: The following is a work of fan fiction using characters from the world of Harry Potter, which is owned by J.K. Rowling. The characters, creatures and other related descriptions are also owned by J.K. Rowling. I will not be receiving any monies in relation to this fan fiction. I have also used the HP Lexicon for some minor details.
Summary: Harry Potter has been found alive, what will this mean for Ginny and Draco? What will this mean for the Order?
THE RISE AND THE FALL
Chapter 26
The Sacrifice
"Get Shacklebolt," Draco ordered the house elf as he, Alicia, and Terry appeared in the entrance hall of the Manor. He staggered forward, heading towards the drawing room and trying to keep hold of Potter.
"Let me help," Terry offered. He took Potter's feet and Draco noticed for the first time that he had no shoes on; his feet were filthy with dirt and dried blood.
Alicia pushed the cushions onto the floor in haste so the pair of them could put Potter down on the sofa. "What do we do now?" she whispered as the three of them stared down at the prone form of Harry Potter.
Silence.
All they could do was wait for Kingsley to arrive and so they did. Draco sat in the armchair by the sofa, staring at Potter. How is he alive? How did the Dark Lord allow this? Did he even know? As these questions raced through his mind, Alicia paced in front of the fireplace, hands visibly shaking as she paused at intervals to stare at Potter. Terry sat in the armchair opposite to Draco's and watched Alicia's progress with a blank expression. Draco wondered what they were thinking, wondered if they thought the same questions.
"What is this?"
All three started as Kingsley came into the room, robes billowing behind him. Draco and Terry stood as Kingsley strode over to where Potter lay, and watched him stiffen as his dark eyes slid up Potter's face and landed on the scar. There was no denying that this was Potter, somehow alive and somewhat well.
"Harry?" Kingsley whispered in shock, kneeling to the floor beside Potter. "Dear Merlin... Is it truly Potter?"
"Well, he had the same self-righteous tone as Potter always did in school," Draco retorted.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Alicia snapped at him as she stepped forward. "I Stupefied him, sir, we didn't know who he was... He should be fine, it was just a Stunner."
Kingsley would not look away from Potter, and he only nodded. "Do not worry, child," he muttered. "We must get him a proper bed, he is malnourished by the looks of it too. Draco, do you have access to a Healer?" Before Draco could answer, he shook his head violently. "No, no... we cannot risk that!"
"My house elves are well-equipped for basic to intermediate medical care," Draco replied. "My father, you see..." He trailed off, not wanting to discuss his father. It didn't matter. "I will arrange a house elf for his care, and a room."
Draco left them in the drawing room, staring over Potter. No doubt they all thought they were saved now, now that their saviour had returned to rescue them all. He felt nothing at all about Potter being alive, aside from shock, and it would make no difference at all. What had he been doing the entire time he was alive? Not saving the Wizarding World from the Dark Lord, that was for certain. He would arrange a room and a house elf, then see Ginevra and Thuban.
Ginevra.
Draco stopped halfway along the entrance hall when he thought of his wife. She and Potter had been boyfriend and girlfriend before he had 'died'. It had always been a well-known fact at Hogwarts that Ginevra had a massive crush on Potter, had always wanted to go out with him, and then he had been cruelly taken from her just as they started going out. The thought made him sneer, made jealousy and resentment bubble up inside him with venomous anger. But, Ginevra was his wife, was the mother of his child. This could not be changed.
Draco took a deep breath before calling a house elf and charging it with Potter's care. He took a few more deep breaths, making sure he was calm enough to see his wife and son, and ascended the staircase. Chatter and noise could be heard throughout the Manor, more than there ever had been in his parents lifetimes, and Draco was not used it. He was an only child, he was the one who had made the noise and disrupted the peace of the Manor as a child, but the noises he made himself were never tiresome or irritating to him. Now there were other people living in the Manor, it was hard not to notice how tiresome and irritating noise really was. At least it seemed to take his mind off Potter, hearing the noises made him remember that there were other people here who would be bolstered by such news and he wondered if Ginevra would be one of them.
