Gift Or Torture?

Chapter 2

Appearances May Be Deceiving

GPOV

He seemed nice, and then he had to go and show that he was just like Draco! Money is SO important! Not only did he assume that I expected him to pay, but leaving a tip bigger than the bill! I fumed all the way home. I decided I would spend the evening looking at the albums the adoption agency sent me. I need to find a family to love my baby!

I walked into the apartment and placed my keys on the table that was next to the door. I never would have guessed that Professor Snape had any taste, but when I first arrived I was shocked by the beauty of this apartment. We were on the 20th floor and had a wonderful view of the river valley. The three bedroom apartment was big and done in earth tones, giving the place a warm feel. The furniture in the living room was a sandy brown color with sage green pillows and rust colored accents. All the wood in the room was a golden honey color, and even the art work on the walls fit in nicely.

Tonight, sitting and waiting in the living room, was Severus. He looked like he was about to call me out on a poorly done potion. "Where have you been?" he sneered

"I was having tea with a classmate," I explained.

"Do you have no consideration? It's after nine, and I had no idea where you were!"

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Severus had decided that he needed to take a protective role with regards to me. It was rather endearing; however, I knew better than to comment on it. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be home," I lied "Next time why don't you call?"

"I tried, but it seems you forgot to turn on your cellphone again. What is the point of having one if you never use it?" he fumed.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Anyway, I was hoping for your advice about something." I had learned that the best way to avoid an argument with him was to make him feel as if you needed his mind for something. Don't ask for help; just another opinion, a different way to look at something.

"What would that be on?" he asked.

"We have already been given our final assignment in my psychology course. We have to analyze a classmate and how they deal with this course. I'm worried that because I'm not normal, by Muggle standards, that the person who is looking at me will realize something's up."

"Ginevra, I hate to tell you this, but you are not normal even by wizard standards."

"I know I'm a little fucked up," she admitted.

"Not quite; however, you do seem to have a death wish," he teased.

When we first came over here, I would get offended by comments like this. Not any longer.

"You are messed up. Your time with the..." he paused.

"With Tom," she finished.

He nodded at me, then continued, "did leave you a little...off. And then there was the wizard war. Well, I wouldn't say anything unless you're asked straight out. Then just claim that you were molested,"

"You mean tell the truth?"

"What?" He was now mad.

"It's nothing," I claimed.

"Ginevra," he began.

"No, I mean, I don't remember it at all. It wasn't till years later that I realized what happened." He had come over to me and pulled me to the sofa.

"What happened?" he gently pushed.

"I don't know for sure. I remember waking up from one of the many blackouts once and I didn't feel right. Later, I found some blood in my knickers. I thought that I had started my period for the first time. However, I was wrong. It wasn't till a few years later when other girls started having sex that I began to think that maybe something had happened. Then, when I didn't experience things, like the pain from my first time, I knew that Tom had done something."

"You never told anyone?"

"No. What would the point have been?"

He nodded. "As I said, just say you were molested, and then say you would rather not talk about it. That should be enough for someone to explain anything odd."

Why was I so open and honest with him? I think it's because I quickly realized that he did care, but he didn't overreact like my family.

I knew it would be better to stay away from Jasper for a bit. I didn't really want to have to lie to him, or anyone. After that first year at Hogwarts, I really wasn't that big on lying. I knew that I would have to spend time with him, but I planned on keeping it to a minimum. I didn't need a new best friend.

The days passed and Jasper seemed to be thinking the same thing. However, he did greet me each day. A week after having tea, he came up to me. "Hello, Ginny." His voice was so smooth.

"Good afternoon," I said, I was distracted; I have a meeting with a couple who were looking to adopt. My mind was on them.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I wasn't really paying attention to him.

"Ginny, you seen distracted. Is everything alright?"

I looked at him, knowing I gave all the right responses. He looked like he honestly cared. "Sorry, I just have a meeting with a couple tonight."

He looked like he was trying to figure something out. "I don't know what to say." He paused, "Are you looking forward to it?"

I sighed. "You know that day we first met in the stairwell? I had a couple whom I was happy with all picked out. I liked them, and the wife, Mary, had just been killed in a skiing accident. The husband didn't feel it was the best time for a child to enter his life."

"So you feel like you're picking second best?"

"No, second best will never do for this baby! The father wanted me to kill it, but I'm not the kind of person who could do that just because it wasn't convenient for me."

Something flashed across his face for a second, but it was too fast for me to figure it out.

I sat in the living room of a lovely home. It was big and new. The furniture was all cream in color and the rug was white. The couple themselves were both very slim, with lots of muscle tone. The wife had black hair and she looked perfect, meaning that her clothing was perfectly pressed. The husband had brown hair and perfect teeth. There was the smell of bread baking when I entered. They had shown me around their home, and now they were grilling me about my medical history and anything and everything I knew about the baby's father. I was pretty sure these people were a NO, but I was trying to give them a chance. The woman with the agency pointed out to me that sometimes couples would try too hard.

"So the father, does he have good teeth?" the wife asked.

That was it. "I'm sorry, I don't think you're the right people for my baby!" I stood up and left the place.

I'd be damned if I was going to let someone raise my baby when they made me feel like they were doing me a favor!

As I walked away from their home, I pulled out my cellphone to call Severus to pick me up. Unfortunately, I got no answer. Great! I started to cry. What was I going to do if I couldn't find a family for this baby? How would my family react to me returning with a little miniature Draco Malfoy?

I wasn't going to stand outside of those people's house crying, so I began to walk. I headed for the bus stop.

The next day, Jasper was as always waiting outside of the classroom when I arrived. He nodded at me as soon as I saw him. As I got closer he spoke, "I take it it didn't go well?"

"Well? Well? It went horrible! I felt like if I was lucky they might think about taking the baby. Once I had enough, I left. They live almost in the middle of nowhere. I had to wait an hour for a bus, then it took an hour and a half to get home!" I paused in my rant. "How could you tell?"

"It was written all over your face," he stated.

"That readable, huh?"

A/N- I know this chapter was SHORT , but I want to keep it to one point of view per chapter, with only a couple of exceptions. This story BTW unlike like most other crossovers I have looked at is totally finished totaling 138 pages. However I do have to wait for my Beta to edit each chapter.