Ginny was lost in her business ledger, checking the business finances and drafting up pay checks. She sighed and rubbed her bleary eyes. She was sick and tired of doing this, and her Scottish Fold kitten Kali seemed to sense this as she mewed pathetically, begging for Ginny's attention.

Ginny smiled fondly at the kitten as picked Kali up and petted her. Ginny hadn’t planned on having a kitten, but when she’d found Kali, well… the kitten was just too cute with her short stumpy legs! Besides it was nice to have a tiny bit of happiness in her wreck of a life.

The door to her office opened, and Padma walked in, still wearing her performance clothes, her cheeks flushed, and a faint sheen of sweat on her body. Ginny felt a slight pang of envy and tried her best to shake it off.

“They were all asking for the fire dancer tonight,” Padma said softly.

Ginny shrugged. “I can’t. It’s just… I’m just… I can’t feel the music and rhythm anymore,” Ginny whispered.

“Is it because of the accident? Because that was the only time in how many years of fire dancing?” Padma said in a rush, her tone pleading.

Ginny sighed, her hands still caressing Kali. “It was, in the beginning. Then when I tried to get back into it… I just couldn’t. I can’t find it anymore.”

Ginny gave a small shrug as if to say, 'oh well.'

Padma looked heartbroken.

“Is this about Harry? He’s an ass, Gin. He’s a piece of shit, even if he is the damn savior of the entire world. The pompous ass,” the other woman growled.

Ginny gave a weak smile. “Maybe. We both know when we dance, the mind frame is so important. Since him, I haven’t been happy. How can I? He left me, Padma. He left me because I had the accident and miscarried. How am I ever supposed to be in that place where the music owns me and guides me again? Where I feel connected to the Gods?”

Padma was by Ginny's side in a flash, her arms enveloping Ginny.

If someone had told Ginny seven years ago that she would be best friends with Padma, she’d have thought them crazy. But when they both discovered their love of belly dancing, it had been a fast friendship. They both loved the magick that was involved in belly dancing. It was used by witches centuries ago for fertility rituals. The magick that crackled in the air as they danced for the Goddesses was enough to leave them breathless.

Sadly, it had been an almost forgotten part of Wizarding history. Once people could wield wands, there was no point. That marked the era that people began drifting from the Gods, and it also seemed to mark the era where dark magic began.

Padma began praying in Hindu while rocking Ginny back and forth. The words were a comfort to Ginny, and she closed her eyes and hugged her best friend back.

Padma pulled away slightly, holding Ginny’s face in her hands, and promised, “The Gods are still there, Ginny. You know as well as I that they never abandon us. You just have to find your inner fire again, and they will help you if you only ask.”

With that Padma began chanting the Gayatri mantra, and Ginny found herself joining in with Padma as they chanted for peace and happiness.

“Aum Bhur Bhuva Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat.”

They repeated the mantra one hundred and eight times as was the custom. When they finished Padma was smiling.

“When I first met you, you could barely manage the first line. Now look at you. Doesn’t that feel good?”

Ginny gave a weak smile and nodded. She did indeed feel a sense of calm.

“If it hadn’t have been for you, I would never have been so knowledgeable about the Hindu Gods,” Ginny confessed.

“Given your beliefs and interest in belly dancing, it makes sense though. But, moving on, you will never guess what old friend of yours was in the audience tonight. He’s the one who started the chanting for our fire dancing goddess,” Padma smirked.

Ginny furrowed her brow and tried to think of whom Padma meant.

Padma gave an exasperated sigh. “Draco Malfoy! He’s back in England apparently. I’m sure he’ll be coming to call soon.”

Ginny’s eyes widened. It had been a very long time since she’d talked to or even thought about Draco Malfoy.

After the war, both of them had gone back to school to finish their education, and one night Draco had caught her in the astronomy tower dancing with fire. He didn’t say anything while she danced. He had simply watched and afterwards they’d spent hours talking about their desires.

After they’d graduated, he fled. She’d received an owl or two, but Ginny had never been good at keeping in touch with people she didn’t see face to face, with the exception of Luna and Padma.

“Why would you think he’d be coming to call?” Ginny asked cautiously.

Padma walked away from Ginny, starting the coffee machine with a wave of her wand and a smirk on her face.

Fuck.

“You didn’t,” Ginny gasped.

Padma’s widening smirk said it all. Ginny groaned and let her head fall onto the desk.

“You two got along so well back then! Look, he has no one right now. He’s really lonely and could use a friend. And so could you. So woman up. You’ll be fine.”

Ginny wanted to be mad at Padma, really, but her best friend always ended up doing just what Ginny needed. Draco and her had gotten along well back at school, and Padma was right, she needed more friends. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad seeing him.

