Until The End Of Time

Until The End Of Time –

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Summary: They had what could be classified as a relationship 5 years ago, that resulted in Ginny becoming pregnant. When she tried to tell Draco, she was turned away like she was his past whore. Now he’s back in her life as a business partner in her restaurant, and refusing to leave Ginny and their child alone, much to her dismay.

Draco/Ginny

Future, AU

Romance, drama, (attempts at) humor

R/M for language, sexuality, possibly violence and innuendo

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Prologue: Accidental Babies

Ginny Weasley. 19. Healthy as a horse. That’s what she knew her chart would read as the doctor looked it over, his brow furrowed as he flipped between the pages. She twirled the hem of her shirt nervously, staring at him expectantly as she knawed at her lower lip. An inner monologue was sending out pleading vibes that he didn’t confirm what she already knew. What two out of three other home tests and three out of four other doctors, wizard and muggle alike, had told her. That Ginny Weasley was 19 and healthy as a horse… save the bun in her proverbial oven.

The doctor looked up at her and smiled, “Well Miss Weasley, I have to agree with three of your other doctors. You’re definitely pregnant. Due in November. Congratulations.”

His smile was supposed to be reassuring; it was supposed to be what caused excitement to bubble up inside of her and consume her as the news became reality. Ginny knew all of this. He probably learned how to do it in training. But really, the only thing it caused to bubble was nausea. And it bubbled right up and into his trash bin next to his feet. This wasn’t morning sickness… well, not just possibly. It was fear. Overwhelming fear that made her want to run as far and fast away as possible as ‘how’ kept rolling through her head in large letters. How could she be pregnant at 19? This wasn’t supposed to be her life. None of it was. He certainly wasn’t supposed to be the father. And that thought caused her to empty her stomach into the trash again, her nose scrunching as the smell reached her nose. She sat there for another moment longer, taking deep breaths through her mouth as she tried to gather herself together. The doctor’s presence behind her was supposed to be reassuring too, she imagined. But it wasn’t. Right now, she just wanted to beat him to death with his stupid clipboard, and his stupid results!

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“Please! We need to speak, Draco.” Ginny begged, standing at the doorway to Malfoy Manor. It’d been over a month and a half since she’d been to see him. Since he’d maliciously broke her heart. Here she stood though, attempting to share with him that in a little less than 8 months time, he’d be the father to her unborn child, her hand pressed against the door to his mansion, keeping him from slamming it in her face once more. Once upon a time, he would be dragging her inside with his mouth attached to hers before a foot even crossed the threshold. Now, he couldn’t seem to get her off his property and out of his life fast enough. She didn’t know what had caused the sudden cold change in the man she loved, and he ignored every inquiry she made about it.

“Get the hell off my property, Weasley, before I have you forcefully banished for trespassing!” Draco Malfoy growled, trying again to close the door in her face, but she was amazingly strong for such a small girl. He imagined it had to do with growing up with her six brothers, and for the millionth time in his life, he cursed the Weasley reproductive ability. Why couldn’t she just leave? He knew he’d been successful in breaking her heart. She was supposed to hate him now, and leave him alone forever. Not hang around like a lost puppy trying to get him to talk to her.

“Draco, please! Five minutes of your time. You owe me, that much.” Ginny ground through clenched teeth, hand balling into a fist against the door as she glared at him.

The sudden change between desperate and angry surprised Draco, but he masked it with his own angry glare towards her, “I told you, Weasley. I just wanted to pop the cherry of the first Weasley girl in a generation. I only kept you around for so long because you were pretty good in the sack once you learnt a few tricks. But I got bored with your body. And your personality is awfully drab, not that personality matters much to me anyways. So run along. I’ve got someone waiting for me upstairs.” Draco drawled in a flat, bored tone as he recited the speech he gave her when he broke up with her. He even looked down at his nails and buffed them on his bare chest. He didn’t hear her turn to leave, so he went for the final straw. He wordlessly conjured a sock and dug into the pocket of his pants, pulling out a few galleons. He dropped them into the sock and threw it at her, “There. You’re free of the Malfoy service.”

Ginny didn’t understand it as she looked down at the sock in her hand. The first thing to run through her mind was that he somehow had found out in the past few days that she was pregnant, and this was his solution. It took a beat before it clicked. A sock and galleons. A piece of clothing and money. He saw her as a whore, a house elf. Someone he could use and release shortly thereafter when their presence didn’t befit him any longer. Rage filled her as she realized what the objected in her hand meant. She looked up at him, pinning her harshest glare at him as her hand tightened around the sock. “You Draco Malfoy, can burn in hell for all of eternity like your father.” She growled, hitting him where she knew it hurt; comparing him to his father. Then she really hit him, by whacking him hard in the arm with the galleon-filled sock. Once. Twice. Three times, before she turned and left angrily. Now she was glad that she hadn’t managed to tell him that she was pregnant. She could do this without him. All she needed was her family by her side.

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Telling the Weasley family hadn’t been easy. Bill refused to speak to her out of disappointment. Fred and George wouldn’t speak to her after she blew up at them, and then nearly blew them up. They knew not to mess with a pregnant woman and her hormones. Charlie was disappointed, but at least managed to look at her without despair rolling across his features. Percy had lectured her, and Ginny had punched him… it wasn’t that he wouldn’t speak to her, he just couldn’t through his fat lip for awhile. Ron had been typical, threatening to murder the man that deflowered his little sister and got her pregnant in one fell swoop. Her parents… well, her mother was happy that she was starting early. However, after the momentary bliss wore off, she remembered lack of male accompaniment and the fact that her daughter wasn’t so much as wearing an engagement ring, and immense disappointment became the emotion that wrought the Weasley matriarch.

Telling her few sole friends hadn’t been much easier on Ginny. Hermione, who she thought was her only real female friend, had jumped into a lecture as well about not being careful enough. Ron had forcefully dragged Ginny away before she gave Hermione the same treatment that she’d gave Percy. Harry had been indifferent, much like he’d been to everything else around him since the war. Ginny supposed she took most comfort in his reaction, as opposed to everyone else’s. No emotion was better than every other one that she’d encountered, including her own.

At least she hadn’t been disowned. She just had to deal with the air of disappointment that seemed to amass wherever she went.

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On November 12^th, Silas Charles Weasley was born 9 pounds, 10 ounces to Ginevra Molly Weasley, accompanied by her brother Charles Weasley and sister-in-law Fleur Delacour-Weasley. The rest of the family was preoccupied watching Ron Weasley play Quidditch, and also lose. Charlie and Fleur had been the only ones that had responded to Ginny’s labor, and left the game. Ginny instantly made a mental note to stop calling Fleur ‘phlegm’ as she pushed her son the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a very small lemon.

With no job, Ginny had to stay with her parents at the Burrow. After Silas had been born, the disappointment had dwindled away as the family came together to love their grandson and nephew respectively. Things still weren’t alright with several of her brothers, due to things Ginny had exploded about during her hormonal pregnancy. “No! Do not! Silas, I said no! If you throw that…” Ginny was cut off by a goop of mushy peas slapping her in the face. The blob of green slid down her cheek, and she slowly spat out what had slipped into her mouth. She should know that it was fruitless to threaten a six month old when he couldn’t even speak himself. She supposed he didn’t even know what she was saying at all. She was ready to reprimand him, when her heart melted. His grey eyes twinkled with mirth as he smiled wide enough to show off the two teeth he had and the dimple in his left cheek. He bounced in his high chair and giggled happily at the sight of his mother covered in his offending baby food.

“Ginny?” Molly Weasley stuck her head into the kitchen to see what the ruckus was about. She smiled knowingly as she stared at her baby covered in her baby’s food. “Sweetheart, even though you’re the baby of this family, that doesn’t mean you should try to eat baby food. Generally that’s supposed to be for your baby.”

“I’m trying! But he just won’t eat it.” Ginny sighed tiredly, “I haven’t slept in weeks, Mum. I thought they were supposed to quiet down as the months went on.” Ginny grumbled as she sulked in her chair, trying the carrots with Silas this time, “C’mon sweetie! They’re good. And healthy for you too. Grow up to be like The Hulk!” Ginny said, before scrunching her face up and letting out a small growl while flexing her muscles as she pretended to ‘Hulk-Out’ as Ron called it. Silas loved that, and as she expected, he mimicked her, letting out his own little growl as he stretched his mouth out at the corners and raised his chubby arms above his head and shook his head back and forth. Ginny laughed and picked Silas up from the high chair. “I suppose you’ve had your full of vegetables today. You ate three peas, one carrot, and I’m sure you managed to swallow some of the broccoli before you spat it out at me.” She said as she brushed food off her son’s cheek.

“Ginny, honey?” Molly started, “I was talking to that lovely Susan Bones recently, and she told me that she owns a flat building in London.” She said it nonchalantly as she began to help Ginny by cleaning up the food with her wand, “She said that there were nice, spacious flats still available. Big enough for you and Silas to live in comfortably.” Molly turned to look at her bewildered daughter, and giggling grandson, “Your father and I managed to put first, last, and security on there for you. And Fred and George have given you access to their Gringotts bank so that if you need, you can borrow from then until you can get a job.”

“Mum… what are you saying? Are you saying I have to leave?” Ginny asked, tears welling in her eyes as she unconsciously hugged Silas closer to her.

“Ginny… you didn’t really think your father and I would let this be permanent, did you? Now, don’t get me wrong dear, I love you and Silas more than life itself. You’re my baby girl, and he’s my grandson… but you have to be independent in order to provide for him in the future. You need to start now, before he gets older and needs more from you.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying this! I can’t believe you’re kicking me out. Us out! You told all of your children that we’d have a place to stay no matter what, and when I need you the most, you’re kicking me out!” Ginny’s voice had grown as she spoke to her mother, and Silas began to fuss and whine as his mother’s voice set off warning bells in his head that something was wrong. He tried wrapping his arms around Ginny’s neck, and buried his face into her shoulder. Ginny’s free hand came up to curl around the back of his head as she turned him away from her mother protectively.

“When you got pregnant, your father and I thought you’d go out and be with Silas’s father. But since you haven’t even told us his name, I suspected you didn’t necessarily know, so we let you stay. But that has to change now, Ginny. You must leave and provide for this child on your own and stop using us as a crutch!”

Tears sprung to Ginny’s eyes as her mother more-or-less called her a whore, flashing back to standing at Draco’s doorway and being handed a sock with galleons in it. “Well thank you, so much, mother. Thank you for letting my son and I inconvenience you for so long. We’ll be out of your hair within an hour.” Ginny said as she grabbed up the baby back from the floor and slung it over her shoulder. She was walking out of the room when she paused and turned to her mother, “And for the record, I do know who the father is. The only man I’ve ever been with. And like you, he wants nothing to do with me or my son.” Ginny growled at her mother, before adding, “And that goes in reverse. Silas and I want nothing to do with him, or you anymore.” And with that, she spun on her foot and headed to pack.

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Prologue out! This is rewritten, and wholly unbeat’d like all of my fics, so if there are any small errors that Word and a quick scan by my eye didn’t pick up on, I apologize. The only thing that’s original from the original prologue that I’d wrote, is from Ginny sitting in the kitchen on in the end, and the general idea of Ginny and Draco at Malfoy Manor. I wasn’t too pleased with how I’d started this chapter a month ago sans internet, and I’ve decided to post this up, and reworked it. I have this, chapter 1, and half of chapter 2 done so far, so chapter 1 will be out within the next week. I’m posting this two places; Fanfiction.net and Portkey.org. If you’re on Portkey, you will be able to see extra scenes in the future that are of the sexual variety. I won’t tempt the FFN Gods, seeing as I’ve done so before, and my favorite one-shot of mine (Addicted) was removed for violating the no-sex rule.

As for the disclaimer, I do not own anything you recognize. I don’t own Harry Potter, and I’m also not affiliated with JK Rowling, Scholastic Books, or anyone that produces these books, nor the movies or any of its actors. I also do not own nor am affiliated with ‘The Hulk’ franchise. I just added that in ‘cause when I was at a baby shower last month, that was something an 11-month-old seemed to enjoy when someone would do, and he would mimic. In the future, when I add someone/thing in that is or isn’t mine, I will disclaim or claim at the footer of the chapter. I’ll also ramble about pointless bull that you all already know, but I have to say, I currently only have 100 dollars in IOU’s and gift cards to Barnes and Noble, Walmart, and Red Lobster. Now, if you want to sue me and wish for the IOU’s, and first two gift cards, I’ll happily give them to you if it waves away the legal issues. But no way am I parting with the Red Lobster gift card! MINE!

Reviews are LOVED! ‘Cause this is the first chaptered D/G fic that I have wrote in ages. Haunting Visions seems to be on the long road of a hiatus. I tried rewriting it, but wasn’t sure it’d be well received, so figured I’d use that as another sequel and make it a trilogy as long as I didn’t kill anyone important off in the end of HV, but then I ran out of stuff for the original version of HV, and was up a creek without a paddle. Anyways… REVIEW!

Oh, and on Portkey… for the love of God can someone please tell me how to change my name!?

Chapter 1: Dream On

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“Honey, come to Auntie Joy!”

“NO!”

“Please? Auntie Joy wants to see her little man before she has to leave for Italy!”

“NO!”

“Silas, go see Joy. She’s gonna be gone for three whole days. You’re gonna want to give her hugs and kisses before then, aren’t you?”

“NO! Don’t wanna!”

“Gods, he really has his mother’s stubbornness.” Joy said with a smirk as she stood to full height and planted her hands on her hips. For five minutes, she’d been bent at the waist with her arms held out in anticipation, and hope, that her Godson would run into her arms to say goodbye before she Apparated to Italy to see her sister get married.

“He has attachment issues.” Ginny whispered towards her friend, before reaching around behind her to rub at her son’s head, her fingers sliding through his strawberry blonde hair. She could practically feel his pout against her thigh. He didn’t want Joy to leave, because Ginny and Joy were the only steady people he’d had in his life for three and a half years. “He thinks that if he doesn’t say goodbye, that you won’t leave.”

“That’s because you let him get used to that by falling for his pout.” Joy said with a small exasperated look, as she bent to the side, trying to spot Silas from behind Ginny, “C’mon Silas! I’ll only be a couple days. And I’ll bring you cake!” She bargained, crouching to the ground, in hopes that promises of sweets would lure the child out to bid her adieu. As always, it did.

“Joy!” Ginny exclaimed, “My son doesn’t need any more cavities.”

“You’re the one that lets him play taste-tester at the restaurant!” Joy fired back with a satisfied grin as Silas slowly peaked out from behind his mother’s leg, sucking on the tip of his index finger in indecision as he looked between the protective shield known as his mother that promised his Auntie wouldn’t leave him, and then to Joy who was promising him cake in return for a hug and kiss and the ability to let her leave for a few days. Both were very promising to him. Cake, shield. Shield, cake. Which to choose?

