"Could you watch my things for a few minutes?"
The pretty young airline employee looked up from her computer screen. "Excuse me?"
"I wanted to have a smoke," Draco explained. "And I didn't want to cart my things with me. I was going to step outside those doors over there and was wondering if you could watch my suitcase?"
"Sure," she smiled. "How long do you think it'll be?"
"Ten minutes."
"No problem."
Draco smiled. "Thank you."
He wasn't going outside to smoke. He just needed some air. Some time to collect his thoughts and feelings before the flight left. He was going to back to New York. Back to Nathan Hall, Richard Worth, and his empty life. Back to Wall Street where he was being groomed to take over.
Back to a life without Virginia.
He slipped the gold band off his left ring finger and into his trouser pocket. She was gone, their marriage was over, and he was alone again.
Draco had only known her about a week, so it didn't explain the unexplainable sadness he felt. His heart felt heavy, broken almost. Virginia was gone and he was alone. How was he supposed to process that? She'd accused him of not loving her and now he knew she was wrong. Because he did. He just didn't remember her. Virginia didn't understand that it wasn't the same thing.
He stood outside for several more minutes, contemplating his fate. Draco knew he had two choices. He could get on the plane and return to his life in New York. He could pretend he'd never found her. He could try to not think about his children every day and wonder if they ever missed him. Or he could get his things together and go back to the Manor. He could tell her he loved her until she believed him, and be a father to his children.
He walked back inside once he'd made up his mind. And that's when he saw Blaise Zabini sitting next to his bags. "What're you doing here?"
Blaise took a sip from his coffee. "I heard you were taking a trip. Not sure you really want to do that."
"Isn't that what you want?"
The black-haired man motioned to the chair across from him. "Sit down. Let's talk."
Draco didn't sit. "I wasn't aware that we had anything to talk about."
"If you want to be a prat, then you can be a prat. But I won't let you hurt her."
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Virginia kicked me out of my own house. She begged me to leave. I don't see how I'm hurting her."
"She's been waiting for you for seven years, mate. And after a week and a half, you've decided it's not worth it."
Draco sat in a plastic chair two seats down from Blaise. "No, she decided it wasn't worth it."
"You are such a stubborn, stupid git. She loves you. Do you know what I'd give for her to love me?"
"If you love her so much, why are you here?" Draco questioned. "Wouldn't you want me out of the picture?"
Blaise drained the last of his coffee. "She doesn't want me."
"Doesn't mean she won't change her mind. Then you'll have everything that is mine."
"I don't have anything that is yours."
"My son," Draco answered. "Seth would choose you in a second."
"Is that what this is about?" Blaise asked. "Because a seven-year-old asked for me? He doesn't know you, Malfoy. You haven't been there his whole life—"
"But you have."
"Yes, I have." Blaise shifted in the chair. "I won't apologize for loving your children. I won't apologize for loving your wife, even. I only did what you asked me to do before you vanished."
"You know I don't remember what you're talking about, but I'm sure I never asked you to fall in love with my wife."
"I've been in love with Ginny since we were sixteen years old and you knew that. You certainly didn't hesitate to move in on her then, Malfoy. It didn't matter that I loved her then, did it? But because you love her…" Blaise trailed off. He scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "Look, when you disappeared—"
"You thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to rekindle your relationship?" Draco accused. "Because she chose me when we were kids, you thought you'd get your revenge when I 'died'?"
"I never touched her," the dark-haired man vowed.
"You wanted to."
"Yes, I wanted to. It hurt sometimes, because I couldn't have her. You were always there, though. Any relationship Gin might have eventually had with a man would have failed, because she loved you too much to give up. She believed you were alive, even though everyone believed you were dead. Even when I believed you were dead. She'd tell your children stories every night about the way you were at Hogwarts. But only good stories, because she didn't want them to think you were a horrible git. I guess Gin was wrong."
"What're you doing here?"
"I'm trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life."
"You don't know anything about my life."
