“How could you?”

Ginny winced and took a deep breath before turning around. “Hello, Mum.” She said with a sigh. She set down the jumper she had been folding and tried to smile. “I can’t say that I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” Her mother seethed.

Ginny closed her eyes and tried to think of a polite answer. “Would you like some tea?”

“I most certainly would not! What I would like is to have my questions answered, Ginevra.”

Ginny felt her stomach tighten. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then said, “I take it you have heard my good news.”

Her mother snorted. “Nothing I heard could ever be considered good.”

“So then it would be safe to say that you didn’t come to congratulate me.” She said with an ironic half smile. Her mother just glared at her. Ginny put a hand on the back of her neck and tried unsuccessfully to massage the tension she was feeling away. “Mum, it’s not as bad as all that- really, it’s not.”

“Not as bad as it seems? Good Lord, girl! What is wrong with you?” Molly’s face had gone an unpleasant shade of red. She had her arms crossed and was tapping one foot angrily.

“Nothing’s wrong with me.” Ginny said dejectedly. “I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Can’t you tell?” She gave a self-depreciating laugh. Her mother was not amused. She rolled her eyes and made a tutting noise. Her eyes narrowed and she seemed about to start shouting. Before she could, Ginny held up a hand. “Don’t you want to know my reasons for making this decision?”

Molly opened her mouth and then closed it. She huffed loudly then stormed over to Ginny’s favorite arm chair. She settled herself in it like a queen and then glared at Ginny. “You can try to explain yourself,” she said churlishly.

Ginny frowned. She wanted to make her mother understand, but knew it wasn’t going to happen. She loved her family and that was what was making this so hard. If she didn’t love them, she would tell them all to bugger off and that would be the end of it. She glanced nervously down at her fingers and the glint of gold helped steady her.

“He makes me happy.” Ginny smiled, her thoughts filled with him. “He makes me feel loved. Mum, I have never felt as safe and content as I do with him. I love him.”

“You love him.” Molly snorted. “You love him and that makes it all better.” She glared at Ginny and tapped the arms of the chair in vexation. “And I guess you just expect us to welcome him with open arms. How could you? What with him being what he is.” She made a disgusted noise.

“And what is that?” Ginny asked softly.

“You know bloody well what he is. A Malfoy.” Molly sneered. “A blackened little nub on a twisted family tree. And you want to join with it. You would have our name, our family, linked to his.”

Ginny felt a tear slip down her cheek and quickly turned away. “That’s not fair. He’s not evil, Mum. He made some mistakes. I’ll grant you that he has had some lapses in judgment, but who hasn’t? Besides, that was ages ago. Draco’s more than proved himself since.”

“A Malfoy is a Malfoy is a Malfoy. Nothing can change that. I don’t care if he’s done a thousand good deeds. Blood will tell. Mark my words, Ginevra, only sorrow will come of this.”

“I’ve never heard anything so foolish in my life!” Ginny snapped as her feelings of hurt and disappointment morphed into anger. “Nobody’s fate is set in stone. You should give him a chance. You shouldn’t judge him so harshly. Every family has a few bad seeds in it. Look at Percy.”

Molly sucked in a breath. “How dare you compare that filth to my son! Percy is misguided. He let those in power sway him but he has always had a good heart.” She stood, and began to pace. “I don’t understand you. I know you were raised in a good family. I did my best to teach you a sense of right and wrong. I thought I had succeeded. And then you go and do this.” She threw her hands up in frustration. She gave Ginny a despairing look. “I don’t understand you, daughter.”

“And I don’t understand you. You and Dad always taught me to look at the world through fresh eyes. You said to never be limited by what others thought. You told me to judge people based on facts, to look at their actions and nothing else. How could you have taught me that when you don’t believe it yourself?”

Molly puffed herself up and all but roared, “Don’t twist my words! Don’t turn my hopes and dreams on me. I wanted my children to grow up and make a difference in the world. I wanted you to see past the cruel things others would say about you. I told you to trust in your instincts because I thought you would have the sense that God gave a fly.” She shook her head and sighed. “I never dreamed my daughter, my precious baby girl, would end up being a blood traitor.”

Ginny felt as if she had been smacked. “Blood traitor? You think I am a blood traitor?” She licked her licks and wrapped her arms around herself. “Oh, Mum, how could you?”

For the first time since she arrived, Molly looked taken aback. “Now, dear, don’t think I don’t understand. You’re young and unfettered. You have never had a chance to experience the world. I know what that is like. You just want a little taste of sin. I can sympathize. I had the same sort of longing when I was your age. But good girls don’t do things like that. You might be interested in that sort of boy, but you don’t date him.” She gave Ginny a little pat on the shoulder, then said, “That Malfoy boy, he doesn’t seem as rotten as the rest of his family, but you can’t honestly expect to marry him.”

Ginny tugged away and gave a bitter little laugh. “Oh, but, Mother, don’t you understand? I already have.”