This was originally a fic for the DG Fic Exchange written for slytherinwench.
Thank you so much to Persephone33 for the wonderfully quick and fantastic beta given from her death bed!
Also, thank you to SparkNotes for their absolutely wonderful synopsis of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, as this fic is loosely based upon that play.
I do not own anything relatively Harry Potter related nor the play that this story was based upon. I do, however, own
my own characterizations, the additional offshoots of the story line, and other various bits throughout the story.
The original prompt was as follows:
BRIEFLY describe what you'd like to receive:
The tone/mood of the fic: It can have its dark points, but I'd like a non-wrist slitting
ending.
A Theme/element/line of dialogue/object you want in your fic: Pygmalion, My Fair Lady, etc. (Draco
has to make her into a Lady for whatever purpose)
Canon or AU? Either
Rating of the the fic you want: Any, but I do adore NC-17
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Weak, sissy or crying Draco
~~~
Later in the evening, they lay together in a sticky mass of sweaty sheets and clammy skin, breathing hard and placing errant kisses on forgotten places.
"I love this."
"Me too."
"Do you think we'll ever let everyone else know?"
"Gin, we've talked about this."
"About what? I don't remember getting to voice my opinion. You've just stated the way of things and that was that. Draco, honestly, your mum loves me. Your best friend loves me. You love me. Who else matters?"
"Ah, that reminds me. Earlier today, your beautiful little mouth and Muggle clothing managed to draw Blaise's attention. He has this theory that you could be turned into a lady in time to attend the Christmas Ball at Malfoy Manor. Why he is so interested I couldn't begin to imagine."
"What Christmas Ball?"
"It's the annual Christmas Ball at Malfoy Manor. Surely Mother told you about it."
"No, she probably didn't have a chance to as of yet."
The lay there in silence for a few moments, until Ginny spoke, "Were you going to tell me about it?" Her voice sounded small, almost childlike.
Draco was undecided. Should he lie and say he didn't know, or should he lie and say yes?
"Draco?"
Shit, he'd waited too long to reply. "Gin, to be honest, thoughts of the Christmas Ball hadn't even begun to cross my mind. It's still months off. Mother will start planning it shortly."
"Well?"
"Well, what, Gin?"
"Are you going to ask me?"
"You'd have to learn to eat with the proper fork."
"Bugger off, Malfoy."
"What? You would. It's a sit down affair, Gin. You'd have to learn proper table manners. You'd also have to learn to control your mouth."
"Oh, sod off! You think I can't control myself for one evening?"
"I'm sure you could if you really wanted to."
Ginny pulled the sheet up with her as she sat up. In full defensive mode, she said, "I can play the part of a lady well enough. You just don't want to admit that you don't want to go public yet."
Draco pulled at the sheet lightly, but Ginny wouldn't let it budge. He ran his hand up to play with her breast through the sheet. "Gin, if it means that much to you, I could help you, yeah?"
"And what if I said yes? What then? If I did agree, you'd just come up with another reason for me not to go. I wouldn't have the right clothes or something."
"I'll buy you the right clothes. I'll even have a clothier come to the flat and fit you personally, if that's what you want. If you learn to eat with the proper fork and learn all the other social niceties, I promise we'll go public at the Christmas Ball."
Ginny huffed indignantly and hung her head low. "Fine."
Draco put a finger under her chin and lifted her head. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
"Gin--"
"You swear?"
"I swear."
"What will you swear on? Surely not your mother? That is so overdone."
"So, you'll do it?"
"I've already lost my pride, my dignity and any respect I ever had for myself. What more do I have to lose?"
Draco smiled and kissed her on the forehead. That was easier than I expected. It'll be a piece of cake from here on out.
The next months saw Ginny spending most evenings at Malfoy Manor. She had apparently not figured in loss of spare time into her side of the agreement. She practiced mealtime etiquette with Narcissa while Draco drilled all the pertinent facts into her head with the grace of an elephant. Clothiers came to the manor to fit her for new more constrictive robes, and she learned all the other ins and outs of being a member of high society.
Draco had become less and less accepting of her mistakes as time went on, and, on one particular evening, hostilities boiled over.
"Damnit, Ginny! Can't you remember even the simplest of things? It's a fucking salad fork. What is so difficult about that? I don't understand!"
Narcissa tried to placate her son. "Now, Draco, Ginny is doing wonderfully. You're both tired from all the dancing lessons. Don't let exhaustion cloud your judgment."
"Mother, please, for once in your life shut your mouth when it is none of your concern."
"Draco! She's only trying to help! She's done nothing but indulge us for the past few months. She's done nothing but be helpful," Ginny screeched.
"Obviously, none of this is helping," Draco replied dryly.
"Oh, fuck off, Malfoy. I'm tired of this. Maybe I like eating with my fucking salad fork, and maybe this isn't worth the trouble. You know, I should just feed you to Amelia."
