He Did Not Have To Be
Chapter 14
Starting Over
Ginny stared at Draco for a long moment before finally speaking, "You really mean it, don't you?"
"Of course I do. What the hell do you think I've been doing all this time?"
"I'm not sure, but some part of me thought that maybe for you this was just some way to beat Harry," she admitted.
Draco cupped her cheek with his hand. "No, Potter has never been a part of this."
"But Draco, your father-"
"What about him?" he snapped.
"You have always been so...," she was not sure what the right words were.
"Yes I know I have been, but it's time he accepts what I want and supports me. If he can't, then I have no use for him. Ginny, you and Lily are the only things that matter to me now."
She closed her eyes, trying to remember this moment forever. Then she slowly opened them and looked into his eyes. "Draco, I love you!"
He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "I love you too," he smiled, then leaned in and brought his lips down on hers, finding they were soft. The kiss began gently and then grew with intensity. He was loving the feeling of her in his arms. She fit perfectly; making him feel as if he was only half a person and she was his other half. As his tongue asked for entrance into her mouth, she pulled away.
"Draco, I can't. We can't. I promised myself when I found out about Lily that I wouldn't." Her hands were on his chest as if trying to keep some distance between them. "I'm sorry."
Draco looked down at her. "We are talking about sex, right?"
"Yes," her head nodded.
"Until our wedding night?" She nodded again. He took her face in his hands. "Does that mean that you will marry me?"
She bit her lip and looked up at him. "That means I hope to marry you. You still have just over five months."
"Trust me, you will be my wife."
"So what happens now?" she asked.
"Well, I will stay at my Aunt's for the weekend at the very least. Then once the trust fund is released, I can see if any of the Black properties are fit to live in."
"I highly doubt it," she replied sarcastically.
"Why do you say that?"
"I saw the state Grimmauld Place was in. It was horrible!"
"Why would you have seen that?"
"It was headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix."
"I know that, but you were underage for the whole war."
"So were you, but you still took the mark."
"Ginny, I had to, for-"
"I know that; I just needed to point out that age didn't matter, but honestly, my family spent the summer before my fourth year there. I was never allowed to know what the Order was doing, but I was there. It was not a pleasant place, and not somewhere I would want to bring Lily to. It was dark, creepy, and filthy. Completely unlivable at first."
He smiled. "Okay, so tops on Ginny's list is: Bright, cheery, and clean and livable. Then she and Lily will come over all the time, with lots of room for children to play."
"You're awful sure of yourself."
When Monday arrived, the two Black sisters went to see the family lawyer and sign the release on Draco's trust fund. It also entitled him to any and all of his Grandfather Black's properties. After the meeting the two women headed back to Andromeda's house, where Draco was waiting. "Here you go, Draco; the key to the Black vault at Gringotts, number 225. There you will find your gold and the deeds to all of your inherited properties. It's nowhere near as large as the Malfoy fortune, but you will still be very well off,"Andromeda explained. She, being the older of the two sisters, knew the vault's contents better than Narcissa.
"And Draco dear, I will have a house elf stop by later with the Christmas presents you purchased for Ginny and Lily," his mother offered.
Draco shook his head. "No thanks, they were purchased with Malfoy money."
"Draco, that's just nonsense! If you're concerned about that, simply transfer the amount you paid for them back to your Malfoy account. Really, with everything else you have to do, re-buying Christmas gifts is one thing you can do without," Narcissa said.
Draco nodded, then said, "Well ladies, I thank you so very much for all of your help in this matter. However, I have spent three days in these same clothes and I think I need to head out and get myself some new togs. Aunt Andromeda, I will be back later to collect my things."
"Draco, I can assure you that none of the Black residences would be ready to move into just yet."
"I know, however I do not wish to wear out my welcome. I'll stay in a hotel for the time being."
"Over my dead body! I told you, you're welcome to stay here until things are sorted out. I mean it!"
Draco took a moment to think and realized that the Weasleys were on good terms with his aunt, and if they saw she trusted him it could help him win them over. "If you're sure..."
After stopping at Gringotts Bank, Draco set out to replace his wardrobe. He did stop at the Joke shop first to check on Ginny, with hope of taking her for a coffee at least. But when he got to the shop, Verta informed him that Ginny had left minutes before with Hermione.
"Oh well. Is George in the back today?"
"Yes, he is. I'll tell him you're here."
Draco spent about an hour with George, and finally felt he knew what he needed to do to help George get back into the swing of things. However, it would mean spending more time with Gryffindors!