As long as he didn’t expect her to be who she once was. That Ginny was dead and gone.

~~~

The next few days were the same as usual, and Ginny was beginning to think Draco just didn’t care to see her. It wasn’t a huge deal. Seventh year had been a lifetime ago, back when Ginny was certain she would marry the savior of the world and live happily ever after making magic through dance.

Life never turned out the way you expected. There were so many things to derail you and throw you off course, and it was sometimes impossible to get back on said course.

So when there was a knock on Ginny’s office door, she thought nothing of it. New girls were showing up all the time now to try and snag a job. Some of them were the same girls that had sneered and told her it would never work. Of course, once you’re on top of your own business, everyone wants to be you.

“Come in,” Ginny said, shoving her Scottish fold kitten off the parchment where she was attempting to keep track of their performances coming up.

The door creaked open and Ginny didn’t look up. She tested all the new girls this way. Ginny put them in an awkward situation to see exactly how they would react. If they couldn’t deal with this, they sure as hell wouldn’t make it dancing half naked on stage in front of strangers.

She could hear the new comer dragging a chair towards her, and she saw black slacks on long legs out of the corner of her eye. She was slightly impressed with the ease with which this person was moving around the office.

Ginny kept writing, leafing through loose pieces of parchment on her desk to make sure she had everything accurate. Padma was booked for a fertility ritual that evening for a high society couple. Now that belly dancing had been proven to be a great magic ritual, all the high class families looking to have children were clamoring to have the ritual done for them.

Ginny sighed and scribbled down the last name, Zabini, before tossing the loose scrap of parchment. She really needed to do better at being organized.

“Well, Ginevra, are you just going to ignore me?” came the familiar drawl.

Ginny couldn’t help the smile that graced her face. Draco Malfoy had always had that effect on her. Their light teasing was natural and easy. Even after all this time she felt like she had a best friend in her office, not an old friend she’d lost contact with.

“Until I deem you worth my time, yes. Which will be as soon as I find the parchment with Padma’s second booking of this month on it,” she trailed off, moving everything around on her desk.

Without thinking she handed Draco her kitten so she could see if the parchment was under Kali. Draco easily took the baby cat, cradling her and scratching her chin lightly.

Sure enough, Kali had been laying right on top of what she’d needed. Ginny read through it quickly, a frown forming on her face.

The person had requested not only Padma but Astoria Greengrass and Ginny as well, something Ginny was certain she couldn’t do. It was a private party, apparently a group of people truly interested in the magick created by the dance. But when she saw the amount of money being offered Ginny couldn’t help but almost choke.

Five thousand Galleons.

There was no way Ginny could turn it down. Business was a bit tight, as turn around was pretty high. It seemed to be a passing fancy for most of the girls. The only two she counted on were Padma and Astoria. Everyone else was expendable.

“It seems someone got your scrawny knickers in a twist,” Draco remarked casually and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Who said I was even wearing any knickers?” Ginny replied offhandedly, still staring at the paper in hand.

She had to do it. There was really no other choice. This would keep the business afloat for two years, minimum. The girls could have more intricate costumes, and the shows could involve even more theatrics.

Ginny looked over at Draco who was still scratching her cat’s chin, and she smirked.

“Well, apparently my favorite Death Eater has a soft spot for kittens. Was Voldemort a cat lover as well?”

Had it been anyone else calling Draco Malfoy a Death Eater, there would have been problems. But this was familiar to the two.

“No, he was more into snakes, had one for a pet, made her eat people on command, and cuddled her during the long nights. A real swell guy.”

Ginny gave a hollow laugh that sounded too high pitched even to her own ears. If Draco thought so as well, he said nothing.

“What are you doing back in London? I thought you wanted nothing more than to travel the world, experience the different cultures, and open your mind and pants to the women.”

Draco sniggered for a moment before responding, “I did. Seven years worth of traveling. I built a foreign affairs company from the ground up after immersing myself in every culture I could find. Now my business has picked up.”

Ginny surveyed him for a moment, remembering the ambitious young man she’d spent a year getting to know. Draco had changed and aged in seven years. His face was thinner, and his cheekbones much more prominent. His hair was worn falling over his eyes carelessly for once. He dressed with a gorgeous emerald cloak over a nice dress shirt, and his infamous Slytherin crest ring adorning his hand. His style sure hadn’t changed, but the faint age that graced his face spoke of a man, not a child.

“What type of foreign affairs?” Ginny forced out.

Draco drummed his fingers on his leg as he spoke. “I help those in different countries who are seeking asylum for whatever reason. They are taught the customs here, sometimes the language if need be. They are given training, helped to find a job, and we set them up with a furnished flat. Many of the families coming over are bringing children. If we can make sure the children will be provided for, we can pave their future and make sure it’s one where the children give back to society.”

Ginny arched her eyebrows, very much impressed. She knew in other countries gay witches and wizards were being persecuted, many fleeing to America and England to start a new life. England was ranked as the most accepting Wizarding country, something Ginny was very proud of. After all, her best friend was a lesbian, and she backed Padma completely. Hell, if she was interested in women, she’d have chosen Padma.

“That’s amazing, Draco. I can also see how profitable it is for our economy to make sure the witches and wizards get a good, steady job. But how much do they pay? Surely these families don’t have much?”

Draco lightly rubbed the head of the sleeping kitten, whose stubby legs were going straight up in the air as if she were playing dead. Ginny rolled her eyes. Kali was an attention whore, obviously.

“We ask for nothing. Of course, I’ve already had a family who ended up working as much needed translators donate a significant amount of money. But we ask for nothing. I’ve seen what’s being done to them, and this is the right thing to do,” he said with conviction.

Suddenly there was the eighteen year old Ginny had known. The boy who had made all the wrong choices and was determined to make up for it by saving the world out of guilt.

Ginny gave a small smile and nodded. “It is definitely the right thing to do, Draco. Changing all those lives sounds utterly amazing. I can’t think of anyone else with the connections to actually pull it off. So are you staying in England then? You're home for good?”

Draco met her gaze with an intensity Ginny hadn’t been expecting, and he gave a small shrug.

Ginny arched a brow, but Draco didn’t care to explain.

“Well, do you have any idea how long you're staying?”

Draco tilted his head, which meant he was doing mental math before saying, “A month.”

“So are you catching up with all your old friends then?”

Draco snorted, a bemused expression crossing his face. “Padma and you are the only friends I really had after… well after everything. So yes, I will be catching up with the both of you. I’m actually having lunch with Padma tomorrow.”

Ginny nodded and forced a smile. “That’ll be great for her. She works too hard sometimes. It worries me.”

“Speaking of which,” he drawled. “Would you be free day after tomorrow?”

“Friday? Um, yeah, sure,” Ginny said with a shrug. She wasn’t really keen on going out in public, but she knew between Padma and Draco there was no way she could side step it completely. One time out in public wouldn’t kill her, after all.

~~~

“Gin!” Padma shrieked as Ginny entered the office Friday afternoon.

Ginny looked up in confusion, wondering if something had happened to one of the dancers. That was the last thing she needed to be dealing with, as all her dancers were booked right now.

“Why are you dressed like that? You’re supposed to be going out to dinner,” Padma’s voice was strained.

Ginny arched a brow. “You would think just going would be enough. Now it matters how I look?” Ginny grumbled.

Padma closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm herself. Really, Padma didn’t need to exaggerate so.

“It’s fine. I brought you something to wear just in case, since you’re not the best at regular dress,” Padma explained as she showed Ginny the bag.


“I can’t, Padma. That would look awful on my body shape,” Ginny said softly.

Padma rolled her eyes. “No, it won’t. You have the same body as most women now, and it would look great on any woman on the street. Look, Draco has a business proposition you will want to hear. So dress how I say, let me do your hair and makeup, and then you can go have a nice time.”

Padma’s voice was stern and heated, as though she was ready for an argument. Ginny just nodded, not wanting to give Padma the satisfaction of launching into a rant at Ginny’s expense. That never ended well.

Besides, Ginny was truly interested in this business proposition. Since her accident, the company was no longer booming. It was still doing good, but they were no longer living in the lap of luxury like they’d once been.

Of course, if Ginny accepted the proposed show where she would perform, all that could change. But the mere thought had her chewing her bottom lip with anxiety.

The dress was a lovely cream color with chiffon sleeves, but Ginny was worried about the length. It was short.

Back in the day, Ginny and Padma had been the first to wear short dresses. They were busting their asses every day, so they deserved to be able to show off their hard work! But now? Ginny knew she wasn’t fat, but her thighs were no longer just muscle, and the thought made her want to cry like everything seemed to do lately.

“No,” Padma said sternly, her sixth sense kicking in, "Crying isn’t allowed. You. Are. Beautiful. Try the dress on, and if it’s too short, I have a backup dress.”

Of course, this meant Padma started pulling Ginny’s robes off her, not trusting Ginny to do it herself. Maybe she was right not to. Ginny had retreated since the miscarriage and become a recluse. If she hadn’t once been so close to Draco she might have hated the thought of having to go somewhere with him. As it was, she was only mildly anxious.

The dress wasn’t at all obscene, and Ginny was forced back into her chair while Padma did her makeup. For a moment Ginny could pretend they’d been transported back, over a year ago, to when Ginny took care of making the outfits, tailoring them to fit their bodies just so, and Padma would do their makeup, being sure to get it just right so that when the fire dancing began, the shadows had a perfect effect with the makeup. It was a hard job, and Ginny had never been able to do it right. They’d joked that it was why she kept Padma around.

