A Life Worth Choosing

Chapter 3: An Unthinkable Product.

“Draco dear, what on Earth are you doing on the floor?” Narcissa asked, pulling her wand out to fix the table and the vase with a simple Reparo. Harry and Theodore moved forward to help Draco to his feet.

As Draco got to his feet, he looked around the crowd for the witch. He finally spotted her toward the back, shuffling the children into a room opposite the ballroom.

“Sorry, I tripped,” Draco spoke, his eyes still on Ginny.

“Malfoy, when did you get back?” Theodore asked excitedly.

“Just this morning.” Draco turned his attention back to his old school mate as Ginny disappeared into the room, after the children.

“Why didn't you join us for dinner?”

He looked to his mother who was eyeing him with that same eye she used to give him as a young child when he did something wrong. “Sorry, wasn't hungry,” Draco lied.

At that one moment, the whole room seemed to get over their shock at once as everyone burst into questions. Harry, noticing the overwhelming pressure on Draco's face, climbed a few steps up the staircase and addressed the crowd.

“Quiet everyone! You don't want to go scare him off so that he won't come back, now do you?” he said over the bustle of questions. The room went silent as everyone took to listen to the `Boy Who Lived'. “Just give Draco some time. I'm sure this is as much of a shock to him as it is to all of you. I know you have lots of questions-”

“Yea we have a question,” Fred and George both interrupted at once.

“Where have you been the last fifteen years?” Ron asked the question that everyone was burning to know.

Draco stood on trial in front of what seemed to him the entire wizarding population. He knew he had a lot of explaining to do, but he couldn't think of where to begin. The room had gone silent, waiting for his answer. Draco took a deep breath. “Texas,” he said calmly. “It's a state in America. I've been there most of this time. Before that I was on the run for a few months, Italy, France, Germany, before I took on a new identity.

“I cut myself off from the wizarding world, and changed my last name. I darkened my hair, and the sun darkened my skin slightly. I took on a Muggle life and have been living it ever since.

“Only in the last two or three years, have I been slowly starting to come back into the wizarding world. I was finally able to bring back my appearance and I started using the Malfoy name once again. It took me some time, but I'm finally ready to at least come back to visit.”

“Visit? You disappear for fifteen years and all you can do is come back to visit?” Ron questioned. “What, this life isn't good enough for you anymore?”

“Ron, that's enough!” an angered voice called from the back of the crowd. “He's been through enough, leave him alone,” Ginny growled at her brother as she reached the foot of the staircase where he stood.

“He's been through enough? What about you? Big deal, he lived like a Muggle. What about everything you've been through?”

“Ronald Weasley!” Mrs. Weasley stepped forward to address her youngest son. “This is nothing that concerns you. This is between your sister and Draco. Now everyone back into the ballroom for dessert and let these two be!”

The crowd quickly began to disburse back into the ballroom.

“Welcome back, mate.” Theodore shook Draco's hand, pulling him into a hug, before joining the march back into the other room.

Pansy ran up to Draco and threw her arms around him in a hug, squeezing him so tightly, he could barely breathe. “Draco Malfoy, you are the last wizard I ever thought I would see again.”

“Well, Pansy Weasley,” he lingered on her last name to get the reaction from her that he wanted. She obliged, blushing bright red and looking to the floor before turning back to her friend. “You were the last witch I would ever think of to marry a Weasley,” he smirked.

Pansy gave a large smile before throwing her arms around him once again. “I'm so happy you're back!”

“Come on, Pans. Molly will have our heads if we don't go in for dessert.” Harry pulled the witch away from Draco and led her down the hall back to the ballroom.

Draco and Ginny stood alone in silence for a moment before Ginny spoke, “We need to talk.”

Draco nodded in agreement. “Follow me.”

Draco led the way up the staircase, down a corridor, up two more sets of staircases, and down to the end of another hall. “I hope it's still here,” he said with his hand on the door knob.

