I managed to score an interview at the Daily Prophet. I told the reporter, who was a middle aged woman who collected ceramic puppies, all about how my father forced me to be a Death Eater. I recounted a story of an abusive childhood with a monster and how I found love in Ginny Weasley. Mostly everything I said was a lie but she ate it up like candy. I also told her that I saved Ginny's life from a hoard of Death Eaters who wanted to kill her entire family. I married her to save her and we fell in love. It was all a load of bullshit but by the end of my story she was all teary eyed and she told me that the story would be on the front page the next day. Everyone loves the story of the poor little rich boy.

She was appalled at the way the Auror department was treating me and she was livid at Harry Potter for trying to break up my happy little family because of his jealousy. I wish I could be there when he reads the article. I haven't told Ginny about the interview. I haven't really had a chance. The past few days she has either been staring at me with wide hopeful eyes wanting to know about Granger's letter or she's been dragging me into hallways, bedrooms, or on anything solid, for that matter, to shag me. That thought makes me smile. She is determined to hold up her side of our deal.

We're sitting in the dining room eating supper. I'm sitting at the head of the long dark cherry table with Gin and Gavin to my left while Cassius is eating away at my right. He's babbling on about something and I can only understand every third word. Ginny looks over to me again with her big doe eyes sparkling.

I did get a letter from her mudblood friend but I'm not sure if I want her to have it. It doesn't say anything terrible, just normal, sappy girl stuff but knowing Granger there's probably a secret code encrypted on it. I think I'll wait until she's pregnant to make the decision. So I ignore her stare and wait until Cassius is done talking.

"I was thinking that we should go to Diagon Alley tomorrow." I say and put a forkful of mashed potatoes in my mouth. I'm not looking at her but I can feel her confusion. She hasn't been there is nearly five years.

"Why?" she asks.

"The boys have never been there and since it's your birthday I thought it would be a nice change." I left out the bit of how I think it would be good publicity.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to go there?" she questions. I look up at her and her eyebrows are furrowed in concern and her lips are set in a frown. She looks adorable when she's worried.

"I'm sure it will be fine. Do you not want to go?"

"No, I want to go." She says quickly and I notice excitement flash in her eyes.

X

I haven't been to Diagon Alley in such a long time! I feel like it's my first year of Hogwarts all over again because of the butterflies that are playing in my stomach. Draco said to look nice, but not too dressed up so I've decided to wear a light yellow, cotton dress that falls to my knees with a white, pearl buttoned, cardigan over it. My hair's tumbling down my back and falling into my eyes so I dig out a matching yellow ribbon from my vanity and tie it in my hair loosely behind my back.

Cassius is standing by the bed watching me get ready with interest in a red polo shirt and khaki pants. He tells me I look pretty and I give him a warm smile. Gavin is beside him with a pacifier in his mouth looking bored. His hair is a different texture then Draco's and Cassius' and it's starting to curl at then ends, making him look like a real life baby doll. He's wearing a pair of light green overalls with a white t-shirt underneath. Draco hates them and thinks they look country and common but I think he looks ridiculously cute in them so I made him wear the outfit anyways, despite what Draco will say.

"Eighty percent of my life has been spent waiting for you to get ready." drawls Draco, sarcastically from the doorway.

I catch his reflection in the mirror. He's leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, wearing a blue button down shirt that's rolled up at the elbows and black, perfectly pressed, pants. I smile at how normal we look. Like a perfect family without any secrets. I snort out loud at the thought.

"Well, I'm ready now. You are just wasting away over there." I say as I walk over to the boys. I take their hands and walk out of the room. I notice Draco's face grimace at Gavin's overalls and it makes me laugh.

We've decided to use a portkey to get there so when we reach the downstairs hallway I hand my wand to Draco, who puts it in his pocket and he brings out a small statue of a puppy.

"Where did you get that?" I ask. I never knew Draco could own something so innocently cute and girly. He never would buy something like that, even to make it a portkey.

He shrugs his shoulders and says "A friend."

Before I can question him he taps his wand and the portkey starts to glow. I pick up Gavin as he picks Cassius off the ground and we set them on our sides. We all touch the ceramic puppy and get pulled away from the house. We spin around until we land with a thud just outside a large, brick wall. Draco takes out his wand and taps the bricks in a pattern. The wall starts cracking back, revealing the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley.