Nostalgia is a pesky creature. She creeps up when you least expect, at the absolute worst moment, and then whispers in your ear like a lover, all seductive and wanton. At least that’s what she was doing to Ginny Weasley at the moment, and it was why Ginny blurted out the next bit without thinking.

“We’ve gotten an offer to do a show. You, Astoria, and I. And it’s for a lot of money, Padma.”

Ginny knew her voice was slightly frantic, but her eyes were closed and she couldn’t see Padma’s reaction.

“How do you feel about this?” Padma asked as she began the trickiest part; the eye makeup.

“I don’t know. I mean… it’s a lot of money, and we need it. Badly. I’m not sure I can refuse, but I’m not there yet.”

There was a pause. Ginny felt it in the way Padma’s hand stilled on her face, not moving at all for a moment, and then Padma resumed her work.

“I think you could at the very least try, Gin. We’ll get started with practicing, and you will tell them you demand half up front, like we used to do. We could bring a bouncer with to take the money and bring it back here. So no matter how the show goes, we have that. How much money are we talking?”

“Five thousand. Galleons. They want Astoria as well. Did I say that already?” she whispered.

“Bloody hell. And of course they want the trio. The three Pureblood Witches who can work the magick like no other. We will figure this all out, Gin. Tomorrow. Tonight you are going to spend time with Draco and have fun. Okay?”

Ginny whispered yes, and Padma declared her presentable. When Ginny looked into her small mirror she was floored. She was gorgeous, with just enough of a smokey eye to make her eyes pop. Where once there had been a tan face, she was now almost translucent, and it was oddly fitting.

“Close your eyes so I can do the hairspray trick,” Padma demanded and Ginny consented.

Hairspray was misting over her face to make the makeup stick. Sadly, the charms to make it stay often ended badly. They were complicated, as saying it even slightly wrong, drawing out even one letter, over or under enunciating, and a number of other things, could cause the makeup to be stuck permanently. They’d discovered early on that this worked easily and was washed off even easier. Thankfully it kept the makeup from smearing even when your face was sweating.

“Is it even time for him to come pick me up?” Ginny grumbled, trying to cover the fact that she’d been about to cry. It had been a long time since she’d even remotely thought she was near attractive.

Padma raised her wand, quickly making Ginny’s natural curls separate perfectly, and giving her hair a once over with hairspray as well.

“Actually, he’s already here. I told him to be here early in case you flaked out. Now here is a clutch to use instead of your wallet,” Padma said as she handed Ginny a simple black clutch. “Also, I know we have the phones for our Muggle customers to reach us, but take yours so if you need me you can call me. And please, please, please try and have fun. You deserve it!” Padma sounded sad, exasperated, and exhausted all in one.

Ginny gave a soft smile and nodded. “Promise, Padma. He’s an old friend. I’m sure it’ll be great.”

Ginny gave her best friend a smile, and although it was a bit forced, it was an effort, and that seemed to be all Padma wanted as she gave Ginny a tight hug before shooing her out into the lobby, and Ginny began her night.

XXX

The place Draco was taking her to was half bar, half restaurant. He had reserved a table for them towards the back, and Ginny was grateful for that. Draco held out the chair for her like a gentleman, commenting on how stunning she looked, and offered to order her his favorite liqueur to start them out.

Ginny sipped the vanilla and cinnamon whiskey, holding it in her mouth before swallowing. It was absolutely delicious, and Ginny found herself in love with it.

“I discovered that in America. This amazing Squib who was using her family's resources to help the refugees bought me a bottle, and we ended up drinking it and sharing life stories. She taught me quite a bit about the human condition,” Draco remarked as he browsed his menu.

The restaurant wasn’t too high end, and it was over on the Muggle side of London, a small little place with a homey atmosphere. Ginny was taken by it.

“So you met a lot of people in your travels, then?” she asked offhandedly.

Draco nodded, his leg shaking under the table. “For me to do what I do, I had to get out of my comfort zone. It was hard for me, at first. I didn’t want to do it. I kept saying I couldn’t. But the more I did, the more I realized that these people needed help. So now I’m constantly leaving my comfort zone, if only to learn about who I am.”

Draco caught her gaze, and Ginny was floored by him. The boy who’d been her best friend was replaced by a man, but she could see it, how he’d progressed, and how he kept the old him with him at all times. It was beautiful, she thought, to have grown so much, and to always remember why you wanted to grow, but to not be tied down by it.

“Padma told me what happened to you. She made me swear not to tell, but.. I always did like you better than her,” Draco gave her a roguish wink and she chuckled in response. “But, Ginevra… it’s been about a year. What’s holding you back? Really? Not just the surface reason, the real reason?”

Ginny froze, not sure what to think or feel for a moment. But this was Draco, the guy she taught to kiss because he had a crush on some girl and was scared he would be horrid. This was the boy that understood her worst nightmares when no one else did, and didn’t belittle her for them. He had never judged her before, and she doubted he would now. So it all came tumbling out.

“You know what the magick and dance mean, but… how can I perform a ritual meant for fertility and empowerment of women, when it was that ritual that made me lose my baby? I am over Harry leaving. He was a bloody asshole, that’s fine. But… I do these rituals, this magick… I mean I worshiped these goddesses daily, believing that they would make every woman’s dream come true… and they betrayed me,” she hissed, tears spilling over her eyes.

“How am I supposed to come back from that? How can I ever feel the magick again when I know it’s all a lie? Because I don’t,” she choked up, “I don’t think I can, Draco.”

Draco wordlessly passed her a handkerchief, and then held her hand across the table, making a shooing motion to a waiter that was trying to approach.

“Oh, Ginevra,” he said sadly, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of her hand.

It was so familiar, and for a moment Ginny could almost feel him holding her like he used to when neither of them could sleep, plagued by the ghost of their past: Voldemort.

“I understand your resentment. Giving them what you did daily, of course you would feel betrayed. But you know, deep down, that the Gods were not betraying you. They cannot prevent every accident. They can only provide a light at the tunnel to help you deal with what man creates. After all,” he gave a hollow chuckle, “that’s what you taught me, and it’s what I carried with me all over the world.”

“But I want to be angry,” she whispered as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“I know… and you are. But you’ve been angry for a year. An entire year of your life, wasted on anger, and you can never get it back. Is that really what you want to do for another year?”

Draco’s voice was soft, yet it held weight. It was like his voice was trying to bridge a distance and reach her very soul.

Suddenly Ginny couldn’t breathe. She just stared down at the table, her mind completely blank for a moment. Then she had only one thought. Three hundred and sixty-five days I’ve spent angry.

She wasn’t sure if she voiced it out loud or not, but Draco was holding both her hands in his as panic started to well in her. A year of her life was gone, wasted on anger, and she’d never get it back. A year that could have been spent doing what she loved, actually going out with her best friend, and just doing something.

