Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
An: Sequel to "Letters" and "It's the start of a new life". DG. This story answers what happened to Ginny and Neville.
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Ginny was in the kitchen of her one bedroom apartment in downtown London preparing dinner when she heard a knock at the door. Ginny cast a quick eye on the pot and decided she could leave it for a few minutes while she attended to the person at the door. She made her way quickly through the small flat and answered the door. She was surprised to see him visiting her.
"Charlie, what are you doing here?" Ginny asked in shock.
"Can't I come to visit my baby sister?" Charlie asked innocently.
Ginny frowned at him.
"Look Gin, I know things between you and the rest of the family have been a bit tense but can we at least talk." Charlie pleaded.
"Tense is a very light way of putting it." Ginny stated coldly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Daddy, daddy, daddy" said a little girl with long platinum blonde hair that had a slightly reddish tinge. She came running out of the bedroom in hopes that her father was home.
"No honey, daddy isn't home yet," Ginny said reaching down to pick up her daughter.
"Who are you?" her daughter asked curiously.
"I'm your Uncle Charlie," he said to the little girl.
"I don't have any uncles," the little girl replied innocently.
Charlie frowned. Ginny shifted uncomfortably.
"We need to talk Ginny." Charlie said sternly.
Ginny put her daughter down. "Saki, go play in the bedroom, Mommy has to talk to this man at the door ok." Her daughter agreed and happily ran off towards the bedroom.
Ginny opened the door wider and Charlie walked into the cramped apartment.
"A bit small," He commented as he followed Ginny inside the apartment and took a seat on a small sofa in the living room. Ginny pulled up a chair from the kitchen and sat opposite to him.
"The Ministry refuses to let Draco access his family's money." Ginny said stating a well known fact.
"Ginny, you know the Ministry froze the Malfoy's assets for a very good reason." Charlie stated.
"But the money was in the family before they supported Voldemort. They didn't get it from helping Voldemort. The Malfoy heirs should be allowed to use their money." Ginny said defiantly.
"I understand but from the point of view of the Ministry, the seizure is a result from being involved with Voldemort." Charlie reminded her.
"It's not fair. Saki is entitled to it and she has no knowledge of Voldemort." Ginny stated.
"Ginny, if you came back home we could help you." Charlie said
"I'm not leaving Draco if that's what you came here to ask me to do." Ginny said defiantly.
"No I came here about other matters. Ron's back." Charlie said.
"He is?" Ginny said in astonishment.
"Yes, he proposed to Hermione." Charlie said with slight amusement.
"Why on earth would he do that? How did he take the news?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Not good. He's disappeared. Luna's looking for him today. He hasn't come by to see mom yet." Charlie told her.
"Does he know about me?" Ginny asked fearfully. She hated to disappoint Ron.
"No but he will eventually. There's something else we need to discuss." Charlie said handing her a plain white envelope.
Ginny took the envelope. It was addressed to Ginny Weasley and Draco and Saki Malfoy. She opened it and found a wedding invitation to Harry's wedding.
"I'm not going." Ginny stated angrily.
"Ginny, they want you to come." Charlie pleaded.
"Then why didn't they deliver it themselves?" Ginny asked.
"Hermione was going to come but I volunteered to come instead. I wanted to see you. Harry said he would like you to cover his wedding for Witch Weekly. You're the only one they are willing to let do an article on them. It will be completely exclusive."
"I'm not some charity case." Ginny stated as she crossed her arms in front her chest.
"I never said that. They're just more comfortable with a friend than a stranger. Think about it Ginny. After the war finished, you were one of the first to chastise The Prophet for their hounding of Harry." Charlie said as he stood up.
He started walking to the door and stopped to glance into the open bedroom.
"She should get to know her uncles. I'm sure she would adore Fred and George." Charlie said sadly.
Ginny got up from her small chair and followed Charlie to the door.
"Think about it Ginny. It would be nice to see you at the family gatherings again." He said sincerely.
"It wasn't my decision. Mom made it clear, either I left Draco and stayed home or I stayed with Draco and never came back." Ginny reminded him.
"Mom was upset about Neville. She didn't mean it. She wants this standoff between you two to end." Charlie informed her.
"How do you think I felt? I didn't want Neville to die either. It was an accident; he slipped. He should never have tried to go after Draco." Ginny said.
"Ginny, it's in the past. Just think about it." Charlie said before he left.
Ginny closed the door behind Charlie and leant against it. Her thoughts were racing and she felt very anxious. She smelt a smoky smell and realised that dinner was burning. She rushed back into the kitchen to find her chicken completely burnt. She turned off the fire and tried to get rid of the smoke. The last thing she needed was to set off the fire alarm. She opened a window and let the cool air flow in. She picked up a plate and was trying to use it as a fan to push the smoke out of the window. Once she was finished Ginny realised she would have to get take out.
