They were one in the same. They were both thrown into situations that they had no control over. His father was evil, feeding him loathsome ideas at a young age. She was possessed by a creature just as wicked, because of his father. They had been put together in a dreary house, and were made to pass the time in the best of ways.
Ginny kept making these connections. She kept drawing the lines that put them together. If they hadn't met at Hogwarts they met at Grimmauld, and if they hadn't met at Grimmauld they would have met in Diagon Alley. There was no avoiding what fate had done to them.
She sniffled when she thought of the life without his pretentious thoughts, and snide remarks. That life was boring. It was the life of lying in bed utterly still while another man threw his arm over her and cuddled against her. Harry hadn't even noticed that she became stiff against him, tense because she was uncomfortable. She would have mechanical sex with him, moaning when she knew he wanted to hear it, and yawning when she knew he couldn't see. Without the blond in her life, it wasn't worth living.
Her couch was the same. It wasn't her couch, though; it was Harry's. He had picked it out when they first moved into the house. She wanted this divine settee with oak wood armrests and fine beige material. He had wanted a piece of furniture that could have been found in the Burrow. It was old looking, although it was new. Mainly brown with other colors knitted into it. It was comfortable, if you liked sitting quite close to the floor.
Ginny bounded from the piece of furniture that symbolized her relationship with Harry exactly. It was comfortable if you wanted to settle for less. While she wanted the beautiful work of art that would have brightened the whole house, even if it would dampen her spirits when she thought of where else the money could have been spent.
She settled with sitting on the ground, leaning against the ottoman in front of another Burrow worthy chair. The thoughts running through her mind wouldn't stop coming. She had a decision to make that would change her life, and she wouldn't be able to protect herself from hurt anymore. There was the choice to stay where she was, sitting alone in a house that had been shared with a man that was more like an ignorant brother. On the other hand, she could leave and move in with Draco, and face the chance of being left because she couldn't bear a child for him.
Thinking about all of the consequences was making her nauseous. Every time in her life that she felt that everything was about to change her stomach got rebellious. She got up, and ran to the loo in time to spill the lunch she had eaten. Standing up on shaky legs she approached the sink, and splashed cool water on her face. Looking up into the mirror she found her reflection staring back at her, asking her what she was going to do with her life. She was her main critic.
Walking back out into the living room she wasn't eager to find the man she saw standing there. His hair was more unruly than usual, and the circles under his eyes stood out against his pale skin. Harry's face lit up when he saw her walk in. He approached her with a begging look much like a puppy did for food.
"I told you no, Harry," Ginny sighed, taking a detour around him to walk into the kitchen.
"I know what you said, Ginny, but things have changed. Hermione left me. She said she couldn't deal with the fact that you were always on my mind."
She whirled around and put her shaking finger into his face. "I guess, then, that you shouldn't have fucked her if I was your all, Harry! Doesn't that make sense? If you loved me so much, and wanted to be happily ever after, you shouldn't have cheated on me!"
He collapsed at her feet and wrapped his arms around her legs. Looking pleadingly up into her face he started to cry. "Malfoy can't make you happy. He will throw you out when he gets bored with you."
"Don't you dare, Harry Potter! He waited for four years while I was suffering through a marriage, with you, for me to come back to him. If he was going to get bored he would have done so when he wasn't with me," she spat, dislodging her legs from his firm grasp. "Now, get out of my house!"
Harry tried to plead with her. He even got down on his knees to propose a vow renewal.
Ginny laughed in his face the whole time. "Why would I renew the vows that have kept me locked in a prison with you? I didn't want to do this to you. I wanted to let you down easily, but you haven't made this easy for me. Draco is the man that I want, and what you say will not change a thing."
His face fell as he stood up to give Ginny a pitiful look. Her hand twitched, wanting to make contact with his face, but held still as he walked towards the door. With one final look back Harry nodded curtly at his wife, and finally left.
She let the breath out that she hadn't known she was holding, and slid down the wall. Her head dropped forward in exhaustion, chin hitting chest. One man down, one more to go, she thought.
