~*~

“Ginny, please get out of there!! It’s been an hour and you’re really starting to worry and scare me!”

Ginny stared at the strange device in her hand – only Muggles could come up with such ridiculous, disgusting and complicated devices for such simple things – with utmost horror. She was sure that if Hermione was to see her face, she’d know immediately, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for anyone to know quite yet.

She had often marvelled at how simple her life had become after she and Harry broke up two years ago, and this new... thing with Draco had begun. Thing was really the only way she could describe it, because she really had no idea what it was that had been established between them. When they became intimate, which was well before they became either friendly or civil, she considered it a fling. He was a good shag and there was a certain passion between them that only a hint of mutual dislike could supply. But they had grown closer.

Now, simple was forever gone out of her life... She had a tough decision to make.

“If you don’t get out here right now, I will break the door down!” Hermione’s voice sounded like hysteria badly masked over with sternness, so Ginny got off the edge of the bathtub she had been sitting on and looked in the mirror. She was too shocked for tears, but deathly pale. She could explain that by either result, so she hid the device in her jeans pocket and unlocked the door.

Hermione’s worried and apprehensive face was so close to hers that she jumped back – she must have been leaning on the door.

“It’s all ok!” Ginny put on the biggest smile she could muster and tilted her head to the side. “Quite the scare though, eh?”

“Ginny. Muggle tests are not half as good as the magical ones, and if you wanted to take a Muggle one that means you already took the magical one. In fact, I’m sure of it, because you didn’t even know we Muggles had a way of knowing before blatant symptoms and doctors before I let it slip in a conversation you steered me into. You must have known that the Muggle test would provide the same result, but when you went in there, you were scared and pale, and when you came out –“

“Hermione, please stop!” Ginny pushed past her and went straight for her wardrobe. “You’re analyzing this way too much. Everything is going to be ok.”

“So you’re not pregnant?”

“Hermione, please.”

“So you are pregnant?!”

“Hermione!”

“Oh my God, Ginny!” Hermione sank onto Ginny’s bed and took a deep breath. She sat there for a moment with her eyes closed, as if in deep thought, and then started slowly, “Look, I know you and Harry decided that it would be better off if you broke up, but there’s obviously still something there if you two have been keeping up the physical relationship. And he’s not really seeing anyone too special, so you don’t have to worry about anything, I promise. You know Harry. He will be a man and he will take full responsibility and ... Ginny?”

“I’m just changing, be right out!”

Ginny sat down on the floor of her spacious wardrobe and buried her head in her hands. Harry would be a man. Even if he was seeing someone special, for this and for her he would walk away without a second's thought and dedicate his life to fatherhood and family. But Harry had nothing to do with it. She almost wished he had, because even though she hadn't had any feelings for him for the longest time now, she knew that if it were Harry, she would not have to be so terrified.

When she imagined having children, the picture in her head was so very different from what it was turning out to be. She'd used to imagine settling down with Harry, but the face of the tall handsome man by her side had long since been blurred. She had no plans on settling down yet. She had no serious relationship in sight, her job was in its very bloom, and she loved the freedom to do as she pleased. She imagined that when she was sure she was ready, she would have a child with her husband and then live happily ever after.

Except at the moment, she had no husband, and not even exactly a boyfriend. She sure as hell did not feel ready, and the only thing that she could think of was that her family would never understand her doing what she did, and the father of her child would not be caught dead admitting to being responsible for a bastard child from a Weasley. His family did not know either.

She didn’t hear Hermione open the door, and startled when she felt her friend’s hand on her shoulder. She struggled to hold back tears, but they overwhelmed her as she let loose, bawling her eyes out into Hermione’s chest. Hermione waited for her to calm down patiently and silently.

“It’s not Harry’s, is it?” she asked finally, when Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes and got off the floor.

Ginny shook her head.

“Are you going to keep it?”

“I... Don’t know, Hermione.” Ginny looked down. “I have to talk to the father. Now.”

Before Hermione had time to say another word, Ginny was gone.

~*~

Ginny wasn’t sure whether Draco blocked his study to prevent her from Apparating in when they didn’t have plans, but did not think of that in time. So she was quite relieved when she opened her eyes in the familiar room. Draco was sprawled on the couch, looking messy and unkempt – wearing only very wrinkly trousers – and jumped up as if stung by the sight of her.

