Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter 15 - Love hurts

It hurt; there was no doubt about that… It had been one month since Ginny had left the Malfoy Manor, and her sweet Thomas, but her heart still ached, for she had built strong ties with the boy.

His young voice calling her name, yelling, actually…, asking her to stay, calling her Mommy! Her heart broke each time she remembered that day.

Draco had sent her the paycheck, but Ginny sent it back with a small note:

`My love cannot be paid, ever…

GW'

Ginny missed Draco, Thomas, and the Manor she had learned to love… But she only had the time to miss them at night, because she spent her days out in the Wizarding World trying to find a job.

So far, nothing… Every single clinic she went to, showed enthusiasm when they read her curriculum, but as soon as they knew her name, they would refuse her. Apparently, Carlo Moretti had a huge power over the other clinics, and he had made sure Ginny would not get away with her little show in that ball, back at Malfoy Manor, when she broke up with him.

Every single day, a very tired and upset Ginny would go back to the Burrow, take a long bath and lay down on her bed, trying hard not to cry over how much she missed Thomas and Draco.

The whole family had seen how sad she was lately, but no one besides Luna, Hermione, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley could tell what was going on… Ginny's parents had seen how Ginny had looked at Draco that night he came for her, and they had concluded that was the reason why she was feeling so down, but they felt a little more relaxed… Draco Malfoy might have changed, but he probably wasn't what their daughter needed.

Luna and Hermione would come by every night, to try to cheer her up, but the only thing that got a smile out of Ginny was when Hermione confessed to be pregnant.

Luna wanted to help her best friend, that's why she was in this house, sitting inside that office, waiting for an old acquaintance.

She remembered the old days back at Hogwarts, soon after she warned Malfoy to make a decision about Ginny. Back then, he had chosen to stay away from Ginny, and with that decision he stopped watching her all the time, he stopped insulting her family, and amazingly, he had started to treat Luna much better, not even making fun of her. When she confronted him on that change, he just said:

"I'm glad she has a friend like you to watch over her well-being… I wish I had one good friend like you." He explained with a small smile on his lips.

"I can be your friend…" Luna smiled sweetly at the once scary Slytherin.

"Yes, you can, Lovegood…" he replied, sincerely.

Ever since those days, Luna remained in contact with Draco, mainly through Owls. She always told him how was her life and he always answered back telling about his. They rarely talked to each other, but in their letters, they spilled their hearts to each other, especially Draco. It looked like he was desperate to get all those things out of his chest…

During the war, Luna was the only person to find out about Neville and Pansy…

Everyone was staying at Hogwarts, including the ex-students from the former years, trying to protect the castle and the younger kids. Luna was on her way to meet Ginny in the kitchens, for a late night snack, when she heard voices inside a classroom. That's when she saw Neville and Pansy kissing passionately, despite her tears.

"Please, don't go… Don't leave me…" Pansy sobbed, holding Neville tightly in her arms, not wanting to let go of him.

"I have to go, Pansy… I have to do this for my parents, for Harry's parents, for Harry's friendship, and for us… Always for us!" Neville answered in a sad voice. "I'll be back, don't worry…"

"Please, don't go… I… I'm pregnant, Nev!" Pansy sobbed harder, and Neville showed shock on his face, his brown eyes shining with happy tears.

"I'm going to be a father? I'm going to be a Daddy? That's wonderful!" he screamed happily, spinning her in his arms. "I love you Pansy, and I will come back to you and our baby… You mark my words!"

But he never did come back… He never met his child, he never got to say goodbye to the woman he loved, he never got to enjoy the beautiful life he had ahead of him.

Pansy, she had ran away from her evil parents, and came to Hogwarts, mostly because she had fell in love with Neville, and when he died, all she wanted to do was to kill herself, but she didn't have the courage to do so, when she thought of the small life she had inside of her. Neville's baby…

Luna was her support after the war, in secrecy. She would visit Pansy and Thomas regularly, loving to be with the son of her old best friend. But she always noticed how cold Pansy had become after Neville died, she became the old Slytherin bitch again, she acted insanely at times, but she always showed love to Thomas… Always!

When she died, Luna wanted to ask Ron's permission to adopt the small boy, which implied telling him about the whole story, but that never came to be needed.

Apparently, Pansy had had different ideas. Neville had died to save Draco's life, and that was a Wizard's debt.

In her will, she had specified that as a payment, Draco would have to be Thomas' legal guardian, and ensure his safety, his education, his future…

Luna had been in contact with Draco, ever since the boy was placed under his care, and Draco always replied with news on his surgeries and recuperation.

"Luna…" a male voice said, entering the office, and making Luna snap out of her thoughts.

"Hello Draco… Looking good, as always!" she smiled warmly, watching him sit behind the desk.

"But of course!" he grinned. "So, why are you here?"

"We have something very serious to talk about… Ginevra Weasley!" Luna said, her voice becoming deadly serious.

"What about her?" he asked coldly, although his eyes sparkled with interest.

"A long time ago, I asked you to stay away from her, if what you wanted was to hurt her… But, if you loved her truly, to go ahead." Luna started, her wide blue eyes focused on his face. "This time, I didn't warn you on time, you didn't keep your distance and now, you're hurting her, deeply."

"Why should she feel hurt? All she has lost was her job! I lost my privacy!" Draco replied coldly, although his heart was tight with guilt and sorrow.

"No Draco… She's lost the boy she loved as a son! He calls her Mother! She's lost the man she fell in love with, without ever having had him; she's lost her self-confidence, her laughter! She misses you both so much… She loves you BOTH, so very much, Draco…" Luna yelled furious, while pacing his office.

