Chapter 12 - A Twist of Fate
March 2002
Ginny walked through the street, barely noticing where she was stepping. It was a cold March evening. She tightened the thin cloak she was wearing around her, but it didn't help much. It wasn't her body that was the cold one, it was her heart.
It had been a month since Hermione and Draco had gotten married and had taken Daniel to live with them in London. She remembered perfectly the day that Hermione had suggested Draco and her could adopt Daniel for a while, until she was able to go to England. At first, Ginny had told her that she was crazy. She had even kicked her out of her apartment. But after a whole, hard and long night of thinking, she had realized it was the best for her son. He would have a way better life with the Malfoys... And, one day, she would go to look for him.
She couldn't think of anyone better than Hermione to take care of Daniel. But still, it hurt her deeply to let him go like that. She felt like a big part of her had been torn out of her body... And she felt jealous of Hermione, and the way that Daniel loved her.
She had sent her several pictures. In all of them, Hermione and Daniel waved happily to her. Daniel didn't have that sickened look anymore. He was a healthy, British boy, just the way he should always have been.
Finally, she reached her awful building. Madame Jeux, one of her neighbors - whom Ginny despised deeply - glared at her.
"Hey you, red head," she said, in French. "A man is waiting for you upstairs. You should know that we don't allow whores to live in this building."
"Really? Then what are you doing here?" Ginny snapped, angrily.
She didn't stay to hear the woman's retort. She wasn't really curious about who was waiting for her. Actually, she was used to receiving visits from her customer's husbands, who had the strange idea that she would actually accept them in her bed in exchange for money.
She spotted a tall, cloaked man, leaning against the wall, beside her door. She sighed, ready to tell that man off, when he turned to look at her. Her mouth dropped.
"Ha...Harry!?"
He looked so different... He was so thin that the clothes he was wearing looked too big on him. He looked really tired, and his eyes weren't as shiny as they had been. His left arm was covered in bandages.
"I didn't mean to scare you, Gin, but it was so hard for me to find you that I didn't want to wait..." his voice was deeper, softer.
But just hearing that voice was enough for her to realize one thing. She was still in love with him. It was amazing that after all that had happened, she was still able to have such a feeling for someone.
She ran to him and hugged him. She wanted to be sure he was for real, not a ghost... He was even thinner than he had looked. He winced when she pressed his arm and she broke apart, looking at him in the eyes.
"I can't believe it..." she whispered.
Harry smiled weakly. Ginny opened her door hastily, and they entered in her apartment. She turned on the lights.
"You've grown. You look beautiful," he said.
"Well, thanks," she laughed softly at his compliment.
"I was afraid they might have hurt you in La Sante."
"They did," she said, taking out her coat. "What about you? What happened to your arm?"
"It's a long story..."
* * *
Ginny listened to him without breathing. He had been through much all this time...
"It's over now," he said, when she asked him if he had suffered. "Gin... I learned about Arthur and Molly... I can't tell you how sorry I am... They were like my family."
"You knew they were working for the Resistance." It wasn't a question.
He closed his eyes, and then nodded slowly.
"I should've expected from my dad..." she muttered, giving him another cup of tea. "But mum..."
Harry sighed. "There's not a minute when I don't wonder... if maybe I said, or did, something that led them to the FOS..."
Ginny stared at him, not knowing what to say. Harry's expression was guilty and full of sorrow.
"I... They were under my command," he said, slowly.
She remembered the state they were in the last time she had seen them. His father beaten up; her mother not even able to stand up. Her eyes filled with tears. Harry noticed this and panicked.
"Gin... Please, don't get like this," he pleaded.
He sat beside her. Ginny started crying while she told him everything that had happened in La Sante. Harry clenched his fists, furious of not having been able to help her. Then, she told him about Krum...
"Do you hate me now?" she asked.
"God, no," he said, embracing her tenderly. He was just as destroyed as she was, and the feeling that they were sharing something no one else would understand made her feel at ease. Suddenly, she wanted to tell him about Daniel's existence. But something stopped her.
"Ginny, why are you all alone? What about your brothers?" he asked, after a while.
"They don't know I'm here. They are all Gryffindor allies, Harry, how do you think they'd feel if they knew I was Krum's lover?"
"They don't have to know that if you don't want them to."
She paused. The real reason for staying apart from them had been Daniel. Once again, she was tempted to tell him about her son, but that was when Harry said "At least you're lucky you didn't have a child."