Blaise stood and straightened his black suit. "Maybe you're right, Draco. Maybe I don't know anything about your life. But, I do know that if you get on that plane, if you go to New York, then your life might as well be over because Ginny won't be there. And you'll be as empty as I am." He made it to the end of the aisle of chairs before he turned around. "You do realize that's what your father wanted, right? He wanted you to give her up. If you do, then he wins."
***
Ginny placed the last sweater into the overnight bag. "Thanks, Hermione, for letting me borrow these."
The other witch watched from the doorway, a hand was resting on her ever-expanding stomach. "You're welcome. It's not like I can wear them right now."
The redhead took the bag and followed Hermione down the hall to the living room. Harry was sitting by the window, writing. "I can't thank the both of you enough."
"Are you sure about this, Gin?"
She nodded. "Mum said she'd keep the twins for as long as I need and I just need some time to think. Draco is halfway to New York by now, I guess."
"What if he's not?" Harry queried. "Won't you even consider the possibility that he's waiting for you to come home? Or he's trying to find you now?"
"He's not," she said with some certainty, giving them a watery smile. "I'm sure he's on his way back to New York and his life by now."
"Just consider the possibility," he urged. "Malfoy may be at the Manor waiting for you to come back right now. You should at least go by and see."
Ginny shook her head. "He's not. He's gone."
Hermione saw her husband wasn't getting anywhere in changing Ginny's mind, so she switched topics. "Where
will you go?"
"London. He won't be able to find me there, unless Blaise tells him where the house is, which is highly unlikely. I need a place to think. For seven years, I thought this was what I wanted – and I do want this. I'm glad he's alive. But it's too hard — we've grown too much apart. I'm going there because I don't have any memories of Draco there. I need to think and I can't at the Manor. Every time I turn around, I'm reminded of the Malfoys.
Hermione didn't think it was necessary to point out that Ginny was a Malfoy. "You love him," she said
instead. "Don't walk away."
"I have to. He doesn't remember me."
Harry stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. "It doesn't mean he doesn't love you."
"How can he love me if he doesn't remember?" Ginny questioned. "It isn't possible."
"It is possible," Hermione argued. "Normally, I would agree with you and you know that. But when you have the connection that you shared with Draco, it doesn't just go away. Ginny, how did you know he was alive when everyone told you he was dead? How did you live the last seven years with hope if you didn't share something special with him? There's this Muggle concept – soul mates. When you fell in love with Draco, you found the other half of your soul. Don't throw that away."
Ginny stepped back from Harry and looked at Hermione. "Draco hates you, Hermione or at least he did. Even after we were married, he still thought badly of you because you were Muggle born. How can you be nice to him?"
"Because if it was Harry, I know I could never give up. If the same thing happened to Harry, if he couldn't remember me, couldn't remember us, then I would find any way to make him remember. I would lie, cheat, and do a dozen other underhanded things because I love him and I need him in my life. I thought that was the kind of relationship you shared with Draco."
Harry stepped up, wrapping an arm around his pregnant wife. "Gin, we aren't ganging up on you. We just want to understand."
"It's not that I don't love him," Ginny protested. "It's just…"
"It's Malfoy, Ginny. If it were you, he would find a way to make you remember. So make him remember."
"I… I have to go."
"To London?"
She nodded. "I need to think. I'll be back."
"Don't stay away for too long, Ginny. Don't make him think you really left," Harry advised her. Ginny didn't say anything else before she Disapparated.
***
Draco pounded his fist against the door of the Burrow again. "Mrs. Weasley?" he called. It didn't matter to him that it was almost midnight and that the whole house was asleep. His children were inside and he needed them. When he left tonight, Seth and Cera were going home with him.
Molly Weasley pushed the curtain back. "Draco?" she asked. "It's late, what're you doing?"
"I'm sorry it's so late, Mrs. Weasley. Can you let me in?"
After a moment, she opened the door. "What's wrong, dear?"
