Rescue Me

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

Warning: None as of yet.

A/N: Sorry, I haven’t updated in so long. Thanks to Angelbabie13190 for reminding me to get this finished. This chapter has not been Beta’d, so sorry for typos, etc.

Birthdays and Invitations

Ginny opened her eyes and scrunched up her face as the smell of beer and mouldy pizza assailed her nostrils. With a sigh she sat up, and looked around the dirty house. She realised she must have fallen asleep at some point on the couch because her neck was in quite a lot of pain from the awkward position she had slept in.

Walking carefully over Draco Malfoy’s body, who was still snoring softly on the floor, Ginny walked into the filthy kitchen and glanced at the dishes teetering on the bench.

“Honestly, doesn’t he ever clean?” Ginny muttered to herself as she flicked Draco’s wand to magically start the dishes cleaning themselves. She rummaged through the cupboards and sighed loudly as she realised Draco had probably not gone shopping in days, or even weeks.

Having given up with finding anything decent to eat, Ginny decided the best thing would be to clean up the house before Draco took his wand off her. As she conjured up some gloves, Ginny walked around the house to set about on her mission to de-mould the disgusting house and make it at least habitable.

She pushed open a door cautiously and curled up her nose as she took in the messy bed, the clothes littering the floor, as well as books and parchment, and by the damp musky smell of the room, she figured the windows and curtains hadn’t been opened in a long time. Steeling herself against whatever little creatures might pop out from the jungle room, Ginny started to clean every spot of dirt she could find. The curtains were opened to let a stream of sunshine in and a quick charm had the room smelling normal again. With a final wave of Draco’s wand, the bed was replaced with clean sheets, the blankets hit to remove the dust, in much the same way a person beats their mats, and soon the bed was looking brand new.

Feeling very pleased with herself, Ginny moved onto the rest of house and it wasn’t until she was just finishing the bathroom that she heard something crash in the living room, which could only be a sign that Draco had woken up. Ginny removed the gloves off her hands and walked casually into the room to find Draco Malfoy with his hands over his face, looking very sick indeed.

“I bet you’re really regretting drinking all that alcohol now.” Ginny said with a satisfied smile.

Draco glanced up at her through hazy, grey eyes, and for a minute he just stared at her like she was a ghost. Ginny could almost see the cogs in Draco’s brain trying to work through the hangover, as he attempted to figure out just why she was in his house. Suddenly a flash of comprehension shot through his eyes, and he let out a loud groan.

“This isn’t happening.” He croaked and glared at Ginny like this was all her fault.

“Don’t look at me.” Ginny said bluntly, “You’re the one who kidnapped me.”

“Believe me Weasley, I did not plan to.” Draco stated in a weary voice as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Well, you should think of that before you decide to get stone drunk and kidnap innocent females, while declaring your allegiance to You-Know-Who in front of several Aurors, including Harry Potter.” Ginny said all in one breath.

Draco’s expression of horror was almost comical but Ginny wisely refrained from laughing due to the fact that his head probably felt like bricks right now.

“I didn’t give them my name, did I?” He asked anxiously.

Ginny thought of toying with him a bit and making him think that Aurors were on their way right now, but decided that would be too cruel. Besides, he’d done nothing to hurt her, unless you counted letting her fall head first into the ground.

“I doubt anyone would have recognised you through all that hair of yours.” Ginny said slyly.

Draco felt his chin slightly and Ginny couldn’t repress the smile that came to her face as she watched his fingers brush against smooth skin. She had done quite a good job cleaning him up. He no longer looked like a bear man, and his pointy, pale face was now free for her to analyse. She had also cut his hair, which meant that his metallic grey eyes were no longer covered by masses of blond, though he still needed a shower.

“You cleaned me up?” He said disbelievingly.

Ginny nodded. “It was annoying me.” She said simply and smiled at his confused look. Never before had she seen Draco Malfoy look so uncomfortable. Though she could understand why he was. Draco had always looked immaculate and proper. He was the epitome of grace and refinement. To be displayed as an unkempt, drunken sloth was something he would hate, especially to a Weasley who he had always shown contempt to.