Once he finished with George, he found Ginny working on the books. She ran the shop's office for her brother. He stood in her doorway, gazing at her until she looked up."Hey!" She smiled at him.
"Hello, beautiful. Want to take off and come looking at the Black properties with me?"
"Draco," she started warningly. "I can't! I have to get the payroll finished and then I have to start preparing for inventory next week. Speaking of that, seeing as how you're not working, is there any chance you could spend that night at the apartment with Lily?"
Draco smirked. "A night with you? Sure."
"No, Draco. Sorry, just you and Lily. I will be here all night counting, then when I return I can take Lily to Mum's so I can sleep."
"Well, a night with both of you would be better, but for now I'll take what I can get. Of course I can stay with Lily. No chance you can come for lunch, at least?"
She shook her head. "Sorry, I had an early lunch with Hermione."
"Okay, is it alright if I come by later tonight?"
"Sure. I'll see you then. Now go! I need to get some work done."
"Later." He went to leave, then stopped. "Hey Ginny, that bloke that used to do commentary for the Quidditch matches, what was his name? You know, the one with the dreadlocks."
"Lee Jordan. Why?"
"Can't talk now. I have house hunting to do." He then Disapparated, leaving Ginny shaking her head at him.
Draco selected a Black property in London for now, mostly because it was close to Ginny and Lily. However, it was in horrible shape. He contacted the right magical people to clean it up and make it fit for humans. And more appropriately, fit for Lily, who would soon be crawling. Then he headed back to his aunt's home. "So they said it will take at least three more weeks before I can move in there."
Andromeda smiled at him in a way that reminded him of his mother. "Draco, you're more than welcome to stay here."
"I knew you would say that, but are you sure?"
The woman smiled even more at him. "Did I tell you that Molly Weasley insisted that anyone who was here over the holidays is invited to the Burrow for Christmas dinner?"
"No, you didn't mention that," he smirked. It dawned on him that if he stayed here, he would get to spend all of Christmas with Ginny and Lily. "I guess I could stay here a little longer."
The next day Narcissa was at Andromeda's when Draco arrived back for the day. Andromeda excused herself to give them a moment alone. "Draco, you really surprised your father. He told me to tell you that you are still welcome at the Manor, and at Malfoy Holdings. And he hopes you will be home for Christmas."
"Did he include Ginny and Lily in that?"
"Draco, he still needs time."
"Mother, I can't. If he can't accept them, then I won't return."
"I was really hoping to see you at Christmas, too," Narcissa whined, in the way that mothers do to get a reaction from their children.
"Christmas Day I will be spending with Andromeda at the Weasley home, but Christmas Eve I will be at Ginny's. I'll talk to her; I'm sure she will extend an invite to you."
Narcissa smiled. "Do you think she will?"
"Of course, Mother."
Andromeda had overheard most of the conversation and stepped back into the room. "Then I will make a point of calling the Manor to wish you a happy Christmas about seven that evening."
Draco looked a little surprised that someone was willing to take on his father's temper. "Dromeda, you haven't told him?" Her sister shook her head. "Draco, it's time you knew."
"It's more my story than yours, so I'll tell it," Andromeda offered. "Draco, you know your parents married because of a betrothal between the Malfoys and the Blacks, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, you see, Bella was already promised to the Lestranges, but it was I who was to marry Lucius; not your mother. We knew each other fairly well, but fought like cats and dogs. However, your mother and Lucius were in the same year, and I was two years ahead of them. They got to know each other. And when I made Head Girl in my seventh year, Ted was Head Boy, so of course we spent a lot of time together and fell in love. Yet at that point I was still planning on marrying Lucius, but then I realized that Cissy was in love with him. I also realized that if I married Ted, in order to fulfill the betrothal, Narcissa would have to marry Lucius. I knew how much it would hurt your mother to know that her own sister was with the man she loved, so I took off and married Ted. And yes, I was disowned, but I could live with that because I knew I made Cissy happy." She looked at her sister. "You never told him this?"
"No. Lucius would never want it known that a blood traitor and a Muggle born were the reasons for his happiness."
Draco realized what was being said, without words, between the two women.
A/N I can't believe the number of reviews the last chapter got! Amazing! Thank you to everyone who took the time to review! You can't imagine what that means to me!!! A couple of people asked how many chapters were in this story. Well, I don't really know. However, I will not abandon the story; in fact, I can say this: I'm writing Chapter 18, and Draco is still working on Ginny's family...