If the circumstances were different, she probably would never have let him live that down and teased him quite a lot about it. Him, Draco Malfoy, not looking like he had just walked off a magazine cover? Unspeakable! Draco never appeared in public without making sure he looked his best – his clothes, his hair, everything. As it was, however, she didn’t say a word and stared at him, while he ran his hands through his hair, trying to get it to settle down.

“Ginevra, what in the world are you doing here? You know I told you to never Apparate in here without us planning it beforehand!”

“And I stuck to my word up until now, didn’t I?” Ginny snapped, taking a few steps towards him and perching herself on an armchair. “This is a special case. Quite an emergency, actually.”

He sighed and sat down on the sofa. He hated looking like a vagabond, but Ginny had seen him like that before.

“What is it? And make it fast. Mother is supposed to call for lunch.”

“This is how you were going to present yourself to Narcissa for lunch?” Ginny raised a brow.

“Is that relevant? What can I do for you?”

Ginny took a deep breath. She didn’t know how she could just blurt out a thing like that, but that was really all that she could do.

“We’re in really big trouble.”

Draco paled. She watched him carefully as he ran his fingers through his hair almost compulsively and stared at her intently.

“Who found out?” he asked finally, when she didn’t continue.

“What?”

“Who saw us? Who knows? Is it Potter?”

Ginny felt blood rush to her face in anger. If he thought people finding out about them was big trouble, he would probably Avada Kedavra himself right there in front of her when she gave him the news. And what exactly was so horrible about people finding out? Their families would freak, true, but they have been in a more or less grudging truce since the end of the war, and Draco was even said to acknowledge Arthur more or less politely at work. It wouldn’t be approved of, but he really didn’t have to make it seem like she was the Giant Squid.

“Nobody saw us, Malfoy.” She rolled her eyes at him. “The trouble I’m referring to is quite a bit bigger.” She closed her eyes and really did blurt it out. “I’m pregnant!”

“You’re... What?!”

Ginny opened her eyes to find Draco so pale she actually jumped up and kneeled in front of him. His eyes were the size of dinner plates, and he looked on the verge of major hyperventilation. Almost endearing, Ginny thought fleetingly, while at a loss of what to say or do. She expected Draco to get upset, shocked, and possibly angry, but she did not expect him to die of any of the aforementioned, which was what he seemed to be in the process of doing.

“It’s... It’s not mine?” Draco asked weakly, pushing Ginny’s hands away weakly. “We used... We always used...”

“Not always.” Ginny shook her head. “There was the one time we didn’t.”

“But it was one time!”

"Once is all it takes sometimes."

Both fell silent. Draco stared at the floor, and she kneeled in front of him, one hand on his knee. She didn’t know why she felt disappointed. All things aside, he took it better than she thought he would. He didn’t curse her or himself, he hadn’t suggested she get rid of it that instance yet, and the furniture and the manor were still very much in one piece. But in the back of her mind, a different scenario played out. She always thought that when she told the man she was with she was having his baby, he would sweep her into his arms and laugh and kiss her and be happy. Draco, of course, was not going to do any of those things. He looked like the best he could manage was maybe throw up then faint. And that’s only if he ever snapped out of the deep stupor he was in presently.

She watched him intently, and then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. He looked over at her in surprise and she felt herself blush. It was a very random thing to do, considering the circumstances, and, since it was them, very unusual, but it felt very right. He looked very real to her at that moment, and she wanted to touch him, comfort him, do anything, really, to have him look at her and say something to her that would finalize things. Tell her to get out and never come back, if that was what he wished, as long as it was some kind of reaction.

“I don’t know... I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said quietly, looking at the ground.

It wasn’t a lie, either. At first she thought that for her, there wasn’t a lot of deciding to do. She thought that there was only one decision that she could live with, but was now having second thoughts. She had a life ahead of her. She had a whole ladder to climb in her career, and she had only been with two men seriously in her whole life (those boys she dated in Hogwarts on and off for a few days here and there didn’t really count). Was she too young to have a kid? Would it ruin her life forever?

“Ginerva.” Ginny snapped out of her reverie to realize Draco had been asking her something. “What do you mean you don’t know what you’re going to do?”

“Well, there is a really tough decision to be made. So many things have to weighted here. It’s not going to be easy for either of us, I think, but we should make the decision together, I suppose.”

“What decision?”

“Well, whether I’m going to keep the baby.”

“What?!”