“But you shouldn’t use that as a bargaining chip!”

“But it works.” Joy said as Silas waddled forward on his chubby legs, wrapping his equally chubby arms around Joy’s neck. She opened her legs wide enough for him to fit between as she wrapped her arms around his back and stood with him in her arms. “There’s three ways you can get to any man’s heart, regardless of his age. Food, sex, alcohol. I went with the more age-appropriate option here. Little Silas doesn’t need to dip into the Firewhiskey until he’s 8 or so. It’ll be a miracle if he lasts that long living with such a talker of a mother!” Joy joked as she bounced Silas on her hip, getting giggles from him.

“You’re such a devil!” Ginny exclaimed, even though she couldn’t help but smile. Joy was a God-send to her. After moving into her flat when her mother shoved her and Silas out of the Burrow, Ginny had to go on interviews and such to attempt to get a job. Joy had been all too happy to watch over Silas, deeming him her ‘little chubby bunny’ as she began to watch after him often. Without money, Ginny didn’t know how to pay Joy back, so she began cooking for her when she learnt that Joy had issues in that area of her life. Ginny vaguely remembered the story of a toaster bursting into flames and having something to do with ‘Poppy tarts’, whatever those were. Joy had a Masters in business from Oxford; having decided to go to a Muggle college after her parents pulled her out of Hogwarts in her fifth year after the War started. Ginny didn’t remember Joy from Hogwarts, but Joy said she’d been a Ravenclaw, and they more than likely ran in completely separate groups, not even taking offense when Ginny told her she didn’t remember her at all. Joy had decided after a month of homemade meals from Ginny, that they should start a restaurant. Ginny had balked at the idea at first, but after her twelfth callback from interviewers saying they’d decided to go with another person, Ginny was desperate and agreed. Now she was the chef and part owner (despite not helping at all with buying anything in the restaurant) in their restaurant appropriately called The Crossroads. Appropriate, seeing as both had been at such a crossroad when they’d met each other, about what to do with their lives. They became best friends over time, and Ginny named Joy Silas’s God-mother after a year.

“True, but you’ve known this since you met me.” Joy said with a smile before she turned her focus to the five year old on her hip, “Okay, chubby bunny. I’ll bring you a huge piece of cake if give me five kisses!” Joy told him, in a voice an octave higher than her normal one. The little boy giggled and slapped his hands to Joy’s cheeks and pushed then pulled, squishing her plump face together. He leant forward and placed four kisses on the apples of her cheeks, alternating between each twice, before placing a big kiss on the tip of her nose, and pulling back with a loud ‘mwah!’. “Thank you, chubby bunny! For that, I’ll also bring you back some cookies.” She said with a grin as the boy gasped and clapped. Joy hugged him tightly, before putting him down on the ground, “Go back to Mummy.” She told him with a soft push between his shoulder blades, “Alright Gin. You’re in charge, nothing new for you. Just don’t blow anything up…”

“That was a one time accident!” Ginny interjected as she gathered her son into her arms.

Joy just gave her a pointed look before continuing, “And don’t forget. Sometime Sunday night before I get back, an investor will be coming to look at the place.”

Ginny nodded, having heard about it for two weeks. Some man had suddenly displayed an interest in their restaurant through emails and phone calls. Joy had fielded all of it, being primary owner of the place, plus Ginny preferred being in a kitchen to being in an office. Joy was the opposite. Joy pretty much lived in her office at times, which was a good thing seeing as the first initial call came at an odd hour, having to do with some form of time difference. The man had been cryptic, and it concerned both Joy and Ginny, that he might try and scam them. But they needed investors. Business was alright, but things were expensive. Without big crowds like they’d hoped, they were looking at having to fold and file for bankruptcy within months. Something neither of them wanted to do, especially Ginny. The Crossroads had become home to her. She loved their regulars, she could bring Silas to work, her best friend was her partner in the business, and she got to cook and bake, and be in an enjoyable environment.

“Alright.” Joy said with a sigh, leaning forward and hugging both Ginny and Silas tightly at once, before she pulled back and grabbed her luggage. With a loud crack, she was gone.

“Just you and me for three days, baby. Think we should get to work?” Ginny asked, staring at her son with a small smile as he nodded eagerly. He enjoyed helping her cook and bake. Mainly, he enjoyed eating anything she made. By his tenth birthday, he’d probably weigh a ton at this rate. Plus, he loved to wear the little chef’s hat Joy had gotten him for his fourth birthday. Ginny had managed to talk her out of an Easy Bake Oven, thankfully.

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“Silas! Stop!” Ginny said in exasperation as the little boy ran around the kitchen with a frosting spatula. She stirred the alfrado sauce and looked over her shoulder to look for him, and looked just in time to see him run out of the kitchen. She cursed under her breath, and reached out to turn down the heat on the sauce to go grab him, when she heard the double doors swing again. “Silas, you know better than to run from Mummy when she’s working.” Ginny said as she added seasoning and fresh parmesan to the sauce, and then turned to find her son. She was greeted with the unexpected site of a man holding her son with a large smile on his face.

“Lose something?” He asked, looking down with a grin at the five year old smacking him upside the back of his head with the frosting spatula.

“Yeah, it’s a zoo back here. I’m the only chef. Joy’s on vacation for Anwen and Colin’s wedding.” Ginny said, reaching out and grabbing Silas, and walking to the opposite counter where she would begin to prepare cheesecake brownies shortly. “Honey, watch this chocolate, okay? If it bubbles, you know what to do. And no tasting it. It’s very hot. I’ll let you be the first to have dessert when it’s done, okay?” She asked him, kissing his forehead when he nodded. She turned back to her sauce, ignoring the man in the kitchen with everything she could, willing him to evaporate or eviscerate or something else that starts with ‘ev’ that either got him out of there or made him die a horribly painful death. “What’re you doing here, Ronald?” She asked impatiently, turning to stare at her brother. One she’d seem maybe four times in that many years.

“I can’t come see my sister and nephew in their element?” Ron asked innocently, gesturing with his hands at the kitchen.

“No, you can’t, ‘cause you’ve showed no desire to in the past four and a half years since Mum kicked my son and I out of the Burrow.” Ginny seethed, trying to keep her voice low so that her son didn’t overhear the discussion. He may seem to be extremely intent and invested in the goings of inside the large brown pot where chocolate was melting, but he was good at multi-tasking and appearing to be one thing while listening intently on conversations. She was sure her son was going to grow up to be a spy of some sort.

“Mum and dad miss you.” Ron said dejectedly, “We all do. Just because they wanted you out of the house, didn’t mean they wanted you or Silas out of all of our lives. You’re both family. We’re the only family aside from you that Silas has. He should get to know us to compensate for lack of a father figure.”

Ginny stared at Ron in shock and surprise. Not only did he have the gall to come into her place of business and put this out there, but he’d used the word ‘compensate’ and correctly, too. “Gonna call me a whore now, like Mum did?” Ginny spat sourly, turning to stir the sauce again, turning the heat up on the water that was supposed to be for the fettuccini if the water would boil.

“Mum was out of line that day, alright? She knows it. We all do. She had yours and Silas’s best interest at heart. She wanted you to become independent from the family so that you didn’t rely on her and dad every day to watch after Silas. She may have gone about it a bit… pushy and wrong, but that doesn’t mean you should shut out all of your family for her poor choice in words.”

“You’re right. Doesn’t mean I should. Just means that I am. Ron… I’m working. I have a son to take care of. I have a business to take care of. And patrons are not allowed in the kitchen. And I have the right not to serve anyone that I wish, and you, and anyone else from the family, will not be served inside this restaurant. Silas, Joy, The Crossroads… they are my family, this is my home. You can leave now.” Ginny said emotionlessly as she dumped fettuccini into the barely boiling water, and never turned back to stare at her brother who was still standing in the kitchen. It was another full minute before she heard his departing footsteps and the swish of the double doors.

Usually she liked Fridays. Thank God, only forty-eight hours until Joy was back.

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Saturday was just as bad as Friday night. Someone seemed to tell the entire country that The Crossroads was the best place to get a good meal. They were twice as busy as usual, and by eight PM, Ginny was ready to handcuff Silas to the stair railing that led up to Joy’s office. He was all over the place in excitement from all the new people. He enjoyed asking them random questions. Running around after Silas and trying to cook dozens of meals at a time made Ginny make a mental note to talk to Joy about hiring another chef or another nanny for when Joy couldn’t be around to keep up with Ginny’s bundle of energetic joy.

Ginny sighed tiredly as she looked out into the restaurant. Only a few of the regulars were left, helping decorate the Christmas tree. November was closing, already on the thirtieth, and without Joy around, Ginny didn’t have time to get the tree up by opening in the morning for the start of their Christmas theme. Once the tree was up, all the desserts, and some breakfasts’, began to resemble the shape of various Christmas items, such as trees, ornaments, drummer boys, candy canes, all the like. Ginny would be up all night alone unearthing the cutters that achieved this feat, and then baking all the cakes to put on display. Ginny looked into the kitchen, and saw Silas curled up on two chairs pressed together, snoring slightly, causing her to sigh in relief. She put her apron on the countertop, and went into the restaurant, “Hey everyone.” She greeted the regulars, Trishelle, George and Lia, Oliver, and Edwin.

Trishelle was a vivacious blonde in her early twenties with a personality too big for the country and a bigger sense of humor, who enjoyed the coffee and desserts over anything else in the restaurant. She came across it when she’d realized she’d gone a whole twenty-four hours without coffee, and immediately ran into the establishment begging for it, and then added in an afterthought two cookies. She ended up taking home a dozen, and coming back for more every day. George and Lia were a married couple in their early thirties that had stumbled into the place arguing about asking for directions after taking a few wrong turns on a trip to find a prospective flat (which was in Ginny’s building coincidentally), and both had reluctantly stopped to get a bite to eat when they realized they were hungry. Ginny helped them find the apartment building easily, they moved in a month later, and came daily to The Crossroads for dinner and dessert. Oliver was the playboy of the group. He’d tried to pick up Ginny, Joy, Trishelle, and several random female customers. Sometimes he had luck because he was charming and charismatic, but Ginny and Joy knew better, and Trishelle was in denial about having a thing for him, so she declined all the time he propositioned her, for lack of a better word. He’d come across the restaurant while trying to find a place out of the way where he could bring a date and not be seen by any of his other girls on the side. Unfortunately, that eventually happened, but that’s another story that resulted in a food fight and five hundred dollars to replace dishes. Then there was Edwin. The father-figure of their family of sorts. He was the oldest, in his seventies, and a man sweet as can be. He helped with Silas when Ginny and Joy were unable to watch him. He was a lonely man, with no children, and a deceased wife, so he came for all his meals and human interaction at The Crossroads. Ginny had grown close to him, seeing him as her surrogate father, and Silas’s surrogate grandfather. Silas had even taken to calling him ‘grampie’.

“Hey Ginny!” Each chorused as they decorated the tree. White icicle lights were already strung around the walls, and Ginny chuckled to herself when she noticed Oliver had placed mistletoe every two feet along the ceiling’s length. The tree already made the place smell like pine, and Ginny took a deep breath. She loved that smell. Made her want to curl up next to a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and a candy cane and just relax.

“Oliver, I think you missed a spot with the mistletoe.” Ginny teased, pointing to the door. That seemed to be the only spot where there wasn’t mistletoe.

“No, I didn’t forget it. I think that’s too much, putting it above the door. It’s rude to assault people with a kiss after they immediately enter an establishment.” Oliver said in all seriousness, before turning back to the tree and grabbing the lights from the outstretched arms of George on the other side who had been flailing them around in an attempt to get Oliver to grab them before he fell into the tree and killed them both.

“How you doin’ pumpkin?” Edwin asked, coming up on the side of Ginny. He smiled kindly at her as he used his nickname for her. Most would think it was used as a pet-name of sorts, but it wasn’t in this case. First time Edwin had walked into The Crossroads had been the restaurants first Halloween open. He later found out that Joy had insisted they wear costumes and set up decorations for the theme. Ginny and Silas had dressed like pumpkins. Edwin thought it were appropriate enough with her hair color. Ginny became pumpkin to him in a joking way, but as he came more and more to the restaurant over the years, it had stuck.

“Okay, Edwin. Just tired. Silas seems to have this never-ending supply of energy sometimes. Takes all I have not to knock him out with a fry pan at night just to sleep.” She said jokingly. That was a joke with them. Trishelle had once rebutted to Ginny’s woes of exhaustion that Ginny should ‘just whack him on the head with a pan. It’s a kitchen, accidents happen! And being around you, he’s already mentally damaged so you don’t have to worry about making it worse.’ Of course, it’d been in good fun. Trishelle would never actually condone that kind of abuse, nor would Ginny do such a thing. Ginny was very protective of Silas.

“If you need me to take the kiddo, I can. You know that. I know Joy’s gone right now, and you’re juggling a lot. I’d happily take him for the night or weekend if you wish for some rest and relaxation.” Edwin offered, rubbing Ginny’s back softly while he spoke. He really thought of Ginny as the daughter he never had.

“I’ll help with the relaxation part!” Oliver said as he walked by, winking suggestively as he went to hang an enticing Betty Boop clad in a Santa hat and banner that said ‘Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays’ and that’s it, onto the Christmas tree even though the lights were barely done.

“G rated ornaments only, Oliver!” Ginny reprimanded. He was just as bad as a hormonal teenager sometimes. He made her fear Silas in a decade.

“Don’t even!” Lia cut in when Oliver opened his mouth, “He’s been waiting for you to say that all night so that he could come back with some snappy little come-on that involves turning G rated to NC-17 rated. It also involves the fact that your initial is G, ha-ha, joke-joke.” Lia ended with an eye roll and sarcastic laugh as she blew Oliver’s plan.

“It sounds much better when it’s said.” Oliver grumbled, turning back to the tree.

“That’s what you say about everything you say.” Came George’s muffled voice.

“You okay back there George?” Ginny called out. She knew that he was in one of the most uncomfortable positions known to mankind. Stuck between a sticky, sappy, pointy pine tree and the cold, hard bay window of the display window for the restaurant. She’d been stuck in that position numerous times. Somehow, Joy always managed to get her back there before she knew what was going on.

“Fine!” He called back, and gave thumbs up sign to belie the whimper and frown that came from him that no one could see.

“He’ll be fine. I’ll reward him tonight for being a good sport.” Lia said with a smirk, chuckling at the sigh of relief that managed to make it around the massive tree, from George’s mouth.

