Chapter 22 - Regret and Tears
"Draco, I don't want to sound like a bitter woman… but, what are we? Are we anything at all?" Ginny whispered in his ear, while they rested from their activities.
"Do we have to be anything to have sex?" he replied, instinctively, turning his head to look at her.
'Oh, oh! Wrong thing to say…' he thought when he saw Ginny's sad face. He hated to see her sad or worried, like she was now…
"No, of course not!" she lied, trying to sound normal. "I'd better go take a shower and start preparing dinner… Julie, Mark and Cassie will be home very soon."
Feeling ashamed, she wrapped her body in the bed sheet and left Draco's room. When she stopped at the door to close it, their eyes locked, and mentally, Ginny said the words burning her throat.
'I love you, Draco!'
"Ginny… Tell me what happened! You look so sad; you didn't even smile at Cassie during dinner," Julie asked, worried about her friend, after putting Cassie to sleep.
"I just thought I could do something other people do, but it didn't work for me…" Ginny said, wiping a tear from her cheek, while she watched the little girl sleep in her bed.
"Please, speak in English!" Julie asked.
"Draco and I had sex…"
"Boy! Was it that bad?" Julie asked, curious at Ginny's sad face.
"Of course not… It was amazing, even though it was my first time…" Ginny said, making Julie yelp in surprise. "I thought I could have sex with him, without worrying about feelings, but I was wrong!"
"You like him…"
"NO! I love him! And there's no feedback to my feelings!" Ginny revealed, starting to cry like a baby in Julie's friendly arms.
"What's going on? Why are you crying?" Draco asked, coming into her room.
"She's just crying out of happiness! I've just told her that she will be my child's Godmother…" Julie lied, trying to smile convincingly.
"Oh… So, is Cassie asleep?" he replied, looking unconvinced.
"Yes, she is. I'm tired as well. Goodnight," Ginny said, looking into Julie's eyes, pleading for them to leave.
"Goodnight, Gin. Come Draco, let's go," Julie said, pushing him out of the room.
That night Ginny cried until she fell asleep. She had to protect her heart, and there was only one way of doing it.
Ginny was still on vacation, but she worked non-stop the following week. The less time she spent next to Draco, the better. That week she had seen him twice, and she never saw Cassie, and missed her like hell. She loved her as if she were her daughter.
'I have to see her…' she thought, sadly. "Tonight I'm going home early."
When she opened the door of the apartment, she placed a convincing smile on her face, and went into the living room, hoping she would find Cassie there.
What she saw left her on the verge of tears and fury.
In front of her, Draco and Pansy Parkinson were having a snogging session, moaning absurdly loud. The worst was they were doing it in front of Cassie, who was playing with a doll on the living room floor.
When Cassie noticed Ginny, she stood up slowly, trying to keep balance, and for the first time ever… she spoke.
"Winny!" she called, extending her arms on Ginny's direction.
Draco stopped what he was doing to look at Cassie in surprise. Had she just said her first word?
What did she say? Winny? Wait a minute… Translating to English, did that mean Ginny? Looking the way Cassie was staring, he found a crying Ginny, smiling like a lunatic, before she ran and grabbed the girl in her arms.
"Oh, Cassie, my sweetie! How are you? You look great," Ginny whispered, eyeing the laughing girl in her arms.
"She's fine… But she missed you! We both did!" Draco said, smiling at her, while Pansy rolled her eyes with boredom.
"You've missed me, Cassie? I've missed you, as well, sweetie… Do you want to have a bath with me? We can splash the water all over the bathroom floor…" Ginny said, going out of the living room with the little girl, completely ignoring Draco and Pansy.
"Stop looking at her like that!" Pansy shrieked, holding his face in her direction. "Why are you behaving so soft and caring? Where is the Draco I used to fuck all the time?"
"That's none of your business… Please leave!" he requested.
"You like her, don't you? That entire 'We've missed you' thing was so disgusting!" she stated, furious.
"OUT!" he yelled.
With a loud pop, Pansy Disapparated, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Yes, he had missed Ginny's company, her help with Cassie, her sweet voice, her evil comments, and her body in his arms… He liked everything about her, but she had been running from him since that day and he couldn't understand why…
Wanting answers, he walked into the bathroom where Ginny and Cassie were submerged in the bathtub, splashing water and laughing.
"What's going on?" he asked, with a cold voice, surprising Ginny. She tried to cover her body under the water, but the water level was low, because of Cassie. "No need to cover… I already know your body from head to toes! What's going on?"
"We're having a bath! Anything wrong with that?" she replied, not looking at him.
"You know what I meant! Why are you running from me? And from Cassie?" he asked, sitting on the toilet sit. "Do you regret what we did that day?"
"No, I don't regret it…" she said, blushing. "But I'm willing to forget it… That was only a one night stand, Draco! You should be used to it, by now!"
"That was not a one night stand, and you know it!" he replied, angrily.
"Please, leave! I'm trying to have a relaxing bath, and you're not helping!" she sighed.
"Only one more thing. I've received a letter from the Ministry of Magic. I'll lose my sister if I don't adopt her… To adopt her, I must give her a mother; I have to get married… To get married, I need a woman who cares…" he said, brushing his hand on her wet leg.
"I think you have already found the perfect wife and mother! Pansy Parkinson is a pure-blooded witch… She'll be the perfect wife for you, and the perfect mother for a pure-blooded child," Ginny said, trying not to cry. "I'm sure she'll be happy with the proposal. Now, let me finish my bath, please!"
