A Girl's Best Friend, Part I - Pearls
"Pearls chase away women's melancholy. Heal from anxiety and folly. Chase away evil spirits. Have aphrodisiac and [fecundant] properties. Heal hemorrhagies, poisoning and frigidity."
Pietros Heraclitus. Treasures of the Mediterranean Sea.
Greece, Vth century B.C.
The store was somewhat as he had expected to find it, dark and pleasantly cool in the midst of Diagon Alley's bustling crowd, caught in a summer day so hot and bright it threatened to reach a centennial record. It took a few minutes for customers' eyes to adapt to the penumbra, until after a few seconds of mute darkness white and blue lights revealed the contours of the pedestals and glass cases. Only then did the jewels appear like stars in the night sky, constellating spans of black velvet with their fires of infinite hues.
Draco Malfoy knew at once that he would find what he was looking for in this establishment. As far as he could tell, he was the only customer present at the time, but in places like these it meant that only a precious few could afford the quality of the jewellery sold here. He casually walked around, his lazy grace matched only by the mysterious elegance exuded by the store. After a few minutes, Draco felt he was ready to speak with the sales person; it was exactly that moment she chose to appear.
She came forth from the shadows, her red hair like a sudden, tarnished flame in the lights of the store. Minutes before she had blended with the darkness, and her hair with her, the sober but tight-fitted gray dress she wore but a component of her camouflage; even though he could now see her plainly, noticing how her heavy-rimmed glasses framed her eyes with sternness and how not a tendril escaped from her tight chignon, she did not seem to glow or stand out. She fit in marvellously with her store.
"Good morning, sir. How may I help you?"
Only the garish colour of her hair could now identify her as Ginny Weasley. Though Draco had heard her screaming and laughing often enough at Hogwarts, during Quidditch games or in the Great Hall as he walked by, he had barely registered the girl as she went from being mousy and shy to pretty and popular. Those years had been marred by the kind of darkness that will erase any woman's beauty from a man's mind, and Draco would never at the time have considered a Muggle-lover beautiful. Not that he would have paid her any attention, even if she had honoured her family's lineage: she was, after all, too poor.
"I'm looking for an engagement ring," he said.
She smiled imperceptibly, unsurprised by the admission. She had seen enough of the headlines announcing his relatively steady relationship with Astoria Greengrass to know for whom the ring was destined. Unfortunately, that would not suffice for the task at hand.
"Absolutely, sir. Are you familiar with the way in which I work?"
"I'm afraid not. My father used to deal exclusively with Richard Durham, but he is no longer… practicing…" Mr. Durham had indeed been convicted of crimes against humanity after the trials following the 2nd Voldemort War had revealed that he extorted money from Muggleborns trying to flee the country and supported the Ministry's temporary efforts to purify the ranks of wizardry. "I was told that you were the best in London, however, which is why I am here."
Ginny merely inclined her head, in a polite but unaffected acknowledgment of the compliment Draco Malfoy had paid her.
"In that case," she went on unperturbed, "allow me to explain."
Draco moved slightly so that he went from facing the jewels, as he had been, to facing her. He watched with interest as she started pacing slowly, the shadows shifting across her face as she did so.
"Though marriage is for many little more than a civil union, it is the belief, amongst jewellers, that wedding bands should not be purchased or worn by those not united by very strong and intimate ties. Of course, nowadays, any marriage of convenience will have its set of orange blossoms, weeping relatives, and wedding bands; but if you are seeking a ring that exemplifies the importance and power of your love for Mrs. Greengrass, then you must be willing to put some time and effort in the choosing of even the engagement ring." She seemed to ponder her words. "And by choosing I mean crafting, for though we will definitely look to other works for inspiration, in the end the ring will be crafted specifically for your couple. Is that what you want, Mr. Malfoy?"
He had the disturbing impression that she was asking about more than the ring, but her utter placidity quickly convinced him otherwise.
"Of course," he agreed. "What is the time and work invested in a ring when compared to a union meant to last `til death do us part'?"
Draco thought he heard her mutter, "Indeed," but already she had produced her wand and was summoning a number of boxes. The jewel cases, oblong forms of black velvet, hovered in mid air. With a gracious gesture, Ginny invited him to sit down.
"First I will try to get a sense of what you like. Of course, the understanding I shall gain from this will be very coarse, but it is necessary so that we can be on the same page, at least where the overall design of the ring is concerned. Then we will progress to the specifics of your relationship."
Draco had been reaching for one of the boxes when he registered what she had said. He looked up, faintly surprised, his aristocratic hand suspended in mid-air.
"'The specifics of our relationship'?"
"Between you and Miss. Greengrass, yes," she specified as though there were some misunderstanding. "I must understand what pushes you to be together in order for her engagement ring to be representative of that."
