wl_mods (wl_mods) wrote in wizard_love, @ 2011-02-12 01:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | *fic, 2011, draco, ginny |
Special delivery for teenage_hustler
Title: Slugs and Butterflies
Author/Artist:
Recipient's LJ name: teenage_hustler
Pairing(s): Draco/Ginny
Rating: NC17
Summary: The road to hell is paved with good intentions – or in Draco's case his five year old cousin Teddy. Luckily for him, Ginny is there to save the day.
Word Count: 6,853
Warnings/Content: None
Author's/Artist's notes: Many thanks to my beta. Once again you rode to my rescue.
Of all the places to begin, it was a child's birthday party where Draco Malfoy commenced his rehabilitation.
If he had been asked officially, of course, he would have said that it was when the Wizengamot had set the terms of his probation. He was supposed to realise the error of his ways as he was stood before the assembled masses, listening as they made clear to him the length of the lead that he was going to be placed on. It had been a steady stream of depressing restrictions, each one making him feel less sympathetic than the last until finally they had let him go, into his mother's care. It could have been worse. Attached at the end had been a warning that if he did not behave himself then there would be nothing that anyone could do to save him.
The truth was, however, it was somewhere in the middle of a cloud of balloons, sweet wrappers, and an over-exuberant crowd of five year olds where it happened. It was at a party that he had been tricked into attending by a mother who was determined to rehabilitate her son even if he was not so keen on the idea. His natural youthful defiance, stifled by so many years of living in fear for his life, seemed determined to reassert itself. In Narcissa Malfoy's opinion, it would not be long before her son ended up in a cell in Azkaban alongside his father.
The party was for this cousin, Teddy, who Draco barely counted as family. His mother had recently been rebuilding relationship with his Aunt Andromeda, however, leading to an invitation to Teddy's birthday party. Narcissa had been evasive about where they were going right from the beginning, telling him only that they were going to a social engagement that simply could not be missed.
In retrospect, Draco knew he should have asked more questions. Dangled in front of him had been the prospect of Astoria Greengrass's presence, and that had proved temptation enough to ignore any suspicions that had arisen. The younger Greengrass sister had been avoiding him ever since they had argued while out one night, and he was not going to miss the chance to catch up with her. The end of their relationship had proved unsettling. Draco Malfoy was the one who did the dumping, and not vice versa.
"I said she might be here," Narcissa said as they lingered on the edge of the lawn. Reaching into her handbag, she pulled out a small brightly wrapped present which she promptly enlarged to nearly ten times its original size with a flick of her wand. “It was a possibility.”
"Oh, I suppose it was," Draco replied. "Though only if Potter himself decided to resurrect the Dark Lord. Possibly while dancing naked in front of Dumbledore's grave."
Narcissa ignored him, concentrating instead of plumping up the bow attached to the present.
With a gesture in the direction the lawn, he added, "There are Muggles here. Lots of Muggles."
Turning to face him, Narcissa reached up and adjusted his collar with perhaps a little too much force than was strictly necessary. Draco wondered whether she wanted to put a bow on him, as well.
"That is very much the point. Now, I'm going to go and say hello to Andromeda and Teddy. I suggest you do the same. I've seen Molly Weasley looking over here several times with a very suspicious look on her face. Take a moment to regain your composure, though, first."
One moment turned into two, and then three. Draco watched as his mother settled in among the other adults, handing Teddy his gift and then accepting a cup of tea. It was odd to see her trying to make polite conversation with Weasleys and Muggles. After a minute or too, he changed his mind. It was more than odd, it was downright disturbing. The place was overflowing with them – both of them. He could see Luna Lovegood there, and Granger. Potter was lurking in the background near what Draco thought looked suspiciously like a Muggle barbeque which meant that they were sure to all end up with food poisoning.
With a scowl, Draco shoved his hands deep into his pockets. His mother might want to get to know her long lost relatives, but that did not mean he had to. There was nothing to stop him from simply Apparating away. The longer he stood there, the less possible leaving seemed to be. A tether formed to hold him in place. If he left now, it would be commented on. He could not do that to his mother.
The one good thing was that if he knew her at all, Narcissa was sure to have brought a large bag of sweets with her for Teddy. He did not anticipate a five year old being able to put up much resistance when he stole a few.
Taking a deep breath, he delved in.
Sometime later, with a square of sticky cake in one hand and a small, equally sticky handprint on his trousers, Draco escaped. Walking around the side of the house, he made his way into a small sheltered courtyard that was occupied by a set of oversized bins and a faded plastic garden set. On seeing that the space was already occupied, he paused briefly in the entrance. Seated at the table was Ginny Weasley, her back to him.
