensive couches sided by old Renaissance statues. Slowly, Ginny walked to the ballroom, where dozens of people were talking in loud voices, with big fake smiles on their faces and glasses of expensive Champaign on their heavily jewelled hands.
Ginny leaned against a large marble column, watching the way these people behaved, not realising that someone was behind her, watching her with curiosity and fascination.
*****
Draco Malfoy was late for the party, but he wasn't worried. Usually the invitations said 7:30 pm and the dinner only started at 8:30 pm. Walking quickly through the hotel's main hall, with his black robes flowing behind him, Draco entered the ballroom and immediately stood rooted to the ground.
There she was again… The woman who had kept his mind unfocused, all afternoon. What she was doing here was the first thing to cross his mind. She was looking gorgeous in that red dress, but her hair was caught in a bun, when it should have been left down, cascading around her oval shaped face. And her lips…
`Red… Always the Gryffindor.' he sighed inwardly, watching has she nibbled her bottom lip in nervousness. `Once again, what is she doing here?'
Having decided he had watched her for enough time, Draco decided to interrupt her thoughts.
*******
Ginny had lost count of the time she had spent hidden behind that column when someone touched her bare shoulder, making her take an in sharp breath and turn around to face the person.
Her eyes went huge and her mouth parted a little in shock. Right in front of her was the man whom had saved her at lunchtime… The gorgeous, but acid, Draco Malfoy.
"Wishing you were one of them?" he asked, making a head movement towards the gathering people at the party.
"Hell no!" she replied, finally breathing again, trying hard to sound cool and unaffected by his presence. "What are you doing here?"
"I am a Malfoy… Rich and powerful, why shouldn't I be here?" he asked with a sneer. "The right question is, what are YOU doing here? … Trying to sneak into the party without an invitation?"
"Of course, Malfoy… Why else would I be wearing an extremely expensive dress, matching shoes and make-up?" she replied with a well-trained smile. Then, she came closer to him and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "Don't tell anyone but I just went to the Hotel's laundry and stole some woman's dress! Can you keep this as a secret?"
With an amused smile, she took a step back and waited for his reply.
"I'm won't tell anyone, Weasel… That would be saying that we actually had a conversation! I don't want to ruin my image!" Draco replied, his hands still itching to hold her waist and his brain still acknowledging her soft scent.
"Ah, that's just what Carlo always says… I don't want to ruin my image!" she said in a bored voice, fixing her dress' corset. "Enjoy your dinner, Malfoy…"
He couldn't answer, as he had just realised whom she was talking about. Carlo Moretti, son of his business partner, Julio Moretti.
`How does she know Carlo?' he asked himself, still surprised, as he watched her walk among the big groups of laughing people, looking like she was searching for someone.
********
After a quick search, Ginny found Carlo by the bar with his Father, both looking very elegant in their black robes.
`Draco's robes are just like those but they look much better on him…' Ginny thought to herself with a smile. `Gin, you really need to stop thinking about the Ferret-boy… He's no good for you!'
"Virginia, darling, you look wonderful!" Carlo smiled, holding her against his body, with his arm around her waist.
"Thank you, Carlo… The dress is beautiful, thank you!" she said, trying hard to smile and look happy. "Good evening, Mr. Moretti!"
"Good evening Virginia… I had lunch with Mrs. Koltrain last Monday and she told me wonderful things about you. She loves you as her Healer…" Mr. Moretti, a tall man with white hair and aristocratic features. Whenever he walked in a room, you felt respect towards him… Not many people have this power over people. "It's great to have a successful Healer as my son's wife to be…"
Ginny forgot what she was about to say and just stared at Mr. Moretti in shock.
`Wife to be? Since when?'
"Virginia, why are you looking so shocked?" the old man asked, curious with her reaction.
"Oh, we are not engaged, sir… We are dating and I don't intend on marrying so soon!" Ginny said, trying to explain her reasons, but still please father and son.
"But I thought Carlo had already asked you to marry him! Carlo?" Mr. Moretti asked with a serious face.
"I was waiting for the right moment, Dad… Now that we've talked about that, I think all we need is Virginia's acceptance and the ring on her finger!" Carlo said with an air of superiority. "So, Virginia, what do you say? Are we engaged?"
`Wow… How romantic you are, Carlo!' Ginny mentally snarled, although she kept the fake smile on her face.
"Carlo, let's do this somewhere more private, ok?" she asked him. She really didn't want to answer to his stupid proposal in front of all those people she didn't know.
"Why? You just have to say Yes or No!" Carlo insisted, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's more than Yes or No, Carlo… We'll talk about this in private!" she menaced, her eyes sparkling with irritation.
"Fine, fine… I hate it when you get a temper!" Carlo complained, releasing her waist.
Thankfully, a house-elf interrupted their little fight to announce that dinner would be served. The table was extremely long and set with the finest porcelain, crystal glasses and linen napkins… On equal distances there were beautiful flower centres, with red roses, white lilies and green leafs.
Carlo, his father and another man Ginny didn't know sat between other people, leaving Ginny standing there, alone, looking at Carlo with a shocked face.
`What's wrong with him? Is he thicker than I thought?' she asked herself, furiously. `I have the biggest urge to break up with him in front of all this people, right now!'
Finally removing her death stare at Carlo, Ginny's eyes wondered down the table, searching for a seat, and her gaze locked on silver eyes… Beautiful silver eyes that shone under the candles' light, looking warm and gentle.
`Oh Merlin, I really need to forget about the Ferret-Boy… I've had enough of these thoughts when I was a teenager!' Ginny scolded herself.
