[HP translation] Hope

When she woke up, she couldn't remember where she was.The sun was filtered blue by the tulle curtains, and a steaming breakfast tray sat on the bedside table, emitting the most delicious aromas.Ginny sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stretched.The first day of life in Malfoy's house began.

After she's bathed and dressed, and she's eating from the tray, Pinch appears with a new set of dark blue robes. "Master wants you to wear these when we go shopping today, Mistress," she said, placing them on Ginny's trunk.

Ginny reached out and touched them.The colors are stunning and the thickness of the fine wool is perfect for early spring.Even when Pinch helped her into these clothes, she was thinking, but I can't wear these, Malfoy bought them.They were comfortable against her skin, and she grudgingly admitted that he had good taste.

"Follow Pinch, mistress," said the little house-elf, and Ginny accompanied her to the Apparating point she and Malfoy had used yesterday.Today, you can see the sun looming in the dark clouds.Small boats and ferries dot the bay.The scene was peaceful and peaceful, and it was hard to imagine that Britain was still facing constant threats of death.

They reached Arrowhead Lane first, which reminded her of Diagon Alley, which was now burned down, and Ginny's eyes burned, especially when Pinch led her towards Alusia's Madam Malkin's shop.The slogans on the outside were the same, and when they walked in, they found that the furnishings inside the store were the same as the old stores in London.

A middle-aged woman in a dark green robe hurried out from behind and greeted them. "Hello." She said warmly, "How can I help you?"

Ginny opened her mouth to mumble something about the new dress, but to her surprise Pinch pulled a slip from her napkin. "The master made this list for the mistress," she said to Elucia, handing her the list. "He said money was not important."

Ginny's eyes widened upon hearing this, and Elucia was equally surprised. "Okay." The middle-aged witch said, took the list, and quickly browsed through it. "I suppose that's a good thing, because just the dress robes will cost your master a lot of money."

"Dress robes?" said Ginny. "Why do I need—"

"Master's throwing a party!" Pinch screamed, but she immediately put her hands over her mouth. "Oh no! Pinch shouldn't have said a word!"

"Don't punish yourself, that's an order!" said Ginny immediately, when Pinch was about to start banging his head on the counter.She had heard enough about Dobby from Harry that she hated thinking about the poor elf hurting herself on purpose.

But now, as Elucia measured her for robe after robe, from formal to everyday wear, Ginny was confused, thinking of Pinch's little clues.party?What is this for?Malfoy doesn't seem to be the social type to imagine people willingly befriending him.That made her snicker and snort, but then she frowned at getting pricked by the needle on her sleeve.

After leaving the robe shop, Pinchy sent all of Ginny's new robes back to Malfoy's island estate, and they went back to Muggle Seattle, to a string of shops that must have been expensive enough to get Malfoy's attention.Ginny thought Pinchy would leave, but was surprised when the elf followed her all the way to the apparition point.

"But won't Muggles see you?" said Ginny.

"Muggles don't see what they don't want to see, mistress," said Pinch slyly.Indeed, no one looked at them more, and Ginny's breathing began to ease.

They went to shops she'd never heard of, some with names that she thought Muggles wanted to sound sophisticated.They don't mean anything at all; why can't Muggles name shops after what they sell?Pinch pulled out a slip from her napkin again, and Ginny was surprised to find that there was even such personal items as underwear and panties written in Malfoy's familiar handwriting.

"He didn't mean it," she murmured, blushing even more as she read the detailed descriptions of each item. "I wouldn't wear anything in black satin."

But she still can't say no to linen pants and cashmere sweaters, silk shirts and waterproof raincoats and a whole host of things she didn't realize she needed until she saw them.She wondered how she was supposed to pay so much, but when she brought it up to the woman who helped them, she said nothing to worry about.

"Mr. Malfoy called us this morning, told us you were coming, and asked us to give you anything you wanted," she said with a smile. "He's one of our best customers, he's always here."

"Oh," said Ginny.She always wondered what it would be like to be rich, but it never occurred to her how good it would be. "He wants me to, uh, buy some black satin underwear too."

"Okay, I can show you our—"

"If you've run out, I just need some white cotton bras and panties," Ginny said. "I'm not interested in anything else."

When all the packages had been returned to the estate by Pinch, they ate lunch in a small outdoor café.The sun had decided to show up now, and Ginny had splurged on a pair of sunglasses so she wouldn't have to squint.

She was still jet-lagged, so when Pinch said she had to do some more shopping, Ginny let her go on. "Oh, yes, Mistress can't see what Pinch buys." The elf nodded in agreement. "The master does not want the mistress to know his plans."

A shudder of suspicion slid down Ginny's back. "What's he planning, Pinch?" But the elf wouldn't say, so Ginny Apparated back to the Manor, where she fell on the bed and took a nap without undressing.

