Author's Notes: Thank you, Marcia, for the amazing lunch and the amazing beta. - fallenwitch
Chapter 8
A Raving Wizard
Blaise Apparated home on shaky legs and collapsed. How had he managed pick the one witch attached by the hip to the Death Eater from hell? Merlin, everyone knew something wasn't right with Draco. They had known it for years. How the hell did a wizard like that entice a witch like Ginny? Who cared? The last thing he needed was the raving wizard on his tail.
She never said a thing, never let on that she was even seeing someone, much less that satanically possessed demon of a former Death Eater. He thought about it for a moment. If he were in her bloody boots, he would have done the same. That wizard was a walking, talking, spell-casting death trap. Sooner or later someone worth their weight in Galleons would catch up with him and <i>Avada</i> his arse six feet under. No wizard on either side would lose any sleep over that one. They would be too busy breathing a collective sigh of relief.
"Blaise?"
He startled and looked up, never hearing the crack of their Apparation into the foyer. "Mother, Irwin," he said, getting to his feet from his elegant bum on the bottom of the grand spiral staircase.
"What's going on here?"
He followed his mother's line of sight to the pile of dress robes lying on the floor, the ones he had hastily collected from Ginny's flat. "Nothing." For a generations-deep Slytherin, he was a bloody lousy liar where his heart was involved. That particular genetic defect was strictly paternal in origin.
His mother reached down and swiftly picked through the pile before staring up at him. "Blaise, these are the things that I selected for your date. Is something wrong?" Was it his imagination or was his mother's probing nose growing by the yard?
"His date?" his stepfather questioned.
She nodded without taking her eyes off her son. "Yes, his date for the St. Mungos fundraiser. Ginevra Weasley, isn't it?"
Blaise sighed. "It was, Mother. We're no longer going."
"What?" Her concerned eyes tried to meet his as she took him by the arm. "What happened? Are you feeling all right? You look a bit pale." She ran her hand over his forehead and down his face in the most annoying fashion. Blaise pulled away.
"She's seeing someone else, that's all."
His mother's eyes became enraged. "How can that be? The two of you just went to the Ministry ball a few weeks ago. Whoever he is, he's no competition for you."
Blaise laughed out loud and shook his head. "I couldn't agree with you more, Mother. He's out of my league. I've officially stepped aside as I have no desire to go up against this particular wizard."
"Nonsense. Who is it? There isn't another young wizard in England who can hold a candle to you."
"It's not a candle that I'm worried about," he muttered before clearing his throat. "Draco Malfoy, Mother. She's seeing Draco." Both pairs of parental eyes went wide.
"But he's gone. He fled the country two years ago." Blaise shrugged his shoulders.
"Are you sure you have the right wizard?" his stepfather asked in an echo of his mother.
"Of course I'm sure. I saw him. He Apparated into Ginny's flat when we were trying on robes. Needless to say, that didn't go over too well."
"He didn't try to hurt you, did he?"
"Of course not, Mother. Now, if you will excuse me." Blaise turned around and exited up the staircase, making a gallant last effort to flee before she could impale him with her claws and start a second inquisition. Merlin, he was humiliated enough without her meddling tactics. Just because she never met a wizard she couldn't track down and feast upon, didn't mean that he shared her lust for difficult romances.
"Blaise, wait... " She ran up after him, leaving Irwin with the pile of forgotten robes at the foot of the staircase.
His stepfather stared at the pile before scooping it up and heading off to his study, leaving the two to discuss Blaise's failed romance in private. He loved his wife, but all of her unnecessary coddling turned his stomach.
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"Mother," Draco said softly, conjuring a seat by her side. He threw off his hood but left his gloves on as he settled in. It was bloody freezing in the place. She hated his lack of manners but loved his platinum locks. It was a fair trade off, given the circumstances.
He never knew what to say when he came to visit. It didn't matter. Even if he never got it right, she understood. She always understood.
"Happy Birthday, Mother," he whispered. "I brought you something." He gave her the huge bouquet of flowers he'd handpicked from her garden. "It has all your favorites." Whatever wasn't in bloom, he charmed to bloom for her. Their sweet scent lingered in the air, injecting an exquisite slice of spring into the stale winter scene.
"I have something else for you, something you've been asking about." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture, the one that never left his bedside. "This is Ginny, Mother. I was going to bring her here for you to meet, but she couldn't make it today. Perhaps another time." Nodding in agreement, he spoke again. "Yes, Mother, I think she's beautiful, too."
