Sister and Brothers
This is a Companion piece to a story I wrote called A Death Eaters Lament. I think it stands alone, and at worst, it might make you want to read A Death Eaters Lament.
Ginny stood in the library at the Malfoy Manor. In a few minutes she knew the door would open and she would see her two remaining brothers for the first time in almost two years. She could not wait to see them. Merlin, she had missed them! She had gone over what to say to them one hundred times if she went over it once. She ran her hand over her large baby belly. She was due in just under a week. She glanced out the window, it was a beautiful day. She decided to walk over to the french style doors and open them, allowing the light breeze to enter the room.
She heard the door open and turned around to see her husband standing there. He looked much like he had the first time she had seen him, when she was eleven. His long, silvery blond hair laid neatly down his back. He quickly flashed her a smile, then his cool demeanor returned. He stepped into the room and was followed by Ginny's only living brothers, Bill and Charlie. They had spent the last two and a half years in Azkaban because they had fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and lost.
Both looked thinner. Both looked older than their ages. Both looked worried, concerned, and like they had misgivings about what was about to take place. Ginny rushed towards them both and the three siblings hugged. After a minute or two Ginny heard her husband.
"Ginevra, can we get on with this?"
She pulled away from her brothers, but only slightly. "Yes, lets."
Her husband walked over to the desk which he had placed in the library for her use. He opened the top drawer and retrieved two wands. He walked over to the two men who stood on either side of his wife, then handed each their wand. "Ginevra has some things to explain to you both. Darling, once you`re done in here, please bring your brothers to my study." He then turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
As the door closed, both Bill and Charlie tried their wands to ensure they were working. Bill then looked at his baby sister. "Ginny, what`s happening?"
She smiled at both of them. "Voldemort is dead and you two have been freed."
"The Order and the others got control from the Death Eaters?"
"No! My husband and Severus have taken control of our world. They want to offer the two of you a deal."
"We would never take a deal from them!" Charlie said.
"Please Charlie, hear me out. Have a seat." She gestured to the sofa and chairs in the room. Neither sat. "Or we could walk. The grounds are lovely."
Bill looked over at the open door and grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her toward the door Charlie followed. "We have wands, let's get out of here."
She looked at her brothers and smiled. "You are free to go, but I'm staying here."
"Ginny, you're not thinking! We can join the fighting and you can be free of Malfoy," Bill insisted.
"Bill, that sounds lovely, except I don't want to be free. I know it's hard for you to believe, but I love my husband and I don't want to leave him."
"Bill, I think she's under some kind of curse, most likely the Imperius," Charlie said.
"No Charlie, I'm not. Please, let me explain to you. Hear me out," she pleaded.
"Ginny, clearly you're not thinking straight."
"No! Listen to me. If the fighting between the Resistance and the Death Eaters continues, we will kill ourselves off. This plan is not perfect, but Bill, don't you want your children to grow up with both their parents around? Let me explain what I have been through and why I believe we can trust my husband and Severus. Then they will explain the plan fully to you."
"If she's not going to come with us, I need to know why," Bill said to Charlie, who looked as if he was ready to take off, but finally agreed to stay.
"After the Final Battle, all Pure bloods like me were gathered together. One week later I was given to Draco as a reward and wife. But I had no rights. I won't even tell you about the things he did to me. Trust me, you don't want to know. But Lucius saw what was happening to me and..."
"He came and told us about your marriage."
"I know, Dad told me. Look, I won't lie; Lucius is no saint, but he saved me a little at a time. I remember the first time he showed me kindness. I doubted him like you are now. And honestly, it was not until after we were married that I began to believe in him.
"You see, Draco did every horrible thing you could ever think of to me. I will be haunted by those memories for the rest of my life. It was worse than my first year at Hogwarts. Lucius, on the other hand, took the time to look past my family name. He saw the advantages to me being, as he put it, 'the mother to the next generation of Malfoys.'"
"So you're willing to stay with him because he realized you're Pure blooded?" Charlie accused.
"No! I'm willing to stay because we love each other," she replied. They were now standing in front of the lake.
"He doesn't love you! He's using you," Bill charged.
"No. I thought that too, for a long time, but looking back I now see how it happened. When Voldemort said that us young girls would be married to his loyal supporters, I decided to be a survivor. I would try to do everything my husband asked of me. And I did try, but Draco was more cruel than you could ever dream. I had no clothing, I only got food that was moldy. Lucius started with that. Then he ordered that Draco had to heal me each day. Lucius didn`t want to see me injured at meals. As time went on, he spent time with me. He was never mean or cruel to me. He interfered with the things Draco would do to me. Then one day he was sent away, he had to leave without leaving word. Draco had chained me up in the dungeons, I was being starved, and I was freezing. When Lucius returned, he saved me. As spring came Draco was sent away and Lucius and I remained here. It was simple, honest, and pure. Then I found out I was pregnant. Draco didn`t want me bearing his child. He had told me months earlier that Lucius was only waiting for me to crack and looking for help, then Lucius would break me completely. I believed him. Draco beat the hell out of me the night I told him I was expecting. He then used a wire coat hanger to rid my body of the baby." Both men looked sick at the idea.
"Voldemort killed Draco the next day for that, and I begged Lucius to kill me as well. I didn't want to have to learn what was expected from a new husband. Lucius convinced Voldemort to give me to him as a bride. He was kind and more patient with me than I could ever dream. I didn`t understand and at the time I thought it was a sick head game. As you know, we were married about a week after Draco`s death. However, I still needed time to heal before we could – um, be together. He even trusted me enough to let me shop on my own at the time. Anyway, when I was finally healed from the damage that Draco caused, Lucius discovered the full extent of what Draco had done to me. I was more than fearful of sex."
"What did he do to you?" The big brother in Bill came out.
"Trust me, as much as you think you want to know, you don't. Lucius still does not know, he only understands the effect I was left with. However, that night Lucius and I had a breakthrough; when he realized that I was in the state I was, he would not take me. He begged me to admit what Draco had been doing to me. I cracked and gave him the briefest overview, and gave him permission to ridicule me as I believed he wanted to. Instead he told me that he was in love with me. He spent weeks showing me that. I was still doubtful, but trust was slowly built between us. He allowed me to use his wand on him and to defend myself from an unwanted attack. Then taught me wandless magic. He returned your wands to you, I have no need for one."
She looked at her brothers. "Bill, it was a difficult position you put us in by asking me to write to Fleur, but Lucius allowed it. He told me that Voldemort was dying, and I realized that it meant the Death Eaters might be overthrown. But how many more people would die? I realized at that point that I was scared, scared of losing Lucius, because I loved him."
Charlie looked at her intently. "What about Harry? You said you loved him?"
"I do, and I always will. But Harry wouldn't want me to not move on; he would have wanted me to find happiness."
"He would never have wanted you with Lucius Malfoy," Bill pointed out.
"Harry would have wanted me to find someone who loved me, who would care for me. Someone who would place me before himself. Lucius has done all of that."
"Gin, what happened to Dad's remains?" Bill asked.
"I scattered them at the ruins of the Burrow, seeing as how there was no actual grave for everyone. I thought that way he would at least be where he and Mum spent so many happy years." She began to cry. She could still hear the last words her father said to her: "Find happiness, be happy. I know Lucius cares for you. Don't worry, we just want you to be happy."
"Why do you want us to do this?" Charlie asked.
"Because I want peace. Look, the plan is not perfect, but it's better than war. Please, will you listen to Lucius and Severus?"
Bill looked at Charlie, then said, "Ginny has always been a pretty good judge of people. It wouldn't hurt to hear them out."