Author's Note: This story was written for Haz in the DG Forum's 2013 Holiday Gift-Fic Exchange. Her prompt was "just like that." It's not very Christmassy, but that's where the prompt took me. Much love!
Family was the most important to a Weasley. It was practically ingrained in their hearts at birth, and every Weasley was supposed to put family first.
That's why it hurt so much when Percy put himself first.
But the thing about that mentality is that sometimes, one's self needs to come before others.
It took her a long time to realise that.
It's not that she didn't love her family, because she did. Wholeheartedly and unabashedly. But having a big family around all the time did not mean she was not lonely.
It was an ache that ran through her at unexpected times. It was a sorrow that she carried while her brothers began to pair off and expand the Weasley clan to numbers it hadn't been in decades. It was a hurt she could not break from.
She almost married Harry four years after she graduated Hogwarts but ultimately she knew that marrying Harry would not abate that loneliness because he was already a Weasley in the ways that mattered and family always comes first.
It wasn't that she didn't love him, and that's what hurt the family most.
Her selfish need to break things off with Harry made her feel like Percy was more of a Weasley than herself and that truly hurt.
She supposed that her mentality and to be honest everything else about how her brain worked nowadays wasn't healthy. But she couldn't help it.
Her brothers did not understand her loneliness, and most of the time when she tried to explain it came back to "Marry Harry then, Gin."
She didn't know if it was because they were men or because they had never experienced that bone aching loneliness before.
Charlie was the one who told her to put her heart first. He never talked to her about it unless they were well and truly alone and it took a long time to realise why.
Charlie had put family first whenever he could. Escaping to dragon reserves was easy, explainable. This is something I'm good at and it pays well. But Charlie had never dated to her knowledge, and she knew that their family was why.
She ached for him as well.
That's why she moved into London once she could afford a nice flat just after Christmas the year after she broke up with Harry. That's why her relationship with her parents and her brothers began to become this strained mess of betrayal and emotion.
She needed to put herself first before she completely fell apart.
The thing about a deliberate separation from what amounted to all she had even known is that it hurt almost as much as the reason she had done it. Family was important and she put herself the number one.
In mid January, she stopped responding to letters from everyone but Charlie, and at her request he promised not to let on that she was still responding to him.
She started attending a therapy group and took cooking lessons in muggle London and even though she was still lonely, she felt better than she had in years.
She almost set herself back when Percy showed up uninvited in the therapy group in March but when he pretended not to know her, she did the same. After it was over, he asked her to dinner and they walked back to her flat when she promised to cook for him instead.
He needed the therapy, and maybe she needed some of her family back too.
Percy understood in a way that Charlie couldn't, because he had put himself first. He didn't understand her loneliness, but he did understand that need to peel apart before they could really be a family again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you never know what you've got until it's gone, and all that jazz.
It became routine then. Ginny would write to Charlie before group, meet up with Percy just outside her flat, walk to group together and then come back for dinner once it was over.
It was simple, easy. And she liked it.
But she knew she needed more as soon as Percy met Audrey in early May.
Ginny began weekly trips to Diagon Alley where she slowly stocked up on food related items and cookbooks and anything she could even tangentially relate to cooking. It wasn't exactly the best way to meet someone, but she wasn't willing to paste her face on a shop window with the phrase "desperately seeking wizard" like a few Hufflepuff girls two years under her had.
She was deciding between a thick tome on flavoring charms and a new slow roasting pan in June when she saw him.
Draco Malfoy.
It wasn't like she hadn't seen him in years. They saw each other in the alley almost every week, never more than a nod and a passing glance.
But as he stood there flipping through the pages of a copy of Magda's Cookery Charms she started to see him for the first time.
"Magda's a bit outdated. Gwendolyn Francis has better general charms for cooking with."
She doesn't know why she said it, but the surprise and grudging appreciation make her smile.
"Thank you." His reply is spoken almost haltingly, as if he's not completely sure he means it. But she doesn't mind.
"Do you like cooking then?" She asked after he put down his book and flipped through one with Gwendolyn Francis on the cover. He looked down at her where she was sprawled on the floor with a piece of parchment scribbled with numbers, a book and a pan next to her.
"Mostly. It's... different." She could feel the words he didn't say on her tip of her tongue. It's not something expected of me.
"I've got to head out. But there's an opening in my cooking class if you're interested. Just... Owl me?" She gathered her things up as she was speaking, then thrust a scrap of her parchment at him as she left. Her address was scrawled in messy writing in the center.
It was two weeks before she received an owl.
"Is there still an opening?"
And she grinned as she penned her reply.
She didn't tell Percy about him, not Charlie. It wasn't a secret per se, but more like it was just for her.
He joined her in class a week later, looking totally out of his depth. But she paired herself up with him and explained whatever he needed help with as they worked to recreate what the teacher did in front of them.
If they left coated in a little more flour than strictly necessary, that was their prerogative.
He didn't ask about her family that first night, and that was okay. If they spilled into her bed without much talking, it was her business.
In the morning, they smiled shyly at each other and made pancakes the muggle way in her little kitchen.
It was the first time in a long time she didn't feel so alone.
Her first visit to Diagon Alley after they slept together consisted of the same glance and terse nod. Even so, she couldn't help the wide open grin from splitting her face as soon as they passed.
He was at cooking class again that week. She knew he must've been practicing because he'd made huge strides in his general skill. It warmed her more than she'd expected it to.
Unlike the last time, he did have questions for her.
