Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to JKR.
A/N: I'm just writing this so I get my idea down. Don't expect any updates from this fic for a while. I know this will put off some readers, but I'm just going to tell you straight up that I have very little time to write, and really am only focussing on one fic at the moment, which is A Marriage of Convenience. Even then I am struggling to get a new chapter updated for that fic because of time constraints and a loss of inspiration. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is right now.
Skeleton in the Closet
Ginny stared at the pictures flickering before her eyes on the muggle television. Some years ago she would have been stunned and horrified at the strange technology that allowed the people on the little screen to move and talk; fearing that they had somehow been shrunk in a barbaric way by the muggles for their own entertainment. Now, after living around muggles for nearly five years with her husband, Harry Potter, she barely battered an eyelid at the strange images before her eyes, and understood that no barbarism was involved in producing the moving stories.
Casually she leaned over and slipped her hands around the steaming mug of hot chocolate that rested on the wooden coffee table by her feet; the sweet smell of cocoa drifting up in the steam to set a smile on her face. Taking a small sip, her eyes flicked back to the television, watching in faint amusement as the man on the television struck his hero pose, looking for all the world like a drawing on a trashy romance, novel cover. Ginny had long moved on from viewing such men in adoration, and this blond, tan, muscular man was not going to be spared from her critical gaze either. He looked like an idiot, and judging by the cheesy smile on his face that could have put even the flash of a camera to shame, his character's brain (and maybe even the actor himself) was probably as empty as the words that spouted from his grinning mouth.
"Mummy!"
Ginny winced. That shriek could only mean one thing. Her daughter, Lyra, had just awoken and was now demanding her attention.
For a moment she toyed with the idea in ignoring it, hoping in her own delusional way that perhaps she had imagined her daughter's call, but when that girlish cry reached Ginny's ears once more, she knew that no amount of delusion could get her out of this one.
Sighing tiredly, Ginny set her cup down on the table and pushed herself off the squishy armchair she had been snuggled up in. Her feet padded softly across the carpeted floor, clad in fluffy, pink slippers that were shaped into smiling elephants, which Ginny had always been particularly fond of. She hugged her arms around her slim waist to fight against the cold air lingering in the dark hallway, and then gently pushed open the door to her daughter's bedroom.
"What's the matter, love?" Ginny asked softly to the dimly lit room, while flicking on the light. Her eyes straight away fell on her daughter's tear-streaked face and trembling lips, and all signs of exasperation quickly slipped away. Ginny loved her daughter with all her heart, and though sometimes she wished that Lyra would be a little more considerate of her feelings, she knew that Lyra was a good girl and did not deserve her grumpiness in being hauled away from her favourite television show; especially not when Lyra was looking so distraught.
Lyra clutched the pink blankets tighter to her small body and gave a funny sounding hiccup. "I -sniff- had a -sniff- bad -sniff- dream."
Ginny quickly walked over and sat down on the bed next to her daughter's trembling frame. Gently she placed an arm around Lyra's shaking shoulders and pulled her close. "What happened?" she asked softly, pushing back the soft strands of hair from her daughter's pale face. "Nothing can hurt you here. You just tell mummy all about it, okay?"
Lyra gave a small nod and was soon pouring out the tale of her terrifying nightmare. It was very involved, for Lyra had a tendency to ramble, and so sometimes Ginny was not quite sure what had happened in the dream at all. Not for nothing had she been a mother for almost six years though, and so with all the maternal instinct she carried, Ginny simply pulled her daughter into a comforting hug, and gently rocked her small child in her arms, while mumbling soothing nonsense to comfort the girl's fears.
After a while Lyra began to calm down, and it was with great satisfaction that Ginny saw Lyra's eyes close once more. She gently lowered her daughter back against the pillows, tenderly pulled the blankets back up over her, and then gave her a small kiss on her forehead.
"Sleep now, Lyra," Ginny whispered, smiling slightly at her daughter's peaceful face.
She stood away from the bed and left the room, coming back into the lounge just in time to see Harry walk into the door looking very tired. He had been working later and later lately, and as his green eyes found hers, a strained expression settled on his face. He never smiled when he saw her anymore, but both of them wisely refrained from discussing why. It was a subject best left unsaid.