“You guys didn’t have to do this. I could have done it magically, or waited for Joy tomorrow night.” Ginny said with her hands on her hips. She saw these people as more than loyal customers. They were friends. Sure, they might barely hang out outside of the restaurant, but they hung out enough inside the restaurant to make up for it.

“You shouldn’t do it magically though. It takes away from the Christmas experience!” Trishelle argued, putting a Santa hat on over her blonde hair, and picked up the trash bag that held all the Christmas supplies, and slung it over her shoulder. “What do you think? Could I pass for the real thing?”

“You’re missing the beard, red outfit, and milk-and-cookies gut.” Lia told her as she pretended to exam her carefully.

George’s voice drifted out from behind the tree, “No, she’s already got the milk-and-cookies gut!”

Trishelle glared lightly at the tree, “Is it possible to electrocute him with those Christmas lights?” She inquired to Oliver.

“Not sure, but you can come down my chimney any time you want to.” Oliver said with a wink.

The girls all looked at each other before stating in unison, “Double entendre.” They giggled and shook their heads, before Lia went to the tree to help her husband, Trishelle began sifting through the trash bag, and Ginny went to sit in a booth next to Edwin.

“When does Joy come back?” Lia called out from behind the tree, followed by a small giggle.

“24 hours.”

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“Can you please just watch him back here tonight?” Ginny pleaded with Trishelle. She was having the girl take care of some orders that needed to go out for food and equipment, and keep an eye on Silas. “We’ve got an investor coming within the hour, and the last thing I need is for this place to seem unprofessional.”

“Well, the whole tagline for this place is just for this to be somewhere to rest on life’s winding road, or whatever. You’re just supposed to come here and have fun. It’s a relaxed environment, Ginny. If you look too professional, you look stuck up and snobby.” Trishelle gave her opinion, even though she knew it wasn’t necessarily needed. She just thought she should give it anyways, “But yes. I’ll get these orders wrote up for you, and watch Silas, I promise.”

“You’re my lifesaver, you know that?” Ginny asked, grasping Trishelle’s hands gratefully.

“Of course I am.” She said with a bright smile, and a small shrug of her shoulders. She took her hands out of Ginny’s, and turned the girl towards the mouth of the kitchen. She gave her a little push, “Go on. Just go about business as per usual. Well… without having to worry about Silas. He and I will be fine. Don’t even think about him right now. Just go make some awesome food for this guy.”

“Yeah, awesome. No worrying. Right. Got it.” Ginny said, her voice belying her confident mask. She took a deep breath, and went about preparing the food. She was going to make the best Crab Napoleon for this guy. It wasn’t something really ordered on the menu, but it was one of the dishes she’d first made that hadn’t burnt or exploded in the restaurant as she attempted to get used to the ovens and their varying temperatures from that of the one at the Burrow or her flat where she’d been cooking. The favored foods for the customers were burgers, or chicken, or pastas. They really were just a relaxed atmosphere. But investors weren’t relaxed. They expected greatness.

After about half an hour, a loud crack sounded upstairs in Joy’s office, along with an equally loud thump. Ginny smiled as she added garnishes to the plate, happy that her friend was back just in time to see her masterpiece. She heard Joy coming down the stairs, followed by her son’s voice screaming her name. She turned and walked to the back of the kitchen just in time to see Silas launch himself off the tabletop at Joy. She was so happy that Joy was able to catch him, and not topple over.

“Silas!” Ginny’s surprised voice took on a reprimanding edge.

“It’s okay.” Joy said with a laugh, “At least I caught him. Thank Quidditch, I suppose.” She said, walking over to Ginny and wrapping her free arm around the redhead’s neck, “Hey doll. I missed you! And yay! I didn’t Apparate into charred remains.”

“Your faith in me is overwhelming.” Ginny deadpanned before she quickly hugged Joy back. “How was the wedding?”

Joy didn’t get a chance to respond, as Lia came running breathlessly into the kitchen, “A guy just asked to see the owners of the place. Looks very businessman-like. I think he’s your investor, or he’s a health inspector, or just in disguise and casing the place, because he was looking at every nook and cranny.”

Ginny’s breath hitched as nerves kicked in. She looked at Joy, who was putting a whining Silas down on the tabletop again. “This is it.” Ginny said, watching Joy nod in reassurance, pushing Ginny forward. “Why do I have to go first?! And why do people keep pushing me?” She asked, huffing before setting her jaw. She took a deep breath through her nose, and let it pass through her lips before she headed for the door that exited to the main area, grabbing the plate of food on the way as an afterthought. Her eyes scanned the room for the man Lia had described.

Ginny’s breath caught in her chest as her eyes landed on the back of a head of silver blonde hair standing in the middle of her restaurant. It was like a beacon against the soft yellow-red lighting of the interior. She felt Joy walk into her back, and inquire about what was wrong, but Ginny’s mouth couldn’t move. It was open, but sound wasn’t able to come out. The back of his profile showed that he was still arrogant, standing tall with a certain air of superiority. His hair was longer, brushing the collar of his expensive velvet robes, and slicked with gel into place. As if he felt her eyes, he turned slowly, and when curious grey met scared hazel, both eyes opened large in surprise, and the plate slipped from Ginny’s hand, crashing to the floor and splattering glass and food across the tile.

“Auntie Joy! My cake and cookies!” Silas’s voice came from the kitchen, getting steadily louder as he headed for the door.

Ginny panicked and tore her eyes from the man’s, to the floor at the food and glass, and then to the door where her son was about to rush through. She jumped over the food and gathered Silas into her arms right in time before he could step in a patch of sauce and go flying across the floor. She clutched Silas to her chest, hugging him tightly as her eyes connected with grey again. This time, his eyes swam with confusion and another emotion that she couldn’t map. She noticed them steel over when he heard Silas’s next words, “Auntie Joy didn’t give me my sweets, Mummy.” Silas’s eyes followed his mother’s to the man, “Mummy, who is that?” He asked, looking between the man and his mother. He looked over at the silver haired man and smiled, “Hello! We have the same eyes!”

And with that statement, realization dawned in the restaurant.

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Yeah, we’re jumping right into the D/G dramatic fray. This chapter was mostly an introductory chapter to Ginny’s friends and surrogate family in the Weasley family absence, and also a way to explain the relationship between Ginny and the Weasley family since she left the Burrow with Ron’s appearance. As well as give you insight to a five-year-olds mind, and the relationship with his mother. Or what I expect it to be like. I wouldn’t know. I’m only 17 and the baby of the family, so I haven’t had any sort of first hand, or second hand, experience. But my sister just found out she’s pregnant the day after Christmas, so if this is still up in September, I’ll be able to flashback with experience of how a baby acts!

Claimer: I own Joy, The Crossroads, Trishelle, Edwin, Oliver (he’s not Oliver Wood), Lia, and George. As well as Silas obviously. If you’d like to know, writing Joy (who will be the most used original as she’s best friends with Ginny) I imagine actress Martine McCutcheon (Natalie from Love Actually).

Disclaimer: Poppy tarts equal Poptarts. I don’t own that company nor am I affiliated with it or gaining any profit from mentioning it. (But that actually happened to me. I accidentally lit Poptarts on fire recently.) I am also not affiliated or gaining any sort of profit from the mention of Easy Bake Oven. Nor from the mention of Oxford, Betty Boop, or any other company/franchise/person mentioned here that I may have overlooked.

Until The End Of Time –

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Chapter 2: Losing My Ground

Ten points (and maybe a sneak peak at the next chapter) to anyone that can name where my chapter title(s), and story title, come from. They’re all named after songs. Not all, such as chapter 1, are named after recent songs/artists though.

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“Oh my Gods. Oh my Gods. Oh my Gods.” Ginny chanted endlessly as she began to hyperventilate in the kitchen. After Silas had said that he and the man had the same eyes, she’d quickly escaped back into the kitchen muttering about having to find something to clean the food up with, when in actuality she just needed to get away from him. As soon as she’d handed Silas off to an apologetic Trishelle, she began to have a panic attack. She was completely oblivious to Joy standing in front of her attempting to calm her down. Right now, there was no calming down.

“Ginevra Molly Weasley!” Joy snapped loudly, clapping her hands in front of Ginny’s face. This caught Ginny’s attention, but she still couldn’t catch her breath, “You need to breathe. Silas needs his mother, so you can’t suffocate, okay?”

Ginny nodded, closing her eyes she attempted deep breaths, managing a few short shuddering ones. All it resulted in was tears and hiccups, “Gods, Joy. Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. How could you not tell me?” She sent an accusing look at her friend, before shaking her head, remembering that Joy herself only had the name of a company, not its representative. “Six years ago he broke my heart. When I showed up to try and tell him I was pregnant, he didn’t even let me get the words out. He threw money in a sock at me like I were a house elf or a common whore! Now he’s standing in my restaurant, with our son in the kitchen, and I can’t tell if he’s so dense that he hasn’t realized it, or just doesn’t want anything to do with either of us.”

“You didn’t really give him a chance, Ginny.” Joy said softly, curling her hands around the panicking redhead’s shoulders to stop her pacing, “You ran away before he could say anything.” Joy watched defeat creep on Ginny’s face as the latter hung her head in shame, “Why don’t you and he go talk at your flat? I’ll take care of things here, and bring Silas by later tonight, alright?”

“No. No, no, no. I’m not ready for that!” Ginny said, immediately panicking again as she shook her head back and forth frantically. “And what if the things I say ruin our chance at this investor?”

“First, he’s part owner. There are two owners, so they have to make the decision jointly. And if he’s a good businessman, he would put aside his personal issues if it means making money. Second, you’re ready for this. You have to be. You had to know this would happen sooner or later. And while I’m sure you wish it were much later, it’s insignificant now. You have to do this. If not for yourself, for Silas.” She knew she went a bit low using Silas as bait to get Ginny to do this, but she knew it was the only way.

Ginny was silent for a minute, before she sighed. She blinked back tears before she moved away from Joy. She shook her head softly again as she realized what she was about to do, and took a deep breath. “Alright.” She said softly, before she went out into the restaurant. She looked around, trying to spot the blonde hair among the few people left still eating dessert, but couldn’t. She felt relief, anger, and rejection swarm through her. She shook her head with a bitter chuckle, and turned to go back into the kitchen. Only she was faced with the hollow of a neck, a water drop slowly sliding around the curve to disappear into his robes. She slowly looked up and felt her breath hitch under the intense gaze of Draco Malfoy. She felt like she was 16 again, crushing on the rogue Slytherin that had helped the downfall of Voldemort by scheming with Dumbledore, Harry, and Snape to make it look like they’d killed Dumbledore when it’d really been a projection of sorts. She felt 18 again when she’d managed to seduce him onto the dance floor of a club, and leave him wanting more, so that he came back to her and chased her for weeks before falling into bed together. She felt 19 again, telling him she loved him. She felt 19 again, when he broke her heart. She felt 19 again, when she tried to tell him he was going to be a father and he slammed the door in her face. She felt 20 again, giving birth to Silas without Draco by her side. She felt 25, about to tell Draco that he is in fact a father. She felt 25, about to die.

“Looking for me?” Draco’s smooth voice asked, thin lips curling into a sneer as he stared down at her.

Ginny nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, “We need to talk.” She said, looking down and refusing to meet his gaze as she rattled off her address, “Apparate there. I’ll be waiting if you want to talk.” She said, before she herself Apparated to her flat. She immediately collapsed on the couch, dropping her head into her hands as she took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart and queasy stomach. She jumped slightly as the sound of an Apparation filled her flat. She looked up slowly to look at his face, even though she didn’t have to, to know what he was feeling. She could feel his rage before he even Apparated in. “Let me explain…”

“Explain?” Draco exploded, taking two steps towards Ginny, his cheeks reddening from anger, and his hands balling into tight fists. “Explain what? That that’s my son?”

“I tried to tell you…”

“Bollocks! You obviously didn’t try hard enough, Ginevra.”

Ginny’s expression of defeat immediately became one of rage that matched Draco’s. She stood from the couch angrily, “I did! But you kept slamming the door in my face. Literally. The last time I tried was when you clearly told me that you never loved me, and was just in it to… what was it? Oh yes. ‘Pop the cherry of the first Weasley girl in a generation’. You handed me a sock filled with money. In case you hadn’t noticed, I wasn’t your whore, and I certainly wasn’t your house elf. I wasn’t going to become the next Narcissa Malfoy, who Lucius only married because he wanted an heir. I wasn’t going to subjectify my child to that kind of unloving environment. I wasn’t going to subjectify myself to that either. I loved you, and you were just in it for a roll in the sack. For me, Silas was created from a place of love. I wasn’t going to have you continuously clarify that he came from a mistake, not love. I’m not going to have you clarify that for my son.”

“In case you’re forgetting,” Draco growled, roughly grabbing Ginny around her biceps, “without me, he wouldn’t exist. You’d have nothing and no one if it weren’t for me. Doesn’t that give me a right to at least know that I have a child out there?”

“Are you deaf?” Ginny asked, roughly pushing Draco off of her, “I’m not going to have you turn my son into the Malfoy protégé and heir, okay? He’s growing up normal. I’m not going to have him turn into a spoiled prat who uses women for his own personal reason, spinning all sorts of lies, and only being involved in himself. I’m not going to raise another you.” Ginny spat as she stepped away from Draco, out of grabbing distance when she saw the dangerous glint reenter his eyes, turning them a murky grey.

“He’s my son too. I can take him away from you as easily as I gave him to you.”

“What were his first words? When did he have his first cold? When did his first tooth come in? When did it first fall out? What day was he born? What’s his middle name? What’s his favorite sweet? What’s his favorite food? Toy? Story? Movie? Lullaby? You have no idea. He’s not your son. And if you so much as talk to him without me around, I will unleash a hell on you that you will never recover from, do you hear me?” Ginny growled, stepping into the protective mother role. She was fiercely protective of Silas. Sometimes she thought that it was more than mother’s instincts that turned her into a lioness around her cub.

There was crack as Joy Apparated in with Silas in her arms, the little boy giggling and squealing. “Again!” He cried out, waving his arms around in excitement, causing Joy to laugh. She sobered immediately when she saw Ginny and Draco were still going at it. She expected them to last five minutes before Ginny blew him up or he stormed out in frustration, seeing as Ginny had that affect on people. Joy muttered sorry and ducked out of the room with Silas still in her arms, heading for the little boy’s room.