Ginny felt her heart sank. For some odd reason, she felt the urge to hurt Harry for saying that. Even when he didn't know anything...
"My dad told me about you and the Resistance," she said, without thinking.
Harry sat up. "He did?"
"The last time I saw him alive..."
"What did he say?" he asked, quietly.
"Goyle... The FOS agent, told my dad that they were following your steps," she lied, feeling terrible for it.
Harry's expression when he heard this was, by far, the worse she had seen on him ever. He stood up, shakily.
"They were following my steps... And that's how they reached Arthur?" he asked, his eyes so dark that there wasn't anymore green in them.
Uncapable to lie to his face again, Ginny just nodded and looked away.
* * *
Half an hour passed. Ginny went to the kitchen and cooked something for her and Harry. He was sitting in the living room, with his head in his hands. Why had she said that to him?
He heard him pace in the room for a while. Suddenly, his steps stopped.
"What's this?" he asked, his voise tense.
Ginny got out of the kitchen to see what he was talking about. He was looking at a picture she had hung on the wall... The one that Hermione had sent her a couple of days ago. Her friend and the child waved to them, smiling broadly.
Harry grabbed the picture and stared at it. He was pale. Ginny felt a twitch in her stomach. Had Harry noticed something in Daniel that could indicate he was Ginny's son? That couldn't be... He was too much like his father, there wasn't anything Weasley in him.
"That's... my old friend, don't you remember her? Hermione Granger... Or should I say, Hermione Malfoy."
Harry's eyes widened slightly, but Ginny didn't notice. She was staring at the picture too, as if she could tell it to keep her secret. "She... got married?" he asked in a whisper.
"With Draco Malfoy. Actually, you were the matchmaker. You introduced them at my house, four years ago."
He paused. "Is this... their kid?"
"Not exactly. They're such good people, that they adopted a war orphan." She smiled slightly and stretched her arm for him to give the picture back.
But he didn't let it go. "How long... When did they get married?"
If Ginny hadn't been so worried about Harry discovering that Daniel was her son, she would've have make a connection and realized why he was so interested in the picture. But the thought that Harry and Hermione had seen each other, apart from that time at her house, never crossed her mind.
"Harry, are you all right?" she asked, worried.
"How long?" he repeated.
"Last month... But they went out most of the time she spent Spain," she added, although she wasn't sure if that was right. "Somehow, Hermione escaped from Paris. Her parents were killed by the FOS. She was lucky, I guess," Ginny explained, quickly, too nervous to think of anything else. She wanted to say anything to keep his attention away from Daniel. "They're the perfect couple. Always smiling. They love each other deeply."
"They're here, in Paris?"
"No, in London."
Harry was leaning against the wall. It seemed like he couldn't stand up entirely. 'He must be really tired', Ginny thought. Finally, with a quick movement, she took the picture away from his hand. "Harry, you don't look very well," she said. "You should get some sleep."
"Right," he said, like waking up from some strange daydream. "I'll go back to the Hotel. If you need me, just apparate there, OK?"
She nodded, and he left. A rush of mixed feelings came to her. She was happy and relieved that Harry was there. She wasn't going to be alone anymore... But she had lied to him. She had made him feel guilty about something he didn't have any responsibility for. She knew perfectly well about Harry's tendency to blame himself for everything.
But what was done was done. Now, all she had to do was look to the future, hopefully with him by her side...
* * *
The next day, Harry took her out for dinner to a fancy restaurant. It had been a long time since she had been in a place like that. It felt right. That was the world where she belonged.
Harry asked her about what she did for a living. Ginny answered all his questions. But she couldn't help noticing how bad he looked. Sometimes he seemed distracted, his mind wandering somewhere else, and it was pretty obvious he hadn't slept well.
Then, they went back to Ginny's apartment. She offered him a cup of coffee and he accepted.
"Harry, what is it?" she asked. "I know you want to tell me something..."
Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Well, it's just... I hope you won't feel offended, but I would like you to have your own money. I want to give you half of mine."
Ginny gasped. "What?"
"It's not fair that you have to live like this. You come from a wealthy family. Arthur and Molly were like my parents, so it's logical that I share what I have with you..."
Ginny's mind raced. She knew that Harry had a large fortune, considering what his parents and Sirius had left to him, plus what he had earned himself. However, even with that amount of money, she wouldn't feel complete if he wasn't with her. If she accepted just like that, she would lose her chance to have Harry.
