Chapter 1 - Part One
Submitted March 8, 2006 Updated April 15, 2006 Status Complete | [Complete] Their arranged marriage was a tug–of–war: a war–of–wits, a war–of–pride, a war–of–dominance. But if both ever succumb to each other, will either survive the other's trials or the real war brewing around them? [Draco & Angelina]
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Chapter 1 - Part One
Chapter 1 - Part One
Tulip in the Sand
[/b]By Evilevergreen
Summary: In the loneliest of places, where the rain never falls, and the light of the sun is harsh and eternal, a flower in the desert, blooms through the sand. (Draco & Angelina)
OoOoO
Chapter One: The Arrangement
It was late December as Angelina sat in front of her vanity mirror in a magnificent manor that she soon had learned to call home. She looked at her reflection hard and wondered how long ago she had lost herself under that man she called her husband.
Her raven black hair was pinned up as loose curls fell slightly before reaching her shoulders. Her dress was one he had bought her for the occasion, soft pink and strapless. A slight simmer reflected from her dress as the light behind her made contact. For all his faults though, she had to admit, he had wonderful taste.
She stood up and slipped on her matching shoes and as she was doing so, she felt that she was no longer alone in the room. She turned her head and, sure enough, there stood her husband. He was a tall man of 6'1'' with slate gray eyes and light, silver blonde hair. He was a handsome man, that she would never argue, but if she had had a choice, he would not have been the man she would have chosen to marry. "Ready, Tulip?" he finally spoke.
He had started calling her 'Tulip' within the first year of their marriage and although Angelina never quite understood the reasoning behind it; the name didn't bother her. Besides he had never shown her a lot of affection, nor her him, but they operated on a level of respect for each other and so she welcomed the nickname.
"Of course, Draco." She picked up her purse and Draco offered his right arm which she graciously took it. "Thank you." He nodded his head as he looked at their reflections in the vanity mirror, but his eyes never left his left cheek. On his cheek was a cross like scar that he had received during the Final Battle. He was very self-conscious about it, though only a handful of people were aware that he was. "You look fine," Angelina reassured him.
He smiled slightly and looked down at his wife. "I know."
She smiled too; he was a decent person when in a good mood. "You're a cocky bastard."
"Yes, I know that too," he replied before they Apparated out of the room.
They reappeared in a long hall that was lightly lit and began walking towards the huge wooden doors that lay before them. Angelina looked to the man she had been married to for five years. Their marriage had been arranged long before they had the voices to protest and backed by the laws of the Wizarding world. As soon as Draco was born, his father, Lucius Malfoy set out looking for the girl that would, one day, be his son's life-long companion.
There were several girls that had made the final cut, Angelina being one of them. Lucius had studied the girls for many years and the backgrounds of their families. By the time Angelina was nine years old the choice had been between her and one other girl. The other girl was born in the same year as Draco, whereas Angelina was two years older. The other child would grow up to be Pansy Parkinson.
Lucius Malfoy had spoken to each set of parents about a possible arrangement. The Parkinsons, who knew that the Malfoys were a rich and powerful pureblood family, eagerly thought arrangements were in order for their Pansy. The Johnsons, on the other hand, were a bit hesitant about it. They didn't think it was right for parents to choose their children's companions, but considering who the Malfoys were and their not-so-good reputation, told Lucius they would think about the offer, if only to avoid being threatened.
Angelina met Draco for the first time when she was ten years old and Draco was only eight. The meeting wasn't a planned one by either Lucius or by Angelina's parents. The two of them had meet one day in a children's park near the swings and simply played together that day. Mrs. Johnson immediately recognized the silver blonde headed boy playing with her daughter and was surprised at how well the two got along, because Angelina, even then, had a temper that made other children shy away from her. So perhaps an arranged marriage wasn't as ridiculous as Mrs. Johnson once thought.
Mrs. Johnson was not the only one to notice how well the children had gotten along; Mrs. Malfoy at this point, was certain that Angelina would be the perfect companion for Draco. She then watched as Angelina was being called away by her mother and followed suit to call her own child and take him home.
It would be three years before the two saw each other again, but neither paid any attention to the other when they did, for they had no reason to. They did not know that at the tender ages of eleven and thirteen that their paths had already been chosen.
They had both started dating while attending Hogwarts. Angelina dated one guy, off and on, by the name of Fred Weasley; while Draco, ironically, dated the only other girl his father had thought worthy of him: Pansy Parkinson.
[/b]FLASHBACK[/b][/b]
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Angelina was nineteen years old and on the 'off' side of dating Fred in their relationship, but the rumor was that he had plans on proposing to her as soon as she returned home. She was studying abroad, much to her parent's dismay, in a Muggle university away in America, when she received an owl telling her to come home right away. It was December and the holidays would be coming up soon; she wondered what was so important that her folks could not wait another week to tell her.
When she arrived home, her parents sat her down in the den and told her of the arrangement they had set up for her when she was younger. Needless to say, Angelina was not very happy to hear of this, and was disappointed that her parents didn't think her wise enough to choose her own mate. Her parents then brought up the irresponsible Fred Weasley, and let's just say, it all went down hill for Angelina after that.
As Angelina was asking whom they had chosen for her, there came a knock at the door of the den and in came Lucius and Draco Malfoy. A look of complete horror could be read on Angelina's face while on Draco's it was clear that he wasn't pleased, but neither was he disappointed.
The parents soon left Draco and Angelina alone in the den to speak. "You do know it's in your best interest to marry me," Draco stated as soon as the door closed behind their parents.
"Oh, and why is that?" He watched as she crossed her long legs.
He then leaned on Mr. Johnson's desk. "Because the Dark Lord will rise soon and all that stand against him will perish. And if Saint Potter thinks that he can defeat the Dark Lord once again, he is in for a rude awakening."
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returning is nothing more than a rumor. You act as if you know," she replied.
Draco's eyes shot towards her. "Maybe I do," he said in a low voice. "But no matter, there is absolutely no way out of this arrangement short of death, believe me, I've looked." He pushed himself off of the desk and walked towards Angelina. "You're going to be my wife, whether we like it or not. So before you are , there are going to be a few rules."
"Rules?"
"Yes, rules. Do I need to spell it out for you?" He stood over her.
Feeling a little uncomfortable with him glaring down at her, Angelina rose out of her seat and stood before him. "No," she said with disdain.
"Good. First off, I don't love you. I have never loved you, and will never love you."
"Good. Same thing on this end."
"Second. Once married, we will only be married in name. We will live in the same house to keep up appearances, but I will have my life, and you will have yours. Assuming you have one. I will keep my affairs quiet and out of the public eye, and I expect you to do the same. We Malfoys, if anything, must keep up a strong family front."
"Heaven forbid that we Malfoys appear weak or unstable, huh?" Angelina asked, not realizing she had referred to herself as a Malfoy.
"Glad we're on the same page." He took a pause. "Oh yeah, there's one other little thing."
"What is it?" Angelina asked almost in a manner of blowing him off.
"You will bear me one male heir," he said as calmly as if asking her to pass the salt.
"Hell no! I'll never let you touch me," s he replied, giving Draco her full attention once again.
"Believe me; I know where you're coming from, because I don't want to touch you as much as you don't want me to touch you. But eventually you will give me a son." He stepped away from Angelina and went to go look out the window. "But I'll let you know what, whenever you're ready, you come to me. Deal?" He looked back over to her.
"You maybe waiting awhile," she scoffed. "A long while at that."
"Trust me, I'm in no hurry." He crossed his arms and peered out the window once again.
"Whatever." She walked over to him and rested on the other side of the window. "But I have a few rules of my own."
"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow towards her.
"Rule number one, this is shoot, you are a piece of shoot, and- " She was interrupted.
"So that would make you Mrs. shoot," Draco smiled.
Angelina tilted her head to one side and made a face. "Cute." She then took a deep breath as she looked down at the floor and said to herself. "What in the world am I going to tell Fred?"
"You mean, you're still with that git?" Draco looked at her in disbelief. "And here I thought you were smart. I was sure you would have found someone better by now."
"What? Are you and my parents like mentally linked, because I swear, they said about the same thing not that long ago."
"Yeah, well face it Johnson, I'm a major upgrade from the weasel." He polished his nails on his robes. "If I weren't, do you honestly think your parents would have agreed to this union?"
Angelina always knew that her parents disapproved of Fred, but she never thought enough, to have her married off to someone else. According to the Wizarding Laws, which Angelina completely thought needed to be revised, if they didn't go through with this union, they both faced death. There was really no way out of this.
"Fine, but let's get this over with as soon as possible." How bad could this really be? She pondered. She would still be able to be with Fred, her and Draco would only be married in name.
"Set a date and I'll be there," he said casually.
"End of the month. New Year's Eve."
"What?" He looked at her like she was out of her mind. "No. I'm not going to be doing my last term at Hogwarts as a married man. I swear the walls have ears, I won't be able to keep my affairs quiet within them."
"Boohoo. Cry me a river, why don't you? Because I'm sure even you can keep your pants zipped for five months. Besides, I thought you would be pleased, getting married before you're done at Hogwarts would establish to others that you're committed, that we're committed, therefore, we would have the basis of 'a strong family front'," she said mockingly as she made little bunny ears with her fingers.
Draco slowly leaned in closer to Angelina and licked his lips as he studied her face. "You want me, don't you?" he said before giving a small chuckle.
"Yeah." Angelina took a step back, "like I want a yeast infection."
Draco straightened himself back up and gave Angelina an odd look. "What's that?"
Angelina laughed and shook her head. "Nothing Malfoy, forget about it."
He nodded his head in agreement. "You know, for all intent and purposes, I am your fiancé now, you can call me Draco," he shrugged his shoulders, "if you like."
"Fine." She walked toward the den's door. "Draco."
"Can I call you Angelina?" he asked, surprised that he did.
With her hand on the knob, Angelina slightly turned around. "No." She then opened the door and walked out.
Draco smiled contently as he made his way towards the door. "If anything, life with her sure won't be dull."
Chapter Two: The Day She Died
Angelina was about a week into her holiday break and felt like she needed a break from her break. She and Draco had been out and about planning for their wedding, making sure when people saw them together they looked as happy as any other engaged couple would be. Much to Angelina and Draco's amazement, pretending to be happy together wasn't really that difficult for them.
It was late and Angelina was in her room at her parents' home getting ready for bed. She was about to turn off the lights when she heard a popping sound behind her. She turned around and saw Fred standing there. She smiled happily, but her smile soon vanished when she saw the intense look on Fred's face. "What the hell are you playing at, Angel?" Fred shoved a newspaper into her chest.
Angelina took a hold of the paper; it was The Daily Prophet. On the cover in big bold letters read: Wizarding World's Most Eligible Bachelor Now Taken – The Malfoy Engagement. It was accompanied by a picture of her and Draco, holding hands, and looking very happy as they entered a bridal store.
Angelina looked up from her paper. "Trust me, this is nothing." She tossed the paper aside.
"How is this nothing?" He went and picked up the paper and just stared at the photo, as Draco and Angelina smiled at him and waved. "Please, tell me this is some kind of joke." He looked at her with hope in his eyes. "Because if it is, you got me, you got me good okay. Just tell me it's a joke." He looked back down at the paper. "A very cruel joke."
"Stop looking at this thing." She ripped the paper from his hands. "It's not a joke I'm engaged, but Fred-"
He fell onto her bed. "How? Why? When? I'm mean, was he who you were with, when we weren't together?"
"Of course not.'' She sat next to him. "Look Fred, this is an arranged marriage. Malfoy and I have already discussed this, we will only be married in name. We can still be together Fred." She took his hand. "Just as long as we aren't seen together," she added.
Fred violently pulled his hand away. "You don't get it. You belong to another man!"
"I belong to myself," she defended.
"All the same." He stood up calmly. "I can't be with a married woman." He stepped away. "I just can't."
"Fred." She stood up and took a hold of him. "Don't you dare do this to me!"
"Don't do this to you?" He grew upset. "What about what you've done to me? How come you didn't tell me?" He pulled away again. "How come I had to find out in the damn newspaper!" He pointed to the paper on the floor. "I was with my brothers and Ginny in the shop when we saw that thing." He struck his chest. "You made me feel like a fool!"
Angelina became frightened; this was not her Fred, he had never raised his voice to her before. "Fred." She chocked back tears. "Please. I'm sorry. You're right, I should have told you as soon I found out. I'll make it up to you, I promise." She reached for him.
"How Angel?" he said in a harsh whisper, as Angelina embraced him. "How can you make up for being with someone else?" Fred's arms betrayed him as they wrapped around Angelina. "Don't you understand, this destroys any future we had together?"
"We can still be together," Angelina pleaded.
"No, we can't." He gently pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, as moist with tears as his own were. "I refuse to be the other man Angel. I refuse to live and love you in the shadows of your marriage. I know we had some difficult times. . ." He lost his voice for a moment. "But I always thought eventually we would be together; that you would one day take my name and be my wife. That one day you would have my children, and we would grow old together. And if we couldn't have that." he slowly shook his head. " If we can't have it all, then there's no point in being together."
"But Frederick – I love you."
"I know. I love you too and sadly, I think I always will." He kissed her forehead. "But as far as I'm concerned." He then took a step back. " You died the moment I heard my heart break."
"Frederick!" She reached for him again, but he Apparated before she could touch him, and she fell to the floor. That's where she stayed, for she had not the strength to get up; her tears and sadness had overpowered her and glued her to the floor. She and Fred had broken up many times before, but this time was different, because for the first time she knew he wasn't coming back. And she cried herself to sleep that night, not realizing that it would not be the last.
