Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the computer this was written on. All characters are owned by JKR, except for the one’s that will be mentioned in A/N at the end of the chapter, please read it over so I can give proper credit where it is due. I’m so broke I make the church mouse look like a millionaire, so please don’t waste your time or your lawyers.
I appreciate all the wonderful comments that I have received and I hope that the length will more than make up for the wait………..Enjoy!!!!!
Ginny checked her medical book once again before adding the next ingredient for the anti-nausea potion she was brewing. Adding the final ingredient, she stirred fifteen times clockwise then five times counterclockwise. The book instructed her to let the potion ‘sit over a low heat for 15 minutes’, then repeat the stirring pattern.
Setting her timer, she began clearing away all traces of the ingredients she had purchased at the apothecary while shopping with Jade and Pansy yesterday. It only took a few minutes, so she still had over 10 minutes to wait. Desperately looking around Draco’s potions lab for anything to do, the last thing she wanted was time to think. But in fact there was nothing she could do unless she wanted to explain to Draco what she had been brewing, and she definitely didn’t want to do that just yet.
Feelings of guilt flooded Ginny for what felt like the millionth time. It had been three weeks ago today that her brother had tried to kill her, and it was also three weeks ago that one of her best friends had dropped the first of what would turn into several bombs in her lap.
When Ginny had told Jade she was expecting, nothing in her wildest dreams could have prepared her for when Jade told her what had brought about the ‘happy’ event. Jade and Pansy were her two best friends in the world, after her husband. They were more like sisters - friend was just not a strong enough word to describe what they meant to her.
There was nothing that she wouldn’t do for either of them, and she found out that day just what lengths they would go to for her. When Jade told her that both she and Pansy were also pregnant, Ginny was shocked. When Jade told her the reason all three of them were pregnant was due to a potion that she and Pansy had developed, she had been floored.
As her best friends, both women had known about Ginny’s growing distress at not being able to get pregnant. They also knew that in the early years of her and Draco’s relationship, the couple had taken extraordinary precautions to ensure that the dreaded ‘Weasley’ fertility genes didn’t make them parents before they were ready.
Her brothers had seemed intent at adding to the population of the wizarding world at an alarming rate, but it hadn’t been until after her and Draco’s second anniversary that they had stopped using any form of contraceptive. Being a Weasley, she had expected to find herself pregnant rather quickly, so when their third anniversary had come and gone she had begun to voice her fears that perhaps something was wrong.
The thought had been truly distressing for several reasons. Of course there was the need for an heir to the Malfoy bloodline. The most important reason to her was the biological response that she guessed that most women were born with, the deep-seeded desire for a child that was a mixture of themselves and the person that they loved, the tangible proof of that love.
In her mind she could picture a miniature version of Draco, a little boy with blond hair and grey eyes. A little boy who would grow up secure in the knowledge of his parents’ love, who would know only hugs and kisses, not beatings and torture.
Perhaps she was hoping that giving Draco a son of his own could heal some of the scars his own childhood had left on his soul, so he could finally experience unconditional love and return that love without fear.
Throughout the next year, as her period came every month without fail, she became more and more distraught. Of course her mother didn’t help matters one bit, constantly asking when she and Draco were going to present her with a grandbaby. Even Narcissa had begun to question why they were waiting so long to start their family. Draco had taken everything in stride and had constantly reassured her that it would happen when it was meant to happen and not a moment sooner and that would usually be enough to lift her spirits.
Pansy had later explained that she and Jade theorized that Ginny and Draco had taken such extreme precautions during the time they were dating and the first years of their marriage that her biological clock just needed a little boost. So they had developed a fertility enhancing potion. Unfortunately, they lacked test subjects, so they used themselves. Despite the seriousness of the subject, whenever Ginny remembered Jade claiming that the need for secrecy was more important than Hufflepuff torture, she couldn’t help but smile.
It seemed the ideal situation, actually: three women who were best friends, married to three men who were as close as brothers, all pregnant at the same time. If only it were that easy. But the problem that weighed so heavily on her mind was what Blaise’s reaction to his impending fatherhood would be.
For years, Jade had claimed that she was not interested in having children any time soon but Blaise had been quite steadfast in his stance that he never wanted a child. Ever. He cared not that the Zabini bloodline would end with him if he had no children.
Ginny had always suspected that, despite her claims otherwise, Jade truly wanted a child. Despite what others thought of her, Ginny always felt that Jade would be a wonderful mother. And whether or not he believed it himself, she knew in her heart that Blaise would make an excellent father.
When the timer went off, Ginny placed the silver stirring stick in the potion stirring fifteen times clockwise and five times counterclockwise. Removing the stirring stick, she reset the timer for another 15 minutes.
The second bomb had come in the form of Anton and the insight he had given her into the reason why Blaise didn’t want children. When he had told her what that bastard Jeran, Blaise’s own father, had done to Blaise and his siblings, it had been just too horrible to imagine.
Ginny’s greatest fear was that in trying to help her, Jade had put into motion the destruction of her own marriage. She feared what might happen if Blaise rejected both Jade and his child. She knew that Blaise was Jade’s life. The same went for Blaise - Jade was his world.
After Anton told her that Blaise would not react well and that all they could do was be there to ‘pick up the pieces, if there were any left’ the shock of what he had told her combined with the trauma she had suffered that morning had been too much.
The third bomb had come later that evening when she had come down for dinner. She had spent the remainder of the day dozing on and off under the watchful eyes of Pansy and Jade. When she asked where Draco was, they had been tight-lipped, only telling her that he had been meeting with some people. Even ranting and threatening had not gotten any more information out of her two annoying friends.
Thinking that she was asleep, they had left her alone long enough to go to dinner. She may not have been a Slytherin, but she had been too long in their company not to pick up a few tricks - not to mention she had a few of her own. They were all protecting her from something and she would not tolerate it.
So she dressed and walked down to the dining room, prepared to do battle until they confessed what it was they were trying to hide from her. Her soft-soled shoes made no noise as she walked into the dining room. The first thing she noticed was that her two oldest brothers were also seated at the table. Excellent. Even when Draco was at his most stubborn and she was having trouble cracking him, her brothers were a different story. She had had years of practice at breaking down their resistance - this was definitely looking good for her.
