A Life Worth Choosing

Chapter 2: Dinner Guests

“I can't believe this,” Draco said as he paced back and forth through the bedchamber. “First she's hiding something from me, now she put us in a spare room meant for servants.”

“Draco.”

“I knew it was a bad idea to come here. I should've stayed away. I could have just sent her an owl or something for Christmas. Then she could have easily shunned me and we would have avoided all this.”

“Draco, we can leave if ya want,” Addison suggested, trying to calm him down. “Or stay somewhere else.”

“No!” Draco sneered at his wife. “This is my house, not hers. My father died making me Head of the Manor. I'm the head of the Malfoy family now, not Snape. They can't push me out of my own home.”

“Draco, dear.”

“She's hiding something from me. It's something big. I just know it is.”

“Draco!”

“What?” Draco shouted at her with frustration in his voice.

“Nothing,” Addison sighed, fearing to make him angrier.

“I'm going for a walk. I'll have some food brought up to you and Nate.”

Draco walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Draco wandered aimlessly up and down hallways. He soon lost track of exactly where he was until a familiar door came into view. Apprehensively, Draco approached the door. It was opened slightly, just enough for him to peek in. The room was dark, signaling that no occupants resided inside.

Cautiously, Draco opened the door just enough for him to slip in. The room lit up instantly as he stood in the middle of the room, gazing around. It was quite similar to how he remembered it. It was still decorated in the proud green and silver colors of Slytherin house, the large four poster bed was still positioned in between the two large window, and the autographed banner of the Bulgarian National Quidditch team hung on the wall above his desk.

Though the room was similar, it was no longer his. School books were now piled on top his desk including Ancient Runes and Divination, two classes he never took at Hogwarts. A pile of clothing lay on the floor just outside his dressing room, which was something he would never do for the fear of his mother's lectures about leaving his clothes lying around. The bed was unmade and there was a new banner hanging on the wall with the Chudley Cannons logo on it. A Quidditch team that Draco never fancied.

Something else that caught his eye were the photos that now lined a shelf. The photos were once of Draco's Slytherin friends from Hogwarts, but now they contained new faces: Faces that Draco had never seen before. One photo that caught his eye most was the only photo Draco could ever recall in his memory.

He took the photo from the shelf and stared at it. It was a photo of himself with a red-haired, freckle-faced witch, taken far too long ago. Draco smiled as he watched his younger self splashing water at the witch, who laughed ecstatically as she pulled the wizard into the stream with her.

“Why me?”

“Gin please, I need you to do this for me.”

“Come on Harry, anyone but him.”

“Gin, it's for the Order.”

“Why can't you do it?”

“You know I can't.”

Draco sat in the small dark room of the Muggle hotel, listening to the two Order members argue just outside the door in the adjacent room. Through the crack in the door, he was able to make out the silhouettes of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

“Look Gin, the Order needs you. I need you. You know I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important.”

“Fine. I'll do it. Where is he?”

“In there.”

“He's here?”

Ginny looked around the corner toward the door. Draco noticed her walking toward him. He threw himself back onto the bed and drew the covers over himself just as the door creaked open.

Ginny walked over to the bedside and looked down at the assumed asleep Draco. He had cuts and abrasions running down his face and his arms. His left eye was swollen halfway shut.

“Harry,” Ginny whispered. “He needs a Healer.”

“We can't risk calling on a Healer. He's wanted Gin. They will turn him in for the sheer joy of doing so, not just for the reward money.”

“He needs medical attention. We're not skilled enough to do so. I'm only fifteen!”

“It's nothing life threatening.”

“If it's untreated, it could become infected. An infection could give him a fever, and eventually it will become life threatening.”

“You're right. I'll have Hermione send you some Healer texts. I'm sure you can find some potions or charms that would be effective.”

“Harry.”

“Look Gin, I have to go. I'll see you back at the Burrow.” Harry gave the witch a small kiss on the cheek before walking out.