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"Merlin! You look terrible," Draco said to Angelina when he met up with her two days later, to talk about floral arrangements. They met in a little coffee café with a poetic atmosphere.
"I'm not in the mood, Draco." Her voice was gruff from crying the night before. She had discovered that not only, was she dead in the eyes of Fred, but in the eyes of all her friends. To them, marrying Malfoy, a known follower of the Dark Lord, was seen as nothing more than a betrayal of everything that they thought was good and right in the world; no matter what the circumstances. They made Angelina feel so low, that opting for death at this point didn't seem too bad.
"Not that I really care, but what's with you?" Draco caught the eye of a waiter and signaled him over.
"Nothing." The last thing she needed was Draco in her business, she thought, as she picked up the floral design book. "I just really need a mocha latte with extra foam."
"Hello, I'm Luke. What can I get for you today?" asked the waiter.
Draco leaned back in his seat, and looked at the waiter as if he was wasting his and Angelina's time. "We don't care who you are. And don't play stupid, you were standing two feet away, so you know what she wants; bring two, one without the extra foam, and don't take all day."
The waiter had a sour look on his face and was about to say something, but Draco shot him a look that made him think otherwise. "Right away, sir." And he went off to fetch their order.
"Must you intimidate everyone you meet?" Angelina asked, as she flipped through the book not really looking at it.
"We're not even married yet, and you're already trying to change me," Draco said playfully, with a glint in his eye.
Angelina put the open book on the table and crossed her arms. "That would take a miracle, not even an angel like myself, could perform."
"You, an angel?" Draco leaned over the table and turned the book in his direction, so he could see what page she stopped on. "Ha! I've heard stories of you and your temper that would make the devil run for cover." He looked down at the book.
"Hey! I've taken classes for that. And I-" She stopped when she saw Draco's head slightly jerk up from the page and look at her. She noticed that his face had turned soft, and it was actually very becoming of him. He looked like what he actually was: a seventeen year old boy and not a man trapped in a boy's body. For a moment he truly looked like an innocent child. "Draco?" she said, a touch above a whisper.
"You remember the day we met?" His reply was more like a statement than a question, but nevertheless his eyes seem to yearn for a certain answer.
Angelina shook her head slightly. "That day outside the Quidditch field?"
"I was a second year by then."
"Look, no offence, but back in school, people didn't exist in my world unless they correlated with Quidditch," she explained, as their waiter, Luke, brought their lattes.
Draco nodded his head and straightened back up to receive his drink. As he took a sip of his latte, Angelina watched as the steam from it swept over his face and his child-like expression melted from his features.
Angelina took her own latte and they sat in a comfortable silence. They were half way through their drinks when Draco looked up and noticed the clock on the wall, and realized he was late for a meeting with his father. He then turned his head and noticed someone with a camera outside the café window.
Draco stood up and put a few Galleons on the table before putting on his winter coat. "I have to go." He then leaned over and touched his right cheek with Angelina's right cheek. To anyone on the other side of them it looked as though he was giving her a parting kiss. "Photographer." He explained and then said bleakly, "I like page thirty-two." With their business for the day concluded, he walked out the café door.
Angelina turned the book back towards herself, and saw that she had left the book on page thirty-two, it was an arrangement of assorted tulips.
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Angelina was once again at home in her room. She was sitting in her bed with a piece of parchment and quill, writing about the tenth "I'm sorry" letter to Fred. He had not responded to any of her letters so far, but she figured if she just kept on trying, that eventually he would come around. She sent the letter on its way before she climbed into bed and fell to sleep.
She decided to sleep in the next day, and was only awaken by a popping sound that she heard. She turned in her bed to see who had Apparated into her bedroom. "I'm sorry, I thought you would be up and dressed by now."
"It's okay." Angelina sat up and saw the face she wanted to see, it just didn't belong to the person she wanted to see. But nevertheless she was happy to see a friendly face all the same. "I thought you weren't talking me, George."
"I've had some time to think about it. I've decided this isn't your fault." George was always the logical one.
"Thank you. Now could you explain that to Fred?" She then asked anxiously, "How is he?"
"Hurting. Badly." He pulled up her desk chair beside her bed, and took a seat. "You got to stop, Angie."
"Stop what?" she asked.
George reached into his pocket and pulled out the letters she had sent Fred. They were all unopened. "This." He laid the letters on her bed. "I can't stand the way he looks when he receives one of these from you."
"I can't help it. I know he blames me, but it's not like I chose Draco over him."
"You use Malfoy's first name now? Never mind, it's beside the point." George waved it off. "Look when it comes to rules, you know me and Fred, we have no problems being the first to break them, but Angie, what you're doing. . . its marriage," he tried to explain, "See, if it were you and Fred, he would honor the vows of your marriage 'till his dying day, and he would expect you to do the same. And you wanting to be with him even after you're married to Malfoy, throws off everything he has ever believed about marriage, because he never saw you as one to break your vows."
"But George, I don't love Dra- Malfoy. It's not the same." She kept her composure.
"It is to him, " he told her. "Angie, I love you, you're one of my best friends, so please don't take this the wrong way." Angelina only looked at him. "Keep your distance from Fred. The only way he can get over you, is if he believes, mind, body, and soul, that you are dead. So please, give my brother that peace and don't send anymore letters. Let him go, so that he can finally start to get over you."
"I don't want to hurt him anymore."
"Then stay away. Stop sending letters. Can you do that?"
She mouthed the word, "Yes," but sound seemed incapable of escaping her lips.
"Oh, Angie," George got out of the chair and sat on the bed. "Come here." He allowed Angelina to cry on his shoulder. "It's okay, it's going to be okay," he comforted her.
Angelina didn't want to believe it; that she was no longer a part of Fred's world. The thought of letting him go, she had no words to explain it, but she loved him enough not to want to keep on hurting him. And so, she realized that she could be no more than a memory to him, no more than a passing thought, if that at all. So she would be what he wanted her to be: she would be dead to him. She would give him that gift – she would give him that peace.
Chapter Three: Man and Wife
It was one o'clock in the morning on January first as Angelina sat in front of the vanity mirror in the bedroom of the newest Malfoy Manor, built for her and Draco. She had been Mrs. Draco Lucius Malfoy for at least nine hours and it wasn't sitting with her well. She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her this whole situation was wrong, but what could she do? She thought as she played with the rope around her housecoat.
Soon Draco entered the room, his hair was damp from his shower and he was wearing a pair of silk purple pyjamas that clashed with his slate gray eyes. He looked over at Angelina, but said nothing as he walked over to the bed, turned down the sheets and climbed in.
Angelina continued to stare at herself in the mirror. She drifted in and out of random thoughts, but mostly she thought about the day's event. Many of Angelina's relatives had showed up for the wedding, she never doubted they would, but what left her heart aching, was the absence of her friends. In fact, only one showed up and it had been George, but Angelina was certain that he hadn't told the others where he was headed for the day.
She met up with him at the reception, between her and Draco's act of playing the happy couple. "You look beautiful today, Angie." George told her.
She had given him a half-hearted smile. "Thank you." She hugged him. "I don't know how long I can do this," she confessed in a whisper. "How could my parents do this to me? Why was this union so important?"
"Maybe they just wanted you to be happy," he said as they pulled away from each other and took a seat at a nearby table.
"Don't play. How could I possibly be happy married to a man - a boy, in fact, that I don't love?" She played with a napkin on the table nervously.
"I don't know, but you looked pretty happy with him a little while ago," George commented, not meaning to sound insulting.
Angelina threw her napkin down on the table. "That's a lie!" Several heads turned her way. She smiled at them and gave them a forced chuckle, once again playing the part of the happy bride. She then swiftly turned her head back to George and leaned towards him so only he could hear. "That spectacle you just witnessed, is nothing more than an act and you know it," she said in an angered whisper. "I love Fred."
George leaned towards her as well. "I know that. I'm just saying, look at Malfoy's parents. You know that's an act too, a bad one at that, because you can tell they don't love each other. But for some reason, you and your new husband pull it off just fine." Angelina could tell that now he had meant to sound insulting.
"What are you trying to say, George?"
"What I'm trying to say is, that maybe there's something there that you can't bring yourself to admit." Angelina couldn't understand where this was coming from. Why was George talking to her like this?
"You have known me since I was eleven years old, have I ever, and I mean ever, expressed any interest in Malfoy?"
"That's just it Angie. This," he gestured to their surroundings, "just came out of nowhere. And yes I know this was arranged, but it looks like you didn't even try to fight this." George addressed his concerns.
Angelina tried to explain it the best she could. "My parents love me, and if they had chosen anyone else, I could have simply said no, and I know I would not have to face any kind of punishment. And believe me, there have been moments where I look at Draco and my mind screams 'No.' But then I remember that first day, in my parent's den, with Draco and his father. They only had a few words, but I definitely got the picture, Draco is afraid of his father. And if his own son couldn't convince him, how could I?"
"So you gave up without trying?" George asked her. "That's not like you."
Angelina shook her head. "I really hate to say this, because it's not my style, but some battles can not be won."
Angelina looked defeated in George's eyes, but something inside of him, told him to keep pushing. "Why did it always look like you were avoiding him in school?"
She wasn't expecting that question. "If it looked like I was avoiding someone - you're right I was - but it wasn't Draco. For one thing, he's two years younger than we are." She sat back up. "And he wasn't a threat to me, so he wasn't worth the effort," she defended.
"Is that what you used to tell yourself, Angie?" George said in a low voice.
"What the hell?" She looked at him as if he were a stranger. "This is stupid, George, and I do not wish to discuss this anymore," she said angrily, but then said softly. "So please just drop this, okay?"
George looked down at the table and nodded his head. "I'm sorry. It's just me and the others, we were talking, and Alicia was like-" He was cut off by the touch of Angelina's hand on his.
"No. I can't talk about them." She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "Please, don't let them turn you against me," she begged. "You're all I have left."
"For crying out loud!" Draco's voice boomed, shaking Angelina from her thoughts. She turned around to see him sitting up in bed. "It's two in the morning." He seemed extremely pissed. "I'm not going to bite, so turn off the lights and come to bed." He lay back down and pulled the blanket over his head, and then gave off a loud groan.
Angelina smiled at his frustration, and then George's voice crept into her mind. Maybe there's something there that you can't bring yourself to admit. She pushed the thought from her head as she turned off the lights. She then walked over to the bed where she dropped her robe, underneath it she wore a wife beater and a pair of boxer shorts with smiley faces on it. Both Angelina and Draco slept with their backs towards each other; both wondering why the other didn't complain about sleeping in the same bed.
It was early. Really early. So early that the sun was barely up. Yet it was up enough for some light to peak through the curtains. A beam of light hit Angelina square in the face; she squinted her eyes tightly as she made a mental note to have the curtains fixed. She slowly opened her eyes, but as soon as did, she noticed a figure moving around in the darkness. She was frozen for a moment, cursing herself for leaving her wand on the vanity mirror dresser. She gradually, so as not to be noticed, moved her hand to Draco's side of the bed. "What are you doing?" the dark figure asked callously. Angelina realized it was Draco and sighed in relief.
She then snapped up. "Merlin!" Her voice was shrilled. "What are you doing stalking around in the dark!" she said angrily, as she got out of bed. She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. "It's called sunlight." She turned around and put her hands on her hips. "Say it with me now, sunli-" She stopped.
Draco smiled as he watched Angelina's surprised face. He was standing in the middle of the bedroom with absolutely nothing on. He lifted his arms a bit and made a little circle. "Like what you see?" he asked her, once he had made a full 360 degrees.
Angelina looked up and down at the masculine body that stood before her. She shifted her weight to one side and scratched her head, and said with a straight face, "You need a tan." Draco cocked an eyebrow; it wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for. Angelina then picked up her house robe and put it on. "Put some clothes on before you catch a cold," she said, as she walked out the bedroom door.
It was later in the day as Angelina stood looking out the patio window at the winter wonderland that covered the Malfoy estate. The holiday break was coming to an end and she would be heading back to America to finish her studies. Draco would also be heading back to school to finish his last term at Hogwarts.
"I hired a gardener, to keep the grounds while we're away," Draco stated as he entered the living room with a book in his hand. He sat in an armchair near the fire, and opened the book.
Angelina took a seat in the armchair across from him. "A gardener? So, I'm guessing you wouldn't just hire anyone to look after your home; it must be someone you trust."
He looked up from his book. "Your point?" He seemed annoyed.
Angelina rolled her eyes. "What's the gardener's name?"
"Grayson," he replied as his eyes drifted back down to his book. "Is there anything in particular you would like grown on the estate?"
Angelina thought for a moment, but shook her head. "No, nothing comes to mind, so anything you pick will be fine." She stared at Draco for a while and realized that he wasn't actually reading the book, but staring at something on one of the pages. "What are you reading?"
Draco immediately closed the book. "Nothing you would care about." He then got out of his seat and headed towards the door. He then turned back around. "What time do you plan on leaving tomorrow?"
Angelina turned her head towards him. "Actually, I was thinking about heading out tonight."
"Can't wait to get away from me already, huh?" he asked, but didn't stay around for any kind of response.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was late May when Angelina arrived back at the Malfoy Manor. She soon discovered that Draco had put up some wards around the estate, making it impossible to Apparate into it, making her journey a little longer than she thought it would be.
When she was done unpacking, she explored the house since she hadn't had any time to do so before she had left for school. It was a beautiful house, although it had an eerie feel to it that Angelina couldn't quite place. She was on the second floor checking out each of the rooms, when she came to one that was locked. She figured she would ask Draco about it later.