The second thing that she noticed was the angry expressions that all of them wore as they discussed something in quiet voices, as if they spoke to loud it would carry up the stairs to her. She saw Draco make a rather vicious-looking remark to Charlie that was accented by his fist slamming against the table, fury in his stormy eyes.
Charlie’s normal control over his temper must have been sorely tested as he got right in Draco’s face and yelled, “Don’t shoot the messenger, Malfoy, let’s just figure out what we’re going to do about it!”
And now she had them. They hadn’t noticed her standing just inside the doorway, observing them. With a smirk on her face she cleared her throat to get their attention before walking up to the table and taking her seat. A house elf appeared at her right elbow and asked what she would like to eat as another appeared at her left elbow with a place setting for her.
She took a sip out of the water goblet that the house elf had placed before her as she observed the faces of the other people sitting around the table. The moment they had seen her standing in the doorway, the five Slytherins had those damnable cold masks take over their features, but her brothers’ faces had both flushed red and the guilt in their eyes was easy to see.
She couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud as she observed them. Her brothers were easy enough to read, but what her dear Slytherin friends and husband didn’t know was that though their faces gave nothing away she had learned over the years to read their eyes.
Jade’s and Pansy’s eyes were showing a mixture of concern and anger, while Anton and Blaise both radiated concern, anger, and frustration. When she met her husband’s eyes over the table, she was surprised that with the exception of their stormy grey color, which indicated his anger, she was unable to read anything there. Tilting her head slightly to the side she just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. She did love turning his own expressions back on him.
Not one of the others said a word as they watched Draco and Ginny silently square off, waiting to see which of them would be the first to crack. Ginny never wavered as she watched Draco try to intimidate her into just forgetting what she had walked in on and the grin on her face grew as she sensed his growing frustration when he realized that she had absolutely no intention of doing so.
“Ginny,” he growled at her softly.
“Draco,” she drawled, putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hands, batting her eyelashes at him.
She saw Blaise and Anton duck their heads, trying to hide their grins when Draco was the first to speak. Jade raised her napkin to her lips to hide her smile, pretending to wipe her mouth, while Pansy raised her water goblet to her lips, grinning more than drinking.
Bill and Charlie just shot commiserating looks at Draco, having both been broken time and again under that same gaze, before discreetly trying to cover their laughs by coughing into their napkins.
“Sorry, old man, but you are not the first to fall to this little vixen,” Charlie said once his coughing fit seemed to pass.
“She’s been perfecting that little trick on us for years. You didn’t stand a chance,” Bill grumbled.
Draco growled again, rolling his eyes, “I don’t suppose that you will wait until you are better recovered?”
Picking up her napkin and placing it on her lap she looked back at her husband, “Do I really have to answer that question?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “But you’re right; I don’t suppose that I will. I’m recovered just fine, thank you very much. You’ve had me tucked away in my cotton wool all day,” she said, pausing for effect. “Now just what in the hell has got you so worked up?”
Ginny began eating her soup when the house elf placed it in front of her. She might want to know what was going on but she was not fool enough to truly test her stomach today. She had been nauseous on and off all day, and if what they were all so upset about was truly distressing, she didn’t want to give her stomach the ammunition to rebel. That would just give Draco another reason to try and ‘protect’ her further.
Gods, she was glad she hadn’t told him about her pregnancy yet. If she had, there wouldn’t be a force on heaven, hell or earth that would get him to budge. His protective nature was normally endearing because he usually stayed within acceptable boundaries. But with a baby involved, she could picture him becoming maniacal about it, especially after today.
“Ginny, you know what position Percy held in the ministry, right?” Charlie asked.
What was she, a simpleton? “Yes, Charlie, I’m quite aware that Per…he was the undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. What about it?”
“With all the corruption that took place during Fudge’s tenure still fresh in everybody’s minds, the ministry is being very cautious about anything that could lead to further scandal,” Bill replied softly.
“Understandable,” she drawled in a wary tone, not sure she was liking where this was going.
“Some time ago Draco had asked me to keep an eye on things while dealing with exports in Egypt,” Bill told her. “And a few months ago some strange rumors got back to me. I did a little poking around and notified Anton after some questionable artifacts began making appearances.”
“That was what prompted our trip to Egypt last week,” Anton explained. “We found that dark artifacts had been shipped through our companies and were being removed before the ministry officials had inspected the shipments.”
“We set up a sting in cooperation with the MLE. Once the people involved were caught, we were able to trace it back to a single ministry official,” Blaise said, picking up the story. “He almost got away, but he was captured and taken into custody.”
Draco had been watching her reactions the entire time but decided the worst should come from him.
“Ginny,” he sighed, “it was Percy who had been behind the entire operation.”
She set down her spoon and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath she opened them, looking into Draco’s eyes. “Why?”
“Harry stopped by earlier this evening and gave us a heads up on what they found at Percy’s flat,” Charlie said. “What they found was journals in which he rambled on about how he was going to discredit Draco so badly that you’d have no choice but to leave him. About destroying the final Malfoy, he was bent on revenge over what happened to Penelope.”
“So I gathered, if this morning was anything to judge by,” she stated sarcastically. “But what did he hope to accomplish by using Draco’s company to ship dark artifacts if they were being removed before anyone could find them?”
“They also found a detailed description of the paper trail he had been leaving,” Blaise stated, his rich voice sounding disgusted. “And a different set of journals explaining how he had been ‘tipped off’ about the shipments and the evidence he was supposedly gathering to present to the Wizengamot.” With a scowl on his face, he added, “Had he succeeded, it would have laid the blame mostly at Draco’s feet, but would have implicated Anton and myself as well. It would have been nearly impossible to disprove.”
“Last night he escaped from some rather inexperienced Aurors,” Draco said, anger evident in his voice. “That was why Blaise Flooed when he did. From what we’ve been able to piece together, after he escaped he disguised himself and took a room at the Leaky Cauldron - hiding in plain sight, so to speak. It was just chance that he saw you last night when you Apparated outside W3.”
