Our Child
Summary: All Ginevra wants to do is get lost in her art. (Written for the D/G Fourm)
Guidelines and/or Requirements: Base the story on one of the "arts" ex. painting, dance, music, etc. Can be Hogwarts era or Post Hogwarts. I'm not picky. Draco/Ginny centered...obviously :)
Bonus Points (not mandatory):
-Any kind of jewel (diamonds, emeralds, etc.) makes an appearance, whether as jewelry worn or as a theme for the story
- The phrase, "I loose myself in (whatever, you choose) and never want to come back out." You can modify it, but that's the idea.
- Draco or Ginny eating a "muggle candy"
Length: min. 500 max. none!
Rating: No higher than T
Deadline: Monday, August 15th, midnight forum time.
"Gin, I'm home," Draco called, cleaning soot off of himself as he stumbled out of the fireplace.
"Gin?" he called again when he received no response. He cocked his head to one side, listening for any sounds in the overly large manor. When he heard none he snapped his fingers twice and waited for Blink to come to him.
"Master called?" the small elf asked, kissing his dragon leather boots.
"Yes. Where's Ginevra?"
Blink twisted the sack he wore between two long fingers, his eyes filling with tears.
"I know that Master said not to let her leave because Master said Mistress was upset, but Blink didn't realize she was leaving until she was gone! Mistress said for Blink to not hurt Blink... and..." the elf trailed off as it began to sob, the waves of tears shaking his whole body.
"Blink!" Draco snapped, oblivious to the elf's pain, only focused on finding his wife, "Where is she?"
"Mistress said to give Master this!" the elf wiped away tears as he shoved a paper into Draco's hand before banging his head on the ground.
"Stop!" Draco roared, "If Ginevra told you not to hurt yourself, then you are disobeying her wishes. You are hers, and obey her firstly. Now, leave."
Blink stopped hurting himself to look up at Draco. "Leave... Master? Master wishes Blink to leave forever? With... clothing?" The elf began to sob again and Draco sighed, his mind straying from his wife for a second.
"No. But if you don't get out of my sight, you will be tossed out. Now, leave."
There was a crack as Blink disappeared, leaving Draco to drop into one of the expensive armchairs that littered his floo room. He sat back, running a hand through his hair and reaching for the bowl that sat on the coffee table. His nimble fingers grasped one of the little packages inside, pulling it out to reveal a 'kiss'. He rolled it through his fingers while staring at the small white note that Blink had given him.
Ginny. Ginevra. His wife. His first and only love.
With one hand he slowly began to open the note to read her words as the other hand opened the kiss - her favorite candy. He slowly slid it into his mouth, savoring the taste that reminded him of his wife.
He slowly unfolded the note, mentally trying to prepare himself for what he would find within it. The last time Ginevra had left him a note she had been gone for a week. A week where Draco had went crazy.
Draco,
I know you don't understand when this happens, but I can't control how I feel at times like this. I'll be back eventually.
Gin
Draco sighed, tossing the silver wrapper to the ground and stuffing the note in his pocket. He knew where she was. She knew that he'd know, they both knew that. But did she want him there? It would certainly be most simple to just wait at the Manor until she had came out of her funk - but he really wanted her, and didn't want to have to go through what ever pain she was feeling alone.
Find her. Yes, he decided, he would go get her, and convince her that nothing was wrong, because nothing was.
And with those thoughts, Draco stuffed a handful of the 'kisses' in his pocket and threw himself into the fireplace.
Draco watched her from the doorway, her small frame shaking slightly as her arm flowed across the canvas. He took a tentative step towards her, not wanting to startle her, but needing her to recognize his presence. He took another step towards her-
"Go." Her usually soft voice was hard, and he could hear the tears in it.
"Gin-"
"Leave Draco. I didn't want you here."
"Ginny, listen-" Draco tried to begin again.
"No! I'm here for a reason! I don't want you here. I need to be alone."
"Ginevra. Turn around and face me. Then say that."
"No," she protested, placing the paintbrush on the edge of her easel and folding her hands over her stomach. "Draco. I need you to know that I need my space. And I need you to recognize that."
"I'll give you space when I'm not concerned about you."
"You don't have the right to be concerned, Malfoy."
Draco ignored the jab about his - no, their, last name, knowing where this fight was going.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked quietly.
"You lost every right to comfort me when you signed up to me a Death Eater."
Draco's fists clenched, and he had to tell himself that she didn't mean it. She had long ago forgiven him for becoming a Death Eater, and she knew that he had no choice when he had followed The Dark Lord.