Harry leaving didn't help the situation, though. She was stuck in a choice between this house and someone else's. Ginny never imagined getting back together with Harry, just staying in their house. She jumped when she heard a pop from her kitchen and told herself she had to fix the wards.
"Draco?" she asked, walking into the kitchen.
A smirk much like Draco's greeted her, but it was surrounded by dark hair instead of near white. "Love, it's touching you thought that I was your present shag, but I need to let you down. You may call me Blaise."
"Shut up, Blaise, I know who you are," Ginny hissed, plopping down into the chair sitting by her kitchen table. "We met at Draco's place, and a few dates after that."
He seemed to ponder her statement for a while until his face shown bright with realization. "Of course, love, I was just testing you. Now, I've been sent by someone to inform you of the situation."
The redhead looked like she was about to pummel the man out of irritation. "What situation? I am quite prepared to make my own decisions, thank you very much."
"There's no doubt about that. It's the other situation that will most likely look like it involved you. You see, I've been planning revenge against Potty and the Mudblood for quite a while now. Pranks are my specialty. I started by informing your mother of the situation, and getting to know my targets better through her knowledge," Blaise lectured, while he paced the kitchen and ignored Ginny's stunned expression. "Your mother is a wildcat, just to inform you. Brilliant mind too.
"We started the scheme by sending an unmarked owl to their residence with a blood red scroll that had a warning placed on it. After they got the parchment we did what the scroll embellished. This kept going on with plots that ruined Granger's whole book collection, and we also trashed Potter's broom. Eventually, they were so terrified when they got the last blank scroll that they practically pissed themselves. Let's just say I think they've learned their lesson," Blaise finished with a flourish of his hands, and joined Ginny at the table. "Any questions?"
Her jaw had practically dropped onto the table as Zabini had spoken. Mind spinning with the fact that her mother had helped plan the whole scheme without letting it on to anyone. She blinked her eyes before responding. "Harry was just here, why didn't he mention anything?"
"Probably left Hermione to reach higher land, so to say, would be my guess." Blaise shrugged. "What'd you do when he showed up?"
"I told him to leave, and that I didn't want anything to do with him. He said he missed me, and I just said that he shouldn't have cheated on me if he really loved me. He looked so miserable when I told him to leave, but if I keep letting people manipulate me I'll never be happy."
Blaise bowed his head to play with his fingernails, when he looked back up at her it looked like something was bothering him.
"What?" she asked, studying him precariously.
"What about Draco, you going to keep pushing him away too? I need to know so I can stock up on the handkerchiefs and Firewhiskey."
The sun shone in through the window bouncing off Ginny's long locks to create a halo of fire. Her cinnamon eyes glistened with unsure tears as she fiddled with her own hands. "I can't give him what he wants. No matter what he tells me, I know that he wants a child, and I don't want to get his hopes up," she let the news fall slowly from her lips, steadily tasting the fact that she was breaking her own heart again.
Blaise nodded at Ginny and stood from his chair. Pushing it back under the table he looked at Ginny like one would to a stranger. "I thought you could face uncertainty better than this, Ginny. Staying with Potter all of those years, while staying uncertain of the fact of your happiness. Draco may not be perfect, in fact he's anything but that, but he does love you. No matter what your pretty little head thinks." With those words he popped out of the kitchen to leave Ginny alone.
*************
For the second time in his life he was standing in the rundown house called the Burrow. Throughout his childhood he had poked fun of the Weasleys for living in something that could have suited animals better. Now he understood what this house had that his hadn't. It had warmth in it that only a large family could harness. His childhood had been lonely until he was old enough to attend parties with his parents. Draco knew that he not only needed a child, he wanted one very badly to give love to.
Taking a breath to steady himself he entered the living room that held all of the living males of the clan. The head of the house stood, and offered his hand to Draco. He shook it, and sat on the empty piece of furniture sitting in front of the fireplace. It was a mutilated ottoman that was a whole lot more comfortable than it looked.
