Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (nor any of the other characters, sadly. Wouldn't mind a Draco!) Please don't sue me. I have nothing of value anyway.
Rating: Now rated M overall. This chapter is T.
Spoilers: DH compliant, except epilogue. All seven books are fair game!
Pairing: Draco x Ginny.
Author's Note: Okay, I will admit that Pansy is slightly (really) canon-breaking, but I had a lot of fun with her. Enjoy Pansy, and the rest of the chapter! =)
The Name of the Game
Chapter 26: How the Muggles Do It
Ginny stared down at the note in her hand, her jaw slack as she read it a second time.
Dearest Draco,
I trust by now you realize that there are pictures of you snogging the Weasley girl on the front page of every paper in wizarding Britain. As I am presently in St. Mungo's (nothing that wasn't meant to happen, don't fret) and cannot come to you, I insist that you come visit me. And bring the Weasley. I need the entertainment!
With love,
Pansy
"You really expect me to visit Pansy Parkinson?" Ginny asked again. She wasn't even going to try to address the closing sentiment 'with love'…
"It's Parkinson-Nott now, actually, but I really would appreciate it," Draco replied.
"That mean, pug-faced, evil little… she actually got married?"
"To Theodore Nott, as you've probably guessed. And she really isn't that bad," Malfoy coaxed. "I think you'll find that she's a bit… different… than she was in our school days."
"You're saying she isn't planning to ridicule me over that absolutely humiliating photo array in the Daily Prophet?" Ginny asked doubtfully. "Not bloody likely."
"She might," Draco admitted. "I think it's more likely she'll want to ridicule me for getting caught with my pants down… er… proverbially speaking."
"Yes, well thank Merlin they didn't get a picture of that," Ginny snapped, rolling her eyes.
"Look, I'm not saying she's necessarily changed for the better; you'll have to decide that for yourself," he persisted. "But I do think you'll find that she's changed for the more entertaining, at least."
"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Parkinson-Nott?" he replied, arching an eyebrow meaningfully. "Traditional Purebloods don't tend to hyphenate their names upon marriage, you realize."
"Yes, I thought that was odd. I thought it was more of a Muggle naming convention…" Ginny's brow furrowed in thought, but her eyes snapped wide a second later. "You don't mean…"
"I do," Draco smirked. "Pansy is now a fan of all things Muggle."
"… That, I may have to see," Ginny admitted grudgingly.
"You have no idea how much," he continued. "If I've understood the note correctly, she's here in St. Mungo's because she's finally had her baby, and she has promised to name it something spectacular, and Muggle. It's bound to be ridiculous."
Ginny stifled a giggle. "Pansy Parkinson… Parkinson-Nott, rather… is going to attempt to raise an actual human being?"
"See? You have to come see her. Besides, if you don't, she'll never let me alone about it."
"Hmph," Ginny snorted. "Well, at least I know her baby isn't yours, paranoid as you are."
"Oh, gods, don't even joke about it. I can't begin to imagine sleeping with Pansy," Malfoy groaned in disgust.
"Seriously? Harry and Ron always told me she was all over you at Hogwarts," Ginny asked in surprise.
"Well, she was, in a way; she was always at me not to become a Death Eater. She thought it dangerous and unsavory. She was right, of course. And of course Potter and the Weasel would think otherwise. Granger absolutely hated her."
"I rather thought that sentiment was mutual."
Draco shugged. "That is probably true. But the reality of it is that Pansy took it upon herself from our first year to act like a sister to me, and even if it was purely against my will and she was really annoying about it at times, I didn't exactly hate her for it."
"It's hard to picture you with anything like a sister," Ginny scoffed. Draco's face twitched slightly at her words, and an expression she couldn't put a name to was gone so quickly that she couldn't even be sure she'd really seen it.
"So, will you come see her?" he asked, giving Ginny the distinct impression he was being evasive.
"I'm already here, so I might as well," she sighed. "But if she starts making fun of me, I'll leave."
"I'd expect nothing less," Malfoy smirked, extending his arm to lead Ginny to Pansy's room. Reluctantly, she took it.
xxxxx
"Draco!" Pansy cried, her puggish face lighting up as they entered the room, making her look surprisingly pleasant. "And you've brought the Weasley girl!"