When she was done exploring the house, she stepped outside to explore the estate. "I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to be here." Angelina, all of a sudden, heard a voice say from behind her.
She jumped when she heard the man. "Who are you?"
"I'm Grayson, the groundskeeper here, and you're on the Malfoy's property." The thirty-something year old man explained to her.
"It's okay. I'm Mrs. Malfoy." It was still odd calling herself by that name.
"Oh, I'm sorry Madam Malfoy. I didn't recognize you. Your pictures in The Daily Prophet did not do you justice," he complimented her, hoping not to anger her.
"It's okay, really." She smiled politely. "So you're Grayson? Well, it's very nice to meet you." They shook hands. "I was just about to head inside for some tea, would you like to join me?"
"Oh, no thank you. I still have plenty of work to do."
"I beg to differ. The grounds look great," she said as she took another look at her surroundings and walked over to one of the flower bushes. "Tulips?" she examined as she picked one.
"Yes, Master Malfoy specifically instructed that the only flowers that were to be grown were tulips."
Angelina brought the flower up to her nose. "Strange," she thought aloud, and then looked back to Grayson. "So how about that tea? I really would enjoy the company." And this time Grayson accepted.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was late in the evening and the sun was beginning to set, as Angelina walked around Diagon Alley picking up some things that she needed. Her shopping was long finished when the sun had finally made its descent, yet she continued to walk down the alley, not really sure where her feet where carrying her, as she walked through the crowd of people.
When she finally decided to take a break from her walking, she realized she was across the street from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. She smiled to herself as she saw Fred and George come from out of the back room and into the main area of the shop. They were laughing and, for Angelina, it was such a good sight to see. Then someone else came out of the back room, it was a woman that Angelina had never seen before. She watched as the woman approached Fred and lovingly wrapped her arms around him. She continued to watch as Fred accepted her embrace, and greeted her with a kiss on the forehead.
Angelina took a sharp intake of breath; it had not even been six months yet and he was already over her, while she felt she was nowhere near being over him. As she blinked back her tears, she wished she had listened to George and had stayed away.
Not being able to watch anymore, she slowly began to walk away, but something was wrong, very wrong. She heard a scream among the crowd and while others ran way from it, others ran towards it. Angelina was confused as to what was going on until she saw lights from wands casting spells. People were still running and someone bumped into Angelina, causing her to lose her balance, she fell to the ground and dropped the bag of the items she had bought that day.
She stood back up and went to reach for her wand. "Ah, ah, ah." Angelina looked up to see a Death Eater standing before her with his wand pointed in her direction. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said playfully.
Angelina slowly released her wand. The Death Eater started walking closer, making Angelina retreat until she ran into the wall of a building. She was trapped. She could see that the Death Eater before her was not alone as others seem to invade the streets of Diagon Alley. "It's a shame really," the Death Eater spoke, "having to kill someone so beautiful."
Angelina watched as he lifted his wand ready to cast the spell that would kill her. She closed her eyes to await the inevitable. "Stop!" Angelina heard a thunderous, yet almost frantic voice. She opened her eyes to see what was happening.
"Why?" asked the one who was about to kill her.
A Death Eater emerged from the darkness and gracefully lifted his hand to his white mask and slowly pulled it off while looking towards the one that had questioned him. "Because, she is my wife." The Death Eater nodded his apology as he lowered his wand and backed away into the shadows.
Draco turned towards Angelina, who was almost in a state of shock. He grabbed her by the arm and shook her out of it. She stared at him with wide eyes. "I don't know why you're so surprised. You knew this is what I would become ," he said with a cynical tone. "Go home. Stay there," he ordered as he let go of her arm. Angelina opened her mouth to speak. "Now!"
Angelina realized that this was not the perfect time to disagree with Draco, so she simply nodded her head and Apparated. What was she doing here? Draco thought as he looked at his surroundings. He then spotted the Weasleys' shop. Of course, he thought as he walked towards the store.
Chapter Four: Dawn of a New Day
It was an hour before midnight as Angelina walked around the ground floor of the manor lit only by candlelight. It had been about two weeks since the incident with Draco. It had also been that long since she'd seen him. Hogwarts had let out for the summer a week ago and Draco had not returned home. There was a war going on outside these walls and, like Draco had instructed, she stayed within them.
Angelina did not want to admit it to herself, but she was scared. She worried for her friends who she knew would be involved with the battle, and also for her family. She tried to get an owl out to them, but her owl refused to go, and she couldn't blame it. She hated being in this big house by herself, especially at night. Though the house was new, it felt as if it had a soul of its own. Angelina constantly felt like she was being watched.
The days were a bit easier though, because she at least had Grayson to talk to when he would take his break to have tea with her. Having lunch together in the manor soon developed into an everyday thing.
Angelina had just reached the bottom of the stairs about to go up to her bedroom, when she heard a thud at the door. She turned to face it when she heard the sound. ``Hello?'' she called out, but there was nothing. She slowly walked towards the door. ``Hello?'' she called out again, but there was still nothing.
She pulled out her wand as she put her other hand on the knob and gently turned the handle. She opened the door and jumped back as the body that was leaning on the door collapsed to the floor. ``Ahhh!'' She pointed her wand to the body that was laying face down on the floor. She knelt down and turned the body over. ``Draco?'' she whispered to his unconscious form.
He was dressed in his Death Eater robe which was drenched in blood. There was so much that Angelina couldn't tell if it was all his. His face was also covered in the red liquid. It looked as though his white mask had shattered and some of the pieces from it had become lodged in his face, mostly on the left side.
Angelina dragged his body inside. She had to get help, but she couldn't let him be seen in his Death Eater robe. She struggled to get the robe off of him, and when she did, she gathered it in her arms and looked for a place to hide it. She ran to the living room and threw it into the fireplace and lit a fire. She noticed, as she ran back to Draco that the blood from his robe had transferred onto her housecoat.
She soon realized that Draco was too heavy for her to carry and that dragging him around the manor was not practical. She ran through the house and out the back door and to the cabin that Grayson stayed in on the estate. ``Grayson!'' She banged on the cabin door furiously. ``Grayson!'' Grayson opened the door and was surprised to see Angelina covered in blood. ``I need your help.'' When Grayson saw her take off back towards the house, he followed.
``My God,'' Grayson whispered, as he came into the front of the house and saw the drag marks lined with blood, and the lifeless body of his boss on the floor. ``We need to get him to a hospital,'' he said to Angelina as she knelt back down beside Draco to check on him.
``No, no hospitals!'' she yelled, not realizing how hysterical she sounded to Grayson. She knew taking Draco to the hospital would eventually expose him as a Death Eater. He would then be put on trial and if that happened, Angelina knew that he would be found guilty and sentenced to life in Azkaban. ``Please, let's just get him upstairs.''
Grayson picked Draco up and carried him up the stairs, while Angelina slowly followed behind them. He put Draco down on the bed while Angelina went and got a bowl of water and a wash towel, along with a pair of tweezers.
She started with the broken pieces of the shattered mask. She carefully removed them with the tweezers, but it wasn't easy though, since many of the pieces were rooted deep into his face.
It had taken her about half an hour to recover all the pieces. She was going to start cleaning him up with the water and wash towel when to her horror she realized he was bleeding from his side. She looked up and saw that Grayson was still in the room. She had been so involved with Draco that she had forgotten that he was there. ``Grayson, go to the bathroom, it's right down the hall, look in the medicine cabinet and bring me a needle and thread.''
``Of course, Madam Malfoy.'' Grayson left the room to fetch the items.
Angelina started to undo the buttons on Draco's blood stained shirt. ``It's going to be okay Draco. I got you.'' She whispered. When she opened his shirt she noticed the long gash on his side and cursed at herself for not seeing to it first, but it didn't seem to be bleeding before or else she thought she would have noticed it.
Grayson soon returned and Angelina went to work with the stitches on his side. When that was completed, she began to clean off his face realizing that the cuts on them were too deep to heal themselves. She decided it would be best if she seamed them up too. The deepest cuts were on the left side of his face. They formed into a cross.
``Thank you, Grayson,'' Angelina said to him when she was finished. ``You can return to your cabin now. I have everything under control.'' She smiled tiredly.
``Are you sure?'' he asked her. Angelina simply nodded, and Grayson made his way out the door.
Though tired, Angelina decided to get Draco out of the rest of the stained clothing; though she could do nothing about the sheets; she wanted to move him as little as possible. She then, once again, took the wash towel and wiped the rest of the blood off of Draco's body. She went and found his purple pajamas, but only managed to put on the bottoms. She didn't want to risk undoing her stitching by trying to put on the top. When she was finished she found herself lying beside him, staring at the black skull and snake tattooed on his left arm. She gingerly swept her fingers over the Dark Mark; it hadn't been there five short months ago, when he had paraded himself in front of her.
She then thought back to that day at the café when he looked like an innocent child, and she realized that then, he was. But she knew now he was a completely different story. She knew that he had witnessed others being killed, and that he had probably participated. Angelina didn't want to face it before, but she had to now; her husband was a murderer. No, he was more than that, he was a Death Eater. At that thought, a shiver ran down her as she readjusted her pillow. She was exhausted from all the activity and soon found herself drifting asleep.
When Draco woke up the next morning, he was a little disoriented, but soon became aware that he was at home, in his own bed, but couldn't remember exactly how he got there. He turned and saw Angelina; she was so exhausted from what had happened that she hadn't even bothered to take off her housecoat. So the sight of her covered in blood, accompanied by more of it on the sheets, instantly threw Draco into a world of panic.
``Angelina!'' he screamed as he shook her. Her eyes flew open at the sudden sound of her name and being shaken violently. Draco relaxed, but breathed heavily. ``I thought you were- urgh.'' Before he could finish his statement, he was overwhelmed with a surge of unbelievable pain. He grabbed his side and fell back onto the bed, groaning.
``Don't overexert yourself.'' Angelina sat up and rested on her knees. She then began to check the stitches.
``Where did all that blood come from?'' Draco asked her.
She looked down at herself and then at back at him. ``It's yours,'' she explained. ``You were in pretty bad shape last night.'' She lightly touched the stitching on his left cheek. ``I did the best I could, but you're going to have some scars.''
Draco's hand snapped up and grabbed Angelina around the wrist tightly. She tried to pull away, but she was yanked back towards him. He looked at her suspiciously. ``Why didn't you leave me to die?''
Angelina looked at him for a moment. ``Why didn't you?'' she asked, referring to what had happened that night in Diagon Alley.
He let go of her wrist and looked around the room as if looking for the answer. ``Because you're my wife," he finally said, looking at her. "It's my duty to protect you.''
``And you're my husband,'' she replied. ``And I have that same duty.'' And at that very moment, each had gained the respect of the other. ``Not that I'm saying I would die for you or anything,'' she added as she smiled.
Though still very much in pain, Draco managed, to Angelina's surprise, a warm smile as he responded, "Likewise."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was two days later and Angelina found herself nodding to sleep on the couch in the living room at two o'clock in the afternoon. Draco had been having a hard time sleeping. He would often wake up, several times, in the middle of the night screaming, usually drenched in sweat. Angelina had told him at anytime he was willing to talk about his dreams, she was willing to listen, but he told her that would not be necessary.
Forcing herself off the very comfortable couch, Angelina went to check on Draco, whom she practically had to force to stay in bed until his side was well enough. ``You 'sleep?'' she asked, as she stepped into the bedroom and got no reply. She looked at him tucked under the fresh sheets and was relieved that he was finally getting some proper rest.
As she was about to leave the room, she heard a strange sound. She turned around and found that it was coming from Draco. He seem to be talking in his sleep, so Angelina moved in closer to see if she could make out what he was saying. ``I lied, I lied . . .'' he murmured, ``the book . . . time . . .'' Angelina couldn't understand anything after that. Just then the door bell rung and Angelina went downstairs to see who it was.
She opened the door to find a tall man with short, curly, black hair and eyes the color of midnight. ``What do you want, Montague?''
He slightly pushed the door opened and let himself into the house, much to Angelina's dismay. ``So it is true,'' he said once inside, turning around to face Angelina. ``Malfoy has caught himself a little Gryffindor,'' he smirked.
``Either state what you want or get the hell out.'' She looked at him angrily. ``No, scratch that, just get the hell out.'' She pointed outside the door.
``Still mad, I see. You sure can hold a grudge, can you?'' he said as he walked over to the door and tried to close it, but struggled with Angelina. ``I'm not leaving, Johnson.'' He sounded agitated. ``Not till I get what I want.''
``What? What is it?'' She stopped fighting with him on the door and he closed it.
``I'm here to see Malfoy.'' His eyes scanned around the room. ``We have business to discuss.''
``Draco is preoccupied at the moment.'' She reopened the door. ``So sorry you came all this way, really hate to see you go.'' She gave a cartoonish smile.
Montague closed the door again. ``I know he's here, because I brought him here the other night. And I know he isn't in any shape to go anywhere.''
The cartoonish smiled dropped from Angelina face. ``How come you didn't see to him?'' she asked. ``He was practically dead when I got to him.''
Montague shrugged his shoulders. ``He refused help, he's stubborn that way. Malfoys always are.'' He paused. ``So where is he? Upstairs, perhaps?'' He began walking towards the stairs.
``Stop!'' Angelina blocked his way at the bottom of the stairs.
``We aren't in school anymore, Johnson. I'm tired of playing games. So move.'' he hissed.
``I'm a Malfoy now, I'm stubborn, remember?''
``Please, you were always stubborn.'' His dark eyes seem to sparkle and his lips played with a smile. ``You always had a fire about you.'' His eyes looked her over. ``Too bad Malfoy got to you first. We could have had some real fun,'' he said huskily, and blew a kiss. ``We still could.'' He winked.
