I know I should finish my other stories…but I just couldn't get this one out of my head…. . I am ripping off my own story - Blood Bonds, in which Draco can't remember anything. In this story it's reversed- Ginny can't remember anything. Don't worry this story won't be as depressing as that one. Straight up Romance/Drama here. No tragedy!
Also I used the story title from the movie(did not use the plot) While You Were Sleeping (great movie filmed in my hometown go see it)…so here's my disclaimer- I do not own that movie…I do not own Harry Potter
Chapter 1
Faster and faster she ran as the coldness overtook her. Ginny felt exhaustion, every muscle cramping and aching as the Death Eaters started to close in. Just a little further and she would reunite with the Order. Surely she could hold out for a little while longer? Nervousness started to settle within. She couldn't find the rendezvous point. Ginny's breath became shallow as fear enveloped her. Where was she? Collapsed buildings and bodies littered the overturned cobblestone street. A broken sign swayed in the November wind. Diagon Alley. Ginny screamed falling to the ground feeling blood trickle down her legs where she had scraped them. Black cloaked figures hovered above her.
"CRUCIO!"
Ginny writhed in pain feeling as if every nerve was on fire. They had tortured her for what seemed like hours. Give up the Order? Never. She had already lost 2 brothers to the war. She cried for Percy and Charlie as she lay broken on the road that was once Diagon Alley. Their deaths would not be in vain.
Soon she would be joining her brothers. Already Ginny could feel the darkness reaching for her, tempting her to cross over. It would be so easy. No more pain. No more suffering. Life had other plans for the youngest Weasley . Death released it's grip on Ginny letting her fall into the arms of a most unlikely savior.
Ginny opened her half lidded eyes to find herself being held by a Deatheater. His face hidden behind the black robes and mask that marked him as a follower of Voldemort. "I won't let you die." She felt his hand, cool and smooth against her cheek, "I won't let you die."
***
Opening her eyes Ginny was almost blinded by the bright sunlight that streamed through the room. Slowly she raised herself from her bed trying to focus. Why did she feel so weak? Ginny stretched, for the first time viewing the room. Ginny was no longer in the warmth of the Burrow but in what she recognized as the sterile confines of St. Mungo's
I must've been hurt in the battle, she thought to herself. Funny but she couldn't remember a thing. Removing the covers Ginny inspected her skin. No wounds nor bruises, except for a small linear scar on her lower abdomen. What bothered Ginny was how obviously thin she had become. How long have I been here? Tentatively she dangled her feet over the edge of her bed. Weakness over came her. Ginny cursed silently. If there was one thing she hated more than any, it was the feeling of utter helplessness.
A mediwitch entered carrying a vial of a brewing potion. The blond mediwitch hadn't yet looked Ginny's way, immediately turning her back to Ginny as she shut the door behind her.
"Am I glad to see you!" Ginny exclaimed. The sooner she was able to leave the hospital the better. She could only imagine the worried looks on her family's faces. Ginny didn't expect what happened next. Spinning around the mediwitch looked directly at Ginny and screamed, dropping the vial and its contents to the ground.
***
"A word please, Professor Malfoy." Hermione Potter stood in the doorway waving at a young blonde Gryffindor boy in the front of the Dark Arts Class.
"If I even hear one word, nay even one breath from any of you, it shall be your last. Work on your vampire essay the remainder of class. Understood?" Draco said as he walked out into the hallway.
A trained chorus of 1st year voices answered, "Yes Professor Malfoy."
"What's so important that you had to drag me away from my class Headmistress?" Draco was clearly irritated. Couldn't she see that educating impossibly idiotic Gryffindors was a task he needed to devote much time to? Even after all these years he still harbored slight disdain for her position. While he slaved away in the classroom, the headmistress was doing paperwork or off to important meetings that the rest of the Hogwarts staff was too busy actually teaching to attend.
"I need to pull Alex out of this class."
Draco's voice escalated with each word. "The only smart Gryffindor out of the bunch and you want to take him out of class?! Voldemort may be dead but Defense against the Dark Arts is a very important subject. I absolutely refuse to allow this to happen. It would be a travesty. Tell me….is this Molly Weasley's doing?!"
"Calm down Malfoy, it's just for today." Hermione's eyes danced with excitement. "Ginny has awoken. She's out of her coma!"
Draco drew in a sharp breath. "A-are you sure" not quite believing what he had heard. No one, not Hermione, not Potter , nor the Weasley's knew how long he had waited to hear the news.
"Harry and Ron told me she's up in bed talking. Still having a hard time ambulating but that will come in time. Certain things will come as a shock when she finds out all that went on in her absence. So much has changed. From what Harry told me, she's been asking about the rest of the Weasley clan. That's a surprise right there. I just hope she'll be able to deal with the news I'm about to give her."
