Ginny looked up wearily as the door opened slowly, the brick of bright light on the cold stones making her drop her head. The quick footsteps came closer, and the lights flickered on dimly. The door closed with a rusty creak. The lights lit the room enough for Ginny to see the silhouette of her torturer. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief; he wasn't as hard on her as his father. He stepped in front of her, studying her bruised, bloody, broken and beautiful body. He stood longer than usual, until a cool voice called down the grimy, slimy staircase.
"Draco."
The voice seemed to warn the young man, who stepped closer, whispered something under his breath, sucked in a deep breath, and kicked Ginny. He grabbed her hair, slamming her face into the cold rough, stones. She bit her lip, tasting the blood in her mouth and the blood running down her face. Draco pulled her to sit up, and dragged her to the wall, propping her up and stroking her cheek before slapping her soundly. He swung at her face, showing no mercy while the blood dripped and spattered onto his hand. Every time his hand made contact with her skin, a bloody hand print was exposed briefly before losing its shape to the surrounding scarlet streams. Through the whole beating, she didn't make a sound. Then Draco grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his silver eyes full of pain.
"Where is Potter?"
His voice was cold, but quiet. She turned her head to the side, averting her gaze. Draco hesitated, then slapped her again, sending a bright red dribble of spit onto the grimy stones.
"Harder, Draco," Lucius drawled coldly.
Draco closed his eyes, and slapped her hard than he ever had before. She let out a quiet sob then, and Draco dropped her chin, allowing her body to succumb to gravity. His footsteps were soft but heavy as he walked to the door, closing it behind him and walking up the stairs. His footsteps echoed as Lucius muttered a locking spell, and soon it was quiet. Ginny whimpered, curling up on her side and holding her stomach. She stayed like this for hours, whimpering and letting out a small sob occasionally.
The bar of light from the door startled her, and she crawled to the corner painfully. The lights were still off, and someone was with her in the darkness. She hardly dared to breath, and it wasn't until the man perched in front of her and stroked her cheek that she let out a breath. Draco pulled her to him, allowing her starting tears to be absorbed in his shirt. He hummed softly to her, kissing her dirty, bloody hair gently while he dabbed her face with a wet cloth, wincing as the white cloth was tinged red. She sucked in a sharp breath as he blotted a particularly nasty cut. Draco tucked the stained cloth into his back pocket, and pulled Ginny close to him, rubbing her back softly while she rested her head against his chest. He felt her relax against him against him, and turned her body to cradle her in his pale arms, the left marked by evil and the right by the broken body of the girl he loved.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered to her as he pushed away her hair. She mumbled something unintelligible, making him smile into her hair. He kissed her forehead, then down the side of her face, believing that if he put enough love into those kisses, it would make the pain and the beatings and scars disappear. She snuggled into his chest deeper, and he rested his hands on her big belly. She was due soon, and though he loathed beating her at all, Draco wished he didn't have to. But he did, under the control and wish of Lucius. The elder Malfoy didn't know about Ginny's condition, and Draco planned to keep it that way. Draco had been studying for weeks now on how to lift the Anti-Apparation spell Lucius had cast the day Ginny arrived. For five months on Tuesday, Ginny had been kept a prisoner, first as bait for Potter, then as a punching bag that, if pushed far enough, would spew all the information Lucius wanted to hear as bad as Draco wanted the Mark off his arm. Ginny had held up remarkably, though it broke Draco's heart every time he had to do the beatings. She must have fallen asleep, for she jerked out of Draco's grasp quickly.
She pressed a hand to her abdomen, then shuddered.
"Are you okay?" He whispered to her. He could feel the movement of her head as she nodded, a wisp of hair floating against his cheek. They sat in silence for a few more moments, her head gradually falling forward onto her chest. Draco rearranged himself so she wasn't uncomfortable, and tightened his grip around her before letting one hand drift onto her belly, laying it flat and smiling when he felt a small kick.
The light-haired young man and the fire-haired vixen had flirted all throughout their years at Hogwarts, gradually building up to secret meetings in the hallways and then make-out sessions after dark. Cautiously, their passion had turned to love. Pure, untamed, sensual love. The first time he cried in front of her was the night he had to leave her, the night before he was assigned to kill Dumbledore. She understood that he had no choice, that he absolutely had to, but she still hated kneeling on the ground, begging him not to leave. He had found her two years after that. Exactly two years. He came to her at night, and never had she loved him more than at the moment. She was living in a grimy, cheap flat, but she let him in her bed, and when she woke up, he was gone.