A little unnerved by his sudden advancement towards her, Angelina wanted to take a step up the stairs to create some distance. But she didn't want him to know that he had rattled her. So she decided to do the opposite, she took a step closer and met him dead on. ``You wish, because you know, as well as I do, you could never handle a real woman like me,'' she told him. "And like you said yourself, I'm like a fire, so step back or you're bound to be burned."
``Aw, I've missed your riddle like threats. But tell me, Johnson-'' he was interrupted.
``Get out. You're not welcome here.'' They heard a powerful and gruff voice from upstairs. Angelina turned her head and saw that Draco was at the top of the stairs. Other then the stitches on his face, he stood as if he were in perfect health.
``You and me aren't done yet, Malfoy.'' His somewhat playful façade towards Angelina turned to stone the moment Draco came into his view.
Draco eyes never left Montague. He would not, could not, show weakness. ``Another day, Montague.''
``Mal-''
``I said another day!'' he yelled angrily.
``Fine,'' Montague spat, and then looked back at Angelina. ``I know when I'm not wanted.''
``Funny, took you long enough,'' she told him, before he turned to walk out the door. As soon as the door closed behind Montague, Draco dropped to his knees at the top of the stairs.
``What the hell are you doing out of bed?'' Angelina kept a touch below a yell as she walked up the stairs.
``No, it's okay really, I'm fine,'' Draco said sarcastically from the floor. ``No need to fuss over me.''
``You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?'' She had Draco put his arm around her neck and she helped him off the floor and down the hall to the bedroom.
``Hmm.'' Draco noticed Angelina's fragrance. ``You smell funny.''
``Well, you don't smell like a rain fresh meadow yourself.''
``I didn't mean you smelt bad.'' He rolled his eyes. ``I mean you smell like tulips.''
``I don't see how I couldn't. You got the whole place littered in the things.''
``I thought you liked tulips,'' he said, as Angelina helped him back into bed.
``What gave you that idea?'' Angelina looked down at him.
He seemed to be thinking. ``I don't know. You just always seemed like a tulip kind of girl.'' He smiled, ``Tulip.''
She gave him an odd look. ``Okay,'' she simply said, as she got in on the other side. She laid with her back to him like always. ``Draco?'' she asked after a little while.
``Yes?''
``What will happen if you are found out to be a Death Eater? What will happen when You-Know-Who is defeated?'' she asked.
``Tulip, what are you talking about?'' he began. ``Potter put up a decent fight, but like I told you, he had no chance against our Dark Lord.'' An evil grin crept onto his face. ``We were victorious.''
Angelina turned around faster than she thought possible. ``What?'' She didn't know whether to be relieved because the battle was over, or horror struck because the wrong side had won.
Chapter Five: Tears of Rain
Draco was relaxing in a little study upstairs, in a room he usually kept locked. He was laying on the couch with one of his favorite books, though he would never admit to anyone that it was. It was a tale of a little boy who was lost in a forest. While lost, he found a fairy who had been caught in a spider's web. He rescued the fairy and because of this, the fairy said she would grant him one wish. Being lost you would think the boy would wish his way home, but because the boy had never known any type of kindness from his parents, he wished for something he had never known before; he wished for love.
The fairy granted the boy his wish. She gave him an exotic forest flower and told him that the person he gave it to would love him for the rest of his life. She also warned him that he should make his choice wisely, because life meant life, and there was no way to undo the spell of the flower.
The little boy had grown up to be a respectable young man who had fallen for a young lady he went to school with. Heeding the fairy's warning he wanted to make sure that this was the right girl for him, so he became friends with her and they remained friends for many years. After those many years, the young man realized he could not live without her and presented her with the exotic forest flower as he proposed to her. The young lady, of course, accepted.
Many more years passed and the young man soon found that he was an old man, who had lived a happy life with his wife, and raised many children. But something plagued his mind and it would not escape him. So he traveled back to the forest that he had found himself lost in as a little boy, looking for the fairy who had gave him the forest flower.
When he found the fairy, he told her that he was sad, because his wife only loved him because of the fairy's help. The fairy only smiled as she explained to the boy, that he never needed the flower to find love, and that the love that his wife held for him had been nothing but genuine from the start.
Draco frowned as something distracted him from his book. It was Angelina's owl passing by the window. Getting up slowly as he held his side, he put his book back on the self along with the others, wondering why he always liked that one so much.
He walked out the room and down the hall towards the stairs. As he was going down, he could have sworn he heard crying from the first floor. "Tulip?" he called as he reached the bottom, and walked into the living room.
Angelina was in the spot Draco usually found her in, staring out the patio window, looking at the estate. He noticed the partially balled up piece of parchment in her hand. "You shouldn't be walking around so much," she said with her back to him.
"I'm fine." He dropped his hand from his side, determined to prove, even to her now, that he was not weak. "What have you got there?" he said, referring to the letter in her hand. She said nothing as she finished balling it up and sticking it into her pocket. She obviously didn't want to talk about it. "Look at me, Tulip," he demanded.
Angelina turned her head towards him as she crossed her arms. Her face showed no signs that she had been crying and Draco wondered what it was he had heard before. "What do you need?" she asked plainly, with a flat expression on her face. Draco shook his head and Angelina turned back to the window. "I'm going out today. I'll be back sometime tonight."
"I'll have the House Elves keep your dinner warm," Draco told her, as she was about to walk pass him out the living room door.
She stopped and looked at him. "Are we in any type of danger?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Everyone knows that your father denied being knowledgeable of his actions when You-Know-"
"Our Dark Lord," he corrected her.
"When he tried coming into power the first time." She looked at him sternly. "Has he fully forgiven your father's actions after his disappearance?"
Draco had never thought about that before, but he had always figured it was the Dark Lord who had a hand in getting his father out of prison. "We're not in danger," he confirmed. "I fought for our Dark Lord's cause. He would not punish my father through me." Mostly because my father couldn't care less. Just as long as I don't tarnish the Malfoy name, he doesn't give a damn what I do, just as long as I pass on our name before I die, Draco thought.
"Then put down the wards."
"That's not a good idea."
"Why?" she asked. "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything," he said defensively. He didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"Sure." She nodded her head, completely not convinced. "Because fear isn't the reason why you wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Fear isn't why you keep yourself locked up in that room upstairs. Fear isn't-"
"Shut up!" Draco yelled as he grabbed her arm, and said angrily, "Don't you ever talk to me like that again! Because you don't know what I've seen or what I've been through!" Without realizing, he had been squeezing her arm.
Angelina looked down at where Draco had taken a hold of her. "Let go of me, Draco." Her voice was threatening.
He let go of her arm, slightly pushing her away. "Why don't you get going?" His voice was low.
Angelina walked over to the front door and before stepping out said towards Draco. "Don't wait up."
Draco walked up to one of the end tables and picked up the vase sitting on it. He examined it in his hands for a moment before growling at it and throwing it up against the wall. As soon as all the pieces of it landed on the floor, they reassembled themselves and flew back to the table and rested there as if it were never broken. Draco picked it up again and looked as though he was going to heave it towards the wall for a second time, but stopped. "Control, Draco," he spoke to himself, as he put the vase back down on the table. "Never lose control."
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It was a sunny and bright day as the white clouds swept across the blue skies. Angelina stood outside the cemetery gate; she had been standing there for at least ten minutes. She was afraid to step inside, she was afraid of what she knew she would find there.
After taking a deep breath, she finally gathered her nerves and stepped inside. Her eyes scanned the area for a plot of fresh dirt, but to her dismay, she found many. She began to walk around the cemetery to find the grave she was looking for. As she walked, she did not notice as the clouds began to block the sun, and how those clouds slowly began to turn gray.
She heard the thunder roar as she found the grave she was looking for. She stared at it for a moment, as if, if she stood there long enough it would go way. But she knew it wouldn't and her bottom lip quivered and the lightening clashed. She fell to her knees and landed on the soft dirt that lay in front of the tombstone. She rested her hands in her lap and lowered her head as her shoulders began to shake and she desperately tried to hold back her tears. But it was pointless, and as the first batch of tears escaped her eyes, the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall masking her tears, but not her pain. She began to sob loudly and the thunder once again roared, making Angelina sound death to her own ears.
Angelina was soaked to the bone as she sat in front of the grave. "You said you would always be there. You said I could always count on you," she said in a tiny voice. "You were all I had left, George. You were all I had." And she was overtaken by another batch of tears.
The rain continued to fall, but strangely no more rain landed on Angelina. She looked up and first saw a large umbrella and then the person who held it. "Hello, Fred," she said timidly, but Fred didn't acknowledge her. Angelina stood up. "I know you probably don't want me here, but I don't care what you want." Angelina signed, there was no way Fred was going to make her feel bad for wanting to give George a proper good bye. But she realized that maybe her tone had been a bit to harsh and he did not need that now. "I'm sorry about George," she said sincerely.
They stood side-by-side for a long time underneath the umbrella. Angelina kept her head down as her eyes were fixed on the grave before her. She then heard soft crying come from Fred. He mumbled something, but Angelina couldn't hear him. She lifted her head and looked at his face, his eyes were red and he had become quite pale. "Ginny. . ." he said after a moment. "Ginny and Ron are gone too." His chin lowered onto his chest and he began to cry out loud. He then dropped his umbrella, allowing the warm rain to hit him as he covered his face with his hands.
"Oh, Fred." Angelina pulled one of his hands away for his face.
Fred eyes soon rested upon her. "My Angel." He cried softly as he took her hands and pulled them around his neck and wrapped his own arms around her waist.
Fred realized that trying to believe that Angelina was dead was no use, not when apart of his family was actually gone and Angelina stood before him. He had missed her over the last six months, and losing half of his siblings made Fred see that life was precious and short. And right now he needed someone who understood him, someone who loved him. He needed his angel, he needed Angelina.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Soon Fred and Angelina found themselves entering the apartment that Fred used to share with George. "Are you going somewhere?" Angelina asked, as she noticed the boxes everywhere in the half-emptied apartment.
"Yeah." He nodded as he moved a box out of his way. "Me and the rest of my family are umm. . . we're leaving England."
"Oh," she said softly. "I understand."
Fred scoffed. "Yeah, right." He walked out of the room.
Angelina followed him, a tad confused. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means, you'll never understand." He turned to her. "You're an only child. You don't know what it's like to lose a sibling, nevertheless, three of them."
Angelina crossed her arms over her chest. "You're right; I don't know what it's like to lose a sibling." She tried not to sound upset. "But I do know what it's like to lose a friend, so you don't get to act like you're the only one hurting."
Fred, without warning, sunk to the fall and sat there. "They're not done yet, Angelina." He looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" she asked, as she sat down in front of him.
Fred's eyes grew distant. "When You-Know-Who defeated Harry, me and by brothers and sister were able to escape. We went our separate ways, not realizing that You-Know-Who was going to come after everyone that stood against him. He went after Ron first, because he was the closest to Harry. It was Hermione who found him dead; she went to our parents to tell them what was going on and to warn us, but soon afterwards they got her too."
Fred paused. "They got George and Ginny on the same day." His eyes finally looked into Angelina's. "We couldn't even find Ginny's body," he said slowly. "They're coming after my whole family." He then all of a sudden started laughing and Angelina thought he had finally cracked, but then as suddenly as he had started he stopped and seriously looked at Angelina. "Guess you missed out on that one, huh?" He wiped away the tears he finally noticed were falling down his face and stood up. "It's not safe here, you know, with me," he said, as he started packing a box.
"Where are you headed?" she asked as she helped him pack the box.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know yet. Just away, and just long enough so we can regroup. Just because Harry is gone, doesn't mean there is no way to bring down You-Know-Who."
"Fred, I need you to be careful," Angelina told him after she closed the box they had been packing.
"I will be," he told her. "Come here." Fred put his hands on either side of her face and rested his forehead against hers. "We're going to have our happy ending. Just you wait and see." He promised her.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Betray us on this and it will be the last thing you ever do!" Angelina heard an unknown voice echo throughout the Manor as she walked through the door.
"Don't threaten me. I know what I'm doing. I'll get the information we need, but I'm telling you it won't be easy. I may have burned one or two to many bridges on the way." That was a voice Angelina, unfortunately, knew well.
"Montague," she whispered as she walked towards the voices, which seemed to be coming from the dinning area.
"Do what you can, when you can," came the calm voice of Draco. "We're going to have to keep this quiet for as long as possible. So try to keep it minimized to people we can trust."
"That's a strong word, 'Trust', even for you, Malfoy," Montague commented. "Johnson," he said, a bit surprised as she entered the room.
"Alright let's call this a night." Draco stood up and the others followed suit. "Goyle, don't forget about that thing I mentioned earlier."
"Of course," Goyle replied, and Angelina realized that was the voice she heard when she came through the door. "Evening." Goyle nodded towards Angelina as he passed. Crabbe also nodded, but said nothing.
"Good night," she said politely.
As Montague passed he slammed his shoulder into Angelina's. "Sweet dreams."
Angelina growled softly as she heard the door open and close behind her. "I thought we were on the same page about him?" She asked Draco.
"Things came up. Things that couldn't be ignored."
"I'm guessing I shouldn't ask?"
"Your guess would be right." He leaned on the dinning room chair. "Look, I know you don't like Montague, I don't either, but he can be trusted."
"No, that doesn't sound right." She shook her head. "So let me guess, he has something on you and you have something on him and the two of you have agreed on silence for silence."
"Exactly," Draco said with narrowed eyes, not sure if he should be impressed or weary about how quickly she deducted that.