"Is Virginia here?"
The woman shook her head.
"Did she leave the children?"
"Ginny asked if they could stay here," Molly explained. "I laid them down in her old bedroom."
Draco stepped inside the small living room, shutting the door behind him. "If it's okay with you, I want to take them home with me tonight."
She directed him to a chair by the fireplace. "Would you like some tea, dear?"
"Mrs. Weasley—"
"None of this 'Mrs. Weasley' nonsense, Draco. We're family. Call me Mum."
"Tea would be fine. Thank you."
Molly disappeared, reappearing a minute later carrying a wooden serving tray, with two steaming teacups on it. With a flick of her wand, she moved the coffee table between them and sat the tray down. "Now, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Draco sighed deeply. "To be completely honest, I don't know. Things were fine before, then this afternoon, Virginia started acting differently. She Apparated back to the Manor and packed my things. We argued, she left, and I went to the airport."
"But you didn't leave. You're here now," she observed. "You're not on a plane to who-knows-where."
"No, I'm not. When it came down to it, I couldn't leave. Blaise stopped me."
"Ah, I knew Mr. Zabini came into the picture some where."
The blond sipped his tea. "Blaise showed up at the airport. He made me see that leaving wasn't the best option."
"And what is the best option?"
Draco shrugged. "I don't know, but I can't leave her or
the children. This is my life and this is where I belong. For seven years, I struggled to remember who I was and where I came from, and now that I know, I can't turn my back on it. I won't walk away from Virginia or my children."
"Do you love my daughter?"
"Yes," he said with absolute certainty.
"And your children?"
He nodded. "Since the moment I saw them."
Molly smiled. "How are you going to win her back, then?"
"She's expecting me to leave." Draco sighed heavily. "I… I don't know how to make her believe me. She won't listen when I tell her I love her and she thinks I’m only here out of obligation. But she's wrong. The only thing I know to do is be there when she returns."
"It's unlike Ginny to be so stubborn," Molly observed. "The only thing she's ever been stubborn over was you. She loved you, dear, and there was no telling her differently."
"Can you tell me about her?"
"Not about her, but about the two of you, if you'd like."
"Yes."
Molly took another sip of her tea. "She came home from her fifth year in love with you. Ginny felt she'd ruin the friendship the two of you and Blaise formed if you ever found out. So that summer she was determined to put a stop to any feelings she had about you.
"Harry spent that summer with us again. At first I thought she might try dating him again, but Ginny knew it wouldn't work. She knew the reason he never looked at her was because of Hermione. Once Ron assured Harry he wasn't in love with Hermione, Harry never looked at another girl. Ginny didn't want to ruin that.
"Then there was Oliver Wood. He was a schoolmate of the twins and he visited them here. I thought it might go somewhere, but Oliver was older than she was. He was also playing for Puddlemere and Ginny couldn't give the kind of commitment he wanted. There were some long distance owls, but nothing more."
"And when school started again?"
"Blaise started dating someone new and three became two. I'm not exactly sure on the details, but I got an owl from Ron complaining about some embarrassing display of affection in the Great Hall from the two of you. You were like one from then on."
"She always knew?" Draco asked. "If she knew then, why doesn't she know now?"
"Dear, she knew how she felt about you. Ginny never believed you'd love her. It's very much the same now. She loves you much like she did then, but she believes you don't remember loving her."
"How do I fix it?"
"Prove it to her. You've made a good start, by not getting on that plane. It'll help if you're waiting for her when she comes home."
"Are you sure she'll come back?"
Molly nodded. "There are two people in the world Ginny loves as much as she loves you. They're sleeping upstairs."
"I want to take them home with me."
She reached over and took his teacup, sitting it on the tray. "Then let's go wake them. I imagine Cera will be thrilled to see you. She was asking for you earlier."
"And Seth?"
"Give him time," Molly advised. "He'll come around."
Draco followed her up the stairs. "Thanks, Mum."