Ginny let out a frustrated growl before turning back to Draco. She gave him a quick look over before reaching for the strand of hair that fell out of place in an attempt to brush it from his eyes. Before making contact, Draco's eyes snapped open and his hand was wrapped around her small wrist. Ginny struggled to free her arm, but Draco held on. His cold grey eyes met her chocolate orbs. Ginny flinched slightly, breaking their eye contact. Draco finally released her.

Ginny grabbed her wrist as she walked away from the bed and sat in a chair across the room. Draco sat up on the edge of the bed and buried his face into his hands. He shook his head slightly before running his hands through his long blonde hair. He exhaled a deep breath before he looked up to the witch who sat quietly across the room, staring at the floor.

“I didn't hurt you, did I?” he asked softly.

“No- no just surprised me is all,” Ginny answered, refusing to look up.

“I know you don't trust me,” Draco called across the room. “I don't blame you, but you must understand, I am on your side. I'm not a Death Eater.”

“So I've heard.”

“You don't have to like me, but I will expect you to respect me as I will you.”

“That's understandable.”

“And I promise I won't hurt you, if you don't hurt me.”

“Is that a promise you can keep, Malfoy?” Ginny looked up for the first time.

“I'm sorry about that. It's just- being a Death Eater doesn't exactly allow you to sleep well at night. As long as you don't sneak up on me or startle me, then yes, I can keep that promise.”

“Fine,” Ginny stood up and walked towards Draco slowly. She kneeled down in front of him, “I just want to look at your injuries. The sooner I know what's wrong with you, the sooner we can heal you and you can start your mission. Ok?”

Draco nodded and allowed the witch to examine him thoroughly.

“Now, strip down to your knickers and lay down on your back,” Ginny instructed

“What!” exclaimed Draco.

“Trust me, I'm not going to seduce you, no matter how difficult it might be to resist,” Ginny said sarcastically. “But I need to get a full look at you to see what I need.”

Draco hesitated, but obeyed. As he laid on his back, Ginny picked up each arm to examine them both thoroughly. She then ran her hand across his bare chest and abdomen, feeling every cut, scratch, and bruise that painted his skin, causing Draco to let out a small shiver and a low hiss as she touch a particular sensitive bruise.

“Oh my,” Ginny whispered. “Some of your ribs are broken. What happened exactly?”

“I rather not talk about it,” Draco sneered.

Ginny left his abdomen and moved down to his legs. “Your legs look like they are in good condition, but I'm a little concerned about this swelling on your ankle. Does it hurt when you stand?”

“A little.”

Ginny ran her soft fingers over the swollen ankle causing a small whimper to escape Draco. “It's broken. Well I don't know any charms or have any potions at the moment, but Harry gave me this Muggle healing kit. We'll see what we can do to tide you over for now.”

It took just over an hour, but Ginny cleaned ever scrape, scratch, and cut with the Muggle antiseptic before covering each open wound with a gauze pads, and something Muggles called band-aids for the smaller cuts. Using a stretchy cloth found inside this kit, Ginny wrapped Draco's ankle tightly in order to keep him from moving it.

“Well that's about all that I can do for now. You're just going to need to lay there and try not to move or you could damage those broken ribs to the point where you are going to need to regrow them. I'll have some dinner brought up to you before I leave.”

“You're leaving?” Draco sat up so quickly that he fell back in pain, blacking out slightly.

“Don't move!” she said covering him back up with the blankets as he groaned in pain. “Yes, I'm leaving. What, do you expect me to just sit around and watch you sleep?”

“But what if-”

“Harry has taken every precaution to ensure that no one can find you. Now if you need anything important or you start to feel ill, just give this a squeeze,” Ginny handed him a Galleon. “One squeeze if you need something, two if it is an emergency. I have the other one in my pocket and it will get hot if you call for me. Understand?”

Draco nodded as he examined the coin.

“Remember to stay in bed, and don't move.”