"You're right, I feel offended," she said, thinking at top speed of what to say to make him feel commited to her.
"You've always been too proud," Harry said, as if he had expected her answer.
"Proud? Don't you realize that money is soaked in blood?"
He stared at her, confused. "Blood?"
"Are you going to deny that you are offering me this because of what happened to my parents? Because you feel responsible for it?"
He sighed, looking devastated. Ginny ignored the pang of guiltiness in her stomach, and kept looking at him expressionless. "Of course I feel responsible," he said, slowly. "But it's not just because of that. I hate to see you living in this dump, Gin. You have gone through too much already."
She stood up and walked towards the small window. "Nothing will bring my parents back, Harry. And even if you give me all that money, it won't change the fact that I am completely alone."
He approached to her and embraced her. She leaned her head on his chest. It felt so good to be in his arms... She wanted to stay there forever. She looked up at him. Harry had that sad expression again. She was going to help him forget everything that had happened to both of them. Slowly, she pressed her lips against his. At first, Harry seemed too shocked to do anything, so she took the chance and deepened the kiss, until he pulled away.
"Ginny..." he said.
"I've loved you forever, Harry," she said, not letting him continue. This was her last resource to get him.
"But I..."
"If you reject me, I'll be destroyed, I won't be able to stand it," she insisted, kissing him again.
But Harry stopped her once more. "I love you Gin, a lot, but not like this. You're like a sister to me..."
"That's a lie. I know it's a lie... You have no idea how lonely I've been, waiting for you..."
Harry closed his eyes and she kissed him again. This time, he didn't back away, although he didn't kiss her with the same passion she did. Ginny didn't care. She was sure that Harry would give in, eventually. They were meant to be.
* * *
Next day, Ginny went to work feeling happier. She even hummed a song while she helped the fat ladies to try their robes on. Harry had left shortly after they had kissed, but she was sure that he was considering what had happened between them.
When she got home, half past six, Harry was waiting for her. He didn't notice she had arrived. He was sitting on a chair, with Daniel's picture in his hands, staring at it with a hurt look. Ginny's heart skipped a beat. Why was he so interested in the picture? Had he guessed already that the kid in it was...?
"Harry," she said, firmly.
He jumped and reached for his wand immediately. When he realized it was her, he calmed down and put it away. He was still holding the picture.
"It's not very wise to scare a Resistance member like that, you know?" he said, quietly.
"I'll keep it in mind," she said, walking up to him. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not much... Listen, I'll go straight to the point," he said. "Have you ever considered that if we get married you could enter into England?"
Ginny made a huge effort to keep her face expressionless. She had won.
"You don't have to marry me just because you feel guilty, Harry," she said.
"I know I'm more a problem than anything," he said, ignoring her, "I'm too quiet, I'm a bit paranoid, and the war has had a terrible effect on me... But I want to take care of you. I promised Ron I would."
Ginnny and Harry hadn't talked about Ron yet. "Just before he died," Harry added, "I told him I was going to take care of you. I'm not sure if this was what he had in mind, but I'll do my best to make you happy."
Ginny embraced him. He had made her happy already.
"You're the only thing I have left," he said.
"So are you," she replied. "My answer is yes, Harry, I'll marry you."
Harry gave one last look to the picture in his hand, and let it fall to the floor.
* * *
As Harry Potter's fiancee, Ginny had a lot to do before the marriage. Harry went back to England to do some paperwork for them to be able to live in London. Ginny quit her job - she would never forget Madame Vinya's expression when she saw the diamond ring on her hand - and moved to a fancy hotel room.
There was something she needed to take care of. Daniel. That was why she wrote to Hermione.
"Dear Hermione,
That was a lovely picture- the one you've sent me. I can see that Daniel is much better with you and Draco than he'll ever be with me.
That's why I'm willing to let him stay with you, for good. You'll be able to adopt him as your legal son. I have only two conditions.
One is that he, or anyone else, will never know about his birth parents. And second, is that, no matter what, you'll never see me as his mother. Ever.
Please, write soon with your answer.
Ginny"
She waited anxiously for two days, until Hermione's reply came back.
"Dear Gin,
You can't imagine how happy you've made us. We love Danny so much. We swear we'll never tell him or anyone about his origins.
Thank you again,
Hermione"
That was the answer she had been expecting. Then why did she feel so miserable?
