The Not So Good Girl

Virginie stirred her cauldron furiously. Three clockwise, four counter, one straight up and down, repeat. She was sweating from the effort of it and from the steam that rose in heart-shaped, pink clouds from the cauldron. Today they were making a very strong love potion. Their results were going to be fed to the castle’s thestrals, who were hesitant about mating.

Draco was next to her, also stirring his cauldron furiously, though he wasn’t sweating as she was. In fact, he looked rather relaxed, but she saw that his potion was issuing billows of grey smoke instead of the pink hearts she was achieving.

“Draco, add more crushed iris,” she hissed, still stirring.

He quickly did as she instructed, and his potion immediately turned the bubblegum pink Virginie’s was.

“Thanks,” he whispered back.

It was the day before Valentine’s Day, and classes were becoming extremely demanding. She hardly had time to see Draco these days other than at meals or for a quick chat on the way back to their common rooms. She hadn’t slept over at the Suite in three weeks, because she found that she didn’t get nearly as much work done there as she did if she stayed in her own common room, where other seventh year Ravenclaws were also working diligently into the night, frequently jinxing those who disturbed the silence. With N.E.W.T.s fast approaching, the younger students took to quiet games of chess instead of their usual Gobstones, not wanting to face the wrath of the seventh years.

She wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been visiting the Suite lately. Ron usually accompanied her part of the way from the Great Hall after meals, complaining about how much work he was sitting on.

“Hermione won’t help me with any of it, either,” he complained.

“It’s your work,” Virginie snapped. “I mean….sorry, Ron, I wasn’t trying to be mean, I’m just so stressed.”

“Yeah, well, join the club,” he snarled as they parted ways for their common rooms.

Because she had always been a natural student, it was an incredible challenge for her to learn the things that came so difficult: Arithmancy, for one, was killing her. Night after night after night she spent hours poring over the books, trying to make sense of the complicated charts and numbers, but she found the answers simply did not come, and she became increasingly worried about her Arithmancy N.E.W.T.

But tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, and she and Draco had planned to spend it together. Lucius and Narcissa had urged them to come to Malfoy Manor for the weekend, but honestly that wasn’t Virginie’s idea of fun, not to mention that she had a load of work to do—she planned to eat with Draco and return straight away to her common room.

Draco’s parents were a sore subject with her anyway. The day after Christmas, they’d all gone to look at the land they’d mentioned. Virginie’s parents were pleased at how close it was to them—almost equidistant to them and Lucius and Narcissa. Draco and Virginie complained, saying that they’d rather not rush into anything, but the very next day Lucius purchased it, and began discussing with Draco and Virginie the sort of house they’d want.

She knew she shouldn’t complain about receiving a brand-new home as her wedding gift, but quite honestly, she felt that this sort of left an open invitation for Lucius and Narcissa to visit whenever they wanted, and she did not want that to be the case. It really wasn’t a matter of them being there, it was a matter of them trying to force their values onto Draco and Virginie.

For example, Virginie already had an interview arranged for the first of March at the Ministry of Magic’s International Magical Cooperation Office, as a post-Hogwarts job of Ambassador to France. She was incredibly excited about the prospect of being an ambassador from Britain. It was a very lucrative position, especially for someone just out of Hogwarts, so quite obviously everyone was raving about it…everyone but Lucius and Narcissa.

“My dear,” Lucius sneered, “I have told you before I prefer that women tend to their domestic duties.”

“Lucius,” she replied, her eyes blazing and cheeks growing red, “Quite frankly I do not care what you think at this point.”

She’d told Draco that if he opposed her working, she’d not marry him, and he swore it was fine. She just didn’t want to live in a home that Lucius and Narcissa had paid for, because she was worried they’d hold that over her head when she went to work.

But she couldn’t think about that now. Her potion was thickening fast, and she needed to add the redcurrant rum.

“You look lovely when you’re all sweaty with your hair pulled back like that,” Draco said, grinning at her.

“Shut up and leave me alone,” she snapped, slowly adding the rum in a circle around the cauldron as the instructions stated.

His face fell. “I was paying you a compliment,” he said coldly.

“And I’m making a potion that counts for a grade, so leave me alone,” she replied, just as coldly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Hermione was shaking with silent laughter as she added rum to her potion. Hermione knew better than to bother Virginie in Potions class. In fact, everyone had expected her to go on to further schooling after Hogwarts to become a Healer, or else to develop Healing potions for St. Mungo’s. Obviously that line of work interested her, but she’d much rather be able to travel to France and meet incredibly important wizards on a daily basis. Perhaps she would go to school part-time so that she could eventually do both.