Yet here she was, afraid to even go out in public because of the reporters who still questioned why her and Harry weren’t together. The old Ginny would never have let them scare her off. She’d have laughed in their faces as she walked with her head held high and her best friend on her arm.

The old Ginny. She’d never be that person again, and after spending so much time being angry and depressed, she was left with only one, terrifying thought that made her gut wrench.

“What if I’ve been angry for so long, I won’t be able to ever be happy again?” she whispered.

Draco’s eyes never left hers as he answered, “You can, and I swear I’ll help you find out how to be happy again. I won’t leave until you are.”

To say Ginny wasn’t okay with this idea would have been the biggest understatement of the century. She was so far removed from okay that she felt like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. This somehow signaled to both Draco and Padma that their plan was a brilliant one.

Obviously Ginny disagreed.

It had been Draco’s idea that they have a funeral for the unborn baby boy she had lost. It was an idea that scared Ginny. She’d never even gotten to name the child. Harry had fought her all the way as far as the names went. She also wasn’t sure she deserved the closure they were saying this would give her. She was the reason her child was gone. Her carelessness. Couldn’t they see that?

These two buffoons must be blind, Ginny thought, anger tinging the sentiment.

They were at the Burrow, far enough away that her parents need not know she was there. It was right by the stream that cut through the property’s edge, so it was incredibly peaceful, even with the rain that was starting to come down in a light mist.

“What’s even better,” Padma said when pitching the idea, “is that when you want to visit the grave, you can do it discreetly. Without worrying about Harry or those bloody reporters. This is your own private grave that no one, not even your parents, needs to know about.”

Sure, that sounded great in theory, but hearing the word grave thrown around so casually in reference to the child she’d carried for six months was a bit harsh. She kept having to remind herself that Padma was her best friend, and the woman should be lucky for that. If this had been anyone else, Ginny knew she would have hexed them into Oblivion and back.

And really, no one could have said that was wrong.

So here she was, out in the bloody rain with her two closest friends from Hogwarts- or period, really- trying to get some closure.

Which she really didn’t need, thank you very much.

“Hey,” Padma’s voice cut through her thoughts, “Gin, it’s going to be okay.”

Padma looked utterly wrecked. Ginny had never thought about what her best friend had gone through when Ginny lost the baby. One moment the two of them were celebrating, shopping together, both of them using the phrase ‘Auntie Paddy!’ then suddenly… nothing. The child Padma had been excited to meet was gone, her best friend broken, and the man who knocked her up not even man enough to try and hold Ginny through the nights.

Sometimes Ginny forgot that it had been Padma who’d held her every night when she woke up screaming. Padma was the one who opened her house to Ginny, always smiling and trying to stay sunny. It was Padma that had been the one who ran their business when Ginny couldn’t even get out of bed for the first month. Padma had done everything that Harry was supposed to have done. She’d stayed when everyone else couldn’t understand, and she’d yet to kick Ginny out of her house.

Actually, Padma was pretty adamant that Ginny stay.

Actually, Padma was fifty shades of amazing.

But not today. Today Padma was just as wrecked as Ginny, and this caused Ginny’s anger to hesitate long enough for her to have one single, selfless thought. Even if this wouldn’t bring Ginny closure, it could be all of the things Padma had mentioned… for Padma. Maybe Padma really needed to be able to grieve alone, without being crowded over.

Padma had lost her nephew, after all.

So Ginny forced a weak smile and gave the closest thing to a nod that she could manage, which was a jerk of the head. But this seemed to be enough for Padma. Thank Goddess.

Draco himself couldn’t even manage a smirk. His presence was a huge comfort to Ginny, and over the past two weeks she’d grown accustomed to seeing him at least once a day. Draco walked, for once not sauntered, over to Ginny, reaching easily for her hand and guiding her slowly to the spot they’d picked out. Padma walked alongside Ginny as well, one arm around Ginny’s shoulders.

When they passed through a small growth of bushes to come to the beautiful plaque nailed to the tree, a picture of Gaia pregnant with the Earth on it, Ginny felt like she couldn’t breathe. She wanted to claw her heart out of her chest and fling it to the ground. Let the gods take it. Ginny didn’t want it anymore. She didn’t need it. It was as dead as her baby.

She read the plaque. Aiden Frederick Weasley. Aiden. The name she’d wanted to use. The name Harry had been so against. She’d told Padma one night that if it was all up to her, her son would be named Aiden Frederick Weasley. After Draco and Fred.

“Why after Draco?” Padma had quipped, eyebrows raised in confusion.

“Well, because. He was the boy faced with all these choices, but in the end he chose family. Maybe it was screwed up, but he was a child of privilege, and he still chose family. Besides, I guess he saved me in a way after the war,” Ginny had said with a shrug.

“To family,” Padma had said, raising her apple cider.

“To family!” Ginny had echoed with a smile.

Ginny had always thought it cliche when she read that someone heard a crying or a screaming, and then they’d realize it was themselves.

But that’s exactly what was happening. It all sounded distant at first. Then she knew it was herself screaming like that, her anger and rage being literally ripped away by the gods and thrown out into the open. It had to be. She certainly wasn’t making these noises of her own free will.

She was barely aware of Draco supporting her weight, his arms wrapped around her as he guided her down to the ground, and still Ginny’s eyes remained fixed on the plaque in front of her.

She remembered lunch with her family as she’d told them all she was expecting. There’d been so much happiness in the room she’d almost managed to overlook the fact that Harry was absent.

Then she remembered shopping for clothes with Padma. The exciting new maternity wear had her reeling as they giggled about everything. There had been such a surplus of happiness.

Then when Harry proposed at their favorite restaurant. It had been easy to pass off the deep set furrows for anxiety that she might say no. It was also easy to pass off the jitters as she said yes to the fact that this was a huge deal and she was excited.

She remembered the first noticeable belly bump. She’d spent hours staring in the mirror, caressing her stomach, a small smile on her face. She’d spent even more time talking to her baby, crooning softly. Sometimes reading aloud, other times singing. She just wanted to know that when her child was born, he or she would know Ginny’s voice.

She remembered belly dancing becoming awkward. She couldn’t move her stomach easily. But she was in such high demand. A pregnant woman doing the dance for fertility with fire? And she was so happy, giving thanks with her body this way. Her baby hadn’t been expected, but he was wanted. And a boy. She just knew it, even if the healers wanted to wait before determining.

She remembered all the happiness, stretching out before her, Harry barely there. She remembered it all so vividly, her child had been such a huge part of her life from day one.

And then gone. The fire and the pain and then nothing. When she woke up, they had told her she was okay. She’d smiled, reached down to rub her belly, and it was flatter. Too flat. And then she’d screamed. They had to stun her, as Ginny had gone wild on them.

And again Harry had been absent. It was a miracle he was even there for the process of making the baby.

“I-” Ginny tried to choke out, “I want my son back.”

“Oh, Ginevra,” Draco whispered softly, his hand in her hair, cradling her against his chest.