Ginny had to try not to sigh. Her marriage with Harry was not at all what she had expected it to be, though perhaps that was more her fault. She was the one who had pushed for them to be married so early, but she had had no choice. She had gotten pregnant at only sixteen, and it had been imperative to find security quickly before the baby was born. It was only natural that she should turn to Harry, but their happily ever after had never quite happened. Having a child so young had been hard, and as the years had passed, so had the strain on their relationship deepened. Ginny did not know how things would ever work out between them, and sometimes she felt like running away from it all, but then she would look at Lyra, and she knew that she could never do that.
"Is Lyra asleep?"
Ginny nodded. "Yes."
Silence fell about them. It was awkward and almost painful, but Ginny should have been used to it by now. It was always awkward between them.
"How was work?" she asked after another moment of silence.
Harry paused in taking off his cloak and gave a heavy sigh. "Busy. Lucius Malfoy is out of Azkaban, and so had to get his papers sorted before he could go back to Malfoy Manor. It should have gone smoothly, as his name is cleared, but we ended up having to deal with the Malfoys for nearly the whole day. Narcissa Malfoy threw a fit at the treatment she and her son had received by the Aurors that had been stationed as their escorts, so it was a mission trying to calm her down. To make things worse, Lucius Malfoy hit someone with his cane for calling him a Death Eater, and so he had to be calmed down as well, and then Draco, who apparently has decided to come back to England for the occasion, managed to make Ron lose his temper by being the smug git that he is, which started another huge fight. The whole department was in an uproar, and the Malfoys were still busy making threats when they left."
Ginny had gone very still. "Did you say that Draco was back in town?"
"Yes." Harry threw his discarded cloak on the ground. "Though I don't know why. Don't get me wrong," he added with a guilt-stricken expression on his face. "I know that he and his family switched sides in the war, and I do owe a lot to Narcissa Malfoy, but Draco is nothing but trouble. There's nothing for him here now."
"He won't stay though. He would have only come here because his father had been let out of prison, right?" Ginny asked in a voice of forced calm. There were many reasons why she did not wish to meet Draco Malfoy, and Harry would never be allowed to know any of them. Not if she had her way in any case.
"I don't know what he's going to do," Harry replied bluntly. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes darkening with faint suspicion behind his glasses. "He asked about you actually."
Ginny felt a tremor of worry surge through her body. "H-he did?"
Harry nodded. "He wanted to know what you were doing with your life now. I told him that you're my wife and that you take care of our child while I'm at work."
Ginny could feel her heart beating uncontrollably in her chest. She was afraid that Harry might hear it, which would give everything away, and swallowed hard against the building fear and anxiety rising inside her. "And what did he say to that?" she asked with feigned disinterest, though inwardly she just felt sick. A heavy, hollow feeling was descending over her that made her head start ringing painfully.
"He just said 'congratulations' and then walked off back to his mother. I didn't talk to him after that."
"Oh," was all Ginny managed to say. She couldn't believe that Draco had asked Harry about her, but then she supposed it was no different to her wondering what had happened to him. She would be lying if she said that she had not thought about the tall, blond man over the past six and a half years. After the war he had just vanished, and while that had been a comfort at the time, and still was in many ways, she couldn't help but wonder sometimes what he was doing and whether he was happy wherever he was.
"I don't suppose you'd like to tell me why Draco Malfoy of all people was asking about you?"
Ginny blinked and turned her startled gaze to her husband. "What?"
Harry frowned. "I just find it strange that he should ask about you. I didn't know you two knew each other that well. I thought he hated you actually."
"We… I guess you could say that we came to an agreement of sorts. He helped me in my sixth year while you were off looking for horcruxes. It was nothing big, but it was enough for us to respect each other at least."
"I see."
Ginny thought that this was getting into dangerous territory and decided to make a hasty retreat.
"Well, I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to go to bed," she said quickly, and all but ran from the room. Once she was in the safety of her bedroom, she collapsed on the queen-sized bed and hid her face against the pillows. How could she have been so stupid to think that Draco would never come back? Of course he would come back to England eventually, and of course he would be curious about her. After all they had experienced together it would be a miracle if he hadn't asked about her. She didn't want to see him though.