“You didn’t give me the chance to know those things.” Draco said quietly, a hard edge still to his voice though as he watched Joy walk off with his son, “But I’ll be damned if you continue to shut me out of his life, Ginny.” Draco growled, staring Ginny down with a look of pure determination. After a moment, Joy entered the room, and he looked to her. “You just found yourself an investor. And we’re very hands on. Congratulations.” He said, quickly grabbing Joy’s hand and shaking on it. He smirked at Ginny’s outraged gasp. He’d just made a magically binding agreement. It was unbreakable, unless they both wanted bad fortune for the rest of their lives. He turned back to Ginny, the smirk gone, “I’m going to be in his life now. You’re not going to stop that. If you do, I’ll meet you with my own hell.”

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Ginny turned her head to the side, and blearily opened her eyes. By routine, she should be staring at her clock to read what time it was. But she was instead staring at a wall, sleep swimming through her eyes as she tried to focus on it. She sat up slowly, to find her head at the foot of the bed and her feet at the head of the bed, not to mention a pounding headache the size of all seven continents put together. “Shite.” She cursed, pressing her hand to her forehead.

“Morning, sunshine.” The overly happy, and slightly smug, voice of Joy rang through the room.

Ginny opened one eye to look at the woman, and attempted a one-eyed glare, “Bugger off.”

Joy clucked her tongue, “Language, Ginevra.” She said in a condescending tone as she walked towards the bed, munching on bacon. “How’re you feeling this morning?”

“Like I got dropped off Hogwarts.” Ginny groaned, scrunching her nose up as the smell of Joy’s bacon made it to her nose. “Bloody hell, get that away from me!” Ginny cried as she scrabbled up in a tangle of her sheets and comforter as she scurried off the bed with her hand covering her mouth and nose to block up the impending upchuck and smell of bacon. She felt incredibly queasy, kind of like she had when she’d had morning sickness with Silas; only that was more like constant sickness not just in the morning. “What happened last night?” Ginny asked groggily as she swayed on her feet.

“Before or after Draco Malfoy became our new investor?” Joy asked nonchalantly as she continued to nibble on her bacon with an innocent expression across her features.

”Unfortunately, I remember that part. Not so much anything afterwards.” Just the mention of his name made Ginny’s stomach churn again with the memory of their argument and his promise to be in Silas’s life.

“Well, after he left, you tucked in Silas, had a panic attack, and drained an entire bottle of Firewhiskey. Of course, I told you it was a bad idea, but you told me to sod off.” Joy said with a sigh, shaking her head sadly as she paused briefly before thrusting the bacon towards Ginny, “Breakfast?”

The smell hit Ginny again and immediately the bile rose in her throat. She groaned and wheeled around heading for the en suite bathroom, leaving Joy with a smug grin on her face as she finally finished off the bacon. The latter rubbed her hands together to displace the crumbs on her fingers and stood slowly. She walked to the bathroom where Ginny was already flushing the toilet and resting her face on the side of the porcelain bowl. “There’s a hangover potion on your dresser so drink up. We’ve got somewhere to go to in an hour.

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Ginny met Joy in the restaurant 45 minutes after the Firewhiskey had made its way through her system. As she stood in the center of the eating area, she immediately examined the difference between hers and Joy’s outfits. Ginny had dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a white satin tank top, with a square-shouldered blazer over it, and boots to complete the ensemble. Her long red hair was let loose in its natural waves, with her grown-out bangs pulled back over her head, and pinned against the crown. Joy however, was wearing a business outfit with her own little twist to it; she wore pinstriped black pants, a white Oxford shirt with a black cap-sleeved vest over it, and the short sleeves to the Oxford shirt were pulled up over the sleeves of the vest. She also wore high heels, and her wavy brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Warning bells went off immediately in the red-head’s head.

“Joy,” she started hesitantly, “Where exactly is this ‘somewhere’ we’re going?”

Joy spun around as she heard Ginny for the first time, “We’re going to be late!” She exclaimed with a sigh as she shoved the pen in her hand between her teeth and began gathering up various papers that were strewn across the counter.

“Lia and George were in the middle of something when I called them to watch Silas. I had to wait. Now, I repeat, where is this ‘somewhere’?” Ginny repeated slower this time, as if she were talking to Silas when she wanted the truth from him. She had a sinking feeling that she already knew where they were going, but was hoping against all odds that she was wrong so that she didn’t have to murder her best friend. She really didn’t want to do that for several reasons.

“We have to…” She sighed and spat out the pen, “We have to go meet with Draco Malfoy and his business partner.” Joy said fast as she shoved the papers into her purse carelessly with a huff. “Look, I know that’s the absolute last thing you want to do, but shove it aside because we’re now in a magically binding contract with Draco’s company. I personally don’t wish for bad fortune for the rest of my life, alright? I’m sure you wish it on him, but I’m your best friend, and if you love me at all, you’ll act professionally for half an hour at most and suck it up. We need this. Not that we have much of choice in the matter anymore, okay?”

Ginny had no choice but to think over Joy’s tirade. Sure, she could throw a tantrum and refuse to go just so she didn’t have to see Draco again and feel the permanent knife in her heart twist around some more; but she knew that she had to be a professional and meet with him. Not as Silas’s father or her ex, but as a business investor. “He so much as brings up Silas, and we leave, do you understand me?”

Joy released the breath she’d been holding and sagged in relief. She ran up to Ginny and hugged her briefly, “Thank you so much, Ginny. I owe you big, I swear on it.” She gathered up her purse, and pulled her wand out of the concealed compartment on the side of the bag, “Ready?” Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Ginny’s hand and Apparated them to their destination.

“You know, you risk splicing the both of us every time you do that. Not to mention you risk that with my son.” Ginny told her grumpily, wishing she were at the dentist getting a root canal with no Novocain rather than be standing in the lobby of wherever they were that was known as her ex’s business. She always expected him to go into the broom business, or something. If he were, what would be the point of investing in a little rundown shack of a restaurant that barely met with its bills? Surely he wasn’t doing it out of the goodness of his heart. Generally shriveled, black hearts weren’t filled with goodness.

“Get the bitter sourpuss off your face and smile.” Joy said through her own smile as she nudged Ginny with her elbow.

Ginny quickly took their advice as a tall, slender man approached them. She straightened her jacket nervously and smiled, “You look like you’re going to an interview at a multi-million galleon company, and I look like I’m going to a barbeque.” She hissed bitterly through her teeth as her eyes scanned the room and noticed all the men in suits, and all the women in skirts or pants suits. She stuck out like a blast-ended skrewt with gas.

“Welcome, ladies. I’ll be taking you to meet with Mister Malfoy and Mister Zabini.” The tall man said as he came to a stop in front of Ginny and Joy. He looked down his nose at them with a small sneer and looked them up and down. He then stuck his nose in the air and turned, “Follow me.” He drew slowly, sashaying off.

“Wanker.” Joy muttered under her breath as she looked at Ginny through lowered eyes with a small shake of her head.

Ginny let out a small snort of laughter, quickly covering it with a coughing fit, as Joy said exactly what Ginny had been thinking about the pompous arse that was leading them towards their (Ginny’s more specifically) doom.

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Alright. I’m leaving it off here or I’ll have no basis for the start of the next chapter. I was kinda stuck with this one, which is why it took longer than the promised week to bounce out. But, here it is. And I’ve come up with some ideas on how to get the D/G rolling, and who will help them along (‘cause they’re both so stubborn they’ll need help!). I’ve also got a scene for Christmas time planned out that I’m really liking the idea of. But that won’t be for a few chapters.

I wanna thank everyone that’s reviewed so far between FFN and Portkey (which the amount of reviews for 2 chapters has greatly surprised me). You have no idea how much it means to me seeing as this is my first chaptered fic in a couple years. So all the reviews are loved, and I hope I get more.

Also, if you wish to leave suggestions for future scenes or what you’d like to see from this in the long-run, don’t be shy to leave those thoughts in reviews!

Chapter 3: Not Ready To Make Nice

Congrats to those that got the titles correct. No one managed to get the story title however. It’s a song by Justin Timberlake of the same title. Accidental Babies is by Damien Rice. Dream On is by Aerosmith. And Losing My Ground is by Fergie.

I’m sorry this took so long! In my free time, I’ve been reading Marianne Curley’s Guardians of Time trilogy. It was so engrossing, I loved it, and I completely recommend it. Also her other book Old Magic. After that, my personal life began to take a serious dip concerning my boyfriend and my health simultaneously. I was in the hospital briefly, and the following weekend I was in a car that ended up full-force into a pole so I’ve been less than creative so this was put on hold until I began to feel better physically and emotionally.

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The pompous man that the two women had been following came to a halt in front of two large double doors. He turned both doorknobs and pushed through them, opening them with a dramatic creak to reveal the office to Ginny and Joy. The room that posed as the main office surely could fit the entire restaurant in the middle of the room, twice. It was at least a whole floor, or at the least had a charm on it to make it larger than it appeared. It was furnished with rich dark wood. Everything was dark wood; the chairs, the tables, the desks, the doors, the baseboards, even the floor.

“Ladies.” The man inclined his head towards the two before closing the doors, with him on the other side.

“Well, I see Malfoy employs people just like him; pompous airheads with a wand up their arse.” Joy said to Ginny, not bothering to keep her voice lowered. She’d heard stories of Draco through Ginny, and had had run-ins with him during her time at Hogwarts, so she knew his reputation easily to be a womanizing prick.

“A wand?” Ginny inquired, “I’d go with something a lot longer, and lot thicker, knowing Malfoy.”

“I just hope Silas isn’t anything like him. Having him like you is bad enough for the entire country.” Joy smirked lightly as she twisted her body to face Ginny, then twisting it the other way in a nervous, and slightly bored, manner.

“I must agree with the lady. I quite remember you were a lot like your jokester brothers back at Hogwarts.” A rich voice said to the left of the women as its owner stepped out of the shadows.

Ginny smiled softly, “And I remember it was your business partner’s habit to lurk in the shadows, not yours Mister Zabini.” She retorted as she turned herself to face the man fully, holding her hand out for him to shake formally as she slipped into her businesswoman demeanor. Or, at least the one she attempted to copy from the real businesswoman of the duo. After Blaise had smiled and nodded his head towards her curtly while shaking her hand, Ginny blindly motioned to her right where she assumed Joy was, “Mister Zabini, Joy Davenport.” She went ahead with introducing her partner, as she knew Blaise on a slightly more friendly level. They’d tried to hang out and be friends for awhile at Hogwarts. That was how she’d gotten so close to Draco in the first place to develop feelings for him long before they met years later in a club. Unfortunately though, Ginny’s brother and house rivalries got in the way and they ended their friendship. It took her a moment to realize that Joy hadn’t said anything, and turned to look at her friend who seemed to have zoned out with a slack expression on her face as she stared at Blaise. “Joy.” Ginny said a little harshly, “This is Blaise Zabini.”

Joy shook herself slightly, not catching the bemused expression on Blaise’s face, or the eye roll from Ginny as she stepped forward with her hand outstretched, “Right. Sorry. Hello Mister Zabini.”

“Blaise, please.” He insisted as he shook her hand, “I’m no older than the two of you. Formalities such as that are for elders.” He flashed the two women his charming smile, and flourished with his hand towards the back center of the room where a more personal circular table with six chairs around it was. It was a lot better than the huge oval one at the right of the room that seemed like it could seat all of the Ministry workers, and then some. “Shall we?” He inquired, walking towards the table, “My other associates should be here soon.”

“Associates? As in plural? I was only expecting to meet with you and Mister Malfoy in regard to the deal he made last night.” Joy said, a nervous quiver entering her voice, not moving a muscle towards the table. If things weren’t going to go the way she thought, she was gonna book and bad fortune be damned. “If you’re bringing in someone else to oversee matters, I’d like a little more time to prepare and bring in my own counsel.”

“It’s just a formality. Draco and the company lawyer will be along shortly. The latter only has to be here to make sure that all of us understand the terms of what Draco’s blindly done like a fool.” Blaise stated, a bit of a sour expression and note taking over his business demeanor. He quickly flashed his smile again however and added, “Though, I’m sure we would’ve signed on as an investor. I just wish Draco hadn’t rushed into it as such.”

“Personally I wish he hadn’t rushed into anything.” Ginny grumbled as her eyes scanned the room. She quickly noticed the side table with a crystalline jar of scotch and four glasses. Despite her earlier exploits with the toilet and a hangover from the night before, Ginny knew that if she wasn’t at least buzzed, that she wouldn’t be able to make it through the meeting sitting across from her son’s father. “Do you mind?” Ginny asked as she walked towards the table without waiting for an answer.

Joy sighed with her eyes shut tightly. She knew she should stop Ginny before she drank the whole canteen, but Ginny was an adult, and Joy shouldn’t have to continuously baby sit her. She already baby sat Silas, and that was as much as she could handle. So Joy looked at Blaise and let out the breath she’d been holding, shaking off Ginny’s current actions involving scotch and the impending arrival of the redhead’s ex. “So, Mister Zabini, about that lawyer of yours…”

Ginny downed the first glass of scotch in two gulps. It burned on the way down, settling uneasily in the pit of her stomach. She felt it churning around and it made her feel sick all over again. Her only solution for it was another glass of scotch. By the time the doors banged open as Draco and his lawyer entered, Ginny was half way through her fifth glass. She turned around quickly, her drink sloshing over the glass and onto her hand slightly. She froze as soon as her eyes connected with Draco’s. Rage rolled through her easily as the memory of his threats returned to the front of her mind. However, the slightest hint of dormant lust seemed to spark too. She caught herself, shaking her head slightly as she looked from him, to her fifth glass of scotch incredulously. Maybe it’d worked too well.

“Okay, shall we take a seat?” Blaise inquired, gesturing towards the table where Draco and the company lawyer already sat. He pressed his hand against the small of Joy’s back lightly as he guided her towards the table before looking over his shoulder at Ginny, “Miss Weasley,” he said with another gesture towards the table. He wasn’t sure if the woman could make it on her own, so once Joy was seated, he went and did the same to Ginny. After all, she had drunk almost six glasses of the finest Scotch Malfoy and Zabini money had to buy.

Joy watched with a crimson stain to her cheeks as Ginny stumbled into a chair next to her, “You okay there, Gin?” She asked kindly, pinning her counterpart with a pointed look.

“Hitting the booze there? Do that quite often?” Draco drawled with a smirk as he watched the redhead’s tipsy antics of making it across the room to the table.

Blaise noticed the red draining from Ginny’s face, and remembered that personally as calm before the storm. “How about we leave the childish antics to the children, and act like adults for a few moments so we can figure out with in the bloody hell you got us into, Mister Malfoy.” Blaise cut in sharply, pinning his counterpart with his own look. After a beat, no one said anything, and Blaise sighed swiftly before plastering his smile back on his face, “Alright then. Mister Raines, can you please explain to us the details about the pact Draco made?”