“Why did they have to take him away? They took everything. I thought I might get this one thing! Harry… Harry was gone long before then. But there was my son, and he was going to be amazing. He was going to be beautiful. And gods, I was so stupid to think fire dancing was smart. But I was so healthy, and so was Aiden! I, I, I didn’t,” Ginny cried, unable to go on.

“It’s no one’s fault, Ginny,” Padma said in a wavering voice. “It-it happened. And I froze, I couldn’t even react at first. And then… I did. And the healers were there almost right away. But I blamed myself. If I’d been faster. I should have. I should have reacted right away. Not been frozen in place.”

And Padma was crying with Ginny, as much guilt in her voice as Ginny felt.

“I don’t blame you, Padma. Gods, how could I? It wasn’t your fault!”

“Just as it wasn’t yours,” Draco said softly.

Ginny didn’t want to feel anymore. Her chest felt like it was being crushed. She couldn’t breathe and there was so much pain, but it wasn’t even physical. How was she supposed to deal with a pain she couldn’t see? It wasn’t like a cramp. This was so deep inside her that it reverberated through every bone in her body, through every organ and muscle. There didn’t exist a part of her that the pain didn’t also exist. Deeper even than the pain was the sadness that laced it. The utter loss of something that she’d never have again.

“I’d rather be dead and have him here,” Ginny bit out through the tears.

“I know, Gin, I know. But we can’t make that happen. I wish I could. I’d trade spots for him. For you,” Padma cried.

“His own father wouldn’t even do that,” Ginny found herself saying.

“Well, we would,” Draco whispered simply.

And with that it was quiet besides the sound of two women sobbing. Had Ginny not turned her head, she wouldn’t have even known that Draco Malfoy was also crying.

The sky was dark and the rain had already drenched them by the time Ginny was done letting it all out. She felt empty now. She no longer felt numb like before. She felt the sadness, but the anger wasn’t there anymore. She felt different.

And Ginny wasn’t sure what different meant anymore.

Ginny had hoped that there would be a sudden difference; that life would suddenly be easier. In a way, it was easier. But every day was hard work. Every day that Ginny woke up, she battled with the demons inside herself with Padma and Draco at her side. Slowly, it did get better. Every now and then a genuine smile would flicker across her face, but Ginny would feel guilty a moment later, and the smile would fade.

Padma assured her this was normal. Draco assured her that he was proud of her. Ginny assured herself that she could indeed dance again.

Ginny wasn’t wrong.

While she wasn’t as coordinated as she had once been, the muscle memory was still there. Her body still knew which way to move and when. Her moves just weren’t as graceful as they had once been.

So Draco helped out with the ledger and her business--on top of his own business--while Ginny trained all day long, her muscles screaming in protest at the strenuous exercise they hadn’t been through in a very long time.

Padma was helping by watching what Ginny was eating. Ginny knew her caloric intake was at it’s bare minimum, but she had to be ready for this damn performance that was coming up.

Draco was watching her that evening, alongside Padma, critiquing her as they saw fit. Ginny couldn’t describe how she felt watching the two of them sitting together, smiling and laughing. It wasn’t anger exactly, but she definitely recognized the constricting in her chest.

Damn emotions.

“Ginevra,” Draco drawled, just loud enough for Ginny to hear from the empty stage she was on.

Immediately she stopped moving, hands going to her hips. “Yeah?”

Draco seemed to to weigh her in his mind for a moment before saying, “Let’s bring in the sticks that will be lit, and practice with them unlit. It’s obvious you more than have the basics back to perfection. Now we have to work on this.”

Ginny clenched her jaw but simply nodded. This was what they’d been working up to for weeks. This was what she was being offered the big galleons to do.

She kept telling herself that the sticks would be unlit until she got to where she was good enough, but she still felt uneasy. She just wasn’t sure if the unease was due to dancing with fire again, or the voice in her head saying she wouldn’t be good enough. It had been too long to ever be good enough again.

So began the fire dancing practice. Padma was building a routine on the side for them to do, since Ginny was so absorbed with working on getting to where she needed to be.

“I wonder who the hell these people are,” Ginny said one night, while Draco poured over papers.

For a second the muscles strained in his face. “Don’t worry about that. Just worry about doing what you need to do. You’ve come a long way.”

As Ginny spun the unlit sticks she said, “It’s not far enough yet. I’m still not happy…”

Draco sighed and set down the papers, looking up at her as she moved her body, her barely there abdominal muscles undulating provocatively. She didn’t even realize that she was starting to lose herself in the motions, so familiar and intimate.

Her eyes drifted shut slowly, letting her body move of it’s own accord. This had been home to her. This was the easiest thing in the world for Ginny to do. She understood this better than she understood anything else.

“Well, it’s about time,” Padma said softly, somewhere to the front and left.

Ginny opened her eyes, stopping her movements. She arched and eyebrow at her best friend who simply smiled.

“You may not be happy… but for the moment you aren’t heart broken. You’re living, and that’s something to be proud of,” Draco said softly.

Ginny allowed a small smile to briefly show.

“Indeed. Now, I do believe you’re ready to light the fire and dance with the music. What do you think?”

While Padma was asking a question, it was clear from her tone that she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So fifteen minutes later Ginny was letting the music envelope her.

She closed her eyes, drifting to the in between she had danced from for so long. This was the place where she could feel the touch of the Goddess, something she had missed for so long.

Without thinking Ginny started moving, her stomach undulating slowly, almost tempting the audience members. Then she added in the hip drops, teasing the audience into wanting her to move her arms.

Slowly, she began to spin, her eyes opening as she focused on the flames dancing above her, around her, surrounding her with the love of the goddess.

Home.

She was completely unaware of the two people in the audience, of the way Draco couldn’t tear his eyes from her form. She simply was; she existed only for the purpose of the Goddess. How could she have forgotten this?

The minutes dragged on and then blurred by, depending on Ginny’s movements. The thirty minute ritual whose choreography Ginny had been studying was over before she realized it, and Ginny was smiling by the end.

Padma was smiling widely, her perfect teeth practically gleaming.

“I knew you could do it,” Padma said softly.

But it was Draco that Ginny looked to for approval at that moment.

Draco smiled softly as he said, “I think we should celebrate.”

Padma glanced between the two of them before smirking. “Yeah, I have a date. So you two enjoy yourselves, and hopefully I get lucky and end up tongue deep by the end of the night.”

Ginny scrunched her nose. She had always disliked that phrase of Padma’s, but she let it drop. Her best friend was allowed to get laid when she felt like it.

Ginny jumped down off the stage, accepting the high five from her best friend as she sauntered towards Draco. The pride was welling in her chest, and for a moment she was happy. She was where she belonged, in the environment she loved.

But something was wrong with Draco. The dark circles under his eyes looked almost like bruises, and his cheeks were more hallowed than usual. The man looked like he hadn’t been eating or sleeping.

Ginny turned towards Padma, ready to use the other woman to back her up on berating Draco, but Padma was gone. Typical.

“You want to get dressed, and we can go to my Manor?” Draco asked abruptly, shuffling his papers.