"You can call me Ginny," she offered. Might as well try to start things off on a friendly note…
"Ginny, is it? I'm not certain I ever knew your name in school. Well… it's rather sweet."
"Pansy," Malfoy returned the greeting. "You look tired."
"Of course I do, you ass! I've just given birth!" Pansy screeched, though she smiled as she did. "You try pushing a human being out of you, and see how you look after the fact."
"Thank you, Pansy. That was not an image I needed," he replied. "I assume Theo's here somewhere?"
"Of course, he's gone to fetch an orderly to bring the baby along. He should be here at any moment… Ah, here he is."
The door opened to admit the Slytherin in question, an orderly following behind. The latter moved forward and nestled a tiny, pink-faced infant in Pansy's waiting arms.
"Nott," Draco greeted him formally.
"Malfoy," the other replied, and Ginny felt a palpable tension in the room. "Good of you to come."
Nott's eye roved over to Ginny, and she thought she saw a faint look of surprise on his face, but being that he was a Slytherin it was difficult to be sure.
"Speaking of names, have you come up with something sufficiently Muggle? Personally I don't think you'd go amiss with a solid wizarding name like Orion," Draco said, once more directing his attention to Pansy.
"Well, you wouldn't," Pansy smirked at him. "Muggle names are terribly in vogue now that the war's over. But Orion's a boys' name anyway, and we've got a girl. And her name… is Viagra."
"Well that's an odd name even for a Muggle, isn't it?" Malfoy replied, his face scrunching in confusion as Pansy and Theo beamed proudly.
"That isn't a Muggle name," Ginny pointed out, "at least, not for people."
"Whatever do you mean?" Pansy asked, her brow furrowing. "I hear it's all the rage with Muggles right now. They talk about it on their television all the time, or so I'm told."
"It's a Muggle drug, something their doctors give them… it's… er…" Ginny found all eyes in the room on her, waiting expectantly. "Well, they use it for... you know... when they can't... perform. Sexually."
"That's where I've heard that name before," Malfoy replied, snapping his fingers. "There was a big to-do in the Prophet some time ago about how Muggle drugs are finding their way into the wizarding world. I heard that if you take it recreationally, you can go all night. Er… not that I'd need it, of course."
"Yeah, my mum heard about it from a friend of hers, and she asked my dad what it was at dinner. I've never seen either of them turn that red. George and Ron were in stitches over it," Ginny added, rolling her eyes at his assertion.
"Oh… oh, this is terrible!" Pansy cried out. "I thought it was a river in America or Canada or something, the one with a great, big waterfall!"
"That's the Niagara," Malfoy supplied. "You know, I went there once with my parents, when I was ten. Father had a business trip to New York City, and he took Mother and I along, and Mother wanted to see the falls so we took a side-trip upstate…"
"I don't care if your parents took you to the bloody moon, Draco!" Pansy wailed. "My child cannot be named after some drug Muggle men take for their… for their penises!"
"Have you turned in the birth certificate yet?" Ginny asked, wincing as Pansy wailed in the affirmative. "You may still be able to change it, if you can catch it before it's sent to the Ministry."
"Oh, Theo! Theo, hurry!" Pansy cried, spurring her husband out the door. "Oh, but what will I change it to? It took me months to come up with something!"
"Er… well, your name is Pansy and Viagra begins with a V, so… how about Violet?" Ginny suggested. "And you can make Niagara her middle name, and if the name Viagra ever surfaces on any paperwork, you can claim it's just a clerical error."
"Oh, yes! Yes, that's good! Oh, Ginny, would you please run and tell Theo?" Pansy begged, and Ginny nodded and left as Pansy fell back against her pillows, the baby stirring awake in her arms.
"Violet weathered that outburst well," Malfoy commented, moving forward and taking the seat next to the bed. "She's remarkably well-suited to being your child, Pansy."
"Be a dear and take her for a moment, would you, Draco?" Pansy asked, and Malfoy reluctantly settled Violet into the crook of his arm as Pansy settled back again.