“Well,” Mister Raines, a late 50’s balding Wizard with large coke-bottle glasses, drew out slowly as he looked down his nose at the pages in front of him on the wood tabletop. “Mister Malfoy, you have entered a magical contract with Miss Davenport through means of an ancient method of the handshake, used centuries ago as the show of trust for someone to not go back on their word. It was said that the two that broke the pact would have bad fortune for the last of their days. As you all are aware, you’re in this predicament now. If Misters Malfoy or Zabini break the contract through Misses Davenport or Weasley, your financial stability will crash, and you’ll lose all things you possess. Your businesses namely. Anything you buy during the duration before the break of contract will disappear from existence.” He looked up and took a deep breath, “There’s no other way out of this contract, I’m afraid.” He stated solemnly, sending a sympathetic look towards Ginny who let out a frustrated sigh.

“That’s good news.” Draco said pointedly at his lawyer, making sure that his tone wiped the sympathy from the older man’s face.

“Says you!” Ginny growled ferociously. “You’ve only pulled this scheme out of your arse so that you can get closer to my son!” She was standing out, her hands pressed flat against the tabletop with her shoulders squared as a fire swam through her eyes.

Draco remained seated, his expression that of practiced calm although his body was obviously rigid and tense, “In case you’ve forgotten, that’s my son as well, Miss Weasley.”

“It’s hard to forget when his eyes mirror those of the greatest mistake of my life.” Ginny spat, instantly regretting it. She knew that meant on some level that she thought of Silas as one of her mistakes, as being with Draco had resulted in her son. He wasn’t a mistake though, he was her greatest gift. It was just unfortunate that his father was the man sitting across the table as if he hadn’t a care in the world. The same man she’d hated with a passion every time a memory flashed through her mind since that day on his doorstep.

“Ginny.” Joy cut in before Draco could get any sort of chance to retort and call her out on what she’d just said, rising from her chair to place a hand on Ginny’s elbow, “This isn’t the time or the place…”

“Bullocks! This is five years coming. Since he threw me off his property with a sock full of galleons.” Ginny roared, turning on her best friend as she insisted on continuing her drunken explosion.

“You what?” Blaise asked incredulously, turning to stare at Draco in shock, “Gods mate, that’s just cruel. I know you were supposed to live up to some womanizer reputation back then, but bloody hell, why’d you do that?” Blaise asked quietly as Joy and Ginny bickered in the background. He’d known Draco since they were young. Even before Hogwarts, but he’d never heard Draco doing something that cruel to a woman as means to get rid of her; paying her and releasing her like nothing.

Draco turned his slack expression to one of an angry glare aimed at Blaise before he growled out in a response, “You know why, Blaise. Think back five years ago and see if anything goes off in that thick head of yours.”

Joy chose that moment to interrupt the two, “Ginny’s had a few too many scotches. I’m going to take her home. If you wish to discuss more business matters, I demand you go through me and not Ginny. I’m the primary owner, and I handle all financial records and all that you’ll need to know about your investment. Also, any contact Mister Malfoy wishes to have with Silas is only on Ginny’s terms. You will not make surprise visits simply to ‘check things out’ as an excuse to catch a glimpse of her son. I will not hesitate to break the magical contract if you do that. I barely make ends meet as is; it wouldn’t be much difference for me to become poor. Think of how the two of you will manage though.” With that said Joy stuck her nose in the air and walked back over to Ginny, grabbing the girl and Apparating out.

“Well that was eventful.” Blaise said with a tired sigh as he stood from his chair, unbuttoning the two buttons on his jacket as he relaxed now that the meeting was over. He noticed the cowering wizard of their lawyer waiting for instructions, frozen to his chair with his nose in the papers on the table as he appeared to look as if he weren’t listening. Blaise waved a dismissive hand, “You’re dismissed Mister Raines.”

“How dare she think she has any say whether or not I see my son!” Draco fumed now that he and Blaise were in private, as the doors closed behind their skittish lawyer.

“She is his mother.” Blaise pointed out as he made himself a glass of what was left from the scotch.

“Not Ginny. I fully expect her to do that. But that… heathen she was with. She has no right to make that sort of threat, to break the contract if I go anywhere near my son.”

“You can stop stressing the words, Draco. I understood them all twelve hundred times you stressed them last night at three in the bloody morning at my house.” Blaise said sourly at the memory of being rudely awakening by the sound of a furious Draco Malfoy Apparating into his bedroom. Thankfully, he’d been sans female company for the evening, so at least he’d been dressed when his best friend rudely intruded on his sleep. His drunken best friend, at that. “Look, from what I gather, Miss Davenport is Ginny’s best friend, which makes her close to Ginny’s son, so she’s trying to protect them.”

“Ginny’s son? Ginny’s son?! Have you forgotten that without me there’d be no son?” Draco exploded, taking his frustrations out on a glass that he picked up off the counter and threw at the wall.

“Just because you created him, doesn’t mean you’re his father. You of all people know that Draco. Everything with Lucius should’ve taught you that. You can’t see him as property. He’s a human being that you helped create. Not a piece of stock that’s the ticket to the next Fortune 500. He’s a living, breathing, human being that if you have any part in his life, will hopefully be the biggest pain in your arse for the next 13 years that you’ll ever imagine.” Blaise stated pointedly, as he began heading towards his desk, sitting in the large leather chair.

“That’s if she lets me have any part in it.” Draco admitted under his breath.

“If you stop being such a prick, maybe she will.” Blaise responded, before shaking his head in slight irritation, “Now. If you’ll excuse me, I have loads of paperwork to sift through because of you and this deal you arranged without any recon work on what this place is like financially and otherwise. Goodbye Draco.”

Draco sighed uncharacteristically and sulked out of the boardroom. Though, if anyone asked, he wasn’t sulking. He was just making sure that the floor was in pristine condition for his business headquarters.

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“No more Firewhiskey or Scotch for you, Ginevra.” Joy said as she rubbed the groaning girl’s back as the redhead lay pitifully on her bed in her flat.

“Thank you Mum.” Ginny bit back, though it lost its sarcastic edge as it was muffled through her sheets and comforter. “Where’s Silas?” She groaned out, before becoming alert, “Where’s Silas?” She asked frantically, worried that while she’d napped after the meeting that Draco had came and taken her son away from her.

“Calm down. He’s fine. He’s with George and Lia. They took him to the London Zoo. He really wanted to see the penguins and the hippos.” Joy said reassuringly, standing up from the bed and crossing her arms over her chest, quirking an eyebrow at the woman that lay unceremoniously across her bed, groaning like a child that hadn’t gotten her way. It took her all of five extra seconds before she rolled her eyes and promptly slapped Ginny on the bum, and then followed by picking up a pillow and whacking Ginny’s back repeatedly until the girl rose from the bed affronted. “For Gods sake woman!”

Ginny stared in both shock and outrage at her friend, “What in the bloody hell was that for?!” She cried, ignoring the dizzy feeling she’d gotten from standing up so fast. Joy was prone to spontaneous outbursts, but none that included slapping her butt and then the rest of her repeatedly with a pillow.

“You’re moping! It’s… Gods, I don’t even know, but it’s just…” Joy trailed off, holding her breath as she tried to articulate what ‘it’ was. She just ended up making a loud disgruntled noise. “Ginevra Molly Weasley! Your ex just waltzed back into your life more arrogant and smug than ever from what I heard through your sobs and pint of Ben and Jerry’s. I understand it very well. But woman, make him regret it! You’re walking around, drowning your sorrows in alcohol and being belligerent in front of him, and giving him absolutely no reason to regret giving you up! For crying out loud, be an adult! Be a woman! Parade in front of him what he could’ve had but can’t anymore like any other rational scorned woman would!” Joy’s face had gotten red through her tirade, and she emphasized a few words with stomps of her feet and throwing her hands in the air. “Be civil to him. Remind him that this isn’t Hogwarts where you two can bounce back and forth with insults. Especially seeing as you share a son that will get caught in the crossfire. Show him you’re all grown up, Ginny Weasley.”

Ginny looked at Joy skeptically. Her plan had its finer points, but also had its downsides. Such as being civil to the man that broke her heart and left her alone as a single mother, unable to keep a man in front of her long enough to get out both syllables to ‘mother’. She also wasn’t so sure that Draco Malfoy was still interested in her after all these years. She knew from now on they’d have to tolerate each other, because once the anger wore off, Ginny knew she’d more than likely cave and let him be a part of her son’s life in some way. That, and she knew him, and knew he was just as stubborn as her and would never give up. A thought sharply hit Ginny, as she shook off the plan and looked confused, “Why would I do that? It’s not like I want him to be into me.”

“Exactly!” Joy said as if the one word explained everything.

“Oh, right. Exactly. That sums up everything perfectly.” Ginny retorted with a sarcastic lit to her voice.

“You’re just reminding him, though he doesn’t know you’re doing it on purpose, of what he gave up. A happy life with you and his son, all because he was, or is, a wanker.” Joy rounded the bed quickly, bouncing to stand in front of Ginny, grasping the slightly smaller girl by the shoulders, “It’s perfect, really. We get an investor for the restaurant, you get to smash regret into Draco Malfoy like a ton of bricks, and I get to watch!”

Ginny giggled at her friend’s face full of excitement, “You’re a deliciously evil woman, Joy Davenport.”

“I know. It’s so much fun!” Joy said happily, turning around and bouncing out of the room.

Ginny sat on the edge of the bed and bit her lip nervously. She wasn’t sure she necessarily wanted to go that route. Sure, he’d broken her heart, and left her pregnant and alone. But she knew that to do this plan, would have to require him to be around. Which meant him being around Silas frequently, and therefore getting acquainted with his son, something Ginny wasn’t sure she wanted just yet until she decided whether or not fleeing the country and changing their names and appearances was off the table just yet. She sighed heavily, flopping back on the bed as memories from the past flooded her senses. It always seemed to be the bad memories that would flood back when undecided. The particular memory of Draco throwing a sock of money at her made her chest tighten painfully and her stomach roll with nausea. She sat up sharply, determination hitting her as she grabbed fistfuls of her comforter. “Joy! We need to go shopping! I need a new wardrobe for this plan.” She could swear she could’ve heard Joy’s jumping up and down in the kitchen.

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Completely and utterly unhappy with this chapter, but at least the hurdle is crossed and I can get on with what I’ve had planned since the beginning, so yes, this is pretty much a filler chapter of sorts so that I can get to what’s going to go down. I have it all planned out in my head. I hope to go a realistic route with things. It’s gonna get dramatic/angsty at points, but hopefully funny and light in most as I try to put them on the path I want them on. I have this issue though, when I write, the story goes its own way and doesn’t listen to me when I tell it to STOP! My fingers have their own tiny brains in each one, working against me.

Please review. I promise the next chapter won’t take two months.

Chapter 4: Leaving Town Alive

Fourth chapter! I just want to thank everyone that’s reviewed so far, both on Fanfiction.net and Portkey.org (A prologue, three chapters, and over 100 reviews between the two places!). Your support is incredible. I didn’t really think this story would be received well, because not many people like stories that involve offspring (I’m one at times myself). As for Draco and Blaise’s chat in the past chapter about what happened five years ago, you’ll find out eventually. I’m purposely dancing around the subject, yes. It’s a secret. Shh! –sticks tongue out–

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“Are you sure this will work?”

“Positive.”

“I just…”

“What?”

“I thought the wardrobe was meant to be… sexy.”

“Then it’s too obvious.”

Ginny rolled her eyes with a huff, she’d spent the last two days listening to Joy’s cryptic crap ever since she spat out her plan for Ginny to make Draco regret the moment he shut the door on her. “Oi! Enough with the cryptic, short sentences, Joy. Just spit out what you mean.”

“Touché. You want to look great. Not sexy. If you look sexy, it’ll be obvious that you’re trying to get under his skin. You want to look subtle. This looks perfect for you. Trust me. If I were a man, or swung the female persuasion, I’d jump you right here.” Joy said, looking over Ginny’s shoulder into the mirrors of the dressing room, to stare at Ginny’s reflection.

Ginny smoothed her hands over nonexistent wrinkles, worrying her lower lip with her teeth as she tried to decide whether or not she could even pull off subtle-sexy. Full out sexy was a larger issue that she’d been worried about while going off very few details regarding the plan Joy had come up with. “It’s the middle of winter though. I can’t wear this.” Though she knew she could always wear it inside at the restaurant. It was a simple white dress with an intricate flower pattern across the whole dress. The bodice was fitting, while it flowed freely from the waist down. Cap sleeves came from the square neckline, which was low enough to show a bit of cleavage, that it teased without being slutty. She wasn’t exactly happy with her body. Even after five years, she was still conscious that she had the post-birth shape, having flared out everywhere during and after her pregnancy. She often got complimented by men on her curves, but she wasn’t so sure she liked them. Sometimes she wished she was a size 2, but knew that was unrealistic. Plus, she knew if she were that size, Joy would tie her to a chair and wheel her under an ice cream dispenser.

“Stop it.” Joy reprimanded as if she could read Ginny’s thoughts.

Ginny looked down at her in surprise, shaking her head. It was like her mother was standing next to her sometimes, not Joy… except Ginny liked this mother version at the moment, versus her real mother. Her mood darkened at the thought of her mother, someone she hadn’t thought of in awhile. She stepped angrily off the platform from which she stood to look at herself in the mirrors, and shook her head fast to jar her thoughts around. “I don’t think I can do this, Joy.”

“C’mon, Gin. It’s perfect.”

“Except for the fact that he gets to be around Silas.” Ginny grumbled, her mood darkening once more.

Joy watched her with a devilish, albeit secretive, smile. When she noticed Ginny reaching around for the zipper of the dress, she jumped in, “Don’t bother. I’ve already bought everything you’ve tried on, and then some, while you were mulling over trying that on in the dressing room.” She smiled sweetly, “And don’t say that I shouldn’t have. It was mostly your money I used anyways from when I babysat Silas last and you thought I deserved compensation for emotional damages. I also won a bet at my sister’s wedding that left my pockets a little heavier.”

“Evil. Positively evil.” Ginny muttered about her friend, with a small smile. “But that doesn’t erase the fact that I don’t know if I can do this. Not only am I’m not that vindictive anymore,” she chose to ignore the snort that came from across the room behind her, “But I can’t bring him purposely into Silas’s life and then yank him back out. That’s not fair to either of them… especially my son.”

“Who said he’ll leave?” Joy thought as she folded a shirt together, “You’re not going to do it forever. And I’m sure for the most part that we can keep Silas out of this… it’s probably best we keep him out of the restaurant period, by the way. It was a close call with the dishes and the sauce. He could’ve got hurt.”

