Separate Ways by Journey
Ginny and Draco walked out of the room together.
“Ginevra Molly Weasley!” Ron bellowed.
“Yes, Ron?” Ginny replied, a smirk playing on her lips, knowing it would make him even more furious.
“What are you doing with Malfoy?” His faced reddened, a sure sign of a rant to come. “He’s a Slytherin! They’re evil and conniving and--”
“And you’re marrying one!” Pansy reminded him, hitting him on the head.
Ron rounded on her. “I don’t think that that was necessary!”
“Well, I don’t think it was necessary to call all Slytherins evil; after all, one is your SOUL MATE!” Pansy yelled.
“Don’t yell at my brother!” Percy ordered her.
Daphne hollered, “Don’t tell my best friend what to do!”
“Don’t tell me what to do!”
“STOP!” Ginny’s annoyance erupted in a loud shriek that silenced all other conversation. Everyone turned to look at her.
“We’re stuck in this situation, whether we like it or not, so let’s go to the Burrow so Mum can see her new daughters-in-law and sons-in-law,” Ginny told them calmly. She looked at Ron, grabbed her fiancé’s wrist, and dragged him out the Ministry door.
* * *
“Mum, we’re home!” Ginny shouted when she opened the door to the Burrow, Draco in tow. Mrs. Weasley emerged from the kitchen to greet her daughter. When she saw who Ginny was with, she stopped abruptly.
“Mum, I’d like you to meet Draco Malfoy,” Ginny said. “He’s my fiancé.”
“Well, hello, dear. Welcome to the family.” She gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“Hello, Mrs. Weasley. Do you happen to know where Mr. Weasley is? I’d like to ask him for permission to marry Ginny first,” Draco replied. He hadn’t been raised as an aristocrat without learning that manners should be used even with people that are lower than dirt.
“You don’t have to ask my dad anything,” Ginny said.
“I know, but it’s proper to have your parents’ blessing.”
“He’s in his workshop down the hall,” Mrs. Weasley answered.
After he left, Ginny turned toward her mother. “Mum! I cannot believe you!”
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You were just incredibly rude to him!” Ginny said in a heated whisper. “You always accept people for who they are and give them the benefit of the doubt. Why is Draco any different?”
Mrs. Weasley sighed. “I’m sorry, dear, but I just don’t like the idea of this law.”
“Well, I don’t have a choice, unless I want to live with Muggles for the rest of my life, and that is something I don’t want to do. Can you please be nice to him?”
“Okay, I’ll try to be nice,” Mrs. Weasley consented reluctantly. The faint smell of smoke wafted into the hall. “Oh dear! I’ve got cookies in the oven!”
Ginny followed her mother into the kitchen and told her more about the other new members of the family.
* * *
Draco knocked on the door to Mr. Weasley’s workshop.
“Come in.”
Draco took a deep breath and opened the door. “Mr. Weasley, er... well, I’m Draco Malfoy, and I’m going to be marrying you daughter, but I just wanted to receive your blessing first.”
“You’re my daughter’s soul mate?” Mr. Weasley asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“But you’re Lucius Malfoy’s son!” Mr. Weasley shouted, completely enraged at the thought of a having Death Eater in the family.
“His son, not his clone,” Draco responded. “And might I remind you that Lucius is dead. I killed him during the war.”
Mr. Weasley contemplated what the young man had just said and stuck his hand out for Draco to shake. He took it. “You have my blessing. But if you hurt my daughter in any way, I will send my sons to maim you, and then I’ll torture you and leave you to die a slow, painful death.”
Draco paled. “I understand completely, Mr. Weasley.”
“Then let’s get some of those cookies that Molly was baking earlier,” Mr. Weasley suggested.
The two left to sneak some cookies before dinner.
* * *
“I’m not going to that infernal crap-hole that those rodents call a home,” Severus stated flatly.