I hear both of the boys make excited noises as Draco enlarges Gavin's stroller and puts it on the ground. As I'm strapping him in I hear Draco give Cassius the "must hold hands" speech. It reminds me of a few Draco's given me before.

".. Do not run off, Do not talk to any strangers, Hold on to my hand at all times."

Cassius is staring at him blankly and nodding his head. I know he's not listening to a word he's saying. He's too overwhelmed. He's never really been away from the house before and he's never seen so many people.

"Do you understand?" says Draco finally.

"Yes." Says Cassius as we take off.

As we walk down the street I'm surprised at all the warm smiles we're getting. It's suspicious, why aren't they sneering or throwing things at Draco? He was a terrible Death Eater and all. A woman with dark brown hair and wide blues eyes comes running up to us.

"Oh, it's you!" she says. She has a huge smile on her face and I'm left to question her sanity. "I just read the article! It's so terrible what happened to you! I wish you all the best!"

There is something wrong with this picture. She's looking at Draco as she says all of this and he doesn't look a bit confused. The woman embraces him in a tight hug and to my surprise he hugs back and thanks her for her support. What the hell? As she scurries off down the road I turn to him.

"What was that all about?" I question.

He's grinning at me. He's up to something. "I'll tell you about it later."

He starts walking off. "No, you tell me now." I say. "What was she talking about? What article?"

He turns around and is about to say something when Gavin's voice cuts him off.

"Look! Look, mommy. Gitich!" He squeals with happiness. I look down at him over the head of the stroller and see his little hand pointing to the Quality Quidditch Supply store that's to the right. In the window is a mannequin modeling new athletic gear with a broom stick in his hand.

"Can we go there!?" begs Cassius as he tugs on Draco's arm.

Draco gives me a look and I roll my eyes. "Fine." I snap. He's successfully gotten away from answering my questions.

We go into the store which is crowded and overflowing with people who are admiring the displays, most of them children. A few more people have stopped to talk to Draco about this article business that I'm confused about and it makes me mad. So, as he starts talking to one of his "fans", I take Gavin out of his stroller and Cassius from his side so they can look at some of the stuff around the store.

There is a small set up of miniature Quidditch players playing on a field in the back and it's not as crowded as the other areas. As we walk up the boys let go of my hand and dash towards it. I stand back and watch with a smile on my face as they clap their hands and laugh at the game. I feel someone walk up behind me.

"Cute kids." Say's a gruff deep voice. His tone is sarcastic so I take a step closer to the boys and turn my head to see the man.

I don't recognize him. He has long graying hair and a thick black moustache. His eyes are wild looking, like a rabid dog, and they have wrinkles around them. I'm pretty sure they aren't laugh lines. His robes are dirty and look like he's slept in them.

"You're Mrs. Malfoy, aren't you?" He asks me. There is something dangerous in his voice and I don't trust it.

"Umm… yes." I say. It sounded more like a question then I would have liked it to.

His eyes move down to Cassius and Gavin who are still engrossed in the display. "They look like him." he nods his head down to the boys. "You know what's not fair? It's not fair that my son had to die while his live."

I'm officially freaked out. I scoop Gavin up and grab Cassius' hands despite their protests of wanting to stay. I attempt to walk away but the man grabs my arm, forcing me to look at him.

"That husband of yours killed my oldest boy. I think I should repay the favor."

He lets go of my arm and digs in his robes to remove his wand. I step in front of Cassius so I'm shielding him. "Sir, I'm sorry what happened to your son but hurting a toddler will not bring him back." I'm trying to sound brave. I'm trying to sound like I can handle this.

"You probably helped him, didn't you? You helped him ruin all of those families." His wand is out and it's pointed at my leg where Cassius is hiding. I can feel him tremble against me. "He needs to learn he can't do that to people and not pay for it. Now, move aside or I'll kill you too."

My eyes scan the room for Draco quickly. I don't see him! Why is it the one time that I actually need him he's not here breathing down my neck!? I'm stuck with this psychotic man, surrounded by children who have no idea what's going on. I turn my head back to him.