The Weasley matriarch smiled.
The pretty young airline employee looked up from her computer screen. "Excuse me?"
"I wanted to have a smoke," Draco explained. "And I didn't want to cart my things with me. I was going to step outside those doors over there and was wondering if you could watch my suitcase?"
"Sure," she smiled. "How long do you think it'll be?"
"Ten minutes."
"No problem."
Draco smiled. "Thank you."
He wasn't going outside to smoke. He just needed some air. Some time to collect his thoughts and feelings before the flight left. He was going to back to New York. Back to Nathan Hall, Richard Worth, and his empty life. Back to Wall Street where he was being groomed to take over.
Back to a life without Virginia.
He slipped the gold band off his left ring finger and into his trouser pocket. She was gone, their marriage was over, and he was alone again.
Draco had only known her about a week, so it didn't explain the unexplainable sadness he felt. His heart felt heavy, broken almost. Virginia was gone and he was alone. How was he supposed to process that? She'd accused him of not loving her and now he knew she was wrong. Because he did. He just didn't remember her. Virginia didn't understand that it wasn't the same thing.
He stood outside for several more minutes, contemplating his fate. Draco knew he had two choices. He could get on the plane and return to his life in New York. He could pretend he'd never found her. He could try to not think about his children every day and wonder if they ever missed him. Or he could get his things together and go back to the Manor. He could tell her he loved her until she believed him, and be a father to his children.
He walked back inside once he'd made up his mind. And that's when he saw Blaise Zabini sitting next to his bags. "What're you doing here?"
Blaise took a sip from his coffee. "I heard you were taking a trip. Not sure you really want to do that."
"Isn't that what you want?"
The black-haired man motioned to the chair across from him. "Sit down. Let's talk."
Draco didn't sit. "I wasn't aware that we had anything to talk about."
"If you want to be a prat, then you can be a prat. But I won't let you hurt her."
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Virginia kicked me out of my own house. She begged me to leave. I don't see how I'm hurting her."
"She's been waiting for you for seven years, mate. And after a week and a half, you've decided it's not worth it."
Draco sat in a plastic chair two seats down from Blaise. "No, she decided it wasn't worth it."
"You are such a stubborn, stupid git. She loves you. Do you know what I'd give for her to love me?"
"If you love her so much, why are you here?" Draco questioned. "Wouldn't you want me out of the picture?"
Blaise drained the last of his coffee. "She doesn't want me."
"Doesn't mean she won't change her mind. Then you'll have everything that is mine."
"I don't have anything that is yours."
"My son," Draco answered. "Seth would choose you in a second."
"Is that what this is about?" Blaise asked. "Because a seven-year-old asked for me? He doesn't know you, Malfoy. You haven't been there his whole life—"
"But you have."
"Yes, I have." Blaise shifted in the chair. "I won't apologize for loving your children. I won't apologize for loving your wife, even. I only did what you asked me to do before you vanished."
"You know I don't remember what you're talking about, but I'm sure I never asked you to fall in love with my wife."
"I've been in love with Ginny since we were sixteen years old and you knew that. You certainly didn't hesitate to move in on her then, Malfoy. It didn't matter that I loved her then, did it? But because you love her…" Blaise trailed off. He scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "Look, when you disappeared—"
"You thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to rekindle your relationship?" Draco accused. "Because she chose me when we were kids, you thought you'd get your revenge when I 'died'?"
"I never touched her," the dark-haired man vowed.
"You wanted to."
"Yes, I wanted to. It hurt sometimes, because I couldn't have her. You were always there, though. Any relationship Gin might have eventually had with a man would have failed, because she loved you too much to give up. She believed you were alive, even though everyone believed you were dead. Even when I believed you were dead. She'd tell your children stories every night about the way you were at Hogwarts. But only good stories, because she didn't want them to think you were a horrible git. I guess Gin was wrong."
"What're you doing here?"
"I'm trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life."
"You don't know anything about my life."
