Author's Notes: It's a different perspective, I think. I like it. There'll probably be three/four parts total. Hope you like it. HARDER TO BREATHE
Part 1
"Alohamora," Ginny Weasley whispered softly.
Draco wasn't home, of course. He never returned until after seven on Tuesdays. Not that she minded. After two weeks of being away from him, Ginny wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say, or how she wanted to say it. The two hours would allow her time to plan those things. Immediately she stepped out of the patent leather pumps, curling her toes into the plush carpeting.
It was times like this when she was grateful for Draco's upbringing. Not necessarily for his attitude in his younger years, but that he insisted on surrounding himself with the finer things in life. As a Weasley, she wouldn't have known the difference between the qualities of carpet if her life depended on it. But two weeks after purchasing the flat, Draco had contractors ripping the old, brown short carpet and replacing it with white shag. It was very, very nice.
Next came her robe. It was dropped on the back of the chair, haphazardly. She knew he hated the disorder, but figured she could pick it up later. He wouldn't be home for hours still and all she wanted now was a bath.
Her blouse and skirt came off at the bedroom door, leaving her in the midnight blue bra and knickers set. It wasn't her favorite (those were green), but they were certainly the most comfortable.
The bra was next, and she tossed it on the bed, not caring where it landed.
The bed.
That was another of the things she was immensely grateful for. Because Draco bought the largest bed he could find, it had brought them many, many hours of fun. Ginny knew there were fresh silk sheets (his mother still sent a house elf to clean the apartment twice a week), then a blanket from his childhood, and finally the midnight gray down comforter. After her small twin sized bed at the Burrow, then the standard issue full size bed at Hogwarts, Ginny found that Draco's taste in beds was amazing. There were mornings when she couldn't be bothered to get out of bed.
Of course, when your boyfriend is your boss, that's an option. So, he wasn't her boss directly. She just worked for an offset of Malfoy Incorporated. Draco ran the corporate office, while she worked for a smaller subsidiary. It was that subsidiary that kept her away from him for over two weeks. When the American's called wanting someone in New York to hold their hand, Ginny volunteered. It wasn't because she needed a break; she just needed a bit of a change.
And some time away from Draco to consider things.
Like the fact that she was pregnant.
From the gentle rounding of her stomach, she guessed the baby would be along in five months. She'd have to ask her mother, or see a medi-witch to be sure. When she'd noticed, it seemed strange… a child. Of course she'd always wanted one. But not now. It wasn't the right time, she knew. Not for her. And certainly not for Draco.
Ginny went into the master bathroom, and with a flick of her wand, the candles were all lit. A tap against the faucet, and water just the right temperature was flowing freely. The sweet aroma of lavender soon filled the air, and Ginny took a deep breath.
She had to tell him tonight, of course. He'd notice - anyone would notice. And they had to talk about what happened next. Would they keep the child? Give him/her up for adoption? Or there was always the other alternative… not that it was the best alternative. Then again, she didn't know what the best alternative was.
Going to stand in front of the floor length mirror, Ginny slowly rolled the knickers down her legs. Standing naked like this, she was obviously pregnant. From the front, her belly just swelled slightly and it wasn't all that obvious. But once she turned to get a side profile of herself, it was glaringly obvious. She'd always been thin, especially after hitting her growth spurt in fourth year. Her legs and arms stretched out, while she lost the baby fat from her first thirteen years of life.
It seemed like she was just losing her own baby fat, and now… She should have taken better care at noticing. But there had been no signs. When she'd starting throwing up the morning, they'd blamed it on food poisoning. Why else would Draco have been sick as well? Each of them wrote it off as bad chicken, and left it at that. It hadn't lasted very long - two, three weeks tops. No, he hadn't been as sick as her, but he hadn't had as much chicken as her either.
Ginny should've noticed her missing period, of course. That was her own oversight. But with working sixty hours a week, trying to make his company a success… "Oh, stop it," she finally muttered.
Reaching up, she released her straight red hair from the clip, and it fell gently down her back. Turning to face the mirror, she reached down and prodded her stomach gently with a finger. When she moved her finger, there was a pale white mark against her skin. "Pregnant," she sighed.
She could only imagine what Draco would say. Honestly, she didn't know what to say herself…
And her family. Pregnant, but not married. With no real intentions of getting married, either.
Not that she didn't want to marry Draco. It was just…
After he'd put the platinum commitment ring on her hand, they'd never discussed marriage. He's never going to buy the cow, if he's getting the milk for free, Virginia. Of course, she would be in the middle of a crisis, only to hear her mother's voice.
She reached up and pushed her hair off her forehead. Her family was going to kill her. No, correction, they were going to kill Draco and make her watch.
They should have been more careful. She should have monitored the birth control potion better. Or insisted he wear some sort of protection. They could have done a million things differently…
But there were still options.