When Ginny woke up, she looked out the window. The sun was halfway down the Puget Sound.She yawned and ran her fingers through her hair, feeling relaxed and awake, but she knew she wouldn't get much sleep tonight.

Not long after, Pinch apparated into the room. "The mistress is awake!" she cried, as if nothing could make her happier.

"Um, hello, Pinchy."

"Come on, Mistress, we're going to get you ready for dinner tonight, oh yes." The elf ran into the bathroom, and Ginny heard the water start to fill the tub, and the most wonderful scent of roses came out.

Whatever was going on today must have mattered, because Pincher had used what seemed like a hundred different oils and soaps on Ginny's skin and hair.When she stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel, she felt as if she had wandered in a rose garden for hours.Clapping his hands happily, Pinch helped Ginny into a set of dress robes they'd bought this morning: they were made of water-smooth dark green silk with gold piping.It showed shoulders, bell sleeves and a floor-length skirt, all embroidered with gold thread.Thinking she was done, Ginny walked to the door, but Pinch pushed her back into the room and began brushing her hair, which she pulled into a loose bun at her neck, letting a few curls fall over her shoulders.Then she applied green eyeshadow and black mascara, a dab of blush on her too-pale cheeks, and a touch of rosy color on her lips.

Ginny gazed at herself in the full-length mirror by the bed, barely recognizing the beautiful young witch she saw. "Oh, mistress!" sighed Pincher after her. "You look so cute!"

"Now can you tell me what's going to happen tonight?" Ginny said.

"Master invited friends over for dinner," said Pinch vaguely, and she opened the bedroom door. "He wants you to see them all."

"And I think if I show up in my own clothes, I'll shame him," Ginny grumbled.

"Master likes to make everything look good," was all Pinch said.

Cautiously walking down the stairs, as she was not used to wearing high heels, she spotted Malfoy pacing impatiently in the front hall.She hadn't seen him since yesterday's bad lunch, and that was close at hand for Ginny.Tonight, he's wearing a fitted silver-gray dress robe, his long hair tied back with a leather cord. "Here it is at last," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her halfway into the room to the right of the entrance hall; the door had been closed yesterday, but now it opened to reveal a vast ballroom that seemed to come out of a fairy tale. "My guest will arrive soon."

"Are you going to tell me about this little party or just let me know?" Ginny said.

"When you arrive, the plan will be in place," he said wearily. "Look, can you at least be polite to my friends tonight? Some will be seriously insulted by your attitude, and I can't afford to make enemies."

"It's amazing that I can watch my manners," Ginny said when they heard the first sound from the private Apparation point. "I think you bring out the worst in me."

"We're the same at this point," he murmured, and neither of them spoke to each other for the next three hours.

When Pinch said he had a few friends coming over, Ginny thought she meant two or three, but when Malfoy said "that's the last wave", more than 200 well-dressed men from the upper class of the American wizarding world The guests have arrived and are choosing food at the buffet table.The hum of whispered conversations rang in her ears, accompanied by the sound of a string quartet playing on a stage in the corner.

She was introduced to everyone, and they all looked at her with pity when they recognized her British accent.Being from England was more embarrassing than she had ever been; when they asked modestly if anyone she knew had died, Ginny refrained from saying anything specific. "Too many people died," she said, and Malfoy added twenty or thirty times, "but there are people like this Miss Weasley still fighting as hard as they can."

"Oh, you're charming, my dear!" said a stately woman whom Malfoy introduced as Maeda Winkler. "Draco, how did you meet such a lovely young witch?"

"We studied together at Hogwarts," said Malfoy. "She's a grade below me." And he nearly killed my brother and is my boyfriend's nemesis, Ginny added inwardly.

"Together with this, Draco." Maida said with a wink. "She's a lot better than any other witch I've been with before I met you. Nice to meet you, Miss Weasley."

"Me too, Mrs. Winkler."

Afterwards, when everyone has arrived, everyone is eating.Malfoy grabbed her arm again and led her to the buffet table to get their food.Ginny hadn't eaten much since arriving in Seattle, because after two years of shoddy food her father could order, she found American food to be unbearably rich.But when she mentioned it to Malfoy, he waved absently.

"Being here for almost five years, I still can't stand the food," he said. "I smuggled and imported a lot of ingredients from Europe to cook my house-elves the British way." He showed her a table of thoroughly British food: fried potatoes and cabbage, blood pudding, Sheffield pie— Everything Ginny could ask for.

As she sat eating in a chair by the wall, she was surprised by Malfoy's strange behavior.When he had chosen his food, he sat next to her, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.Yesterday, he was the same as her memory in school: arrogant, condescending, indifferent, insulting and mean, and extremely stupid.And tonight he was courteous, almost personable, a gracious host to his guests.In the nearly six years they had been at Hogwarts together, she had never seen him smile like this, his face softened, and he looked even more handsome than usual.This new Malfoy was nothing compared to the Malfoy she knew, and she wondered which one was real.