“Yeah, of course. Just a moment,” Ginny responded easily, walking towards her office to change.

As she pulled on her clothes she tried to wrack her brain. Had she missed something? Obviously her old friend was feeling pressured. Was it all the work of her business along with his?

As Ginny pulled her hair back she realized that she hadn’t seen Draco smile in a while. Had she ignored warning signs that had been there all along?

The thought made her stomach clench. She’d been so damn wrapped up in herself that she hadn’t noticed something was wrong with Draco. That didn’t excuse Padma, though, who was supposed to be helping Draco.

Ginny was mentally berating Padma, planning out the spiel she’d give her best friend for being as flaky as she had been, when a thought struck her like a blow to the stomach.

Maybe Padma already knew. She’d been spending so much time with Draco…

As Ginny stared into the mirror she knew she was being crazy. Padma had never shown an interest in a man before. Not even at Hogwarts. She’d always been staring at the women passing by on the streets, begging Ginny to go with her to lesbian bars on the Muggle side of town because the girls wore next to nothing there.

There was no way in hell Padma was interested in Draco.

That meant either Padma didn’t know either, or she was just avoiding telling Ginny what was going on with their mutual friend.

Ginny firmly ignored the twinge of jealousy, grabbing her bag of belly dancing clothes and making her way out of the office. She was fully prepared to chide Draco Malfoy and find out just what the hell was wrong.

XXX

Ginny was two shots of tequila in, licking the salt off the glass while Draco drained another scotch. While Ginny wished she could say she was drunk, she wasn’t. Nor did she plan on getting there tonight. She was on a mission, which required Draco to be just the right side of drunk.

But not too drunk.

Then she would carefully poke and prod with just the right words to find out what the hell was going on with him.

Ginny sank back into the plush chair as Draco swilled the contents of his glass, staring into like it might hold answers to a deep, life altering question.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Draco said abruptly, his eyes not leaving his glass.

“Oh? What would that be?” Ginny asked innocently.

And she was innocent… for the moment. She had no idea what he was referring to. It could be anything.

“You have this habit of trying to get someone at a weak point, and then using that weak point to find out what you want to know. You watch closely, waiting for just the right moment. It’s a very Slytherin habit.”

Draco met her eyes, an amused smirk playing across his lips.

Well, fuck.

Ginny pursed her lips and decided not to deny it. She wasn’t going to lie to her friend’s face. That was a big no no. Especially after everything Draco had done for her. She wouldn’t have made it through the past month without him constantly pushing her.

Okay, maybe she was buzzed. As hell.

“I don’t suppose you’ll make this any easier and just tell me what the hell is going on with you?”

Draco had the ghost of a smirk on his face as he responded, “What? No foreplay?”

Ginny snorted, her lips twitching despite her best efforts to scowl.

“Nope, no foreplay. I like to get right down to it.”

When their eyes met, the pair burst into drunken laughter, Ginny sliding out of her chair.

When the laughter died away, Draco was wearing a grimace.

“Remember when I told you about my business?”

Ginny nodded. “Yeah, you help bring victims of other countries over and assimilate them. Why?” she asked as she snapped her fingers, holding her glass out to the house elf that appeared. Handy creatures. Said elf made itself busy getting her another shot.

“There was this family,” Draco began heavily, “They had twin daughters, only five years old. They’re in North Korea, where their Muggle Minister is trying to have them all murdered. It’s a chore, trying to evacuate as many as we can across all of Europe.”

Draco drained the rest of his scotch, and Ginny was sure she saw a glimmer of tears in his eyes. It twisted her insides to think of what might come next. She knew, but she didn’t want to know.

“They were murdered in their beds. The entire neighborhood they live in was wiped out just five hours before we were going to get them out.”

Silence. And then-

“I fucked up, Gin.”

Ginny was up and stumbling towards him as he dropped his head, his shoulders heaving.

“Draco,” she began softly, wrapping her arms around him. “There was no way for you to know. Look at how many others you’ve saved!”

Draco shook his head, not bothering to wipe the tears that were pouring down his face.

“How does that matter if a failure to act fast enough results in a death? There will inevitably be more deaths. An entire neighborhood, Gin.”

Draco Malfoy, the strong man that had been holding her together, was broken himself.

“It matters because without you, even more would be dead. You make a difference. I know it can’t be easy after this, but what you do? It matters, Draco. And I’m sorry.”

Draco leaned into her side, and she rubbed comforting circles into his back as she apologized over and over, a mantra, a prayer, a plea.

She should have seen this. Should have noticed that he was breaking apart into little pieces. But she’d been so worried about her life she hadn’t given a thought to anyone else’s. How selfish could she be?

“It’s okay to hurt,” she said softly, not sure who she was talking to at the moment.

“Didn’t I tell you that?” he asked, his voice wavering slightly.

Ginny gave a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s true, Draco. It is okay to hurt. We all fall apart at some point. We just need others to… to put us back together, with a lot of glue and some Spellotape.”

Draco snorted at her statement.

“I’m being serious,” she chided.

Draco pulled away as he assured Ginny that he under stood this. Looking at him like this, Ginny felt emotions raging in her chest, and she didn’t even realize for a moment that her hand was tangling itself in the blond hair that fell into his eyes all the time.

“Ginny,” he said as though warning her against whatever she was about to do. But how could he warn her against something she had no control over? Because she surely couldn’t stop herself from wanting to see just how soft his lips were. She couldn’t help that she wanted to pour everything he meant to her into a kiss.

Because the truth was, Draco Malfoy had wormed himself into her life, making himself such a permanent fixture that Ginny couldn’t see a life for herself that didn’t include him.

Gods, his lips were soft. And bloody hell, could he kiss. His mouth moving against hers, just barely dominating hers. Part of her brain wondered why they hadn’t tried this sooner.

His hand came up to caress her face, as Draco’s other hand went to Ginny’s hip, resting lightly, as though waiting for permission.

“Are you trying to be a gentlemen?” Ginny asked against his lips as she shoved herself into his lap, too drunk to worry about being seductive.

Oh well, so much for staying sober.

As he licked his way into her mouth slowly, he managed to get out, “I am always a gentlemen.”

Ginny tangled a hand in his hair as she giggled, pulling back slightly to say, “Oh really? And here all of Hogwarts was convinced you were some sex god. I guess those were just rumors and you aren’t… what did they say?… oh yeah, carrying a dragon around in your trousers.”

Draco arched a brow at her as she dissolved into giggles.

“Who in the bloody hell even said that? That has to be the worst metaphor I have ever heard. It should be banned from existence!” he said indignantly.

Ginny hiccuped slightly, trying to quiet the laughter she could feel try to bubble up again.

“It was in one of our girls nights. After the war, we’d all get together in the kitchens, all the houses. Well, Parkinson came, and we were playing truth or dare, and Parvati… she asked.” Ginny shrugged.

Draco looked indignant. “And you never thought to tell me?”

Ginny shrugged again. Truth be told, she’d never really wanted to bring it up. Thinking of Parkinson with Draco wasn’t among her favorite past times. And she’d been with Harry, so if she occasionally let her mind wander to the fact that several other girls had backed Parkinson up… it didn’t mean anything. She was just curious.