Draco did his best to conjure up a smile, "From what I remember Ginny was a strong woman. It might be difficult to hear but she will learn to accept what occurred. Give my regards to the Weasley's and to Ginny." Again he had to watch from the sidelines. He was more connected to her than they would ever be. It was his selfish Malfoy pride that prevented him from being truly happy. Why hadn't she asked for him?
***
Twelve long years she had been in a coma. Voldemort was dead, now a distant memory. Peace reigned in the wizarding world . Twelve years of weddings, births and deaths had passed. So much she had missed and those years could never again be recovered.
"Give me a mirror!" she snapped at Ron. Intently she studied her now 29 year old face. Small lines here and there, still the same yet very different. A sob choked her throat as she sent the mirror crashing against the wall.
"Gin dear…." Molly sat on the edge of the bed embracing her only daughter as the rest of the Weasley's surrounded Ginny giving her comfort with their presence.
"Aunt Ginny." A soft spoken tiny black haired girl who looked every bit like the Patil sisters looked up at her with big brown eyes. This particular Pail with a smattering of freckles across her nose held out a piece of parchment. Wiping the tears away Ginny looked down at the small child.
"This is Anjali Weasley ." Ron picked her up, "my daughter." he said in a voice which held more pride than Ginny had ever heard. Ginny couldn't help to see how much Ron had changed. With one hand carrying his daughter, his other hand was firmly wrapped around Padma . A faint smile played at her lips along with a twinge of sadness.
Still holding out the parchment, little Anjali offered her present again, "For you Aunt Ginny."
"Th-Thank you." brushing away tears to see, she opened the parchment . A bright colorful crayon portrait greeted her. entitled The Weasley Family by Anjali Weasley.
"So you won't forget us."
Biting her lips to control her sobs Ginny opened her arms to Anjali. Ron placed little Anjali in Ginny's embrace as the whole Weasley clan gathered together shedding tears in sadness and happiness. Ginny Weasley was back from the land of dreams.
***
"So let me get this straight….Fred and Angelina are married with two boys." Two very light brown energetic Weasley's were running in and out of the room. They may have looked like Angelina but they were in every other way Fred.
Already the amount of Weasley's had quadrupled. Bill and Fleur had 3 boys and 2 girls which came as no surprise to her. George was married to the former Alicia Spinnet. Alicia had been quite busy having 2 sets of twin girls, twice in succession.
Another marriage she had missed was Harry and Hermione. No children had yet graced the couple thus far. Learning that Hermione was now Headmistress of Hogwarts, Ginny suspected the reasoning why. Poor Hermione probably had more than enough children to worry about back at Hogwarts.
Her father was now the Minister Of Magic. A position he so rightly deserved.
Ron and Harry played for the Chudley Canons. That wasn't the most shocking news. What had almost caused her heart to fail was that they had won the Quidditch cup twice.
"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked. The room suddenly becoming so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
"Uh…… she had to pick up something at Hogwarts." Harry said quickly averting his gaze from Ginny's now very suspicious one.
Something wasn't right. An undercurrent of tension seemed to fill the room. Anjali started to jump up and down, "Alex! Alex!" Ron immediately shushed his now pouting four year old daughter.
Ginny drew her eyebrows together in confusion. Before she could question her brother, Hermione appeared in the doorway. The question was momentarily forgotten. Ginny was immediately drawn into another hug,
"Oh Gin we've missed you so."
Ginny couldn't really say the same. In her mind she was still 17, as she saw Hermione, Ron and Harry off to war. Only instead of the mature faces that stared back at her, yesterday they had been a bit more inexperienced, naive and a tad bit innocent. They had been too young at 17 and 18 to face the fight of their lives.
Ginny broke away from Hermione's embrace, dabbing at eyes that were bordered with tears. That's when she saw him. A pale little boy who looked to be no more than 11 or 12 hiding behind Hermione. With his blond hair he looked very much out of place amongst the sea of reds and brunettes. His brown eyes looked up at her curiously. He looks just like an angel. Something else about the boy was so very familiar………...
Ginny could have sworn Harry said he and Hermione were childless. Perhaps Ginny heard wrong. Could Hermione have given birth to such a beautiful little creature? Maybe he was Fleur's.
"Who might you be?" Ginny asked noticing her mother bite her lip in nervousness.
"Alex Weasley." He answered shyly stepping away from Ginny and putting his small hand into his grandmother's.
Absolutely adorable, Ginny thought. "Who do you belong to?"