“Pr--Severus, ever since my parents died, the Weasleys have been like family to me. We’re going to dinner at the Burrow, and that’s final!” Hermione shouted. He might be seventeen years older than her, but she wasn’t going to let him push her around. Also, she knew for a fact he had enjoyed Molly’s cooking when he stayed at Grimmauld Place during the War.
“Go have dinner with them, then. I see no reason why I should accompany you; we’re not married yet.”
“Molly specifically told me to bring my fiancé, and that’s you, whether you like it or not!”
“I’m not spending more time than necessary with that herd of red-headed animals,” he sneered.
Hermione grabbed him and Apparated them to the Burrow. “You will come, and you will like it, you git!”
“You tell him, Hermione,” Charlie commented, when they appeared.
“You stupid chit. You do realize that I can Apparate myself home, I hope.”
“Not without your wand, you can’t.” Hermione smiled, twirling the piece of wood in her hand and sticking it in her pocket.
“Insufferable know-it-all,” he grumbled.
“Severus!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. “I’m glad that you could make it this time!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Molly,” he replied through gritted teeth as the overbearing woman pulled him into a hug.
“So, why are you here?” she asked.
“Your cooking is acceptable,” he responded casually.
“Mmhmm.”
“He’s my fiancé,” Hermione explained.
“Are you?” Mrs. Weasley asked, trying to get him to admit it. She had such fun teasing him that way. He was like another son to her, even though she could be his older sister. He always needed someone to look after him, and Mrs. Weasley was always in Mother-Mode for everyone and anyone that needed her. Mostly, she wanted him to confirm that he would be part of her adopted family.
“Yes.” He spoke through clenched teeth, knowing exactly what the Weasley matriarch was trying to do. “And I was dragged here against my will to be paraded around like a trophy.”
“I knew you wouldn’t have come here unless you were forced,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Well, welcome to the family, Severus. I expect you to be at all family functions, including weekly dinners, birthday parties, and such.”
“Of course,” Severus replied, already thinking up excuses.
“Well, dinner’s ready, so come on in and sit down,” Mrs. Weasley told everyone on the porch.
When they were all sitting down and eating, Ginny asked, “Where’s Ron?”
Fred snickered. “At Pansy’s house.”
George grinned evilly and added, “Having dinner with her parents.”
“I bet he’s having fun,” Harry said, laughing.
“You know, I don’t really appreciate the way you’re talking about her,” Draco said.
“I agree,” Percy said. “It’s not really respectful. Anyway, I’m going to go through the same thing tomorrow night with Daphne’s parents.”
“Shut up, Percy,” Fred and George both said.
“Fine.”
Ron slammed the door open. “Mum, I’m going to kill them!”
Pansy followed behind him, crying softly and blowing her nose into Ron’s jacket.
“What’s the matter, dears?” Mrs. Weasley asked Ron, rushing over to Pansy.
“It’s nothing, I’m fine, really,” Pansy sniffled, rubbing her tears away with the sleeve of Ron’s jacket.
“It’s not nothing!” Ron yelled.
“Ron, we’ll talk later. Pansy, come into the kitchen. I’ll get you some tea, and we can talk, just us girls.” Mrs. Weasley soothed the girl as she led her through the kitchen door.
“I’ll get a plate for you, Ron,” Hermione said, going through the kitchen and coming back, plate filled. She pulled up another chair for her friend and sat back down.
Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley comforted Pansy as she cried.
“Shh, dear, it’s all right,” Mrs. Weasley cooed.
“They disowned me!” she told Mrs. Weasley through her sobs. “Even though they know I have no choice but to marry Ron, they disowned me!”
“Take a deep breath, dear, and calm down.”
“They disowned me just because he’s a Weasley!” Pansy wailed.
“Why don’t I draw you bath? You can spend the night here,” she suggested.
Pansy nodded, hiccupping and wiping the tears off her face.
Mrs. Weasley exited the room, and Ron entered soon after.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
“I’m better.”