“Wait, you actually wondered about that, all those years ago?” Draco asked, and Ginny bit her lip.

Shit. She really did have an awful habit of not being able to censor herself at all when she was drinking.

“Well… sometimes. Not that Harry wasn’t okay, but… it always seemed like something was lacking between us.” Ginny chewed her bottom lip.

“Like what? Passion?” Draco asked, genuinely curious. They might as well have been talking about the weather, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was sitting in his lap.

Ginny felt her face go hot. “Well, yes, passion. But there was more than just that absent. We… we were never in love.”

Draco studied her face a moment, his expression guarded and careful.

“We wanted to be. We thought we should be,” Ginny began as she disentangled herself, sinking back into the couch. “Everyone said we should be. It shouldn’t matter that he barely saw me for who I was. Or that he barely saw me in the literal sense. A war shouldn’t come between us. We kept being thrown at each other."

“And we tried, really we did. And at first I convinced myself I was in love with him. In our seventh year, when he wasn’t there. It was so easy to think I loved him then. But after we graduated, and I moved in with Harry, it got really hard.

“We could barely stand to be in the same room as each other sometimes. It was just too much. So Harry would end up just not coming home half the time, and I was so busy with my business that I didn’t even notice. I wasn’t there either.

“Really it was just chance that I even got pregnant. It was the first time in months that we’d had sex. But love? Passion? Harry and I never had that. I can’t even fully blame him because I didn’t try, and in the beginning he did. He was the one in love with me. I think… sometimes I think maybe he still is. But it killed him, living with someone who didn’t want to be there and didn’t want to even try. I only got to be so bloody good at my job because I was ignoring my boyfriend. I was staying out all night because I couldn’t imagine coming home to him, and I was too scared to even tell him. So when I got pregnant… he didn’t even think it was his at first. And I couldn’t blame him.

“Harry tried, Draco. He tried so hard. I just blocked him at every turn, but I was too selfish to actually let him go. I wasn’t prepared to be alone.”

Ginny took a deep breath, watching Draco as closely as he was watching her. She hadn’t been so honest in a long time.

“I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be selfless,” Draco said finally.

Ginny snorted. “Not at all. Hadn’t you noticed how the trio was alway selfish? It was always all about them. Gryffindors are naturally self-centered,” Ginny proclaimed.

Draco looked down for a moment, his body language saying he was unsure of himself.

“I left because it hurt to watch you be with him. You kept talking about a future wedding and doing all this stuff with him. I couldn’t stand it. I was the one always there for you, and yet you only saw him.”

Draco sounded frustrated, as though he was replaying it in his head. It broke Ginny’s heart to think she had been so stupid.

“I saw you, too. I was just… scared, I guess. I don’t know. You were so intense sometimes. You’d watch me and get this look on your face like you wanted to seep into my bones. No one had ever looked at me like that before. Harry was the safe choice. He would never break my heart because he would stay, like a puppy on a leash.”

Draco shook his head.

“I know it was wrong of me to do that to Harry, but at the same time, he knew. He knew all along. He even asked me if I would rather be with you, and I couldn’t answer him. But I wasn’t sure myself at the time. So he stayed, and so did I. And then you left, and it seemed easier to just let us drift apart.”

Draco surveyed her for a long, agonizing moment.

“Thank you,” he said finally.

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “For what?” she asked, partly scared of his answer.

Draco sighed, drained his scotch, and stood up. “For finally being honest with me.”

Xxx

“You said that?” Padma gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

Ginny nodded, tears spilling from her eyes.

“I was drunk! And he was there, and I just couldn’t shut up! I couldn’t just let it happen! Now he hates me!”

Padma took a deep breath before speaking. “No, he doesn’t. I’m sure of it. I will fix this. But I need you to know for sure how you feel about him. Because this man is so in love with you, and if you do to him what you did to Harry,” Padma warned.

Ginny gave a cold laugh. “Harry allowed me to run over him. Draco… he stands up for himself. He challenges me and pushes me. Every time I think about him leaving, it hurts. I don’t want him to leave again.”

Padma sighed. “Just… give him some time. We have the performance in a week. Let’s focus on that. After that, we will worry about your love life,” Padma assured her.

Ginny nodded, but it didn’t do anything to ease the pain in her heart. She really needed to learn when to shut the fuck up.”

So the next week had Padma, Ginny, and Astoria working together for eight hours a day, perfecting the dance, making sure they had the feedback of all the belly dancers so they could be perfect.

When working like this, it was easy for Ginny to forget about what had happened. It seemed almost like a lifetime ago, when viewed through the haze of aching muscles, sweat, and singed arm hair.

When she did have a moment to herself, Padma seemed to suddenly swoop in and get her excited about the performance.

It was crazy how familiar and foreign everything around her seemed. How many times had she done this in the past? And yet it felt oddly… different in a way she wasn’t sure she could ever describe.

She shrugged it off, working all day as hard as possible and then collapsing at night, unable to keep her eyes open long enough to dwell on anything.

When the night of their performance came, Ginny could barely contain her nerves. She kept feeling like she was going to pass out. There wasn’t enough air in the world at the moment.

“Calm down, Ginny. It’s fine. You’re going to be amazing,” Astoria assured her when they were fifteen minutes away from starting.

They were in the remote country side, and from what Ginny knew the performance was for a group of clients. Padma said something about this being a way for a businessman to entertain clients and get them to commit their money and support to his business.

Ginny didn’t really care about why they were dancing. They simply were. So Ginny had to get herself together. She pictured the money in her head and took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to. Some of the women who worked for her were depending on it. Like Hema, who was in London only as long as she had work. With this job, Ginny could afford to ensure Hema didn’t have to go back to her home village.

Ginny looked at Astoria who was struggling to support herself after her family decided that they couldn’t have a Pureblood daughter engaged to a Muggleborn.

All the women she employed needed a job. She had to do this. For them.

“I’m fine,” she told Padma. “Just… water, please?” Padma nodded, scurrying off to grab some water while Ginny rearranged the barely there garb.

She snatched the glass from Padma, downing it and taking deep breaths. She needed to go to her safe place, the place where the Goddess spoke to her. The deeper the breaths she took, the more easily she felt herself sliding into the head space she needed to be in.

“Remember,” Astoria reminded, “the sticks will be thrown to you when needed. Stay ready for them. We can do this.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. She knew this, but she could understand Astoria’s worry.

The music started and they scurried to their positions, ready to entertain. Ginny closed her eyes, and as the beat hit, she danced with abandon she hadn’t felt for awhile.

As she opened her eyes, she paid the audience very little attention, appearing aloof, distant, unable to be seduced, yet seductive. Fertile. Strong. She was the Goddess incarnate. All the things Draco had told her. She danced for him in that moment, thinking of all the times he had listened to her cry.

The war had been hell. She’d been the one to hold the children who had stayed back as they died. She had comforted them in their final moments. It had marked her deeply, seeing those kids who’d hidden in empty classrooms bleeding out in front of her. She wasn’t even sure what side was causing it.