Blaise stood and straightened his black suit. "Maybe you're right, Draco. Maybe I don't know anything about your life. But, I do know that if you get on that plane, if you go to New York, then your life might as well be over because Ginny won't be there. And you'll be as empty as I am." He made it to the end of the aisle of chairs before he turned around. "You do realize that's what your father wanted, right? He wanted you to give her up. If you do, then he wins."
Ginny placed the last sweater into the overnight bag. "Thanks, Hermione, for letting me borrow these."
The other witch watched from the doorway, a hand was resting on her ever-expanding stomach. "You're welcome. It's not like I can wear them right now."
The redhead took the bag and followed Hermione down the hall to the living room. Harry was sitting by the window, writing. "I can't thank the both of you enough."
"Are you sure about this, Gin?"
She nodded. "Mum said she'd keep the twins for as long as I need and I just need some time to think. Draco is halfway to New York by now, I guess."
"What if he's not?" Harry queried. "Won't you even consider the possibility that he's waiting for you to come home? Or he's trying to find you now?"
"He's not," she said with some certainty, giving them a watery smile. "I'm sure he's on his way back to New York and his life by now."
"Just consider the possibility," he urged. "Malfoy may be at the Manor waiting for you to come back right now. You should at least go by and see."
Ginny shook her head. "He's not. He's gone."
Hermione saw her husband wasn't getting anywhere in changing Ginny's mind, so she switched topics. "Where
will you go?"
"London. He won't be able to find me there, unless Blaise tells him where the house is, which is highly unlikely. I need a place to think. For seven years, I thought this was what I wanted – and I do want this. I'm glad he's alive. But it's too hard — we've grown too much apart. I'm going there because I don't have any memories of Draco there. I need to think and I can't at the Manor. Every time I turn around, I'm reminded of the Malfoys.
Hermione didn't think it was necessary to point out that Ginny was a Malfoy. "You love him," she said
instead. "Don't walk away."
"I have to. He doesn't remember me."
Harry stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. "It doesn't mean he doesn't love you."
"How can he love me if he doesn't remember?" Ginny questioned. "It isn't possible."
"It is possible," Hermione argued. "Normally, I would agree with you and you know that. But when you have the connection that you shared with Draco, it doesn't just go away. Ginny, how did you know he was alive when everyone told you he was dead? How did you live the last seven years with hope if you didn't share something special with him? There's this Muggle concept – soul mates. When you fell in love with Draco, you found the other half of your soul. Don't throw that away."
Ginny stepped back from Harry and looked at Hermione. "Draco hates you, Hermione or at least he did. Even after we were married, he still thought badly of you because you were Muggle born. How can you be nice to him?"
"Because if it was Harry, I know I could never give up. If the same thing happened to Harry, if he couldn't remember me, couldn't remember us, then I would find any way to make him remember. I would lie, cheat, and do a dozen other underhanded things because I love him and I need him in my life. I thought that was the kind of relationship you shared with Draco."
Harry stepped up, wrapping an arm around his pregnant wife. "Gin, we aren't ganging up on you. We just want to understand."
"It's not that I don't love him," Ginny protested. "It's just…"
"It's Malfoy, Ginny. If it were you, he would find a way to make you remember. So make him remember."
"I… I have to go."
"To London?"
She nodded. "I need to think. I'll be back."
"Don't stay away for too long, Ginny. Don't make him think you really left," Harry advised her. Ginny didn't say anything else before she Disapparated.
Draco pounded his fist against the door of the Burrow again. "Mrs. Weasley?" he called. It didn't matter to him that it was almost midnight and that the whole house was asleep. His children were inside and he needed them. When he left tonight, Seth and Cera were going home with him.
Molly Weasley pushed the curtain back. "Draco?" she asked. "It's late, what're you doing?"
"I'm sorry it's so late, Mrs. Weasley. Can you let me in?"
After a moment, she opened the door. "What's wrong, dear?"
"Is Virginia here?"