"Oh, I can't believe I almost named my daughter after such a thing," Pansy sighed, pressing her hands to her face. "I'm a terrible mother already and she's barely been out of me for a day."
"You're not terrible," he replied as he lightly poked at Violet's pudgy little face with a finger. "You just don't know shit about Muggles, that's all. It's not like any of us Slytherins do."
"Draco, please don't curse in front of Vi," she chided. "Hmm, that's a good nickname. I've been secretly calling her that for the last few months, on account of that other name, but it works with Violet, too, doesn't it?"
"Weasley's clever that way," he remarked idly. Violet flailed a tiny arm, unable to effectively bat his finger away from her face. He poked it into her hand instead, smirking when the tiny fingers clutched at it. Pansy reached over the side of her bed, retrieving a camera and snapping a picture. Draco blinked away the aftereffects of the large flashbulb.
"Thanks, now I can't see a bloody thing," he complained.
"Again with the filthy mouth!" Pansy chided as she put the camera away.
"She's too little to understand, Pansy. It hardly matters," he whined. "What, no Muggle camera?"
"I thought about it, but it turns out – can you believe this, Draco – the pictures don't move!"
"Of course they don't; ours move by magic," he muttered."What was the last insane Muggle thing Theo bought you, some sort of device for making toast?"
"A toaster, Draco! Pity, though, we couldn't find anyone knowledgeable enough to wire our house for that eclectic-rickety thing the Muggles use for the plug, so we had to charm it to work on magic instead."
"You really want something Muggles call eclectic-rickety running all through your house? In wires? Sounds like a bloody deathtrap, and you, wanting to bring some helpless infant home to that…" He ceased his complaint in favor of returning his attention to Violet.
"You're not half bad at that," Pansy observed. "Have you given any thought to children of your own? Of course, it would be helpful to have a woman first. What about you and the Weasley girl?"
Malfoy glanced up, his face a mix of annoyance and… something else. Pansy narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at him. Yes, that was it; he looked as if he'd been caught at something, and was covering it with irritation.
"Please, Pansy. I've just been recruited by the Falcons. I have neither plans nor time for children or marriage or any of it at present. And as for Weasley and myself… the Prophet's full of rubbish, you know that," he said evasively.
"I also know when you're leaving something out, Draco. Maybe you and Ginny aren't the 'new royalty of Quidditch', as Rita Skeeter so colorfully puts it, but something did happen between you, didn't it?"
Malfoy sighed, knowing he wouldn't get out of this until Pansy had her answer, and she had cunningly saddled him with holding an object that he couldn't conveniently throw at her while storming out in a huff.
"Yes, something happened. I think you've already guessed as to what," he replied.
"You shagged last night after the ball," she stated. "That photo was exactly what it looked like, then. And has this happened at any other time?"
"No, just the once, as far as sex goes."
"And as far as what else?"
"We spent the night together a few times, just sleeping. Or passed out, more like," he sighed again.
"And did you find that satisfying?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What? I just told you we didn't have sex those times," he grumbled irritably.
"I know," she responded, "and there was something you liked about it anyway, wasn't there?"
"Yes," he replied at last. "I liked… I liked that she was comfortable with me there, or staying with me, whichever it happened to be. I liked that she didn't treat me like some…"
"Like some big, bad Death Eater?" Pansy smiled knowingly. "Not many would be willing or able to overlook that aspect of your past, it's true. How do you feel about her?"
"I don't know, that's just the problem. And now that I've had sex with her, I don't know how I can know. Everything's all jumbled now, like it's throwing me off. I can't stop thinking about it and I can't seem to control what comes out of my mouth around her anymore, either."
"I can see that well enough. I've never known you to speak so readily about anything that didn't involve bragging." At this, Malfoy grunted sourly. "Tell me, how does she make you feel about yourself?" Pansy asked curiously.
"What the hell kind of question is that, Pansy?" he snapped, causing Violet to fuss in his arms. He scowled and rocked her, shushing softly.
"The kind that will bring clarity," she replied. "Now think about it, and answer if you can."