To Be Continued. . .
[/b]By Evilevergreen
Summary: In the loneliest of places, where the rain never falls, and the light of the sun is harsh and eternal, a flower in the desert, blooms through the sand. (Draco & Angelina)
OoOoO
Chapter One: The Arrangement
It was late December as Angelina sat in front of her vanity mirror in a magnificent manor that she soon had learned to call home. She looked at her reflection hard and wondered how long ago she had lost herself under that man she called her husband.
Her raven black hair was pinned up as loose curls fell slightly before reaching her shoulders. Her dress was one he had bought her for the occasion, soft pink and strapless. A slight simmer reflected from her dress as the light behind her made contact. For all his faults though, she had to admit, he had wonderful taste.
She stood up and slipped on her matching shoes and as she was doing so, she felt that she was no longer alone in the room. She turned her head and, sure enough, there stood her husband. He was a tall man of 6'1'' with slate gray eyes and light, silver blonde hair. He was a handsome man, that she would never argue, but if she had had a choice, he would not have been the man she would have chosen to marry. "Ready, Tulip?" he finally spoke.
He had started calling her 'Tulip' within the first year of their marriage and although Angelina never quite understood the reasoning behind it; the name didn't bother her. Besides he had never shown her a lot of affection, nor her him, but they operated on a level of respect for each other and so she welcomed the nickname.
"Of course, Draco." She picked up her purse and Draco offered his right arm which she graciously took it. "Thank you." He nodded his head as he looked at their reflections in the vanity mirror, but his eyes never left his left cheek. On his cheek was a cross like scar that he had received during the Final Battle. He was very self-conscious about it, though only a handful of people were aware that he was. "You look fine," Angelina reassured him.
He smiled slightly and looked down at his wife. "I know."
She smiled too; he was a decent person when in a good mood. "You're a cocky bastard."
"Yes, I know that too," he replied before they Apparated out of the room.
They reappeared in a long hall that was lightly lit and began walking towards the huge wooden doors that lay before them. Angelina looked to the man she had been married to for five years. Their marriage had been arranged long before they had the voices to protest and backed by the laws of the Wizarding world. As soon as Draco was born, his father, Lucius Malfoy set out looking for the girl that would, one day, be his son's life-long companion.
There were several girls that had made the final cut, Angelina being one of them. Lucius had studied the girls for many years and the backgrounds of their families. By the time Angelina was nine years old the choice had been between her and one other girl. The other girl was born in the same year as Draco, whereas Angelina was two years older. The other child would grow up to be Pansy Parkinson.
Lucius Malfoy had spoken to each set of parents about a possible arrangement. The Parkinsons, who knew that the Malfoys were a rich and powerful pureblood family, eagerly thought arrangements were in order for their Pansy. The Johnsons, on the other hand, were a bit hesitant about it. They didn't think it was right for parents to choose their children's companions, but considering who the Malfoys were and their not-so-good reputation, told Lucius they would think about the offer, if only to avoid being threatened.
Angelina met Draco for the first time when she was ten years old and Draco was only eight. The meeting wasn't a planned one by either Lucius or by Angelina's parents. The two of them had meet one day in a children's park near the swings and simply played together that day. Mrs. Johnson immediately recognized the silver blonde headed boy playing with her daughter and was surprised at how well the two got along, because Angelina, even then, had a temper that made other children shy away from her. So perhaps an arranged marriage wasn't as ridiculous as Mrs. Johnson once thought.
Mrs. Johnson was not the only one to notice how well the children had gotten along; Mrs. Malfoy at this point, was certain that Angelina would be the perfect companion for Draco. She then watched as Angelina was being called away by her mother and followed suit to call her own child and take him home.
It would be three years before the two saw each other again, but neither paid any attention to the other when they did, for they had no reason to. They did not know that at the tender ages of eleven and thirteen that their paths had already been chosen.
They had both started dating while attending Hogwarts. Angelina dated one guy, off and on, by the name of Fred Weasley; while Draco, ironically, dated the only other girl his father had thought worthy of him: Pansy Parkinson.
[/b]FLASHBACK[/b][/b]
[/b]
Angelina was nineteen years old and on the 'off' side of dating Fred in their relationship, but the rumor was that he had plans on proposing to her as soon as she returned home. She was studying abroad, much to her parent's dismay, in a Muggle university away in America, when she received an owl telling her to come home right away. It was December and the holidays would be coming up soon; she wondered what was so important that her folks could not wait another week to tell her.
When she arrived home, her parents sat her down in the den and told her of the arrangement they had set up for her when she was younger. Needless to say, Angelina was not very happy to hear of this, and was disappointed that her parents didn't think her wise enough to choose her own mate. Her parents then brought up the irresponsible Fred Weasley, and let's just say, it all went down hill for Angelina after that.
As Angelina was asking whom they had chosen for her, there came a knock at the door of the den and in came Lucius and Draco Malfoy. A look of complete horror could be read on Angelina's face while on Draco's it was clear that he wasn't pleased, but neither was he disappointed.
The parents soon left Draco and Angelina alone in the den to speak. "You do know it's in your best interest to marry me," Draco stated as soon as the door closed behind their parents.
"Oh, and why is that?" He watched as she crossed her long legs.
He then leaned on Mr. Johnson's desk. "Because the Dark Lord will rise soon and all that stand against him will perish. And if Saint Potter thinks that he can defeat the Dark Lord once again, he is in for a rude awakening."
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returning is nothing more than a rumor. You act as if you know," she replied.
Draco's eyes shot towards her. "Maybe I do," he said in a low voice. "But no matter, there is absolutely no way out of this arrangement short of death, believe me, I've looked." He pushed himself off of the desk and walked towards Angelina. "You're going to be my wife, whether we like it or not. So before you are , there are going to be a few rules."
"Rules?"
"Yes, rules. Do I need to spell it out for you?" He stood over her.
Feeling a little uncomfortable with him glaring down at her, Angelina rose out of her seat and stood before him. "No," she said with disdain.
"Good. First off, I don't love you. I have never loved you, and will never love you."
"Good. Same thing on this end."
"Second. Once married, we will only be married in name. We will live in the same house to keep up appearances, but I will have my life, and you will have yours. Assuming you have one. I will keep my affairs quiet and out of the public eye, and I expect you to do the same. We Malfoys, if anything, must keep up a strong family front."
"Heaven forbid that we Malfoys appear weak or unstable, huh?" Angelina asked, not realizing she had referred to herself as a Malfoy.
"Glad we're on the same page." He took a pause. "Oh yeah, there's one other little thing."
"What is it?" Angelina asked almost in a manner of blowing him off.
"You will bear me one male heir," he said as calmly as if asking her to pass the salt.
"Hell no! I'll never let you touch me," s he replied, giving Draco her full attention once again.
"Believe me; I know where you're coming from, because I don't want to touch you as much as you don't want me to touch you. But eventually you will give me a son." He stepped away from Angelina and went to go look out the window. "But I'll let you know what, whenever you're ready, you come to me. Deal?" He looked back over to her.
"You maybe waiting awhile," she scoffed. "A long while at that."
"Trust me, I'm in no hurry." He crossed his arms and peered out the window once again.
"Whatever." She walked over to him and rested on the other side of the window. "But I have a few rules of my own."
"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow towards her.
"Rule number one, this is shoot, you are a piece of shoot, and- " She was interrupted.
"So that would make you Mrs. shoot," Draco smiled.
Angelina tilted her head to one side and made a face. "Cute." She then took a deep breath as she looked down at the floor and said to herself. "What in the world am I going to tell Fred?"
"You mean, you're still with that git?" Draco looked at her in disbelief. "And here I thought you were smart. I was sure you would have found someone better by now."
"What? Are you and my parents like mentally linked, because I swear, they said about the same thing not that long ago."
"Yeah, well face it Johnson, I'm a major upgrade from the weasel." He polished his nails on his robes. "If I weren't, do you honestly think your parents would have agreed to this union?"
Angelina always knew that her parents disapproved of Fred, but she never thought enough, to have her married off to someone else. According to the Wizarding Laws, which Angelina completely thought needed to be revised, if they didn't go through with this union, they both faced death. There was really no way out of this.
"Fine, but let's get this over with as soon as possible." How bad could this really be? She pondered. She would still be able to be with Fred, her and Draco would only be married in name.
"Set a date and I'll be there," he said casually.
"End of the month. New Year's Eve."
"What?" He looked at her like she was out of her mind. "No. I'm not going to be doing my last term at Hogwarts as a married man. I swear the walls have ears, I won't be able to keep my affairs quiet within them."
"Boohoo. Cry me a river, why don't you? Because I'm sure even you can keep your pants zipped for five months. Besides, I thought you would be pleased, getting married before you're done at Hogwarts would establish to others that you're committed, that we're committed, therefore, we would have the basis of 'a strong family front'," she said mockingly as she made little bunny ears with her fingers.
Draco slowly leaned in closer to Angelina and licked his lips as he studied her face. "You want me, don't you?" he said before giving a small chuckle.
"Yeah." Angelina took a step back, "like I want a yeast infection."
Draco straightened himself back up and gave Angelina an odd look. "What's that?"
Angelina laughed and shook her head. "Nothing Malfoy, forget about it."
He nodded his head in agreement. "You know, for all intent and purposes, I am your fiancé now, you can call me Draco," he shrugged his shoulders, "if you like."
"Fine." She walked toward the den's door. "Draco."
"Can I call you Angelina?" he asked, surprised that he did.
With her hand on the knob, Angelina slightly turned around. "No." She then opened the door and walked out.
Draco smiled contently as he made his way towards the door. "If anything, life with her sure won't be dull."
Chapter Two: The Day She Died
Angelina was about a week into her holiday break and felt like she needed a break from her break. She and Draco had been out and about planning for their wedding, making sure when people saw them together they looked as happy as any other engaged couple would be. Much to Angelina and Draco's amazement, pretending to be happy together wasn't really that difficult for them.
It was late and Angelina was in her room at her parents' home getting ready for bed. She was about to turn off the lights when she heard a popping sound behind her. She turned around and saw Fred standing there. She smiled happily, but her smile soon vanished when she saw the intense look on Fred's face. "What the hell are you playing at, Angel?" Fred shoved a newspaper into her chest.
Angelina took a hold of the paper; it was The Daily Prophet. On the cover in big bold letters read: Wizarding World's Most Eligible Bachelor Now Taken – The Malfoy Engagement. It was accompanied by a picture of her and Draco, holding hands, and looking very happy as they entered a bridal store.
Angelina looked up from her paper. "Trust me, this is nothing." She tossed the paper aside.
"How is this nothing?" He went and picked up the paper and just stared at the photo, as Draco and Angelina smiled at him and waved. "Please, tell me this is some kind of joke." He looked at her with hope in his eyes. "Because if it is, you got me, you got me good okay. Just tell me it's a joke." He looked back down at the paper. "A very cruel joke."
"Stop looking at this thing." She ripped the paper from his hands. "It's not a joke I'm engaged, but Fred-"
He fell onto her bed. "How? Why? When? I'm mean, was he who you were with, when we weren't together?"
"Of course not.'' She sat next to him. "Look Fred, this is an arranged marriage. Malfoy and I have already discussed this, we will only be married in name. We can still be together Fred." She took his hand. "Just as long as we aren't seen together," she added.
Fred violently pulled his hand away. "You don't get it. You belong to another man!"
"I belong to myself," she defended.
"All the same." He stood up calmly. "I can't be with a married woman." He stepped away. "I just can't."
"Fred." She stood up and took a hold of him. "Don't you dare do this to me!"
"Don't do this to you?" He grew upset. "What about what you've done to me? How come you didn't tell me?" He pulled away again. "How come I had to find out in the damn newspaper!" He pointed to the paper on the floor. "I was with my brothers and Ginny in the shop when we saw that thing." He struck his chest. "You made me feel like a fool!"
Angelina became frightened; this was not her Fred, he had never raised his voice to her before. "Fred." She chocked back tears. "Please. I'm sorry. You're right, I should have told you as soon I found out. I'll make it up to you, I promise." She reached for him.
"How Angel?" he said in a harsh whisper, as Angelina embraced him. "How can you make up for being with someone else?" Fred's arms betrayed him as they wrapped around Angelina. "Don't you understand, this destroys any future we had together?"
"We can still be together," Angelina pleaded.
"No, we can't." He gently pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, as moist with tears as his own were. "I refuse to be the other man Angel. I refuse to live and love you in the shadows of your marriage. I know we had some difficult times. . ." He lost his voice for a moment. "But I always thought eventually we would be together; that you would one day take my name and be my wife. That one day you would have my children, and we would grow old together. And if we couldn't have that." he slowly shook his head. " If we can't have it all, then there's no point in being together."
"But Frederick – I love you."
"I know. I love you too and sadly, I think I always will." He kissed her forehead. "But as far as I'm concerned." He then took a step back. " You died the moment I heard my heart break."
"Frederick!" She reached for him again, but he Apparated before she could touch him, and she fell to the floor. That's where she stayed, for she had not the strength to get up; her tears and sadness had overpowered her and glued her to the floor. She and Fred had broken up many times before, but this time was different, because for the first time she knew he wasn't coming back. And she cried herself to sleep that night, not realizing that it would not be the last.
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"Merlin! You look terrible," Draco said to Angelina when he met up with her two days later, to talk about floral arrangements. They met in a little coffee café with a poetic atmosphere.