“That’s good,” he said. “I never wanted that to happen, you know. I don’t like your parents, but I never wanted that to happen.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“Malfoy and Greengrass would like to talk to you.”
“Would it kill you to call them by their first names?” Pansy said, sharply. “They are my friends, you know.”
“Yes, it would,” Ron replied seriously.
Pansy smiled slightly at his melodramatics.
Mrs. Weasley appeared in the kitchen and indicated that Pansy’s bath was ready.
Pansy got up and went over to Mrs. Weasley. She turned back to Ron and said, “I’ll talk to them after my bubble bath.”
“I’ll tell them.”
Ron followed Pansy out of the kitchen and watched his raven-haired fiancée walk up the stairs and enter the bathroom. He turned to her friends, “She’ll talk to you after she’s calmed down.”
“Thanks, Ron, for being there for her,” Daphne said. “You see, her parents were always striving for her to marry someone like Draco or Blaise. She never wanted that, but she went along with it to make them happy. And now that she’s marrying you, well, they couldn’t stand for it, because she was ‘destined’ to marry some rich, powerful wizard and they think that that isn’t you. She loves her parents in her own way, and the fact that they won’t be there for her anymore tears her apart.”
Ron nodded. “You’re welcome.”
Daphne mumbled something noncommittal and turned towards Percy to see if she could strike up a conversation with him.
Draco whispered something in Ginny’s ear and she whispered back; a horrified look crossed his face.
Hermione argued quietly with Severus over some Potions book or theory, their voices slowly getting louder as they disagreed.
Angelina scolded Fred and George for putting something in Percy’s drink, and Alicia confiscated said drink to prevent chaos.
Bill and Fleur had retreated who knows where for some privacy.
Charlie spoke animatedly about dragons, and Katie listened patiently and added her own input.
Everything was going well in the Weasley household, even though there were quite a few Slytherins invading the once Gryffindor home.
Ginny and Draco walked out of the room together.
“Ginevra Molly Weasley!” Ron bellowed.
“Yes, Ron?” Ginny replied, a smirk playing on her lips, knowing it would make him even more furious.
“What are you doing with Malfoy?” His faced reddened, a sure sign of a rant to come. “He’s a Slytherin! They’re evil and conniving and--”
“And you’re marrying one!” Pansy reminded him, hitting him on the head.
Ron rounded on her. “I don’t think that that was necessary!”
“Well, I don’t think it was necessary to call all Slytherins evil; after all, one is your SOUL MATE!” Pansy yelled.
“Don’t yell at my brother!” Percy ordered her.
Daphne hollered, “Don’t tell my best friend what to do!”
“Don’t tell me what to do!”
“STOP!” Ginny’s annoyance erupted in a loud shriek that silenced all other conversation. Everyone turned to look at her.
“We’re stuck in this situation, whether we like it or not, so let’s go to the Burrow so Mum can see her new daughters-in-law and sons-in-law,” Ginny told them calmly. She looked at Ron, grabbed her fiancé’s wrist, and dragged him out the Ministry door.
* * *
“Mum, we’re home!” Ginny shouted when she opened the door to the Burrow, Draco in tow. Mrs. Weasley emerged from the kitchen to greet her daughter. When she saw who Ginny was with, she stopped abruptly.
“Mum, I’d like you to meet Draco Malfoy,” Ginny said. “He’s my fiancé.”
“Well, hello, dear. Welcome to the family.” She gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“Hello, Mrs. Weasley. Do you happen to know where Mr. Weasley is? I’d like to ask him for permission to marry Ginny first,” Draco replied. He hadn’t been raised as an aristocrat without learning that manners should be used even with people that are lower than dirt.
“You don’t have to ask my dad anything,” Ginny said.
“I know, but it’s proper to have your parents’ blessing.”
“He’s in his workshop down the hall,” Mrs. Weasley answered.
