Confusion
By Lauren G. (aka RowlingIdol)
Author's Note: Ugh, this chapter has been tugging at my brain, so I am going to go ahead and write it. Hope it turns out good. It sure turned out long. Let me know what ya'll think! Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Trial and Errors
Ginny slowly trudged downstairs, her heart feeling twisted. She had left Harry, or rather he left her, and now he found someone else. Big deal. She never felt this way when she had left Michael or Dean. But Hermione? They had always been friends and it was Ron who always seemed to be in an `I hate you but I love you' type relationship with her. Of course, there was Luna in the picture. When Ron saved her life during the war they clicked and had been exchanging letters ever since. She came over once during the Christmas holidays and Ginny never saw anything more than a hug happen between them. Ginny sighed again as she neared the kitchen, suddenly feeling very alone.
"There you are." Her mother said. "You've been up in your room a long time. What have you been doing?"
"Nothing." Ginny said calmly, sitting down at the table. Mrs. Weasley came over to her and set down a bowl of warm applesauce, Ginny's favorite afternoon snack.
"Where is your ring?" Mrs. Weasley asked, eyeing her hand.
"I took it off." Ginny said.
"Good." Her mother replied, bustling off to dust the living room. Ginny sighed and spooned some of the applesauce into her mouth.
ooooo
It had been a week since she had left the Malfoy Manor; her family was slowly beginning to talk to her more. Ron asked her the other day to help him de-gnome the garden and the briefly made chit-chat, mostly about the rebuilding of the Ministry. Mrs. Weasley sat next to Ginny at meals now. Hermione continued to treat Ginny like a friend, but Ginny was grinning through gritted teeth. Harry tried to acknowledge her, but deep down she knew that they both were trying to ignore each other.
One day, Mrs. Weasley hurriedly gave Ginny her breakfast.
"Eat! You need to hurry." Mrs. Weasley snapped.
"Why? Where are we going?" Ginny asked, quickly buttering her toast.
"Nowhere. YOU are going to help Fred and George down at the store today, remember?"
"Noooo." Ginny said. "When was this planned?"
"Last night when Fred and George sent me a letter saying they were shorthanded at the store for this weekend. Now eat."
ooooo
Ginny Apparated in front of her brothers store half an hour later and walked inside.
"'Bout time you got here!" Fred said, tossing her the workers robe. "I need you to start off in the back with the candy. We need chocolate frogs stocked on shelves 5 and 6D."
"All right, all right! Stop rushing me!" Ginny said as Fred practically shoved her to the back. "Where's George?"
"He's finding joke wands in the back room." Fred called as he hurried up to the front counter. Ginny looked at the boxes that were on the floor in front of her. She sighed and pulled one open. Several of the frogs had gotten loose and hopped out of the back. Ginny stepped back startled and bumped into a customer.
"Oh excuse me, I'm sorry." Ginny apologized as she turned around. She gasped.
"How did you know I was here?" Ginny hissed at the customer.
"Look away, keep unpacking." Draco said, turning away from her, pulling the hood of his cloak more around his face.
"Oh… Sorry." Ginny turned around and started to look for the empty chocolate frog boxes.
"I don't want anyone to see me." Draco whispered.
"Is that why I haven't seen you in a week?" Ginny asked, a little too acidy. She heard Draco sigh.
"You need to come with me." Draco continued.
"Now? Draco, can't you see that I am here for a reason?"
"It's important. I'll need to see you tomorrow as well."
"Why? What for?" Ginny started a pile of the empty boxes.
"My trial. You need to be there."
"I don't know if I can." Ginny shook her head.
"Ginny, you need to be there. As my wife you're required to go." Ginny froze.
"I'm not your wife Draco, you know that." Ginny could feel her face flush.
"Everyone else thinks you are." Draco said. "You know that." He turned and looked down at her.
"What time is it at?"
"Its at 11:00am. When do you get off work?" Ginny stood up and brushed off her robe.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Now?"
"Great." Draco gave her a grin and walked to the front and out of the store. Ginny waited until she saw him outside the store window before sneaking out herself. She took of the store robe and slung it over her arm.
