Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the story line...sadly. JKR owns everything - including the characters, spells, and the entire world of Harry Potter. I wonder if I could buy it from her for a dollar?
Thanks to my wonderful, wonderful beta - dragonsangel68.
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Draco woke beside a voluptuous brunette who went by Pandora early one morning. He'd taken her to the Ministry's yearly Gala celebrating some ridiculous triumph for some ridiculous minority; however, he was a Malfoy and he was expected to attend.
Pandora had served her purpose. She'd driven thoughts of Ginny from his mind, but now they were back full force. How long had it been since he'd seen Ginny and Jayden? A month? Maybe two? He was unsure. The last time he'd gone home to see his child, Ginny had appeared tense and irritated. He'd asked why she as upset and she'd shrugged it off as fatigue. He'd believed her merely because he'd wanted to. He knew something was wrong, but wasn't man enough to fix it. He'd run instead. To be exact, he'd run to Sheila, Cherie, Laila, Pandora and a multitude of other witches to bury his thoughts of Ginny. He'd stayed at work late, attended numerous functions he normally wouldn't be caught dead at, and, because of his attendance, his business was booming. Who knew personal relations was this beneficial to business?
He'd busied himself with the fresh wave of mergers, investments, and meetings that plagued him day and night. He'd made more money in the past two months than he had in the previous two years. Not that any of it mattered, his fortune was great enough as is. He did it simply because it gave him an excuse to ignore what was going on all around him.
He gathered his things, dressed and Apparated to his office. Sitting at his desk, he stared down at a picture of Ginny, Jayden and himself on the day Jayden was born. He was kissing Ginny's forehead when that dolt Creevey had lit up the room with that damned flash bulb.
He stoked Ginny's face and his son's head through the glass. He had to go home. He missed them both terribly. He grabbed a freshly laundered shirt off a hanger from the bundle that hung on the back of his door and set off for home.
Only he found home to be a little less welcoming that he'd planned. Something about the living room made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Ginny! Jayden!"
He didn't care if they were sleeping.
He burst into the bedroom only to find it empty. He checked Jayden's room to find most of the contents previously housed in the room to be missing. The bathroom produced less than favorable results, as did the rest of the places Draco looked.
"NIPPY!"
The elf appeared quivering at his feet. "Yes, Master?"
"Where is my son? Where is Ginny?"
"Missus has made Nippy the keeper of her secret. Nippy mustn't tell."
"Nippy must tell if Nippy wants to remain in a job," Draco growled dangerously. "I've got a sock right here with your name on it."
Nippy made an audible squeak and disappeared from Draco's grasp.
Draco was in a rage. He tore apart the house room by room. He wasn't looking for evidence as to where Ginny had gone; he was having a world-class fit. He dumped over bookcases, threw Ginny's remaining wardrobe out of the armoire, threw pictures, broke dishes and generally tore the house and it's contents to bits. What upset him more was that the house didn't even smell of her anymore.
Finally having vented his frustration, Draco realized he was staring at the little blue bunny he'd given Jayden in the hospital. It has been his son's first toy. He grabbed it and held it to his face. Draco slid down the wall and began to sob uncontrollably.
-----
"Missus, Master returned. Master is tearing the house apart. Master threatened Nippy with clothes but Nippy still didn't tell where Missus or Little Master Jayden were." Nippy beamed at Ginny's feet.
"Thank you, Nippy. Will you please pack a bag for Jayden. He'll look for us here when he gets his head on straight."
"Nippy will do it, but where does Missus want to go?"
"To see Narcissa. Perhaps she'll want to see her grandson."
Nippy's eyes grew large, but she scurried away to pack anyhow.
-----
Ginny kissed her Mother's cheek as she said goodbye to her family. "I'm sorry, Mum, but I'll owl you as soon as I get a chance. I'm just not ready to see him or hear from him yet. I need some more time."
"Of course, Ginny, dear. We'll just miss you. I'll miss my Poppet as well." She kissed Jayden's fat cheeks and waved goodbye to Ginny.
-----
Ginny appeared at the foot of Malfoy Manor. It was an imposing piece of architecture. "I'm quite lucky she didn't set wards. I should have thought of that. Pregnancy does a number on your mind." Ginny strode up to Malfoy Manor holding her son on her hip. Nippy was trailing behind like a coward.