"Please, don't do this. It won't fix anything."

"It's totally different when your son's life is in danger isn't it?" he snaps. "My son was never given the benefit of the doubt. Adava Ka…"

"Stupify!"

I see a jet of light pass by me and hit the man in the chest. He stumbles backwards and falls to the ground. I let out a sigh of relief and turn around thinking it was Draco. I was wrong. Instead I see my brother Ron standing there with his wand in his hand.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

I blink before I answer. "Oh, yes. Thank you!" I walk forward and hug him tightly. When I pull back I see concern in his eyes.

"How have you been, Gin?"

"Fine. Everything has been fine." I answer.

"Ginevra, why are you talking to him?" I turn to my left to see Draco walking up to us with a cold expression. He looks at Ron's wand and then his eyes travel to the body on the floor. "What happened here?"

"That man was going to hurt Cassius. Ron helped us." I say. I don't want them to start fighting.

"Yeah," Ron spits out. "He was pissed off because you killed his son. See what happens to evil prats like you. You put everyone in danger."

Before Draco replies Gavin tugs on my shirt. "Cass crying." He says and points to the right.

When I look where he's pointing I notice Cassius has his back to us, leaning his head against the wall. His shoulders are going up and down and I can hear little sobs coming from his mouth. I put Gavin down and walk to him. I kneel behind him and put my hand on his back.

"What's wrong, baby? Why are you crying?"

He turns around and I see his face is red. Tears are pouring down his cheeks and his big, gray eyes look so sad. He lets out one dramatic sniff and wipes some tears away on the back of his hand.

"That man hates me!" he cries referring to the crazy man from before. "Why he want to hurt me?"

"Oh, he didn't hate you." I bring him into my arms and rub his back soothingly. "He just lost someone very close to him and he was upset. People do things they don't mean when they are upset."

He pulls back and I bring my sleeve up and wipe some tears away. "I want Daddy." He sniffles. I hear Draco walk up behind me and pick him up.

I understand why he wants Draco. He makes the boys feel safe and protected when they're scared. Draco walks off with him, muttering in his ear trying to make him calm down. Ron's eyes follow him with a strange look in his eyes. I stand up and find Gavin standing by Ron looking at the man on the ground with an interested expression on his little face.

"He mean." Gavin says, pointing at the man while looking up at Ron. I see Ron's stone exterior melt as he looks down at him and there's a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, he is." Is all he says. When I walk over to him he snaps his head up and tells me. "I need to bring him in. I'm on duty right now."

I just now notice he's wearing Auror robes. I nod my head and thank him one more time. He gives me a hug and tells me that I can leave with him. I shake my head sadly and tell him no.

"Ok, but when you change your mind you know my door is always open…" He's looking at me seriously and I know he wants to say more but is stopping himself. "Oh, Hermione got your letter. She was really happy to hear from you."

I smile at him as he leaves with the crazy man floating behind him. Draco finally comes back to us with Cassius still in his arms. At least he's not crying hysterically anymore.

I stop myself from asking him who that man was. I don't want to know.

"Do you want to go home?" he asks.

"I think that would be a good idea."

X

I'm sitting on the toilet biting my fingernails as I stare at the glass vial that's in my hands. If it turns blue then I'm pregnant, if it turns red then I'm not. It's been a neutral purple color for a few minutes. It's nerve wracking.

My mind drifts to the Diagon Alley incident from a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised, Ron seemed so understanding and Draco wasn't nearly as mad that I talked to him as he normally would have been. I guess since Ron saved us he couldn't really have much to say. It was nice for once.

Draco told me about the interview he gave and we've been receiving encouraging fan mail since it came out. It's annoying, mostly because the whole story was a complete farce. I should be angrier then I am at him for making up all those lies but I don't really care. It's strange really and since that thing that happened in the Quidditch store our popularity has just gone up. I don't like it at all but he seems to think it's necessary.

Draco's ability to adapt and survive is impressive. He accepts the hugs and shouts of appreciation from the very same people he terrorized for years. It's kind of morbid if you think about it. Draco is an excellent manipulator. It's not my problem if they want to believe he's some battered angel I guess. Narcissa was outraged, though. He received three howlers in one day. I would say he deserved it, making her out to be some sort of harpy.