After that thought, Ginny couldn't bear to face herself in the mirror. Turning away, she climbed into the bathtub (even though it was the size of a small swimming pool) and released the breath she'd been holding.
Pregnant.
When they'd moved in together, it had been a casual thing. Draco had the flat because of company commitments, and it was impractical to stay at Malfoy Manor every night. Besides, his mother was happy to be there by herself, entertaining her friends and just enjoying life without Lucius. Ginny had moved in on him casually. They'd dated on and off for months, and once their relationship became exclusive (not to mention, physical), she'd started staying over various nights of the week. It wasn't always about sex - more of a matter of convenience sometimes. It was impossible to go back to the Burrow every night.
Not to mention it was getting harder to not tell her mother about Draco. Molly had known something was up - but she'd never quite imagined Ginny was living it up with the sworn enemy of the Weasley clan (of course, Ginny had tried to point out that Lucius was Arthur's enemy, not hers. And Draco couldn't control who his father was).
It happened by chance, really. Rita Skeeter had caught wind of the romance, and was determined to find if there was any truth too it. Apparently the Witch Weekly reporter thought Ginny to be beneath Draco, and had dedicated many, many articles to that very topic.
Ron had reacted the worst, of course. Just as Arthur Weasley viewed Lucius Malfoy as the devil incarnate, Ron felt about the same concerning Draco. When he'd discovered they were basically living together, he'd hit the roof. Or more accurately, Ron wanted to hit the roof with Draco.
Compared to that, the rest of her family had been easy to please. Yes, she loved him. Yes, someday she thought they might marry. Yes, Ginny was sure he loved her as well. No, it wasn't part of some elaborate scheme devised by Lucius from Azkaban. No, she wasn't allowing him to support her financially. No, she didn't think he was out to hurt her. No, what they thought really didn't matter. She was going to be with Draco, no matter what.
Okay, so that last one hadn't went over well. But that declaration came after Ron tried his levitation stunt. She'd been a little angry.
Or a lot.
But still… how were they going to react. She was pregnant.
Of course, they didn't have to know…
Not keeping the baby really might have been the best option. In all honesty, Ginny knew zero about raising children. Yes, she liked them. Yes, someday she wanted one. Or two. But, she and Draco hadn't talked about it. They hadn't even talked about marriage.
The rings had just come home with him one night, and he'd quietly slipped it on her finger over dinner. It hadn't been a special occasion. It was just they went from being casual to serious overnight, the platinum bands a sign of their commitment. There was no fuss made over it. It wasn't that he wasn't romantic, because he was. There had been several occasions when he'd managed to steal her breath by his thoughtfulness, but… "But what?" she asked herself.
Did she want to become Mrs. Draco Malfoy? Really?
The questions were simple.
Yes, she loved him. And yes, she could see herself married to him…
Someday.
Ginny closed her eyes and sighed. This was getting her nowhere. She held up the hand with the ring on it, studying it intently.
The question was, really, could she see herself without him? If something suddenly happened, and he wasn't there anymore, would she make it? It was a tough question, but one she knew the answer to immediately.
No. She wouldn't.
Because sometime between then and now, he'd become essential to her day. The fifteen days without him had nearly driven her crazy. She needed to wake up and see him first thing in the morning. It didn't matter that they'd been in contact every day. Sometime in the past, Draco had learned to use the telephone and he also learned the benefits of sending flowers and cards. It hadn't surprised her when each morning, a bouquet of fresh lilies were delivered to her hotel room. That was just Draco.
They'd been together so long, she couldn't remember the reason why it had started. Ginny had always known Malfoy saw her differently in school. Not as a Weasley, but…
She couldn't explain it.
But sometime after graduation, they'd run into each other again. His company was just getting off the ground, and she needed a job. He offered her one. One day, he had owled her telling her to report to his office. As soon as he informed her she was being transferred to another division of the company, that she was still be London-based, and there was a pay increase with it. She'd gladly accepted. Draco smiled, and then asked her out. She'd gladly accepted that offer too.
And ever since… they'd hardly gone three days without seeing each other. The previous fifteen had been the longest, in fact.
Which was probably why she was pregnant.
Self-restraint had never been something Draco was taught as a child. He was a Malfoy, and because he was, anything he wanted was what he got. As an adult, Draco learned he couldn't always have what he wanted. But if Ginny could give it to him, most of the time she would.
But did he want a child?
With her?
She was pulled from her thoughts from the sound of someone Apparating. Which meant Draco was home, as they were the only two who could directly Apparate into the flat. It couldn't be after seven already, could it? "Draco?" she called.
"Gin?" he answered. Finally, she was home. Draco looked around his bedroom, happy to see her things tossed about. "Where are you?"
"The tub," she answered through the door. "Could you bring me the robe?"
