Confusion
By Lauren G. (aka RowlingIdol)
Author's Note: Hmm… Confrontations. Good or bad? Read and see.
Chapter 4: Of Mice and Men
By a stroke of luck, Ginny got her chance to sneak Draco into the house for a shower. It had been 3 days since he had arrived at the Burrow. Ginny had snuck him food three times a day, maybe 4. Mr. Weasley had an appointment at St. Mungos. Arthur had been bed-ridden by stunning spells when the war had been ending. Once he came to, he could speak and eat, but was still stiff from the waist down. The others accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to the hospital. Ginny stayed behind. She stood in the driveway waving to the car. Once she was sure it had gone far enough, she ran to the shed. She opened the door. Draco was sitting casually on the floor, reading one of the airplane magazines.
"Tch." Draco started. "Ameila Earheart never crashed and died. Everyone in the wizarding world knew she was a witch. My great grandmother knew her very well." Draco said, flipping through the pages.
"Mum and everyone else are gone. You can take a shower." Ginny said breathlessly.
"Thank god." Draco said, standing up. He followed Ginny to the house.
"I'll get you some towels." Ginny said. She started to walk up the stairs. She stopped and turned. Draco had situated himself at the table, shoving a leftover muffin from breakfast in his mouth. He had an apple from the fruit bowl on the table waiting in his free hand.
"You're that hungry?" Ginny said. She thought she had been feeding him enough. Her mother thought that she was so lovesick over Harry that she couldn't bear to eat, and that's why she always `saved her meals for later'.
"Yes." Draco said, swallowing.
"Hurry up." Ginny said, nodding her head towards the stairs. Draco took a large bite out of the apple, set it on the table and followed her upstairs. Ginny gathered a load of towels out of small hall closet and pushed them at Draco.
"You'll find all you need in the bathroom." She said. She directed him down the hall and showed him the bathroom. He set the towels down on the edge of the tub and took off his robes. He tossed it on the floor.
"Let me was those." Ginny said, reaching down to pick up the cloak. Draco had been wearing a very dirty white button up shirt and faded black slacks. He took off his shirt and Ginny tinted pink and looked at the floor as she took the shirt from him. Ginny turned around. There was the sound of a zipper and the rustle of fabric falling to the floor. Ginny knew she was bright red in the face.
"Here." Draco said, holding out a pile of clothes. Ginny turned around, not wanting to look at him. She could tell though that he had nothing but a faded blue towel wrapped around his waist. She took the pants and boxers he was holding out. She glanced up at him. He was as red as her hair, looking away.
"Right." Ginny said. She rushed out of the bathroom and headed downstairs.
She pulled out a large tin bucket from underneath the sink and filled it with water. She dunked the clothes in it and swirled them around with her hands. She got out her mother's laundry washboard (you know, those wooden things) and the laundry soap and scrubbed at the shirt. She was afraid it would rip, but the fabric of the shirt stayed intact. She worked on the pants, and then… the underwear. She smiled as she held them up. Then, blushing, she hurriedly scrubbed them as well. She wrung out the clothes and brought them outside to hang on the line. The summer sun would dry them in a short amount of time. She walked back inside and dumped and rinsed the laundry bucket. She was making lunch when she heard the shower go off upstairs and footsteps creaking down the stairs. She turned around.
Draco's hair was wet and slicked back like it used to. He almost looked like he used to. The only thing that was wrong about this picture was that he was in the Weasley kitchen.
"Hope you like ham." Ginny said, handing him a plate with a sandwich on it.
"I'll take anything." Draco said, grabbing the sandwich and taking a large bite. Ginny sat down across from him and started to eat her own sandwich. When Draco had finished his sandwich, he finished off the apple he had started before his shower. When that was done, he ate a pear. He then got up. Ginny's eyes followed him as he went to the small, dented refrigerator. He opened it up and pulled out a carton of milk. He lazily opened the top and drank straight from the carton. Ginny smiled at his casualness. Ginny had finished her sandwich and got up to put her plate away. She grabbed Draco's empty plate and took it to the sink. While he sat silent at the table, Ginny went outside to check on the clothes. They were still a little damp, but they'd do. She took them off the line and brought them in. Draco had started on a peach while she had been outside. She handed him his clothes. He set the peach down and walked upstairs, clothes in hand. He came back down and Ginny went red again. He looked very nice in his clean shirt and pants. One side of the collar of his shirt was flipped up. Ginny walked up to him and reached her arms around his neck.