"I'm not in the mood, Draco." Her voice was gruff from crying the night before. She had discovered that not only, was she dead in the eyes of Fred, but in the eyes of all her friends. To them, marrying Malfoy, a known follower of the Dark Lord, was seen as nothing more than a betrayal of everything that they thought was good and right in the world; no matter what the circumstances. They made Angelina feel so low, that opting for death at this point didn't seem too bad.
"Not that I really care, but what's with you?" Draco caught the eye of a waiter and signaled him over.
"Nothing." The last thing she needed was Draco in her business, she thought, as she picked up the floral design book. "I just really need a mocha latte with extra foam."
"Hello, I'm Luke. What can I get for you today?" asked the waiter.
Draco leaned back in his seat, and looked at the waiter as if he was wasting his and Angelina's time. "We don't care who you are. And don't play stupid, you were standing two feet away, so you know what she wants; bring two, one without the extra foam, and don't take all day."
The waiter had a sour look on his face and was about to say something, but Draco shot him a look that made him think otherwise. "Right away, sir." And he went off to fetch their order.
"Must you intimidate everyone you meet?" Angelina asked, as she flipped through the book not really looking at it.
"We're not even married yet, and you're already trying to change me," Draco said playfully, with a glint in his eye.
Angelina put the open book on the table and crossed her arms. "That would take a miracle, not even an angel like myself, could perform."
"You, an angel?" Draco leaned over the table and turned the book in his direction, so he could see what page she stopped on. "Ha! I've heard stories of you and your temper that would make the devil run for cover." He looked down at the book.
"Hey! I've taken classes for that. And I-" She stopped when she saw Draco's head slightly jerk up from the page and look at her. She noticed that his face had turned soft, and it was actually very becoming of him. He looked like what he actually was: a seventeen year old boy and not a man trapped in a boy's body. For a moment he truly looked like an innocent child. "Draco?" she said, a touch above a whisper.
"You remember the day we met?" His reply was more like a statement than a question, but nevertheless his eyes seem to yearn for a certain answer.
Angelina shook her head slightly. "That day outside the Quidditch field?"
"I was a second year by then."
"Look, no offence, but back in school, people didn't exist in my world unless they correlated with Quidditch," she explained, as their waiter, Luke, brought their lattes.
Draco nodded his head and straightened back up to receive his drink. As he took a sip of his latte, Angelina watched as the steam from it swept over his face and his child-like expression melted from his features.
Angelina took her own latte and they sat in a comfortable silence. They were half way through their drinks when Draco looked up and noticed the clock on the wall, and realized he was late for a meeting with his father. He then turned his head and noticed someone with a camera outside the café window.
Draco stood up and put a few Galleons on the table before putting on his winter coat. "I have to go." He then leaned over and touched his right cheek with Angelina's right cheek. To anyone on the other side of them it looked as though he was giving her a parting kiss. "Photographer." He explained and then said bleakly, "I like page thirty-two." With their business for the day concluded, he walked out the café door.
Angelina turned the book back towards herself, and saw that she had left the book on page thirty-two, it was an arrangement of assorted tulips.
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Angelina was once again at home in her room. She was sitting in her bed with a piece of parchment and quill, writing about the tenth "I'm sorry" letter to Fred. He had not responded to any of her letters so far, but she figured if she just kept on trying, that eventually he would come around. She sent the letter on its way before she climbed into bed and fell to sleep.
She decided to sleep in the next day, and was only awaken by a popping sound that she heard. She turned in her bed to see who had Apparated into her bedroom. "I'm sorry, I thought you would be up and dressed by now."
"It's okay." Angelina sat up and saw the face she wanted to see, it just didn't belong to the person she wanted to see. But nevertheless she was happy to see a friendly face all the same. "I thought you weren't talking me, George."
"I've had some time to think about it. I've decided this isn't your fault." George was always the logical one.
"Thank you. Now could you explain that to Fred?" She then asked anxiously, "How is he?"
"Hurting. Badly." He pulled up her desk chair beside her bed, and took a seat. "You got to stop, Angie."
"Stop what?" she asked.
George reached into his pocket and pulled out the letters she had sent Fred. They were all unopened. "This." He laid the letters on her bed. "I can't stand the way he looks when he receives one of these from you."
"I can't help it. I know he blames me, but it's not like I chose Draco over him."
"You use Malfoy's first name now? Never mind, it's beside the point." George waved it off. "Look when it comes to rules, you know me and Fred, we have no problems being the first to break them, but Angie, what you're doing. . . its marriage," he tried to explain, "See, if it were you and Fred, he would honor the vows of your marriage 'till his dying day, and he would expect you to do the same. And you wanting to be with him even after you're married to Malfoy, throws off everything he has ever believed about marriage, because he never saw you as one to break your vows."
"But George, I don't love Dra- Malfoy. It's not the same." She kept her composure.
"It is to him, " he told her. "Angie, I love you, you're one of my best friends, so please don't take this the wrong way." Angelina only looked at him. "Keep your distance from Fred. The only way he can get over you, is if he believes, mind, body, and soul, that you are dead. So please, give my brother that peace and don't send anymore letters. Let him go, so that he can finally start to get over you."
"I don't want to hurt him anymore."
"Then stay away. Stop sending letters. Can you do that?"
She mouthed the word, "Yes," but sound seemed incapable of escaping her lips.
"Oh, Angie," George got out of the chair and sat on the bed. "Come here." He allowed Angelina to cry on his shoulder. "It's okay, it's going to be okay," he comforted her.
Angelina didn't want to believe it; that she was no longer a part of Fred's world. The thought of letting him go, she had no words to explain it, but she loved him enough not to want to keep on hurting him. And so, she realized that she could be no more than a memory to him, no more than a passing thought, if that at all. So she would be what he wanted her to be: she would be dead to him. She would give him that gift – she would give him that peace.
Chapter Three: Man and Wife
It was one o'clock in the morning on January first as Angelina sat in front of the vanity mirror in the bedroom of the newest Malfoy Manor, built for her and Draco. She had been Mrs. Draco Lucius Malfoy for at least nine hours and it wasn't sitting with her well. She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her this whole situation was wrong, but what could she do? She thought as she played with the rope around her housecoat.
Soon Draco entered the room, his hair was damp from his shower and he was wearing a pair of silk purple pyjamas that clashed with his slate gray eyes. He looked over at Angelina, but said nothing as he walked over to the bed, turned down the sheets and climbed in.
Angelina continued to stare at herself in the mirror. She drifted in and out of random thoughts, but mostly she thought about the day's event. Many of Angelina's relatives had showed up for the wedding, she never doubted they would, but what left her heart aching, was the absence of her friends. In fact, only one showed up and it had been George, but Angelina was certain that he hadn't told the others where he was headed for the day.
She met up with him at the reception, between her and Draco's act of playing the happy couple. "You look beautiful today, Angie." George told her.
She had given him a half-hearted smile. "Thank you." She hugged him. "I don't know how long I can do this," she confessed in a whisper. "How could my parents do this to me? Why was this union so important?"
"Maybe they just wanted you to be happy," he said as they pulled away from each other and took a seat at a nearby table.
"Don't play. How could I possibly be happy married to a man - a boy, in fact, that I don't love?" She played with a napkin on the table nervously.
"I don't know, but you looked pretty happy with him a little while ago," George commented, not meaning to sound insulting.
Angelina threw her napkin down on the table. "That's a lie!" Several heads turned her way. She smiled at them and gave them a forced chuckle, once again playing the part of the happy bride. She then swiftly turned her head back to George and leaned towards him so only he could hear. "That spectacle you just witnessed, is nothing more than an act and you know it," she said in an angered whisper. "I love Fred."
George leaned towards her as well. "I know that. I'm just saying, look at Malfoy's parents. You know that's an act too, a bad one at that, because you can tell they don't love each other. But for some reason, you and your new husband pull it off just fine." Angelina could tell that now he had meant to sound insulting.
"What are you trying to say, George?"
"What I'm trying to say is, that maybe there's something there that you can't bring yourself to admit." Angelina couldn't understand where this was coming from. Why was George talking to her like this?
"You have known me since I was eleven years old, have I ever, and I mean ever, expressed any interest in Malfoy?"
"That's just it Angie. This," he gestured to their surroundings, "just came out of nowhere. And yes I know this was arranged, but it looks like you didn't even try to fight this." George addressed his concerns.
Angelina tried to explain it the best she could. "My parents love me, and if they had chosen anyone else, I could have simply said no, and I know I would not have to face any kind of punishment. And believe me, there have been moments where I look at Draco and my mind screams 'No.' But then I remember that first day, in my parent's den, with Draco and his father. They only had a few words, but I definitely got the picture, Draco is afraid of his father. And if his own son couldn't convince him, how could I?"
"So you gave up without trying?" George asked her. "That's not like you."
Angelina shook her head. "I really hate to say this, because it's not my style, but some battles can not be won."
Angelina looked defeated in George's eyes, but something inside of him, told him to keep pushing. "Why did it always look like you were avoiding him in school?"
She wasn't expecting that question. "If it looked like I was avoiding someone - you're right I was - but it wasn't Draco. For one thing, he's two years younger than we are." She sat back up. "And he wasn't a threat to me, so he wasn't worth the effort," she defended.
"Is that what you used to tell yourself, Angie?" George said in a low voice.
"What the hell?" She looked at him as if he were a stranger. "This is stupid, George, and I do not wish to discuss this anymore," she said angrily, but then said softly. "So please just drop this, okay?"
George looked down at the table and nodded his head. "I'm sorry. It's just me and the others, we were talking, and Alicia was like-" He was cut off by the touch of Angelina's hand on his.
"No. I can't talk about them." She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "Please, don't let them turn you against me," she begged. "You're all I have left."
"For crying out loud!" Draco's voice boomed, shaking Angelina from her thoughts. She turned around to see him sitting up in bed. "It's two in the morning." He seemed extremely pissed. "I'm not going to bite, so turn off the lights and come to bed." He lay back down and pulled the blanket over his head, and then gave off a loud groan.
Angelina smiled at his frustration, and then George's voice crept into her mind. Maybe there's something there that you can't bring yourself to admit. She pushed the thought from her head as she turned off the lights. She then walked over to the bed where she dropped her robe, underneath it she wore a wife beater and a pair of boxer shorts with smiley faces on it. Both Angelina and Draco slept with their backs towards each other; both wondering why the other didn't complain about sleeping in the same bed.
It was early. Really early. So early that the sun was barely up. Yet it was up enough for some light to peak through the curtains. A beam of light hit Angelina square in the face; she squinted her eyes tightly as she made a mental note to have the curtains fixed. She slowly opened her eyes, but as soon as did, she noticed a figure moving around in the darkness. She was frozen for a moment, cursing herself for leaving her wand on the vanity mirror dresser. She gradually, so as not to be noticed, moved her hand to Draco's side of the bed. "What are you doing?" the dark figure asked callously. Angelina realized it was Draco and sighed in relief.
She then snapped up. "Merlin!" Her voice was shrilled. "What are you doing stalking around in the dark!" she said angrily, as she got out of bed. She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. "It's called sunlight." She turned around and put her hands on her hips. "Say it with me now, sunli-" She stopped.
Draco smiled as he watched Angelina's surprised face. He was standing in the middle of the bedroom with absolutely nothing on. He lifted his arms a bit and made a little circle. "Like what you see?" he asked her, once he had made a full 360 degrees.
Angelina looked up and down at the masculine body that stood before her. She shifted her weight to one side and scratched her head, and said with a straight face, "You need a tan." Draco cocked an eyebrow; it wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for. Angelina then picked up her house robe and put it on. "Put some clothes on before you catch a cold," she said, as she walked out the bedroom door.
It was later in the day as Angelina stood looking out the patio window at the winter wonderland that covered the Malfoy estate. The holiday break was coming to an end and she would be heading back to America to finish her studies. Draco would also be heading back to school to finish his last term at Hogwarts.
"I hired a gardener, to keep the grounds while we're away," Draco stated as he entered the living room with a book in his hand. He sat in an armchair near the fire, and opened the book.
Angelina took a seat in the armchair across from him. "A gardener? So, I'm guessing you wouldn't just hire anyone to look after your home; it must be someone you trust."
He looked up from his book. "Your point?" He seemed annoyed.
Angelina rolled her eyes. "What's the gardener's name?"
"Grayson," he replied as his eyes drifted back down to his book. "Is there anything in particular you would like grown on the estate?"
Angelina thought for a moment, but shook her head. "No, nothing comes to mind, so anything you pick will be fine." She stared at Draco for a while and realized that he wasn't actually reading the book, but staring at something on one of the pages. "What are you reading?"
Draco immediately closed the book. "Nothing you would care about." He then got out of his seat and headed towards the door. He then turned back around. "What time do you plan on leaving tomorrow?"
Angelina turned her head towards him. "Actually, I was thinking about heading out tonight."
"Can't wait to get away from me already, huh?" he asked, but didn't stay around for any kind of response.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was late May when Angelina arrived back at the Malfoy Manor. She soon discovered that Draco had put up some wards around the estate, making it impossible to Apparate into it, making her journey a little longer than she thought it would be.
When she was done unpacking, she explored the house since she hadn't had any time to do so before she had left for school. It was a beautiful house, although it had an eerie feel to it that Angelina couldn't quite place. She was on the second floor checking out each of the rooms, when she came to one that was locked. She figured she would ask Draco about it later.
When she was done exploring the house, she stepped outside to explore the estate. "I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to be here." Angelina, all of a sudden, heard a voice say from behind her.
She jumped when she heard the man. "Who are you?"
"I'm Grayson, the groundskeeper here, and you're on the Malfoy's property." The thirty-something year old man explained to her.
"It's okay. I'm Mrs. Malfoy." It was still odd calling herself by that name.
