A/N: These are all the scenes I wrote pertaining to Gin' and Lucius, from the end of Ginevra's adventures to the start of the previous chapter. Lucius and Gin' have an extremely complicated relationship; one with denial and hatred, and loving in spite of it, of hating themselves because of it. I never showed the details, the "in between." I will not be adding time-tags to this. I felt it was important to post this before showing you what's happening with Draco, Harry, and Colin.
"If you must leave, leave as though fire burns under your feet." -Keaton Henson, You.
"I don't know how to do this," Ginevra admitted, blushing bright red. She stood in her nightgown across from Lucius, not quite being able to tear her eyes away from him. The man was only wearing pants! She'd never seen a half-naked man before.
They'd just gotten married. Hermione had told Gin' that this was the time when they'd consummate the marriage, even though Gin' hadn't asked and didn't really want to know.
She had no idea how to consummate a marriage, or what it entailed. She was nervous.
"That's alright," Lucius said softly, walking near her. He was a good foot taller than her and she had to tilt her head back to look at him.
"I don't even know how to start," she whispered.
"Let me take the lead, then," Lucius replied. He stepped a little closer. A little bit more. They stood so close that she was pressed against his body. She couldn't help but reach her hands up and run them along his pale torso. She heard Lucius suck in a breath.
"Okay," she said breathily. He leaned down and kissed her. She closed her eyes and let him.
"Ginevra, you're looking a bit bigger," Luna commented airily. Luna, Angelina, Hermione, and Gin' were all sitting in the garden and having what Lucius liked to call a "tea party." The four women liked to think of it as a time for catching up and talking without children to interrupt. It was a bit lengthy, but they didn't really want to use "tea party" because Lucius was always smirking when he said it.
Gin' flushed and subconsciously wrapped an arm around her stomach.
"So?" she asked indignantly.
"So," said Angelina, leaning forward in her seat, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "You're married now."
"And?" Gin' prompted. She knew exactly what the others were getting at, of course. She was just going to make the journey there as difficult as possible.
"It's around the time that you should be expecting," Angelina said knowingly.
"Expecting what?" Gin' asked, blinking innocently.
"Oh, dear God," Angelina said, frustrated. Ginevra laughed and Hermione set down her book.
"Obviously, she's just trying to get on your nerves, Angie," Hermione said matter-of-factly before returning to her book.
Ginevra rolled her eyes.
"We're right though, aren't we?" Luna asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.
"Yes," Gin' replied, grinning.
"Ohh! That's great!" Angelina squealed. Gin' thought that she'd rather go drown herself in the fountain than hear that noise come from Angelina's mouth again.
"Let's just hope you don't die in childbirth," Luna commented absently. Ginevra, Hermione, and Angelina stared at Luna.
"Did I say something?" the blonde asked.
"Oh, you've said so many things," Hermione muttered. Angelina and Ginevra laughed.
"Lucius, can I speak to you?" Gin' asked nervously. She tugged on a strand of her long hair as she waited for Lucius to look up from his book. He was sitting in a comfortable-looking armchair by the fire.
"Yes?" he asked, removing his eye-glasses and setting them down on top of a thick volume in the study.
This was the room where they first met, where Gin' had found herself terrified of Lucius. Now, she thought fondly of the blond in his nightclothes, his long hair untied and eyes soft. Gin' sat across from him, taking a deep breath. She wasn't going to stall, she already told herself that it would do no good and Lucius would probably get annoyed with her.
"I'm pregnant," she said. Her heart pounded in her chest. Moments passed with Lucius just staring at her. She was starting to worry and bit her lip. Maybe she should've eased Lucius into it.
"Really?" he asked, finally seeming to register what she'd said.
"Really," Gin' confirmed, nodding. Lucius laughed.
"Oh, my God! I'm going to be a father!" he said, standing up. Gin' stood up too, feeling immensely relieved. He was laughing. He was excited. Her heart flopped when Lucius abruptly hugged her.
"We're going to be parents," he breathed into her ear. She smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest.
"I'm so glad," Gin' mumbled. Lucius held her tighter.
Ginevra couldn't sleep. Her baby was kicking, and he or she wasn't being very gentle about it. She was glad that the morning sickness and loss of appetite had passed and, of course, she was eight months in and almost ready to get the kid out of her.
She thought she was going to have a boy. She wanted a girl, but a boy was fine, too. She already loved the baby and its gender wouldn't change that. She and Lucius even agreed on names: Molly if it was a girl and Draco if it was a boy. It was a miracle that they agreed on anything, but this baby seemed to be who they both adored.
Gin' smiled softly and rubbed her swollen belly. Her feet were getting a bit cold, but she couldn't be bothered to lay back down and get warm.
"Ginevra?" her husband mumbled sleepily from beside her in bed, sitting up.
"Lucius," Gin' said softly, turning to look at her husband. "He's kicking." Lucius, who had been groggily rubbing his eyes, sat up straighter and scrambled over to her.