"I can't face him. I just can't face him now," she whispered to the darkness. She didn't know what she would do if she saw him again, nor did she know how he would react to her. Maybe he would be angry with her, or maybe he wouldn't care at all? She couldn't bear to face either of those emotions from him, and even more worrying was the thought that Harry would begin to suspect something. Their relationship was already shaky. This had the potential to ruin everything, and even more frightening was that a small part of her almost wished that it would.
OOOO
The next day Ginny awoke to find herself alone again. It seemed that Harry had already left for work, for the bed was cold and empty next to her. She sighed slightly to herself, but knew better than to let it depress her. There were more important things to worry about right now then her failing marriage.
She pushed the blankets off her body and stepped onto the carpeted floor, slipping her feet into her elephant slippers. A blue dressing gown was thrown recklessly on, and then she was making her way out to the kitchen, only stopping to pop her head into her daughter's room. "C'mon, sleepy bum, get up. We're going to go shopping this morning, and I'm not waiting until the gnomes come home for you to get ready."
A groggy reply drifted back to her from the bed, but Ginny only laughed and used her wand to open the curtains. "Up! And don't you fall asleep again, or I won't get you an ice cream."
Ginny had the satisfaction of hearing a thump of feet hitting the ground, and smiled to herself as she walked off to the kitchen to make some breakfast for the both of them. Ten minutes later, with two plates of eggs on toast waiting temptingly on the table, Lyra finally made her appearance, and what an odd one it was indeed. It seemed that she had tried to put on her favourite pink and white dress, but her left arm hadn't quite made it through the sleeve, and the dress itself was inside out. She had managed to brush her hair, though it was a little tangled still, but her shoes at least were on the right feet and seemed to be all right.
Giggling slightly, Ginny walked over and set to rights her daughter's dress, before helping her onto a chair. As Lyra ate her breakfast, Ginny got rid of the knots in Lyra's hair, and then tied it up with a baby pink ribbon.
"There," she said with a smile, leaning over her daughter's shoulder. "You look just like a princess."
Lyra grinned toothily. "That's because I am a princess."
Ginny shook her head slightly and then took her own seat at the table. "So what do you want to do in town today? I need to do the grocery shopping, but I'm sure we can have a look around as well."
Lyra started bouncing up and down. "Oh, Mummy, can we please go to the pet shop? I want to see the owls, and the cats, and mice, and- Oh, can we, please?"
Laughing again, Ginny nodded her head. "Yes, sweetie, we can go to the pet shop, but don't you go trying to give the owls buttered toast again. You remember what happened last time."
Lyra hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Mummy, but I thought owls liked buttered toast. Owl does in Whinnie the Pooh."
"Yes, dear, but that's a fictional story, and a muggle one at that. Even in the magical world, not everything is like that."
"Oh, well I guess I'd better not give that cat some boots then."
Ginny almost choked on her food. She swallowed and stared at her daughter incredulously. "You were going to do what?"
Lyra shrugged. "Well Puss 'n Boots likes to wear boots, so I thought that-"
"Merlin's pants. I think I've let you read too many books. Not under any circumstances are you allowed to give any animals anything, alright?"
"Okay, Mum."
Ginny shook her head again, but she couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her lips. Her daughter was the silliest and most adorable creature she could ever hope to come across. She reminded Ginny of herself in some ways. Ginny had always been a little too romantic in her youth, and still was in many ways, allowing her thoughts to go down some very fantastical territories. It seemed Lyra was going to be just the same.
After breakfast, Ginny left Lyra in front of the television to watch some cartoons while she herself got ready. She didn't really put much stock in what she was going to wear, and so ended up wearing some casual pants and a loose T-shirt. It was sloppy, but with an almost six-year-old daughter, and married to Harry, Ginny didn't care too much. She had no one to impress.
Tying up her long red hair in a loose ponytail, Ginny stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment and wondered how long her youthful looks would last. She was twenty-three years old, though many people thought that she looked younger. Lyra was a stress though, and already Ginny could feel the strain starting to take a toll on her smooth skin. Of course, Harry helped her as much as he could, but with the distance between them, it still made things hard. She had to be grateful that he had not completely ditched her though; Merlin knew he had reason enough, and if he ever found out the real truth. Ginny shuddered at the thought.