"Oh, I'm sorry Madam Malfoy. I didn't recognize you. Your pictures in The Daily Prophet did not do you justice," he complimented her, hoping not to anger her.
"It's okay, really." She smiled politely. "So you're Grayson? Well, it's very nice to meet you." They shook hands. "I was just about to head inside for some tea, would you like to join me?"
"Oh, no thank you. I still have plenty of work to do."
"I beg to differ. The grounds look great," she said as she took another look at her surroundings and walked over to one of the flower bushes. "Tulips?" she examined as she picked one.
"Yes, Master Malfoy specifically instructed that the only flowers that were to be grown were tulips."
Angelina brought the flower up to her nose. "Strange," she thought aloud, and then looked back to Grayson. "So how about that tea? I really would enjoy the company." And this time Grayson accepted.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was late in the evening and the sun was beginning to set, as Angelina walked around Diagon Alley picking up some things that she needed. Her shopping was long finished when the sun had finally made its descent, yet she continued to walk down the alley, not really sure where her feet where carrying her, as she walked through the crowd of people.
When she finally decided to take a break from her walking, she realized she was across the street from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. She smiled to herself as she saw Fred and George come from out of the back room and into the main area of the shop. They were laughing and, for Angelina, it was such a good sight to see. Then someone else came out of the back room, it was a woman that Angelina had never seen before. She watched as the woman approached Fred and lovingly wrapped her arms around him. She continued to watch as Fred accepted her embrace, and greeted her with a kiss on the forehead.
Angelina took a sharp intake of breath; it had not even been six months yet and he was already over her, while she felt she was nowhere near being over him. As she blinked back her tears, she wished she had listened to George and had stayed away.
Not being able to watch anymore, she slowly began to walk away, but something was wrong, very wrong. She heard a scream among the crowd and while others ran way from it, others ran towards it. Angelina was confused as to what was going on until she saw lights from wands casting spells. People were still running and someone bumped into Angelina, causing her to lose her balance, she fell to the ground and dropped the bag of the items she had bought that day.
She stood back up and went to reach for her wand. "Ah, ah, ah." Angelina looked up to see a Death Eater standing before her with his wand pointed in her direction. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said playfully.
Angelina slowly released her wand. The Death Eater started walking closer, making Angelina retreat until she ran into the wall of a building. She was trapped. She could see that the Death Eater before her was not alone as others seem to invade the streets of Diagon Alley. "It's a shame really," the Death Eater spoke, "having to kill someone so beautiful."
Angelina watched as he lifted his wand ready to cast the spell that would kill her. She closed her eyes to await the inevitable. "Stop!" Angelina heard a thunderous, yet almost frantic voice. She opened her eyes to see what was happening.
"Why?" asked the one who was about to kill her.
A Death Eater emerged from the darkness and gracefully lifted his hand to his white mask and slowly pulled it off while looking towards the one that had questioned him. "Because, she is my wife." The Death Eater nodded his apology as he lowered his wand and backed away into the shadows.
Draco turned towards Angelina, who was almost in a state of shock. He grabbed her by the arm and shook her out of it. She stared at him with wide eyes. "I don't know why you're so surprised. You knew this is what I would become ," he said with a cynical tone. "Go home. Stay there," he ordered as he let go of her arm. Angelina opened her mouth to speak. "Now!"
Angelina realized that this was not the perfect time to disagree with Draco, so she simply nodded her head and Apparated. What was she doing here? Draco thought as he looked at his surroundings. He then spotted the Weasleys' shop. Of course, he thought as he walked towards the store.
Chapter Four: Dawn of a New Day
It was an hour before midnight as Angelina walked around the ground floor of the manor lit only by candlelight. It had been about two weeks since the incident with Draco. It had also been that long since she'd seen him. Hogwarts had let out for the summer a week ago and Draco had not returned home. There was a war going on outside these walls and, like Draco had instructed, she stayed within them.
Angelina did not want to admit it to herself, but she was scared. She worried for her friends who she knew would be involved with the battle, and also for her family. She tried to get an owl out to them, but her owl refused to go, and she couldn't blame it. She hated being in this big house by herself, especially at night. Though the house was new, it felt as if it had a soul of its own. Angelina constantly felt like she was being watched.
The days were a bit easier though, because she at least had Grayson to talk to when he would take his break to have tea with her. Having lunch together in the manor soon developed into an everyday thing.
Angelina had just reached the bottom of the stairs about to go up to her bedroom, when she heard a thud at the door. She turned to face it when she heard the sound. ``Hello?'' she called out, but there was nothing. She slowly walked towards the door. ``Hello?'' she called out again, but there was still nothing.
She pulled out her wand as she put her other hand on the knob and gently turned the handle. She opened the door and jumped back as the body that was leaning on the door collapsed to the floor. ``Ahhh!'' She pointed her wand to the body that was laying face down on the floor. She knelt down and turned the body over. ``Draco?'' she whispered to his unconscious form.
He was dressed in his Death Eater robe which was drenched in blood. There was so much that Angelina couldn't tell if it was all his. His face was also covered in the red liquid. It looked as though his white mask had shattered and some of the pieces from it had become lodged in his face, mostly on the left side.
Angelina dragged his body inside. She had to get help, but she couldn't let him be seen in his Death Eater robe. She struggled to get the robe off of him, and when she did, she gathered it in her arms and looked for a place to hide it. She ran to the living room and threw it into the fireplace and lit a fire. She noticed, as she ran back to Draco that the blood from his robe had transferred onto her housecoat.
She soon realized that Draco was too heavy for her to carry and that dragging him around the manor was not practical. She ran through the house and out the back door and to the cabin that Grayson stayed in on the estate. ``Grayson!'' She banged on the cabin door furiously. ``Grayson!'' Grayson opened the door and was surprised to see Angelina covered in blood. ``I need your help.'' When Grayson saw her take off back towards the house, he followed.
``My God,'' Grayson whispered, as he came into the front of the house and saw the drag marks lined with blood, and the lifeless body of his boss on the floor. ``We need to get him to a hospital,'' he said to Angelina as she knelt back down beside Draco to check on him.
``No, no hospitals!'' she yelled, not realizing how hysterical she sounded to Grayson. She knew taking Draco to the hospital would eventually expose him as a Death Eater. He would then be put on trial and if that happened, Angelina knew that he would be found guilty and sentenced to life in Azkaban. ``Please, let's just get him upstairs.''
Grayson picked Draco up and carried him up the stairs, while Angelina slowly followed behind them. He put Draco down on the bed while Angelina went and got a bowl of water and a wash towel, along with a pair of tweezers.
She started with the broken pieces of the shattered mask. She carefully removed them with the tweezers, but it wasn't easy though, since many of the pieces were rooted deep into his face.
It had taken her about half an hour to recover all the pieces. She was going to start cleaning him up with the water and wash towel when to her horror she realized he was bleeding from his side. She looked up and saw that Grayson was still in the room. She had been so involved with Draco that she had forgotten that he was there. ``Grayson, go to the bathroom, it's right down the hall, look in the medicine cabinet and bring me a needle and thread.''
``Of course, Madam Malfoy.'' Grayson left the room to fetch the items.
Angelina started to undo the buttons on Draco's blood stained shirt. ``It's going to be okay Draco. I got you.'' She whispered. When she opened his shirt she noticed the long gash on his side and cursed at herself for not seeing to it first, but it didn't seem to be bleeding before or else she thought she would have noticed it.
Grayson soon returned and Angelina went to work with the stitches on his side. When that was completed, she began to clean off his face realizing that the cuts on them were too deep to heal themselves. She decided it would be best if she seamed them up too. The deepest cuts were on the left side of his face. They formed into a cross.
``Thank you, Grayson,'' Angelina said to him when she was finished. ``You can return to your cabin now. I have everything under control.'' She smiled tiredly.
``Are you sure?'' he asked her. Angelina simply nodded, and Grayson made his way out the door.
Though tired, Angelina decided to get Draco out of the rest of the stained clothing; though she could do nothing about the sheets; she wanted to move him as little as possible. She then, once again, took the wash towel and wiped the rest of the blood off of Draco's body. She went and found his purple pajamas, but only managed to put on the bottoms. She didn't want to risk undoing her stitching by trying to put on the top. When she was finished she found herself lying beside him, staring at the black skull and snake tattooed on his left arm. She gingerly swept her fingers over the Dark Mark; it hadn't been there five short months ago, when he had paraded himself in front of her.
She then thought back to that day at the café when he looked like an innocent child, and she realized that then, he was. But she knew now he was a completely different story. She knew that he had witnessed others being killed, and that he had probably participated. Angelina didn't want to face it before, but she had to now; her husband was a murderer. No, he was more than that, he was a Death Eater. At that thought, a shiver ran down her as she readjusted her pillow. She was exhausted from all the activity and soon found herself drifting asleep.
When Draco woke up the next morning, he was a little disoriented, but soon became aware that he was at home, in his own bed, but couldn't remember exactly how he got there. He turned and saw Angelina; she was so exhausted from what had happened that she hadn't even bothered to take off her housecoat. So the sight of her covered in blood, accompanied by more of it on the sheets, instantly threw Draco into a world of panic.
``Angelina!'' he screamed as he shook her. Her eyes flew open at the sudden sound of her name and being shaken violently. Draco relaxed, but breathed heavily. ``I thought you were- urgh.'' Before he could finish his statement, he was overwhelmed with a surge of unbelievable pain. He grabbed his side and fell back onto the bed, groaning.
``Don't overexert yourself.'' Angelina sat up and rested on her knees. She then began to check the stitches.
``Where did all that blood come from?'' Draco asked her.
She looked down at herself and then at back at him. ``It's yours,'' she explained. ``You were in pretty bad shape last night.'' She lightly touched the stitching on his left cheek. ``I did the best I could, but you're going to have some scars.''
Draco's hand snapped up and grabbed Angelina around the wrist tightly. She tried to pull away, but she was yanked back towards him. He looked at her suspiciously. ``Why didn't you leave me to die?''
Angelina looked at him for a moment. ``Why didn't you?'' she asked, referring to what had happened that night in Diagon Alley.
He let go of her wrist and looked around the room as if looking for the answer. ``Because you're my wife," he finally said, looking at her. "It's my duty to protect you.''
``And you're my husband,'' she replied. ``And I have that same duty.'' And at that very moment, each had gained the respect of the other. ``Not that I'm saying I would die for you or anything,'' she added as she smiled.
Though still very much in pain, Draco managed, to Angelina's surprise, a warm smile as he responded, "Likewise."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was two days later and Angelina found herself nodding to sleep on the couch in the living room at two o'clock in the afternoon. Draco had been having a hard time sleeping. He would often wake up, several times, in the middle of the night screaming, usually drenched in sweat. Angelina had told him at anytime he was willing to talk about his dreams, she was willing to listen, but he told her that would not be necessary.
Forcing herself off the very comfortable couch, Angelina went to check on Draco, whom she practically had to force to stay in bed until his side was well enough. ``You 'sleep?'' she asked, as she stepped into the bedroom and got no reply. She looked at him tucked under the fresh sheets and was relieved that he was finally getting some proper rest.
As she was about to leave the room, she heard a strange sound. She turned around and found that it was coming from Draco. He seem to be talking in his sleep, so Angelina moved in closer to see if she could make out what he was saying. ``I lied, I lied . . .'' he murmured, ``the book . . . time . . .'' Angelina couldn't understand anything after that. Just then the door bell rung and Angelina went downstairs to see who it was.
She opened the door to find a tall man with short, curly, black hair and eyes the color of midnight. ``What do you want, Montague?''
He slightly pushed the door opened and let himself into the house, much to Angelina's dismay. ``So it is true,'' he said once inside, turning around to face Angelina. ``Malfoy has caught himself a little Gryffindor,'' he smirked.
``Either state what you want or get the hell out.'' She looked at him angrily. ``No, scratch that, just get the hell out.'' She pointed outside the door.
``Still mad, I see. You sure can hold a grudge, can you?'' he said as he walked over to the door and tried to close it, but struggled with Angelina. ``I'm not leaving, Johnson.'' He sounded agitated. ``Not till I get what I want.''
``What? What is it?'' She stopped fighting with him on the door and he closed it.
``I'm here to see Malfoy.'' His eyes scanned around the room. ``We have business to discuss.''
``Draco is preoccupied at the moment.'' She reopened the door. ``So sorry you came all this way, really hate to see you go.'' She gave a cartoonish smile.
Montague closed the door again. ``I know he's here, because I brought him here the other night. And I know he isn't in any shape to go anywhere.''
The cartoonish smiled dropped from Angelina face. ``How come you didn't see to him?'' she asked. ``He was practically dead when I got to him.''
Montague shrugged his shoulders. ``He refused help, he's stubborn that way. Malfoys always are.'' He paused. ``So where is he? Upstairs, perhaps?'' He began walking towards the stairs.
``Stop!'' Angelina blocked his way at the bottom of the stairs.
``We aren't in school anymore, Johnson. I'm tired of playing games. So move.'' he hissed.
``I'm a Malfoy now, I'm stubborn, remember?''
``Please, you were always stubborn.'' His dark eyes seem to sparkle and his lips played with a smile. ``You always had a fire about you.'' His eyes looked her over. ``Too bad Malfoy got to you first. We could have had some real fun,'' he said huskily, and blew a kiss. ``We still could.'' He winked.
A little unnerved by his sudden advancement towards her, Angelina wanted to take a step up the stairs to create some distance. But she didn't want him to know that he had rattled her. So she decided to do the opposite, she took a step closer and met him dead on. ``You wish, because you know, as well as I do, you could never handle a real woman like me,'' she told him. "And like you said yourself, I'm like a fire, so step back or you're bound to be burned."