The liquid starts to turn a more crimson color and my heart starts to beat faster. It's starting to turn red. Dangit! I'm about ready to throw it away when I see it flicker and glow a bright blue. I stare at it in disbelief for a few seconds, waiting for it to change again, but it doesn't. I jump up and run out of the room.

I think I want to surprise him and not tell him right out. I go into Gavin's room and find an unused pacifier from one of the drawers. I go back to my bedroom and place it in a little white box along with the vial. I take a blue ribbon from my vanity and carefully tie it in a bow around the box. He's going to be so happy! I can't wait to see his face.

I walk out in the hallway, humming under my breath, to find him. I asked one of the house elves where he is and they say he is in the sitting room. With a smile on my face I make my way there. I'm about ready to open the door when I hear a woman's voice and it makes me stop in my tracks.

"Drake! You are a genius!" I know that voice. It's shrill, high pitched, annoying, and belongs to Pansy freaking Parkinson.

What is she doing here? My mind races with images of them being together and it makes me want to throw something. Draco never answered my question that night I asked him, but I know it was true. I'm not totally sure if I should go in there or listen at the door. I choose to listen.

"I always have been, Pansy." He drawls.

"It will be harder for us now." I can hear her pouting. What's she talking about?

"What do you mean?" he asks.

I hear someone get up and walk around. I think it's her walking to him.

Her voice is low and seductive. "You know us… being together… With all this publicity over your fake marriage it's going to be harder to be together." she says softly that I can barely hear it.

I drop the box I've been holding in my hands and run away.

X

I hear a noise outside the door but I ignore it. I remove Pansy's arms from around my neck.

"There is no us. There never was, and my marriage is not fake." I'm speaking to her like she is a child. Maybe that will work.

Her small nose scrunches up and she begins to pout again. I don't understand why she can't take a hint. She told me she had important information to tell me. That's the only reason I let her over here. If this was her important information then she's an idiot.

"I know you have to keep up appearances." She says looking at the floor. "So when you're ready, you know where to find me."

She is completely delusional. If I haven't known her since I was a baby I would probably kill her to save me the trouble. She walks over to the fire place and floo's away. I let out a sigh of relief and run my fingers through my hair. She is the worst kind of woman. I open the door to leave the room and I notice a little white box on the ground.

I pick it up and inspect it. There's a blue bow tied around it that reminds me of one that Ginny owns. Maybe the boys were playing with it out here. I undo the bow and slowly open the lid. Inside is a pacifier and a small vial full of a glowing blue liquid. I study it for a while before it dawns on me what it is.

I have to find Ginny.

X

It's really windy outside and the wind is whipping my hair all around as I stand on the balcony. Its pitch black outside and my eyes are focused on the ground but I'm not really looking at anything. My heart hurts more then I ever thought it could. Why would he do this to me? Wait, I know. It's because he's evil and selfish. He only thinks about himself and no one else. As long as he gets what he wants everyone else can go to hell. I was a fool to think he could change.

I'm gripping the railing so hard that my knuckles are turning white. What does Pansy have that I don't? Is she prettier then I am? That shouldn't matter I have the better personality. I laugh out loud at that last thought, like personality matters to people like Draco.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" I hear him say from behind me. I'm not going to answer him. I don't even know what he's talking about. The bastard.

I hear him step closer to me. "Answer my question." His voice is sharp. "Does this mean you're pregnant?"

Ah, he must have found the box I dropped. It was stupid of me to go to all that effort to put that together. I am stupid. I'm playing happy little family with a cheating murder who ruined my life. God, what's wrong with me? Why have I forgotten everything I once was? He's hurt me enough. I think I've reached my breaking point.

"Look at me." He demands.

I finally turn to him and hold out my left hand. "Take it off." I say.

He looks confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Take off this damn ring. You're the only one who can do it and I don't want to wear it anymore!"

"You don't know what you're talking about." His voice has lost emotion and his face is complete stone. I haven't seen him like this since the war.

"Take it off!" I yell.

"Why should I?"

"Because all you ever do is hurt me!"

I push him aside and run out of the room.