"Where are we going now?" Ginny asked.
"Just follow me." He led her down Diagonally past several people who turned and stared. As they continued walking, they walked past the bookstore. He turned a corner and Ginny saw a pair of concrete stairs leading down and a rusted sign for Knockturn Alley. Speechless, Ginny continued to follow Draco. Knockturn Alley was like a ghost town. Vendor carts lay empty on the cobblestone street. Ginny moved closer to Draco, feeling very uncomfortable. He reached down impulsively and took her hand, cupping it in his own. Ginny didn't speak a word, she was too nervous about the lone figure that walked down the street towards them. She squeezed close to Draco as the figure slowly passed them. He squeezed her hand and pulled her into a nearby shop. The shop was even more deserted. It looked as if a sandstorm had blown it. Everything was covered with dust or cobwebs.
"Who is there?" Came a raspy voice. An old man shuffled out from behind a cluttered wooden desk.
"Ah…. Mr. Malfoy." The man rasped. "I wondered if I'd be seeing you… Do you have sales to make?"
"No Mr. Barley, my mother has taken care of most of father's possessions." Draco said, puffing out his chest.
"I see…" Mr. Barley went behind a counter and took a large stack of newspapers and dropped them on the floor, dust circling in the air.
"What brings you here this morning?" Ginny's nose itched from the dust in the hair and sneezed. Mr. Barley looked up suddenly and saw Ginny hiding behind Draco. He grinned showing yellowed teeth.
"Ah… Draco. Is this your missus?" Mr. Barely said. Ginny looked down at the floor. Draco turned his head and looked behind him.
"Yes… This is Ginny." He smiled down at her like a small scared child. Ginny straightened.
"Pleasure…" Mr. Barley hissed. "What sparks your interest today?" Mr. Barley had turned his attention back to Draco.
"I'd like to see what you have in stock of jewelry." Draco said. Ginny looked up at Draco confused.
"Just a moment." Mr. Barley reached down under the counter and brought up a steel box with a lock on it. With wrinkled nimble fingers, he opened the box and turned it towards Draco and Ginny. A large collection of rings shone before Ginny. Her eyes widened.
"Pick one." Draco said. Ginny had been speechless the entire trip but she managed to muster up some words.
"Its too much." She said, shaking her head.
"Just pick one." Draco said. Ginny could tell he was avoiding the reason behind this. Ginny looked into the box and scanned over the rings. There were several rings with snakes carved in the stone. There were some with large black stones in the middle. Some of the bejeweled rings were missing gems, taking away from their original beauty. Near the bottom corner of the box, there was a small silver ring with several jewels at the top. Ginny ran the tip of her index finger over the jewels, feeling their cool texture.
"Ah, I see you like that one." Mr. Barley spoke up
"It's missing a jewel." Ginny said sadly, lifting the ring out of the box.
"Those are all real diamonds." Mr. Barley pressed, indicating the 5 clear gems.
"But its missing a jewel." Ginny repeated. She held up the ring to Mr. Barley. There were a total of 5 diamonds, two on each side of the ring and one in the middle. On the left side of the ring there was a ruby, but its twin was missing on the right.
"Do you by chance have any single gems to replace the missing one?" Draco asked, seeing the saddened look on Ginny's face as she held the ring in the flat of her palm.
"I'm afraid I-" Mr. Barley began, but Draco narrowed his eyes at him. "I believe there are some." He rummaged under the counter for a while before displaying a small wooden box to the two of them.
"These are spares that fell off several pieces." He opened the box. Draco peered in the box and poked in a finger as if the box was dangerous. He swirled his finger around the small jewels.
"This one. Fill it with this one." Draco said, picking out a small emerald. Ginny set the ring on the counter and Mr. Barley took the emerald Draco was holding. Mr. Barley sized the size of the emerald to the other jewels on the ring. Mr. Barley took out his wand and aimed it at the ring. The blank space glowed white and Mr. Barley gently placed the emerald in the empty place. The white light faded and the emerald clicked in place.
"Snug as a bug in a rug." Mr. Barley smiled. Draco raised an eyebrow before giving it to Ginny. She took it and slid it on her left ring finger. The silver was cool against her finger and fit perfectly.