“Yeah, I know. Plus, that silly boy of mine makes too many messes in the kitchen, trying to get into the chocolate.” Ginny said dryly, smiling despite herself as she thought of her little boy trying to get into all sorts of concoctions in the kitchen with that innocent but curious look on his face.

“Believe me, I know.” Joy said with a wry grin, shaking her head, “C’mon. Let’s go drop this mass off at your apartment and you can still spend the day with your little demon.”

“Joy!” Ginny shouted, “Demon is hardly an appropriate label for my son.”

“You’re right.” Joy admitted, “After all, he is your son.” She paused briefly, “Satan’s more like it.” Then she chose to run as Ginny came at her brandishing a pillow from the couch in the corner of the fitting room lobby.

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“Here you go.” Ginny said with a smile three days later as she dropped a plate off for one of her customers. She brushed her hands off, smiling down at the seven year old boy that immediately dug into his burger, pulling out what he didn’t like, and grabbing the ketchup. “Have a nice meal. I’ll be back to check if you need anything else.” She was turning to walk away when the little boy squirted ketchup all down the front of her outfit. She froze, trying really hard not to reach out and put the nozzle down the boy’s throat and squeeze. The mother apologized profusely immediately, “It’s alright ma’am. I have a boy myself. They’re little trouble makers.” Ginny said through a tight smile, adding in her thoughts, “Though you better leave a big tip.” She let out a breath, turning to walk away.

“That’s a right mess,” came a voice from the door, originating from Blaise Zabini. He walked in with his charming smile on his face and his hands in the pockets of his pinstripe pants. He wore a dark purple business shirt, the color complimenting his tan skin. His dark brown hair was loose, unlike the day they’d met in the office where he’d had it slicked back against his skull.

Ginny’s tight smile was still in place as she muttered through clenched teeth, “I’ve had worse happen… doesn’t mean I still don’t wanna shove the bottle down his throat.” She walked to the counter where she rounded it and grabbed a towel, “What can I do for you Mister Zabini?”

Blaise smiled softly, “Ginny, it’s okay to call me that at my office, but business isn’t being conducted here. Not really, at least. I am here to test out the food to make sure Malfoy’s not a complete moron…” Off Ginny’s angered expression, he added, “Well… in this instance at least. Point is, just call me Blaise.”

“Aright, Blaise… what can I get for you, if you’re here to test the food. We have everything from pasta to burgers to desserts.” Ginny said as she scrubbed some of the ketchup off the apron, thankful that she had left it on.

“Have any cheesecake?” He asked with a grin, drumming his fingers lightly against the counter.

“I have a cheesecake brownie. Its half brownie, half cheesecake with chocolate drizzled on top. Very strong, only served in small slivers and with a glass of milk to wash it down.” Ginny herself had constantly made that during her pregnancy and would scarf it down morning, noon, and night until one morning she woke up and her stomach began craving salty versus sweet. At Blaise’s nod, she walked to the other half of the counter that faced the window display. It was made of glass, housing all the desserts next to the cash register. She slid back the panel and pulled out the cheesecake brownie, taking it back over to Blaise. “I just pulled this out of the fridge before you came in, so it’s nice and fresh.” She said distractedly as she cut him a sliver, putting it on a plate that she’d grabbed from beneath the counter. “So, are you here on your own accord or spying?” She asked as she placed the plate in front of him, and stepped further to the left to grab a glass, and reached into the mini-fridge beneath the glasses and pulled out the milk. After pouring him a glass, she placed it in front of him.

Blaise eyed the cheesecake concoction. It looked rather delicious, even though he rarely ate chocolate. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt right now though; he needed to try their food to make sure that their funding would be well worth it. Even though he knew there was no way to back out of it now. He dug his fork in, and broke off a piece, “Draco doesn’t know I’m here.” He said before he put the fork in his mouth and began to chew the cheesecake with brownie. “This is really great.” He said before swallowing and taking more.

Ginny sighed tiredly, “Blaise… this is really a pickle.” Her hands scrubbed her face before she took another deep breath, “I guess… I just have to deal, yeah? So… he might as well come around occasionally. But I don’t want him around my son without my permission, alright? You go back to him and when you tell him in great detail what happened while you were here, make sure you get that point across, or so help me Gods I learned that there are ways to make certain things look like accidents after working in a kitchen, and growing up with Fred and George.”

Blaise nodded, though he wasn’t really listening as he finished the cheesecake, “Can I have another piece?”

Ginny smiled softly before she nodded, cutting another piece for him.

“Ginny! You’re the kitchen expert. I ruin cereal for crying out loud.” Joy said as she exited the kitchen holding a steaming plate of cheese fries, the cheese a little darkened on top. She let out a small squeak when she saw Blaise, and dropped the plate of fries. Cheers and claps came from the patrons of the restaurant as Joy blushed deeply, immediately bending to clean up the mess, muttering about how they weren’t in a Greek restaurant and clapping wasn’t appropriate for broken dishes in her establishment.

Ginny tried to hold in a laugh as she looked at Joy cleaning up the fries on the floor. She seemed to get skittish around Blaise. It was rather adorable in a funny way. She’d never seen Joy like that around a guy. She was usually very confident about herself and took what she wanted and released when she was bored. She looked at Blaise, who seemed to be amused with a small smile curving his handsome features. Studying him closely, Ginny could understand why Joy was flabbergasted around the man. He was rather gorgeous, and had a remarkable smile. With her own smile, conspiratorially however, Ginny spoke up, “Joy, you remember Blaise Zabini. Blaise, this is the woman that’s kept this place afloat. She handles all the financials and technical stuff. I just cook.”

Joy muttered a hello to him as she continued to clean up, her head ducked from embarrassment as she threw the ruined food and broken glass into a bucket. She finished and stood hastily, making a quick exit to the kitchen without making eye contact with anyone.

“She’s not normally like that.” Ginny said in way of apology in case Blaise thought Joy’s behavior was odd and or rude.

“It’s quite alright. And I don’t suppose you have a whole cheesecake for sale, do you?” Blaise asked after finishing off his second piece. “I usually don’t eat chocolate, but this is bloody amazing.”

Ginny beamed at the compliment, and held a finger up to indicate one minute, before she went into the kitchen. She walked to the fridge, seeing no sign of Joy and figuring she’d gone upstairs, she decided to talk to her friend about her behavior later as she grabbed out a full cheesecake. She turned from the fridge and saw the female that was in her thoughts, leaning against the wall by the swinging door that led between the kitchen and the main restaurant. “Everything alright Joy?”

A squeak came out from Joy as she nodded, “Go on, before that gets cold… warm rather. I meant warm. It’s already cold, isn’t it!” She let out an embarrassed chuckle before hurrying past Ginny with a grimace on her face because of her stupidity.

Joy watched her friend head for the stairs with a bemused look on her face. Shaking her head, she went back into the restaurant with a smirk on her face, heading for Blaise, who was now standing at the register. She placed the cheesecake on the counter, “On the house, considering all things.” Ginny told him when she noticed his coin purse. When he opened it regardless, Ginny placed her hand on his, “Repay me with information. Is Draco seeing anyone? I won’t have him bringing some tart around my son. He’s never met any of the men I’ve seen, and I don’t intend for him to be introduced to a step-Mummy only looking to further her financial and societal standings.”

Blaise stared at Ginny thoughtfully, wondering about other ulterior motives she might have. He’d known her at Hogwarts, knew there was always most likely more than one reason behind her line of questioning. But then he decided that that’d been five years ago, and people change. Not to mention, her son was the single most important person to her on this Earth, he could tell with a single look from the mention of him. “No. Draco hasn’t seen anyone. Not steadily. Last girl he was with was months ago. I doubt he’d bring one of them around his son anyways.” He made sure to say ‘his son’ for good measure. Part of him was infuriated that Draco had been shut out of his son’s life, but the other part of him that knew Draco, and knew where he came from, could understand Ginny’s decision. He smiled tightly, and turned to leave. He paused thoughtfully, turning back after a moment, “You should see him. Hash everything out before he comes around so that your anger at each other doesn’t reflect onto Silas.”

Ginny stared after him, even after he’d left, biting her lower lip painfully between her teeth. She couldn’t help but admit that his words rang true, despite whatever it had to do with her and Joy’s hair-brained scheme. If she and Draco still were pent up with anger when he came around, Silas would pick up on that, and it’d be unhealthy for him. She took a deep breath and released it with a sigh, unwilling to give up the hope that this was still a nightmare and she was just in a coma or something… unable to wake up. She jumped slightly when a loud crash came from the kitchen, followed by Joy screaming her name.

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Draco was working late that night in his office, going over various papers as he swilled a glass of scotch. At least, he’d been attempting to go over the papers. He could get Ginny off his mind. Or more importantly, their son. The thought still blew him away. He didn’t know how to properly react to it all. There was an internal war raging inside of him as he tried to come to grips with the latest revelation. He wanted to run to them, be a family. Create the perfect one he’d never had. But he didn’t love Ginny, and she didn’t love him. Not anymore, at least. The other part of him terrified him, because it was so like his father. A person he’d sworn never to become. He wanted to take Silas away from Ginny. Cause her the pain she’d caused him. After leaving her flat, he’d immediately felt the weight of five years hit him. Five years without his son. Missing every important milestone in his life. His first steps, his first tooth, his first sneeze, his first loose tooth, and his first words which should have been Da.

He slammed his glass down on the desk in frustration, sighing audibly and raking his hands through his hair. He felt the overwhelming urge to see Silas every second of the day now. But he knew there was no way in hell that Ginny would let him near the little boy. She didn’t trust him, not that he could blame her. And all his useless friend had told him after coming back from the restaurant was that he needed to get in check if he expected so much as an acknowledgement. His words supposedly, not Ginny’s. He didn’t know what he meant by ‘in check’. He was always in check. What was that supposed to mean? Immediately turn on his parental instincts so that Ginny saw he was ready for that commitment? He didn’t even know if he bloody was! He didn’t in know if he had parental instincts. How do you have instincts for a person you’ve only met 48 hours prior? It was different when you’ve had nine months of preparation as you watch the mother of your child’s stomach grow as said child prepares his or her self for life. Those instincts are already there by the time you’re holding your newborn in your arms. It’s completely different when you blindly walk into a restaurant thinking how shabby it looks, but holds secret potential, never expecting her to come from the kitchen. Never expecting to see her with a little boy. Never expecting that unknown feeling of irritation to spread through you as she protectively held the little boy in her arms, and then have him call her his mother. Never expecting to see eyes mirroring his own on the little one. Never expecting anything at all other than bland food and having to file their investment claim as a negative.

He’d already gotten past trying to deny that Silas was his flesh and blood. After all, it was obvious to anyone that had half a brain that the little boy was a Malfoy. His eye color, his blonde highlighted hair. Then the way he felt that gut-twisting, heart-wrenching pain when he’d looked into Silas’s eyes as he exclaimed that they had the same eyes after calling Ginny his Mummy. It was obvious that Silas was his son. It was also painfully obvious that the only way he was Silas’s father was that he’d had a bit of rough and tumble fun in the sack with his mother without a contraceptive spell afterwards or condom before. And he had to begrudgingly admit that he couldn’t fully blame that on Ginny. By not being around Silas, he was probably a better father to him than he could’ve been actually with him.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he never heard the door to his office open gently or close just as gently. Nor did he sense the additional presence to the room, or the tension that flowed in waves off the person. He did however hear the soft voice speak the eight words he least expected.

“I want my son to know his father.”

Draco’s head snapped up violently, staring up at Ginny with a mixture of shock and anger on his face as he tried to process the words she said, trying to determine whether or not this was a game to her.

“I made mistakes, Draco. I know. Big ones. But I shouldn’t punish Silas anymore than I already have by keeping you out of his life.” Ginny said as she stepped closer to his desk, each step tensing her body up with more apprehension. “But.” She said forcefully, pausing briefly, “There’s rules, Draco. You don’t see him when I’m not around, alright? Don’t bring other women around him. Don’t ever think that it’s okay for you to take him without my knowledge or consent. I will not hesitate to call Aurors on you for kidnapping charges, do you understand me?” She paused again, taking his silence as an agreement, “You can stop by the restaurant whenever you want during business hours. But only then. No dropping by my flat randomly. No following us to the park or running into us in Diagon Alley, alright? Nothing. It’s at the restaurant, or it’s nowhere.” There was a long lapse in silence in which Ginny felt was hours, but must have been no longer than a couple minutes. She turned half towards the door; stiff backed, and said, “I’ll leave you then.” Her hand was on the doorknob when his chilling voice reached her ears.

“How dare you.”

Ginny wasn’t quite sure he’d actually spoken to her, so she turned slowly, inquiring, “I’m sorry?”

“For what, exactly?” Draco asked, his hands tightening around the edge of his desk painfully as he tried to remain as calm as humanly possible. “Your farce blowing up in your face? For being found out? Or all of it?”

Ginny felt her gut twist painfully, anger roiling through her immediately, “I don’t regret anything. I love my son. You gave him to me, yes. Not my ideal candidate, nor were the circumstances particularly pleasant, but he’s my son. And I’d die for him. I’m not sorry that I have him.”

“You’re just sorry that I gave him to you.”

“I loved you, Draco.” Ginny said firmly, watching as his eyes became even more guarded through her statement, “There was a time where I’d been happy to be more than a girl between the sheets for you. There were times when I felt like I was. And for me, that’s enough to say that my son came from a place of meaning, and not a one-night stand with a man that hates me.”

“I never hated you.” He muttered quietly.

She let out a hollow laugh void of anything but anger and bitterness, “That’s why you slammed the door in my face repeatedly as I tried to tell you I was pregnant. That’s why you gave me a sock like a house elf. That’s why you gave me money like a whore. You never hated me. Right.” Her face clouded over with anger as she walked further into the room, “Come off it, Draco. We’re adults now. Stop being some playboy teenager spouting lies to your conquests so that they come back day after day. I’m not here to be lied to. I’m not here to ravish you on your desk. I’m here to allow you to see your son. But if you’re still that teenager, I don’t want you anywhere near him. I need someone responsible. Not someone that thinks south of his border.”

Up until then, he’d been able to keep his anger in check. But reliving his “glory days”, and the days the led to and followed when he threw Ginny out of his life like she were nothing, was not something he was ready to face yet again. He’d heard it from her now repeatedly, heard it from Blaise, heard it from himself… he didn’t need it anymore. His right hand came up sharply and his fist slammed into his desk, the trinkets and supplies rattling from the force. When he spoke, his voice was gravelly through clenched teeth, “You don’t know the first thing about what happened. I had my reasons, Ginevra. Don’t you dare think that I wanted you to go. If I had known you were pregnant, I would’ve done things differently. But we can’t go back now. Stop living in the fucking past and live in the damned present!”