Draco's body went rigid. She was so close to him. He could smell the flowery scent of her hair. His eyes closed and he leaned his head forward towards her shoulder. Ginny gently folded the collar back down. He smelled like her brothers, but much better. She stepped closer to Draco, her legs barely touching his. She slowly took her hands away, letting them graze against the skin of his neck. Draco shuddered at the touch. As she pulled away, she could smell the peach on his breath. Peach was her favorite fruit. She stepped back from him. Draco held his head up. He cleared his throat.
"Thanks." He whispered. Ginny just merely nodded. Draco headed for the door and Ginny followed him. The road was empty and Draco had a clear way back to the shed. She stood in the doorway to the house and watched him go into the shed. She heard the door of the shed close. She sighed and hid her face in her hands. What had she done? This was Draco Malfoy. Presumed Death Eater and presumed dead man. And here she was, touching him at an intimate distance and having impure thoughts about him. She decided that she needed a shower herself and headed upstairs.
Draco leaned back against the door of the shed after he had closed it. When Ginny had her arms around his neck, he had had an urge to wrap his arms around her waist. What for? To let her know he appreciated her kindness? To let her know not to be scared? He could see it in her eyes whenever she stopped at the shed. She never stayed for long. After much alone time he had concluded that the look in her eyes was fear. He had to let her know of his thankfulness somehow. As first days had passed and he felt stronger with food in his belly, he dreaded being well enough to leave. He didn't want to leave. But why was that? And here he was, with a raging hard-on in a dusty old shed and nothing but airplane magazines. At that moment, life sucked.
oooooo
Not too much longer after Ginny had gotten out of the shower did her parents and the others get home. Ginny greeted everyone downstairs in the kitchen. Mr. Weasley was on crutches.
"Hello Ginny dear!" Mrs. Weasley said, bustling around Mr. Weasley, making him teeter dangerously on his crutches.
"Hi Mum, Hi Dad. How are you doing?"
"Great! I have these wonderful armpit walkers!" Mr. Weasley beamed, indicating the crutches.
"He's doing fine. Doctor says the spells are wearing off. And once they're gone, he might have temporary lapses of stiffness. Nothing permanent though." Mrs. Weasley said. She hurried to the refridgerator to start dinner.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.
"What!?" Ron whined. He had just been on his way upstairs.
"What have I told you about drinking straight from the carton!" Mrs. Weasley screeched, waving the milk carton at him, its top still open. Ginny grinned.
"It wasn't me, mum! I swear!"
"Are you telling me that GINNY drank from the carton? I don't think so young man!" Mrs. Weasley shut the paper lid of the carton and shoved it back in the fridge.
"Men." Mrs. Weasley muttered.
"I'm going to find Crookshanks. I haven't seen him lately." Hermione said, and walking out the backdoor. Ginny went to go upstairs but someone grabbed her arm. It was Harry.
"Ginny, can we talk?" He asked. Ginny didn't say anything but followed Harry into the living room.
"You wanted to talk?" Ginny asked, very uncomfortable.
"Yeah…. Yeah, I wanted to talk." Harry said, sitting down and leaning his elbows on his knees.
"Look… I know things didn't go on for very long in my 6th year…"
"I know." Ginny said quickly.
"I didn't want you hurt Gin. You know that." Harry said. Ginny looked out the living room window, avoiding his gaze.
"Things have been really hard for me. I've seen so much chaos. I've seen too many people die. I… haven't been stable."
"Yes, well. After your 7th year I kind of lost hope." Ginny admitted, looking at her shoes. Harry did the same.
"Oh. I see."
"We stayed friends, sure. But you just… were so different." Ginny whispered. Harry was quiet.
"You're great Harry. You killed You-Know-Who! You've had people murdered in front of your very eyes. I can understand you've been troubled. I still like you, Harry, I really do. I just… don't know what to do as far as relationships go now." Ginny blurted. Harry was quiet a moment longer before speaking.
"I can understand that. I'll give you time." He said, giving her a weak smile. Ginny smiled back. Just then, the backdoor slammed and Hermione came into the kitchen looking very shocked.
"What's the matter dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked from the kitchen. "You look like something startled you!"
Harry and Ginny stood up from their chairs and came into the kitchen to see what was up.
"Oh… Nothing really." Hermione said, regaining her composure. "It was just a mouse. A big… blonde mouse." Hermione said, looking straight at Ginny, one eyebrow raised. Ginny nearly fainted.
Author's Note- OOOOOOOH! Now what? This was a hard chapter to write for some odd reason… Well. Anyways, in my story, I have the war continuing through to Ginny's 7th year. Like…. After Voldie was killed off, Death Eaters still were around and fought and junk. So yeah, hope that clears things up and isn't too confusing. If you have a complaint about this timeline of events, let me know. If you have comments, I'd love to hear them, please review! Long live D/G!
-->