Now she got the reaction she was looking for initially. Draco’s face turned so angry all of a sudden she became a little nervous. She wasn’t sure if the whole situation just hit him, or he found something incredibly infuriating about the idea of them making the decision together.

“There is no decision to make here,” he barked, standing up and walking over to his desk. She got up slowly and waited for him to explain. “This is a Malfoy you have in there. My child. Don’t even think of a second I’m going to allow you to kill my son or daughter!” All of a sudden, Draco’s voice became quiet and almost inaudible. “I’m the father of a little girl or a little boy as we speak, aren’t I?”

Ginny found this emotion that she was witnessing Draco succumb to much unexpected. Did he... want to be a father? Even if the child was hers? Not a Malfoy, really, but part Malfoy and part Weasley? He turned around to look at her, and she gave him a gentle nod. He stood immobile for another seconds and then, without quite realizing what happened, Ginny found herself pinned to the wall and his body, his lips on hers. He was usually quite passionate, but this time there was something so much more to it than lust. She knew perfectly well that there were many things Draco would not allow himself to say, but he would show them. He wasn’t a gentle or a sentimental man. No matter how much he changed over the years, he was still no less than a Malfoy and a Slytherin. But he was fundamentally different from the little immature boy who used to tease her into tears back when they were at Hogwarts.

He pulled away and she felt his hand on her stomach.

“You’re telling me you’re going to be ok with fathering a bastard child from me?” she asked him, raising a brow.

“Does your family know?” he asked steadily, ignoring her question. He seemed to have composed himself after the sudden burst of emotion, and was now back to being the usual, seemingly stone-cold, calm and collected Draco.

“The answer to that would be evident in the fact that I’m still alive.” She chuckled. “Mum nearly had a heart-attack and didn’t really talk to me for a couple of weeks when Harry and I broke up. She thought I dumped him, see. If she finds out I’m pregnant at this age and from you, I don’t think she will be able to deal with it at all.”

“Alright, I’m coming over for dinner tomorrow. Arrange for your family to be there.”

“What?”

“I’ll talk to mother today, alone, and we’ll figure out how to tell father. Telling him something like that really is a life-threat. But it’s only in good taste for me to be there when you tell your family.”

Ginny gave him a flabbergasted look.

“We’ll start small. We’re going to have to tell them we’re in a relationship first, don’t you think?”

Ginny froze. A relationship. Draco dropped the word so casually that it was evident that he was not confused at all as to the nature of their encounters. She didn’t know whether to feel scared or flattered. Draco actually considered her something her as something more – so much more – than a good shag. She never thought of him in those terms, but she was now realizing that there was not many words that would be more suitable to describe the thing between them.

“We’re in a relationship?” she asked, half expecting him to ignore that question as well. Draco had an irritating habit of simply blowing past anything he didn’t consider worthy of his attention.

“I was waiting for that question.” He looked surprisingly calm. “What did you think this was, Ginevra? We go out to dinners, theatres, operas... The fact that we do it in disguises aside, we enjoy those things on the same level and enjoy spending time together. You’re the only woman that I’ve ever talked to about my family, my childhood, or my estate. The last time you were over, we spent the whole night in my bed reading our respective things, then you tickled me under the threat of death and we had a laughing shag.” He sighed and she could’ve sworn he blushed a little. “And then we cuddled.” He looked up at her insistently. “We’ve been doing this for two years, you realize that? I don’t think you call it a fling when it’s that long and... exclusive.”

He was blunt, which is what she loved about him, and so often right, if cruel about it, which was what she begrudged him. She fooled herself with an illusion of being single and free – the illusion he obviously didn’t harbour. She realized, in shock, that for the last two years she had been involved in an exclusive, satisfying relationship with Draco Malfoy. She knew he hadn't seen other girls, and she hadn't even thought of ever being with someone else while she was with him. It was so nearly impossible to swallow that it was so easy and natural to be with Draco, that she hadn't even really realized she was with him. And two years was an awfully long time. Longer than I was with Harry, she realized.

“I... I should go,” she said finally. By his look, she could see he expected a little more on the topic from her, but she needed to think it over. She had bigger problems to think about right now. To start with, how to explain to her family why Draco Malfoy was coming for dinner tomorrow night, which was usually just the night the family got together to catch up.

“Yeah, right. See you tomorrow. I’ll be there at six, if my father doesn’t murder me.”