"Can I—" he asked, awed, not even able to finish his question before Gin' tugged his hand onto her giggled a bit when Lucius gasped.
"He's kicking!" Lucius exclaimed.
"Yes, he is!" Gin' replied happily, amused by Lucius' enthusiasm. They spent a moment laughing jovially, because they were having a baby. It was like it just now hit Gin', even after eight months of having a tiny human inside of her.
"Oh, God, will you two shut up? Yeah, you're having a kid, big news," came Ronald's annoyed, sleep-muffled voice from outside their door. Gin' covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her laughter when Lucius rolled his eyes and flipped off Ronald through the door.
"Go away, Weasley," the blond replied loudly. The couple heard Ron's mutterings as he moved away from their room.
Ginevra was still giggling when Lucius turned to her and smiled. Really smiled. Her heart froze in her chest, the laughter drained out of her. Her husband gently grabbed her hands. His hands were soft and caring like they were when he held her on their wedding night and every night they spent together after.
"Ginny," Lucius whispered. She'd never been called Ginny before. She . . . liked the way he said it.
"I love you," he breathed.
"Oh," she gasped. She didn't know who leaned in first, herself or Lucius, but their lips met in a soft kiss as though it was their first. She gasped when their baby kicked again. Her hands went to her stomach. Lucius' mouth curved into a smile and he broke away from her, placing his hands over hers on her belly.
"I love you, too," Gin' said softly.
"Ginevra," Lucius greeted warmly. She didn't reply. Instead, she turned away from him and watched her six-month-old child fuss a little in his sleep. The bed dipped slightly when Lucius sat next to her.
"Ginevra, what's wrong?" Lucius asked, his fingers brushing her arm.
"Don't touch me," she said coldly. Her hands shook. She felt as though something in her had clicked into place; some great truth revealed that she'd been too stupid to see before.
"Ginny."
"No, don't. I can't—not right now," Gin' replied.
"At least tell me what I did," Lucius demanded.
"You've murdered someone," she whispered, horrified, her vision blurring with her tears. Lucius sighed. She could practically feel him trying to come up with an excuse. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. In, out.
"It wasn't like that. We don't have the resources to care for prisoners right now—"
"Like hell you don't," Gin' spat. She was sick of Lucius, of his lies and promises.
"I can see that it's pointless to try and be reasonable with you right now," Lucius said icily. She could hear the anger lacing his voice. For once, she couldn't bring herself to be scared. She scooped up Draco from his crib and started towards the bedroom door.
"Where are you going?" Lucius asked.
"I'm going to go sleep somewhere else."
Lucius was quiet as she left the room. It hurt more than she thought it would.
Gin' felt like her entire soul had just been stripped away from her. Draco was gone. Her baby boy was gone and he was never coming back. He'd left her a note, put it on his pillow. He'd kissed her goodnight and left after she fell asleep
She was so shocked that she stumbled and tripped her way to the bench in front of the mirror. This was the bench she combed Draco's hair at, the bench that he told her all about the boy he'd fallen for. The bench that she'd basically told him to throw away all of his dreams.
"Ginevra?" A voice floated over to her from the doorway, concerned and knowing.
"He's gone, Lucius. He's gone." She whispered the last words. Lucius sighed and walked further into the room, sitting beside her and wrapping his arms around her.
"We can look for him," he murmured. Gin' felt torn. She wanted Draco back, of course. But she knew he'd find a way out again, because of Harry. Draco didn't belong in a palace, didn't fit in enough to be a prince.
"What would happen if we don't find him?" Gin' asked, looking up at her husband with careful eyes. She pushed him away slightly, because grief or not, she wouldn't fall back into her husband's arms. Never again.
Lucius gulped minutely.
"We'd have to have another child," he said. Gin' knew that. Of course she did. But to hear it from Lucius in such a serious setting . . . it felt like the last nail on her coffin. Gin' took a shaky breath and laid her hand on the vanity.
"But I can't," Gin' whispered brokenly. Lucius bit his lip for the first time she'd ever seen.
"I know," he replied softly. "I know."
Three weeks. She had three weeks to live.
Ginevra had never heard her husband cry. She'd never seen him break down and sob like he was doing then. She had woken up in the middle of the night and instinctively reached out for Lucius, only to find his side of the bed empty. She wandered around until she found him, on the balcony of Draco's bedroom, sobbing.
The sight of it . . . the sound of it, broke her heart. She knew what was going to happen, not that it was her's or Lucius' choice, no matter how much they wanted to change it. She knew what it meant for her to be infertile and child-less.
Ginevra Malfoy was just a waste of space now. She couldn't live if she couldn't produce an heir. She didn't know if Draco would come back, or if Lucius would ever find him. But she did know that she'd die loved, if Lucius' cries were anything to go by.
She wiped a tear from her eye and walked up behind Lucius, hugging him for a brief moment before moving away.
"Come back to bed soon," she said softly on her way out. He didn't.
Never again.