Chapter 7: Noble Scheming
Draco entered his study, eager to call an end to the long day, and relax for a few moments. Slightly startled, but unwilling to show it, he groaned when he saw his cousin’s tearful face, waiting for him.
“Gabrielle, what is it?” he asked, his tone slightly bored.
“Draco, I just can’t do this anymore. It’s so wrong, and if Harry find out, he’s going to think I’m this awful, manically jealous person and I couldn’t take it if he thought of me that way!” she wailed tearfully. Sighing, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to deal with her uncertainty, he pushed aside his annoyance at intrusion on his time to relax, and decided to play the caring cousin.
“Gabrielle, you have to trust me on this,” he said, sitting down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. “It’s working, you’re doing very well. I know how hard this is on you, but when I agreed to help you, you said that it was all worth it.”
“It is! Harry is! But there has to be another way! Ginny has nothing to do with this, it’s not fair to bring her in,” she sniffed.
“She’s too good, Gabrielle. If I give her twenty minutes with Bulgaria’s Minister, he’ll be breaking his quill trying to sign the deal fast enough to suit her. We can’t let that happen, not the way it stands.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Do you want your family to be branded as criminals? Do you want your future husband to have to choose between his duties as an Auror and self-sworn enemy to the Dark Arts, and his wife’s family?”
“Of course I don’t want that to happen!” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “Sometimes I think it would be better if I could just tell him. You know, he loves me, maybe that would be enough. He’s always talking about how love is unconditional, and that nothing could ever change the way he feels about me. And here I am, doing whatever I can to lie to him!”
“You aren’t lying to him; Gabrielle. I keep telling you this. I am going to do everything I can to make sure that this deal does not get signed the way that it’s written now. It’s going to work out for the best.”
“Maybe I should just end it all. He won’t be able to forgive me when he finds out what my parents did. We shouldn’t be together, this is all a big mistake!” she was crying again. In a swift moment, Draco placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face him. Staring down at her with his serious gray eyes, her tears suddenly dissipated.
“Gabrielle, you are not your family. You taught me that. Don’t forget it yourself. Let me handle this, I promise you it will work out for the best. I’m going to see you smiling on your wedding day, even if you are marrying that pious little git.” With that, she giggled slightly.
“You promised you’d be nice to him. I don’t understand why you two hate each other so much,” she said, trying to look reproachful.
“You’d hate him too if you went to school with him,” Draco muttered.
“Draco!”
“Okay, I’ll be nice. Now, why don’t you go clean yourself up, and surprise that fiancé of yours with dinner, and let me handle the details?” he suggested with a slight smile. He had a lot of work to do.
“Now that is the best idea you’ve had all week,” she said with a weak smile.
* * * * *
After Gabrielle had gone home, leaving him alone with his thoughts, his study no longer seemed appealing to him. Grabbing his robe, he stormed out of his house, needing to work out his thoughts while prowling over the grounds of his estate. The surrounding forest and rolling hills surrounding the isolated location made it the perfect place for him to brood. If there was one thing that he liked better than scheming, it was brooding.
He was satisfied with the way that their plan was working out. But he was very worried about the toll that it was taking on Gabrielle. She was incapable of deceit, no matter how small nor how noble the purpose. Which was why she had come to him, when she found out about Virginia Weasley’s proposed new International Cooperation Act for the Removal of All Dark Arts, she had come running to him.
It was so unfair, he thought. A girl like that, born into the family she was. Sweet, innocent Gabrielle, stuck in a family that were obsessed with the Dark Arts. Luckily for her, her parents found her honesty and unwillingness to experiment with power that they found intoxicating very endearing. She wasn’t an outcast; she was just seen as different. And she had saved his life.
If Bulgaria signed this deal, her parents would be branded as criminals, and Gabrielle would be torn apart. The "infallible" Harry Potter, as much as Draco found it appalling, was the love of her life. He would be among the groups of people condemning her family. She would have to choose: Harry or her family. Her family wasn’t evil, not in the same sense as many of the Dark wizards in Britain, but if that deal signed, that’s how they would be seen.