That was enough to make him hesitate. There were sure to be other places he could go. What made him continue into the small area was the slender trail of smoke that he could see. Weasley, against all expectations, was very obviously smoking.
Cake in hand he edged his way around into her eye line, confirming as he did so what he thought he had seen from a distance.
"Bloody hell, Malfoy," she said with a start. "I thought that you were my mother."
"That is an entirely unfair comparison," he said, dropping onto the other chair. At the suspicious look she shot him, he said, "I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?"
"I will give you this delicious slice of cake in exchange for one of the cigarettes from that pack you've somehow managed hide in that too-small dress. It's impressive, by the way, how you've managed to squish yourself into it."
Ginny frowned and involuntarily glanced down at her cleavage. The dress she was wearing was quite revealing. It was clear to see the cogs turning behind her eyes, calculating how serious he was being. "Are you saying that I'm fat?"
"Oh no, just that there's rather a lot of you up there and not a lot of fabric to, ah, go around. I noticed it earlier when you were bending over to pick up one the sticky-fingered multitude. I'm surprised Potter hasn't leapt on you yet."
Her cheeks darkened. "It's not like that between us anymore," she said. "You know that – everyone knows that."
The last was said dryly. Draco inclined his head in acknowledgement. It would have been impossible to miss the very public break up of Potter and his childhood sweetheart, even if the media had not reported on it quite so extensively. Ginny had been suspended from the Holyhead Harpies for throwing the Quaffle at Potter's head during a match, after all. Draco had wished more than once that he had been there. Potter's face had no doubt been a picture. He really should have expected it though; Ginny had gained a reputation for being fiery even when they were at school.
With a roll of her eyes, she produced a golden packet seemingly from nowhere and pushed it across the table toward him. "I don't want the cake. You can have one as long as you don't bring Harry up again."
He smirked. "Deal. Of course you do realise that there's nothing to stop me from bringing him up after I've taken one."
"There's the knowledge that you'd soon be intimately acquainted with hot end of this one if you did."
He cocked his head to one side, drawing his wand and lighting the cigarette. Earlier, when he had reached for his packet, he had found nothing but an empty pocket. Somehow his mother had located and confiscated them without his being aware. She had taken to reading Muggle magazines lately as a way of acquainting herself with them more thoroughly. Research, she called it. Unfortunately for him, her research had allowed her to discover that tobacco was generally held in low regard by Muggle health professionals nowadays, and as such she had been doing her damnedest to get him to quit.
"Time is not mellowing you one bit, is it?"
With a gesture to the space around them, Ginny said, "I came out here for a quiet smoke."
"You came out here to get away from Potter. I don't think anyone could miss the little dance you two have had going on for most of this god-awful gathering." He held his hands up in surrender as she held up her cigarette and then pointed toward his crotch. Still smirking, he added, "My apologies."
"Why are you here, anyway?" she asked.
He broke off a piece of cake and put it in his mouth. "I was tricked. What about you?"
Her eyes widened, her expression remaining sceptical. As she leaned back once again on her chair, she was momentarily caught in a stream of sunlight breaking through the trees overhead. It revealed a slight pinkness to the skin of her chest. "Tricked?"
"I answered. Now it's your turn."
"That was hardly an answer. It was a hint at best. Elaborate, Malfoy. How were you tricked into coming?"
"My mother didn't exactly tell me whose party we were going to attend. I thought it was something for one of her friends."
"But it's just family, instead."
Draco shrugged. "Your turn. What convinced you to come today? I bet you were tempted not to, knowing that a certain person would be here. From what I've heard, he's involved himself heavily in Teddy's life."
Ginny nodded, and then lowered her eyes pensively to the table. She looked at the cigarette between her fingers. "Teddy doesn't exactly know that we've broken up. Harry wants to break it to him gently, and he didn't want to ruin his birthday, so I had to come. I would have wanted to, anyway. I like Teddy. He's a good boy." She looked up then, her expression serious. "He's worth getting to know, Malfoy."
"I never said he wasn't."
She shook her head. "You didn't need to."
Pushing her chair back from the table, she pulled herself into a standing position. Drawing her wand, she flicked it and caused the cigarette to vanish. Then she cast a quick freshening spell on her clothes. "I might go get myself a bit of cake after all."
Draco watched her walk away, absently admiring the sway of her hips. When she stopped suddenly and turned back to him, he was forced to quickly look away.
"Malfoy?"
"Hm?"
"There's chocolate around your mouth."