The woman shook her head.
"Did she leave the children?"
"Ginny asked if they could stay here," Molly explained. "I laid them down in her old bedroom."
Draco stepped inside the small living room, shutting the door behind him. "If it's okay with you, I want to take them home with me tonight."
She directed him to a chair by the fireplace. "Would you like some tea, dear?"
"Mrs. Weasley—"
"None of this 'Mrs. Weasley' nonsense, Draco. We're family. Call me Mum."
"Tea would be fine. Thank you."
Molly disappeared, reappearing a minute later carrying a wooden serving tray, with two steaming teacups on it. With a flick of her wand, she moved the coffee table between them and sat the tray down. "Now, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Draco sighed deeply. "To be completely honest, I don't know. Things were fine before, then this afternoon, Virginia started acting differently. She Apparated back to the Manor and packed my things. We argued, she left, and I went to the airport."
"But you didn't leave. You're here now," she observed. "You're not on a plane to who-knows-where."
"No, I'm not. When it came down to it, I couldn't leave. Blaise stopped me."
"Ah, I knew Mr. Zabini came into the picture some where."
The blond sipped his tea. "Blaise showed up at the airport. He made me see that leaving wasn't the best option."
"And what is the best option?"
Draco shrugged. "I don't know, but I can't leave her or
the children. This is my life and this is where I belong. For seven years, I struggled to remember who I was and where I came from, and now that I know, I can't turn my back on it. I won't walk away from Virginia or my children."
"Do you love my daughter?"
"Yes," he said with absolute certainty.
"And your children?"
He nodded. "Since the moment I saw them."
Molly smiled. "How are you going to win her back, then?"
"She's expecting me to leave." Draco sighed heavily. "I… I don't know how to make her believe me. She won't listen when I tell her I love her and she thinks I’m only here out of obligation. But she's wrong. The only thing I know to do is be there when she returns."
"It's unlike Ginny to be so stubborn," Molly observed. "The only thing she's ever been stubborn over was you. She loved you, dear, and there was no telling her differently."
"Can you tell me about her?"
"Not about her, but about the two of you, if you'd like."
"Yes."
Molly took another sip of her tea. "She came home from her fifth year in love with you. Ginny felt she'd ruin the friendship the two of you and Blaise formed if you ever found out. So that summer she was determined to put a stop to any feelings she had about you.
"Harry spent that summer with us again. At first I thought she might try dating him again, but Ginny knew it wouldn't work. She knew the reason he never looked at her was because of Hermione. Once Ron assured Harry he wasn't in love with Hermione, Harry never looked at another girl. Ginny didn't want to ruin that.
"Then there was Oliver Wood. He was a schoolmate of the twins and he visited them here. I thought it might go somewhere, but Oliver was older than she was. He was also playing for Puddlemere and Ginny couldn't give the kind of commitment he wanted. There were some long distance owls, but nothing more."
"And when school started again?"
"Blaise started dating someone new and three became two. I'm not exactly sure on the details, but I got an owl from Ron complaining about some embarrassing display of affection in the Great Hall from the two of you. You were like one from then on."
"She always knew?" Draco asked. "If she knew then, why doesn't she know now?"
"Dear, she knew how she felt about you. Ginny never believed you'd love her. It's very much the same now. She loves you much like she did then, but she believes you don't remember loving her."
"How do I fix it?"
"Prove it to her. You've made a good start, by not getting on that plane. It'll help if you're waiting for her when she comes home."
"Are you sure she'll come back?"
Molly nodded. "There are two people in the world Ginny loves as much as she loves you. They're sleeping upstairs."
"I want to take them home with me."
She reached over and took his teacup, sitting it on the tray. "Then let's go wake them. I imagine Cera will be thrilled to see you. She was asking for you earlier."
"And Seth?"
"Give him time," Molly advised. "He'll come around."
Draco followed her up the stairs. "Thanks, Mum."
The Weasley matriarch smiled.
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