Draco lifted his head, and nodded to the five other men sitting in the room. He noticed that all of them were giving him unforgiving looks, especially the youngest one. Ron seemed to still be harboring the childhood resentment that they had both practiced. The blond shook it off, and placed his eyes back on Arthur Weasley.
"As you have been informed by my best friend Blaise, Ginny and I have been dating for a month now. You might not know that we were together for a long time when we were at Grimmauld Place together. We kept the relationship under wraps for your family's sanity," Draco stated firmly, like one would in a business meeting. "She left me four years ago to return to Potter as you all wished that she would do. It tore me to pieces, and I ended up leaving the country to roam Eastern Europe to rid my mind and heart of her. It was a failed mission because one can never get Ginny out of their system."
Draco paused and looked around at the men hesitantly.
"What are you getting at, Malfoy?" Charlie bit out.
Bill scooted forward in his seat and eyed Draco dangerously. "Yeah, we know you violated our baby sister. You are the reason she left Harry when it comes down to it. I don't know what you could be asking that'd be so important."
The young Malfoy coaxed himself into not getting angry at the remarks. "I don't know what you define 'violate' as. We might have been inappropriate as children, but I assure you that I love her."
This didn't help to sooth the redheads as they all shifted uncomfortably in their seats, throwing daggers with their eyes.
"I'm not the reason that she left Potter. She was unhappy with him for many years, and I just helped her come back to life by informing her of his affair. I would think that as her family you would want to protect her from someone that would hurt her like that," Draco reasoned, laying his hands flat in a surrending gesture.
"Oi, we are trying to do that," George huffed. "You are known for being a playboy. We won't let her be played around on."
Draco jumped off of his seat, and stood shakily. "I wasn't the one that fucked her best friend! I was the one that was trying to protect her!"
Ron stood up in front of Draco and squared his shoulders. "Do not speak about my best friend like that!"
"Your best friend is with your ex-girlfriend, and has been for two years. You cannot honestly tell me that doesn't bother you. He's still married to Ginny, and is living with Granger," Draco spat in Ron's face. He knew it was a bold thing to do with Ron looming a few inches and a good four stones heavier.
He stalled his answer, and looked around at his brothers before retorting. "They wouldn't do that to me. Harry loves Ginny, he always has."
"Ron," Arthur stated forcefully, placing a consoling hand on his son's shoulder. "It's all true. Everything he has said. I'm not a fan of the Malfoys, especially not Lucius, but this boy has done nothing wrong since joining the Order four years ago. Your mother believes that he is true to Ginny, and I'm agreeing with her. Now, what is it that you came for?" Arthur finished, looking at Draco.
"I love your daughter Mr Weasley, and she has recently informed me that she cannot bear children. Ginny's in a state of mind that I don't want to be with her if she can't give me an heir, but that's not my thought at all," Draco spoke emotionally, surprising the men around him. "I don't care if she can't have a child, though. What I came here to talk about is asking Ginny to marry me once her divorce has gone through."
The silence in the room was thick as everyone let the words sink in. No one moved, afraid of doing something that would make the world explode. The Weasleys could think of nothing other than their little sister was in the midst of divorce from The Chosen One, and their old arch enemy was asking for her hand. They wouldn't have been surprised if Voldemort strolled through the door asking for tea.
Bill cleared his throat first. His scars were shining brightly in the glow of the light, only reminding Draco that he was the cause of them. "Isn't it a little soon to be asking this question?"
The blond shook his head vigorously, and surprised the bunch with a smile on his face. "Most of you have been married before, and understand that when you find that person you don't care about time. You want them in your arms for the rest of your life. You want to be able to face challenges next to each other, and embrace the miracles together." He let loose a sigh, and looked into the fireplace. "I've waited for four years to have the chance to have her again. This time, no matter what, I won't let her go."
Silence fell again as the men started to accept the fact that the young Malfoy was showing a true heart in his chest.