"She shouldn't have done what she did…" he whispered, trying not to accept the fact that Ginny loved him and he had hurt her. "Those were my private things, my bedroom, and my secret! She had no right of messing with my life!"

"Is that the only reason why you fired her?" Luna insisted, watching him run a hand over his hair, in a nervous gesture.

"No."

"Draco, please help me understand what's going on…" she pleaded, sitting again on her chair.

"I can't have her here… I was going crazy, watching her, daydreaming about her, feeling her scent wherever I went! She was making me feel again, Luna…" he replied, although it pained him to say all that to her. But he knew he could trust Luna, like he had done so many times before, in their letters.

"Is that such a bad thing, Draco?" she whispered sadly. "She told me about Chantal…"

Draco's eyes showed surprise and confusion at the same time, but he remained silent.

"She's so jealous of Chantal… That night she met her, and you said Ginny was the cooker; she talked with me while she baked some cookies. She was so sad, feeling so hurt and ugly! You had a passionate moment and you kept on treating her like scum…" Luna complained. "She feels like you'll never look at her, because you prefer women like Chantal."

"She's silly, if she thinks that way… How can she not see what she makes me feel?" he replied, playing with a feather in his hands.

"Why don't you tell her the way you feel?"

"I can't…"

"Why, Draco? You don't love Chantal! You don't have to marry her… We both know that! What do you feel about Ginny?" Luna screamed furiously.

"I… I've never loved before, but probably that's what I'm feeling. The youngest Weasel won her way over to my heart!" Draco admitted at last, hiding his face with his pale hands.

"Great! Now, all you have to do is tell her!" Luna said, excitedly.

"NO! I'll be marrying Chantal in a month." He stated firmly. "I'm sorry Luna, but I have to keep my promises…"

Luna tried hard not to cry in despair because of his attitude.

"I wish I had never told her you had changed… I wish she had never accepted this job, and I wish she had never fell in love with you, for the second time in her young life… You took Thomas away from her, you took her job, her love and her self-esteem!" Luna hissed furiously. "This time you succeeded in hurting her, but be warned! There WON'T be a next time…"

Without waiting for his reply, Luna almost ran out of the office, bumping against something metallic. Looking down at her side, she found a very red in the face Thomas, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Ginny is not… coming back?" Thomas asked, tears shining in his eyes.

"No, Thomas, she isn't… But she loves you very much, never forget that!" Luna sobbed, hugging the boy tenderly. "Soon you'll have a new mother and you'll be very happy…"

"NO! I won't be happy! Ginny is my mommy… Ginny is my mommy!" Thomas screamed, his voice echoing in the huge manor.

It was with his screams that Luna ran out of the house and Apparated to her house.

Thomas kept on crying and yelling Ginny's name, but Draco didn't leave his seat, trying to close his mind to the boy's voice. They were very linked together, that was easy to see and understand. Ginny had somehow touched both their lives… More than she would ever believe.

Sometimes Draco wondered about his decision to fire her. She had asked for answers, and he had refused to break his promise to Neville. If he had been in Ginny's place, he would have done the same thing to find out the mystery…

But, it wasn't mentally healthy for her to keep working here. She and Thomas were way too attached, and he was falling hard for the woman he had been admiring in his last year at Hogwarts. And, sooner or later she would have found out about his wedding with Chantal.

Chantal was his fiancée, and that was another promise he had to keep. Marry the daughter of the man who helped him protect the Malfoy fortune from the Ministry hands. They had wanted the money, saying it was dirty, but Draco never allowed them to touch a galleon.

So, either way, he couldn't have Ginny, no matter how much he loved her, and he would have to learn to deal with the feeling of emptiness… And so would Thomas…

`Children forget easily… Soon he won't even remember her!' Draco thought, trying to reassure himself, although he knew it was a lie.

What happens in your childhood marks you for your whole life, sometimes leaving such deep scars, that you'll never get rid of them.

"MOMMY!" he heard Thomas scream once again, and then there was a dry sound, of someone falling on the floor.

Worried about the boy, Draco came to the corridor and what he saw left him petrified in both shock and surprise.

Thomas had left his wheelchair and was crawling awkwardly towards the hall's fireplace.

"Thomas? What are you doing?" Draco asked in a weak and surprised voice, but the boy didn't answer.

Thomas reached the stonewalls of the fireplace, and using the rough gaps to lock his small fingers, he propelled his body up, on his wobbly legs, and reached for the Floo powder, like he had seen Ginny do that day she took him to her house.

Waking up from his shocked trance, at seeing Thomas standing up alone, Draco ran towards him, trying to stop him from flooing anywhere. Just as he reached the fireplace, Thomas yelled his destination and disappeared in the green flames.

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Hello everyone! I did my exam today, and it went well, so I got home in time to see the game: Portugal vs. Holland.

We WON! We are on the finals, isn't that great???? Yes, it is because I say so!

Well, I wrote this chapter in about 40 minutes, because I already had it written on paper. I have this habit of writing on a small notes book when I go to bed, and then I use it to develop the ideas on the computer.

Thank you so much; to all of you who have been reading, and reviewing, you are the best thing in this Fanfiction stuff.

I'm sorry if my stories aren't perfect, but I don't want a BETA, it gets hard to update when you have one, because they have their busy lives, and sometimes they take forever to send you the chapters you sent them! It's a mess!

So, you're stuck with my English, whether it's bad or not, but believe me, I've seen English people writing 10 000 times worse than me!

Lots and lots and lots and lots of love, from me

Carina

PS: Don't forget to cross your fingers for Portugal, because WE ARE ON THE FINALS!!!

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