“So I'm supposed to stay here, and stare at the ceiling all day?” Draco scowled.

“No, use this,” Ginny handed him a small rectangular thin box covered in buttons and odd symbols. “It's a remote. It controls the tele.”

“The what?”

“The tele. It's that big box over there. Miniature Muggles appear in the box and put on a sort of show or something. I really don't understand how it works, but I'm sure you can figure it out.”

Draco looked the remote over and pushed a bottom that read `on'. Both the witch and wizard jumped slightly as the television turned on. Two Muggles appeared on the box talking in some sort of Muggle store. Draco pushed several buttons which caused the Muggles on the screen to change into a large group of Muggle teenagers in some sort of transportation device.

“See, you figured it out already. Now I'm going to dinner at the Burrow, I will stop in before bed, then I'll be back in the morning, hopefully with some healing texts or some potions at the very least.”

Draco nodded and watched the witch disappear out the door.

Draco woke up sometime in the middle of the night, beads of sweat pouring down his face. He reached for the blanket to shield himself from the cold that overcame him. His vision was blurry and his head throbbed in pain. The room suddenly lit up with light, forcing Draco to close his eyes trying to evade the added pain that the light had caused.

He heard a voice and the shuffling of feet, but couldn't make it out. The springs of the beds creaked and lowered as someone sat down beside him. He felt the soft cool hand touch his cheek, and tilted his head back. A warm liquid began to run down his throat causing him to choke slightly, then everything went black as he drifted back to sleep.

Draco awoke the next morning to the sound of birds chirping just outside the window. The room was lit by the warm rays of the summer sun that poured in through the glass. Visions of the night before ran through his head as if it were only a dream. He cautiously shifted in the bed to try to avoid the pain that movement normally caused, but no pain came to him. He sat up in bed and looked at his arms and his chest. The cuts and bruises were still there, and covered by the dressing, but still no pain came to him.

As Draco reached to the night stand for a glass of water, he noticed the small bundle of blankets in the chair across the room. As he focused his eyes, he could make out small rising and falling pattern of the heap and the strands of fiery red hair that dangled down the side of the chair, just missing the floor.

Draco stood up slowly and limped his way across the room. As he approached, he found the small Weasley witch sleeping soundly under the large heap of blankets. A large book laid open in her lap with the title `A Healer's Touch'.

The witch twitched slightly before rolling over to her other side, causing the book to fall, bringing with it the bundle of blankets. Draco bent down and obtained the blankets. Carefully, he placed the blankets over the witch, trying unsuccessfully to not wake her.

“What are you doing out of bed?” she snapped at him no sooner than she opened her eyes.

“I'm fine, the pain's gone,” Draco admitted.

“No, you're not. I gave you a fever reducer and pain potion last night. Just because you can't feel anything doesn't mean you are healed.” Ginny got up from the chair and guided Draco back to his bed.

“I thought you weren't going to stay,” he smirked.

“I wasn't planning on it, but after seeing the state you were in last night, I felt it necessary. I'm going to have a field day trying to explain to my parents where I had gone to. Now, stay in bed while I go get us some breakfast then we'll see what I can do about your broken bones.”

Draco obeyed the witch once again as he watched her walk out of the room.

After a few moments of reminiscing, Draco began to wonder how many other rooms in the Mansion had changed. He thought for sure that his room would be the very last room his mother would allow to be occupied by someone other than Draco, but he was wrong.

With the photo still in hand, Draco began to wander down the corridor, peeking his head into every room he passed.

After checking nearly every room, he came to the conclusion that the entire wing had been transformed. What was once his parent's sleeping quarters was now a room like no other he had ever seen in his house. Everything was decorated in a scarlet red and gold tone. After noticing the large photo containing an extensive red-headed family, Draco postulated it to be the room of Ginny Weasley. The chambers adjacent to his old bed chambers appeared to belong to a female. It was decorated in all girly stuff, but to his surprise, his old school colors reigned over this room as well, with the exception of green not being the primary color, as silver now dominated the room.