They were on a tight budget and Draco wouldn't be too happy with her. Her job at Witch Weekly mostly paid for the lawyer that they had hired to contest the Ministry's decision about the Malfoy fortune. Fortunately, what little bit was left after that converted into enough muggle money to pay the rent.
Draco couldn't get a legal job in the Wizarding world since his family had been branded as death eaters and he was forced to look for one in the muggle world. Draco was forced to suck in his pride and he took a job as a waiter at an expensive muggle restaurant. Ginny knew the only reason he did it was for Saki. He wanted her to be happy. His tips and meagre salary were used to pay bills, buy food and other necessities.
Ginny's job allowed her to work from home and as a result she was able to stay home and take care of Saki. Draco however, worked long shifts and regularly came home exhausted. She knew they barely broke even every month and it was frustrating for Draco. This wasn't the type of life he was accustomed to and it hurt her to see him being tormented like this.
Ginny quickly dressed Saki and soon they were walking the streets of London. She took her for a walk in Hyde Park and then they went to the cheapest Chineese food store she could find. Soon they were back in their apartment and she found Draco fast asleep on the couch. He had worked the lunch shift that day and would go back in an hour for the dinner rush.
"Daddy" Saki screamed as she ran to her father.
Draco sprang awake in time to see a small bundle of platinum blonde hair being thrown at him. Draco smiled and wrapped his arms around his little girl. "How's Daddy's girl"
"I went to the park with mummy" the little girl beamed at her father.
"I hope you bundled up tight, it's a bit cold outside. I don't want my number one girl getting a cold now." He said as he tickled his daughter.
"Number one girl?" Ginny questioned as she watched her daughter squealing in delight as her father tickled her senseless.
"Oh don't be jealous love, there is enough of me to go around." Draco said smugly.
Ginny laughed. It was times like these that reminded her why she chose to stay with Draco.
"I'll lay the table." Ginny said as she took the few steps that lead from the small living area to the kitchen.
In a matter of time they were seated at the table and Draco was helping Saki put on her bib. They ate quickly and Draco went to play with Saki while Ginny washed up. Some time later, a freshly dressed Draco entered the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table.
"I see Potter came by." Draco said casually to Ginny.
Ginny froze. She had forgotten to move the invitation from the chair she had left it on. Draco must have opened it and read it.
"Actually, Charlie stopped by." Ginny said as she dried the last dish and put it away.
"Oh what did he want?" Draco asked while idly examining the table.
"He came to tell me Ron is back." Ginny said as she took a seat opposite Draco at the table.
"Oh." Draco said as he looked up at Ginny.
"You might find this hilarious. He proposed to Hermione." Ginny said with a slight smile.
"He did what? " Draco asked in shock.
"I don't know what he was thinking." Ginny said matter of factly.
"Thankfully, I'm not as daft as him and I know what I want." Draco said as he winked across the table at her.
Ginny felt a slight blush creep up her face. The truth was that after having Saki, Ginny's figure wasn't what it used to be. She didn't have time to take care of herself anymore and she honestly thought her appearance must be repulsive to Draco.
He reached across the table and held Ginny's hand. "Ginny, do you think I would go through all of this if I didn't want to be with you and Saki. I could have easily followed in my father's footsteps. Who would have ever thought that Draco Malfoy would be living in a one bedroom flat in the muggle world? You know Potter taught me one thing: The most important thing in life is to be with the ones you love." Draco said sincerely.
"When did you become so sweet," Ginny said softly.
"I'm the Slytherin God, of course I can be sweet." Draco boasted proudly.
Ginny laughed. There was so much to Draco's personality that he had never shown at Hogwarts. If only her family had …..
"Draco" Ginny said softly.
"Yes." He replied.
"Can we give my family another chance?" Ginny asked
Draco tensed. He knew how much she loved her family and his greatest fear was that she and Saki would leave him.
"We could test out the waters. Charlie said that Harry wanted me to cover his wedding. He knows I would do it justice and not blow it out of proportion like other reporters." Ginny said carefully.
"Ginny " Draco sighed.
"Draco, I know it can work. I saw the look on Charlie's face when he saw Saki. He wanted to be in her life." Ginny pleaded.
"Your mother made it quite clear she wanted nothing to do with me." Draco reminded her tersely.
"Things have changed. I think she has accepted that you are an important part of my life now." Ginny said
"Your mom wanted you to be with Neville." Draco said sadly.
"That wasn't going to happen." Ginny insisted firmly.
"Even if Saki was in fact Neville's child; would you still have left him and come with me?" Draco asked.
