Chapter 4
When the house first came in to his view, Draco barely resisted bugging his eyes out. The brilliantly white Spanish style mansion stood tall and arrogant on the rocky cliff cradled by green jungle life. Tall windows gleamed and balconies and turrets jutted out. The house, Draco admitted, was impressive and could see why Potter had been eager to buy it.
"Bloody hell," Ginny said as she whipped off her glasses. "It's amazing."
Draco shrugged. "It's okay," he said, trying his best to sound aloof and uninterested.
"Okay?" she said with a laugh. "The house is gorgeous."
"I guess," he said as he made himself turn away from the house and leaned against the railing. "I'm sure Potter will be pleased you like it."
"Why does that even matter?" she asked as she turned towards him as the ferry crept its way to the dock.
"You two have a thing right?"
"Yes. No. I don't know." She let out an exasperated breath. "It's none of your business."
"Okay."
She opened her mouth to argue but then closed it when his words hit her. "Okay?"
"You're right…it's not my business and personally, I'd rather not know the details between you and Potter." He then pushed himself off of the railing. "We're docked."
Ginny frowned slightly as he watched Draco head to the front of the boat then shook herself out of her daze and followed. She had expected him to come back with some sarcastic or crude comment, but instead he just brushed it off. Just as she thought she had him pegged, he did something to throw her off.
Draco walked down the slight ramp onto the dock glancing up at the house as he heard Ginny's footsteps behind him. Before he could make it two steps from the ramp, he heard a loud thud, followed by a girlish squeal and spun around to find Ginny flying towards him. He acted before he could think and swooped in and caught her against his chest before she could tumble down onto the wooden dock.
Ginny stared up at him with wide eyes as she found herself plastered firmly against Draco's hard body with an arm wrapped securely around her waist. "S-sorry," she stuttered as she started to squirm away. "Tripped."
"Obviously," he said dryly as he reluctantly loosened his grip on her. She immediately backed away, so suddenly in fact that she wobbled backwards and he snatched her wrist. "Jeez…do you have two left feet?"
"No, I…I'm normally not this clumsy." Once she was certain she had her balance, she tugged her wrist from his grasp. "Sorry…I'm okay now."
Draco just rolled his eyes as he turned away from her and stalked down the dock towards the stairs leading up to the veranda. The two weeks had barley started and the woman was already driving him crazy.
He could hear the raised voices almost right away and knew that the loudest and most furious sounding voice belonged to Ronald Weasley. "Looks like he knows."
"Hmm," Ginny said as she listened to her brother. "He sounds quite pissed."
"Yep. Should be interesting."
"Excuse me," Manuel came up to them with two men at his flank carrying their luggage. "Should we bring bags up?"
"Um, maybe you should leave them here," Draco said looking up towards the veranda as more raised voices floated down to them. "We'll carry them up."
"Very well," he said and then turned to his men and sputtered out instructions in Spanish. They dropped the luggage and followed Manuel back to the ferry.
Ginny let out a small sound of protest. "Why did I feel the need to pack three bags?"
"Suck it up, Red," he said as he swung his one and only bag over his shoulder.
She scowled at him as she started to lift one of her bags and heaved it on her shoulder. "You know, a gentlemen would offer to help me with my bags."
"Well, I'm no gentleman," he said as he watched her throw the other bag, twice as big, over her other shoulder. "But, since I don't want to have to save you from falling on your ass again, I'll carry this one."
Ginny saw him reach for her last bag. "Oh, but that one's quite-"
She trailed off when she saw him sling up her heaviest bag on his free shoulder as if it weighted nothing. "Heavy," she finally said to herself when he began to climb up the stairs.
"Well, are you coming?" he asked when she hesitated at the foot of the stairs. "Or am I going have to face the firing squad alone?"
"I-I'm coming," she finally stuttered and quickly trotted up to catch up to him.
"And for Merlin's sake, hold on to the railing," he muttered as they climbed up the steps together. "The last thing we all need is for you to stumble backwards and break your neck."
"Why Draco," she wheezed as her breath got choppy. "It sounds like…you almost care."
"Not really," he said as he took a moment to shift up her bag more securely on his shoulder. "But if you do fall and break your neck, your brother would probably accuse me of pushing you and I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle. And what the hell is in this bag? Rocks?"
"Oh, suck it up, Malfoy," she muttered.
Draco found himself having to bite his tongue to keep from smiling. If he wasn't careful, he thought to himself as they finally emerged at the top. He could find himself starting to like Ginny Weasley. Sort of.