He found Ginevra in her private suite, holding Thuban and speaking with Granger, who had her child with her too. The pair of them stopped their conversation and looked up as he entered.
The wide smile on Ginevra's face was more than enough to allay his fears for now, even more so when she walked over to him and kissed him gently. "We weren't expecting you back until tomorrow," she said. "Did the mission not go to plan?"
The look on his face must have told it all as Granger stood, a concerned expression in her eyes as her brows knitted together. "No, it didn't go quite to plan," he sighed. "No one's dead," he added, watching them sigh with relief. "Kingsley is with Alicia and Terry in the drawing room. We have another... guest."
Granger and Ginevra glanced at each other and smiled. "Well, that's great news!" Ginevra said.
Draco struggled to smile and supposed he only barely managed something that may have looked like a grimace. "Is it?" Granger asked. "What's wrong?"
Draco sighed. He had wanted to tell Ginevra alone, he hadn't wanted anyone to see her reaction to the news; what if she marched right by him and rushed to Potter's side, as if nothing had changed between them? But, it couldn't be avoided now. "You better sit down," he said quietly, wishing silently for an alcoholic drink.
"Why?" Ginevra asked. "Just tell us, Draco. No one's died, so what is the problem?"
"Just sit down, will you?" he snapped.
Ginevra and Granger glanced at each other again. Normally, one of them would have told him where to go after taking that tone, but he must have looked mad or scary in that moment for them to actually do as he asked. "What is it?" Granger asked quietly.
Draco breathed in and sat himself on the sofa, he rubbed his face, trying to figure out what to say. Sighing again, he said, "It's Potter."
Granger blinked, taken aback. "What is? What about Harry?"
Draco stared at her, deciding that it was easier to look at Granger now rather than Ginevra. "Our new guest," he explained. "It is Potter."
Neither of them said anything for what felt like an eternity. Granger's jaw dropped open and she seemed to forget how to blink as she focused on Draco. "What?" she whispered.
"It's Potter," he repeated. "He is alive."
Granger sucked in a sharp breath and turned her face away from him, her body stiffening as a sob tore through her. Ginevra passed Thuban to him as she rushed to her friend's side and took her niece from Granger's trembling hands, and put a comforting hand on her back. Draco felt as though he was watching something he shouldn't and stood up, walking over to the balcony as Granger's sobs echoed throughout the room as Ginevra tried to soothe her.
He leant against the frame of the balcony doors and cradled Thuban, who seemed intent on grasping at anything that he could reach, which now happened to be Draco's cloak ties. Draco felt his anxiety ebb away as he looked down into Thuban's open and unquestioning face; there was nothing but a desire to feel and to see in his innocent face and his large, brown eyes found Draco's face with ease. And they simply looked at each for a long while until Thuban could no longer keep his own eyes open.
Granger's sobs had evened out by the time Draco placed Thuban in the bassinet beside the bed, and she seemed ready to go and see Potter. Her face was red and splotchy from crying, but she faced Draco with her head high. "Where is he? Are we allowed to see him?"
Draco shook his head. "He was unconscious when we brought him here. Alicia Stunned him when we didn't realise who he was," he explained. "Kingsley reckons he is undernourished too, so I don't know if he will let anyone see Potter yet."
"I don't care what Kingsley says, I'm going to see Harry," she said, but before Granger could rush off, a house elf Apparated into the room.
"Sir, Mr. Potter has been put in the Blue Room in the East Wing," it informed him. "His health is lacking, but he is only needing nourishment. Mr. Shacklebolt has requested that you all allow Mr. Potter to rest." The house elf bowed low and disapparated.
Granger stared at the spot where the house elf had been standing moments before, but shook herself out of her reverie quickly. "I'm going to find Ron," she muttered, and she took Rose from Ginevra then left without another word or glance at either of them.
Ginevra looked at him now, her eyes searching his face. For what, he wasn't sure – the truth? "What, Ginevra?" he asked, turning away from her and unclasping his cloak. All he wanted right now was a bath, no questions or awkwardness.