"Draco you know I can't answer that. Things were complicated. I've made mistakes. I was with Neville but I was seeing you behind his back. I think ultimately I would have ended up with you. I did feel sad when Neville died. I never wanted him to find out the way he did." Ginny said as water started to gather in her eyes.
"You could have prepared him for the fact that Saki may not have been his." Draco said
"I was so afraid to tell him. I knew if I told him earlier we could have avoided what happened in the hospital. I never expected him to attack you like that." Ginny said tearfully.
"Ginny, he was under the impression for nine months that Saki was his, of course he was upset; granted I never thought Neville capable of that level of violence either but he should have known about us." Draco said as he carefully reached out and brushed Ginny's tears away.
Ginny held on to Draco's hand and he pulled her around the table and into his lap.
"It's in the past. All that matters now is us." Draco whispered soothingly into Ginny's ear.
Ginny nodded and buried her face in Draco's neck as the tears continued to flow. Draco stroked Ginny's back soothingly and carefully thought about Ginny's request. He hated to refuse her but at the same time he didn't want to risk losing her. A co-worker of his had recently made the jump from waiter to manager at another restaurant. He had told Draco that some risks were worth it in the long run. Was this a risk that would be worth it for him? He made his decision.
"Do you and Saki have any dresses that you could wear on Saturday or do I need to work a couple extra shifts?" Draco asked as he continued to stroke her back.
"Are you sure about this?" Ginny asked Draco hopefully as she lifted her head from his neck to look him straight in his eyes.
"I'm sure. You need your family and your friends and if your family is offering a truce I'm willing to take it." Draco said as he looked at Ginny's brown eyes.
Ginny leaned forward and kissed Draco deeply before he broke the kiss.
"No distractions Ginny. I need to get to work. I'll be out most of the week now." Draco said reluctantly as he removed Ginny from his lap. Ginny pouted.
"Maybe tonight love. I'll go kiss Saki goodbye and I'll see you later." Draco said with a sexy smirk.
In a matter of seconds he was back to say goodbye to her.
"I ruined your shirt." Ginny said pointing to the tear marks she left on his crisp white shirt.
Draco smiled. "I'm not a wizard for nothing" he said as he pulled out his wand and removed the stains.
Ginny stared out of the window. Maybe her life was turning around. Maybe Ron coming back was a sign that things were going to get better. By now Ron must have learnt about all that happened during his "long journey" as he like to put it in his letters. She never told him about Neville's death. She had told him that they were dating but she never told him that she had fallen in love with Draco, at the same time she was dating Neville. She didn't have the strength to break Neville's heart so she tried to make him not love her. But then she got pregnant and she didn't know who the father was.
It was such a surprise to everyone when Saki was born with a slight wisp of platinum blonde hair. Neville was questioning her about it when Draco came to visit her at St. Mungos. Draco had heard that she went into labour and rushed to the hospital. He was late for the delivery but he arrived just in time to answer Neville's question.
Neville realised that the late nights Ginny had claimed she spent working were really spent with Malfoy. He had thought that she was cheating on him but he never suspected that it was Malfoy. Neville felt so embarrassed and humiliated that he flew into a blind rage. He started throwing curses at Draco in the hospital room. Draco had enough sense to leave the room and move the spell fire away from her and Saki. Draco tried to get outside to face Neville away from St. Mungos but they never got that far. Neville tripped and fell on the stairs and broke his neck. It was such a shock to everyone. Neville's grandmother didn't allow her to attend the funeral.
Her family was furious with her for the way she treated Neville and her mother refused to accept Draco as a son-in-law. Ginny chose to stay with Draco and raise Saki together. She honestly didn't regret the decision. She didn't want Saki growing up without her father. Mr. Weasley was a huge influence on her and she couldn't imagine not having him in her life. Besides, Draco was a better person because of Saki.
Ginny pulled out a piece of parchment and started writing a note to Harry and Hermione indicating that she would do the article and that they should meet tomorrow to discuss the event. Ginny then decided to write a note to her mother. If there was going to be a truce it would be on her terms and Ginny started laying them out. When she was finished, she bundled Saki up and took her to Daigon Alley to send off the letters via owl.
Saki loved Daigon alley but Ginny was afraid that her daughter would be mistreated because of the Malfoy name and she decided it was best to keep her away until things changed a bit. Maybe there was hope now. Maybe, somewhere, Neville had forgiven her and her torment was about to end. Either way, she only hoped for a better future for her daughter. She realised that she was going to have to prepare Saki for the wedding. There was so much she had to explain to her and Ginny decided that the easiest way, might be to start with Uncle Charlie.
"Saki," Ginny said to her daughter.
"Yes mummy," her baby girl replied.
"Let me tell you about Uncle Charlie,"
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