a/n-Thanks to fallenwitch for all her patience. Thanks to all my readers to keep reviewing. Thanks to bslehofer who loves this story.
Disclaimer:I don't own any of the characters below.
She woke up with a start. Where was she? The room blurred before her eyes as the light coming from the window blinded her for a second. Her last conscious thought had been of her unborn baby. But she didn't have any idea of where she was presently. Had Draco dropped her here? Had he been at her apartment that night?
Was he here now? As she looked around frantically, her exhausted mind gave way. She fell back down on the bed, floating back to unconsciousness where nothing but grief mattered.
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Ginny woke again a little later, cringing at the brightness that surrounded her. She could make out the little details in her room and found some comfort in the fact that she was at her own house rather than Draco Malfoy's mansion.
But her overworked mind, still quite tired from the emotional upheaval that it had been subjected to, from the sudden appearance of the man, to waking up next to him. Things just seemed to get worse by the second. That night God alone knew what had taken over them. To be reduced to a quivering mass of nerves and emotions by just a few soothing words was too painful to even ponder.
"How could I do it? To myself? To Richard?" she said aloud, into the empty room, still flooded with brightness.
His hands, those beautifully manicured hands, had triggered the old reactions in her and given way to a tingling
sensation, which was too much for her to bear. She had willingly given herself once again to Draco Malfoy, and he had
taken her shamelessly. And what was he going to do with all the love and emotion? He was going to throw it all away,
all over again. The way he'd left proved it all.
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"I'm sorry about last night," said Draco, pulling his socks on his feet. He stopped midway and looked at a tear stained Ginny, who sat far away muttering to her and sobbing softly. "You don't have to worry, Gin. Richard won't find out anything," he said, trying to reassure her.
She looked at him with disgust written all over her face. "Do you think that makes me feel any better?" Do you think that makes what we did last night any easier to bear?" she shouted, challenging him to reply.
He gave a sigh, stepping a bit closer to her, "Look, we were both drunk and emotionally distressed. It happens," he said.
She shook her head furiously, trying to control her tears. "It might happen to you, Draco. Hell, I'm sure you're the sort who gets into one-night stands quite regularly. This sort of thing doesn't happen to me, alright? It doesn't," she said, turning away from him.
"Fine," he said, quickly picking up the remains of his clothes and exiting the apartment.
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He didn't even bother to apologize or offer any kind of support. The morning. Oh, the morning was what Ginny despised the most. She despised the look on his face, the cringe in his eyes, and the guilt in his voice. But most of all she despised herself for having fallen for the oldest trick in the book. Getting back into bed with an ex was bad bad bad news.
But wasn't it you who sobbed into the warm crook of his throat? Wasn't it you who enjoyed the smell of his
aftershave, breathing it in deep, until you could taste it on your tongue? Wasn't it you who snuggled closer to a
man who was willing to offer you the comfort of his arms for one night only?
She had always had a very active subconscious. It guided her more than she guided it. Even during those days after the match, when Draco refused to mention anything about the bet and continued as if nothing had happened; her sub-conscious warned her of the lurking danger. And today again, it warned her of some life altering change.
Ginny hadn't listened to her sub-conscious then and after his rejection of their love, their child, her agony aunt had constantly mocked her, or asked her to be tough.
And for the sake of her always-right subconscious, she had been strong. Apparently, she wasn't strong enough now.
Everyone knew back then that Ginny had changed. She was different, and it was all linked to Draco. Many claimed to have spotted Draco in some wicked scheme, plotting against Ginny. But in her eyes, it was Draco, and it always would be.
He won her trust, made her fall in love with him, and then thrown that very emotion in her face. He said it out loud with so much hatred and disgust that Ginny had been forced to run. Run away from him, from her friends, her brother, and the world. Draco had taught her rejection time and time and after five years, she was still feeling the stings of just that. Rejection.
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~~FLASHBACK~~
She saw him come out of the potions class. If she ever had the opportunity to confront him, it was now. She moved out
of the shadow. Seeing her approach Draco, Pansy made a face, cursing under her breath. Draco turned to see and cringed
slightly.
She looked like hell. She had dark lines under her eyes and had lost a considerable amount of weight. She looked like
she would drop dead any moment now. Malfoy wasn't the only one to notice this. Her teachers had too, and they were
worried sick. Harry and Ron had been assigned permanent duty by her side and Professor Dumbledore even offered her a
vacation away from Hogwarts. But they all knew that nothing could be done.
"What do you want, Weasley?" asked Draco.
"You know what I want," she said softly. "I want an explanation, " she said, her voice trailing off.
"An explanation? What for?"
"What for? What do you mean by that, Draco? I don't get it. Why are you treating me like this?" she
asked, stepping closer to him. Pansy immediately stepped between the two of them. "Look, Weasley, leave us alone
right now. We don't need Muggle lovers like you to trouble, Draco. Do we now?" she asked, turning to the rest
of the Slytherin gang.
Draco immediately pushed Pansy aside, taking hold of Ginny's arm and drawing her to a secluded corner, away from the group. "Look Gin, we had sex, good sex. You enjoyed it and so did I. Mutual benefit- that's it," he said, giving her a wink.
"But"
"But nothing, Ginny. You know me well enough," he said, his voice a little soft. She noticed an odd kind of
expression in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by pity. "Besides, not everyone gets a chance to bed me, you
know" he said with a smirk.
On a normal afternoon she would have kissed those lips, but today she felt like slapping him." Don't even think about it, Weasley, You have suffered enough. Don't make me make you suffer more, "he said, as if reading her mind.
"That's what I am saying. I've suffered enough. Please stop tormenting me; come back," she pleaded with her eyes." We'll have a great future together, all three of us," she said, urging him softly.
"Back, back to where, Gin? Back to being your plaything? Back to being your arm candy? One of the many guys
you've dated?" he asked with false humor.
"You never were, and you know that. In fact, now that I come to think about it, I was your plaything, "she
said, desperately praying that he would deny it.
"You still don't get it, do you? It was all part of the bet."
"Bet?" she asked anger fast replacing sorrow.
"The bet I made with my fellow Slytherins. The bet that stated that I would bed you, make you fall in love with
me, and then when time came, dispose of you , " he finished.
She never got round to letting him complete the sentence. It was all just a stupid bet. Her child was the result of a
bet…..The room swam before her eyes, and the world tilted on its axis. She fell down hard on the floor.
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Her pregnancy had been the only topic of gossip the next morning. A scandal brewing in Hogwarts. Teachers kept mum and
the students had enough on their minds with the war on their head. A pregnancy was not worth spending time over.
Draco didn't realize what her words meant. She was pregnant, and she had been speaking of a future for the three of them, together. But now it was all ruined, destroyed.
When she did get round to informing him, he had thrown it in her face. So she had stopped wallowing in self-pity and continued with her life as normally as possible.
Pregnancy suited her and that showed from the glow that radiated from her body. She was carrying a miracle and nothing,
not even Draco Malfoy's cheap sluts mattered anymore.
And then came the finally blow. The news of his impending engagement spread throughout the school, and when it
reached Ginny, she was shocked beyond belief. Her miscarriage was just another blow to her crumpled emotional
state. The months to follow were nothing short of torture.
Now, even after so many years, the memory of those months brought nothing but acute pain. Why was Draco tormenting her again? What could possibly be his intention after so many years?
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