“I’m not normally- I mean, I don’t usually-” He sighed to himself as though realising there was no point in explaining his actions to someone who wouldn’t even care.

Ginny frowned and sat down next to him. After a few seconds of silence she looked at him. “It’s my birthday today, you know.” She said as though remembering it herself. Birthdays had long lost their excitement once she realised she would be spending them with her friends and family who constantly reminded her she was a single woman with a boring job.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Draco asked scowling slightly as he rubbed his temples.

Ginny laughed, causing Draco to wince by the sound, “I’m merely starting a conversation. You could be a little more civil.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “You talk rather smart for someone who has been kidnapped.”

“Well, it’s hard to be scared of someone with a hangover.” Ginny said cheekily and grinned at his angry expression.

“Just because I have a hangover does not mean that I am going to be any more lenient to you.” He said nastily. “Now go make yourself useful and make me a sobering draught, or something.”

Ginny gave a derisive snort but went to the kitchen to make his sobering draught. She was getting a bit tired of his snappiness. Curing his hangover was sure to make him at least somewhat more amiable.

Once Ginny had finished, she walked back into the lounge, with the cup of sobering draught in her hands, and placed it on the table in front of the now brooding Draco Malfoy. Draco picked up the cup and sipped the foul tasting drink with a scrunched up expression, which made Ginny want to laugh. He looked just like a little boy trying to drink some medicine.

“What’s so funny?” He snapped.

Ginny shook her head as she tried to suppress giggles, “Your face.”

Draco scowled at her and stood up, “I’m going to have a shower. Don’t touch anything.” He said bluntly as he left the room.

Ginny sighed and collapsed on the couch. She wondered what Draco was going to do with her now. Being away from work, even for only a day, had made her see just how boring her life really was. She wasn’t ready to give up the adventure just yet, even if Draco was the one who had created it. She was quite curious to learn a bit more about him. She hadn’t seen him since she was eighteen and that was only a passing glance as she watched the Aurors take him off to Azkaban.

Back then he had been dressed expensively, and his white blond hair was slicked back, only adding to the look of superiority that marred his features. Ginny remembered the anger that had boiled inside her as he had walked past, his metallic eyes glancing at her scornfully. Even with the knowledge that he was going to prison, he had still managed to make her feel inferior with one look.

But where was that Malfoy now? Ginny thought to herself. He had definitely faced hardships by the looks of things, and Ginny was sure that Draco Malfoy would no sooner allow himself to get hairy and drunk, than he would marry a house-elf. Ginny could not understand what had brought this drastic change.

The bathroom door swung open and Draco walked out, his robes slightly askew, his white blond hair clinging to his pale face from the damp. With a graceful motion, the robes were set to right and Draco moved the strands of blond from his eyes.

“That was quick.” Ginny remarked.

Draco ignored her and walked into the lounge. “I believe you have my wand.” He said sharply.

Ginny nodded and handed out his wand. “I cleaned up your flat for you.” She said bluntly.

Draco gave her an unreadable expression and took the wand from her, their hands slightly brushing against each other. He sat down, placing his wand in his robe.

“So, what now?” Ginny enquired.

Draco sighed, “To be honest, Weasley, I really don’t know what to do with you. I don’t know why I kidnapped you in the first place, so you’ll have to forgive my lack of remembering just what I had planned for you.”

Ginny tugged on a red curl and frowned, “What made you decide to get so drunk anyway?

Draco shrugged, “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“You must have drunk a lot.” Ginny commented.

Draco shrugged again. “Don’t really remember.”

Ginny laughed, “No, I can imagine you wouldn’t.”

Silence fell between them and Draco idly fiddled with a piece of loose thread on the seat. He was frowning, as though deep in thought. Finally he looked at her, an odd expression on his face.

“Did I really declare my allegiance to the Dark Lord in front of Aurors and Potter?”