"She makes me feel like…" he hesitated as he thought about it. "Like she's really looking at me, like it's me that she sees, and not my family's money or name, or this bloody mark on my arm. And the scary thing is that I don't think anyone has ever made me feel that way, even before the war, and I honestly don't know what she's seeing. I don't know what I am besides those things."
"The answers will come, Draco," Pansy said with the air of a sage imparting great wisdom. "I don't think you should let yourself quit on the Weasley girl until they do."
Rather than offering a response, Malfoy took to prodding Violet with a finger again, and once more she started to fuss.
"Oh, just give her back if you're going to do that," Pansy said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not hurting her," he replied. "I'm doing it gently."
"No, you're just annoying her. Why must you always do that?"
"Do what?" he asked as he returned Violet to her mother.
"Make yourself such an irritant when there's the slightest risk you might have to be sincere."
"I don't know," he sighed, leaning back in the chair.
"Do you do that with the Weasley girl?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him searchingly.
"Not so much," he replied.
"Perhaps there is hope for you yet," she said, breaking a smile. "We Slytherins have to find some way to let go of the past, you know."
"Do you think Theo ever will?" Malfoy asked pointedly. This time it was Pansy's turn to sigh.
"I think your choice of companions may have come as a not unpleasant surprise. Theo's aversion to you is as much about his own guilt over the things he wanted – thought he wanted – back then, as it is anything to do with what you did."
"I can't get this mark off of my arm, Pansy, no matter how much I may wish it," Malfoy replied. "Theo's rather fortunate not to have made the same mistake."
"There but for the grace of the gods, Draco," she stated calmly. "Give it time."
"Fair enough," he conceded. "Now, why am I really here? This can't be simply a matter of seeing my picture in the paper."
"Oh, I assure you, it can be," Pansy smirked. "That gossip is interesting enough to trade on for weeks, and I had to see it for myself. She's quite good for you, I think."
"But?"
"But… you're right. I brought you here to ask you something important."
"The answer is yes."
"I haven't even asked yet. You should never agree to anything a Slytherin requests of you without knowing fully what it entails. You should know that better than anyone."
"You're going to ask me to be Violet's godfather," he said lazily.
"Really, Draco. That's presumptuous of you." Pansy said. Malfoy only looked at her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "You're right, of course. How did you know?"
"Who else would you ask?" he smirked.
"So you'll do it, then?"
"I've already said I would." His smirk widened to a grin. "Besides, you have no idea how much fun I'll have when I retell this Viagra story at her wedding."
xxxxx
Ginny had caught up with Theo in time to add the new name to the corrected birth certificate. Pansy had been ecstatic and the afternoon passed with small talk that only occasionally verged into prying, though the nature of that prying led Ginny to wonder exactly what Malfoy had said to Pansy in her absence. Nonetheless, Pansy was not unfriendly, particularly since Ginny had saved her daughter from a fate of terrible nomenclature, and Ginny was forced to admit that the Slytherin girl was changed, indeed. Ginny had even volunteered her father as a potential source of information on the ways of Muggles, however dubious a source he could sometimes be.
"Violet was rather cute," Ginny remarked as she and Draco wended through the sterile hospital hallways at the end of visiting hours, making their way back to the fireplace in the visitor's lounge.
"I didn't expect her to be so small," he replied. "Pansy's due date was over a week ago."
"They always seem smaller than you expect when you see them new like that. Usually you don't see babies until they're a little older, when their parents are finally comfortable with taking them outside," Ginny said, shifting her gaze to the side in a sly glance. "Why, did this suddenly change your opinion on the subject?"
"What? Gods, no!" Malfoy said, clearly startled. Ginny began to laugh.
"If you could see the look on your face," she cried in between giggling. "Really, I didn't think you could get any paler."
"Well, you're really beginning to frighten me, Weasley. I'm concerned you're getting ideas." His tone was joking, but Ginny thought she heard an edge of seriousness to it, confirmed when she caught him giving her a nervous glance.
"Technically, you never asked me how I felt about it. You only told me how you felt," she stated, hesitating only long enough to watch what little color remained in his face drain further. "But no, I'm not particularly keen on the idea, at least not anytime soon. I've got a Quidditch career to think about, and… well… I'm really not ready to become my mum, you know?"