“So, let me guess, when he saw me he saw his final chance to get back at you.” She saw Draco’s nod but the pain that flashed in his eyes hurt her. “Draco, this is not your fault, its Percy’s and Percy’s alone!”
“Ginny.” Her gaze was drawn away from Draco when Pansy spoke. “That’s not all. The ministry is trying to hush this morning’s … ‘incident’ up due to Percy’s high position in the ministry.”
“They have admitted him to St. Mungo’s for psychiatric observation,” Jade added, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand. “They are trying to have him declared unfit to stand trial and get him permanently admitted. If he is, then nothing can be disclosed due to a patient’s right to privacy.”
Ginny sighed. As a Healer, she knew all about patients’ privacy rights and how that would effectively seal everything up nice and tight. They would issue a simple statement that Percy had left the ministry due to medical reasons and nothing would become public record if it were not brought to trial. If Percy was declared unfit, he would not stand trial but would simply be admitted to the long-term psychiatric unit at St. Mungo’s. The only accounting would be that of the others involved, but Tonks, Harry and the other Aurors would be silenced under ministry rules so no official report would be on file of either his arrest or his attack on her.
“There is one more thing,” Draco began, the furious look returning to his eyes. “The ministry has performed a gag order spell. We will not be unable to discuss anything about this entire fiasco with anyone who isn’t family or wasn’t directly involved.”
When the timer went off she doused the fire with her wand. Ginny checked her book once again: ‘Remove cauldron from flame. Let sit for fifteen minutes then stir five times clockwise, repeat two times.’ Setting the timer once again, she waited.
The final thing that had done her in that night was not so much as a bomb as it was an invasion of the Weasley variety. They had just retired to the parlor after dinner when a house elf announced the arrival of the mistress’s family.
She was actually surprised that it had taken this long for her mother to show up, but once Molly had heard that Bill and Charlie were at the manor eating dinner, nothing could hold her back. So she had gathered up her remaining sons, along with Harry, and descended on Malfoy Manor.
When her mother came into the parlor Ginny rose from her favorite leather chair to greet her mother. As expected, she was given a bone-crushing hug before Molly began fussing over her. Ginny shot her father a desperate glance over her mother’s shoulder, and Arthur gently pried his wife off of their daughter.
Bill stepped up to distract their mother when he saw an already irritated Draco rise from the arm of Ginny’s chair. When the house elf had announced their arrival, Draco had planted himself on the arm of Ginny’s chair, ready to pounce on anyone who upset his wife.
Arthur gently wrapped his precious little girl in his arms and gave her a much gentler and more comforting hug. Closing his eyes briefly, he once again savored the feel of his princess hugging him as if he were still the most important man in her life. He had come to close to losing her this morning. Dropping a kiss on the back of her head, he opened his eyes and met the gaze of the man who had taken his place.
As he met Draco’s eyes over the top of his daughter’s head, he was still sometimes shocked that it was Draco Malfoy who had taken his baby girl from him. He had realized years ago that Harry was not the right man for Ginny, but he would have never guessed that it would be this man, the son of the man he hated above all others except Voldemort himself.
Arthur was a much smarter man than many gave him credit for and he had known the first time he had sat down with Draco. Ginny had begged him to give Draco a chance, and it didn’t take long to see that he was the one for her, that Draco would love and protect her as fiercely as Arthur himself would. Draco gave Arthur a respectful nod before Arthur switched his focus back to his daughter. Sliding his hands down her arms, he held her out from him so he could look her over.
“How are you feeling, princess?”
“I’ll be fine, daddy,” she said, giving him a watery smile.
“I’m sure you will be.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Draco, may I have a word?”
“Certainly, sir, here or my study?”
“Your study, I think.” He looked back at his daughter and saw her annoyed look. “It’s nothing serious, princess,” he said with a wink, “I just want to be out of your mother’s earshot.”
With another kiss on her forehead, Arthur stepped aside.
Moving in front of her, Draco placed his hand on her neck, sliding his thumb over her cheek.
“We’ll just be a few minutes, okay?” When she nodded, he leaned forward and placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.
Watching Draco and her father leave, Ginny turned back to find Fred and George standing in front of her. Instead of giving her their trademark ‘Ginny Sandwich’ hug, which usually involved a lot of tickling and squeezing, they each wrapped their arms around her and held her close between them.
“Don’t you ever…,” George murmured.
“Scare us….” Fred whispered.
“Like that again,” they finished together, as only they could do.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, smiling at their favorite ‘twin trick’ and enjoying the rare tender moment from her normally rambunctious brothers.
Letting go of her, Fred and George sat down and began talking with Blaise and Anton. Harry had watched the touching moment between the twins and Ginny; after they moved away, he hugged her.
“Alright, Gin?” he asked after releasing her.
“Alright, Harry,” she smiled at him. Seeing movement behind him, her smile faltered when she saw who was there.
Turning to see what she was looking at, he turned back and squeezed her hand. “Give him a chance, Ginny; he was really shaken up about this morning.” Giving her a quick kiss on her temple, he moved off to join the others.
Despite the fact that Ron joined Harry when he played Quidditch on the weekends with Draco, she and Ron rarely talked, mostly due to the fact that they usually ended up in an argument. As brother and sister faced each other, the room suddenly got quiet as if waiting to see what would happen.
Despite Harry and Ginny becoming good friends, Ron paid very little attention to his sister while at school - at least until she did something that made him angry. When that would happen, he would become ridiculously overprotective, citing Ginny’s disastrous first year, and would try to run her life.
Ginny dating Draco definitely made him angry. Despite knowing that Draco was not following in his father’s footsteps, Ron constantly harassed Ginny about dating him. The more he pushed her, the harder she pushed back, and heated arguments, hexes and curses quickly became a daily occurrence between the siblings, it was only a matter of time before something devastating happened.
Of course that something proved to be the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Ginny had become a chaser in her fifth year, which was also the first year that Draco beat Harry to the snitch, so tensions were already high. Harry was in his second year of captaincy, but Ron, who was normally fanatical about beating Slytherin, was even worse because of Ginny and Draco’s relationship. He went so far as to accuse her of slacking off against the Slytherins to give Draco a chance to win.