The tub. Which meant she was naked, he thought. And wet. The Slytherin in him smirked happily. Wet, naked Ginny was certainly something he could get used to coming home to. He grabbed his black terry cloth robe off the closet door, and went to her.
Ginny came up from under the bubbles just as he walked into the room. He was carrying his robe, she noticed. Of course, she didn't mind - it was actually her favorite of the two. And he knew that. "Are you home early?"
He nodded. "I knew you'd be home tonight, so I thought I might clean the place up a bit before you got here. You beat me."
"I've only been here an hour or so. Got in the tub as soon as I got home."
He nodded again. Draco tossed the robe towards the sink, not caring that it landed on the floor. They could retrieve it later. He sank to his knees beside the bath, rolling up the sleeves of his Armani work shirt. "Miss me?" His tone was soft, gentle almost.
She nodded mutely. Ginny watched in silence as he lifted his hand to her face, touching her cheek gently. His fingers finally came to rest in her hair, as his face started moving towards hers.
After a few false starts, Draco finally touched his lips to hers. Like everything else, it was gentle as well. The briefest of kisses, with the promise of more to come later. "Ready to get out?"
Ginny took a deep breath and nodded. It was now or never.
He stood and went to retrieve the robe. When Draco turned again, Ginny was standing fully in the tub, bubbles running off of each part of her body. She had never been ashamed of her body, never modest about her nudity around him. His eyes did a slow slide down what he considered his, taking in the curve of her breasts, the way the rosy tips puckered just so from the water, how her hips flared slightly, running into her long legs.
Ginny inherited her father's genes. Instead of being short and rather rounded like her mother, she was tall and lean like the other Weasley children. It was look very becoming to her.
"Draco, I need to tell you something," she finally said. Her hands were rested just below her stomach, as she reached for the bathrobe he held in his hands.
"What is it?" He held the robe open for her, slipping it over each of her shoulders. Draco lifted her wet hair from beneath the robe, and planted a kiss on her right shoulder blade. "You know you can tell me anything."
She closed her eyes, reveling in the closeness of him. This was it. These next few moments would change their relationship forever. Whether for the good or the bad. Ginny reached up and took his hand off her shoulder, and brought it around to her stomach. She held her smaller hand over his much larger one, and pushed gently. "Do you feel that?"
"Feel what?"
Ginny turned in his arms, her eyes searching his for some kind of understanding. "Draco, I'm pregnant."
His eyes widened, and his hand dropped from her stomach. "Your what?" he asked softly.
"Pregnant," she repeated.
A second later, Draco was kind of smiling (almost as if he were confused), but he felt happy nonetheless. "How?"
Her mouth quirked up in a teasing manner. "Do you want me to draw you a diagram?"
Draco shook his head no. "I mean… I know how. But… how?"
She took his hand in hers, and led them out of the bathroom. Ginny crawled into the middle of the bed, and he followed her. Soon they were both situated against the pillows, her back against his chest. "I'm pregnant," she told him again.
Draco studied her carefully, trying not to give away what he was feeling. "How do you feel about that?"
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I've not really worked it all out, honestly."
"How far along do you think you are? Have you seen a medi-wizard yet?"
Ginny shook her head no. "I'm guessing a few months. Three or four, maybe."
"How long have you known?"
"I noticed when I was in America. One of my suits didn't fit, and when I started doing the math in my head, I sort of thought I could be. I've taken the potion test three times. All three came out positive."
"A baby," he breathed.
The woman in his arms turned to study his face. "How do you feel about that?" she asked, softly. This was it, Ginny thought to herself. This was the moment that could make or break their relationship.
"I'm… surprised. I thought we were being more careful."
"Oh."
Draco must have sensed he'd said something wrong, because he immediately tried to backpedal. "I'm not unhappy, Gin. I'm just surprised, that's all."
"I know this messes up your plans."
"What plans?" Draco asked. "I'm not aware of any plans."
"With the company, and all. And you're young yet, I'm sure you didn't plan on children this soon."
"I'm nearly thirty, love. My only plans involve you. You're in my life, Gin. Unless…" he trailed off, not wanting to go down that road.
"Unless?" she prompted.
"Is this your way…" he began. Draco couldn't even think about it. Because thinking of it made his heart constrict in pain. "Is this your way of saying you're leaving me?"
"What?" she questioned. Ginny looked up at him, her eyes wide in surprise. "You think I'm leaving?"
"Are you?" His grip around her waist had relaxed some. If she left him, Draco wasn't sure he could handle it. "Do you want this baby and me, Ginny?"
"I want you," she answered simply. Her hand slipped down to cover his own, which rested on her stomach, and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped. "I… I'm not sure how I feel about the baby."
"What does that mean?"