They both dropped their bags on one of the chaises by the pool and lingered there when they realized none of them had noticed their arrival. Ron's back was to them as he paced up and down while Harry calmly stood and watched with his hands in his pockets. Hermione and Luna were sitting at the table and Hermione looked as if she was trying hard not to laugh while Luna was happily sucking down her drink, clearly ignoring Ron's rampage.
"No, wait," Draco said softly when Ginny made a move. "Let's just sit back and watch the show until someone finally realizes we're here."
"But-"
"Seriously, Harry," Ron barked as he threw up his hands. "What were you thinking?"
Harry sighed. "Ron, you're starting to repeat yourself…it's getting annoying."
"I don't care! You invited Draco Malfoy! You're insane!"
"I told you, Ron," he said in a calming voice. "I have my reasons and you need to deal with it. He's going to be here whether you like it or not and again, let me reassure you…if it doesn't work out, if he's rude or disrespectful to anyone here, I'll ask him to leave."
Ron let out a frustrating growl as he stabbed his fingers through his hair. "Okay. Fine, I'm stuck with the asshole and I'll deal with it, but why did you have to put him on the same ferry as my little sister?"
"Because you're little sister, can handle herself against Draco Malfoy."
"She does have quite the talent of hexing him," Hermione pointed out with a giggle. "Remember fifth year?"
Ginny snorted back a chuckle. "I certainly do."
Draco glared sideways at her. "Laugh it up, Red."
"Just because she's hexed him a few times doesn't mean she can handle herself," Ron snapped back. "She's still my little sister and it's my job to protect her."
"Okay, I've heard enough," Ginny muttered with narrowed eyes and stepped forward. "As you can see, Ronald, your little sister did handle herself against the big bad, Draco Malfoy."
This time, Draco didn't hold back the grin as he decided to stay where he was and continue to watch the show.
Luna let out a shriek as she darted from her chair. "You're here!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around her dearest friend. "I'm so glad! We're going to have so much fun!"
Ginny laughed as she looked down at her happy friend with a hazy look in her eyes. "Luna, are you drunk?"
"I don't know," she said with a breathless laugh. "But I found out today I love margaritas! Would you like one?"
"Absolutely."
"Ginny." Ron came up to her and clasped his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Ginny patted his hand. "I'm just fine, Ronald. Stop being so dramatic."
Ron scowled over at Draco who was standing by their bags with his arms over his chest. "He didn't try anything did he?" he asked looking back at his sister.
"Of course not," she said with a roll of her eyes. "If anything he saved me from falling flat on my face. Twice. Now, let go, Ron."
"What do you mean he-"
"I knew you could handle it," Harry said walking up to them and put a hand on Ron's arm. "You can let go of your sister, Ron…as you can see she's still in one piece."
"Harry!" Ginny laughed as she launched herself in his arms. "It's so good to see you!"
Harry chuckled as he hugged the girl that had once meant so much to him. Whether she still did…well, that would have to be something he needed to figure out. Later. "Good to see you, too, Gin." He leaned back and grabbed her arms so he could see her properly. "You look great…and different."
"Everyone changes in a year, Harry."
He smiled. "I guess you're right." He looked over at Draco and was slightly surprised to see a scowl on his face. "You're not too mad at me for putting you on a ferry with him, are you?"
"No, not at all," she said casting a quick glance at him as well, frowning slightly at the scowl, then looked back at Harry. "I was surprised of course, that you invited him…but it wasn't that bad of a trip."
"Good," he said giving her a squeeze. "I better go over there. Help yourself to a margarita."
"Don't mind if I do," she said and ventured over to the table to greet Hermione who had a freshly poured glass for her. She took the glass then hugged Hermione. "Hey, stranger."
"Hey there," she said with a smile then leaned back to study her. "Harry's right. You've changed somehow."
"I have," she confirmed before taking her first sip. "Okay…yum."
Hermione laughed. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
Harry made his way over to Draco, but halted as soon as he noticed Ron following him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going with you."
"No you're not," he said shaking his head. "Stay there and let me deal with it."
"Harry, I'm not going to let you…"
"Ron, this isn't school," he said finally raising his voice an octave. "This isn't the war and Draco is not the enemy anymore. A lot has changed now and I don't think Draco accepted my invitation just to pick a petty fight with me. Now just stay here and let me handle it, okay?"
Because he had some decent points thrown in there, Ron gave in. "Fine," he grumbled as he crossed his arm over his chest. "But…I'll be watching closely."
He sighed. "Okay, Ron. You do that."
Draco watched him finally leave Ron and make his way over to him. He had heard their little conversation and he had to admit that Harry had been right. They weren't technically enemies anymore…there wasn't any reason for them to fight with each other. There wasn't anything that Harry had that he wanted, he assured himself as he shifted his gaze over to Ginny who was now talking animatedly to Hermione and Luna. Absolutely nothing.