Four months later she was captured by a Death Eater while walking home. Though he knew she hadn't had contact with Potter for two years, he still insisted to his father that she did; at the cost of her suffering through beatings, he was able to look after her and make sure she was doing fine. The first night she was stuck in Malfoy Manor's dungeon, he had come to visit her. She refused to answer him at first, but finally took his hand and placed it on her slightly swollen belly. He had gasped, and she smiled for the first time in months. After that, almost every night came a visit from the man she loved.
Ginny jolted upward, her hands covering his and clutching her stomach tight. She gasped out his name, grappling for his hand and squeezing it tight. They were both still. Then a small splash made her gulp.
"D-Draco," she breathed, confirming his thoughts. He crouched in front of her, holding her hands and looking into her eyes.
"It's going to be okay. Should we–" She cried out before he could finish.
"Oh god," she whimpered, letting out a shallow breath. "I-I think it's c-coming now." Draco stood up shakily, and started to pace.
"Should I...should we...do you want to go to St. Mungo's?"
"W-we can't. There's a spell."
"I've been working on that, and I think I've got it. But...I don't want to risk it. Here," Draco said, taking off his cloak and bunching it up, slipping it behind Ginny's lower back. She sighed, and leaned her head against the damp stone walls. She shuddered as another contraction hit.
"It's coming fast," she observed quietly, relaxing her hands. Draco ran a hand through his hair, then dropped down in front of her. She patted his hand, then stroked his face softly. "Can you...will you be able to d-deliver...the baby?"
Draco hung his head, then looked up at her. "Yes. I'll do anything for you." She smiled, but it only lasted a few seconds before it dropped, making her take a deep breath and hold it. He held her hand through it, and then pulled out his wand, ripping a piece of his shirt and wetting it with a tap of his wand. He put the damp cloth on her forehead, and rubbed circles onto her hand.
The hours passed, with Draco pacing and going to Ginny's side whenever she went through a contraction. The sweat built up along Ginny's hairline, and her breathing was shallow. It seemed as though every few seconds she gasped, and finally, she let out a quiet cry, the only sign of pain she had allowed out of her mouth. Draco rubbed a hand over her stomach, and looked up at her. She nodded, and he tapped his wand against her lower stomach, muttering a few words. Her brow smoothed out, and a small smile briefly flitted over her face before flattening out into a line of concentration. He knew she couldn't feel anything, but he was still scared.
"Gin...I love you," he whispered, quickly moving to kiss her brow before squeezing her hand briefly. She nodded, her face white in the dim light.
She closed her eyes, and pushed, refusing to let out a sound. She pushed four more times, and finally gasped. She didn't feel the pain; it was more like becoming suddenly empty after having something fill you up and comfort you for so long. She heard Draco's deep exhale, then a miraculous sound: the sound of a baby's first cry. Ginny felt the tears leak out of her eyes, and held out her arms as Draco cut the grey cord and healed the end of the cord still attached to the baby. He handed the crying babe over to Ginny, and moved up next to her. He bit his lip, and cast a Silencing charm on the screaming baby.
"Sorry," he whispered, but she understood; they couldn't get caught. He tugged the cloak from behind her, and sliced a corner with his wand. Ginny took the square of fabric from him and wrapped it around the baby, tucking it in tight. She froze when they heard footsteps.
"Shit," he muttered, grabbing his wand while helping Ginny stand. The door flew open as Draco started muttering the counter-spell.
"Draco! What is this madness?!" Lucius's cold glare shifted to Ginny and down to the babe in her arms. "You filthy blood-traitor! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME LIKE THIS?! DRACO, I COMMAND YOU–"
Lucius took a step toward his son as Draco sent a jet of red light at his furious father, then pulled Ginny and the baby close to him before thinking of his rented flat, twisting through the tight, invisible tube. They landed unsteadily, and Draco guided Ginny and the baby to a couch.
"Where are we?" She whispered, looking around and taking in the small flat.
"I've been renting this place for a while...I knew we'd be able to get out, and I knew we'd need somewhere." Ginny nodded, and rubbed her forehead with one hand, glancing down at the baby. "You didn't...kill your father, did you?" Draco shook his head, then flipped on a light. Ginny blinked roughly, looking out through hooded eyes. Draco took in her appearance; the bruises, scars, cuts, and scrapes all on her face. The blood caked in her hairline. Her swollen eyes, her cut lip.
"What..what should we name her?" She asked quietly as Draco lifted the Silencing charm. He smiled wearily, then bent down to kiss Ginny's forehead, pressing his cheek against hers, looking down at their beautiful baby girl. Even though the woman he loved had been beaten by his own traitorous hand many times, as he looked at her, he knew she was more than just bruised, bloody, and broken: she was beautiful, too.