The last thing she saw before Disapparating was Draco taking a step towards her, presumably to kiss her goodbye.

~*~

The Weasley dinner table was deathly quiet. One could hear every clunk of silverware, every sigh, cough, and, Ginny was sure, every thought of everyone present. The silence fell the moment they all took their seats, and Ginny was ready to scream in frustration.

There were only nine of them at the table – a significantly lower amount than usual – simply because only her parents, Percy, Ron, Hermione and George could make it on such short notice. Ginny cheated. She told them she needed to announce something to the family, but did not inform them of Draco’s coming until Molly opened the door and found him on the doorstep. She just could not afford her parents and brothers refusing to come on Draco’s account or deny her permission to invite him. Besides, she knew they would not yell or shower her with questions when he was already there.

The moment Hermione had seen him, she'd gasped and given Ginny a horrified look. Now Hermione was staring from Draco to Hermione with huge eyes, her food forgotten. Ron was giving Draco dirty looks, and if not for Hermione’s hand on his knee, threatening to punch wherever it found appropriate if he made a scene, he would’ve been screaming and raging already. As it stood, he was as red as a tomato, and paying way too much attention to his food. Arthur looked pale and Molly stern, while George’s eyes did not leave Ginny. Percy was perhaps the only person who looked like he couldn’t care less about what was happening, and, in fact, Ginny was sure, hardly noticed Draco’s presence, everyone’s reaction to him, or anything out of the ordinary, really.

It seemed hours until Arthur finally spoke. “So... Mr. Mal – Draco. I had no idea you kept in contact with Ginny after Hogwarts, and especially that the two of you were friends.” He gave Ginny an accusing look and she looked down with a blush. “It’s quite a surprise for us... Have you been on friendly terms for long?”

“Surely not,” Molly cut in. “I mean no offense, dear, of course. You’ve done so much and definitely proven yourself different from what we all thought you were after the war.” Ron scoffed and Hermione kicked him under the table, “but, you understand, taking the nature of your relationship with our children for most of your school career, I’m sure if you haven’t just re-established contact, Ginny surely would’ve told us.”

Ginny swallowed a bite of Shepherd’s Pie that did not want to go down and put her fork down. She opened her mouth to somehow delicately address this, but Draco got there first. And delicacy was not a concept he was familiar with.

“Ginevra and I have been romantically involved for two years,” he said, and Ginny was surprised how calm and collected he looked and sounded when he said this.

Ginny had never seen so many people spit out their food at the same time. Everyone seemed too shocked to speak, but Ron seemed to have found his voice first.

“You’re dating Malfoy?! The ferret?! The...”

“Ronald!” Hermione gave him a look that could kill and he fell quiet, his fists clenched on the table, appearing even redder than he had been just a minute ago.

“Dear, this isn’t... true?” Molly tried to keep a cheerful, cool composure, but so far not succeeding very well at all. Ginny had to give it to her, though, she was trying. Such a horrible way to break a mother’s heart, she thought as she nodded and observed Molly’s smile fade. The more she looked at her family, the more she wandered why, exactly, they kept this thing so secret for so long. They were obviously not ashamed of each other – they grew out of that long time ago. And she felt absolutely devastated that she had yet another bomb to drop on them, that one making the first one almost a trifle in comparison.

“You’re telling me,” Percy spoke up suddenly, “that the two of you managed to keep up a successful relationship in complete secrecy for two entire years? That’s impressive. We can use people like you among the Unspeakables.” He turned to Molly. “I have told you, though, mother, as I can very well recall, that she becomes an adult the moment she moves out of this house. And she has. Leading her own life, not needing to answer to anyone. It’s really one of the best privileges of leaving the nest.” Molly was speechless, and Ginny didn’t know whether to hate him or love him more at that moment. He was right, and he did kind of stick up for her, but it really didn’t help matters.

“It’s not like that!” she said pleadingly. “I didn’t do this because I wanted to prove anything or to be independent. It was just... simpler. And I knew you wouldn’t approve – “

“You think?” George ejaculated, throwing his fork down with a tremendous crash. “ Ginny, this is Draco Malfoy we’re talking about. Whatever he did during or after the war is irrelevant. He’s a git, a wanker and scum. He’s horrible and mean and cruel and selfish and –”

“Enough!” Ginny jumped a mile high when Draco’s voice boomed beside her, and everyone immediately fell quiet. Draco measured the room with a serious look. “I am well aware what you all think of me. I may have crawled out of my skin for years to clean my name from my own and my family’s doings, but I never claim to be a changed man who is now nice, considerate or not self-interested. I am Draco Malfoy, the boy who bullied every Weasley I could get close to for years mercilessly and, while unfairly, consistently.” His voice became low. “But I have shown nothing but respect for your daughter, sister and friend -” He nodded toward Hermione. “- since we’ve become involved. And if you knew your daughter, sister and friend but at all, you would’ve realized that otherwise she would not be here with me.”