"Malfoy," Harry said walking up to him.
Draco gave a nod. "Potter."
There was a moment of silence for a moment, both men sizing the other up and waiting for the other to talk first or make the first move. "Okay, I'll start," Draco finally said, breaking the ice. "What am I exactly doing here?"
"Good question," Harry said as he tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.
"Well…do you have a reason for inviting me?"
"One or two. Do you have a reason for accepting my invitation?"
Draco he studied the man who he had been raised to despise. It was all so surreal that they were standing there having small talk. "One or two."
"Maybe we'll both decide to share those reasons one day, but for now." He held out his hand. "I'll just say welcome."
Draco accepted his outstretched hand and gave one solid pump. "Yeah, thanks. Quite a beach house you've got here."
"It does make a statement." He slipped his hands back in his pockets. "How was the trip over?"
"Eventful. It started out with me missing the ferry and I had to apparate on to it. I practically apparated right on top of Ginny, she screamed so damn loud my eardrums are still bloody ringing."
Harry's lips curved in amusement. "That would have been interesting to witness. Let me help with all these bags."
"Okay, ah…most of these are Ginny's."
"Really? You mean this pink floral bag isn't yours, Malfoy?"
"Cute," he said dryly as he took the floral bag and threw it over his shoulders.
"I thought so," he said as he hefted the first bag on his shoulder. "Jeez, why do women feel the need to pack so much shit?"
Draco's mouth tilted up. "One of life's mysteries," he said as Harry grabbed the other bag and then followed him over to the rest of the gang.
"Hey guys," Harry said to the rest to grab their attention. "Now that we're all here, why don't I show you where your rooms are. I'm sure everyone would like an hour to unpack and rest up before dinner."
Luna gave a little twirl. "Sounds good to me."
"Yeah, okay, easy on the margaritas, Luna," he teased.
She smiled. "They're good."
"Uh-huh. Anyway, I hired someone to cook our meals for us. Her name is Claudia and she's amazing in the kitchen."
"You hired a cook?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I thought it best since I didn't want to spend much time cooking myself. I'd rather spend time with you guys. She'll cook for us every day except the weekends…we'll be able to handle feeding ourselves for a few days."
"Is she staying here?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, she has her own personal quarters off to the kitchen," he explained. "So, she won't be in our way. She's a dear woman though and I like her a lot. She tends to the place while I'm gone, too." Harry paused to shift one of Ginny's bags higher on his shoulder. "Anyway, we'll talk more over dinner about the plans for the next two weeks. For right now, let's go inside and I'll show you the rooms."
"Wait," Draco said before everyone could follow Harry inside. "Why don't we just go ahead and clear the air here." He shifted his gaze to Ron. "Weaselbee, here, hasn't stopped glaring at me since I arrived. Why don't you just go ahead and say what's on your mind?"
"Oh, I thought you'd never ask," he warned softly as he stalked over to him, feeling slightly smug since he had a few inches on him. "You don't belong here, Malfoy."
"Ron-"
Draco simply held out a hand to stop Ginny. "No, let him talk."
"You may have all of them fooled, but not me," he continued. "I don't trust you."
"Wow, there's a shocker," Draco scoffed. "Ron Weasley doesn't trust a Malfoy. Alert the media."
Ron scowled. "You think this is funny?"
Draco gave a careless shrug. "Maybe, but what it boils down to, Weasley, is that it doesn't matter what you think about me. This isn't your beach house…and you're not the one who invited me and it's not up to you whether I stay or go. That's Potter's decision and if he wants me gone, I'll leave. Until then, I'm here to stay…so get use to it."
Ron pointed a threatening finger at him. "Just stay away from me and we won't have a problem."
Draco sneered. "Gladly."
Ron leaned closer. "And stay away from my sister," he warned in a low tone that only he could hear.
Draco didn't respond, he only continued to sneer up at him until Harry finally dragged Ron away. "All right, cool it you two," Harry said as he tugged Ron away. "You both had your say and now we're done…let's all just take an hour to unwind and settle in."
Ron glared at Draco and then reached out and grabbed Ginny's bag he carried. "I'll take this."
"Ugh," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes as she took the bag from her brother. "I'll take it myself. I really hate it when you start playing your Macho Big Brother card."
"Get over it," he muttered as he took her arm and led her inside the house…away from Draco Malfoy.
Hermione wandered over to Harry as he guided them through the glass doors that led into the parlor room. "Still think it was a good idea to invite him?" she murmured out of the corner of her mouth.
"I have no idea," he said as he snaked an arm through hers. "But I have a feeling we'll find out before the two weeks are up."
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