Tulip in the Sand
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)
Posted: Oct. 14, 2004
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.
FLASHBACK
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 shit, you are a piece of shit, and- " She was interrupted.
"So that would make you Mrs. Shit," 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."
To Be Continued. . .
Preview Of the Next Chapter:
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.