"Is it really Harry?" she said, and she had tried to speak in an even tone, but there was just that little waver in her voice that told him this meant something to her.
"Why would I lie?"
"I'm not saying –" she sighed heavily. "Do you know what this means for us?"
The heat of the jealousy and resentment he had felt earlier came back cold as glaciers, settling in his veins. "No, I do not know what Potter returning has to do with us," he said, turning to face her again. She was closer to him now, but had stopped short when she heard the dark tone of his voice. "Do you think because he is back that I'm going to relinquish you to him?"
Ginevra's eyebrows raised ever so slightly, so subtly, that he hardly noticed. Draco did notice her nostrils flare and that she took in a deep breath. "What in Merlin's name are you on about?" she hissed.
Draco glared at her, eyes narrowing as he stepped closer to her. "You and Potter," he snapped. "Don't believe for a moment that you think you can continue with him right where you left off."
Ginevra stared at him, pursing her lips as she glared straight back at him. "I can't believe you... I really can't." Then she stormed off, leaving him standing there, dumbstruck.
"Go and run off to Potter then!" he spat.
She stopped at the door and looked back at him, throwing him a disgusted look, before wrenching the door open. "You're a bloody arsehole, Draco!" Ginevra slammed the door shut behind her.
"Just great," he muttered as Thuban started to cry. "Just great. Thanks for waking him up, Ginevra!" he shouted. He didn't need this right now, he was tired and sweaty, and felt it would be a good idea to drag her back and force her to make Thuban settle again. But, what would that achieve? Draco felt he didn't even particularly wish to look at her, right now at least.
With a sigh, he scooped up Thuban and tried to soothe his crying. Draco never felt comfortable doing this, trying to settle him, he was so small that he feared he could hurt him somehow. Ginevra would usually respond far quicker to Thuban's cries and noises, negating the need for him to do much anyway. Evidently, she was so furious with Draco that she was willing to leave Thuban with him, even as he cried. It didn't matter, he didn't need her. He would get Thuban back to sleep without her help.
Ginny stopped just outside the door as Thuban began to cry, and she turned to go back, her hand hovering just over the doorknob when she heard Draco shout back at her. She frowned deeply, rage filling her heart again, and walked away.
He could deal with Thuban, it would serve him right for being so utterly ridiculous and rude. She couldn't let Draco think that she should always respond to Thuban's crying and now, when she couldn't bear to even look at her husband, was the perfect time. But, Ginny faltered – Draco did not know much about babies. He gave his son enough attention, held him as was expected, but he hadn't once changed a nappy or winded Thuban and he had only ever gotten him back to sleep without her help once. Ginny enjoyed looking after her baby, and so did those things automatically because she wanted to, and Draco was conveniently content to allow that to happen. She shook herself; if Draco couldn't get Thuban to sleep, he would call Daisy eventually enough to assist.
After the way he had just spoken to her, he was going to learn. And so, Ginny continued to walk away.
How dare he think that she was going to run back to Harry? How dare he think she wanted to? After everything... After coming back to him, after telling him she was in love with him... Ginny was in complete shock that Draco should even have an iota of a thought about it. Hadn't she told him she couldn't bear the thought of being without him? His behaviour just didn't make sense at all. Ginny knew he could be possessive, but this was plain ignorance and stupidity, and it shocked her to think that he was capable of such idiocy still.
Lost in her thoughts, Ginny couldn't help but wonder about Harry. Would he be broken to know that she was married to a man who he most likely considered to still be an enemy? But that was selfish to think, selfish to believe that she should be first and foremost in his mind, when he would be surrounded by his friends in a short while. Kingsley would not be able to hold them off for any long period of time. The thought of Ron and Hermione being reunited with Harry brought on the sting of tears, her breath caught in her throat as she remembered how Hermione had sobbed. They had been hit the hardest after they thought Harry had been lost to them.
After she had wandered for what seemed like an hour, Ginny could not rest until she had at least seen Harry and so began to make her way to the Blue Room. It was strange walking there as she had been forbidden from going to the East Wing when Lucius Malfoy had resided within its confines. Even as she drew closer to the room, she could hear hushed chatter in the hallway ahead and she found a cluster of people waiting outside the Blue Room upon turning the corner.