It was a hard fought match once again and Ginny proved that she would not cut the Slytherins any slack because of who her boyfriend was. Even so, the match once again came down to the seekers to decide the game. Harry and Draco were both excellent seekers and as they both raced for the snitch, it could have gone either way. Both seekers were banging into each other, jockeying for position to capture the little golden ball.
Harry slammed into Draco which threw him slightly off course and just as Harry nearly grabbed the snitch, it changed course once again. Diving down and to the right, it crossed directly in front of Draco. Harry’s hit had put him in the perfect position to catch the fluttering ball. Draco dove down and with Harry slightly behind him, he came up with the snitch grasped tightly in his hand.
The Gryffindor team landed while the Slytherins took their victory lap. When Draco landed, Harry offered him his hand to congratulate him on a good catch. When Ron saw Harry shake Draco’s hand, the quiet grumbling he had been indulging in became outright anger. By the time they got to the locker rooms Ron was claiming to anyone who would listen that Draco must have cheated in some way.
No matter what Harry said to Ron he kept insisting that there was no way that ‘the snake’ had made a fair catch. Completely ignoring Ron, Ginny went into the girls’ locker room to shower. Ginny changed quickly, as Draco had told her he would wait for her and walk her back to the castle, and she wanted to avoid Ron if at all possible.
When she walked out of the locker rooms Draco was waiting for her, along with Blaise, Jade, Anton and Pansy. Looking around and not seeing Ron, she ran up to her friends, hoping to get away from the locker rooms before he put in an appearance.
Draco grinned when he saw Ginny look around for Ron before she ran up to him and grabbed his hand. He silently agreed with this decision. He wanted her in a good mood, and confrontations with her brother seldom left her that way.
“You played a good game, Gin, it’s too bad that the superior seeker was on the other side,” he smirked, giving her a kiss on her forehead.
“Superior, my ass! You got lucky when Harry hit you right into the path of the snitch,” she taunted back.
“Luck? I think not.” He adopted a haughty tone while wrapping his arm around her waist as they all started towards the castle. “Let me explain to you about the extraordinarily talented seeker that is your boyfriend.”
The six of them were laughing at Draco’s boasts as they walked. Ginny had just begun to relax, thinking she’d made a clean getaway, but before they were halfway back to the castle she heard her brother yelling from behind her.
“GINNY!” With an exaggerated sigh, she turned around to see Ron running towards them a thunderous expression on his face. She could see Harry and Hermoine running to catch up with him, knowing that there would be yet another confrontation between the siblings.
“What do you want, Ron?” she bit out.
“Just what the hell are you doing with this cheating Slytherin?” he ground out. “There is no way that he made a legal catch.”
Her friends bristled behind her but stayed silent. Draco stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders, and she felt his fingers tighten when Ron accused him of cheating, but he said nothing.
While the Slytherins would normally enjoy taunting the ‘weasel king,’ they generally left confrontations between Ginny and her brother up to her. They would be there to stop it if it got out of hand, but Ginny was quite capable of handling him and honestly the hexes she usually hit him with were humorous.
“Ron, when will you grow up?” she growled. “It is just a damn game and even Harry congratulated Draco on his catch. Since he was right there, I’m sure that if he felt that it was a good catch then you have no grounds to say otherwise,” she continued, her voice getting slightly louder, “other than your continued obsession with a schoolboy grudge. Oh, yeah, and making my life as much of a living hell as possible.” She was yelling by the time she finished.
“Ginny, just forget it, I know it was a good catch.” Draco tried to soothe her. “Let’s just go.”
Ron looked up at Draco when he spoke, sneering, “That’s right, Malfoy, hide behind my sister instead of facing me.”
“I wasn’t aware that you were addressing me, Weasel,” Draco smirked, which irritated Ron even further. “I will face you gladly except that it would upset Ginny, at least for now. If you keep it up, I’m sure it won’t be long before the idea doesn’t upset her in the least.”
“See?” he exclaimed, looking back at Ginny. “See how he talks to me and yet you insist on continuing this ridiculous relationship with him. He doesn’t respect your family and I doubt he respects you.” He was gesturing wildly with his arms now. “I’ll bet he didn’t even congratulate you on what a good game you played,” Ron ranted, getting right in Ginny’s face.
Ginny had been grinding her teeth, trying not to lose her temper, but when her brother screamed in her face, she lost it. She shoved Ron backwards with surprising strength, causing him to stumble back a few steps.
“Let me tell you something, Ronald Bilius Weasley.” Eyes narrowed, she advanced on her brother. “You, of all people, talking about respect,” she said, poking him hard in the chest to emphasize her words. “If someone around here doesn’t respect me, it’s you.”
Poking him again, she continued, “Our ridiculous relationship, you say? Draco treats me with more respect than you ever have and he sure as hell doesn’t ignore me the way you have since I started here.” She was in his face now. “And just so you know, yes, he did compliment me on how well I played today, unlike someone else who was too busy calling someone else a cheat. But you know what? I just realized that I didn’t congratulate him.”
Having said that, she turned around and walked back to Draco and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It really was a very good catch, Draco,” she murmured. His arms came around her waist when she pulled him down and proceeded to kiss him quite thoroughly.
Ron stood in shocked silence as he watch his sister grab Malfoy and kiss him. Seeing red, he charged them like a mad bull, running up and roughly grabbing Ginny by the arm. He spun her around, shoving her out of the way. However, Ginny was quick on her feet and got right in front of Ron again to shove him back, who had drawn his fist back to punch Draco. Instead of hitting Draco, he hit his sister right in the face.
The force of the punch threw her back into Draco, who caught her, but Ron had knocked her out. Draco looked at Ginny before handing her over to Blaise and advanced on the shocked Gryffindor.
Draco was beyond furious and grabbed Ron by the collar of his shirt. “You stupid son of a bitch, you just couldn’t leave her alone, could you?” he growled, shaking Ron as he spoke. “And now look what you’ve done. You claim to love her, to want to protect her - what bullshit! Who the fuck is going to protect her from you?” He shoved Ron backwards as he released his collar. “Oh, right, that would be me!”