Ginny knocked on the door and it opened with a rush of air. A small house elf by the name of Jester opened the door and escorted her in. She was instructed to wait in the main parlor. She remembered this place and it frightened her, but this was her only hope.
"Miss Weasley?" An icy cold voice from behind her caused chills to go up her spine.
"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy."
"Why are you here?"
"I thought you might like to see your grandson."
Narcissa's eyes softened as they found the small child clinging to Ginny's side. She took a step towards Ginny and ran her finger along Jayden's cheek.
"What did you name him?"
"Jayden William Malfoy. Do you like it?"
"It's a fine name." Narcissa hesitated. "I would have been at the hospital to see him, but I'm rather stubborn. I apologize for the spectacle the last time you were here, but you can't expect me to approve of this-situation."
"No, I don't expect you to approve, but it's happened and you have to accept it. It's not hard to accept, just look at what you get for a little bit of acceptance." Ginny gestured to her son. Narcissa tickled him under his jaw and Jayden giggled. Ginny hoisted her son up so they were face to face and gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek.
"Jayden, this is your Grandmum. She's your Da's Mum. Why don't you go say hello."
She turned Jayden around and pushed him towards Narcissa. Jayden grinned and extended his arms in a silent plea of "Pick me up now!"
Narcissa took the chubby baby into her arms and moved to the settee near the fireplace. She cooed at Jayden who cooed back. Ginny smiled as she watched the two interact.
"Where's Draco?"
"I'm not sure, Mrs. Malfoy. We left the house in town about two months ago. I haven't seen him since. I don't even think he knew we were gone until today, if you want to hear the truth of it."
"Too busy attending Ministry functions and going into the office for late business meetings, I presume?"
"From what I can gather. I saw more of him in The Daily Prophet than I did at home. He'd come home to change clothes and take Jayden to the park at first, but then he just quit coming around at all. I'd catch a whiff of his cologne when I stepped out of the shower or came back from running errands, but that was the only evidence of him coming around other than his mysterious disappearing wardrobe."
"I'm all too familiar. Lucius was much the same way. Where are you staying now?"
"I'm not staying anywhere. He threatened Nippy with clothes in order to get her to tell him where I was, but Nippy's a good house elf. She didn't utter a peep."
"Good for her. I'd wager Draco is driving himself nutters trying to find you about now."
"Probably, but I don't really care. I was at home with my stretch marks taking care of his son day and night while he went gallivanting to parties with gorgeous women. My heart bleeds for him."
"I know exactly how you feel. Would you like to stay for dinner?
"As long as it isn't an inconvenience."
"Not at all. The last place Draco would look for you would be here."
"Probably not the last place, but it will definitely take him a few days of thinking before he looks here."
Over dinner all formalities were thrown out the window. Ginny was Ginny and Narcissa was Narcissa. Miss Weasley and Mrs. Malfoy were no more. They laughed, snorted, and made silly noises at Jayden. For the first time in a long time, both women had fun. Narcissa offered Ginny a place to stay and Ginny accepted.
Nippy showed Ginny to a room right next to Narcissa's suite. Ginny thanked the house elf as Jayden blew spit bubbles as some sort of appreciative gesture. Ginny bags were already unpacked, presumably by Nippy, so she made herself and Jayden ready for bed. Ginny set protection spells as well as silencing and locking charms on the room. No sense being careless at this point.
Ginny spent two weeks at Malfoy Manor before things got hairy. She and Narcissa got to know each other as Narcissa got to know her grandson. They took afternoon tea in the garden, trimmed the roses together, and generally had a good time together.
One night, Narcissa came into the parlor looked rather distressed. "Ginny, I have something to talk to you about. Draco has been owling me constantly for a few days. I'm sure he has no idea that you're here; he probably just wants to come and tell me what's happened. He assumes that I'll help him find you. At any other time, he might assume that conviction and be correct, but this time he is sadly mistaken. For many years I put up with his father behaving in much the same manner. I never had the strength to stand up for myself. You are much better than I was in that respect."
"Thank you for telling me and for the compliment. I have to go pack."
A hand on Ginny's arm stopped her. "Ginny, remember that Draco is a good boy. He'll come to his senses; you just have to teach him his lesson just as you're doing now. You don't have to run forever."
"I know, Narcissa. I'm just not ready to talk to him yet. I still have to get my thoughts in order." Ginny took a deep breath to steel herself. "Would it be alright if I went to the cottage that Draco took me to while I was pregnant? I don't even know where it is and I don't have a Portkey to get there."