For a second he was tempted to answer "Our families", but he knew it was the response she expected, and nothing could have been further from the truth. In the years following Voldemort's demise, Astoria had come to mean a lot to him, more than - he suspected - he could explain to a woman, - and a Weasley at that. However, precisely because of his affection for his soon-to-be fiancée, he was willing to try.
"Naturally," Draco said as he flipped the cloth from one of the jewel boxes. A thick ring of gold was encrusted with three, multi-faceted rubies. Though the stones were polished in an elegant fashion, the ring itself was ostentatious, its only advantage being its obviously outrageous price. "Gryffindor colours?" he asked, amused.
"I had not even thought of it," she lied flatly, giving him a perfunctory smile that held a hint of the spark he remembered from her years at Hogwarts.
The next box held a silver ring, embedded with an oval sapphire and two flanking diamonds. He waved it away.
"Gold." he ordered.
"Is white gold acceptable?" she asked, fighting back a smirk.
"No, it has to look like gold," Draco retorted.
"You do realise that platinum is somewhat more - " she chose her words carefully "-refined than gold?"
"I am aware of the fact. However, I doubt Astoria would care to explain to her friends the advantages of a metal that has yet to become fully accepted by the Wizarding community."
Indeed, while gold and silver had long had a place in the hearts of wizards across the world, platinum, increasingly employed by Muggles as an expensive alternative to gold, had yet to find its niche in jewellery stores- and, Ginny guessed, on the Wizarding plutocracy's price charts. She waved her wand, and about half of the boxes wafted away. Draco went on perusing, exhibiting the surprisingly accurate knowledge of gems and metals he had acquired while following his mother on her numerous shopping sprees. Ginny found herself enjoying her task.
"No rubies, then?"
"No, there's something about red…" he said dismissively, but she knew it was aimed at her, and not in the bitter, hurtful way it might have been in the past.
"And you want diamonds but you would rather it not be the only type of stone."
"Well, yes, unless you can find me the right shape of diamond, but I haven't seen anything yet that I find perfectly satisfying where that stone is concerned."
`Of course not,' she thought to herself. `I bet your mother owns diamonds that could shame even the Dwarves' legendary work. Probably stolen from them, too.' Yet her thoughts lacked the venom of years past, as though the war had washed that away as well. The war had washed away everything, the good and the bad alike, leaving behind un-mending scars that made Ginny Weasley the best in her trade but left her with little else in lieu of happiness.
"These amethysts," she said, revealing three rings inlaid with purple, yellow, and watery blue stones, "come from the distant province of the Deccan, in India. Legend has it that a princess, running away from an evil demon who wished to marry her, implored the Indravati River to save her. She cried so desperately that, in exchange for her tears, the river granted her request. The princess was never seen again, but her tears" she nodded toward the rings "were found by her seven sisters and turned into charmed rings that protect them from demons."
"They're a bit… pallid," Draco said flatly.
With a snap of the wrist, Ginny sent the amethyst rings away. He was surprised at how well she took his comments, knowing full well that he was not being polite. He knew her self-control would have to be perfect for her to acquire such renown in an area where wealthy witches were incredibly difficult to please, but part of him felt compelled to push her buttons. That feeling was akin to the pleasure caused by her fiery responses and denials when she was still infatuated with Harry Potter. This time, though, she did not even give him the pleasure of a muffled hiss or a repressed frown.
They went through several more jewel-boxes, some with rings so elaborately carved they could have made Cartier's ornaments look like trinkets, others plain and stately like minimalist sculpture. Overall, Draco was pleased to note that he appreciated Ginevra Weasley's style and taste, as well as the wide range of rings she offered. He felt a bit disappointed, however, that no ring felt utterly perfect for Astoria.
"Please remember that this is but a preliminary step," Ginny said as though she'd been reading his mind. "I have much to learn about what you and Miss. Greengrass share before I can make the ring that will have you absolutely satisfied."
"Do you think you will be able to do it?" Draco asked, somewhat dubious of the fact that the Weaselette could ever understand anything about him.
"Is that a challenge?" she asked evenly, although he once again detected a flicker of the emotion he had been attempting to spark.
Draco stood up with the lithe grace that was his and his alone, and picked up Ginny's hand. He kissed it lightly. Then, without answering her question, he made to leave.
"Please send me an Owl when you are ready to take the next step."
"Mr. Malfoy," she replied politely as he exited the store, and without so much as an additional thought resumed the work his arrival had interrupted.
***
Four days later, a medium-sized gray owl, whose beautiful feathers had a pearly sheen to them, left a note on his desk.