The very last room was the parlor located at the far end of the hall. It had always been one of Draco's favorite rooms in the manor, for it had a balcony which overlooked the entire grounds of the manor including the stables and the gardens. He pushed the double doors opened expecting to find a similar parlor to the Family Parlor, only smaller and more quaint. It did indeed, however resemble the other parlor, though it was a touch cozier with more comfortable looking furniture and the green and silver colors were replaced with scarlet and gold.

Draco crossed the room and ventured out into the fresh wintry air of the balcony. He gazed around the grounds expecting changes, but it was just as he remembered it. The horses were penned up in the stables to keep warm from the bitter wind that howled through the willow tree. His mother's favorite garden containing the wild flowers were in full bloom as usual with the spell that his mother had the gardener perform each winter to trick the flowers into thinking it was spring all year long. The small pond was frozen over, with evidence of skate marks cutting into its glassy covering.

What was different about the grounds were the children that were running around. Some were throwing snowballs at each other, few gathered around a fire of bluebell flames trying to keep warm, while even more were sledding down the hill that sloped down towards the forest. Obviously they belonged to the important yet mysterious dinner guests that were attending the Manor this evening.

Draco watched the children intently trying to place their faces to ones he could recall from his past. What made it even more difficult was the fact that they were all bundled up in warm clothing including hats and scarfs.

“Recognize anyone?” a voice from the past called out from behind.

Draco turned around to see the Weasley witch standing in the doorway. She was bundled up in a warm cloak and a Gryffindor scarf. Her hands were gloved, and she was obviously planning to be out in the winter air, unlike Draco who shivered slightly as he stood there in only a sweater, a pair of blue jeans and slippers.

He stood there momentarily unsure of what to say. Noticing this, she continued.

“I'm sorry I just took off this morning. I wasn't expecting to see you.”

“I know. I wasn't expecting to see you either, at least not here in the Manor,” Draco finally spoke.

“Here,” she said reaching into her pockets. “You look like you could use these,” she pulled out a pair of green gloves, and a matching scarf.

“Thank you.”

Ginny joined him at the banister and began to introduce everyone to Draco, who just relaxed and let her talk. He enjoyed hearing her soft voice echo through his ears once again.

“Those two over there making all the snowballs, they are Fred's son Holden and George's son Lyndon. They are joined at the hips just like the twins. They are ten years old and were born a few days apart. Almost identical, except for the fact that Holden has blue eyes while Lyndon's are brown. Fred and George married a set of Muggle twins: Layla and Kayla. My brothers wanted to name them Gred and Forge. Luckily their wives refused. Fred also has a five year old, that one over there by the snowman. His name's Perry. George and Layla are expecting twins in May.

“The other two children with Perry are Travis and Trevor. They are Charlie's seven year old twins. His wife passed away about two years ago. You wouldn't know her. Her name was Madlaina. Charlie met her while working in Romania. It's been a little tough on him, raising them by himself, but he has plenty of help from us. He teaches at Hogwarts now as the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Professor McGonagall had a cabin built on the edge of the Forbidden Forrest for him and the twins to live in.

“Bill and Fleur's oldest, Marcel, you may remember. I showed you that picture when he was just a few days old. He's the one chasing the two younger children away from the fire. Those are his twin brothers Grenier and Michon. They are three. They also have another son, Aimon, who's twelve and I believe he is inside studying. He didn't do so well on his mid-reports.

“Percy's son, PJ, Percy Junior, is the one sitting on top of the hill watching the others sliding. He is fourteen. You may remember his mother, Penelope Clearwater. Percy was killed during one of the battles, fighting for the Ministry.”

“I'm sorry,” Draco whispered.