Charlie stood and walked to Draco, slapping a hand on his back, and shaking the younger man's hand. "I think you marrying Ginny is the least of our worries right now. I, personally, want to teach Harry a lesson for hurting our baby sister."
The other men laughed and started a vengeful conversation. Draco turned to Ginny's father instead of doing a victory dance.
"It doesn't mean anything unless I have your approval, Mr Weasley," he said somberly.
Arthur chewed the inside of his cheek contemplating his response. He looked to the floor in disbelief of the answer he was going to give. "You have my permission, Draco," he said his name slowly.
Draco didn't think that he had ever smiled that big in his life. He embraced his future father-in-law awkwardly as he had never embraced any man, but Blaise. "You won't regret your answer, sir. I will provide, and love her for the rest of my life."
Mr Weasley nodded, and smiled sincerely at the young man, escorting him to the door. "You got over this challenge, but you still have my stubborn daughter to deal with."
"I know. I have a plan just for her," he whispered, and gave the Weasleys a last tilt of his head as he left the Burrow.
***********
He stood on her front door step, fiddling with the two packages in his pocket. His hand tentatively rose to knock on her front door. Shifting impatiently on his feet he waited for Ginny to answer the door. Draco's breath caught when she opened the door.
Her eyes were red from crying, and a smile slightly tugged at her lips when she saw him. She motioned for him to enter, and followed him into the sitting room.
"What brings you here?" she asked, sitting down in a chair across from Draco.
"I had a whole speech planned, but it flew from my mind just know," he said, fingering the packages again. He brought them out, and put them on the table. "Do you remember the last time we went to Diagon Alley together?"
"Yes," she answered with a confused edge to her voice.
They had just left FloreanFortescue'sIceCreamParlour, and were walking along the cobbled road laughing about people that were walking past.
"I heard that he left his wife for a witch half his age," Draco whispered to his companion, licking at his ice cream cone.
Ginny giggled, and looked at the topic of their conversation. "How did he manage that? He's not good looking at all."
Draco shrugged. "Apparently, he told her he's loaded with Galleons, but it's not true."
She threw he head back, and laughed harder. Ginny didn't notice the way Draco observed the way her hair spilled over her back, and how her petite throat elongated.
He looked at his ice cream again to shake the thought of lavishing her right there. Instead, he stopped when they approached Quality Quidditch Supplies to look at the display in the window. The new Firebolt gleamed back at them, signaling the continuing of life after the war.
"I've always wanted my own broom. I used to sneak my brother's brooms out of the shed when I was younger, and have a go on them. It's put a hindrance on getting onto a professional Quidditch team," she said, looking shyly back up at Draco.
He placed his arm around her then. "I'll get you one instead of properly proposing. How does that sound?"
Ginny laughed at him again, and playfully slapped his arm. "Don't try to get out of giving me a proper ring."
"Never would've thought such a thing," he laughed back, pulling her back down the street.
She smiled at the memory, and a tear glistened in her eye at the fact that she ruined all of her dreams by accepting Harry's proposal with a bland diamond ring.
"I never forgot a moment spent with you, Ginny. They're all emblazoned into my mind. I'm not the sappy type, as you know, so here's my proposal," he said as he enlarged one of the packages.
Ginny inhaled as she saw the long brown package in front of her. "No, you didn't," she gasped as she pulled the strings apart. Out fell the newest model of the Nimbus. Her hands ran across the fine wood, and the engraved serial code.
"You like it?" Draco asked hopefully.
She was speechless, but just nodded her head in response.
"Open the other package."
Her hands trembled as she pulled the silver bow off the little box. When she opened the green box she started to cry as she pulled a platinum ring with an emerald placed in between two sparkling diamonds. "Draco."
His eyebrows were pushed together in a worrisome look as he watched her response. "I know you're not properly divorced, but I wanted to show you that I don't care about your past. We don't have to have children; we can just grow old together. I have loved you for too long to wait any longer, Ginny."