"Gin... I know you're upset right now, but-"
Ginny cut him off, her knuckles whitening as she grasped the easel tighter. "Maybe this was all a bad idea."
Draco looked shocked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Ginny's shoulder's heaved as she gasped for a breath, "Maybe we're a bad idea."
"Gin. No. We're a great idea. Gin, I love you, and you love me."
"No." Suddenly Ginny picked up the paintbrush and began to paint again.
Draco watched her in silence and when he didn't recognize the face that she was painting - a small child with light strawberry blonde locks - he spoke again.
"Who's that?"
"No one."
Draco watched his wife paint for a second before stepping towards her. He drew one of the kisses from his pocket and placed it on the easel. Ginny turned her face away from him, but Draco kissed her neck anyway.
"I love you Gin. Just know that."
Draco took a step back and made for the door until he heard Ginny's voice.
"I'm pregnant."
Draco instantly turned around to face his wife's back.
"You're what?"
"Pregnant. I'm... well... we're having a baby." Ginny set her paintbrush down, and her hands reached up to her neck - which went unnoticed by Draco.
"Ginny! That's fantastic! We're going to be parents! We're going to-"
"You don't get it Draco. I can't do this! I can't be a mother! You can't be a father!" she accused, her voice shrill and loud, "Our child would suffer in the world just as you do! We can't do that so someone."
Draco felt his heart plummet, but called his wife to him anyway.
"Why?"
"Because you're upset. You're not thinking clearly. You've always wanted a family. Remember that dream? The white picket fence, the happy ending?"
"There's no such thing! Don't you get it Draco! There are no happy endings!"
"Do not tell me that. Ginevra, there are happy endings. And we've got the beginning of one."
Ginny sighed, and Draco knew there were tears on her face. "I can't do it Draco. I can't be a mother! I just... I get so lost sometimes! I loose myself in my art and never want to come back out, and I can't do that with a child running around. I can barely take care of my self, and now I'm being asked to take care of another person? I can't!"
Draco crossed the room in two strides, and pulled his wife into his arms. "You can. We can. We'll start anew. We'll kill all the bad memories that reside in our house and make even more new ones of our own. We'll get rid of everything that you fear from the war, and we'll get our happy ending."
Ginny finally turned to face her husband. There were tear tracks on her face, and her eyes were bloodshot. Draco hugged her closer to his body as she began to speak quietly. "Draco. It's been five years. Five years and I still see Fred's face. I see Bill's pain when people make fun of him, or hurt him. I see George dying quietly, because the other half of him is missing. I see my mother's depression because she doesn't have us all anymore. And I dream... I dream of Tom, and the chamber... and..." suddenly she gasped again, "All I see is hurt, and pain. And I paint that.
"How can I have a child grow up with such a morbid mother? A morbid mother who's stuck on the deaths of her family from five years ago. How can I raise a child, when each morning I dwell on the fact that my brothers and I will never be the same. I kiss the necklace, the ruby that Fred gave me every day, hoping that somehow, I'll see him, or that things will go back to the way they were. I cannot raise a child when my heart is stuck in the past."
Draco listened to his wife, then answered carefully, trying not to say anything to upset her further.
"You can raise a child. None of your family wants you to suffer forever. Gin, you and I. That's what is going to happen. We're going to be happy. I left everything - my upbringing, my family... everything, so that someday we could have a family. In hopes that someday, you and I would be happy. And Ginevra, this is our chance.
"I love you so much, and now... with a child... with you carrying our child... I just love you that much more."
Draco dropped to his knees, and pressed his lips to his wife's stomach, which had only slightly begun to show.
Ginny's hands wiped tears off of her face before coming down to cradle Draco's head. She ran her fingers through his hair before he looked up at her and slowly stood up to kiss her.
"Gin. We can do this, okay? I love you, and that's all we need to raise this child. We can do this."
Draco gently kissed his wife before she pulled back with a small smile. "You convinced me to tell you... just now... with this..." Ginny smiled as she opened a small silver package and placed the contents on her tongue.
"A kiss?" Draco asked, a smile spreading across his face, and he leaned down to claim one from his wife, who smiled again.
"You... you know everything about me - my favorite muggle candy... everything. How... how could I leave that type of dedication?" Ginny gave Draco a small smile, which he gladly returned.
"Don't ever leave me Gin. I love you."
"I love you too."
"Forever?" Ginny asked, in a small voice, sounding nothing like her usual self.
"Forever."