"Of course you can use the cottage. Stay for as long as you like. I'll floo over to the Ministry and get you a Portkey while you're packing. Don't leave while I'm gone, I'm going to raise the wards. Pack quickly, dear."
Ginny nodded her agreement and her thank you. She walked as fast as her feet could carry her and Jayden up to her room.
"DA!" Ginny stopped in her tracks. Ginny stiffened and turned around slowly but didn't see Draco. It hadn't even occurred to her that her child had just yelled out his first word.
Jayden pointed to the portrait on the wall and yelled, "DA!" Ginny looked in the direction of her child's pointing finger and, sure enough, there was a picture of Draco making faces back at Jayden.
"Yes, Poppet, that is a picture of Da. Now we have to go." Ginny continued walking while Jayden continued
in his chorus of "Da-Da-Da-Da-Da."
Ginny packed as quickly as she could considering Jayden seemed to be hell bent on not leaving. She would turn around to put something else in a suitcase and Jayden would take it out. This continued on until Narcissa appeared in the doorway.
"Ginny, aren't you packed yet? The Portkey activates in 10 minutes!"
"I was trying but Jayden doesn't seem to want to leave. He keeps unpacking us."
Narcissa picked up the small, sticky-fingered little boy. "That's because he doesn't want to say goodbye to his Grandmum. Do you?" The little boy drooled on Narcissa's robes, but the woman didn't seem to notice.
"He said `Da' for the first time in the hallway. He saw the portrait of Draco and just yelled it. I wish I were in the position to be more excited about that. I thought he was a Mummy's boy, but I guess not. I show him pictures of Draco all the time so he'll know who his Da is."
Hearing the word cross Ginny's lips, Jayden began pointing into the hallway again and renewed his chorus of "Da-Da-Da-Da-Da!"
"That's wonderful, dear. Finish packing, you only have a few minutes left."
"Thank you, Narcissa-for everything. It's been really nice getting to know you." Ginny gave the woman's hand a firm squeeze and started throwing things into her bags.
Ginny finished packing and shrunk the bags. She fitted them into her pocket, and took Jayden from Narcissa. She took the handkerchief wrapped Portkey from Narcissa just as a pop resounded downstairs.
"Mum? Are you here?"
Narcissa grabbed the Portkey from Ginny and unwrapped part of it. "Grab on, dear," she hissed. Ginny felt the pulling sensation and knew she'd escaped.
Narcissa blew out a tense breath and rushed into the hallway. She hurried down the stairs to greet her son.
"Draco, darling, why are you home?"
"She's left with Jayden, Mum, and I don't know where she is. I've looked everywhere and I can't find her."
"Oh, darling, tell Mum all about it." She led him into the parlor. Narcissa secretly loved it when Draco called her Mum. He only called her that when he was too depressed or sick to cling to the formalities he was brought up with.
"Draco, make yourself comfortable and I'll be there in just a minute." Narcissa watched her son's sloped shoulders move into the parlor, and she ran down the hall whispering for Nippy.
Nippy appeared when Narcissa reached the kitchen. "Yes, Mistress. What can Nippy do?"
"Nippy, I want you to make sure everything is cleaned up from Miss Ginny's stay here. Anything she forgot needs to be put away where Draco can't find it. Make sure the dinner dishes are put away, and clean out her suite. Make sure it doesn't even smell like her. Bring a tea service for Draco and myself and then get all the other elves to help you. After all the evidence is gone, go to the cottage and stay with Ginny. Help her in any way that you can. Understand?"
Nippy smiled and responded, "Yes, Mistress. Nippy is happy to help." With a snap of her fingers, Nippy was gone.
Narcissa returned to the parlor to see a tea service had already appeared. Unfortunately, Narcissa didn't spy the yellow elephant plush that was lying on the floor in front of the fireplace that was now in Draco's grasp.
"Mother, what is this?"
"It appears to be a yellow elephant plush."
"Where did it come from?"
Narcissa's kept her face nonchalant. She had bought that for Jayden during his stay. How could she explain it away?
A house elf appeared in the doorway. "Master! We thanks for finding it! Jester will be happy to have his Fifi back! Jester is unable to sleep without his Fifi!"
"Fifi?"
"Yes, Master, Jester's stuffed elephant, Fifi. Jester cannot sleep without his Fifi!"