"Just don't think about it," she told herself sternly.
Satisfied that her thoughts were once more directed to happier matters, Ginny returned to her daughter in the lounge. They picked up their things, locked the house, and then used floo powder to get to Diagon Alley. Lyra excitedly tugged at her mother's hand, leading Ginny throughout the busy streets while chatting incessantly about whatever popped into her head at the time. She loved to talk, and most of the time it was about nonsense, but Ginny humoured her all the same, adding in her own input here and there when necessary.
They did their grocery shopping at the wizarding supermarket, which was a mission, since Lyra kept trying to push the trolley (though she was too short), and also kept trying to put in items that were not practical or healthy when Ginny wasn't looking. It almost became a game between them, but after a while Ginny got tired of having to go back to the isles to replace the items, and finally called her excitable daughter into order. After that they went to the pet shop. Lyra got excited over a large black cat, and all but begged her mummy to buy it for her. Ginny refused, and after some minutes of whinging and sulking, Lyra finally came to accept that her mother was not going to buy her the cat, and was soon smiling brightly again at the discovery of a jewel covered turtle.
Right now they were walking along the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley. Lyra was still holding Ginny's hand, swinging it lightly as they walked. "Mummy, can I get an ice cream now?" she asked, turning her little face up to her mothers.
Ginny stared at her watch. They had been in town for a good couple of hours now, and she knew Lyra was getting tired. A treat would be a good way to end the day. "Alright, sweetie, you go make your order, and I'll find us a seat."
"Okay!" Lyra agreed enthusiastically, and took the proffered money from Ginny's hand, all but skipping off to the ice cream cart to buy their ice creams.
Smiling for a moment as she watched her daughter talking to the old man running the ice cream cart, Ginny made her way towards the collection of small round tables that had been set out. It should have been a simple process of walking a few steps, but unfortunately for Ginny, her shoe decided to scuff against an uneven stone in the ground, sending her whole body flying forward in a sickening rush. She let out a gasp, bracing herself for the painful impact when she would hit the ground, but it never came. Someone was holding her by the waist, and in that moment, Ginny knew that she herself had just become the star poser for one of those awful, trashy, romance novels. It was just her luck, and as she raised her eyes to her rescuer's face, half expecting to see the typical, clichéd, manly hero, she almost screamed again when she saw not a handsome, tan face, but instead, a very pale and familiar face.
"Draco!" She gasped, her brain quickly putting the grey-eyed, pale-faced man to a name.
Draco calmly set her properly on her feet and pulled his hands away from her waist. She could see his eyes glinting with some amusement.
"Ginevra. I see you still haven't quite grasped the ability to keep yourself on your feet."
Ginny felt her cheeks heat, and knew she must be blushing rosily. Smoothing down her loose, grey T-shirt, which she was now cursing herself for choosing to wear, she gave a shaky laugh. "What can I say? I just have a habit of falling into your arms it seems."
Immediately she regretted her words, and could have hexed herself for saying anything so stupid.
He seemed to be trying not to smile, only replying in a dry voice: "Indeed."
She shifted uncomfortably. Judging by the dry tone in his voice, he was obviously recalling the last time she had fallen into his arms, and what that had led to. Her blush increased, and inwardly she prayed for some way to escape. Unfortunately, the gods were not on her side today, for a familiar, girly voice was soon saying: "Guess what, Mummy! They didn't have the flavour I liked, so I had to get banana and chocolate chip, and then-"
Lyra broke off in confusion when she saw Draco and gave him a nervous smile. "Hello. Are you a friend of my mum's?"
Draco stared at Lyra incredulously. Ginny knew what he was thinking. Lyra's long strawberry blonde hair and milky white skin was nothing too much out of the ordinary, but her eyes were a soft, dove-grey, and that fact alone was enough to make him realise something that Ginny herself had tried very hard not to reveal to anyone. Of course, Harry had had his suspicions, and it was those cursed, grey eyes that had first started it all. After all, a brown-eyed woman and a green-eyed man did not make grey-eyed children, but Harry had never questioned her on it. It had always created a tension though, and the constant comments about Lyra's eyes had never helped matters.