* * *
Everything was almost ready for their wedding. Harry had informed the Weasley brothers that Ginny was alive. He hadn't mentioned anything about Viktor Krum, just as he had promised to her. All of them traveled to Paris to reunite with her and attend to the wedding.
It was a simple ceremony. Only the bride and groom, Bill, Charlie, Percy and the twins with their families, and a friend of Harry's that Ginny had never met, named Remus Lupin. Remus was a very silent person in her opinion, and often gave significant looks to Harry while the ceremony was being held.
The first three months of marriage were pure bliss for her. Harry was gentle and caring. Surely, he was distant sometimes, and traveled a lot due to his work as her brothers' joke shop representative. He had also taken care of a foundation named after his Godfather.
Ginny had almost forgotten about everything that happened in the last four years, until that owl came. She was reading by the pool, when a letter fell on her lap.
"Dear Gin,
If you receive this, it's probably because the Slytherin Goverment is over, which is great news. I'm probably not here anymore, but I gave instructions to one of my most loyal assistants to send this to you on July, year 2002.
I found what you were looking for so eagerly, but I took all this time to show it to you, because I thought you needed to be prepared. I hope it'll be for the best.
In the basement of the Leaky Cauldron, in Diagon Alley, there is a package for you. There, you'll find who betrayed your parents.
Be happy, and take care of our son,
Viktor Krum."
Ginny stared at the letter, not daring to believe it. It had to be a joke. Krum had found out a long time ago, and he hadn't told her anything? Nevertheless, her answer was there. She just had to go to Diagon Alley...
* * *
The basement of the Leaky Cauldron was full of dirt, but she didn't care. She had been in worse places. She found the package under her name. Tom, the owner of the place, had left her alone.
Ginny sat down on the floor and slowly opened the package. It contained some kind of journal, which had the FOS emblem on the cover, and she started reading it.
It had a very detailed report about her father. What he had done ever since he had gotten to Paris. Ginny read through the pages until she found what she was looking for.
Section: 7
Case: Minister Salazar Slytherin's murder attempt, in October 1998.
Suspect: Arthur and Molly Weasley.
State: Closed.
"We had knowledge that the suspects neighbour, Albert H. Granger, a muggle, had befriended Weasley. He was a direct witness of the murder attempt that Weasley, with the help of his wife, executed in the month of October, 1998. We took Mr. Granger's wife, Susan, on November 1998, for interrogation. Just as we had expected, Albert Granger arrived an hour later, asking for his wife. We explained the situation to him, and, at first, he refused to cooperate. Then, we threatened the life of his wife, a muggle, and his daughter, a mudblood. After a lot of pressure, he confessed what he knew, with the condition of a signed oath that his daughter would never be harmed by the FOS...
Ginny couldn't keep reading. Her hands were shaking so badly that the journal fell to the floor. She needed air, she needed to get out of there. She grabbed the journal and the rest of the things in Krum's package and she took them home, with her.
It was a good thing that Harry was in the U.S. at the time. If he had seen her arriving home like that, he wouldn't have left her alone until he found out what had happened. And Ginny certainly didn't want to share this with anyone else.
Granger... He had betrayed his father. He was the person she had been looking for all this time... But he was dead, how was he going to pay?
"He should suffer as much as you," she had said to her father in La Sante, the last time she had seen him alive. "And his family too. Just like ours."
His family... Hermione. The only friend she had ever had...
Not anymore. She was the daughter of that scum, the person responsible for her parent's death and all her suffering. She would have to go through hell, just like she had.
Ginny sobbed when she thought she had given Daniel, her father's grandchild to the daughter of their worst enemy... But no, Daniel was Hermione Granger's son. He would have to pay too.
Yes... The revenge was about to start.
****
A/N: I know, I know, you hate me. You want to kill me, and maybe, if I you knew where I live, you'd send me hundreds of howlers for doing this... I completely understand. I hate myself too for what I'm doing here... But there's still much to come ahead. Surely, now both Harry and Hermione are married to other person, but this is all part of the plot.
Also, there is, obviously a good explanation to Harry's absence. And there's a reason why I didn't put it here. You'll know, eventually.
I want to clearify something again: this is an AU fic, and that's the only reason why Draco Malfoy is nice and Ginny is... Like that. Otherwise, I would NEVER pair Hermione with Draco and Harry with Ginny, not even for a slight second.
Next Chapter: Harry and Hermione meet again.
Thanks Emily for the Beta Reading and all of you who are reading.