Draco sneered at Ginny and with his hand pointed to the seat in front of him. The only seat left on the enormous table… Trying hard not to look affected by this, Ginny elegantly walked to her seat and accommodated herself.
"Aren't we lucky tonight, Weaselette?" he drawled, playing with one of the red roses of the flower centre, between both of them.
"Speak for yourself, Malfoy…" she replied, reading the Menu, not bothering to look at him. "I find myself very out of luck today. First of all I had a run-in with a Ferret in the middle of Diagon Alley… Did you know I hate those little animals? Then, I went home, after a tiring day at work, wishing I could sleep for a week, when I remembered that I had this party to attend! And lucky me, here is the ferret again, and I have to dinner face to face with him…"
"Aren't we smart mouthed?" he laughed with amusement, surprising Ginny and making her eyes look at him over the Menu.
"Aren't we too happy for the Malfoy's standards?" she replied, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"I can laugh… when I want to." He said, sipping his red wine.
`Don't look Gin, don't look!' she warned herself, but her eyes focused his full lips sipping the wine and suddenly the room was extremely hot and the hair on her nape stood on end. `Damn it, Ginny, I told you not to look!'
"See something you like?" he asked with a sexy smile.
"Yes, I was trying to see where these glasses were made! They are quite beautiful…" she said convincingly, raising her own glass to read the bottom. "Oh, Crystal D'Arques, this is a very good manufacturer, don't you agree?"
Draco just stared at her, his face blank and his eyes cold once again. Any sign of emotion had been drained out of his face and eyes, and Draco Malfoy was back to his old self.
As the meal went on, Ginny and Draco ate in silence, both trying to ignore the other by talking with the people by their side. It was on one of these conversations that Draco chocked on his wine, making Ginny laugh very unladylike.
This is what happened:
"I haven't seen you at Alexandra Campbell's birthday party!" an old lady, wearing an awful pink dress and too much gold on her neck, said to Ginny with a superior look of importance.
"I know, Mrs. Stuart, but I was working that night…" Ginny smiled sweetly. "I had an urgency."
"Oh… Was it someone I know?" the lady asked, interested.
"No, I think not…" Ginny replied. She didn't like to reveal who her patients were.
"Oh Healer Weasley… Lately my neck is so sore, can you tell me what it is?" the lady asked, rubbing her gold filled neck, making a sour face as if she were in pain.
On that same moment, Draco, who had been sipping his wine, chocked. Ginny saw his surprised face and laughed hard, while he cleaned his wine-dripping chin. When she finally got her laughter under control, Ginny looked at Mrs. Stuart again.
"If you want to, you can make an appointment at the Clinic, but right now I'm off duty…" Ginny explained, realising through the corner of her eye that Draco was looking at her with a frown. "But I can give you an advice… Don't wear so much gold around your neck! Necks were made to support your head, not your jewel box…"
"How dare you saying such thing?!" the lady asked, feeling extremely upset. "You Weasleys have no manners!"
"Yes, we do, Mrs. Stuart… The only difference is that a Weasley always says the truth, no matter what the cost is! You should try that, sometime…" Ginny replied coldly, placing her linen napkin on the table as she rose from her seat. "Excuse me…"
With her chin high, Ginny elegantly walked out of the dinning room towards the open doors that lead to a big balcony, overlooking the Tames River and a beautiful garden, illuminated by the moonlight.
`Honestly, these people should have a few good manners classes with Mum… That would definitively be fun, watching them being yelled at by Molly Weasley!' she laughed to herself, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Upset?" a male voice asked behind her.
"Not really… I just don't like this kind of people." She explained, knowing immediately who was the man behind her. "They are always so fake and exaggerated… I really hate these parties!"
"Well, that makes two of us… That's why I hate being back on England!" Draco replied, leaning against the balcony railing to face her. "So, you're a Healer?"
"Yep… That surprised you, I've noticed your little reaction!" she said, giggling at the memory. "I'm a specialist on Motor Rehabilitation…"
"Really? The ones who help people with physical handicaps?" he asked, suddenly very interested.
"That's right… I wish I could really work on that! The patients at the clinic don't need me at all. They are all perfectly healthy, but they keep on coming though." She explained, not really understanding why she was telling him all this. "I guess I'm only still working there because of Carlo…"
"You know Carlo Moretti?" Draco asked, curious.
"He's my boyfriend…" she told him, watching as his face became blank once again, hiding all emotions behind a cold façade.
They looked at each other for a few moments until a house-elf told Draco that someone was looking for him.
"Good evening, Healer Weasley!" he said, quickly leaving the balcony.
Ginny just stood there, her hands holding the balcony's railing, breathing the garden perfumes, trying to relax after her first real conversation with Ferret-Boy, the Slytherin Sex God, Draco Malfoy.
When she moved her left hand from the railing, she felt something extremely soft brush her skin. Looking down, she saw a perfect red rose… the rose Draco had been playing with at the beginning of the dinner.
With a small smile, Ginny held it and brought it to her face, to feel the softness of the petals against her skin and the scent of the flower.
"Here's something romantic, Carlo… Something I would never expect from a Malfoy!" Ginny said into the night, before she walked back to the ball for another boring ball.
Although she searched for Draco all night, she never found him and her mind kept on thinking about the blond man that had surprised her in many ways, that day.
***********
I've just finished this chapter and wanted to get it out, so here it is…
It's the biggest chapter I've ever wrote, and if my story is going to have these big chapters, it will take me longer to update… I hope you don't mind.
Thank you for the reviews, everyone!
Love, Carina