"Ginny! Ginny!"
Andromeda was calling her over, gesturing madly at her to come quickly. The others around her turned and did the same, excited looks on their faces.
"Is it true?" Andromeda asked, her eyes bright with anticipation as she drew Ginny into the group. "Is it truly Harry Potter?"
Ginny nodded. "I think so, Draco says it was him."
Cheers erupted in the hallway, disturbing the portraits that lined the hall, all of whom hissed at the din and sneered. The door burst open and everyone immediately quietened as they turned to look.
"Will you lot be quiet?!" Ron popped his head out of the doorway, and Ginny noticed that his eyes were red and his lashes were wet. He had been crying.
"Can we come in?" someone from the back of the group called.
"Yeah, we want to see Harry!"
"Let us see Potter!"
"Potter! Potter! Potter!"
"Shut it!" Ron hissed loudly. "The man needs to bloody rest without you lot chanting out here! Oh, Ginny, there you are..." He said gently. "Come in, come."
That was a bad idea. As soon as he gestured for Ginny to come inside, the rest of the group piled in, knocking Ron out of the way and chattering excitedly. Ginny shook her head at Ron as he tried to pull himself to his feet.
"Bloody gits," he muttered, his ears turning red as he accepted Ginny's help in getting up.
They both walked into the Blue Room to find Harry surrounded by hordes of people, friends, admirers, people who just needed hope. Ron pushed through them all, snapping at them until Ginny couldn't see him anymore.
"Bloody idiots, I tried to stop them Harry..." She heard Ron say apologetically.
"It's fine." Ginny gasped as she recognised Harry's voice, even if it was weak and scratchy. It was Harry. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that he was alive.
"Will you step back a bit?!" Ron shouted. "Give the man some bloody space!"
Ginny gnawed on her lip as she wondered what to do, it would be incredibly awkward to stand in front of Harry, in front of all these people... Then she spotted Draco standing on the periphery, his grey eyes on her as he leant against the wall, arms crossed. Even though they had argued and she was furious with him, seeing him standing there made her tension fall away and she let her heart choose to walk over to him.
Ginny stood beside him and pretended to survey the swelling group of people around the four poster bed. "Gave up trying to get Thuban back to sleep, then?" she asked coldly.
"No, actually," he replied in just as cold a tone as she. "It's not that difficult, is it? You manage it."
Hot anger flared up within her, but she suppressed it. Draco knew how to wind her up and this was just another one of his wind up games. "If it's so easy, why don't you get up and do it more often?" she muttered back.
Draco scoffed. "Why would I? That's a woman's job."
Now he was really trying to push her buttons; she knew that he didn't truly believe that and it was a pathetic attempt to rile her. "That's fine then," she replied, nonchalant. "If you don't want to help with the baby, then I'll take that to mean you don't wish to make more babies."
Draco stiffened beside her, but scoffed again. "That makes no sense," he muttered. "I'll gladly assist in that endeavour."
Ginny scoffed at him now, still not looking at him. "Well, according to you, I'll be throwing myself into Harry's arms any minute now, so looks like you won't be assisting me in that endeavour at all."
"Seems like it," he shot back, the coldness now gone and replaced with heated anger.
Ginny turned to him now, watching as he glared at the scene in front of him. "You're so selfish," she hissed. "Harry is a symbol of hope to all these people, and all you are worried about is if I'm going to run off with him!"
Draco glanced down at her, a sneer curling his lip. "No one said I was selfless," he muttered. "Being selfish kept me alive long enough, didn't it? And I am so selfish that I took all these people into my home and fed them. Yes, OK, Ginevra, I'm selfish."
Ginny sighed heavily, wanting to stop this fighting. "Draco, listen to me," she said, making him look at her. "I don't love Harry. I... I never did." Draco stared down at her, his frown slipping. "It was an infatuation, a little girl's fairy tale. I love you, you stupid idiot." She huffed and turned away from him again, angry at having to remind him of that. "And if you think we're having another baby any time soon, think again," she muttered. "You can look after Thuban whilst I go away on a mission."