Draco finally seemed to come to himself. There was an odd expression on his face that Ginny had never seen before, but she could just tell by the knowing gleam in his mercury grey eyes that he had discovered her secret. Now she truly was in trouble, and almost wished that she could disappear and never have to face him or anyone else again.
"I suppose you could say that I'm a friend of your mother's," Draco said slowly. He seemed to hesitate and then allowed a small smile to come on his face. "And what's your name?"
"Lyra," she replied brightly, giving him a sunny smile.
"After the constellation?" Draco murmured to Ginny, giving her a searching look.
Ginny blushed again. "I thought it seemed fitting," she said quietly, trying hard not to meet his gaze.
"Mummy named me Lyra. Daddy wanted to call me Lily, but Mummy said that she had not spent hours in pain while giving to birth to me to then have him dictate what my name was going to be."
Draco laughed. "That sounds like your mum, alright. And how old are you miss, Lyra?"
"Five, but I'm almost six! I've already lost one of my teeth, see!" She then proudly proceeded to show him the small gap in her row of white teeth.
Draco smiled. "I hope the tooth fairy gave you something nice."
"Yup. I got one whole galleon!"
Ginny couldn't help but smile as she watched the two interact. It was absurd to think that Draco was willingly allowing himself to talk about teeth and tooth fairies, but so it was. He was obviously quite taken with Lyra, judging by the amused smile playing on his lips, but Ginny didn't want Lyra to get too attached to Draco. There was no way he could be a part of their lives, no matter how much he was entitled to it. More than likely he was just going to walk on out of here again anyway.
"What's your name?" Lyra asked curiously, completely ignoring the ice cream dripping down her hand from the banana-choc-chip ice cream she was holding.
"Draco."
"You're named after a constellation too!" Lyra exclaimed excitedly, her dove-grey eyes bright with her smiles.
Draco nodded his head, and gave another side-long glance at Ginny. "Funny that."
"Yes well, let's not bother Draco, sweetie. I'm sure he's busy." Ginny said quickly, knowing that this conversation was starting to get into dangerous waters.
"Oh no, I have all the time in the world. My mother is doing her yearly ritual of shopping for a new wardrobe, so I'll be left to my own devices for a while. Besides," he added with a smirk that Ginny did not like. "I would like to get to know this charming little girl some more."
Lyra beamed. "Did you hear that, Mummy? He thinks I'm charming! I told you everyone likes me."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Keep up that talk and soon everyone will think you're big headed too."
"Guess she takes after her father in that way, huh?" Draco questioned with a sly gleam in his eyes.
She glared at him, but he only smiled in a way that made her itch to slap him. Oh he knew who Lyra's father was all right, and she could only hope that he would not be stupid enough to say anything while Lyra was actually there. The girl didn't need to be anymore confused than she already was.
"But I'm just telling the truth," Lyra said with a frown. "Everyone does like me."
Draco laughed. "She's going to be a heartbreaker this one. The boys of Hogwarts will have to watch out."
"What does that mean?" Lyra asked innocently.
"Never you mind," Ginny interrupted hastily, and gave another warning glare at Draco. "If you're going to stay here, then make yourself useful and get a cloth so I can clean Lyra. She's got ice cream all over her thanks to you." Her eyes travelled to her daughter. "If you don't eat your ice cream quick there's going to be nothing left."
Lyra sat down on a chair and quickly started licking her ice cream. Draco conjured a clean cloth, but to Ginny's surprise, he himself cleaned up Lyra's hands, and used his magic to clean the ice cream off her dress. Lyra thanked him prettily, rewarding him with another of her sunny smiles, and then went back to eating her ice cream.
Ginny sat down at the table and tried not to think about how awkward this was. She saw Draco take his own seat, but did her best not to look at him. He, on other hand, seemed quite content to stare at her, and was doing his best to put her out of countenance.
"How long have you been married to Potter?" he asked after a moment, still with his grey eyes fixed on her.