“It’s a little hard to when that day completely reconstructed my life! I went through my pregnancy alone! I had to deal with the sighs and disappointment from my family for nine months. The only people that showed up for Silas’s birth were Charlie and Fleur! The rest of my family was too busy watching Ronald lose horribly in a Quidditch match. I had to tell the medi-witches that there wasn’t going to be a name on the birth certificate for the father. I had to deal with the looks that my son got unjustly for my stupidity by getting involved with you. I had to raise him on my own after my mother made in blatantly clear that my son and I weren’t welcome in her home forever. I had to scrape tooth and nail to pay bills to make sure my baby had a roof over his head. At least when Joy came into my life I wasn’t so alone anymore, and she helped with him.”

“I would’ve fucking helped too!” Draco shouted, his cool demeanor out the window as he picked up the glass from his desk that he’d been drinking from, and threw it at the wall to his right. As the glass shattered loudly, scratching the wall and staining it with remnants of his alcohol, he’d hoped that it’d dissipate some of his anger, but it fueled it on. “You didn’t give me the bloody chance to help! You just gave up. I would’ve been there every step of the way. If we’re good for one thing, it’s that Malfoy’s don’t abandon their responsibilities.”

Ginny had recoiled from his outburst, her heart beating rapidly in her throat after he threw the glass. She’d expected him to yell, but hadn’t expected a physical outburst. It wasn’t like him. He was always calm and collected physically when they used to fight. And they’d fought a lot… it usually turned physical, but in a different sort of way. She stared at him with wide eyes from brief shock, before snapping back into the foray, “That’s exactly my point. You can’t think as a Malfoy. You can’t see him as just a responsibility, Draco. He’s your son. Not a piece of property. Not something that you can just acknowledge at the dinner table until you send him off to Hogwarts like your father. It was you who chose to end it like you did! I was the last to know. You knew exactly what you would do, and don’t say you simply lost your way, or that there were other things at play. It’s bullshit.” She screamed the last word at him, spittle flying from her mouth, though she didn’t seem to care.

Draco stalked around the desk, eyes blazing with fury as he stomped towards Ginny. He didn’t really know what he was doing as his hands tightened around her upper arms, walked her backwards, and slammed her into the wall roughly, “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t ever mention my father.” He growled out, enunciating each word, shaking her furiously a few times as his eyes bore into hers. His grey eyes dark from his rage, her amber ones clouded with stubborn determination and a hint of fear as his hands tightened around her arms more.

“Let me go, Malfoy. Or I’ll take Silas and go somewhere far, far away and you’ll never even hear his name again.” Ginny growled, hands rising to press against his chest, nails digging into his flesh through the shirt he wore.

Draco seemed to snap out of his haze, and he let Ginny go slowly with a surprised and slack expression, “I…” He couldn’t find the words to explain his sudden outburst. He’d never been physically violent towards her unless she asked for rough sex. This was different. This was something ebbing away in the back of his head that he didn’t like.

“For your sake, Malfoy. I’m going to ignore the violence you’ve shown here tonight, seeing as I deserve it. But I swear to the Gods, you so much as swear at my son, I will castrate you so fast you won’t know what happened until you’re shopping for skirts, you got me?”

Draco closed his jaw, nodding without a word as he tried to not laugh at the absurdity that she was threatening, not to mention the absurd fact that he knew she wasn’t joking.

“We’re done here.” Ginny told him with a note of finality clear in her voice before she threw him a disgusted glare, and turned to the door. She walked out, slamming it behind her loudly with such force that the paintings on the wall shook, and the wizards and witches depicted yelled at her. She walked to the end of the hall where the Apparation point was, and immediately Apparated to her flat. She barely got her coat off before she was heading for her bathroom, violently retching into her toilet bowl, completely unaware of the pair of eyes that watched from the doorway, having just put Silas to bed.

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The last place she expected to find herself was outside a flat building. Yes, it was mighty lavish with its own doorman, and front desk clerks sitting in bright lighting with a smile permanently stuck to their face as they greeted the building patrons, but it wasn’t what she expected from a millionaire. She smiled kindly at the doorman when he opened the door for her with a curt nod of his head and tip of his hat, before she made her way to the elevators immediately. Once inside the contraption, she looked into her reflection and straightened her outfit, fluffed her hair, and trailed the side of her pinkie underneath her lip to smooth the line of her lip-gloss as she waited impatiently for the doors to open at the appropriate floor.

Once they did, she stepped out and immediately sought out the number that was scribbled on the sheet of paper in her hand. Turned out there were only four doors on the floor, so that was a lot easier. She walked to the second one on the right and knocked. It took a few minutes, and a few annoyed curses from her before the door opened. She took in the man’s disheveled appearance, and he toned bare torso. It took her a moment to collect herself and remember that she was here on business, and unfortunately not pleasure. “They’ll never get anywhere unless we help them, you know.” She stated, immediately getting to the point, eyes taking in his face to judge his reaction. It was the one she’d been hoping for as the sleep faded from his eyes and a conspiratorial smirk lifted the corner of his lips.

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The end… of this chapter, at least.

First things first. The line “It was you who chose to end it like you did! I was the last to know. You knew exactly what you would do, and don’t say you simply lost your way” NOT MINE. It’s from Kelly Clarkson’s new song Never Again. I’m listening to the remix that was leaked, on repeat right now, and I love it. I thought that line first appropriately well for that fight scene, which took a different turn than I wanted it to. I wanted it to be REALLY angry, but it only turned out moderately angry. I just can’t be angry today, because it’s my boyfriend’s birthday, so I’m a happy camper.

Thanks for all the well wishes, y’all! I truly appreciate them. And I also completely appreciate each and everyone that reviews like I said at the beginning of the chapter. I’m always so shocked to get positive feedback for things that I do (fan-fics, graphics, et cetera). I tried to make this longer for you, for that reason, and I got over 5,000 words, so hopefully that’s long enough for now. AND! BONUS! It didn’t take two months. Didn’t even take two weeks. Didn’t even take one week. Aren’t y’all happy? Hehe.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review please!

--- Ashley aka your fabulous author.

Wow… no killing the author. I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated. This has actually been sitting on my computer for a long time half done, but since I last updated, things became… hectic. My family was graced with the birth of two baby girls, Ava Grace who is going to be a year old on August 31^st, and Kaydence Elyse who is six months as of July 7^th. On unhappier notes, one of my best friends was murdered in April and my grandfather then passed away on Father’s Day. So it’s just been an up-and-down sort of year. I haven’t had much interest in Harry Potter for awhile, but I wanted to try and finish this story seeing as I left people hanging with Haunting Visions (indefinitely on hiatus) and I feel guilty.

Again, thank you all for your support on this. To clear something up real quick, it was Joy that was watching Ginny after she came back from meeting with Draco, and as you’ll find out in the opening scene, it was Joy and Blaise in the last scene, not some slag going to see Draco. And before I forget again, I just wanted to drop a note that Blaise is considered fanon in this story. I can’t help but imagine him any other way, I’m afraid. My current favorite fanon Blaise in my head are Steven Strait and Jamie Dornan. I lean more towards the latter when I think of Hogwarts!Blaise ‘cause then I think of him as Shia LaBeouf and they have similar tones and builds, so it’d be easy to imagine Shia shaping into Jamie.

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Blaise stared at the brunette with a vaguely interested look across his features, a smirk quirking his lips as he took in what she’d said. He opened the door wider, and swept his arm into his flat as a way of inviting her in, “I’m listening.”

Joy smiled bashfully as she stepped in, taking in the expensive décor before turning around to face Blaise with her mouth open, poised to explain her plan to him. That was when she fully noticed that he was wearing a pair of trousers that were unzipped and unbuttoned as if he’d pulled them on over his boxers as he rushed to answer the door. He however, hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt, and Joy became aware of this almost immediately after having briefly forgotten while looking around at the flat he lived in. She felt a blush creeping up her neck as she felt lust stirring in her. “Oh bloody hell, put your clothes on.” She said in a distressed tone as she rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

Blaise watched the way Joy acted, and couldn’t help but smirk. He walked slowly, purposely brushing against her as he past, a twinkle in his eye as he heard her intake of breath, smiling innocently as she gave him a sharp look. He held back a chuckle at her reactions to him. A part of him was relieved that she wasn’t throwing herself at his feet, or simpering around him. Sure, it was good for when he wanted a quick shag, but all the time was rather annoying. He headed into the bedroom, and pulled on the dress shirt that littered his floor; something he’d yanked off with little regard after another bloody event that he’d had to attend in Draco’s place that night. He’d come home hours ago with thoughts of blowing off work tomorrow and leaving a double load for his business partner, and sleeping the night and day away. But an hour into his sleep, and already he was being disturbed. Though, at least this time his disturbance was prettier than his last. Blaise rolled his eyes while buttoning his shirt, thinking about to his last disturbance in the form of his drunken business partner and best friend. The man certainly was going to need a lot of help. That brought him back to reality, trudging out to the living area where Joy was waiting with her arms crossed over her chest, looking at his flat with a bored expression as if she expected nothing less, or perhaps more.

Joy looked at him when he came back out, able to breathe again now that he’d covered up and was wearing clothes. She busied herself by straightening her clothes, and hiking her purse higher on her shoulder so that she wasn’t looking at Blaise while she spoke, but made sure to speak loud and clear, “Right. Well, sorry about intruding on you this late, but Ginny just came home in a right state, and I figured out from the slamming of doors and breaking glass that she’d came from a meeting with your partner. Now…” She trailed off with a surprised sound in the back of her throat when she finally dared to look up. Blaise was standing right in front of her, her eyes level with the base of his throat. Her eyes slid up his strong neck, past his brilliant smile, and into his sparkling eyes. She had a feeling he was enjoying her reaction to him. She suddenly felt the urge to stomp on his foot and leave in a huff.

“Please, sit down.” Blaise said as he tried to hide his smirk. Oh yes, he was definitely enjoying this. And he knew that she knew it. He placed his hand on the low of her back, felt her tense, but led her over to his plush couch, and helped (more like forced) her to sit. He sat next to her, his body facing hers as he leant against the back cushions of the couch with his arm relaxing along the back, behind Joy’s shoulders. “Now, what plan is formulating in your head that bestowed me with the pleasure of a beautiful woman dropping by my apartment at this inappropriate hour?” The suggestion behind his last words was unmistakable through his charming drawl.

Joy tried to bite back the smirk that threatened to cross her face as his blatant attempts to get into her pants. After all, she’d used them herself a few times in bars after a few drinks. To have them used on herself was… amusing. “Simple. You and I work together and have them happen upon each other on several occasions. By the time they realize we’re behind it, they’ll be ready to thank us for getting them to be one big happy family. After all, let’s face it; we’re the brains in each of our friendships.” Joy said, half jokingly as she allowed the smirk to quirk her lips finally.

As he smirked himself, he wouldn’t allow himself to admit to either of them that her deviousness and Slytherin-link smirk were positively delicious.

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One week after her impromptu visit to Blaise Zabini’s flat, Joy was still attempting to find the right time to get Draco and Ginny to “accidentally” bump into each other. The PR that Blaise and Draco were putting out for The Crossroads was definitely helping. They’d been incredibly busy during the day, and by the time they were done, Ginny always went home and saw Silas before going to bed. Joy in the meantime was working with Blaise to try and find the right moment. But it seemed that Draco was busy too, throwing himself into work (which Blaise claimed was a defense mechanism to avoid things that he didn’t want to face).

“Oh, for the love of the Gods.” Joy muttered to herself as she paced back and forth, wondering where the playboy million-galleonaire was that she was waiting for. Blaise was supposed to have come by floo at ten, right after she closed the restaurant, and it was currently quarter past eleven. She’d nearly slipped down the stairs in her rush to get up them to make sure she took the wards down in time, so that she didn’t end up with an ear hanging from the coat rack. He was over an hour late, with no note, or anything, and she was rather annoyed. “Oh, bugger it all.” She said, once again to herself, heading for her bedroom. She stripped out of her clothes, and walked unabashed to her bathroom, where she stepped into the shower, and turned the water on to lukewarm. She could never stand hot showers; they were too hot for her.

By the time she got out of the shower and looked at the clock, she’d spent half an hour in it. Smiling contentedly, she sighed as the tension from the long day left her body. She lazily got dressed into grey lightweight sweatpants and a white ribbed tank top. She sat down on her bed, and bent forward to pull on a pair of striped socks, and then pulled her hair into a messy bun. She pulled on a lightweight grey sheet-robe, and pulled it tightly around her. She sighed, tempted to jump into bed, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep even if she was exhausted. She walked forward to her mirror, and dragged her fingers along her eyes, wiping off remnants of mascara and eyeliner that creased on her eyelid. She looked down at her fingers and scowled at the black marks on her freshly cleaned skin. She shrugged and wiped her fingers on the butt of her robe, and walked out into the living room. Her mind was focused on getting to the kitchen and making herself a cup of hot chocolate.

“Cozy little place.” Joy literally jumped a foot in the air at the voice, wheeling around to spot the smirking face of Blaise sitting on her couch, feet crossed at the ankles while resting on her coffee table, his arms stretched around along the back of the couch.

“What in the bloody hell, Zabini?” Joy exclaimed, picking up a round pillow from the chair to her right, and threw it with exaggerate force at Blaise. He was laughing at her actions, and Joy glared at him, “You’re an arse, you know that?”

“Hey, we agreed to meet. You were in the shower when I got here. As much as I wanted to join you,” he paused deliberately to rake his eyes along her form in an obvious leer, “I really prefer my anatomy as it is.” He watched with amusement as a blush crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks with color. Before she could respond and possibly rearrange said anatomy anyways, he stood up, and walked towards her as she ducked her head, “Sunday Draco and I have this last minute meeting not far from the London Zoo.” If she’d looked up to face him, she would’ve noticed the sparkle in his eye that belied the lie, “Say around, two?”

Joy was still irate at the man before her, thinking of ways to disembowel him and get away with it, so she didn’t catch on to his topic as easily as she should have, “And what does that have to do with me, exactly?” She asked tightly as she walked away from him, going into the kitchen to put the kettle on. She was beginning to wonder how she ever found the infuriating Slytherin attractive. She was usually a firm believer that there was more to people than looks, and their personality enhanced how beautiful they actually are. But he was just a Hippogriff’s arse.