``Aw, I've missed your riddle like threats. But tell me, Johnson-'' he was interrupted.
``Get out. You're not welcome here.'' They heard a powerful and gruff voice from upstairs. Angelina turned her head and saw that Draco was at the top of the stairs. Other then the stitches on his face, he stood as if he were in perfect health.
``You and me aren't done yet, Malfoy.'' His somewhat playful façade towards Angelina turned to stone the moment Draco came into his view.
Draco eyes never left Montague. He would not, could not, show weakness. ``Another day, Montague.''
``Mal-''
``I said another day!'' he yelled angrily.
``Fine,'' Montague spat, and then looked back at Angelina. ``I know when I'm not wanted.''
``Funny, took you long enough,'' she told him, before he turned to walk out the door. As soon as the door closed behind Montague, Draco dropped to his knees at the top of the stairs.
``What the hell are you doing out of bed?'' Angelina kept a touch below a yell as she walked up the stairs.
``No, it's okay really, I'm fine,'' Draco said sarcastically from the floor. ``No need to fuss over me.''
``You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?'' She had Draco put his arm around her neck and she helped him off the floor and down the hall to the bedroom.
``Hmm.'' Draco noticed Angelina's fragrance. ``You smell funny.''
``Well, you don't smell like a rain fresh meadow yourself.''
``I didn't mean you smelt bad.'' He rolled his eyes. ``I mean you smell like tulips.''
``I don't see how I couldn't. You got the whole place littered in the things.''
``I thought you liked tulips,'' he said, as Angelina helped him back into bed.
``What gave you that idea?'' Angelina looked down at him.
He seemed to be thinking. ``I don't know. You just always seemed like a tulip kind of girl.'' He smiled, ``Tulip.''
She gave him an odd look. ``Okay,'' she simply said, as she got in on the other side. She laid with her back to him like always. ``Draco?'' she asked after a little while.
``Yes?''
``What will happen if you are found out to be a Death Eater? What will happen when You-Know-Who is defeated?'' she asked.
``Tulip, what are you talking about?'' he began. ``Potter put up a decent fight, but like I told you, he had no chance against our Dark Lord.'' An evil grin crept onto his face. ``We were victorious.''
Angelina turned around faster than she thought possible. ``What?'' She didn't know whether to be relieved because the battle was over, or horror struck because the wrong side had won.
Chapter Five: Tears of Rain
Draco was relaxing in a little study upstairs, in a room he usually kept locked. He was laying on the couch with one of his favorite books, though he would never admit to anyone that it was. It was a tale of a little boy who was lost in a forest. While lost, he found a fairy who had been caught in a spider's web. He rescued the fairy and because of this, the fairy said she would grant him one wish. Being lost you would think the boy would wish his way home, but because the boy had never known any type of kindness from his parents, he wished for something he had never known before; he wished for love.
The fairy granted the boy his wish. She gave him an exotic forest flower and told him that the person he gave it to would love him for the rest of his life. She also warned him that he should make his choice wisely, because life meant life, and there was no way to undo the spell of the flower.
The little boy had grown up to be a respectable young man who had fallen for a young lady he went to school with. Heeding the fairy's warning he wanted to make sure that this was the right girl for him, so he became friends with her and they remained friends for many years. After those many years, the young man realized he could not live without her and presented her with the exotic forest flower as he proposed to her. The young lady, of course, accepted.
Many more years passed and the young man soon found that he was an old man, who had lived a happy life with his wife, and raised many children. But something plagued his mind and it would not escape him. So he traveled back to the forest that he had found himself lost in as a little boy, looking for the fairy who had gave him the forest flower.
When he found the fairy, he told her that he was sad, because his wife only loved him because of the fairy's help. The fairy only smiled as she explained to the boy, that he never needed the flower to find love, and that the love that his wife held for him had been nothing but genuine from the start.
Draco frowned as something distracted him from his book. It was Angelina's owl passing by the window. Getting up slowly as he held his side, he put his book back on the self along with the others, wondering why he always liked that one so much.
He walked out the room and down the hall towards the stairs. As he was going down, he could have sworn he heard crying from the first floor. "Tulip?" he called as he reached the bottom, and walked into the living room.
Angelina was in the spot Draco usually found her in, staring out the patio window, looking at the estate. He noticed the partially balled up piece of parchment in her hand. "You shouldn't be walking around so much," she said with her back to him.
"I'm fine." He dropped his hand from his side, determined to prove, even to her now, that he was not weak. "What have you got there?" he said, referring to the letter in her hand. She said nothing as she finished balling it up and sticking it into her pocket. She obviously didn't want to talk about it. "Look at me, Tulip," he demanded.
Angelina turned her head towards him as she crossed her arms. Her face showed no signs that she had been crying and Draco wondered what it was he had heard before. "What do you need?" she asked plainly, with a flat expression on her face. Draco shook his head and Angelina turned back to the window. "I'm going out today. I'll be back sometime tonight."
"I'll have the House Elves keep your dinner warm," Draco told her, as she was about to walk pass him out the living room door.
She stopped and looked at him. "Are we in any type of danger?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Everyone knows that your father denied being knowledgeable of his actions when You-Know-"
"Our Dark Lord," he corrected her.
"When he tried coming into power the first time." She looked at him sternly. "Has he fully forgiven your father's actions after his disappearance?"
Draco had never thought about that before, but he had always figured it was the Dark Lord who had a hand in getting his father out of prison. "We're not in danger," he confirmed. "I fought for our Dark Lord's cause. He would not punish my father through me." Mostly because my father couldn't care less. Just as long as I don't tarnish the Malfoy name, he doesn't give a damn what I do, just as long as I pass on our name before I die, Draco thought.
"Then put down the wards."
"That's not a good idea."
"Why?" she asked. "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything," he said defensively. He didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"Sure." She nodded her head, completely not convinced. "Because fear isn't the reason why you wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Fear isn't why you keep yourself locked up in that room upstairs. Fear isn't-"
"Shut up!" Draco yelled as he grabbed her arm, and said angrily, "Don't you ever talk to me like that again! Because you don't know what I've seen or what I've been through!" Without realizing, he had been squeezing her arm.
Angelina looked down at where Draco had taken a hold of her. "Let go of me, Draco." Her voice was threatening.
He let go of her arm, slightly pushing her away. "Why don't you get going?" His voice was low.
Angelina walked over to the front door and before stepping out said towards Draco. "Don't wait up."
Draco walked up to one of the end tables and picked up the vase sitting on it. He examined it in his hands for a moment before growling at it and throwing it up against the wall. As soon as all the pieces of it landed on the floor, they reassembled themselves and flew back to the table and rested there as if it were never broken. Draco picked it up again and looked as though he was going to heave it towards the wall for a second time, but stopped. "Control, Draco," he spoke to himself, as he put the vase back down on the table. "Never lose control."
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It was a sunny and bright day as the white clouds swept across the blue skies. Angelina stood outside the cemetery gate; she had been standing there for at least ten minutes. She was afraid to step inside, she was afraid of what she knew she would find there.
After taking a deep breath, she finally gathered her nerves and stepped inside. Her eyes scanned the area for a plot of fresh dirt, but to her dismay, she found many. She began to walk around the cemetery to find the grave she was looking for. As she walked, she did not notice as the clouds began to block the sun, and how those clouds slowly began to turn gray.
She heard the thunder roar as she found the grave she was looking for. She stared at it for a moment, as if, if she stood there long enough it would go way. But she knew it wouldn't and her bottom lip quivered and the lightening clashed. She fell to her knees and landed on the soft dirt that lay in front of the tombstone. She rested her hands in her lap and lowered her head as her shoulders began to shake and she desperately tried to hold back her tears. But it was pointless, and as the first batch of tears escaped her eyes, the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall masking her tears, but not her pain. She began to sob loudly and the thunder once again roared, making Angelina sound death to her own ears.
Angelina was soaked to the bone as she sat in front of the grave. "You said you would always be there. You said I could always count on you," she said in a tiny voice. "You were all I had left, George. You were all I had." And she was overtaken by another batch of tears.
The rain continued to fall, but strangely no more rain landed on Angelina. She looked up and first saw a large umbrella and then the person who held it. "Hello, Fred," she said timidly, but Fred didn't acknowledge her. Angelina stood up. "I know you probably don't want me here, but I don't care what you want." Angelina signed, there was no way Fred was going to make her feel bad for wanting to give George a proper good bye. But she realized that maybe her tone had been a bit to harsh and he did not need that now. "I'm sorry about George," she said sincerely.
They stood side-by-side for a long time underneath the umbrella. Angelina kept her head down as her eyes were fixed on the grave before her. She then heard soft crying come from Fred. He mumbled something, but Angelina couldn't hear him. She lifted her head and looked at his face, his eyes were red and he had become quite pale. "Ginny. . ." he said after a moment. "Ginny and Ron are gone too." His chin lowered onto his chest and he began to cry out loud. He then dropped his umbrella, allowing the warm rain to hit him as he covered his face with his hands.
"Oh, Fred." Angelina pulled one of his hands away for his face.
Fred eyes soon rested upon her. "My Angel." He cried softly as he took her hands and pulled them around his neck and wrapped his own arms around her waist.
Fred realized that trying to believe that Angelina was dead was no use, not when apart of his family was actually gone and Angelina stood before him. He had missed her over the last six months, and losing half of his siblings made Fred see that life was precious and short. And right now he needed someone who understood him, someone who loved him. He needed his angel, he needed Angelina.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Soon Fred and Angelina found themselves entering the apartment that Fred used to share with George. "Are you going somewhere?" Angelina asked, as she noticed the boxes everywhere in the half-emptied apartment.
"Yeah." He nodded as he moved a box out of his way. "Me and the rest of my family are umm. . . we're leaving England."
"Oh," she said softly. "I understand."
Fred scoffed. "Yeah, right." He walked out of the room.
Angelina followed him, a tad confused. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means, you'll never understand." He turned to her. "You're an only child. You don't know what it's like to lose a sibling, nevertheless, three of them."
Angelina crossed her arms over her chest. "You're right; I don't know what it's like to lose a sibling." She tried not to sound upset. "But I do know what it's like to lose a friend, so you don't get to act like you're the only one hurting."
Fred, without warning, sunk to the fall and sat there. "They're not done yet, Angelina." He looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" she asked, as she sat down in front of him.
Fred's eyes grew distant. "When You-Know-Who defeated Harry, me and by brothers and sister were able to escape. We went our separate ways, not realizing that You-Know-Who was going to come after everyone that stood against him. He went after Ron first, because he was the closest to Harry. It was Hermione who found him dead; she went to our parents to tell them what was going on and to warn us, but soon afterwards they got her too."
Fred paused. "They got George and Ginny on the same day." His eyes finally looked into Angelina's. "We couldn't even find Ginny's body," he said slowly. "They're coming after my whole family." He then all of a sudden started laughing and Angelina thought he had finally cracked, but then as suddenly as he had started he stopped and seriously looked at Angelina. "Guess you missed out on that one, huh?" He wiped away the tears he finally noticed were falling down his face and stood up. "It's not safe here, you know, with me," he said, as he started packing a box.
"Where are you headed?" she asked as she helped him pack the box.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know yet. Just away, and just long enough so we can regroup. Just because Harry is gone, doesn't mean there is no way to bring down You-Know-Who."
"Fred, I need you to be careful," Angelina told him after she closed the box they had been packing.
"I will be," he told her. "Come here." Fred put his hands on either side of her face and rested his forehead against hers. "We're going to have our happy ending. Just you wait and see." He promised her.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Betray us on this and it will be the last thing you ever do!" Angelina heard an unknown voice echo throughout the Manor as she walked through the door.
"Don't threaten me. I know what I'm doing. I'll get the information we need, but I'm telling you it won't be easy. I may have burned one or two to many bridges on the way." That was a voice Angelina, unfortunately, knew well.
"Montague," she whispered as she walked towards the voices, which seemed to be coming from the dinning area.
"Do what you can, when you can," came the calm voice of Draco. "We're going to have to keep this quiet for as long as possible. So try to keep it minimized to people we can trust."
"That's a strong word, 'Trust', even for you, Malfoy," Montague commented. "Johnson," he said, a bit surprised as she entered the room.
"Alright let's call this a night." Draco stood up and the others followed suit. "Goyle, don't forget about that thing I mentioned earlier."
"Of course," Goyle replied, and Angelina realized that was the voice she heard when she came through the door. "Evening." Goyle nodded towards Angelina as he passed. Crabbe also nodded, but said nothing.
"Good night," she said politely.
As Montague passed he slammed his shoulder into Angelina's. "Sweet dreams."
Angelina growled softly as she heard the door open and close behind her. "I thought we were on the same page about him?" She asked Draco.
"Things came up. Things that couldn't be ignored."
"I'm guessing I shouldn't ask?"
"Your guess would be right." He leaned on the dinning room chair. "Look, I know you don't like Montague, I don't either, but he can be trusted."
"No, that doesn't sound right." She shook her head. "So let me guess, he has something on you and you have something on him and the two of you have agreed on silence for silence."
"Exactly," Draco said with narrowed eyes, not sure if he should be impressed or weary about how quickly she deducted that.
To Be Continued. . .
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Mimi_Ivanov on March 10, 2006, 7:31:44 AM
Mimi_Ivanov on
Wow! That is waesome! :)Evilevergreen on August 19, 2006, 1:37:05 AM
Thank you.It's now completed, if you want to check out the rest. =D