She placed a hand over her eyes. A headache was coming on swiftly, but she knew it was just from the horrible situation she had found herself in. She didn't want to have this conversation right now, especially not with Lyra right there, but she did know that Draco deserved to have the truth from her own mouth. It was better to just get it over and done with.
"Six years," she confessed in a strained voice.
"You were seventeen?"
Ginny nodded her head, taking her hand away from her face to see his expression. He was watching her closely, obviously trying to understand her situation. It comforted her a little to know that he was not angry, but there was still something lingering in his eyes that almost looked like regret. Perhaps she should have told him about Lyra, but she had had her reasons for keeping silent, and really in the end she had not expected to ever see him again. This meeting was never supposed to have happened.
She bit her lip and looked away. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Lyra."
"You don't need to apologise. I'm sure you had your reasons."
Lyra stared at them curiously. "What are you talking about? Mummy, what's going on?"
"Nothing, sweetheart. Don't worry about it," Ginny replied tiredly, giving a small smile at her daughter.
Lyra looked like she was going to object, but Draco told her to go play at the park across the road so that the 'grown ups' could talk. Lyra started complaining, but Draco gave her a stern look, and Lyra wisely chose to obey. She grumbled the whole way to the park, but Ginny soon saw her playing happily enough with another child.
Ginny could feel Draco still staring at her, and slowly turned her eyes back to him. "Thank you," she said gratefully. "I don't want her to know the truth just yet."
He frowned slightly. "Will you tell her then that Harry is not her father?"
Ginny shrugged. "One day I will have to, I suppose. I realise now that I was naïve to think that I could keep it a secret forever."
"I'm surprised no one has guessed," He mused out loud, turning his eyes back to Lyra, who was playing on a swing. "She looks nothing like Potter."
"I know," Ginny said with a sigh, also turning her eyes to her daughter.
Lyra had her mother's cheeky smile and impish face, but her strawberry blonde hair was no where near red enough to be the flaming trait of the Weasleys, and her dove-grey eyes were very much like Draco's, though they were not piercing like her father's. If all three of them stood together there would be no doubt who the real father of Lyra Potter was.
"When she was a baby it was nothing." Ginny looked back at him, the strain around her big, chestnut eyes becoming more apparent. "But then she started getting older, and everyone kept asking where she got her grey eyes and strawberry blonde hair from. It started to get to Harry after a while, and I think it was then that he began to really suspect that she was not his child. He's never confronted me about it though. I'm kind of glad that he hasn't."
"But wouldn't he have realised that you had gotten pregnant in your sixth year of Hogwarts while he was away doing Merlin knows what? I know you were a virgin when we-" He broke off and stared at her as if seeing her in a new light. "Oh… I see."
Ginny hung her head in shame. "I didn't have a choice. I never found out I was pregnant until a month later, but I knew the baby was yours. It had only been a week since I had been with Harry, so it was impossible that the baby could have been his."
She shuddered at the memory of that time in her life. "I was so scared, Draco. You don't even know what it was like for me knowing that I was pregnant to a boy who was not my boyfriend. I knew you didn't care about me, and I knew that night we had spent together at Hogwarts was a mistake. I was lonely, and you were lonely, and somehow we ended up having sex, though Merlin knows how that happened. I guess we just let our teenage hormones get the better of us." She shook her head, as if to shake off the troubling memories. "In any case I knew that I could not possibly turn to you, and so I used Harry in the worst way possible and made him think that the child was his. I should never had done it, I realise that now, but I was so scared of what people would think of me that I thought anything had to be better than having people think that I was some whore who just slept around with anyone, because I'm not!"
Draco instinctively reached out and grasped her hand. "I know you're not, Ginny. I know you would never have slept with me back then if you had not been so worried and lonely."