"Oh, Ginevra," he murmured in her ear. "You will be with child again before the year is out." Ginny heard him chuckle, and felt the warmth of his fingers tracing along her shoulder and a tingle of pleasure ran up her spine.
"Not with your foul attitude," she retorted, slapping his hand away. Besides, they hadn't slept together since before Thuban was born. He had been on missions, they had both been in Order meetings to the early hours and Thuban demanded a lot of time. There had been no time for that kind of thing, especially with so many people around.
"Let your mother have Thuban tonight," he said quietly in her ear, his hand sliding around her waist. "Then I'll show you how fast my attitude can change."
Ginny pushed away from him. "No, Draco, I'm still angry with you," she snapped.
Draco laughed. "Even better."
"What are all these people doing in here?" Kingsley's voiced boomed throughout the room, causing everyone to jump and all the loud chatter to cease immediately. "I said to let the man rest!"
"You're the one shouting," someone spoke up.
A gasp radiated from the group, but Kingsley chose to ignore this. "I want everyone to leave right NOW!"
"It's fine, Kingsley," Harry's low voice came from the bed. "I want them all here, I haven't seen everyone in so long... let them stay."
Kingsley forced his way through the crowd and to Harry's side. "Harry, you need to rest," he insisted.
"I said I'm fine," Harry snapped. "And I'm not going to be left alone until everyone finds out how I'm still alive, am I?"
"They bloody well will," Ron growled from within the throng.
"Harry, you don't owe anyone an explanation." That was Hermione.
"I think he does," a voice spoke up. Ginny thought it sounded like Ernie Macmillan. "We've been fighting against You-Know-Who for five years. Some of us have a right to know where he's been all this time, people have died in the fight."
"Oi! Don't you dare put that on Harry!" Ron shouted. "He never asked anyone to fight for him, or to die for him! He owes you nothing!"
"Ron, really, it's fine," Harry muttered. "Just sit down. I'd rather get this out of the way. There's nothing thrilling or exciting about it and I would much rather not have to relive it ten times over."
"Dear Merlin!" A shout came from the doorway. Mr and Mrs. Weasley had arrived and where now pushing through the crowd. "Harry! Oh Merlin! Harry!" That was her mother and Ginny could tell she was in tears. "Dear, dear boy!" she sobbed and Ginny could imagine that she had thrown herself over Harry and was pulling him into a bone-cracking hug. "We never dared to hope..."
"Uhh... thanks, Mrs. Weasley..." Harry's muffled voice came.
"Mum, can this wait? Harry wanted to tell us what happened."
"Be quiet, Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Harry needs his rest without all these people in here, smothering him!"
"You're smothering him!" Ron pointed out loudly.
Harry sighed heavily. "Can I get on with this or not?"
"But, Harry -."
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said in exasperation.
"Molly, let him speak." That was Ginny's father, calm and collected as usual. "Then he can rest."
"But, Arthur -."
"Molly, let him speak," Mr. Weasley said firmly.
Then there was silence.
"Go on, Harry," Kingsley said gently and Ginny could almost touch the anticipation in the room. Even Draco had stilled beside her to listen to Harry's story.
"I thought I had died," Harry began, his voice even and calm. "When I faced Voldemort -."
Gasps of horror sounded about the room. Someone even shrieked.
"- in the forest that night, I thought I had died," he continued as though there had been no interruption. "But I felt pain still, I felt the horrid burn of the Cruciatus and what ever else the Death Eaters were sullying my body with. Even as I drifted, I felt the pain. But then I woke up in darkness, on a slab. I knew I was alive, the pain in every sinew and bone of my body told me I was alive." Harry paused here and took a breath. "There was someone in there with me, crying, muttering. I had to breathe, tried to keep quiet but there was no way, and then the crying stopped. A wand was lit and Narcissa Malfoy was standing over me."
Draco stiffened beside Ginny and she stares up at him as his jaw tensed, but he said nothing.