They sat in silence for quite a while. Ginny had to admit, she was impressed. She heard that Malfoys had impeccable and ruthless communication and diplomacy skills, but seeing Draco exhibit them so confidently in front of her family made her want to do things to him she was sure were quite inappropriate to be thought of at the dinner table and under the circumstances.

“Now,” Draco continued, after giving the customary few minutes for someone to try and dispute him, “Ginerva and I have been together for a long time. We didn’t tell anyone because it would not do wonders for us in our own respective social circles, and we both knew it would not fly over well with our families.” He gave Molly and Arthur a sharp look. “It started off very non-committal, here and there, only for sex, pretty much.” Ginny saw Ron look on the verge of vomiting. “We simply did not see a reason to tell anyone, parents especially. Why upset so many people for something that could really turn out to be nothing? And we really did get into it thinking it was nothing more than a fling of a sort.”

“Except recently we’ve realized it’s not a fling anymore when it’s now been two years, we have not seen anyone else aside from each other, and... we’re... I’m... we’re happy.” Ginny was afraid to look at Draco. She could see out of the corner of her eye him looking at her, and she could almost sense the surprise in his gaze at what she had said. But... she was happy. What else could it be, really, when two years flew by without either of them even noticing, and all the things they started out with were still there, except now joined by so many others?

“So you came here to tell us you’re... involved?” Hermione put in suggestively. “That’s it?”

“That’s not enough?” Ron snapped.

“That’s not why I’m here.” Draco sighed. “We had to tell you we’re involved to explain what we’re actually here to tell you.”

“There’s more... news?” Arthur stumbled. He looked as pale as a sheet.

“They’re good news.” Draco brightened considerably. “You’re going to be grandparents.”

At this, even Percy dropped the fork he was holding and looked up at them in shock. And if those news shocked Percy of all people, there were no adequate words to describe the effect they caused on the others. Hermione didn’t even attempt to look surprised, but just shook her head in disapproval. Arthur grabbed his chest, and Molly half leaned half fell over onto him, her mouth open but no words coming out. Ron and George jumped up at the same time and whipped out their wands.

“How dare you defile my little sister, you ferret!” Ron bellowed, waving his wand around madly, seemingly forgetting that he actually had to say spells for it to do any damage.

George, however, was a little more aware of what he wanted to do, and muttered a spell, pointing his wand at Draco’s incredulous face. With a crack Draco was thrown back, crashing into the wall behind him.

“George, stop!” Ginny screamed out in horror, and produced her own wand, pointing it at her brother. “Have you gone mad?!”

“I’ll curse you too if I have to,” George growled. “What the hell were you thinking, Ginny? I absolutely forbid you to –”

“Forbid me?!” Ginny could feel her blood boil under her skin. “How dare you? He is in our home as a guest – my guest – and you attack him and –”

“Maybe not my place,” Percy said quietly, looking over at his parents, “but this would be a good time to intervene, if ever.”

“Ye- Yes.” Arthur steadied Molly gently in her seat and got up. “Enough of that, now. This is... This is just a whole lot of information to intake... I mean... This is not true, I’m certain. And violence is...” He threw his hands up, defeated, and turned to Molly. She seemed to have regained some of her composure, because she was slowly getting up from the chair.

“Ron, George, wands away now. There will be no spell-firing or violence in my house.” The two exchanged annoyed looks and tucked away their wands. “Arthur, take Draco into the garden. I think you need to have a talk. Ginny, upstairs to your room.”

“My room?” Ginny scowled. “You can’t send me to my room anymore. I’m not a kid and I don’t live here anymore.” She looked at Molly pleadingly. “I know this is a lot to take in right now, but this has been really hard for us too! Do you think it’s easy for me? I didn’t plan this, and I only found out yesterday!” Her voice was getting hysterical now, and tears were freely running down her cheeks. “And then Ron and George go on and make a scene like this! And Draco is hurt and all he did is get up and dust himself off and not say a word or cast a spell back, and if that doesn’t show he’s trying, I don’t know what will. But the point is we’re keeping this baby and Draco’s the father, and no matter how much you hate it, it’s still going to be true in the end.”

