Secrets Revealed
It had been many years since the Golden Trio and the evil ferret graduated from Hogwarts, the Dark Lord had risen, and was consequently defeated. The wizarding world was not a perfect utopia, though, because it continued to live with the knowledge of those dark days and the knowledge of what could have happened if two unlikely people had not fought side-by-side during the final battle.
But those days were gone, the war was over, and people had managed to move on with their lives. Harry Potter, one of the war heroes and the Boy Who Lived, fell in love with and married the "crazy" Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw. Some say that he probably went crazy during those final battles and that's how he fell in love with her, but his closest friends knew that the falling had happened long before that. The Weasley clan had survived and managed to almost triple their numbers through marriage and births. Bill married Fleur Delacour and had four children. Charlie married Althea, a healer at the dragon camp he worked at. They had two children. Percy married Penelope Clearwater, his Hogwarts sweetheart, and had three children. Fred married Angelina Johnson and George married Katie Bell, and between them they had eight kids, two sets of twins each. Ron of course married Hermione and to date they had four children. All of the Weasley boys had managed to produce Weasley boys, but the big shock, in multiple ways, came from the youngest Weasley.
Shortly after the war, Ginny announced that she had been having a secret love affair with none other than Draco Malfoy. Her family of course immediately forbade Ginny to date the git, but stubborn little Ginny didn't listen and a few short months later Ginny and Draco were married. At first Ginny's family was appalled by the marriage, but once they saw for themselves how happily in love the strange couple was they grudgingly accepted the marriage. A short while after that, Ginny gave birth to the Malfoy heir, Damon Malfoy. Her mother-in-law, Narcissa, was thrilled, but her own mother was a little disappointed that she would not have a granddaughter to spoil. Luckily for Molly, two years later Ginny gave birth to a beautiful, baby girl, Arianna Malfoy.
Upon seeing his beautiful, little girl, Draco immediately exclaimed, "I will lock her in a closet until she is thirty-years-old. No boy will hurt my precious angel."
To which Ginny quickly responded, "With one older brother and twenty one older male cousins, do you really think she will have issues with boys?"
Little did they know what fate had in store for precious, little Arianna.
~ * ~
Eleven years later, the entire Hogwarts staff debated some form of retirement while looking at the student list for the following year. The list included all twenty one Weasleys, the Potter boy, and the two Malfoys. The world would definitely be coming to a terrifyingly horrible end. On the other hand, many of the professors, Severus Snape and Remus Lupin specifically, could not wait to see which house Draco and Ginny's daughter would be sorted into. The Malfoy son, Damon, seemed to follow in his father's footsteps and was sorted into Slytherin. Draco could not have been more proud. But Arianna, she was an interesting case. She had her father's blonde hair and the darkest, smokiest eyes anyone had ever seen. Beyond those few characteristics, unless one paid very close attention, ended the similarities between father and daughter. She did have some of her father's personality quirks, but for the most part she was Ginny reincarnated: the same promising beauty for later years, same startling smile, and same fiery spirit. All of which only made her family love her more.
It was this strange mix of her father's and mother's genes that made Arianna such a dilemma. Would she be a Slytherin because she was sly and cunning like her father? Would she be a Gryffindor because she was courageous and strong-willed like her mother? Would she be a Ravenclaw because she showed more promise and spell ability than her Aunt Hermione? Or, would she be a Hufflepuff because she was incredibly loyal to friends and family? Oh, strike that last one, a Malfoy could never be such a thing as a Hufflepuff, no matter how loyal they were. So these questions had become a main topic of discussion and bets between friends and family a like. Severus had bet against Remus 100 house points on whether Arianna would be a Slytherin (Snape's house) or a Gryffindor (Lupin's house). Draco had bet against Ron and the details of the bet were amazing.
"I bet you that she'll be in Slytherin just like all the Malfoys. If I'm wrong I will play an entire game of Quidditch without any charms on my broom," Ron stated about a week before term began. This was a major bet considering how painful a broom could be to certain parts of a male's anatomy during a Quidditch match, especially when the rider is the Keeper for the Chudley Cannons.
"Hmm. Interesting. Alright. I'll take that bet. I say that she will be in Gryffindor just like her mum. And I'm not going to say what I'll do if I lose because I know I won't. A Malfoy is always right," Draco said back. Secretly, deep in his heart, Draco hoped she would be in Gryffindor just to keep her safe from the sly Slytherin prats like himself.
"I will think of something for you to do when I win," Ron retorted.
"Whatever, Weasley. I would say at this point that you, without a doubt, know nothing about your niece."
Obviously the animosity between the brothers-in-law had not alleviated over the years.
~ * ~
Diagon Alley was a zoo, as always, a few days before the Hogwarts Express left. Everyone was there ensuring that their children got all the supplies they needed to make it through the year. The Malfoys were no exception and were currently at Madame Malkin's buying new Hogwarts robes for Damon and Arianna. Arianna definitely needed robes since this was her first year at Hogwarts and Damon needed new ones considering he had grown four inches over the summer. As always, buying brand new things was quite an experience for Ginny considering how ingrained the Weasley ways were. Even after many years of being happily married to Draco had not made Ginny feel any easier about spending lots of money.
After Madame Malkin's, the Malfoys decided to head to Flourish and Blotts to buy books. Damon and Arianna ran on ahead nicely bickering and fighting about who was the better flyer. Draco and Ginny decided to take that moment as a time for just themselves amongst the chaos of Diagon Alley.
"When did my life change so drastically?" Draco thought out loud as he grabbed his wife's hand.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked slightly confused. She thought Draco was happy with how their lives had turned out.
"Oh, I was just wondering how a boy raised alone with hate and evil could turn into a man with a family, love, and happiness. I'm just trying to figure out when it all changed," Draco replied.
"Draco, you know exactly when it changed completely, even though no one talks about it or what exactly happened."
"Gin, please don't bring that up," Draco pleaded.
"I just want to know what happened in that final battle. I know you were one of the four people there, but I don't know why you never talk about it."
"Don't worry about it Gin, I'm still alive. That should be all that matters. Come on, we should probably catch up to the children. I am seeing a lot more red in that store than I am used to," Draco said as he pulled a little on Ginny's had and successfully closed the conversation yet again. Ginny could only heave a sigh and follow after her husband while wondering when she would know the whole truth about that dark day.
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