After he left, Ginny turned toward her mother. “Mum! I cannot believe you!”
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You were just incredibly rude to him!” Ginny said in a heated whisper. “You always accept people for who they are and give them the benefit of the doubt. Why is Draco any different?”
Mrs. Weasley sighed. “I’m sorry, dear, but I just don’t like the idea of this law.”
“Well, I don’t have a choice, unless I want to live with Muggles for the rest of my life, and that is something I don’t want to do. Can you please be nice to him?”
“Okay, I’ll try to be nice,” Mrs. Weasley consented reluctantly. The faint smell of smoke wafted into the hall. “Oh dear! I’ve got cookies in the oven!”
Ginny followed her mother into the kitchen and told her more about the other new members of the family.
* * *
Draco knocked on the door to Mr. Weasley’s workshop.
“Come in.”
Draco took a deep breath and opened the door. “Mr. Weasley, er... well, I’m Draco Malfoy, and I’m going to be marrying you daughter, but I just wanted to receive your blessing first.”
“You’re my daughter’s soul mate?” Mr. Weasley asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“But you’re Lucius Malfoy’s son!” Mr. Weasley shouted, completely enraged at the thought of a having Death Eater in the family.
“His son, not his clone,” Draco responded. “And might I remind you that Lucius is dead. I killed him during the war.”
Mr. Weasley contemplated what the young man had just said and stuck his hand out for Draco to shake. He took it. “You have my blessing. But if you hurt my daughter in any way, I will send my sons to maim you, and then I’ll torture you and leave you to die a slow, painful death.”
Draco paled. “I understand completely, Mr. Weasley.”
“Then let’s get some of those cookies that Molly was baking earlier,” Mr. Weasley suggested.
The two left to sneak some cookies before dinner.
* * *
“I’m not going to that infernal crap-hole that those rodents call a home,” Severus stated flatly.
“Pr--Severus, ever since my parents died, the Weasleys have been like family to me. We’re going to dinner at the Burrow, and that’s final!” Hermione shouted. He might be seventeen years older than her, but she wasn’t going to let him push her around. Also, she knew for a fact he had enjoyed Molly’s cooking when he stayed at Grimmauld Place during the War.
“Go have dinner with them, then. I see no reason why I should accompany you; we’re not married yet.”
“Molly specifically told me to bring my fiancé, and that’s you, whether you like it or not!”
“I’m not spending more time than necessary with that herd of red-headed animals,” he sneered.
Hermione grabbed him and Apparated them to the Burrow. “You will come, and you will like it, you git!”
“You tell him, Hermione,” Charlie commented, when they appeared.
“You stupid chit. You do realize that I can Apparate myself home, I hope.”
“Not without your wand, you can’t.” Hermione smiled, twirling the piece of wood in her hand and sticking it in her pocket.
“Insufferable know-it-all,” he grumbled.
“Severus!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. “I’m glad that you could make it this time!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Molly,” he replied through gritted teeth as the overbearing woman pulled him into a hug.
“So, why are you here?” she asked.
“Your cooking is acceptable,” he responded casually.
“Mmhmm.”
“He’s my fiancé,” Hermione explained.
“Are you?” Mrs. Weasley asked, trying to get him to admit it. She had such fun teasing him that way. He was like another son to her, even though she could be his older sister. He always needed someone to look after him, and Mrs. Weasley was always in Mother-Mode for everyone and anyone that needed her. Mostly, she wanted him to confirm that he would be part of her adopted family.
“Yes.” He spoke through clenched teeth, knowing exactly what the Weasley matriarch was trying to do. “And I was dragged here against my will to be paraded around like a trophy.”
“I knew you wouldn’t have come here unless you were forced,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Well, welcome to the family, Severus. I expect you to be at all family functions, including weekly dinners, birthday parties, and such.”
“Of course,” Severus replied, already thinking up excuses.
“Well, dinner’s ready, so come on in and sit down,” Mrs. Weasley told everyone on the porch.