“It's all right. Penelope is still one of the family, however. The children sliding down the hill are Ron's twins, Aiden is the boy and Jacey the girl. They are eleven. Their mother you should remember, Katie Bell. She was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Well, they're divorced now. See that little one, running up the hill, that's Ron's four year old, Violet. Her mother you will defiantly remember. Pansy Parkinson.”

“Pansy married a Weasley? I'm shocked,” Draco spoke at this most unbelievable news.

“Not as shocked as we were, but then again he's not the first Weasley to cross paths with a Slytherin,” Ginny laughed.

“So your family is the important people that are attending my mother's dinner party tonight?”

“Yes. My mother as well as Harry, Hermione, Luna Lovegood and her family.”

“Your father?”

“It was the last battle. A few moments before You-Know-Who went down.”

“Gin, I'm so-”

“Don't be. It's been years. We lost plenty of people, including Neville, Moody, Hagrid, and a few Hogwarts' professors, just to name a few. We've had time to heal,” Ginny sniffed slightly before turning her attention back to the herd of young Weasleys. “That little girl that Violet is now talking to is Lily, Harry's youngest. She will be five soon.”

“Wait, Harry's youngest? I figured that-”

“That Harry and I were married?” Ginny asked knowing exactly what he meant. “Everyone thought we would, but things changed. He married Hermione Granger. They also have two sons. The one sitting under the willow tree, reading the book, that's James. He's eleven. Then there is Avery. He is the one standing the closet to the fire. He's seventeen.”

“Seventeen?”

“Harry adopted him. His real parents died during the war. Harry found him as a baby and decided to keep him. Didn't Harry mention any of this to you?”

“We never spoke of our personal lives. It was part of our agreement.”

“Well, then, you have plenty of catching up to do. Theodore will be happy to see you.”

“Theodore? Nott? But I thought he was-”

“A Death Eater? Yes, we thought so too. Apparently you two have a lot in common. You were working with Harry while he was working with Ron. He's married to Luna. They have a little girl, she's inside, only two. Her name is Tallulah.”

“What about the other two that are sitting around the fire?” Draco asked noticing the boy he had seen earlier as well as a blonde haired girl.

Ginny went quiet for a moment as she watched the children.

“I know for the fact that the boy is definitely a relative, but I can't think of any other living Malfoys. Then Addison said- I mean the girl said to- well she said that she was Draco's brother, but Mother dismissed the idea of me having a sister. I am the only one in Wizarding Britain named Draco so who would be crazy enough to name their kid after me?” Draco ranted as he stared at the two. Ginny laughed slightly as she continued to stare ahead towards the horizon. Her face flushed pink at his last remark.

“I better go help with dinner,” she said suddenly before turning away.

“Ginny, wait,” Draco grabbed her arm to stop her. “Why is it so hard to get a straight answer about who they are?”

Ginny looked at Draco for a moment, and for the first time she noticed the photo in his hand. She took the photo from him and examined it.

“I remember the day this photo was taken.” She smiled.

“I remember that day as if it were just yesterday. You owled me saying that you were going to be at the Burrow and that you needed to see me about some Order business. After you assured me that your brothers weren't home, I met you in the garden. We walked down to the stream where we sat and talked all day. I do believe it was the first time I kissed you.”

“You mean the first time I kissed you,” Ginny corrected him.

“What did you expect me to do? You were with Harry.”

“Was with Harry. He broke it off before we left school for the summer.”

“How was I supposed to know that? You two always seemed- close. ”

“Well, I needed some kind of cover for us,” Ginny smiled.

“Yea.” Draco smiled back. “All these years, and still none the wiser.”

“Not exactly.” Ginny paused for a moment as she looked to Draco who was leaning with his back against the banister.

“Your family found out?”

“Something happened, Draco.”

“They didn't do anything to you because of me did they? Or my Father. He didn't- is that why you are here? He made you a servant didn't he? Bound you to the house like some elf?”

“Draco.”

“I've seen him do it before. And now that's he's gone you're still stuck here, aren't you?”

“Draco,” Ginny sighed.