As soon as a furious Draco left the room, Ginny started crying like a baby.
"Winny?" Cassie called, hugging Ginny, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Cassie! I'll be ok… And you'll have a good family to love you and protect you! I'm just sad I won't be there to watch you grow up into a beautiful woman…" Ginny cried, while she kissed the girl's wet hair.
"Where's Cassie?" Draco asked, an hour later, when Ginny came into the living room.
"She's sleeping in my bed…" she answered in a low voice.
"I don't want her sleeping there! She'll sleep in my room, like she did this last week!" he said with a furious face. Right now, he looked like the old Draco Malfoy, from Hogwarts.
"Fine…" Ginny whispered, trying to remain calm.
"I want you to stay away from Cassandra… She must forget you exist!" he said, menacingly. "And I don't want to look at your face, ever again!"
"As you wish!" Ginny mumbled, as tears fell from her face. With a loud pop, she Disapparated, and didn't come back that night, or the following …
Chapter 23 - What Love is…
"Philip, Harry is here to see you!" Julie called from the living room, several weeks later.
"So, how are you Julie? Ginny told me you are pregnant…" Harry asked, while they waited for Draco.
"I'm fine, thank you! Have you seen her lately? She left home, and only owled me back once! She said she needed some time with her family, but I didn't believe it. Draco has been acting strange, and I think he's the cause to all this mess," Julie said, angrily.
"I didn't know she had left this apartment! Why? Where is she? What do you mean, Draco's acting strange?" Harry asked, furious.
"She left three weeks ago, before I got home, and went to the Burrow… I don't know why, though, and Draco refuses to tell me. He goes around the house with a dark mood, he doesn't talk, doesn't eat… All he does is sit in his room playing with Cassie," Julie said, sadly.
"Hey, Harry! What's up?" Draco asked, coming into the living room with Cassie in his arms.
"Hi! I just came to finally meet the littlest Malfoy!" Harry said, trying to smile, although he was worried with his friend's state. Draco was incredibly pale, his posture wasn't so straight as usual, and his eyes looked really sad and had dark circles under it… Trying not to look at Draco, Harry held the girl in his arms, playing with her.
"Winny?" the girl called, with a soft sad voice.
"No… I'm not Ginny! I'm prettier than she is, don't you think?" Harry joked with the small child, casting a glance at a frowning Draco. "Why are you frowning?"
"She just keeps saying that name… It's getting infuriating!" Draco said, angrily.
"Maybe she says it because she misses Ginny!" Julie said, furious at her nephew. "Look, Philip, why don't you tell me what happened? Ginny is one of my best friends and I want her back where she belongs: HERE AT HOME! What did you do to her?"
"I told her I never wanted to see her again, and that I wanted her away from Cassie…" he said, quietly.
"YOU WHAT?!" Harry and Julie yelled at the same time.
"She refused me! She refused Cassie!" Draco yelled back, his pale face becoming red.
"What do you mean?" Julie asked quietly.
"I asked her to marry me, so that I could adopt Cassie! The Ministry wants to take her away from me unless I get married!" Draco explained impatiently. "And she said no!"
Suddenly Julie's face became softer, as if she understood what had happened.
"Why do you think she refused, Draco?"
"Because she doesn't love Cassie like I do! She doesn't want to be a part of Cassie's life…" he said, sitting on the couch with his face in his hands.
"No, Draco! That's not why she refused, and you know it! She loves Cassie more than anything! And she would do anything to protect her, except marry without love from both parts…" Julie explained, patting his shoulder. "Do you love her?"
"I … I miss her… I like the way she pushes me over the edge with her comments, I like the way she smiles and sings to Cassie, I like the feeling of her body against mine… But I don't know if that's love…" he whispered, with a sad smile. "I never loved anyone!"
"That's not true, Draco! You love Cassie! Please, describe me how you feel for her," Julie insisted.
"I love her smile, her small laughs, the way she says 'Winny,' the smell of baby powder and diapers, the way she snuggles close to me at night… I could go on for hours," he said, kissing his sister's cheek.
"Well, Draco, I'll tell you something Hermione told me, when I asked her what love is," Harry said, smiling.
"I'm sure she gave you a dictionary definition. That girl is an ambulant library," Draco sighed. "But if you want to say it, anyway, go ahead."
"She told me Love is when you want nothing else except being close to someone, to protect her from any danger, to hold her in your arms whenever she's happy, or to cry with her whenever she's sad. Love is being ready to give your life for that person, to make sure she's okay and happy. That's how you feel for Cassie, that I can tell you. But, do you feel that way towards Ginny? That's for you to answer," Harry said, slowly, so that Draco could process all that information.
"When did you get so wise in these matters?" Draco sneered, curiously.
"Since I found my other half…" Harry said with a knowing smile.
"So, do you feel that way towards Ginny?" Julie asked, with a knowing look.
Draco closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking about it seriously. When he opened his eyes again, Julie screamed happily, and hugged her nephew.
"I knew that you would finally see what was there all this time! I'm just sorry that you are so thick that you didn't realise it sooner!" Julie laughed. "Now, get your ass moving and go apologize to Ginny! She must be miserable!"
"I'm going right now. Oh, by the way, Ginny says I have a nice ass, so don't joke with it!" Draco said, smiling for the first time that week. "Come on, Cassie, let's visit Ginny!"
"WINNY!?" the girl repeated, understanding that she would finally see her friend.
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Thank you Heather, once again! You are so efficient! Love ya, girl…
Here are another two chapters and I'm posting more right now!
Love, Carina