He opened the door to an extraordinary room filled with flowers, trees, and a small stream. A white gazebo stood in the middle of the room, lit with pixie lights while fireflies and butterflies flew aimlessly around the room.

Draco followed Ginny into the gazebo where she took a seat on the bench, while he stood at the banister looking out at all the flowers. He turned back to the witch as he leaned backwards onto the railing.

“What was up with Weasel?” he asked. “I knew he of all people wouldn't be pleased to see me, but he seemed more occupied with the fact that I was just visiting than the fact that I was even here at all.”

Ginny walked over and leaned against the banister, looking out at the garden. “Her name's Kaeda.”

“Gin, please don't change the subject,” Draco pleaded.

“I'm not!” Ginny raised her voice. She took a deep breath to relax herself before continuing. “I'm not. The girl you keep asking about. Her name is Kaeda. The boy, her brother, his name is Draco.”

“You mean-”

“Yes Draco, I'm the crazy person who named him after you,” she said turning to face him.

“They're yours?” Draco asked trying to make sense of everything. “But then - who?”

Ginny shook her head and laughed. “You know, I used to think you were smart, Draco Malfoy,” she teased. “Think about it. Does he look like Harry or anyone else you know?”

“No, he looks-” Draco paused as reality finally hit him. “He looks like me,” he stuttered. “Two of them?”

“They're twins, Draco. They will be fifteen on the first.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I tried, but before I could you told me about how you had to go into hiding. I knew if I told you, you wouldn't go.”

“It would have been worth it,” Draco said, turning away back to the banister.

“No it wouldn't have. This all happened for the best,” Ginny placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You wanted me to leave?” Draco asked, sounding hurt.

“No, Draco. I wanted you to live.”

Draco went silent for a moment. Questions rushed to his brain and swirled around so fast he had trouble concentrating on just one. “How did your family take the news?”

“They were disappointed at first.”

“Because I'm a Malfoy.”

“Yes, but you must understand. Harry was the only other person who got to know you before you left.”

“How bad were their reactions?”

“Ron had the most problem with it all. In fact, he refused to use the name Draco, so he started calling him Junior and the name just stuck. He's mostly known as Junior around here, except for our mothers of course.”

“And my family?”

“The Order kept me hidden until after the twins were born, then we took turns hiding them. That way I was still able to do my part in the Order as a Healer and no one outside the Order knew about them. If your father found out- well- I don't even want to think about what he would have done.”

“You could have come to stay with me.”

“And risk being followed? They were watching me, Draco. I would have led them straight to you. Besides, the Order needed me,” she explained. “It wasn't until after your father fled that your mother found out. She came to Severus, asking for help. The Order sent her to where we were hiding the twins and a few others, and there was no way to hide it from her. Junior is a mirror image of you. She was so overwhelmed with them that she didn't care that I was their mother, and she accepted all three of us.

“After Lucius was captured and sent to Azkaban, all his possession were taken away and handed over to the next in line. Harry led us to believe you were dead, well until recently, so it skipped you and went to Junior. The house, the business, the money, everything. That's why we were able to move into the manor. I was a little apprehensive at first, but Narcissa ensured me that I was welcomed as much as Kaeda and Junior. The house was way too big for just the three of us, so we invited your mother and Severus to join us.”

Ginny turned to Draco for some kind of reaction, but he continued to stare down out at the many flowers of the garden.

“Aren't you going to say anything? You must have loads of questions,” Ginny pleaded to end the awkward silence.

“What do they know about me?” Draco asked, turning back to the witch.

“Every thing that your mother and I could possibly tell them. They know you were just as much of a hero as Harry was in the war.”

“I was no hero. I was sent to hide.”

“On orders. You did what you had to do to keep yourself alive. Without you, the Order would have lost for sure. Harry explained everything you've done. We are all proud of you.”

“Really?” Draco asked as a knock sounded at the door.

Two sets of grey eyes peered in through the opening of the door. “Grandmother Cissy thought we should come find you,” a soft voice entered the room.