“Is that it? Gin?” Draco said, standing up.

“Gin- dinner's ready,” Harry interupted peeking his head out the door.

“I'll talk to you later.” Ginny smiled at Draco before walking past Harry.

“Gin!” Draco called after her, but gave up as she disappeared out the door.

“Draco!” Harry said walking out onto the balcony. “You're back?”

“Hello Harry, you all right?”

“Great and you?”

“Not so sure at the moment.” Draco walked back into the parlor and looked around, until he noticed a photo on the wall of Ginny and the two unidentified children. “Who are they?”

“I-um- dinner's ready,” Harry stuttered, trying to escape Draco's questioning.

“Harry!”

“I can't- I'm sorry Draco. I just can't tell you. It's good to see you again, and I hope you will stay for a little while anyway.”

Draco nodded and watched as Harry walked out of the room.

Draco began to pace and forth again, going over the day in his mind. Everything that had happened, everyone he had seen, and the little conversations he had had. Curiosity had gotten the better of him and he soon found himself wandering down the grand staircase toward the dining room.

To his surprise, the dining room was empty. Following the sounds of talk and laughter, Draco found himself standing outside the doors of the ballroom. He glanced into the small crack of the door to see two long tables filled with people all talking merrily with one another.

Draco couldn't believe the amount of red hair he saw. It seemed that every child in the Weasley clan had inherited the fiery strands. All except for the small child that sat between Ron and Pansy, whose hair was long and as dark as her mothers.

Sitting at the end of the nearest table, close to the door was Severus, Narcissa, Harry, Hermione and their children. Ginny, her mother, and the two blonde haired children sat opposite of them.

“Uncle Harry,” the blonde witch spoke. “Have you heard from Father lately?”

Ginny looked up from her food as did Harry and their eyes met briefly. “Well, I sent him an owl a few weeks ago, but he has yet to respond,” Harry answered. “I was hoping he would join us for Christmas, but it seems he has other plans. So Kaeda, your mother tells me you made the Quidditch team this year,” Harry addressed the blonde witch.

“Yes. I'm the new Seeker.”

“Very talented I must say,” Avery, Harry's oldest, added.

“Well Ave is an excellent captain,” she smiled at the wizard across the table. “Gryffindors are ahead at the moment, but after we crush Hufflepuff in the next match, there is no doubt that we should take the House Cup.

“You wish! With Marcel as Hufflepuff Captain this year, we are taking the cup,” a red-haired boy sitting next to Bill called from the second table.

“There won't be any Quidditch for you, Aimon, if you don't get your marks up,” Molly Weasley said to the little boy.

“Junior, why didn't you try out for the team?” Severus asked the blonde boy. “Both your parents were excellent players.”

“Quidditch isn't my thing,” the boy said quietly.

“Junior has been helping me out with my classes,” Hermione said. “He's very skilled at Ancient Runes. I've already moved him ahead to the six year level.”

“Well, that summer I spent with Uncle Bill and Marcel in Egypt helped a lot.”

“Mummy, we're finished, can Lyndon and I go play in the playroom?” a small boy asked a brown haired woman who sat next to one of the twin Weasley bothers.

“Only if one of the older kids goes as well,” she answered.

“I'll go, Aunt Kayla,” a boy with red hair and glasses offered.

“Thank you, PJ,” she smiled as the boy stood up from his place and walked toward the door.

Draco ran away from the door and headed for the foyer. As he rounded the corner to start up the stairs, he tripped over a side table, causing an ancient vase to smash against the cold marble flooring.

Draco struggled to get to his feet as he heard several chairs scraping across the ballroom floor and feet shuffling out into the hallway, but was held down as his pant leg caught on the table. His presence was met with a chorus of gasps as the Manor's guests filed into the hall.

“Malfoy!” Ron was the first to speak.

Draco looked up sheepishly to meet the many eyes staring down at him and said the first thing that came to his mind, “Happy Christmas.”

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