The chaos of the fighting was ensuring that no one and everyone could have been blamed. She watched her classmates fall. People she’d lived on top of for years, expunged from existence suddenly.

At first she’d hated Draco. But then she learned what he’d gone through. She’d listened to what he was made to do, and when he told her how he’d snuck food and water to the basement with Voldemort right there she’d been amazed.

He was a boy who’d never had a choice. She was a girl who did, and had choose to fight and almost died as a result. They were two sides of the same coin.

That revelation had started everything.

So Ginny danced and revealed in the feel of sweat glide down her body as she undulated her body alongside Astoria and Padma.

As the fire was thrown at her, Ginny caught the sticks easily. For a moment she thought she saw a flash of blond hair, and maybe she did, but she couldn’t really see past the fire. It would be suicide to even try.

So Ginny focused her attention on the fire dance, twirling the sticks rapidly above her head, performing stunts she’d once been famous for, and even stunts that she’d never thought she would dare to try until Draco had pushed her. Padma and Astoria were on either end of the stage, doing an intricate belly dancing routine, almost framing Ginny.

It was perfect. The music was a mash up of several different types of music, in a show of cultural appreciation, or some such thing. The music had always been Padma’s thing.

But as Ginny moved across the stage, ending the entire routine in what seemed to be no time flat, she was grateful for how the music had kept her upbeat the entire time.

The smile she gave the two girls as the small audience applauded loudly was wide and genuine. She didn’t even notice the man in front of the stage until Padma nudged her and pointed.

Draco was there, flanked by what Ginny was certain was a business associate, and Draco was holding out flowers for her.

Ginny took them, too stunned to speak.

“Draco,” began the man standing next to him, “You’ve definitely… persuaded me. If every meeting is like this, you have the support of my company! We will give these immigrants jobs and help back your company financially.”

Ginny was pulled away by Astoria before she could hear Draco’s response.

“This was all for him?” she seethed once she was a good distance away.

Padma sighed and gave Astoria a look that clearly said this was all up to the younger woman.

“Well, it was my and Padma’s idea. He needed to convince these men, and they all wanted half naked girls, but in a way that wasn’t sleazy. We suggested it to Draco before he actually got to London, and the rest is history.” Astoria shrugged.

Ginny was thoroughly irate as she held up her hand. “Excuse me, are you saying you’ve been in contact with him prior to him even arriving? And you never thought to tell me?”

Ginny was glowering, ready to unleash her fury on Astoria because she was the closest person at the moment and Ginny felt lied to.

“Actually,” Padma said as she threw a t-shirt at Ginny, “I have been. Since the accident. I thought he could do you some good, and I was right. But then you got drunk and became too honest. We have to work on that. But still, it’s important that it was said.”

Padma said all this with the air of someone who couldn’t care less about the situation. She was already covered up, pulling her hair back to do gods knew what.

“Why couldn’t you have just told me about it?” Ginny seethed.

Padma paused and looked over at Ginny with a dumbfounded expression.

“You’d have been angry. You get so caught up you can’t always see the bigger picture. You aren’t objective, you just react instead of act. You’re my best friend and I love you, but I am more than aware of your flaws. So I didn’t tell you. But I did what I had to do in order to save you, and I don’t for a second regret it!” Padma snapped, her eyes flashing.

Ginny wanted to argue, to say Padma was wrong, Ginny was none of that. But she was. She was all of that and more. It was what had lead to this.

Not a day went by now that she didn’t think of her son, and how much she wished she could hold him. But she couldn’t and she was learning to accept that. But the situation with Harry had been caused by Ginny not being able to see the bigger picture.

“I need some wine,” Ginny muttered, rubbing her temples, still wearing the barely there black garb with chains, nothing covering her.

“Perfect. Put that shirt on, grab some pants, and we can enjoy the stars,” Padma ordered.

Ginny might have been a redhead, but Padma constantly acted like a woman scorned. It was best not to mess with her.

Xxx

Ginny was on her second glass of wine, cradling her flowers when Draco approached her.

He simply reached a hand out for her, apparently finished with his business transaction. Ginny didn’t think twice about taking it.

As they walked away from the other two women in silence, Draco held onto her hand.

“You were better than ever,” he said simply.

Ginny gave a small smile. “Thank you. I’m glad you were able to see it… But I wish you would have told me.”

Draco nodded, coming to a stop several yards from Padma and Astoria.

“I wanted to. Honest. But Padma demanded I stay silent, and well, you know how she is.”

Ginny snorted. “Do I ever.”

She sipped her wine while feeling slightly awkward. She wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.

“Fuck it. Ginny, I love you, and I have for a long time. And not the way Harry loved you, where he was willing to hang onto your coattails. I love you in an all-consuming way. I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s like I breathe you in, and damn it I know you feel the same way. But I need to know that you know how you feel.”

Draco’s eyes were so intense, and he was so close. Ginny could smell the wine he’d been sipping and the cologne he was wearing. She wanted to lean in and kiss him, to show instead of tell, but that wasn’t what he wanted.

“Draco,” she began softly, “I was going to name my son after you. I never thought I’d find happiness again, and you gave it to me on a silver platter. But you’re so much a part of my happiness that to lose you would be to lose it. I love you… and I need you to stay.”

And then he was kissing her, really kissing her, his mouth completely dominating.

So this is what Pansy meant, she thought weakly as her knees buckled, and she fell into Draco and the kiss.

Xxx

Ginny was walking next to Draco, his arm around her shoulder easily, and a beautiful wedding ring on her finger. She was fidgeting with said ring out of nerves.

Hermione smiled widely as she rambled on.

“I had to pull a lot of strings, but I love you so of course it wasn’t a big deal. There’s a lot of red tape usually when you adopt, you know. To weed out those who are dangerous, to deter those who won’t be up to the challenge, that sort of thing.”

They rounded the corner and came to a stop at the lift as they waited.

“So you can understand why it’s taken me a few weeks after I got you on the list to find you a child that would look a bit like the two of you. I know you said that wasn’t a big deal, but I thought it’d be nice.”

Hermione stepped into the lift, her mouth still going, and Ginny’s heart was racing, her hand clutching Draco’s tightly.

“So the paper work is in my office, but once it’s filled out, we will just be waiting for the little one to arrive! She’s due in about two months!”

The words sunk in slowly, and Draco had to hold Ginny up when they finally made an impact.

They were going to parents!

“I made a schedule, so if both of you follow it, we will have time to prepare a room in the manor, throw a baby shower, and do all that. I’ve already owled your parents, Ginny, so no worries on that front. They will tell the rest of the family.”

Hermione continued on, but Ginny wasn’t even paying attention.

The moment was bitter sweet. She was excited to be adopting a baby girl, but a huge part of her wished Aiden was with them as well.

As Ginny leaned into her husband, she let a smile grace her face. Her baby boy was in a better place, as was she. Ginevra Malfoy was completely happy, and finally expecting a baby.