"Narcissa?" A voice whispered. Andromeda.
"Yes. We stared at each other a long while until she asked if I were real." Harry laughed bitterly. "How did I know? I thought I had died. I couldn't answer her and so she tried every spell she could think of to confirm I was real, that I was alive. I waited to be taken to Voldemort, to his Death Eaters, waited to die another death but it never came. Mrs. Malfoy left me in the darkness for what felt like forever. I thought they were dragging the inevitable out, trying to send me mad, but then she came back. I don't know how long she had been gone for, it could have been hours or days. But, she had food for me, and she had her husband's Death Eater robes and a wand as well. She was helping me escape."
"What?" Andromeda gasped. "Narcissa helped you... She helped you escape? Why?"
"She said to me 'Nothing in this world matters more to me than my son, don't believe for a moment I'm doing this for you.'"
Ginny could hear Draco's breathing come fast and, despite her anger, she grasped his hand and squeezed it.
"That sounds like Narcissa," Andromeda said moodily.
"It didn't matter, she was freeing me, I didn't care what her reasons were, I didn't care if she wasn't doing it for me," Harry replied. "By some bloody miracle, she had come to hate Voldemort and didn't want Malfoy to be forced to serve under him, to live under him and she was willing to risk her own life to help me escape. She thought I could finish Voldemort still." Harry stopped again momentarily. "Did she live?" he asked quietly. "Mrs. Malfoy. Did she live?"
Draco wrenched his hand from Ginny's and shoved past the crowd, before she could do anything to stop him. "No, she didn't live, Potter!" he shouted, and it was the angriest Ginny had ever heard him. "Thanks to you, she's fucking dead!"
"It's not Harry's fault your mum died, Malfoy!" Ron shouted back. "She chose to help him! She did it for you, you ungrateful bastard!"
"Shut the fuck up, Weasley!" Draco bellowed and the crowd gasped.
"I'm sorry about your mum, Malfoy," Harry said quietly in the wake of all the shouting. "Really, I am -."
"Save it, Potter," Draco growled. "How many more people have to die for you? How many more people need to die before you decide to kill the Dark Lord? Or is all that crap about you being the Chosen One lies to get fool's like these to follow you?"
"I never claimed to have special powers to kill Voldemort, Malfoy," Harry said firmly now, his voice cracking under the strain of speaking so much.
"You don't?" A gasp went through the crowd of people.
"He never said he did," Hermione said in exasperation. "But Harry is the only one who can finish Voldemort, and he can do it with our help."
Draco snorted derisively. "Sure thing, Granger, and more of us can die in the attempt. I've had enough of this." Ginny watched as he stormed out of the room, shaking, and she wondered whether she should go after him, but thought it best to let him calm down without interruption. He had just found out that his mother had died to save Harry, not because she had been selling secrets to the Order and, more than likely, it had been his own father that had spun the story Draco had lived with and believed for the past five years.
"Typical Slytherin, always running away," Ron growled.
"Hey! There are other Slytherins here, you know!" Andromeda snapped.
"Is Harry going to be allowed to finish?" Hermione cut in with a heavy sigh.
The group was silenced again and Harry was able to continue.
"I am sorry," he said quietly. "About Mrs. Malfoy. I never wanted her to die."
"We know that, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said in a comforting voice. "Malfoy will understand that, he's obviously upset right now."
Harry started again with a deep breath. "So, I escaped, disguised as a Death Eater, with a wand, but Mrs. Malfoy had warned me not to contact my friends," he explained. "She said you were all under strict surveillance or had gone underground. Some had even been forced to join Voldemort. I couldn't try to contact anyone at all until there came a time when there was word of resistance. And so I travelled the country, looking for signs, helping muggles escape where I could, still dressed as a Death Eater and watching the world come under his rule. It was hard, so hard to stay in the shadows and just watch. But I did what I could, when I could. That's how I ended up here – that house I was at, I was trying to help the muggles there escape, but I was too late." Harry's voice faltered here. "I had managed to help some escape, but when I returned, the Death Eaters had killed them all and left. Every single one..."