"There's this Muggle procedure-"
"Absolutely not." There was a note of finality in his voice, and Draco was hoping she heard it. "You will not have an abortion."
"You can't forbid me, Draco."
"Yes, but it's my child as well, isn't it?"
"Yes-"
"Then I'm allowed to have a say in it, Gin."
"It's my body," she reminded him.
Draco pulled her back against his chest again, and lowered his mouth to her ear. "And just think how beautiful you will be, Ginny, when you're stomach is swollen with our child. When you're breasts are so sensitive I can make you come with just my mouth on them. When you're hips have rounded just so… think of how beautiful your body will be then."
"Draco…"
He slipped his hand in between the layers of the robe, and started to rub the skin of her stomach. It was obvious to him now. Now that she told him, he wondered how he'd missed the gentle rounding before. "I want this baby. With you."
"You want this baby?" she asked. "Or you just don't want me to have an abortion?" Ginny pulled away from him then, cutting off all body contact. She turned to face him on the bed, closing the robe tightly around her. "I need to know, Draco. Do you want this child, or do you not want me to have the operation?"
"Why are you even asking that?"
"Because this is a lifelong commitment for me, Draco. It's not something… that I can get rid of in a few years. My body will change, and I will have a child. I… I don't know what I want to do yet, but you have to be sure."
"I want you, Virginia Weasley."
"And the baby?"
Draco wanted to reach out and shake her. He wanted to yell at her, tell her that it didn't matter what she wanted; he already loved the child. Because he loved her. "Our baby is a part of you, Gin."
"I don't want to get married because of this."
He lifted his eyebrow in confusion. "What? Of course-"
"You want to marry me because I'm pregnant."
"What?" Draco repeated. Where did she get that idea? Neither of them mentioned marriage, but all of the sudden she was ruling out of the possibility entirely? "I didn't say that."
"Then why have we never discussed marriage before?" Ginny asked him.
Draco leaned forward, lifting her ring hand from her lap and holding it up. "As far as I'm concerned, we're already married. You're my wife in every way that counts."
"Just not legally," she countered him. "It never mattered enough before to make it legal."
He frowned at her thinking. "I didn't realize you wanted to marry me before."
"Of course-"
"Then why won't you marry me now?"
Ginny pulled her hand from his, letting it drop back into her lap. "Because you don't want to marry me, you only want to protect our child."
"Did I say that?" he countered. Draco could feel the headache coming on. It was obvious she had no plans of listening to his reasoning, even thought he did want to marry her. "Have I ever said I didn't want to marry you?"
"No, but you've never said you did either."
"I want to marry you."
The former Gryffindor shook her head. "You can't do that now. The baby changes everything, Draco."
"What does it change?" he questioned. "Tell me, because I don't understand."
"It changes us," Ginny explained. "We'd no longer be Draco and Ginny, two separate people who choose to spend their time together, but we'd be Draco-and-Ginny, the parents of a little boy or girl."
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Try as he might, he couldn't follow her way of thinking. "We'd still be our own person, Ginny. There would just be another person for us to love."
"Don't you see?" she asked. "This child would connect us forever."
Draco smiled at her. "I like that. I want to be with you forever, Virginia."
Ginny could feel the tears just behind her eyelids. She was going to cry and prove to him how unstable she really was. Damn hormones. She couldn't even control when she cried and when she didn't. "Do you want this baby," she asked again, "or do you want to stop me from having an abortion?"
He lifted his hand to catch the solitary tear as it made its way down her cheek. "I want a chance to be a father."
The redhead turned her face into his palm, taking comfort from his strength. "I'm not sure…" she stopped.
"Not sure?" Draco asked.
"I'm not sure I know how to be a mother." Her confession was whispered, as if it came from her very soul.
"What?" He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "And I know how to be a father? You at least have an example to follow. All Lucius ever taught me was what not to do."
Ginny looked at him, her brown eyes shining with emotion. She wanted to reach out and hold him, tell him she was sure he'd be an excellent father when the time was right. But she wasn't entirely sure that now was the right time. Shaking the thought from her head, she took a shuddery breath. "I need to speak with my Mum."
"Now?"
She nodded. "I'll… I'll owl you."
"Gin-"
She reached for her wand from the pocket of the robe. "I love you, Draco." A moment later she Disapparated from the bedroom.
Draco fell back against the pillow, sighing heavily. Pregnant. She was pregnant… and the situation was entirely reversed.
What would he do if she decided to go ahead with the abortion? He couldn't really stop her, except maybe by tying her to the bed for the next five months. And someone would surely come looking for her then.
It was strange. An hour ago, he'd never really considered what it would mean to be a father, but now he knew it was a possibility… and well, he couldn't imagine not being a father.
Standing, Draco went to the dresser where he'd left his own wand and took it up. He needed to talk with his Mum as well.