So she’d come running to him, the only one she thought could help her. And he came up with a plan, a way to stop her world from falling apart. Because she was sweet and innocent. Because she saved his life.
He had to stop the Weasley girl from speaking directly to Skrumpt, the Bulgarian Minister for Magic. She’d be able to convince the bleeding moron to sign the deal within minutes. With all the influence Draco had in Bulgaria, he knew that Fudge would want to get his support, as long as he thought that Bulgaria was going to be a problem. And who better to send after him, then Virginia Weasley? And Draco needed her as distracted as possible, so that when he started making suggestions about the changes that were needed to protect Gabrielle’s family, she wouldn’t oppose.
And it was working. But for how long, he asked himself. It was only a matter of time before Gabrielle’s uncharacteristic displays of jealousy got back to Potter. Plus, the strain was starting to get to her, and he wouldn’t allow her to crack. He needed a new game plan, a way to take Gabrielle completely out of the occasion.
Staring off, seeing the small range of hills that some people mistakenly call mountains, due to the snow that could be seen on their tops year round, he was suddenly struck with inspiration.
Within a few minutes, he had retrieved parchment and quill, and carefully scrawled his note. Attaching it to his owl, and watching her fly off, he smiled. Things were back on track.
* * * * *
Ginny was storming angrily out of her office, dwelling on the reprimand that Fudge had just given her for what had happened with Malfoy, when an owl landed before her. Its large eyes stared up at her expectantly. Feeling baffled, she took the letter it was carrying. It didn’t fly away immediately, obviously awaiting her response. Frowning, she opened the letter.
Aren’t you even going to take the bait?
-D. Malfoy
Thinking cautiously for a few moments, the memories of Fudge’s reprimand fresh on her mind, she grabbed a quill off of Clarice’s desk, and scrawled her answer.
Fine, I’ll bite. Contact my assistant to reschedule.
The answer was very well constructed, she thought, as it put the responsibility on Malfoy to reschedule, allowing her the opportunity for a power play. Merlin knows, I need to, after what happened this morning, she sighed. Attaching the owl the letter, she watched the bird fly off, wondering what type of response she would get.
* * * * *
Feeling the weight of her day come crashing down around her, Ginny practically crawled into her flat, exhausted. Her feet were stiff from the bloody heels she foolishly insisted on wearing (being the only women in her field, as well as only just over five feet, made working with men who were so much taller than her rather intimidating), she felt constrained in her fitted suit, and she wanted burn her nylons so she’d never have to wear them again. After throwing down her files carelessly, she walked straight into her washroom, dropping articles of her clothing as she walked.
Stepping into the shower, Ginny closed her eyes as she allowed the hot water to ease away the stress of the day. Taking her time, she washed her hair, luxuriating in the smell of her shampoo, wishing she could wash away the memory of the day with the sweet-scented suds.
She emerged from the steamy bathroom, towel drying her hair, and wearing her cream-colored silk nightgown. She chuckled softly, thinking of what her mother’s reaction to that would be. It fell above her knees, and with the tiny straps the only thing holding it on, no doubt her mother would have found it scandalous. It was a guilty pleasure, the cut of it allowed her to feel her long hair fall down her back, something that the knot she generally wore it in did not allow for.
After brushing out her hair, and drying it with her wand and a simple charm, she glanced loathingly at the pile of folders awaiting her on her desk. Deciding to pick one and flip through it from the comfort of her bed, she walked over to her desk.
Frowning, she noticed one that she had never noticed before. Scrawled in larges letters across the front was the word ‘Bulgaria’. Suspiciously, she reached out for it. That is not Clarice’s writing, she thought. As her fingers touched it, she felt the floor beneath her slip away, and the image of her comfortable flat dissipated before her eyes, and then all she could see was darkness.