He threw three quick punches that all caught Ron in the face, then swept his leg out from underneath him. When Ron fell to the ground, Draco planted his knee in his diaphragm, using his weight he pinned Ron to the ground, “Stay the hell away from her! Don’t talk to her! Don’t even look at her, and gods help you if I find out you’ve been yelling at her again or you’ve so much as laid a finger on her!”
When Draco went to punch Ron again, Anton pulled him off of Ron. “Come on, Draco, leave him be - we need to get Ginny up to the hospital wing,” Anton sneered at Ron as he dragged Draco away.
Professor McGonagall had issued Ron a month’s worth of detentions for the unprovoked attack against his sister and her boyfriend, as well as deducting 100 house points. McGonagall, along with Dumbledore, warned Ron that any further verbal or physical attacks against Ginny could possibly result in his suspension from school.
But the most shocking result was the howler he received the next day, which was not from his mother but his father. The school was used to the high-pitched shriek of Molly Weasley, as all of her children had received a howler from her at some point. But instead of the earsplitting rant from Molly Weasley, the howler delivered the amplified but calm tones of Arthur Weasley.
Ronald,
Son, I could never have suspected that one of my boys would cause me such disappointment.
The soft disappointed tone of their father could cause sorrow and shame among the Weasley children more effectively than any rant that Molly could dish out, and Ron was no exception. Unfortunately for Ron, the howler from his father was quickly followed by howlers from Bill, Charlie, and the twins. When the howler from Fred and George finished delivering its message, it blew up in his face like a dung bomb, burning off his eyebrows and eyelashes. The smell remained for nearly two weeks, clinging to Ron no matter how many showers he took.
The sound of the timer startled Ginny, who followed the instructions and reset the timer for the final 15 minutes. Her thoughts drifted back to the events of three weeks ago.
Ron shifted uncomfortably at his sister’s scrutiny but held her gaze. He wanted to make things right between them again. Harry had been after him for several years now to reconcile with her, but he just wasn’t sure how. It seemed every time they were together something would set off an argument between he and Ginny.
He had been more comfortable blaming Malfoy for their estrangement; it was easier to blame him than it was to examine his own behavior and realize that he had been a terrible brother. That kind of introspection was not something he was at all comfortable with, but it was forced upon him one night last summer.
After getting into a particularly vicious spat with his sister during a picnic at their parents’ house, Ginny left in a huff, saying that she refused to stay and listen to Ron insult her and her husband. Harry, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George had cornered him and raked him over the coals for everything from the way he had treated his sister since she started at Hogwarts right up until that night’s fight. The phrase ‘the truth hurts’ had never been more true and he realized that their ongoing estrangement was indeed all his fault.
Last night when his parents had come over to his house and told him and Hermoine about Percy’s arrest and the reason for it, he had been shocked. Hearing that straight-laced, by-the-book Percy Weasley had been behind the shipping of dark artifacts was just unbelievable. If his other brothers and Harry hadn’t been involved in the sting that implicated Percy, he would have never believed it. While they were talking, Fred’s head had appeared in the fireplace to warn them that Percy had escaped.
He was still having trouble dealing with the scene that played out before his eyes that morning. He had been sitting in the kitchen of the Burrow, waiting for Bill and Charlie to arrive before they joined in the search for their little sister. His father had gently suggested that he wait for his brothers to arrive, knowing that it would not be good for Ron and Draco to be in the same room with the agitated state that Draco had been in since the night before.
After Bill and Charlie arrived, they were getting ready to Apparate to Malfoy Manor when one of the manor’s house elves appeared right in front of them. After delivering the message from their father that Ginny was at W3 and they had already left to go retrieve her, the elf disappeared.
They heard the spinning of clock hands on the ancient clock in the hallway, indicating that several of their family members were traveling. The three brothers watched the clock as the hands moved, it was then that they noticed that Ginny’s hand was moving also, when it landed on ‘Mortal Peril’ Bill and Charlie each grabbed one of Ron’s arms and Apparated themselves into the alley behind W3.
Entering the building through the back entrance, they moved cautiously through the store after hearing raised voices coming from the front. Coming around the counter, they could see the front door was open, and there was a man in front of the doorway with his back to them.
Moving slowly so that they didn’t disturb any of the pranks on the shelves that might give them away, they made their way to the front door. When they got closer they could hear Percy threatening to kill their sister. At that point, they gave up all pretenses at stealth and sprinted forward.
Just as they cleared the last shelf before the door they saw Percy get thrown off balance, then heard the sickening crack of Ginny’s head slamming into Percy’s face and saw her elbow hitting his stomach. From the doorway all three sent stupefying spells at their brother moments after disarming charms hit him from the front. Percy’s body was flying back toward them when their spells hit him and sent him flying forward once again.
As they walked out the door, they kept their wands on their brother. Ron looked over and saw his sister on the ground and Malfoy gathering her up in his arms, it was then he saw something that he would have never guessed Draco Malfoy capable of. His childhood enemy had tears running down his face as he held Ginny.
It was at that moment that Ron knew that despite the fact he would never like Malfoy, he would try to keep his mouth shut where he was concerned. It was obvious that he truly loved his sister. If he ever hoped to reconcile with Ginny, he would have to accept that Malfoy would be a permanent part of her life.
“Ginny,” his voice cracked. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “I … I’m so sorry about Per…Percy. I don’t know what to say…I’m just glad that you’re alright. You are, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Ron, I’m fine,” Ginny said, still eyeing him suspiciously. She looked away when movement caught her attention; she could see Blaise and Anton casually moving closer from opposite sides, getting into position in case Ron tried something.
Ron moved closer and wrapped her up in a hug. He noticed that she stayed stiff in his arms. “Please, Ginny, I’m sorry and I promise I’ll try,” he pleaded.
Sighing, Ginny placed her hands lightly around his waist. “I know, Ron.”
What she knew is that he’d fail miserably; the bad blood ran too deep between him and Draco.