"Are we satisfied?" Mr. Barley asked, flexing his old fingers.
"Yes, I believe we are."
"That will be 10-" Mr. Barley began but Draco cut him off.
"Charge it to the account. Good day." Draco said. He took Ginny's hand and led her out of the store.
ooooo
As soon as they were outside, Ginny looked at her new ring in the light of the street. It sparkled every way she turned it.
"What was that store." Ginny asked.
"Sort of a pawn slash antique shop." Draco replied.
"I thought that was Borgin and Burkes." Draco shook his head.
"They specialized in the sale and trades of dark merchandise. I no doubt you've forgotten the cabinets from your 5th year?"
"No." Ginny said softly.
"Mother sold lots of father's NORMAL belongings to Mr. Barley before the war. He's the closest thing to a jeweler around these parts." They had emerged back on Diagon Alley and Ginny asked the main question that was playing on her mind.
"Why did you buy me a ring?" Ginny asked, looking down at it.
"You need to be at the trial tomorrow. People would talk if you came to the trial with no ring."
"Oh." Ginny said, looking down at the ring.
"Do you not like it?" Draco asked as they continued down the street back towards the joke shop.
"No, I love it." Ginny said. "I just wondered why." Draco looked over at her. She had a funny look on her face.
"What else is wrong?" Draco asked.
"You can stop holding my hand now." Ginny said softly, blushing slightly. Draco stopped and looked down. He had held her hand all the way back to the joke shop. He went red and cleared his throat.
"Well, can you be at the Ministry offices at 10:30?"
"Yes." Ginny nodded.
"Good. See you then?"
"Yes." Ginny repeated smiling. She looked down. Draco suddenly realized he was still holding her hand. He let go.
"All right then. See you tomorrow." Draco put his hood over his head and briskly walked away.
ooooo
The next morning, Ginny woke up, dressed and snuck out of the house. She had told her parents before she was going back to the joke shop to do inventory. Once out of the house, she Apparated to the Ministry. After going through the elevator, she was greeted at the fountain by Draco. He looked paler than usual. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a green silk shirt. He has his robe on, another robe slung over his arm. He held it out to her.
"What's this?" Ginny asked, taking the robe from him. It was pure black silk and flowed through her fingers as she took it.
"One of mothers old spares." He replied. She held it out, admiring it when he took it from her.
"Turn around." He said. Ginny slowly turned around and Draco draped the robe around her. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and turned back around. They both were quiet as Draco stared at her.
"We better go…" Ginny interrupted. Draco blinked.
"Right." Draco said. As they approached the doors of the ministry, Draco held out his arm and Ginny lightly put her hand on it. They walked through the doors and the whispers started immediately. Ginny could feel her face flush as she felt several pairs of eyes on her as they headed to the elevator.
Once at the courtroom, Ginny felt her stomach tighten. A ministry wizard met them and showed them to the room they'd be in. Ginny had no idea what they were going to do at the trial. As soon as they walked in the room, Ginny nearly fainted. There was a chair set on a raised stone platform in the middle of the room facing several tall rows of semi-circle benches. Another wizard met them at the doors and took Draco by the arm and led him to the chair, where ANOTHER wizard was standing. The first wizard took Ginny and led her up the stairs where she was seated. Draco had been sat in the chair and chains had bound his arms and legs. A booming voice to her right made her jump.
"Trial for Draco Malfoy, accused of involvement with the Dark Lord, to begin!" Scrimgeour announced to the panel of jurors. Scrimgeour nodded to the wizard who stood next to Draco. The wizard took out a potion bottle from his robes and practically forced it down Draco's throat. Ginny cringed. In the passing silence for the truth potion to take place, she heard several witches above her whispering.
"His poor wife. She looks so young! What if the accusations are true?" one whispered.
"She should move on, of course he's lying." Replied the other.
"Draco Malfoy!" Scrimgeour boomed. "Do you know why you are here?" Ginny could see that Draco's cool gray eyes had glazed over.
"Yes."
"State the reason."
"I am here on account I have been accused of involvement with the Dark Lord Voldemort." Several people shifted uncomfortably in the jury.