“Ginevra, I think I do need to speak to your father alone.” Draco’s lip was bleeding slightly, but he seemed to not have noticed. “Just your father,” he added, throwing an angry look at George and Ron, who were standing as if ready to re-introduce their wands into the situation at any given opportunity.

“Ronald and I are going to go home,” Hermione said quickly, giving Ginny an understanding look. “George, why don’t you come with us? Ron still has your broom. It’s about time you took it back.”

“But –” George and Ron tried to interject in unison, but Hermione grabbed them both by the sleeves and Apparated, not giving them a chance to realize what was happening. Ginny really loved Hermione for that. Hermione understood perfectly well that it’s really Arthur and Molly Ginny should be talking to, and Ron and George would have to take quite a lot of time before they could reach the point where they could at least begin looking at things coolly and objectively.

Arthur turned and walked out into the garden, followed closely by Draco. Ginny turned to look at Percy and Molly. Percy had started up on his Shepherd’s Pie again, and Molly was looking at her with a look of accusation and disappointment that broke Ginny’s heart.

“I’m sorry, Mum,” Ginny said quietly, sinking into a chair. “But he has been... great to me, as bizarre as that may sound. I’m happy with him. I never realized this before, but I am. I know you and Dad wanted me to end up with Harry. I really thought I would, too, but it didn’t turn out like that. I know you hate Draco and his family, but...” She trailed off, defeated. What could she really say in her defense to her parents after all Lucius had done to them, and all Draco had done to their kids? Sometimes, she didn’t quite understand herself how or why she ended up with him of all people, but at least as far as she herself was concerned, all the wounds Draco ever caused in the past, he now healed.

“Ginny.” Molly sounded stern and serious, but there was a small hint of affection and worry in her eyes that Ginny had seen many times before. “Darling, this isn’t about us hating Draco or his family. Of course our family has disliked the Malfoys for generations, and it has always been happily mutual, but it is not our place to tell you who you can and cannot be with, love, marry, or have children with. I will say he has changed considerably, and if he takes care of you and you’re happy, no matter how much we may be torn when it comes to our own judgements and prejudice, that’s all a parent can really wish for their kids.

“But this isn’t about that,” Molly continued, her voice becoming slightly more cross. “You have kept it from us for two years. I understand we probably would’ve appreciated this if it was just a fling that eventually came to an end, but from what I understand this is quite a serious thing now.” Molly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “And you’re pregnant. That fact just does not register in my mind at all. How could you let this happen? You’re not even married! I’m not even sure to what extent your relationship with Draco goes! And your Quidditch career? You were so happy with it. Still had so many things to do before you were ready to settle down!”

Ginny bowed her head and shrugged. Molly was stating all her own fears, worries, and regrets. She was right, of course. She was pregnant for no other reason but carelessness. She didn’t have anything to say. What was done was done. She couldn’t turn back time, and concentrating on all the mistakes she’d made only made her feel worse.

“I don’t know what to say, Mum,” she replied finally, looking up at Molly and realizing she was expected to reply.

“Well, what are the two of you going to do? Are you going to marry him?”

“I don’t know.”

Molly sighed. “I think I need to be alone just for a little while. Please dear,” she hurried to add when Ginny opened her mouth to say something. “Let me walk away from this for a moment.”

Molly gave Ginny’s hand a light squeeze and slowly made her way out of the dining room and up the stairs to her room. Ginny looked over at Percy who, she had to admit, she completely forgot was even there. He ate slowly and meticulously, as he always had, and seemed to have completely tuned out the conversation going on in front of him.

“You’re the only one who still hasn’t said what you think,” she said after a few minutes of silence, wiping the tears that refused to stop from her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Not my place.”

“Percy, Mum and Dad hate me, and so, I’m sure, do Ron and George. Hermione is plenty disappointed, I could tell, and Bill and Charlie will also be mortified when they find out. The least you can do is be straight with me and tell me what you think. I can handle it.”

Percy looked up at her, his face thoughtful.