The slightest bit of a smile crossed her lips when she wondered if Ron knew just how deadly a situation he could be in if he failed. Blaise and Anton were actually the least of his problems’ Jade would hex him to within an inch of his life on principle alone, and she looked as if she would do it just to relieve some tension. But Pansy had her own reasons for wanting to hex Ron. That woman could hold a grudge and Ron had really insulted her during their seventh year. She’d been out for blood ever since.
Pansy and Jade had hexed, cursed and pranked the hell out of Ron after he had hit her in her sixth year, and the best part was that they had never been caught. Well not until they had cast a Liar, Liar hex on him where he had to tell the truth about what he’d done or thought, or else he would run around yelling ‘I’m a liar’ until he told the truth.
After a particularly nasty Potions class where Snape had made him confess to every time he’d copied his homework from Hermione for the last two years, he’d come storming up to the entryway to the Great Hall where Ginny had met up with her friends before heading in for lunch.
They were telling Ginny about what happened in class and the Slytherins were still laughing over the detentions that Snape had assigned him- one for every assignment Snape was making him redo for the last two years. Ron was looking at about a month’s worth of detentions.
Ron stomped up to them and started yelling, “I know it was you, one of you cast that spell on me! Remove it and do it now.”
Jade had sneered at him, “We have no idea what you’re talking about, but thank you for such an entertaining Potions class.”
Pansy had begun to cackle with mirth as Ron’s face turned purple with rage, but when he looked at Pansy his face want from purple to pale in less than a second. His eyes were wide and he began to shake, biting his lips and trying to keep his mouth closed. He looked so upset that Hermione had laid her hand on his arm, concerned he was going to be sick, but his eyes never left Pansy’s face.
The next words out of his mouth had jaws dropping all over the hallway. Including those of Professors Snape and McGonagall, who had just walked upon the scene on their way to lunch.
“Pansy, do you know that you are the sexiest thing I have ever seen? How would you like to wrap those gorgeous legs around a real man and let me fuck the hell out of you?”
When he finished, there was nothing but silence for about five seconds. It was Pansy’s turn to look sick and her jaw nearly hit the floor, but the silence was broken by Anton’s bellow of rage.
He lunged forward, going for Ron’s throat, and everyone moved then. Draco and Blaise each grabbed one of Anton’s outstretched arms, tackling him to the floor. They had to sit on him to keep him from breaking free and beating the crap out of Ron.
“RON,” Hermoine gasped before she began hitting him.
Ginny turned to see a laughing Jade holding a swaying Pansy up as Pansy begged her to Oblivate her memory. Anton was still cursing and bucking, trying to dislodge Draco and Blaise so he could get to Ron. Then Pansy seemed to recover and Ginny could see her going for her wand.
Not even the shocked gasp of Professor McGonagall or the growled “Mr. Weasley” from Professor Snape stopped her.
Ginny figured that saving Ron from Pansy was more important than letting the professors lecture him Ginny shoved Ron back toward Harry and Hermione. “Get him out of here, NOW!”
Harry and Hermione each grabbed one of his arms, but before they went more than a few steps Ron was hit with Pansy’s hex. Ron fell to the floor and shook violently for a minute, and when he stood up Ginny just gasped.
Ron was looking at his hands as he slowly turned around, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing out loud. Ron now resembled a miniature version of the mountain troll that he and Harry had fought in their first year. Harry and Hermione just looked at him in shock, then Ron let out a horrified scream and ran toward the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Hermione followed behind him, Hermione screeching at him the entire way.
Ginny turned back to her friends. Jade and Pansy were laughing so hard they had to hold each other up. Blaise and Draco had gotten off of Anton and all three men were on the floor laughing hysterically. Even the professors were not trying to restrain their laughter. Draco looked up at Ginny from where he was sitting on the floor and gave her his most wicked smile.
Ginny grimaced more than smiled back at him. “Well,” she drawled, and everyone looked at her as she wrinkled her nose. “Wasn’t that just … disturbing?”
Ginny pulled back from the hug and repeated absently, “I know you will, Ron.” She shook her head at Blaise and Anton. “Why don’t we sit down while we wait for dad and Draco?”
They had actually been having a pleasant conversation until someone brought up the ministry and the events of the morning. It was then that things began to go downhill. Molly made the comment that she was happy the Percy would be getting the help he so obviously needed other than just getting carted off to Azkaban.
Ginny just sat back and let the conversation wash over her. She hadn’t really had time to fully comprehend what Percy being admitted to St. Mungo’s would mean. He would be in the same building that she worked in. Granted, they would be separated by several floors, but it was still the same building.
She felt a chill run down her back when she realized she was terrified of being in the same building with him. What if he escaped? She had a child to think about now as well. She could feel the beginnings of a panic attack when her father and Draco walked back into the parlor.
Draco walked over to her, drawing his eyebrows together in a frown when he say how pale her face was. Kneeling in front of her, he cupped her cheek, and he saw the fear in her eyes.
“You okay?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
“Percy is at St. Mungo’s. I don’t know if I can go back knowing that he’s there. I don’t care about the gag order, but if he’s permanently admitted there, how do I know he won’t get out?”
Everyone had stopped talking when they heard what Ginny said, but neither she nor Draco noticed the others around them, intent on one another. Pulling her forward, Draco wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her temple. His Ginny was fearless and strong, but this morning had shaken them both up.
Pulling back, he lifted her chin with his finger so she had to look at him. “That is what your dad and I were just discussing. Our lawyers are presenting our security demands to the ministry tomorrow. If he is going to be there permanently, we will see to it that he will be unable to get out, so you’ll be safe. I also spoke with your department head today and you’re on medical leave for a month so hopefully this will be decided by the time you go back, okay? If I didn’t think you would be safe, I wouldn’t let you go back.”
“Draco, what are these security demands you are talking about?” Molly bristled.
Draco looked over at her for a moment before looking back at Ginny, raising an eyebrow as if to ask if she was all right. She gave him a little smile and nodded; he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead before standing up. He then sat down on the arm of Ginny’s chair with his arm on her shoulder before answering his mother-in-law.
“After discussing this with Arthur, we agreed that with Ginny working in the same building, and because of his attack on her, that some additional security measures would be in order,” he began. “Marcello and Sebastian will be presenting our demands to the Minister of Magic first thing tomorrow.”