Ginny could tell by his expression that he was inwardly wishing she had been lying. Slowly Ginny shook her head; there was no point in trying to hide it.

Draco sighed again, running his hands through his platinum blond hair. “Then there’s nothing for it.” He said in a resigned voice.

“Nothing for what?” Ginny asked slightly confused.

“Well, so far Weasley,” Draco said harshly, his steel-like eyes turning to her.” I have been allowed to do what I like because my name was cleared, but I doubt that I will be able to now; eventually they will find out it was me who kidnapped you, so there is nothing left but to let you go back to wherever you came from and hope that it isn’t traced back to me.”

“You’re letting me go back?” Ginny exclaimed before she could stop herself. Draco glanced at her with another odd expression, clearly showing his surprise at her sudden outburst. Ginny blushed slightly and fidgeted with her hair again.

“You want to stay here?” Draco asked incredulously.

“N-no,” Ginny said a little too forcefully. It wasn’t that she exactly wanted to stay here and be kidnapped, but she was reluctant to go back to her monotonous life. She looked at Draco, seeing his eyebrows drawn together in a frown as he watched her. He was an enigma to her, but he was also the most exciting thing that had happened in her life for a long time. She wasn’t about to let this adventure slip through her fingers so easily.

“Why don’t you come back with me?” Ginny asked, her eyes lowering slightly. She felt nervous asking him this; after all, he had as good as sworn his allegiance to You-Know-Who, but somehow she suspected that he was not so enamoured with the dark side as he had led them to believe.

“What?” Draco said, shock clearly laced through his voice. Ginny fidgeted even more. Maybe she would regret this later, but right now she wanted to know more about Draco and why he had allowed his life to become so worthless. It may have been because she had seen the desperation for release behind his cold eyes when he was drunk, or perhaps it was simply because she was bored; either way, Ginny knew she wanted to help him.

“Don’t you think it is about time you came out of hiding and face the world again? Maybe I can help you; I mean, I’m probably the only one who can now, since you kidnapped me and all. I’m pretty sure that my word will have more impact on the Wizarding World than what Parkinson’s ever did.”

Draco could only stare at her, his mouth going oddly slack. The expression looked very strange on him indeed, for Ginny was so used to his disinterested, cold expressions that seeing him in pure shock was just as surprising to her as well.

“You don’t want to have your life back?” Ginny asked disbelievingly. Draco quickly closed his mouth, a hard expression coming to his face.

“You don’t honestly expect me to accept your help, do you?

Ginny harrumphed and scrunched her face up in brief annoyance. “You know, you could at least try to be polite to me. After all, I am willing to help you after you just kidnapped me, practically cracked my head open, and forced me to stay in this disgusting house that smells like mould.”

Draco’s lips twitched slightly, and Ginny wondered if he was laughing at her, but then the expression faded and he looked at her seriously through his grey eyes.

“Alright, let’s say I take your offer. How are you possibly going to explain to Potter and those Aurors that I’m harmless after all that I did?”

Ginny frowned to herself. Truth be told, she had not really considered what she was going to do, only that she wanted to help him and learn more about him. She would have to give some explanation as to why he had kidnapped her and declared to a whole street of wizards that he was a Death Eater and wanted revenge.

“Well, no one really knows it was you, so how about I say that you rescued me from the person who had kidnapped me.”

Draco gave her a dumb expression; Ginny could practically hear him mentally sighing.

“You don’t think that will work?” She asked hesitantly.

Draco shook his head, letting out a loud groan as he leaned back against the couch. “No Weasley, I don’t think that will work. Anyone who believes that is a complete idiot.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot. You said yourself that eventually someone will find out it was you, but if I told them that you had rescued me no one would even bother to think twice. I’m not a liar you see.”

“You say that like it is something to be proud of.” Draco said scornfully. Ginny merely laughed.

“So, are you willing to do it?”

“Do I have any choice in the matter?” Draco asked with a scowl. Ginny grinned, her brown eyes sparkling mischievously.

“Not in the slightest.”