“Ginevra, I became independent of this household, emotionally and in my actions, at least, long before I moved out, and when I was quite a bit younger than you are now.” Ginny leaned in towards him, catching every word. Percy had never spoken about that with anyone one of his siblings. “I remember it so well. Mum and Dad were quite put off, and Fred and George teased me mercilessly because I came off such a bit git. And I’ve made some mistakes – a lot of mistakes – that I don’t think Mum or Dad will ever really fully forgive or forget, or anyone who was hurt by them.”

The way he spoke about it, Ginny could tell he wasn’t exactly penitent, but somewhat retrospective about the whole thing. Who could forget what he had done in Harry fourth and fifth year at Hogwarts. She knew for a fact Harry never really completely let it go.

“Where I am now is where I wanted to be ever since I was a little boy,” Percy continued. “I work right under one of the best Ministers for Magic the Ministry has ever seen, and I sleep comfortably at night finally because I know I’m not compromising those I love doing what I love. And getting here was one of the biggest and hardest journeys of my life, but I don’t regret a second it. All the mistakes I made were mine, thus I could learn from them. I’ve hurt many people, maybe, and a lot of time I went against what you, or Ron, or Mum and Dad wanted me to do, but I made it in the end, and what matters most to be is that I made it by myself. I made my own decisions, paid my price and reaped my reward and lived my life the way I wanted to live it and did what felt right to me and me alone.” He gave her a barely noticeable smile – one of sincerest ones she had ever seen him give. “A lot of people think I’m a self-interested, pompous, pretentious ass, and they will not be far off. I do love myself quite a lot, and thus trust in myself and believe I deserve the best I can give myself. I really think you should do the same.”

Ginny smiled and, before Percy could stop her, threw her arms around him and brought him into a tight hug. She hadn’t hugged him for years. The last time, in fact, that he allowed her to do so was when she was so young she could barely remember it. But she felt like she wanted to show him how much she appreciated him opening up to her, and being the most unexpected person to not only put everything in perspective for her. It was hard to talk to Percy about feelings – he was so similar to Draco in many ways – but she never felt so much love for her brother. She guessed she just never really realized how much more there was behind the “self-interested, pompous, pretentious ass” that was one of the only people who really understood her without judgement.

~*~

It had been probably hours and hours, or it seemed so to Draco, of him and Arthur just standing outside in the now almost pitch-dark garden, not saying a word. Draco wasn’t sure how to breach the subject, suddenly finding himself a little flustered and awkward, and Arthur seemed to be in the same place.

“You love her?”

The question was so sudden that at first, Draco wasn’t even sure whether he heard it at all. But Arthur turned around and looked at him questioningly, and Draco could see that for Arthur, pretty much everything was hanging on that question.

“We... We haven’t said that to each other,” Draco answered awkwardly.

“That was not the question.” To Draco’s surprise, Arthur chuckled quietly. That Draco was not expected. He was expecting to have his face punched in, maybe, but Arthur was almost too calm, considering the circumstances.

“Molly will really be lecturing Ginny in there,” Arthur spoke up again, nodding at the closed doors to the dining room. “Perhaps she forgets, or maybe remembers too well.”

“I’m not sure whether you’re insane with denial or... What are you talking about?”

“Did you tell Lucius?” Arthur asked, ignoring Draco’s question and grinning almost maliciously. Draco nodded. “Bet that was some conversation, huh?”

“My mother had to disarm him and bind him with rope,” Draco replied, making a face. “I think he’s still sitting there mouthing off to the walls now.” Now it was Draco’s turn to chuckle. “My Father is quite simple-minded when it comes to these matters. She is a Pureblood and I daresay after the War she has a high enough standing even in his society to satisfy him.”

“And Narcissa?”

“My mother wants me to be happy. After the Final Battle and thinking she lost me, she really became a different person. She refuses to stand for any of Father’s bollocks any longer. I believe she mentioned something about getting together with a door-knob if it really pleased me.” Draco gave Arthur a suspicious look. “I don’t really mean to bring something on that I’m going to regret, but... Shouldn’t you be hitting me right now?”

“Draco, it would be a lie to tell you I like you or respect you or your family. But I will say that respect it gained rather than inherent – something you father never quite understood – and you’re well on your way to earning mine by coming here tonight, and by being good to my daughter. Not to mention actually getting involved with Ginny in the first place, seeing how much you hated her in school, and for what non-existent reasons.”