“Time,” Slughorn called, and she quickly bottled her potion and presented it to him.

She quickly cleared her cauldron and put things into her bag, then stood and waited for Draco. He gave her an apologetic smile as he shoved books into his bag, and it made her feel horrid about snapping at him. When he’d finished, he took her hand and they began walking to the Great Hall for dinner.

“Sorry I snapped at you,” she said. “You know how I get in classes.”

“You’re almost as bad as Granger,” he replied. “Almost. But don’t worry about it. I’ll be lucky to scrape half the grade you did.”

“You’ll be fine,” she said.

He snorted. “I’ll be lucky to scrape a N.E.W.T. in there. You save me half the time. I don’t know why you don’t want to become a Healer. You’re so great at Potions.”

“I was thinking I might take classes part-time,” she replied. “If they offer me the ambassador job…well I can’t turn something like that down.”

“No, no,” he said quickly. “It’s great, I just thought you might enjoy being a Healer more.”

“Eventually I probably will end up doing that,” she replied. “If they don’t give me the job, I’ll definitely be going to more school for that.”

“I’m excited that I actually get to be with you tomorrow,” he said.

“I’m on my period,” she replied quickly.

He stopped, and a scared-looking first year almost bumped into him. “D’you think that’s all I want you for is sex? I miss you. We hardly ever get to talk. I just meant I’m glad we get to talk again and simply be in each other’s presence for more than a half hour.”

She smiled widely and kissed him. “You’re just lovely.”

“I know,” he grinned.

After a nice dinner in which Harry and Draco did not, for once, try to jinx each other, she returned to the Ravenclaw common room, talking animatedly to Luna about a Veela who once tried to attack her mother after thinking she was an old classmate who’d stolen her boyfriend. It had been a rather good day; she’d earned one hundred points altogether for her house and she was already excited about her job interview, though it was still fifteen days away.

The next morning she awoke when she felt something silky touch her face. She swatted it away, as if it were a fly, and tried to sleep again. Over and over they brushed her skin lightly. Finally she opened her eyes, and she gasped.

Small, silky paper hearts were falling like snow from the ceiling over her bed. The bed was already littered with the hearts that had fallen while she’d been asleep. She held her hands up and caught them, giggling like mad until she heard someone come up to her bed.

“What’s that giggling about?” she heard Padma Patil say.

Virginie flicked her wand and opened the bed hangings, and the girls standing around them gasped and started screaming and clapping with delight.

“How romantic!” Padma exclaimed, hopping on Virginie’s bed and catching some of the paper hearts with her hands. “Is it like snow, can I taste them?”

Virginie giggled. “I don’t know, I haven’t tried.”

Padma stuck her tongue out and caught one of the larger hearts. “Mmmm…cinnamon!”

All the girls, including Virginie, started catching them with their tongues. They were causing such a ruckus that the fifth years who lived next door came in to see what was happening, and they, too, started trying to catch the hearts with their tongues.

“Look!” Padma said, pointing toward the ceiling.

They all obeyed and found a large red envelope floating down. It landed on Virginie’s lap and sprang open of its own volition.

My dearest,

If you think this is something, just wait until you see what I have for tonight. Please arrive dressed for warm weather.

Until then, however, know that I love you more than life itself. Here is an early gift—a finished plan of our home.

Yours,

Draco

P.S. I’ve decided to name our first son Rufus. If you don’t believe me, check the house plan.

She giggled and shut the note.

A fifth year who was sitting on Luna’s bed sighed. “You’re so lucky to have Draco. He’s just…gorgeoussss…”

Luna, from the head of her bed, shot the girl a look of utter loathing and asked her if she would mind getting off her bed.

“You know,” Padma said, glaring at the girl, “Virginie’s old boyfriend, Chris, dumped her for a fifth year. Perhaps you’d be better off going with him instead of after Draco, because I’m pretty sure he’s not interested in anyone else.”

Virginie giggled and blushed.

“Let’s go down and eat, V,” Padma said, climbing off her bed. “Those hearts made me starving. I really hope there wasn’t something in them.”

“I doubt it,” she replied. “Draco’s hopeless at Potions.”

They were giddy with laughter the whole day after that.