“May we come in?” a low cold voice followed.

Ginny looked over to Draco. “Are you ready for this?”

Draco nodded without saying a word. Ginny went to escort the children into the room while Draco stood in the middle of the gazebo, fidgeting nervously with his shirt. He looked to both the children and started to tremble. As he saw the boy, his son, walk toward him, he couldn't help but think back to his own youth and how he had come to be where he was now.

“I, Draco A. Malfoy, solemnly swear to pledge my loyalty, honor, and respect to the Order of the Phoenix. As I set out to embark on this unspeakable mission I swear to conceal my loyalty of the Order from anyone other than Harry J. Potter and Ginevra M. Weasley. I swear to pass on any, and all information entrusted to me by Voldemort as well as his followers to either Harry J. Potter or Ginevra M. Weasley. I promise to obey any command given to me by the latter and to obey commands given by Voldemort only as is necessary to keep my identity concealed.”

“I, Harry J. Potter, solemnly swear to conceal Draco A. Malfoy's loyalties and mission from anyone other than myself or Ginevra M. Weasley. I promise to pass any and all information given to me by Draco A. Malfoy to the proper authorities. If for any reason Draco A. Malfoy in unable to continue with his mission or his life is threatened in anyway, I pledge to do anything in my power to ensure his safety.”

“I, Ginevra M. Weasley, solemnly swear to conceal Draco A. Malfoy's loyalties and mission from anyone other than myself or Harry J. Potter. I promise to pass any and all information given to me by Draco A. Malfoy to the proper authorities. If for any reason Draco A. Malfoy is injured in the line of duty, I understand that it is my position to see to his health and to provide him with the healing attention that is necessary.”

“If for any reason, Draco A. Malfoy, Harry J. Potter, or Ginevra M. Weasley fails to live up to their duties mentioned in this contract, they shall meet most unpleasant consequences set forth the remaining signatures.” The two wizards and witch signed the document binding them together in a magical contract.

It had been two weeks since Harry had found Draco in a horrible state of health and brought him to a Muggle Motel where he was nursed back to health by Ginny. Now that Draco was in full health, he was to live up to the agreement between him and Harry to become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Draco knew it to be a risky mission, but he was willing to do whatever it took to bring down the man who left him in such poor health not so long ago.

After Harry had left, Draco sat on the edge of the bed staring at the wall opposite of him. He was fidgeting slightly as he waited for the burning pain to rip through his arm as the Dark Lord called for his followers. He continually ran through his mission in his head.

He was to report back to Voldemort and reclaim his loyalties to the Dark Lord in hope to be reinstated as a Death Eater. Once a week, he would then meet with the Weasley witch in a secured location to discuss everything that had happened during that time. It was then Ginny's responsibility to report to Harry who would do what it took to bring down the Dark side.

It sounded simple, but deceiving the Dark Lord wasn't going to be easy. Only one man was ever capable of this, and Draco was not him. Fortunately for Draco, he had learned everything he knew from this man, his Godfather and professor, Severus Snape. What was unfortunate, was the fact that Draco couldn't even confide in this man to ask for help, for the contract had forbidden it.

“Nervous?” A soft voice broke his train of thought, as Ginny sat down beside him.

“A little,” he said without thinking. This wasn't the first time over the past two weeks that he had let something personal slip out in the conversation with this witch. Draco couldn't explain why, but for some reason, he felt like he could actually talk to her. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Ginny asked a little confused.

“For keeping me alive. You didn't have to heal me and I know you didn't want to, but you did it anyway and for that, thank you.”

“It was no big deal. I did it for the Order, remember. Now if you want to repay me for all the work I had to do, mixing potions, learning healing charms, keeping you from death, then just do your mission and get us some information that could end this war.”

The two sat in silence for the remaining time, until Draco let out a low hiss and grabbed for his arm. “This is it,” he grimaced. He grabbed his wand from the night stand and disappeared with a `pop'.