"In your 5th year at Hogwarts, your father was imprisoned for involvement with the Dark Lord, is this true?"
"Yes."
"At that time did you have involvement with the Dark Lord?"
"No."
"Is it true that in the summer before your 6th year at Hogwarts, you were approached by the Dark Lord?"
"Yes."
"What were his wishes?"
"That I find away for the Death Eaters into Hogwarts and for me to kill Albus Dumbledore."
"And what if you failed?"
"He would kill me and my family."
"After you failed to kill Albus Dumbledore, did Professor Severus Snape step up and kill Dumbledore?
"Yes."
"When you escaped with Severus, what happened?"
"He protected me and my family and took the blame for my failed actions."
"Your father was broken out of Azkaban. Did he or did he not recruit you to fight with him alongside the Dark Lord?"
"He did."
"Did you partake in any involvement regarding the murders of innocent wizards, witches, and muggles alike?"
"No."
"Why did you run then?"
"I ran to save my life. I did not want to kill anybody."
Scrimgeour then turned to the jury.
"Mr. Malfoy has answered these questions under the truth potion. Please gather now and discuss your verdict."
There was an automatic shuffling of papers and the hushed tones of voices. Ginny wrung her hands as she stared at Draco. His eyes were still glazed over and he sat still as a statue in the chair.
After what seemed like an eternity, Scrimgeour cleared his throat.
"Verdict please." He asked. A tiny witch bustled up to him and handed him a scroll. He scanned the paper.
"The jury finds Mr. Malfoy…. Innocent." Ginny let out a breath. She had known all along that he was innocent, but the juries had been known for turning cases completely around. The wizard who administered the potion to Draco tapped him with his wand. Draco's eyes returned and the chains binding him disappeared. Jury members passed around a witness sheet and signed it. It was then passed to her by Scrimgeour himself.
"Mrs. Malfoy." He smiled down at her, his yellow eyes gleaming. "Your signature please." Ginny took the paper and the quill the minister had handed her. She took it and slowly signed it.
"Excellent." Scrimgeour grunted. "I will see you on Monday?"
"Monday?" Ginny asked.
"You applied for the job opening, did you not?" Scrimgeour asked.
"Yes… I did but…"
"I will see you out side my office Monday at 8:00am. Good day." Scrimgeour tipped his wizard's hat to her before heading to the stairs and out of the courtroom.
ooooo
Draco was waiting for her at the doors to courtroom.
"Relieved?" Ginny asked Draco.
"Very much." Draco said. They walked silently out of the Ministry. As they reached the fountain, a dark gray owl flew up to them, wildly flapping its wings. It dropped a red envelope in front of them.
"Probably from mother." Draco said, reaching down for the Howler. He paused and looked up at Ginny.
"Its for you." He said. Ginny took the letter as it burst open.
"GINEVRA WEASLEY! YOUR FATHER JUST RECEIVED A COPY OF THE WITNESS REPORT TO THAT SCOUNDREL MALFOY'S TRIAL AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAW???? THE SIGNITURE OF A GINEVRA W. MALFOY!!! I KNOW THAT'S YOU!!! WHAT WERE YOU DOING THERE? I KNOW HE'S WITH YOU RIGHT NOW!"
The letter turned its attention towards Draco.
"YOU DIRTY GOOD FOR NOTHING SON OF A" The Howler blew a nasty raspberry before reverting back to Ginny.
"YOUR FATHER HAS HIS LAST DOCTORS APPOINTMENT SO YOU BETTER BE THERE WHEN WE GET BACK. AND BY YOU I MEAN BOTH OF YOU!!!"
The letter burst into flaming bits that quickly fizzed out.
"Wow." Draco said, rubbing his ears.
"Great. Now you'll be murdered for sure." Ginny said to Draco, slowly trudging towards the elevator.
"Did you really sign that?" Draco asked, pressing the up button to take them to the London street above.
"I had too." Ginny replied as the elevator jerked underneath her feet.
"No, did you really sign it that way? Ginevra W. Malfoy?" He pressed. Ginny went red.