A shiver ran through the group as he finished speaking and not one person tried to break the stunned silence.
"Is... is Ginny alive?" Harry asked hesitantly, after some minutes of thoughtful quiet, and Ginny felt her heart thump. This would be awkward.
"She's alive," Mrs. Weasley said in a gentle voice. "And she's here, Harry."
"Where is she? Does she know I'm here?"
Ginny felt her heart constrict and her stomach twist unpleasantly.
"Harry, dear, you should know -."
"I'm here, Harry," Ginny called out, pushing herself away from the comfort of the wall, which she wished she could melt into. She had to be the one to tell Harry, she couldn't let others do it for her, no matter how easier it would be. The crowd parted for her as she made her way towards him and she gasped at how ill and thin he looked. His face was gaunt, his skin sallow and his normally messy hair was matted to his head. But it was still Harry and she couldn't stop the smile that came to her lips when she saw him smile back at her.
"Ginny..." he said quietly. "You look well."
Ginny nodded. "I can't really say the same for you, Harry."
He gave a scratchy laugh. "Yeah, thanks, Gin."
"We'll leave you two alone," Mr. Weasley muttered. "It's good to see you back, Harry." With that, he and Kingsley ushered everyone out of the room, Ron and Hermione gave her an uncomfortable look and pat on the back before leaving themselves.
"We'll see you again later, mate," Ron called back to Harry before he shut the door.
"So... Ron and Hermione had a baby, I still can't believe it," Harry said, shaking his head.
Ginny gave a nervous laugh and agreed. "Yeah... It is weird." Merlin, that sounded lame.
"Ginny, I... I thought about you a lot when I was out there on my own," he started to say, but Ginny stopped him. She couldn't let him do this, she couldn't let him pour his feelings out to her, only to be told there was no chance in hell that she would ever be with him.
"Wait, Harry," she said in a gentle voice. "I have to tell you something." Ginny swallowed hard as she looked into Harry's striking green eyes, and could feel herself wanting to back out of the room already under his piercing gaze. She had to tell him now before her courage slipped away. "Ron and Hermione aren't the only ones with a baby..." Ginny breathed deeply. "I have a baby, too."
Harry blinked at her and frowned. "You have a... a baby too?" he asked slowly.
"Yes."
"With who?"
Ginny steeled herself and sighed. "With Draco Malfoy."
Ginny was certain that Harry would have jumped out of bed in agitation, would have shouted in surprise, had he been well, but all he could manage was an "oh."
"We're married," she said, looking down at her hands, at the wedding ring on her left hand.
"Oh," he said again.
Ginny dared to look up at him and saw that he was staring up at the canopy, hands crossed over his stomach as he avoided her gaze. She reached out to take his hand. "Harry... I'm sorry, I -."
"I think I should rest now, actually," he said abruptly and Ginny shrank back into her chair as she saw tears in his eyes. "Yes, I think I should rest." He turned away from her and said nothing further.
Ginny stared at his back and wished she could say something, anything, to make this right. But there was nothing. And so she left him to rest, fighting back her own tears as she walked out of the room.
A/N: Apologies for the lack of note on the previous chapter. I am submitting this using my phone and the formatting is quite difficult to get around, so if you notice any differences with the layout, please bear with me.
Also, thank you for all your reviews in the past two years. I didn't really want to mention it, but I feel I should explain why I have neglected this story. My Dad died in 2016 after battling a long illness, but his death was entirely unexpected and I couldn't really bring myself to write about more death. The fact that Draco lost both his parents in this story also made it difficult for me to write, especially with Narcissa's whole backstory thing as I had written Lucius's death before my Dad passed away. I wanted to write happier stories and that's why The Marriage Market has been updated before this.
Anyway, please don't feel the need to offer any condolences, blah blah blah. I am not trying to boost my review numbers at all, I just felt I should explain why it's taken me so long to write. However, if you really enjoyed the chapter and can't wait for the next one, then please do review! Next instalment is called The Old Rivalry.