Ginny paced back and forth through the room, “Where is he?” she growled. “Argh! Does midnight mean anything to him? That slimy good for nothing Slytherin.”

“Not afraid I wouldn't show, are you?” a cold voice drawled from behind her, causing her to spin around with her wand out ready to attack.

“Oh, it's you,” she said relaxing.

“Not expecting someone else, now are you?”

“Does midnight mean anything to you?”

“Not particularly, why?” he smirked.

“It's two-thirty! You were supposed to be here two and a half hours ago.”

“Oh I'm sorry. I should've blown off the Dark Lord instead. I'm sorry, my Lord, but I can't raid the Ministry tonight. I have to meet with a Weasley so I could rat you out about all the bad things you are doing,” Draco teased. “Look, I'm here now, aren't I?”

“Let's just get this over with,” she growled. “I liked you better when you were sick,” she added to herself.

“What was that?” Draco asked, knowing exactly what she said, but wanting to hear it aloud.

“I said you're acting like a prick!” she lied.

“Thank you,” he smirked.

“Now what happened this week? You said something about a raid at the Ministry?”

“I was just fooling.”

“Then where were you?”

Draco looked the other way. He didn't really want to talk about it, but he knew the contract forced him to. “At a funeral,” he said quietly.

“Whose?”

“Goyle.” Draco turned away from Ginny and sat himself onto the bed.

“A funeral this late at night?” Ginny asked looking up from her parchment where she was keeping notes. “Are you all right?”

“I'm fine!” Draco growled.

Ginny walked over to Draco and took a seat beside him. Draco turned his head away from her as Ginny thought she saw a teardrop run down his cheek. She had known Draco for six years now, and had been his keeper for almost five months and had never seen him cry before. Without thinking about who was sitting beside her, Ginny placed her arm around his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

“Seventeen is too young to die,” he began. “It was the Order. They killed him. He's not even a Death Eater. This was the only time to get away to go see his grave,” Draco explained.

Draco looked towards the witch and his cold grey eyes met her chocolate ones. They stared in silence at each other, neither quite sure what was happening. Draco could feel gravity pulling him toward her, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't resist.

Ginny couldn't take her own eyes off of his. She herself began to feel the temptation to lean into him and couldn't fight it. Though only seconds passed, it felt like hours for the both of them as they slowly moved towards each other. They were barely touching when the jingle of the door knob turning forced them apart as the both jumped to opposite sides of the beds.

“Good, you're both still here,” Harry said, closing the door behind him.

“Junior, Kaeda, there's someone I'd love for you to meet,” Ginny said, steering the twins toward the gazebo with a hand on each of their shoulder.

“Hello,” Draco spoke quietly. “I'm-I'm- who exactly am I?” He looked to Ginny unsure of what to say.

“Father! You're him? You're really him?” Kaeda asked with a smile on her face.

Draco nodded as she threw her arms around Draco. Draco stood in shock a moment before wrapping his own arms around the girl.

“Uncle Harry was just telling us that he invited you to come for Christmas and you're here.”

“Yes I am,” Draco said, standing back with her hands in his. He took in her appearance for the first time. The grey eyes and long blonde hair reminded him distinctly of his mother, but the freckles and her smile was those of Ginny. “Wow, you are as beautiful as your mother.”

Kaeda smile grew larger and she blushed slightly. Her smile melted Draco's heart, giving him the courage to address the boy who stood back with his mother.

“You must be Junior,” he said holding out his hand which still shook slightly, for the boy to shake.

“Yes sir,” Junior answered stepping forward to shake Draco's hand then retreating back to his mother's side.

Draco gave him a good look as well. He was in fact, as Ginny had said, a mirror image of himself. His look, his charisma, his manners. His blond hair was cut long and angled his face. A few strands fell over his grey eyes. Looking closer, Draco now saw that he too had a few freckles. Who in the wizarding world would have ever thought they would ever see the product of a Malfoy and a Weasley, yet here in front of him now, stood two.

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