Ginny said nothing. For almost seven years she had asked herself why she had slept with Draco that night. The answers were never comforting, but always they made her feel like she was betraying Harry. He was the one she was supposed to love- had always loved- and yet her thoughts would always drift back to the blond that had been her first. She didn't even know Draco, and she had not known him then, but he had been so understanding of her worries, and somehow she had felt a connection with him. He had just instinctively understood everything in her heart, and wordlessly they had allowed their bodies to speak for them. It had risen from desperation and loneliness. He was scared, she was scared; he was worried, she was worried, and so they had used each other for comfort, hoping to escape from their realities. They had never spoken again after that night, but Ginny had often thought about him, even when Harry had returned and defeated Voldemort just two weeks later. It had always been a barrier in her relationship with Harry, and she was sure that her husband had sensed her distance. He probably realised that her heart was not completely in the relationship anymore, but he had never said anything to her about it. He had been noble and self-sacrificing, as she knew he would be.
"I wish I had never dragged Harry into this," Ginny confessed bitterly, pulling her hand away from his to place her head in her hands. "I've completely ruined his life."
Draco frowned. "So leave him."
"I can't do that!" Ginny exclaimed in shock, pulling her hands away. "Think how Lyra would feel!"
He shrugged. "You said yourself that she needs to know the truth sooner or later, and isn't it better to do it when she is young and can still adjust?"
Ginny shook her head. "I can't. She loves Harry."
"But you don't," Draco pointed out reasonably. "I can already tell that you don't care about him like you used to."
She sighed. "Maybe not, but I'm not going to do that to my daughter. I won't have her growing up in a broken home, confused on who her real father is. Harry has been wonderful to her, and how could I take her away from him, or him away from her?"
"Don't you ever think about yourself?" Draco demanded in some frustration. "Yes, you have a daughter, but you're a young woman, Ginevra. You're only twenty-three! Don't throw your life away because of Lyra. You deserve more than that, and as much as it goes against the grain to say it, so does Potter."
"You don't understand," Ginny tried to argue weakly.
"Really? Well in case you've forgotten, Lyra is my daughter too, which you so nicely allowed me to find out six years after her birth. Maybe I don't want her to grow up in a home where her mother is unhappy, and maybe I don't want Potter to be her father."
Ginny felt her temper rising. She had dealt with so much stress over the years, and it annoyed her that Draco thought he could just come back into her life and start dictating to her how she and her daughter should live. He wasn't the one who had struggled all these years; he had never had to worry about anything. She had saved him from the pain that she had felt, and she could never have gone to him anyway. Just a week after finding out that she was pregnant he had left the country with his mother.
"What do you care?" she retorted, tears coming to her eyes. "It's not like you would ever have done anything to help look after her! I had no choice but to go to Harry, and yes, you're right that I'm young, and you're right that I'm unhappy, but what else can I do? No one would ever care about me! I have child who is almost six years old for goodness sakes, and I'm married to Harry, fricken Potter- the saviour of the Wizarding World. My mother is still upset that I got pregnant so young in the first place, and I know that if I divorce Harry, I'd spend the rest of my life listening to her lectures on morality, and hear her constantly saying 'I told you so, Ginny', and- Ugh, I just can't do it, Draco! I can't! I don't want to be one of those solo-mums that everyone whispers about. I don't want Lyra to be stigmatised like that."
Tears were pouring down her face by this point, and some people were staring at them curiously, but Ginny didn't care. She wiped her eyes angrily, trying hard to stop her voice from wavering pathetically to show how upset she really was. "You don't understand. You don't have to deal with what I do."
Draco stared at her calmly, unmoved by her tears or her words. "You never asked me to."
Ginny blinked. "What?"
He sighed. "Do you honestly think that I would have pushed you away if you had come to me for help? Yes, I was an idiot back then, and I can understand why you wouldn't exactly have wanted an ex-Death Eater to father your child, but I'm not heartless, Ginny, despite what some people might think. I would never have pushed you away if you had come to me."
"What does it matter? It's too late for that now, anyway." She muttered mutinously, though she did feel shaken by his words. Would he really have taken her in?
"Perhaps," he agreed with a shrug, "but it's not too late for you to get out of the situation you're in now. You don't have to stay with Potter if you don't want to. I can help you, Ginny. I'll give you anything you need: money, a house- whatever you want."
"Please don't," Ginny said in a choked voice. The offer was tempting; too tempting. She loved Harry, but not in the way she should love her husband. The idea of freedom from the unhappy situation she was in seemed almost too good to be true.