She immediately thought, of course it was the annoying one.Malfoy is a self-centered, rich, spoiled guy, but when he's throwing a party, he can't act like that.He probably wanted something he couldn't buy from them.But what is it?

Confused her all night.After a chubby witch made fun of him for hiding in a corner, Malfoy left her side to dance with the witch and several other couples.Ginny watched them swing together and realized he was a great dancer.Where did he learn something so mundane as a waltz?The idea of ​​putting dance lessons between Death Eater training and learning the Dark Arts doesn't seem right.However, few things seem to be right.

It's easy to hate him when he's cruel.At Hogwarts, Ron and Harry kept talking about how cruel and vicious he was, how he always managed to stay out of trouble and let someone else take the punishment for him.Yesterday, when he had laughed at her poverty and made rude remarks about his reasons for bringing her to America, the hatred had surged again, as if it had never gone away.

She had almost forgotten that she had briefly pitied him in the depths of her heart.He disappeared a few months before the war started, and soon after, George fell asleep.Rumor has it that he displeased Voldemort with his inability to kill Dumbledore, and that Lucius Malfoy himself tortured him and hid him somewhere deep in a dungeon to rot.Ginny pitied him because she could bear the feeling, since her brother was all alive and she hadn't lost all.

Then, his partner returned to Ginny with him, and said with a blushing smile, "Draco sweetheart, how dare you leave this lovely witch? What kind of male partner are you?"

"Doesn't seem like a very good male companion," he said with a smile, and Ginny watched as his charm reached the woman's stubby fingers.He bent down and kissed her hand, making the middle-aged woman giggle like a little girl. "It was a pleasure to dance with you, Lady Kettering."

"Now, I want to see you and Miss Weasley for the next dance," she said, "or I'll be upset with you!" A smile softened her words, and she walked to the buffet table.

He sat next to Ginny again, not doing what Mrs. Kettering had insisted on, angering her by his indifference.Why didn't he just taunt her, or just act the same all night?Wanting to do something, she blurted out: "How do you know these people?"

"Louisa Kettering was a powerful political lobbyist," he said, "and her husband, Justinian, was a herbalist at Thane College—you can think of it as the Hogwarts of the American West Coast. lecturer."

"But how—"

He gave her a smirk, which now made her feel more at ease. "You don't think I've been solitary here all this time, do you? Counting money and plotting nefarious schemes? You must have a richer imagination than that, Weasley."

"These people think you're nice," Ginny said, frowning. "Forgive me if I can't figure it out."

"I'm fine," he said, smirking even harder. "Maybe you just choose to ignore it."

"Perhaps Voldemort will surrender tomorrow." The name still made him tremble a little with her satisfaction. "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater," she said, in a voice so low only he could hear.

He looked into her eyes, and she was shocked to see something unfamiliar—not the hate, disgust, or annoyance she had expected.Before she knew what it was, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Just for show," he said. "I propose that we proceed."

The last time Ginny danced officially was at the Yule Ball more than seven years ago, and she was just trying to keep Neville from stepping on her feet.Her steps were rusty, she admitted, but when Malfoy put his arms around her and led her to the next dance, she felt as if she had never forgotten how to dance.

She couldn't meet his eyes.She looked at his right ear or his shoulder, but never at the eyes that pierced her and seemed to evoke insecurities and fears in her.He touched her waist lightly, and the hand holding her hand was very warm.She thought, he should be cold.As cold as the evil within him.

"You dance very well, Weasley." She was taken aback.She didn't notice, he leaned over and put his lips close to her ear.They were so close, her breasts almost rubbing against his.

"Surprised?" she murmured back.

"Always amazed."

She wasn't sure what to make of it, so she kept silent.

"I want you to know something."

Why would his proximity have such an effect on her?Yes, Ginny hadn't been in a relationship with any man since Harry, but was her body desperate enough to long for Malfoy?

"I want you to know that I don't want to marry you," he said, his tone cold and arrogant again. "I know that's what you're going to do, but I really don't care about getting married."

"Then why did you send me a letter?"

He distanced himself slightly, with a sneer on his face. "Really, Weasley?" said Malfoy. "Because I feel sorry for you."

Ginny's face burned, and she couldn't bear the thought of touching him any longer.Why had she ever thought that he could actually be kind?Why did she ever think he was charming?She let him go as quickly as the band had played the last set of chords.

"Then who do they think I am?" she asked him suddenly. "What did you say to your friends?"

"You are a distant cousin," he said, "and I think that is indeed true." He took her hand and kissed it, as he had kissed Lady Kettering.Ginny strode away, and she didn't look at him for the rest of the night.