"Why did you separate from your family?" His voice was quiet, and she had barely heard him.
"Have you ever been lonely in a room full of people you love?" She doubted he would understand, and she focused on her bedroom ceiling as she asked.
"Never really had that many people who I loved."
"In my family, family comes first. When I was younger, that was the best thing, a good thing. But... My decisions were always 'what's best for the family' and not what's best for me. Mostly, my brothers didn't understand. And I couldn't ever explain it right to anyone."
"Do you miss them?"
"Always. But I need to find myself before I can repair the damage, you know? And there is a lot of damage."
So, Draco Malfoy was sweet and funny and brilliant. But he was also still an ass. She knew that going in. They fought-verbally-a lot. They teased each other mercilessly, and occasionally stormed off in their own fits of pique. But they always ended up having incredible sex after cooking class and talking in quiet voices in the post sex haze until the wee hours of the morning.
Percy found out after a therapy session in September when Draco surprised her on her doorstep with a bone melting kiss. His utter surprise at her finding someone to make her happy and that someone being Draco Malfoy made her heart sink a little. Family was still important, regardless of what she did to separate herself from that.
He didn't tell anyone about them though, and he didn't question her sanity.
Draco started joining them for dinner after therapy after that first week. Draco and Percy didn't like each other, and they would probably never be friends. But both men knew it was important to her.
When they started a mutual relationship of teasing the hell out of her after the first few weeks, she couldn't complain. They were getting along and it was good.
She didn't know she was in love with him until Halloween. He'd shown up with Percy and Charlie and wearing a Gryffindor scarf and it was nearly perfect.
She had an unexpected visitor in late November. Draco and Ginny were in the process of moving the last of his stuff into their flat when George knocked on the door. Draco had answered out of habit, and George's completely baffled face nearly made her burst out in a fit of hysterical laughter.
George had ended up punching him before Ginny could convince her brother that Draco had nothing to do with her leaving. It was a tense evening, with harsh looks and angry words.
Ginny called Percy half an hour into George's visit, and he showed up with Charlie in tow. The three of them retreated to her bedroom for what seemed like ages as she helped Draco finish unpack the last of his kitchen equipment.
When George left, it was with a kiss to her cheek and a promise not to tell the rest of their family. She gave all three of her brothers tight hugs with watery eyes and thanked them as they left.
Draco and Ginny spent the rest of the night making cookies, and talking about anyone but her family.
Everything changed again at Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, George showed up with his wife, heavily pregnant and glowing with pride. She softened at the sight, letting them in. Draco peeked out of the kitchen where they were finishing up the morning's dishes.
"We want you to come to the Burrow for Christmas, Ginny. It's not right without you."
And that hurt more than she could explain.
"I... I don't know if I can."
Draco stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder protectively.
"You should bring him."
George made a hasty retreat after that. His wife stayed behind a minute longer.
"I think they understand, a little, why you left. Your parents, I mean. They just want to see you for Christmas. No one is heading over until after lunch this year, if you wanted to talk to them first."
Ginny tried not to cry out as her sister in law hugged her tightly, then followed her husband out.
"You don't have to do anything." Draco said quietly. Ginny turned and buried her head in his chest. They stood in silence for a few minutes, just holding each other.
They arrived at the Burrow half an hour later, holding hands. Ginny took a deep breath and knocked cautiously on the front door.
Her father opened the door, ushering her in without a word. Once she was inside, he hugged her tightly.
"We've missed you, Ginny." His voice was soft and quiet.
"I know." It was all she could think of to say that wouldn't turn her into a sobbing mess. Her father released her, and turned his eyes on Draco.
"Mr. Malfoy. Have you been taking care of my daughter?" The hint of threat in his voice wasn't missed by either of them, but he seemed not to care about it.
"Always, Mr. Weasley." Ginny felt like her heart was going to explode at his words and she couldn't help the grin from cracking across her face.
"Call me Arthur, Draco."
Ginny broke away from her father and Draco, headed to the kitchen.
Her mother was standing in front of the stove, a pepper grinder in her right hand.
"Mum?" she said it quietly, her eyes cast at the floor.
"Ginny?! Oh, my darling girl!" Her mother spun and enveloped her in a tight hug, and the pepper grinder pulled at her hair uncomfortably.
"I'm so glad you came. We have been so worried about you!"
Ginny couldn't find the words to respond, so she stayed in her mother's tight grip in silence. After a moment, her mother released her and urged her towards the kitchen table. They both sat down.
"The way you left so suddenly and cut yourself off from us scared us a lot, you know. But your brothers. . . they defended your choice to do it. I wish you had told us how lonely you were."
"But I couldn't. Family always comes first." The words spilled out before she could stop them.
"Oh, Ginny. You can't forget that you're family too."
And with that, Ginny felt the whole emotional upheaval that lead to the past year all over again. She didn't quite believe that it was all her own messed up drama that lead to the entire situation, but the more her mother spoke, the more unsure Ginny became.
"I brought Draco Malfoy with me. We've been dating and we live together." It came out like a plea for her mother to be upset.
"Then he's going to be family too. Get your father to set the table and bring your wizard in to meet me."
"But. . . you forgive me? Just like that?"
Her mother helped her stand again and pulled her into a quick hug.
"Just like that. Now, hurry up. Your brothers will be here soon. I hear Charlie's bringing his boyfriend to Christmas this year."
Ginny smiled, and left the kitchen.
Merry Christmas, indeed.