"Why? Surely you must realise that things will only get worse between you and Potter. Why not get out now while you still can? You have a whole life ahead of you."
Ginny shook her head firmly. She knew what Draco was saying made sense, but he didn't understand anything about bringing up young children. Lyra would be confused and upset if she suddenly found out that her mummy and daddy were divorcing, and even though Ginny wanted with all her heart to try her hand at life again, she had responsibilities now that she had to keep.
"Enough. Please, I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Draco sighed. "Fine. I won't force you to leave Potter if you don't want to, but if you ever change your mind or need my help, then contact me, alright?"
Ginny's eyes flicked to his in some surprise. "What?"
He pulled out a scrap of parchment and a black quill from his coat pocket. "Here's my details-" He scribbled something on the parchment, and smiled at Ginny's stunned gaze. "Yes, the quills have magic in them so that you don't need ink. I think the Wizarding World finally caught on to how inconvenient it is to carry ink pots around with you."
Ginny laughed slightly and took the parchment from his fingers. She stared at him gratefully, a small, watery smile coming to her lips. "Thank you. This does mean a lot to me, and to Lyra too I'm sure."
He shrugged off her thanks with a careless wave of his hand. "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for you and Lyra now."
"I guess that's my fault," Ginny said with a guilty expression. "I realise now that I should have told you that you had a daughter. I truly am sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Ginny. Like I said, I'm sure you had your reasons, and let's face it, I'm not exactly father material." He smiled nicely at her, really smiled, and then stood up from his seat. "I'd better go. I'm sure my mother will be wondering where I disappeared off to."
Before she could say anything in reply, Lyra came bounding back over towards them with tears pouring down her face.
"Mummy, those boys say I can't play on the swings because I'm a girl!" She pointed one accusing finger at the three boys now playing on the swings. "It's not fair!"
Ginny met Draco's amused gaze, and then looked down at her daughter. "Never mind, sweetie. They're just silly boys."
Lyra only sniffed and glared owlishly at the boys still on the playground.
"I'd better take her home. She's been out all day," Ginny said with a sigh, turning her face once more back to Draco's. "I'm… I'm glad we got to talk."
He nodded his head. "Yeah, me too."
Ginny didn't really know what else to say. So much had been left unsaid between them, and judging by all the emotions flickering in his eyes he was feeling much the same.
"Well, bye then," she said awkwardly, and without even waiting for a reply, grabbed Lyra's hand and practically dragged her away from the blond man.
Once they were a safe distance away from Draco, Ginny started muttering furiously to herself, completely oblivious to her daughter's curious gaze.
"What was he doing here? Oh, Merlin, I thought I was going to die when I saw him! How could he do this to me? That jerk!"
Lyra stared up at her mother with a puzzled frown. "Don't you like him, Mummy? I thought he was your friend."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Let's just say that things are complicated between Draco and I."
Lyra seemed to accept this, but Ginny's mind was far away from wondering what her daughter thought about Draco. She was more worried about what she thought of him. He had certainly grown up in the past six and a half years since they had last seen each other. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't find him handsome, and once more she mentally cursed herself for choosing to wear the most ugly clothes she had in wardrobe. What would he have thought of her? She looked tired and stressed, and her clothes had done nothing to lighten that picture. He had said nothing though. He had treated her beautifully; far more than she deserved anyway. He could have gotten so angry with her, and he would have had good reason to as well. She had kept his daughter from him for six years, and yet he had not said a word against her. He had been wonderful- more wonderful than she could ever have imagined him to be.
Ginny had to come to the conclusion that she was happy that she had seen Draco again. It had certainly answered a lot of her questions, and now she at least didn't have to worry about him seeing Lyra and discovering the truth. However, she was still terrified of what would happen now. If Harry even got a glimpse of Draco with Lyra, everything would be ruined. There was just no getting around the fact that Lyra looked too much like Draco. He would be so hurt, and she couldn't bear to hurt Harry like that. She owed him so much and deserved so little back. He had married her when he didn't have to, looked after her child even though she knew that he probably did realise Lyra was not his, and even after all these years he was still trying to keep their marriage going the best he could.
"Oh, Merlin, what have I got myself into?"
A/N: Sorry for typos, etc.