“There is no meeting. You once said that Silas enjoys that zoo. I figured you could convince Ginny that she should go with you and Silas to the zoo Sunday at two, and you’ll run into Draco and me.” Blaise said as he followed her into the kitchen, inhaling the scent left in the air from her body wash and shampoo. A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth as he watched her scramble around, gathering things for hot chocolate. He knew he irritated her greatly, so he was pleased to see she was unconsciously getting him a mug ready as well. He watched her carefully, trying to decipher her. She was all over the map, every time they met. She was shy and bumbling, or confident and outspoken, calling him on his bull. Right now she seemed to be attempting to ignore him, instead of impressing him. Another thing he wasn’t used to. Most women tried everything to get his attention. Here she was, dressed completely down but still managing an innocent sexiness about her, trying not to muck up hot chocolate… at least her mutterings claimed the latter. His eyes raked down her back, and felt his amusement heighten as well as his curiosity at the black streaks along the back of her robe.

Joy was highly aware that Blaise was watching her as she prepared two cups of hot chocolate. Yes, two. Somehow, she’d unthinkingly invited him to hot chocolate the second her hand curled around a second mug. She never meant to; she wanted him out of her flat as soon as possible. She was growing more uncomfortable with him there by the second. When she realized she hadn’t given him an answer to his plan, she twisted around to answer him, and let out a surprised squeak when she found herself a hairsbreadth away from him. She tried to regain her composure, wishing she had Ginny’s ability to steel herself from letting emotions onto her face and into her voice, as she responded, “That sounds like a great plan.” She mentally cursed herself for the way her voice wavered, and was lower than usual as she tried to change the thought-train in her head from devouring the Italian before her. She felt heat rising up her neck as she looked into his dark eyes, her heart jumping into her throat as she tried to read the brown depths.

He felt the surge of lust overcome him as he got closer to her. He didn’t know when he had, but right now questioning himself was the furthest thing that occupied his mind. She wasn’t like any of the other girls he’d been around; that had been established in his mind frequently. He didn’t know why he attempted to compare her to his conquests, it was uncharacteristic of him. But he found himself doing it regardless. All the girls he slept with were tall, thin, and gold diggers. Joy on the other hand was practically the exact opposite. She was on the short side, and had natural curves with weight added onto her frame that he could tell she was secretly fought with herself over whether it was a good or bad thing about her, and she didn’t seem to be into his money. She was definitely different. He was still at a loss as why he noticed these little things, when he hadn’t even kissed her, let alone slept with her. His eyes searched through her blue-green before sliding down to look at her lips. They were incredibly inviting, still slightly red and puckered from the heat of her shower. He took a step forward, his hips connecting with hers as he pushed her back against the counter, his hands clasping the edge of the counter in case she felt the sudden urge to flee.

“What’re you doing?” Joy asked quietly, staring up at him through slightly hooded eyes as she tried to figure out what game he was playing at. “You’re not getting into my knickers.” She said bluntly, refusing to be another notch on his bedpost. It was different when she was going out for a one-night stand with a guy. She usually didn’t see them afterwards, let alone plot getting together a family of stubborn idiots with them. She wasn’t going to just sleep with Zabini and that was that. She was better than that, and she knew it. Not to toot her own horn, or anything. Then again, her brain was saying one thing, and her body was willing to do whatever the dark haired Slytherin was ready to offer.

He couldn’t help but smirk at her words, his eyes never leaving her lips as she spoke, before responded, “Though I know you find me incredibly irresistible, that’s not my game here, Miss Davenport.”

“Then what is your game, Mister Zabini?” Joy asked, eyes narrowing slightly as she prepared to get laughed at or something equally Slytherin-like at his use of the word ‘game’.

He didn’t respond to her, knowing that regardless of any sort of answer he gave would most likely resort to a knee being pressed angrily into a rather sensitive region. He used his hips to pin her against the counter, bringing his hands to her wrists. He slowly dragged them up her arms, trying to imagine the feel of her flesh beneath his slightly calloused fingertips through her thin robe. When he got to her shoulders, both of his index fingers hooked underneath either side of her robe, and pushed it slowly down her arms, then he did feel her skin underneath his. He felt heat building in his abdomen as lust began to take over his senses. His eyes followed his hands as they made their way to her neck, caressing the soft skin before delving into her hair, his fingers pushing through the loose bun to disengage with tie that held it, and felt the softness of her wavy hair. He wasn’t sure if she felt it, but he felt like energy was crackling in the air around them as he wordlessly explored her softly with his hands. He yearned to kiss her, but something told him it was too soon for that as his hands cupped her head, thumbs stroking the skin of her jaw softly. He bent his head forward when she tilted hers back, and went for her neck, nuzzling the skin as he inhaled her scent of peaches and cinnamon. His lips never brushed her skin once as he lifted his head, nose trailing along her skin as he refused to move away from her more than he already had. He felt intoxicated as his eyes slid closed when his nose brushed hers, reveling in her sharp intake of breath over their pseudo intimacy. Their lips were just beginning to touch, his upper lip brushing the full of her lower one, when they both sprang apart in surprise as the tea kettle began to whine that it was ready to be taken off of the burner.

As Blaise jumped away from Joy, his eyes grew wide in surprise over the feelings that coursed through him. Stronger than anything he’d ever felt with another woman in a more intimate act than what he’d just shared with Joy. “I’m… going to go. Sunday at 2, the zoo. Bye.” And with that, he headed for the fireplace. He hoped for a second that she’d call out to him, or something, but when she didn’t, he threw the floo powder into the fireplace and left without another word.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Joy was still in such a daze over what had just happened. They hadn’t even kissed and yet she felt like she’d just had an all night snog-session, completely satisfied but wanting so much more at the same time. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down before hurrying to take the kettle off the hot burner to quiet it. After that was done, she replayed the scene in her head, and groaned, slapping herself on the forehead repeatedly as she stated, “Oh, bloody fuck.”

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“Hey sweetie.” Ginny said when her best friend walked into her flat the next morning, looking tired and haggard, like she hadn’t slept much. “You look like crap. What’s wrong?”

“Just a long night.” Joy said, her voice strained as she resisted the urge to explode about what happened with Blaise. But that would make Ginny suspect what she was about to say, “So, I was thinking on Sunday, seeing as they’re repaving the road in front of the restaurant, we might not have much business so we should just close down for the day and head out on the town. Maybe take Silas to the zoo. There’s an elephant exhibit a little after two that he’d love, I know because he hasn’t stopped babbling about it since he got back from the zoo with George and Lia last time.”

Ginny bit her lip as she thought over the idea. They could definitely use a day off, but closing the restaurant meant that regardless of what little they might do in business, there was still profit to be made… profit still greatly needed despite the business that the PR had done for them. But she knew that if Joy went to Silas, which she wouldn’t put past her, the little boy would scream and wail until she promised they’d go to the zoo. Maybe Joy was right… she did spoil Silas a bit too much. “That sounds like a great idea. I miss my little boy. By the time I get done here at night, he’s either already in bed, or Elle is just getting ready to put him down.”

“Great!” Joy said, enthusiasm suddenly overpowering her voice, “That’s perfect.” But then as she remembered the night before, and the fact that Blaise would be there, her voice declined considerably when she restated, “That’s perfect.”

“Are you okay?” Ginny asked, taking in her friend’s sudden change in demeanor. She looked a mixed between nervous, pained, and guilty… which after knowing Joy for so long, appropriately sent off warning bells in her brain. She watched through slightly narrowed eyes as the brunette picked at the hem of her shirt, leaning against the back of the couch. Ginny walked over to Joy, motherly instincts overtaking suspicious ones, as she ran her hand over the back of Joy’s dark locks, “Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong?” She cooed, empathy taking over her face regardless of what she was about to hear, which if it were the truth, she already had a feeling it wouldn’t be beneficial to her.

Joy looked up and the guilt squeezing her heart intensified by the look on Ginny’s face. In all honesty, of course she hoped her plan to get Ginny and Draco back together would work. But with them of all people, in the same room even, there was too much pride and stubbornness that could explode and completely backfire on them all. Including Silas. Even though she felt what she was doing was for everyone’s benefit, she also knew that there was a lot on the line; friendships, relationships, business dealings, and a little boy too innocent to know what was actually about to happen, yet he was the sole core of it all. Taking a deep breath, Joy mustered a small smile, “Nothing. Like I said, long night. Taking care of bills and order forms for the restaurant.” That was true… seeing as after scheming and nearly kissing Blaise Zabini in her kitchen, she wasn’t exactly able to sleep… without some really interesting dreams at least, that left her a hell of a lot more frustrated than what they had done in the kitchen.

“You sure?” Ginny asked, sensing there was a lot more to the story. Her instincts had become amazing once she became a mother. She suspected the Gods of various relations to mothering and children had instilled that ability in all women. Otherwise she had her mother, and rambunctious brothers, to thank for practice. Ginny banished those thoughts from her mind as she shifted to lean against the back of the couch next to Joy, and wrap her arm around the girl’s shoulders. She rested her temple against Joy’s, and emitted comfort and warmth for her best friend.

That guilt? Just multiplied tenfold. Joy resisted the urge to groan, and made sure she kept all signs of guilt wiped from her face. Joy took a deep breath and managed a tight smile, nodding her head quickly. “Positive.” Joy said, before standing up. Now was the perfect time for her escape before she blew everything to smithereens. She took a few steps away, before pausing. A beat passed before she turned back to Ginny and threw her arms around the surprised red-head. When she pulled back, she said, “You know that everything I do is just for you and Silas, right? I just want the best for the both of you. I would never set out to intentionally hurt either of you.”

Ginny felt something go off in her head at this statement. Actually, it’d gone off the second Joy had walked into the apartment. But she didn’t want to shrug away Joy’s sincerity and get in hot water with her best friend, business partner, babysitter, and sister practically. She nodded slowly, adding on a reassuring smile, “I know. One of the reasons I love you.”

Joy smiled sadly, feeling her heart grow heavy at Ginny’s words. She placed her hands on either side of Ginny’s face, grabbing her head softly to hold it in place as she leant forward and pressed a quick kiss to Ginny’s forehead. “Good. I’ll see you Sunday, if not before then.” Joy said, and quickly departed to leave a wary Ginevra behind her.

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Ginny waited outside the zoo entrance for Joy to show up. Her son was bouncing giddily next to her, shouting the word ‘zoo’ over and over again as he held on to his mother’s hand and looked up at her out of sheer excitement. Ginny smiled down at the little boy, amazed by just how much she loved him. She swept him up into her arms, and hugged him tightly. She was secretly worried that Draco would make good on his threat to take the little boy from her. She didn’t know how she’d survive if that were to happen. He was her life now. She was nothing without her son. “I love you,” she whispered into the little boy’s ear, though it probably fell on deaf ears as he was still bouncing as much as he could against his mother’s chest.

The red head turned as she heard hurried footsteps approaching her, putting Silas down on the ground but latching onto his hand. She smirked at the sight of a frazzled Joy running through the people crowding the street, her purse flopping all over the place and hitting random people. Ginny chuckled slightly, and turned her body so that Silas could get a look at Joy, “Look at your crazy Auntie.” She said in the voice that always got his attention, slightly breathless and higher in pitch. The little boy giggled, his arms stretching outward as his fingers flexed on his free hand towards Joy.

“Sorry I’m late. Couldn’t find anything to wear. Bloody cold.” Joy grumbled the last part as she fixed her black knit cap around her hair. She wore a black knee-length jacket as well, with black pants and boots, a red scarf, and a soft ivory sweater. In actuality, she’d spent a little more time than necessary on her appearance, because she’d known that Blaise would be showing up.

Ginny herself wore a bulky sweater and warm pants, a heating charm placed on her and her son to keep them warmer than necessary. She’d bundled up Silas though in enough layers to make him almost waddle around. The poor thing was rather small for his age, and made it all look rather comical as he ran around in circles, almost twirling as Ginny continued to hold his hand, screaming about elephants and the other animals in the zoo. “That’s okay, Joy. You can just explain to your nephew why he’s been standing outside the zoo for ten minutes unable to enter.” She teased lightly as Silas’s face lit up again at the word ‘zoo’.

“I’m really sorry!” Joy exclaimed in exaggeration, dropping into a squat to pull the little boy into her arms and hug him tightly, rocking back and forth jerkily while he laughed boisterously. When she released him, his cheeks were red from excitement, his teeth gleaming under the sunlight as he threw his head back in giggles. She grabbed his pudgy cheeks and brought his head forward, placing a loud kiss on his forehead. “Love you kid.” She said as she stood. She straightened her clothes and froze for a split second as her eyes befell the two people walking like beacons in the crowd. No one else had platinum blonde hair and a permanent scowl, nor devilishly handsome dark features like the duo headed straight for them. Draco Malfoy was completely unaware whereas Blaise Zabini winked openly at her. “Uh oh.” She muttered quietly, unable to help herself.

Ginny however heard, an ebbing feeling in her stomach telling her something was wrong. “What? What is it?” She asked, just as the object of her earlier fears broke through the crowd entering the zoo – Draco Malfoy in the flesh. Her stomach dropped and the blood drained from her face as she watched Draco’s eyes connect on Silas, then look up at her in geniune surprise.

Everything was silent for several minutes as grey stared into brown. She started though, when her son’s hand was suddenly missing from hers. She watched in shock as Silas jogged forward to Draco, his innocent face smiling up at his father. “Hello! I’m Silas!” He said as he stuck his hand towards the surprised blonde who’d gave him his eyes – his life. Ginny refused to admit that the scene warmed her heart. Especially when Draco softly took the boy’s much smaller hand in his and smiled down at him. Nope. She didn’t feel a thing. Because panic was swiftly starting to swallow her whole at the little moment between her son and his father.

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I’m rather partial to the scene with Joy and Blaise in the kitchen. That’s one of the original scenes from the initial first version of this chapter that made it through every rewrite. I had to keep it. ‘Cause when it plays out in my head, that scene’s HOT. And the whole zoo scene is something I’ve been planning since the beginning of the story, but never really intended for it to be this soon, but I didn’t really have anything else for this chapter. That’s why I ended it where I did and then next chapters will be filler flashbacks to show you more of how Ginny got where she is and then we’ll continue up from here. Also, I’ve already wrote the final chapter. I have no idea how many chapters are between this one and that one, but I wrote it ahead of time ‘cause I knew the route I wanted to take to the end, so I had to write it otherwise I’d never make it to that, and… I’d end up having Ginny fall in love with Blaise and go run off and join a three-ring circus with him and Silas. I rarely have actual direction for fics, so hopefully that final chapter will make sure I get a direction.

Now that I’m back into this, I have to admit… there’re ideas flowing for other stories already. Specifically a dark D/G one where Voldemort won – something done numerous times already but not in the way I’m thinking. Also, a possible Blaise/Joy sequel. Anyone interested in the latter? I’m still not 100% sure on putting them together, but if people like them, I will. I know there’s quite a bit of Joy in the chapter, and you may love her or hate her, but she’s key in D/G’s future! That’s why this chapter was necessary. So love her, haha.