"Yes." She softly admitted. "We're married aren't we?" She smiled out of embarrassment. He smiled back.
"Yeah… I guess we are."
ooooo
Once at the Burrow, Draco's pale face had returned.
"They're not here yet, don't worry." Ginny said. She walked into the house. Draco felt uncomfortable this time being inside the house. He felt as if he was being watched.
"Hello?" Ginny called to the house. She looked around. No one seemed to be in sight. She shrugged.
"Guess everyone else is at the doctors." Ginny said. She turned to Draco. "Do you like lemonade?" She asked, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a pitch. Draco shrugged in return. She picked up two glasses and headed to go outside with the pitcher. She beckoned Draco after her. Draco followed closely behind. As soon as she had stepped outside, she screamed and dropped the glasses and the pitcher. Draco was suddenly on the ground, a mass of red and black on top of him.
"STOP IT!" Ginny screamed at Harry.
"Go at it Harry!" Chanted Ron. Harry, Ron and Hermione had hid behind the backyard door. Harry had jumped out and tackled Draco obviously and the others were watching Harry keep Draco pinned to the ground. Ron looked excited while Hermione had an expression on her face between disapproval and entertainment.
"Get off me Pothead!" Draco yelled, shoving Harry's face with a large hand. Harry's glasses were on the verge of snapping. Harry got up, brushing the dirt from his jeans. Draco stood up as well. He had a smudge of dirt across his cheek.
"You have no right to be here Malfoy." Harry spat at Draco. "Using Ginny like you are. You're sick."
"I'm the one who's sick? I wasn't the one who left her for nothing." Draco spat back. The two had begun circling each other like tigers ready to strike. Ginny stood back and watched the two.
"You've got mud on your face, you big disgrace. I can kick your can all over this place." Harry snapped, glaring at Draco. Draco lunged forward and his fist connected with Harry's jaw. Blood began to seep out of the corner of his bottom lip. Harry wiped it with his hand.
"You've got blood on YOUR face, you big disgrace." Draco shot back. The boys had started circling counter-clockwise now.
"How did you do it Malfoy?" Harry asked, spitting out blood.
"Do what?"
"Get Ginny to lie for you. She put her life on the line for you. You must have done something. Did you curse her? Because if you did I will take your ass right back to the Ministry and have them deal with you."
"He didn't curse me." Ginny shouted at the two.
"Stay out of this." Draco said firmly.
"He didn't curse her." Hermione chimed in.
"You stay out of this too." Harry said angrily, pointing a finger in Hermione's direction. Hermione took a step back, even though she was plenty far away from Harry.
"Got any more uses for her, eh Malfoy?" Harry said.
"I'm not using her." Draco said. "If you got your head out of your ass, maybe you'd see that."
"I have my head in my ass? Bullshit you ferret. You're using her and I can tell."
"Will you guys stop being such dicks?" Ginny screamed furiously.
"Oh GREAT topic Ginny." Harry said sarcastically. "Dicks. Have you seen his dick yet Ginny?"
"DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!" Ron and Draco shouted at the same time. Ron and Draco looked at each other and there was a moment of civil-ness between them.
"Shove off Ron." Harry said, ignoring his friend. Ron was purple in the face.
"Have you?" Ron asked Ginny.
"NO!" Ginny screeched.
"Do you WANT to?" Harry asked her.
"That's it!" Draco said, flying at Harry in a rage of fists. The two wrestled, punched, and kicked each other until suddenly, both boys were flung against sides of the house, unable to move. Ginny turned around and saw her mother standing flustered in the doorway, her wand at the ready.
"All of you." She snarled. "In the house. NOW."
ooooo
Author's Note- PHEW! All I can say is PHEW!!! If nobody noticed, I used lyrics from the Queen Song- We Will Rock You in the part where Harry and Draco fight. The next… hmm… TWO chapters should be good. Like, REALLY good. I think the story is going to get sort of smutty pretty soon. I've never written a chapter like that before, so hopefully no one is going to totally flip or freak about it because of what it will about. And hopefully it will be at least halfway decent. That's about it for now, stayed tuned for Chapter 12 and REVIEW!!!!!
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