Her afternoon was spent in front of the common room fireplace with Padma and Luna, writing a particularly complicated Charms essay. Around four, she bid the two good luck in finishing their work and headed off to the showers.

Dress for warm weather, she thought to herself as she stood in front of her wardrobe. She settled on a printed shirtdress, nothing overly fancy, and styled her hair as usual, so that it was straight, gleaming like spun gold. She was wearing the bracelet, of course, but that was her only jewelry. At five, she left the deafening silence of the Ravenclaw common room and headed to the Suite. Draco was waiting outside the portrait hole when she entered, and instead of ushering her inside, he took her arm and led her down the corridor to a staircase. She decided it was best not to ask any questions.

They soon arrived at an old, empty classroom. Before she could ask questions, however, she stepped inside and realized that it had been transformed. They weren’t in a dingy classroom—they were in Morocco! There was a small, solid wood table for two on what had been bewitched to look like a balcony overlooking a city glistening with lights. In the center of the room leading to the balcony, though, there were silk scarves hanging from the ceiling down to the floor to enfold a large, circular pillow, forming an intimate sort of tent.

“Oh, Draco,” she breathed, and she actually swooned. “I just swooned.”

He laughed. “You are a silly, silly girl. Let’s go out to the balcony. The view’s even better from out there.”

He was right. It was warm, beautiful, and incredibly romantic. He poured her a glass of wine from the small cart that sat next to the table.

“Draco…how did you?...”

“Hermione,” he answered. It was the first time he’d said her first name.

“It’s…it’s…” She couldn’t even find words.

“You’re welcome,” he said, taking her left hand in his right. He lifted his glass of wine.

“To us, and our very first Valentine’s Day together…and many more on the way.”

“Cheers,” she whispered, and took a sip of her wine.

Draco served her a five-course dinner that was absolutely amazing, and when they’d finished their last, he took her hand and led her into the room with the enclosed circular pillow. He stepped in first and took her hand to help her in, so that she didn’t wobble or trip with her heels on.

“Dessert,” he announced, producing a silver cake tray laden with small boxes made of chocolate.

“Oh, you know my weakness,” she said, reaching for one of the boxes to see what was inside.

He shooed her hand away. “Not so fast, de Gaulle,” he said smoothly, picking up the tallest of all the boxes.

He opened it, revealing what appeared to be a mousse. Though Virginie had formerly been disgusted by anyone coming remotely close to her mouth, she found it incredibly romantic when Draco began feeding her the mousse from the box. It was dark chocolate mint, and it was divine.

“Why are there three boxes?” she asked. “Give me the rest of that box so I can eat it all gone.”

“Shhhh,” he admonished, though he was smiling. “There is reason behind this madness.”

He took the next smallest box, which was made of white chocolate and had pink flecks mixed into it, and opened it, revealing six truffles.

“Draco, stop feeding me all this chocolate. Why do you have to go and make me so incredibly happy?”

“The last box is best,” he said, lifting a dark chocolate truffle from the box and feeding it to her gently.

“Nothing could be better than this,” she said, closing her eyes to luxuriate in the wonderful flavors in her mouth.

“I want you to open this one,” he said, handing it to her. It was very small and made of dark chocolate.

She did as he instructed and eagerly opened the lid. Inside was a platinum ring with a very large diamond solitaire in the center. Baguette diamonds flanked the solitaire, forming the band of the ring. She gasped and dropped the box, but Draco caught it swiftly in his hand.

“Virginie,” he began, shooting her a gaze that burned her to the core. “I know we haven’t been together long, but I know that what we have is true. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and…” His voice cracked a little and his eyes became very watery. “I just can’t imagine my life without you in it. You are…perfect. Every day I thank whatever force brought us together. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“Oh, Draco, yes!” she sobbed, hugging and kissing him. He sobbed freely into her shoulder, and for a few moments they clung to each other, crying hysterically. When they pulled apart, he wiped his eyes and pulled the ring from the box, sliding it on her finger.

She looked down at it.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“You just had to propose to me when I was on my period!”

He laughed. “You’re crazy. I’ve been planning this since Christmas.”

“Get to know my cycle, fiancé.”

“Yes, dear,” he mimed, and she giggled and kissed him again.

“I love you, Draco Malfoy,” she whispered.

“I love you more, Virginie de Gaulle…Virginie Malfoy,” he whispered back.

They hugged, and when they’d separated he looked deep into her eyes. “I really have decided that we’ll call our first son Rufus,” he said. She smacked his arm playfully.