“First, we are demanding that he be placed in a locked-down ward. That way he will monitored at all times and his movement will be more limited.”
Molly opened her mouth to protest but Arthur put a hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he shook his head. When Arthur looked back at Draco, he continued.
“Second, we are demanding that if the healers feel that he has improved and want to move him to a different ward they have to notify us. We are also demanding that we are able to bring our own experts in to see if they agree before any changes can be implemented.”
“Third, all visitors have to sign in and out and no wands will be brought on the ward while they are visiting.” Then, looking at Arthur for approval, Draco continued when he nodded again. “Last, we are going to ask them to bind his powers until he can be declared competent.”
When Draco’s last words died away, Molly and Ron jumped up from their seats and began to protest.
“NO! You can’t do that to Percy,” Ron bellowed.
“Arthur, you can’t possibly agree with this,” Molly gasped.
“Molly, all it would take is one person to be careless with a wand and Percy could escape,” Arthur said forcefully. “If his powers are bound then he would be less of a risk.
“But he is your son,” she wailed. “How could you agree to let Draco ask for that?”
“Did you forget what happened this morning already Molly?” Arthur asked, his voice shaking in anger.
“YOU,” she turned on Draco. “How could you do this to my son?”
Draco stood, his voice as cool as ice. “Because my wife, your daughter, will be in the same building and I will not allow any harm to come to her.”
“Arthur, our son without his magic,” she cried. “How can you allow this to happen to him? He is your son!”
Ginny had watched her mother in shock and finally, she stood, completely disgusted. “Yes, mother, and I’m your daughter and it was me that he nearly killed this morning right in front of you. Apparently that means nothing to you.”
Molly gasped, “Ginny, I’m sorry, but surely the extra security measures will be enough.”
“They will have to be enough,” Ron spoke up. “I will not let you do that to my brother, Malfoy, not for any reason.”
“I don’t think that it is really up to you, Ron,” Draco sneered, “And if that’s what it takes for Ginny to be safe while she works, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“If you wanted to keep her safe, what the hell was she doing at W3 this morning anyway?” he sneered back at Draco. “What did you do that caused her to walk out on you? If you hurt my sister…”
“I did nothing to your sister.” Draco was right in Ron’s face, his voice soft and deep.
“Enough!” Ginny sighed, placing her hand on Draco’s arm to draw him back. At the same time Fred and George grabbed Ron’s shoulders and shoved him back down in his chair.
“This morning was not Draco’s fault, Ron, and I won’t let you think otherwise. It was entirely my fault for losing my temper the night before,” she sighed, suddenly very tired. “Ron, despite your history with Draco, he never has nor will he ever hurt me, not in the way you mean or in any other way. You of all people know that husbands and wives fight.”
Turning to Draco, she put one hand on his waist and the other on the side of his face, speaking softly, “If it makes them feel better, do not ask for the ministry to bind his powers. The other measures will be enough for me.”
“Ginny,” he began.
Shaking her head, she cut him off, “Please Draco, it will be fine.”
“I’m tired, Draco, just take me up to bed.”
Draco pulled her into his arms. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, please.”
“Alright, if that’s what you want, I’ll drop it. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”
When the timer went off again, Ginny stirred the potion as directed. After it quit swirling in the cauldron, she used her wand to transfer the potion to the glass bottles she had prepared. She placed the full bottles into a basket to carry them upstairs, hoping this potion would ease her morning sickness. The last two she tried had done nothing.
The morning sickness had started the day after Percy’s attack. Draco had made arrangements to work from home for the week and they had slept in later than usual. When she had awaken that morning she had been tucked up tightly against Draco, enjoying his warmth, when her stomach began to roll. She had tried to ease her way out of his arms, but as soon as she moved he was instantly awake.
Not wanting to let go of her yet, he had tried to pull her back, “Come here, you, where do you think you’re going?”
Her stomach felt like it had completely flipped over, covering her mouth with one hand, she pushed away from Draco with the other and mumbled, “Got to use the loo.”
Grabbing her wand off her nightstand, she had to force herself not to run to the bathroom. Closing the door, she could barley utter a silencing spell before she collapsed in front of the toilet.
That had gone on every day for the last two weeks, and trying to hide it from Draco was beginning to wear on her nerves. After her first week home, he had gone back to working at the office, so it had been a little easier as they had slipped back into their normal morning routines.
Since today was Sunday, Draco was busy with his weekly Quidditch game. It was an odd combination of players. Anton and Blaise, along with Marcello and Sebastian, were regulars, as were Harry, Ron, Fred and George. Bill and Charlie had been known to catch a Portkey home to join in a couple times a month and the rest of the players were people who worked at Malfoy International.
The only problem with brewing the potion today was that they played on the Quidditch pitch that sat on the manor’s grounds. But she had Jade and Pansy running interference for her if Draco made for the house. She quickly finished cleaning the cauldron she had used and then cast a critical eye around the lab, making sure nothing was out of place. Draco kept his lab in perfect order; he knew where everything was placed and exactly what ingredients he had and their quantities, which was why she had purchased hers instead of borrowing from his stores.
Ginny carried the basket carefully as she walked into her bedroom. Opening the door to her walk-in closet, she removed one of the three bottles and put the basket up on one of the shelves. With the other bottle in hand, she pulled the closet door shut and then placed the bottle in one of the drawers in her vanity table.
She wasn’t purposefully trying to be sneaky; she just wanted to keep it hidden until she had sat Draco down and told him her news, instead of having him find out by accident. She told herself that she hadn’t really lied to him - she just had not told him the entire truth when she had woken up after she fainted the day of Percy’s attack.
It hadn’t really been a conscious decision not to tell him, but with the return of consciousness also came the realization that she had to rethink a few things before talking with Draco. She woke up to find herself lying on their bed, Draco right beside her, and Pansy, Jade, Anton, and Blaise watching her.
When she had sat up, Draco had begun asking her what happened. Still somewhat groggy, she had told him she wasn’t sure, and when Blaise had suggested that perhaps it was just a delayed reaction to the shock she had received, she had grasped onto his suggestion with both hands. She just didn’t mention what shock it was that had caused her reaction.