“Father would kill me, surely, if he ever heard me say this, but once you’re out of Hogwarts, your world actually does expand. A lot. The world does not divide into four well-defined houses anymore. You start categorizing people by those whom you like and those whom you don’t, those whom you trust and those whom you don’t, and those whom you care about and... everyone else.”

“Wisely said.” Arthur took a step towards Draco, and, to Draco’s utmost shock, put a hand on his shoulder. “You love my daughter. For all your faults I can forgive you because of that fact alone.” He squeezed Draco’s shoulder gently and headed back for the door, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t look so surprised. Molly and I got married and had Bill about five months after that. You do the math.”

Draco was left standing alone in the dark, a small smile playing on his lips.

~*~

“I thought you were going to Apparate me home,” Ginny said, taking a look around the study in surprise. “You know, when you said you would take me home, I assumed you meant my home.”

It had been a long evening. After Arthur and Draco came back inside – both looking surprisingly content, she noted with disbelief – Ginny practically begged Draco to take her home that very moment. Arthur promised to talk to Molly and arrange another dinner just the four of them soon, and they departed.

“Yes... I wanted to bring you here,” Draco replied, shrugging out of his cloak and helping Ginny off with hers.

“Oh.”

“Not because of that. I mean we can still... After.” Draco stopped and glared at her and she giggled. If anyone could or he would allow to reduce him to awkward mumbling, it was her.

“You want to talk about the baby, yes?” She yawned. “I am so exhausted today, though. This need a lot discussing, but could we do this in the morning? I can sleep here if you want.”

“Sleep here.” Draco looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable, and Ginny could only wonder, though she didn’t have to wonder for long. “Always.”

“What?” Ginny thought she knew what he was asking, but found that it surely just could not be. It was too sudden and very un-Draco-like.

“Live here with me and catch on faster.” Draco grabbed her hand and lead her to a couch, sitting down beside her. “And this... This is not just because of the baby.”

“No?” She raised an eye-brow.

“You’re really going to make me say all of this, aren’t you?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” She gave him a smile. “And I need to hear you say it. What you’re asking is big. Your timing is a little off, too, you have to admit. I know you have difficulty communicating when it comes to this, but this time, you’re just going to have to try.”

“I miss you when you’re not here,” Draco mumbled through clenched teeth. “We spend so much time together it seems natural and more convenient. Something your father said really stuck... And made me see things I didn’t really look for before.”

“My father made you see things?” Ginny asked, her mind reeling.

“He was more understanding than I thought he would be. He was talking to me about your mom and us... And he told me that it didn’t matter to him because I loved you.”

Ginny’s breath caught in her throat and she met Draco’s steady gaze, wondering whether her eyes were actually popping out of her head or it just felt that way.

“You... You what me?”

“I don’t claim to be knowledgeable on these matters. I don’t claim to know even what it feels like, exactly, but I think this is it.”

“I don’t understand.” Ginny shook her head. Draco Malfoy could’ve possibly just told her he loved her and the universe didn’t implode. Was she dreaming? “You mean you’re really ready to make this step with me? You love me? Aren’t you scared this isn’t going to work out? It has never worked out for you before with the other girls.”

“It only takes once.”

Draco caught her face in his hands and brought their lips together – gently, lightly, carefully... She didn’t know he was capable of being gentle. It was definitely a first time. Her stomach flipped, and, while she knew it was the adrenaline, she suddenly almost felt the small life that was growing inside of her. A little Ginny Malfoy, perhaps, or Draco Weasley. She felt overwhelmed. It finally hit her that she was actually going to have a child, and she never felt so happy in her life. She was scared, worried and unsure, but nothing compared to the feeling of happiness and excitement that enveloped her. Excitement about the baby, excitement about Draco kiss, and excitement of having the baby with Draco.

She broke the kiss reluctantly.

“Yes.” She grinned and grabbed his hand. “I will and I do.”

Draco smiled her favourite smile – crooked, small and sincere. He leaned in for another kiss, and this time it was passionate and possessive.

Ginny always had clear visions about the life she planned to have, the man she planned to be with, and the different situations she planned to find herself in. Everything didn’t exactly happen as she thought it would, but she was thankful for that. Because Percy was right. This was her life. It was her own journey. She let go of all the visions and presumptions of how things were “supposed to” happen.

After all, she was supposed end up with Harry, hate Draco, and be a national Quidditch star. Instead, she ended up with the man she loved, and was happier than she had ever been in her life.