"Oh, you'd just love that, wouldn't you? Watching me parade around with Amelia Zabini would serve me right, would it?"
"Yes. I think so. I think it would serve you right. You're an arse. I hope you know that." Ginny got up from the table and left the room.
Narcissa's eyes met her son's. "Draco, you really should go after her. Surely you don't think that Amelia is a better match for you than Ginny."
Draco was seething. "Of course not, Mother. The fact of the matter is that she has to learn these social niceties. She hates it, but it must be done. It isn't something I've dictated to her, it's something my station dictates for her. I didn't think it would be this difficult, emotionally or physically. She's a bright girl, and, honestly, I'm only trying to help her."
"I know, darling, but I'm not the one that has to understand."
"You're right. I'll be back shortly, Mother."
Draco took the steps to his suite two at a time. He paused at the door, grasped the handle, and prayed for patience from every deity he could recall under the circumstances. He turned the knob and entered the room. She wasn't in the room, so Draco entered the bathroom.
Ginny had her back to him. He could see the marks on her back left by the corset she had been wearing. She was brushing her long, red hair in front of the vanity mirror. A sad look adorned her face.
"You know it won't always be like this," he said as he smoothed a hand over her shoulder.
"I know."
"You know I'm just trying to do what is best for you - for us."
"I know."
The only sound was that of the brush moving through Ginny's hair. "The problem is that you're always taking the easy way out - looking for the easy fix."
"The easy way out? How is this easy, Gin?"
"It's easy because it involves me making most of the sacrifices. It's me who is making all of the changes. I'm the one making the compromises. You're molding me to be what it is that fits within your world."
"What? Surely you're joking? I don't make compromises? I'm taking the easy route? You've got to be joking."
"No, I'm not joking, Draco. I'm the one that has to sacrifice what I am, no matter how low-class you deem me to be. You care too much about what other people think. You obviously have so little faith in my ability to take care of myself that you think I need to know how to use the proper fork in order to travel through high society unscathed. I don't care what those people have to say about me, so I really think it has more to do with you."
"You would care. They are vicious. They look for any little thing to pick on, and they never let you forget it. Learning all of these societal, bullshit rules makes it so the people have little, if anything, to pick on, and, hopefully, they will drop the asinine bullshit and get to know you as I know you. You're a wonderful woman, Ginny."
"Obviously, not too wonderful or I wouldn't have to go through all of this to assuage your insecurities."
"My insecurities?"
"Yes, your insecurities," Ginny parroted as she stood and swiveled around. She shed the remnants of her dress and put on Draco's bathrobe, "Do you honestly think I give a fuck what that heifer Pansy Parkinson says about which fork I use? What am I saying? Of course you know I don't give a shite about what she says. You know I really, truly don't care what they say or think about me, so this has to be totally about you."
"It is not about me. It's about you."
"How is it about me?"
"You've got to fit in. You've got to learn the proper set of rules."
"Why do I have to do those things?"
"Because--"
"Because why?"
"Just because."
"That's not a reason. I think you want me to learn those things so you won't be embarrassed. That's what I think!"
"That's not true! I love you!"
"The love you have for me has very little to do with it. I don't doubt that you love me, but I do doubt the depth of your feelings. We didn't intend for it to go this far initially, but it did."
"I love you."
"I know you do, but that isn't the point, Draco. The point is that you don't love me enough to love all of me - my faults and all. If you can't manage to do that, then I think we should split up before it gets even more complicated."
Draco sputtered, "What? You think we should split up over something so trivial?"
"It isn't trivial. In case you haven't noticed, I've been spending all of my spare time with you learning everything from what fork to use, to how to respond to people, to which courses get served, to where to put my hand when ballroom dancing. I do all of that not because I enjoy it, but because I love you and I know it is important to you."
"Okay."
"You know what? You've got some thinking to do." Ginny stalked out of the bathroom and began fighting her way back into her clothes.
"Gin, wait. Don't go."
"Don't you touch me," Ginny's voice was deadly.
"Gin, this is ridiculous."
"Ridiculous? Draco, whether or not you love me just as I am is not ridiculous. I refuse to spend the rest of my life unhappy because I gave up pieces of myself to make you happy."
"I'm not asking you to give up pieces of yourself-"
"Yes, you are. What about when we have our ginger-haired babies? What if my figure then isn't as lovely as you seem to think it is now? Will you find me less attractive? Will you go find some harlot who still has a perfect, firm bum and nice round breasts to warm your bed because my figure has gone to shit? This is the same sort of thing, Draco. You just need time to understand that. I want someone who can't live without me, faults and all. You've just got to decide if you are that person or not. I'll let you figure that out on your own."
Draco was dumbstruck. He couldn't decide what this emotion was that he was feeling.
Ginny stared at him as if waiting for a response. When she didn't get one, she fastened her belt and grabbed her bag. She walked out the door without looking back.
Draco thought he might actually feel his heart breaking.
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