With the potion done and put away she headed out to the Quidditch pitch to join Pansy and Jade in watching the game. Jade and Pansy had both taken off last week and spent every day with her. They knew they had to come up with a plan for telling the men they loved that they were going to be daddies and they were all running out of time.
While they knew that they were in fact pregnant, Ginny could only guess as to what their due dates might be. Until they all saw the midwife the week after next, it was at best an educated guess. But it was already the end of July, and if she figured correctly, Jade and Pansy were nearly three months pregnant. It wouldn’t be long before Mother Nature did the talking for them.
From what Pansy and Jade had told her, they had taken the potion in April. When they both missed their next period in May, they had brewed a pregnancy indicator potion that confirmed they were both pregnant. Depending on the date of conception, they were both due sometime in January.
The day after they had found out the potion worked, they had slipped it into her tea, but she had not even missed her period yet in July when she found out she was pregnant. The best she could figure was that she had gotten pregnant sometime around her anniversary, which would put her due date in the first part of March.
As the Quidditch pitch came into view she saw that the game was still going. Walking up to the stands where Jade and Pansy sat watching, she slipped up beside them and took a seat next to Pansy.
“All done?” Pansy asked.
“Mission accomplished,” Ginny grinned. “Draco give you any troubles?”
Jade snorted on the other side of Pansy. “As if! I don’t think they would notice if the three of us ran down onto the pitch buck naked.” Giggling, she wiggled her eyebrows. “I think that they were in some serious need of stress relief; it’s been a pretty bloodthirsty match so far.”
Looking up and searching for Draco, she saw him slowly circling the pitch, looking for the Snitch and keeping an eye on Harry at the same time. Her stomach tightened and she felt her pulse speed up. Damn that man looked good in his Quidditch kit … all that leather was giving her very wicked thoughts.
“So we’re all going to tell them tonight, then, right?” she asked, confirming the plans they had made during the previous week.
Pansy stood up and cheered when Anton scored a goal. Sitting back down, she looked over at Ginny and grinned, “Oh, definitely. Win or lose, today he’ll be in a great mood after playing Quidditch all day, he should be very…receptive.” The smirk on her face indicated that she had big plans for Anton’s good humor.
Looking over at her other friend, she saw the frown on her face. “Jade, what’s the matter?”
Ginny blinked her eyes just to make sure her vision wasn’t going wonky. Jade had two big tears running down her cheek - the entire time that Ginny had known Jade, she had only seen her cry once.
Ginny quickly moved to her friend’s side and wrapped her arm around her, Pansy doing the same from where she sat. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry that you felt you had to do this,” she said, hugging her best friend. “Who knows maybe it will all be okay and you’ll have worried for nothing.”
Jade snorted before bowing her head, trying to get her emotions under control. “You and your Gryffindor attitude. Always hoping for the best.” Sighing loudly, she looked to the sky and watched Blaise as he flew down the pitch with the Quaffle under his arm. “No, this is not going to be okay and I know it.”
“I thought that I could accept it…if he walks away…but.” She covered her face with her hands as her shoulders started shaking.
Ginny looked at Pansy over Jade’s bowed head, her eyes wide. Pansy looked up at the men playing and took out her wand, casting an obscuring charm so it would look as if the three women were watching the game and not trying to comfort their crying friend.
Their attention was drawn back to Jade when she took a shaky breath. “I love him so much and I really thought with time that he would change his mind about a child.” She looked up again and gave them a watery smile. “But he hasn’t and I’ve tried so very hard to not want one. I’ve told myself over and over that I knew how he felt and that I’d just have to accept that because I love him.”
Clearing her throat and wiping the tears from her face, she continued, “But when Pansy and I were working on the potion, all those feelings started coming back again. So when it came time to test it, I thought about it and decided to take a chance that he would come around.” She paused for a minute. “But now that it’s done and I have to tell him…What if I lose him? I don’t know if I can handle that.”
Ginny gathered her friend’s hands in hers and looked into her eyes. “I know that you’re scared, but you have to tell him before he figures it out himself. He may be angry at first, and from what Anton said, he will probably not take the news very well.” Tucking a piece of hair behind Jade’s ear, she smiled, “Try to have a little faith that he will come around. I know he loves you- any fool can see that - but it may take a little time for him to accept it.”
Pansy rested her chin on Jade’s shoulder. “If he does anything stupid, you just come and get us. The three of us will figure something out.” She leaned in and kissed Jade’s cheek, “And if he’s really stupid, Ginny and I will curse his choicer bits to pieces.”
Jade leaned her head against Pansy’s. “These gods-be-dammed hormones are going to turn me into a bloody Hufflepuff.”
The three women laughed for a few minutes before sobering once again. They watched silently as Draco suddenly went into a dive with Harry following a short distance behind him. They could see Draco pushing his broom to go faster as Harry slowly gained on him.
Ginny rose slowly to her feet as Draco got closer to the ground without pulling up. Not realizing she still had held Jade’s hand, she pulled her up with her. Then when Draco was only about 10 feet from the ground, he pulled out of the dive with his arm raised in the air. The sun reflected off the little gold ball in his hand.
Ginny released the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. When Draco flew over their heads she was laughing and waving at him as he made his way back to the center of the pitch. Realizing she was still clutching Jade’s hand, she let go and laughed when Jade complained about the lack of blood circulating to her fingers.
They watched as their husbands started walking towards them. Pansy turned to the other two and with a raised eyebrow, asked, “So we’re agreed, we tell them tonight?”
Ginny nodded in agreement and then looked at Jade.
“Tonight,” Jade confirmed.
A/N: My thanks to dracademented for the use of her OC’s from her story ‘Unexpected’. Anton, Marcello, Sebastain, Daphane and Melodie all belong to her. I appreciated all of her help and support since the beginning of this and my other stories.
Also, my thanks to sillysun22 for final beta work on the last couple of chapters, three heads are better than two, and I appreciate that she takes the time to lend me a hand.
To all my reviewers you make me blush………..Thank You!!!!
TTFN
Kelly
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