Draco entered his study, eager to call an end to the long day, and relax for a few moments. Slightly startled, but unwilling to show it, he groaned when he saw his cousin’s tearful face, waiting for him.
“Gabrielle, what is it?” he asked, his tone slightly bored.
“Draco, I just can’t do this anymore. It’s so wrong, and if Harry find out, he’s going to think I’m this awful, manically jealous person and I couldn’t take it if he thought of me that way!” she wailed tearfully. Sighing, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to deal with her uncertainty, he pushed aside his annoyance at intrusion on his time to relax, and decided to play the caring cousin.
“Gabrielle, you have to trust me on this,” he said, sitting down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. “It’s working, you’re doing very well. I know how hard this is on you, but when I agreed to help you, you said that it was all worth it.”
“It is! Harry is! But there has to be another way! Ginny has nothing to do with this, it’s not fair to bring her in,” she sniffed.
“She’s too good, Gabrielle. If I give her twenty minutes with Bulgaria’s Minister, he’ll be breaking his quill trying to sign the deal fast enough to suit her. We can’t let that happen, not the way it stands.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Do you want your family to be branded as criminals? Do you want your future husband to have to choose between his duties as an Auror and self-sworn enemy to the Dark Arts, and his wife’s family?”
“Of course I don’t want that to happen!” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “Sometimes I think it would be better if I could just tell him. You know, he loves me, maybe that would be enough. He’s always talking about how love is unconditional, and that nothing could ever change the way he feels about me. And here I am, doing whatever I can to lie to him!”
“You aren’t lying to him; Gabrielle. I keep telling you this. I am going to do everything I can to make sure that this deal does not get signed the way that it’s written now. It’s going to work out for the best.”
“Maybe I should just end it all. He won’t be able to forgive me when he finds out what my parents did. We shouldn’t be together, this is all a big mistake!” she was crying again. In a swift moment, Draco placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face him. Staring down at her with his serious gray eyes, her tears suddenly dissipated.
“Gabrielle, you are not your family. You taught me that. Don’t forget it yourself. Let me handle this, I promise you it will work out for the best. I’m going to see you smiling on your wedding day, even if you are marrying that pious little git.” With that, she giggled slightly.
“You promised you’d be nice to him. I don’t understand why you two hate each other so much,” she said, trying to look reproachful.
“You’d hate him too if you went to school with him,” Draco muttered.
“Draco!”
“Okay, I’ll be nice. Now, why don’t you go clean yourself up, and surprise that fiancé of yours with dinner, and let me handle the details?” he suggested with a slight smile. He had a lot of work to do.
“Now that is the best idea you’ve had all week,” she said with a weak smile.
* * * * *
After Gabrielle had gone home, leaving him alone with his thoughts, his study no longer seemed appealing to him. Grabbing his robe, he stormed out of his house, needing to work out his thoughts while prowling over the grounds of his estate. The surrounding forest and rolling hills surrounding the isolated location made it the perfect place for him to brood. If there was one thing that he liked better than scheming, it was brooding.
He was satisfied with the way that their plan was working out. But he was very worried about the toll that it was taking on Gabrielle. She was incapable of deceit, no matter how small nor how noble the purpose. Which was why she had come to him, when she found out about Virginia Weasley’s proposed new International Cooperation Act for the Removal of All Dark Arts, she had come running to him.
It was so unfair, he thought. A girl like that, born into the family she was. Sweet, innocent Gabrielle, stuck in a family that were obsessed with the Dark Arts. Luckily for her, her parents found her honesty and unwillingness to experiment with power that they found intoxicating very endearing. She wasn’t an outcast; she was just seen as different. And she had saved his life.
If Bulgaria signed this deal, her parents would be branded as criminals, and Gabrielle would be torn apart. The "infallible" Harry Potter, as much as Draco found it appalling, was the love of her life. He would be among the groups of people condemning her family. She would have to choose: Harry or her family. Her family wasn’t evil, not in the same sense as many of the Dark wizards in Britain, but if that deal signed, that’s how they would be seen.