When they were all sitting down and eating, Ginny asked, “Where’s Ron?”
Fred snickered. “At Pansy’s house.”
George grinned evilly and added, “Having dinner with her parents.”
“I bet he’s having fun,” Harry said, laughing.
“You know, I don’t really appreciate the way you’re talking about her,” Draco said.
“I agree,” Percy said. “It’s not really respectful. Anyway, I’m going to go through the same thing tomorrow night with Daphne’s parents.”
“Shut up, Percy,” Fred and George both said.
“Fine.”
Ron slammed the door open. “Mum, I’m going to kill them!”
Pansy followed behind him, crying softly and blowing her nose into Ron’s jacket.
“What’s the matter, dears?” Mrs. Weasley asked Ron, rushing over to Pansy.
“It’s nothing, I’m fine, really,” Pansy sniffled, rubbing her tears away with the sleeve of Ron’s jacket.
“It’s not nothing!” Ron yelled.
“Ron, we’ll talk later. Pansy, come into the kitchen. I’ll get you some tea, and we can talk, just us girls.” Mrs. Weasley soothed the girl as she led her through the kitchen door.
“I’ll get a plate for you, Ron,” Hermione said, going through the kitchen and coming back, plate filled. She pulled up another chair for her friend and sat back down.
Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley comforted Pansy as she cried.
“Shh, dear, it’s all right,” Mrs. Weasley cooed.
“They disowned me!” she told Mrs. Weasley through her sobs. “Even though they know I have no choice but to marry Ron, they disowned me!”
“Take a deep breath, dear, and calm down.”
“They disowned me just because he’s a Weasley!” Pansy wailed.
“Why don’t I draw you bath? You can spend the night here,” she suggested.
Pansy nodded, hiccupping and wiping the tears off her face.
Mrs. Weasley exited the room, and Ron entered soon after.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
“I’m better.”
“That’s good,” he said. “I never wanted that to happen, you know. I don’t like your parents, but I never wanted that to happen.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“Malfoy and Greengrass would like to talk to you.”
“Would it kill you to call them by their first names?” Pansy said, sharply. “They are my friends, you know.”
“Yes, it would,” Ron replied seriously.
Pansy smiled slightly at his melodramatics.
Mrs. Weasley appeared in the kitchen and indicated that Pansy’s bath was ready.
Pansy got up and went over to Mrs. Weasley. She turned back to Ron and said, “I’ll talk to them after my bubble bath.”
“I’ll tell them.”
Ron followed Pansy out of the kitchen and watched his raven-haired fiancée walk up the stairs and enter the bathroom. He turned to her friends, “She’ll talk to you after she’s calmed down.”
“Thanks, Ron, for being there for her,” Daphne said. “You see, her parents were always striving for her to marry someone like Draco or Blaise. She never wanted that, but she went along with it to make them happy. And now that she’s marrying you, well, they couldn’t stand for it, because she was ‘destined’ to marry some rich, powerful wizard and they think that that isn’t you. She loves her parents in her own way, and the fact that they won’t be there for her anymore tears her apart.”
Ron nodded. “You’re welcome.”
Daphne mumbled something noncommittal and turned towards Percy to see if she could strike up a conversation with him.
Draco whispered something in Ginny’s ear and she whispered back; a horrified look crossed his face.
Hermione argued quietly with Severus over some Potions book or theory, their voices slowly getting louder as they disagreed.
Angelina scolded Fred and George for putting something in Percy’s drink, and Alicia confiscated said drink to prevent chaos.
Bill and Fleur had retreated who knows where for some privacy.
Charlie spoke animatedly about dragons, and Katie listened patiently and added her own input.
Everything was going well in the Weasley household, even though there were quite a few Slytherins invading the once Gryffindor home.
Author notes: Don't worry, there will be plenty of fights between everyone coming up. I was just trying to put a basis down for each relationship. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed!
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