"I live with Grandma and Grandpa Weasley."
Was he Percy's or Charlie' s? That would be the only explanation as to why he would be living with mum and dad. But she had seen her brother's die, leaving no children behind. Maybe he didn't understand the question. Motioning to the rest of her family that had become once again unusually quiet for Weasley's she asked, "Which one of my brothers is your father?"
Ginny immediately regretted asking such a question, tears welling up in his small brown eyes. Alex sniffed "I don't have a father!"
Arthur knelt down to his level allowing him to cry on his shoulder, "There, there."
What in all Hades was going on? "Can someone please tell me why I made Alex cry?" It killed her to see the poor boy in tears and to know she had been the cause of it.
"There isn't an easy way to break this to you…….." Hermione started then paused nodding her head towards Arthur and Molly.
Arthur and Molly promising to come back in a few hours exited with a crying Alex in tow. Hesitantly Alex looked back at Ginny before following his grandparents, her gaze catching and holding his. She had the sudden urge to hold him in her arms and tell him everything would be ok.
"Just tell me what's going on. I'm 29 now, I think I can handle it." Ginny crossed her arms in irritation. If there was one thing she hated it was secrets being kept from her.
"Ginny, you were captured by Death Eaters and held prisoner for 6 weeks. You were barely alive when we found you." Harry stated. How odd. Ginny couldn't remember being held prisoner. Six weeks. Surely she should have some memory? What Ginny could remember was the feeling of being chased. The terrifying dreams that had plagued Ginny were never dreams at all. Had she been relieving that night for the past twelve years?
Awkward glances were shared as if not knowing how to proceed. Ginny wouldn't have any of it. "I've wasted 12 years of my life. I don't intend for you all to waste another minute - so, on with the story."
Ron continued, "You were brought to St. Mungo's where they announced that you were comatose…." Ron's voice started to crack, "Those damn Death Eaters had cursed you with everything under the sun save for the Avada Kedavra. We thought you were going to die…." A hot tear rolled down his cheek while Padma patted his hand, whispering that everything would be alright.
Hermione finished, seeing that Ron was unable to do so. "Something kept your body fighting. Even though you weren't with us your body knew it had to live. It-it had a purpose."
"Hermione you're talking in riddles! What purpose? I don't see what this has to do with making a little boy cry." Ginny was becoming more than a little frustrated at the runaround she was receiving from her family. A simple answer was all she wanted.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione proceeded past the point of no return. Ginny had to hear this, if not for her sake then for Alex's. "You were six weeks pregnant when we found you Ginny. Alex Weasley is your son."
***
The first time he had seen Alex Weasley the boy was a few months old. Molly and Arthur with carriage in hand had passed by the former Death Eater in the newly reconstructed Diagon Alley. They had been surprised to see him. The look of fright apparent on Arthur Weasley's face.
Yes, he had been in Azkaban but he had also been released thanks to the efforts of none other than Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Towards the end he had collaborated with the Order passing on information that led to the downfall of the Death Eaters. That didn't stop the ministry from sending him to Azkaban. Draco had committed crimes which he still had to pay for. Now that he was free, the taint of prison still followed him.
"A very beautiful baby. May I hold him?" Draco had asked.
Reluctantly Molly agreed while Arthur stood with wand at the ready, prepared to duel. Draco held the small bundle in his arms. It took a great deal of his willpower not to run off with the baby. If Molly knew how close he was to apparating with the child, she never would have let Draco hold Alex.
That's how it always was. Looking from afar. Imagining what would have happened if things had turned out differently.
Draco sat in his chair overlooking his now empty classroom, staring intently at the seat that was Alex Weasley's. The grey eyes clouded over remembering Alex's first day in his classroom. Ron and Harry had filled him with all sorts of scary stories about Draco Malfoy. Draco could tell by the look of terror on the youngster. The blonde boy with the brown eyes and demeanor that were every bit Ginny Weasley was truly scared of him and it hurt.
But he had shown them all wrong. Alex Weasley was his prize pupil. He may have been Ginny Weasley's son but he also had his father's gift with the dark arts, outscoring even the seventh years. Never did he raise his voice with the boy or take points. Alex was too young to be on the quidditch team yet he had bought him a very expensive broom much to his grandparents dismay.
"He'll be spoiled!" Arthur and Molly Weasley were sure of it. Even Hermione thought it was an inappropriate gift from teacher to student.
"For his excellent work in Defense Against the Dark Arts." was the answer Draco had given. In his heart he knew the real answer. Because Alex is my son. Muttering locking charms on the door, Draco slumped over his desk. For the first time in 12 years Draco Malfoy cried.
To be continued