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Three days later when Draco Apparated home late at night, his flat was cold and dark and radiated emptiness. He sighed, kicked off his boots, threw off his cloak, and kept walking. Yes, his world was exactly as he remembered it, mired in darkness and hidden excuses and lies. What a fucking pit.
Of course he didn't turn on any lights. Instead, he headed straight for his bedroom, looking forward to his merciful nightly dose of unconsciousness.
"Draco?"
He paused at the sound of her voice.
"Draco…wait, please." Ginny got up off the couch where she had been resting and approached him. Draco sighed and gathered his weakened breath before turning to her.
"Ginny," he whispered. When he opened his arms for her, she fell into them with such relief that she almost knocked the Slytherin over. He didn't give a damn. Instead, he closed his arms around her and gathered her trembling form to his.
"I'm sorry - "
He shook his head. "Shhh… forget it, Ginny. It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does. Let me explain..."
"No, I don't care."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
His finger landed on her lips, silencing her. "That's enough," he admonished softly. She nodded, but her nervousness forced more words to tumble out of her mouth, unedited.
"Where've you been?"
He didn't meet her searching gaze this time. "No place."
"I've been worried sick. Three days? I thought something had happened to you." Ginny felt Draco's body shake with cynical laughter as he snorted his dismissal at her concern.
"It was nothing, Ginny. Just some personal business. Please… don't."
She nodded and fell silent, holding onto him with a death grip usually reserved for a sloth, grip and roll maneuver, not human contact. "I missed you," she whispered, running sweet kisses down the side of his face. This caught his attention.
He leaned over and a kiss on her lightly freckled nose, watching it wrinkle, before throwing his possessive arm around her waist. "Come on, let's go to bed. I'm exhausted."
"Draco?" He looked over at her. "I love you."
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Ginny kissed Draco's remarkably soft cheek, stroked his beautiful face and ran her hands through his platinum locks over and over again while he slept in her arms. What if something had happened to him? What if she drove him into another woman's arms with her ridiculous behaviour? What if? What if? What if?
As Draco turned and buried his face in her chest, Ginny shifted her weight to keep her body flush against his at every contact point she could manage. Personal business? What business? No, he never spoke about anything outside of their relationship and her life. And she knew he wasn't involved in the Death Eating insurrection. He wouldn't. But where would he go for three days?
He interrupted her wild conjectures with his moaning and painful thrashing about on her much smaller frame. "Shhh…it's okay, Draco. I'm here," Ginny soothed, stroking his back and kissing his forehead, settling the Slytherin down. Of course she didn't ask him what he did during the day when she was at work or on the nights and weekends they spent apart. It had never been an issue before. But then again, he had never seen her accidentally bare all before another wizard before, either.
Minutes later, he broke out into a sweat and his breathing became short and erratic. When he began to vocalize panic and fear, she shook him roughly. "Draco," she said, her urgent tone growing louder, "Draco…wake up! You're having another nightmare."
She jumped with a start when he sat bolt upright, screaming, eyes glazed and wild, looking but not seeing. Ginny watched him closely, holding her body still, afraid he would lash out at her if she moved.
His eyes frantically scanned the darkened room while his right hand gripped the non-existent wand, the one which cast spells only in his dreams. When they fell upon her, his face went soft and he shook his confused head.
Her arms were instantly around him, cradling him and comforting him. She picked up his wand from the bedside table and charmed all three windows open to ease his claustrophobia. Draco closed his eyes and collapsed against the mattress, taking her with him. There were no secrets at night anymore... or were there? What the hell would she do if she knew what demons kept him awake at night? She would Avada his arse is what she'd do. Either that or something worse, she'd leave him.
Draco reached out and grabbed onto Ginny with both hands, burying his miserable face in her delicious warmth. She was his only lifeline in an endless sea of insanity. "I love you, Ginny. Don't leave me. Don't ever leave me."
Her concerned eyes watched him tucked against her, torn and broken in some inconsolable way. "I'll never leave you, Draco. I promise." She kissed the top of his soft platinum locks, resting her cheek on them. This wizard not only willingly gave his heart to her, but he was also bound to her by something more than love. He needed her. She anchored his tenuous world to hers and guided them both in a world gone mad. "I love you, Draco. Crazy love you until the end."
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