So she’d come running to him, the only one she thought could help her. And he came up with a plan, a way to stop her world from falling apart. Because she was sweet and innocent. Because she saved his life.
He had to stop the Weasley girl from speaking directly to Skrumpt, the Bulgarian Minister for Magic. She’d be able to convince the bleeding moron to sign the deal within minutes. With all the influence Draco had in Bulgaria, he knew that Fudge would want to get his support, as long as he thought that Bulgaria was going to be a problem. And who better to send after him, then Virginia Weasley? And Draco needed her as distracted as possible, so that when he started making suggestions about the changes that were needed to protect Gabrielle’s family, she wouldn’t oppose.
And it was working. But for how long, he asked himself. It was only a matter of time before Gabrielle’s uncharacteristic displays of jealousy got back to Potter. Plus, the strain was starting to get to her, and he wouldn’t allow her to crack. He needed a new game plan, a way to take Gabrielle completely out of the occasion.
Staring off, seeing the small range of hills that some people mistakenly call mountains, due to the snow that could be seen on their tops year round, he was suddenly struck with inspiration.
Within a few minutes, he had retrieved parchment and quill, and carefully scrawled his note. Attaching it to his owl, and watching her fly off, he smiled. Things were back on track.
* * * * *
Ginny was storming angrily out of her office, dwelling on the reprimand that Fudge had just given her for what had happened with Malfoy, when an owl landed before her. Its large eyes stared up at her expectantly. Feeling baffled, she took the letter it was carrying. It didn’t fly away immediately, obviously awaiting her response. Frowning, she opened the letter.
Aren’t you even going to take the bait?
-D. Malfoy
Thinking cautiously for a few moments, the memories of Fudge’s reprimand fresh on her mind, she grabbed a quill off of Clarice’s desk, and scrawled her answer.
Fine, I’ll bite. Contact my assistant to reschedule.
The answer was very well constructed, she thought, as it put the responsibility on Malfoy to reschedule, allowing her the opportunity for a power play. Merlin knows, I need to, after what happened this morning, she sighed. Attaching the owl the letter, she watched the bird fly off, wondering what type of response she would get.
* * * * *
Feeling the weight of her day come crashing down around her, Ginny practically crawled into her flat, exhausted. Her feet were stiff from the bloody heels she foolishly insisted on wearing (being the only women in her field, as well as only just over five feet, made working with men who were so much taller than her rather intimidating), she felt constrained in her fitted suit, and she wanted burn her nylons so she’d never have to wear them again. After throwing down her files carelessly, she walked straight into her washroom, dropping articles of her clothing as she walked.
Stepping into the shower, Ginny closed her eyes as she allowed the hot water to ease away the stress of the day. Taking her time, she washed her hair, luxuriating in the smell of her shampoo, wishing she could wash away the memory of the day with the sweet-scented suds.
She emerged from the steamy bathroom, towel drying her hair, and wearing her cream-colored silk nightgown. She chuckled softly, thinking of what her mother’s reaction to that would be. It fell above her knees, and with the tiny straps the only thing holding it on, no doubt her mother would have found it scandalous. It was a guilty pleasure, the cut of it allowed her to feel her long hair fall down her back, something that the knot she generally wore it in did not allow for.
After brushing out her hair, and drying it with her wand and a simple charm, she glanced loathingly at the pile of folders awaiting her on her desk. Deciding to pick one and flip through it from the comfort of her bed, she walked over to her desk.
Frowning, she noticed one that she had never noticed before. Scrawled in larges letters across the front was the word ‘Bulgaria’. Suspiciously, she reached out for it. That is not Clarice’s writing, she thought. As her fingers touched it, she felt the floor beneath her slip away, and the image of her comfortable flat dissipated before her eyes, and then all she could see was darkness.
Leave a Review