"Mr. Malfoy,
I would very much appreciate if Miss. Greengrass and yourself could join me for a meeting the likes of the one we had when last you came. I understand that this may be tedious for you, but I would like to see what type of jewellery she likes, and how that affects the jewellery you end up giving her. I leave it up to your discretion to disguise the motive of the visit, and will be showing her necklaces, bracelets, and so forth, so as not to arouse her suspicion.
Regards,
Ginevra Weasley."
The paper she had used, much like the ink itself, was elegant without being ostensive. Part of him congratulated her for it, having witnessed heaps of nouveaux-riches (amongst which the remaining twin brother and Potter's sidekick) flaunting their wealth and mistaking money for class. Little did he know that neither George nor Ron cared a bit for class, and compensated for a childhood of need by providing their own children with overwhelming profusion.
He replied immediately, and his following command was for his secretary to invite Astoria to an afternoon of shopping in his company.
***
Draco was reminded of his initial shock upon entering Ginevra's store when Astoria, startled by the dark and cool interior, uttered a little cry as she stepped in. It did not take him very long to discern the glass columns and the jewellery shimmering within, and for a second he wondered if he was not seeing the entire store more clearly. Astoria, reticent at first to enter a store that had not been heralded by generations of her female predecessors, nearly launched herself at the closest display; she eyed the jewels there with undiluted interest. This time, Draco caught a glimpse of Ginny before she made herself visible.
She was standing in a corner, watching Astoria with an amused but distant smirk on her full lips. Her dark glasses added a layer of angles to her high cheekbones and somewhat sunken cheeks. Had she seemed that stern, the last time he had seen her? There was an undeniable air of Professor McGonagall to her stance, though the Head of Gryffindor had thankfully known better than to wear the fitted suit Miss Weasley had allowed herself that afternoon.
"Miss. Greengrass, Mr. Malfoy, welcome," came her low voice at last.
Astoria's head snapped in her direction, and she took a step back as though she had been caught doing something she was not supposed to. This only seemed to amuse Ginny more, although she easily hid the source of her mirth behind a wall of politeness.
"Darling," Draco immediately said to conceal the oddity of the moment, "these are the earrings I stumbled upon the other day and that made me think of you."
He pushed her gently toward one of the columns of glass, where silver earrings nested in black velvet. They were embedded with almond shaped emeralds of different sizes, whose intricate patterns mimicked the coiled branches of some thin-limbed tree. Ginny was surprised that Draco remembered them, and commended him for his taste; she could tell by the look on Astoria Greengrass' face, however, that while the woman may have found the piece pretty, she was by no means enchanted by it.
"There is a similar version of these earrings in gold, if you would like to look at it," she said quietly.
Astoria nodded absently, her thin, chestnut hair sliding across her shoulders as she did so. She was a very pretty woman, if somewhat skinny, and there was an air of frailty about her that made her look like a child. Oddly enough, Ginny found herself drawn to the woman, eager to please her or at least make her smile. She summoned the gold earrings, whose finely polished aquamarines looked like droplets of sea-water, frozen in time. Draco watched impassively as Astoria, initially interested, dismissed them when she learned they were made from aquamarines, stones not precious enough in her opinion.
Ginny presented the couple with several other choices, her guesses eliciting increased approval from Astoria as she acquired a sense of the woman's taste. Unfortunately, if Astoria went solely for gold and the most expensive gems, her affection for large stones found no supporter with Draco. He tried to veer her away from the overwrought, over-worked pieces in which rubies and emeralds seemed to have grown like mushrooms, burgeoning endlessly but without caution. Ginny only carried that type of jewellery for women who defined a necklace's beauty by the amount of stones it carried, but did not bear much affection for either the style of jewellery or the customers who favoured it.
"What about pearls?" Draco asked at last, his voice a bit strained but impassive.
The ghost of an assenting smile flittered on Astoria's lips, lighting her features with pretty, childish glee. Ginny noticed that her tea-green eyes twinkled like pixy dust.
"They will complement your skin nicely, and work wonders with gold," Ginny added for Astoria's sake.
Draco smirked, and the gesture was not lost on Ginny as she summoned several boxes. After twenty minutes of hesitation, Astoria finally settled earrings in which clusters of unevenly sized pearls alluded to snowflakes caught in a lopsided wind. The subsequent arrangements only took a few minutes. The pearls were wrapped in cloth so thin and fine it looked like a spider web and placed in a black box that found its way into Draco's pocket. He handed Ginny a business card.
"Please contact me to arrange for payment."
Astoria was halfway through the door when Ginny realised that Draco Malfoy had just given her the public justification for a private interview during which they could further discuss the brunette's engagement ring. Ginny had to admit it: Draco knew what he was doing.
-->