Draco handed the stuffed animal down to the outstretched hands of the house elf. "Strange, a house elf with a penchant for stuffed animals. How did he get it?"
The house elf seemed to read Draco's mind. "Dobby gave Jester his Fifi! Jester is not himself without his Fifi!"
"Oh, alright, quit your babbling," Draco remarked.
Narcissa looked over her shoulder at the retreating elf and saw Nippy smile at her from the corridor. "I must remember never to give that elf clothes. She's really top-notch."
Narcissa sat down and served tea for both herself and Draco. She was ready to hear her son's version of what happened-in fact, she was ready to hear precisely how her son was able to shift the blame off of himself.
After several hours of hearing Draco bemoan his situation, Narcissa was quite surprised at her son's maturity. Obviously this woman and the fact that he now had a son of his own had brought him to the cusp of manhood. She was impressed. He was quite honest about what had happened, even if certain bits did still reek of a child who had his lolly taken away.
They talked throughout the night until her grown son fell asleep weeping in her lap. "What a change. He hasn't wept in front of me since he was a child. I think I may like this-change may not always be bad after all."
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The next day found Ginny at the cottage clad in her favorite satin nightshirt. Jayden was chattering happily in his highchair while banging his spoon in anticipation of breakfast. Nippy had arrived sometime during the night, but was now set on making fresh applesauce for Jayden. Ginny was munching on bacon and eggs and cooing at Jayden contentedly.
After lunch, Ginny convinced Jayden he was sleepy and she put him down for an afternoon nap. Ginny went out in her garden to tend to the weeds that had grown up and not been eradicated by Nippy's frequent visits. Everything was readying itself to bloom.
She was content and tired and felt safe. Ginny mentally prepared herself for what she knew would come, but refused to feel any trepidation for the time when it would happen.
It took considerably longer than she thought. Seventeen days later, she was walking past the plate glass front window, ready to put Jayden in his playpen, when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She whirled around and saw Draco standing in the tall grass that surrounded the manicured lawn of the cottage. Most of the time, she appreciated that the cottage was located away from civilization, but at the moment she wished she had a neighbor to run to.
She stood rooted to the spot and stared at Draco with her mouth slightly open. He stared right back at her. He looked so forlorn she almost rushed out the front door to him. She might have found the strength to do it, but he disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared.
He appeared several more times over the next few days. He never yelled for her or spoke at all. He never tried to enter the house. He just stared at her from a distance. When she'd finally gotten used to him randomly appearing, he stopped appearing at all.
Numerous days passed with no sighting of Draco. This last day had been the hardest. She just wanted to throw herself into his arms and apologize for everything that had happened. Of course, in this little fantasy he also apologized. In reality, she doubted that he would. She had neither the desire nor the Portkey to go home. Her depressed mind seemed completely content to sit on the couch and stare out the window waiting for Draco's imminent return.
Late in the evening, Nippy appeared with a glass on a tray, "Nippy brought Missus warm milk. Milk will help Missus sleep. Nippy put Sleeping Draught in the milk she made for Missus."
"Thank you, Nippy. Is Jayden asleep?"
"Yes, Missus, Little Master is sleeping."
"Is he in my bed?"
"Yes, Missus, Little Master is sleeping on Missus' bed."
"Thank you, Nippy."
Ginny drank the milk gratefully. As she felt the draught begin to take effect, she made her way into the bedroom. She pulled out the U-shaped pillow from its hiding place and placed it in the bed around her son. She crawled into bed beside her son and gave him a kiss on his chubby cheek. The pillow made her feel safe-like she was sleeping with someone. Deep sleep greeted Ginny moments later.
Sometime during the night, Ginny roused slightly when she felt the mattress sag. The pillow shifted and a warm weight snuggled up to her back. A masculine hand came around her torso and petted her son's head. She would have been shocked, but she knew who it was.
She felt breath on her ear. "I'm sorry, Ginny." He placed a kiss on her neck and snuggled down into the pillow.
Ginny woke in the early hours of the morning, and went into a panic. She sat up and felt around the bed for Jayden when she looked up. In front of the bedroom window, the dull morning light afforded her a view of the silhouetted form of Draco holding Jayden. Jayden was resting on his back held up by the forearms of his father. Draco was cooing into Jayden's face. Draco's hair fell into his face and he smiled.
"I love you, little man."
Ginny lay back down in the pillows with a smile on her face.
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