Draco gave her a weak, shaky smirk, looking more relieved than anything. She wondered why, if he wasn't planning on being around that long… but then she realized that was something he hadn't specifically said.
"That, I think, was going to be a problem between me and Harry," she continued, avoiding the direction her thoughts had taken. "It was pretty clear from fairly early on that he was going to want a big family, he's always been a bit envious of mine, and I didn't know how to tell him I didn't want that, too. Once his Quidditch career took off, he would have considered himself settled down enough for it… and then what would have been left for me but to raise seven kids of my own? I just wasn't ready for that at all."
"Seven?" Malfoy asked, appalled. "Surely Potter didn't want… seven?"
"I'm sure he didn't," Ginny said, laughing. "That's how many my mum had, though, so it's what I think of."
"Seven. I knew there were a lot of you, but, Merlin, my parents only managed one."
"I think I could manage two or three at the most, but… I really don't want that right now," Ginny confessed. "I can't even believe I'm telling you this."
"Why wouldn't you?" he asked.
"It's just something I've never managed to tell anyone. I couldn't bring myself to tell Harry even though I should have. I can't even begin to think how Mum would take it. I feel like she'd be terribly disappointed."
"Why? With seven kids, you'd think she'd have enough opportunities to have grandchildren."
"She's already got one, and Bill's wife is expecting another as well," Ginny replied, "but I'm the only girl, and I think she's always expected me to follow in her footsteps, that's all, or at least hoped if not expected."
Ginny fell silent, and Draco let the silence hang between them for a moment before he spoke again.
"Pansy told me Violet was born night before last."
Ginny looked up at him sharply. "I'd thought she was born sometime yesterday."
"No. Very late the night before, as it turns out. You realize what that means."
"She was born on my birthday," Ginny said, a small smile playing over her face.
"I should warn you, you can probably expect to hear from Pansy again in the near future," Malfoy added.
"Why?" Ginny asked, perplexed.
"You did her a good turn today. She won't forget that."
"You're telling me I should expect loyalty from a Slytherin?" Ginny smirked.
"We have our own brand of loyalty, after a fashion, even if it's not immediately recognizable to Gryffindors," he answered her smirk with one of his own. "Besides, she can't resist the urge to meddle, and she's firmly convinced that whatever the story is between us, it isn't over yet."
"Is it?" Ginny asked, aware that her words were loaded with meaning.
Malfoy looked her over appraisingly for a moment. "If I can't honestly say yes… then I suppose the answer is no," he admitted cautiously.
Ginny felt a swell of emotion at his words, though she kept it carefully hidden. It was a feeling of excitement and… yes… even of hope.
They made the rest of the walk to the fireplace in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Ginny, for her part, couldn't stop thinking about what Malfoy had said… unless she was pausing to dread the impending confrontation with her family. When they finally reached the fireplace, she eyed it with apprehension.
"Do you think you're ready for this?" she asked quietly.
"Have I got a choice?" he replied wanly. "Really, how bad do you think it'll be?"
"They're probably on the verge of disowning me. Ron, at the very least, may attempt to hex you," she replied, reaching for the tin of Floo powder on the mantel.
"Best get it over with, then."
Malfoy slipped into the fireplace behind her and anchored himself to her with an arm across her chest as she threw the powder down and announced, "The Burrow."
The green flames leapt up to carry them off, and the sterile hospital smell and clean, white walls of St. Mungo's fell away in a whirling rush of ash and brick.
A/N: See? Pansy isn't too horrible... but the Weasleys might be! I'll admit this chapter isn't strictly integral to the story but I loved writing it. If you liked it, please review and let me know! =)
My thanks to fari9986, Nutmeg44, babyscardinal, darinmeg, kenswife, Greenstuff, Princess Pheonix Tears, sing-me-this-lullaby, mykk47, amethyst-rose, bluelover13, Mrs. Dimoski, PixieDust319, Baby Got Black, shana rose, Nacilme, muminSarita, lalunafour, and blissfulxsin for reviewing since the last update! =D