Chapter 28

Mum,

I know I hurt you and I'm truly sorry for that. But it has been really hard for me to understand what's going on. I'm so confused and when I first found out the truth, I was hurt and I didn't know where else to go. Please don't be mad at Draco, he didn't do anything wrong. If you'd like, he's asked me to invite you over to dinner next weekend. I've asked him to explain everything to me, but he won't unless you're here too.

I love you.
-Lily

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Ginny walked up to the large wooden double doors and knocked softly. Within moments the door was yanked open and a young, tall, blonde man. "Can I help you?"

"Scorpius?" Ginny asked, shocked.

"God, you probably don't remember me. You haven't spent time with me since you were six." She hadn't seen him since he was in his second year. He was much taller now. Not as tall as his father who stood at a good 6'3, but he had long legs and a muscular torso. He kept his hair much shorter than his father and his blue eyes were much warmer. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"Oh, you're Lily's mum," Scorpius held open the door and said, "Please, come in. We're glad you could make it."

"Thank you," she stepped into the entrance hall and he took her coat from her.

Suddenly a tall blonde woman swooped into the room and said, "Oh, Mrs. Potter! I'm so glad you could make it!" The woman, obviously Astoria Greengrass -er, Malfoy-, pulled Ginny into a hug and said, "We've heard so much about you from Lily!"

"It's so nice to meet you," Ginny said, awkwardly returning the hug, "But I'm afraid I'm not Mrs. Potter anymore, I'm just Ms. Weasley again."

"Oh, what a shame," Astoria said.

"Thank you," Ginny said graciously. "And thank you for inviting me to your home Mrs. Malfoy. You have a lovely home."

"Well, I would give you a tour, but God knows that you've probably seen more of this house than I have," the woman had a high pitched, giggly sort of laugh that made Ginny flinch. "And please, call me Astoria. Mrs. Malfoy makes me feel so," she paused and then said excitedly, "Oh, it just makes me feel so perfect. Draco truly is an amazing man. Don't you agree? Of course you agree, God knows that you've probably had sex with him more than I have!"

The laugh seemed to drill into Ginny's skull and she smiled through her grimace. Thankfully at that moment Lily ran down the stairs and said, "Mum! I'm so glad you could come!" She ran into Ginny's arms and hugged her tightly. "I missed you."

"Oh, I missed you too sweetie," Ginny hugged her daughter. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great Mum!" Lily said excitedly. She grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her towards the dining room, "This place is huge Mum!"

"I know love," Ginny followed the teenager into the large dining room. Lily babbled on and on about Draco's house and how smart Scorpius was. She made Ginny sit down and the two women talked excitedly until Scorpius escorted Astoria into the room.

"Oh, I'm so glad you two have such a great relationship," Astoria said, sighing, "I wish Scorpius and I could have a relationship like that." She took a deep breath and then said cheerfully, "Of course, Ginny, you practically raised Scorpius until I came along!" She laughed hysterically until Scorpius pulled out a chair for her.

Finally Draco swept into the room and said, "Oh, Ginny, I'm so glad you could make it." He walked over to her and formally kissed both her cheeks before saying, "Lily has been quite anxious for you to arrive." He then shook hands with Scorpius and kissed Astoria gently. Ginny's stomach twisted painfully at the sight of Draco kissing another woman and she had to resist the urge to stand up and punch Astoria in the face.

Oddly enough, dinner went smoothly. The conversation flowed easily and eventually Ginny was able to ignore the horrible laughter from the other side of the table. When the final course had been finished Draco stood up and said, "Ginny, can I have a word with you?"

"Of course," Ginny stood up and followed him out into his study.

She walked in and he shut the doors behind him. "Please, sit," Draco gestured to a couch. Ginny sat down and he sat down next to her. His thigh brushed hers and she did her best to ignore it, but the soft contact paired with his smell made her mind spin. "I just wanted to make sure that you're ok with everything."

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.

"Well, Lily is really confused," Draco said slowly, "And she'd like to hear the whole story."

"Then I think we should tell her everything," Ginny said. "She deserves to know the truth."

"Good, we're in agreement," he took a deep breath. "I would like it if Scorpius could be here as well, but if you're not comfortable with that, it's ok."

"No, I think he should be here as well," Ginny agreed. "However, I would appreciate it if Astoria wouldn't be here."

"Of course not," Draco shook his head, "I can see how uncomfortable she makes you."

"You could tell?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yeah," Draco chuckled, "God, the look on your face was a strange mix between pain, terror and," he paused, searching for the right word, "and, I don't know, ecstasy?"

"Thanks," Ginny said sarcastically, "Now I'm sure Astoria hates me."

"Nah," Draco shrugged, "Actually she's quite fond of you."

"She knows the whole story?"

"Not the whole story," he said slowly, "She knows that we were together and she knows that you were the first woman I loved." Ginny tried not to flinch at his use of past tense. "I thought she deserved to know the truth." He down into her eyes, "Have you told Harry?"

"Yeah," said Ginny quietly, "He's really upset with me." She tried to hold back the tears, but they came anyway. "He despises me." She smiled sardonically, "But oddly enough he was having an affair too." Draco's eyes widened. Ginny shrugged, "Cho Chang."

"I'm sorry." Draco touched her knee gently and both their eyes snapped to his hand. Draco looked just as surprised as Ginny felt. The contact made them both hold their breath, waiting to see what the other did.

Abruptly the door slammed open revealing Lily and Scorpius. Draco quickly removed his hand and Lily asked, "Are you two ready?"

"Yes we are," Draco said, standing up. Ginny was surprised to see Draco with Lily. It was the first time she'd seen them together since Lily was born. Surprising Ginny even more, Lily walked over and hugged Draco who wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Scorpius, who was over eighteen and probably never hugged Draco anymore, stood next to Ginny. After a minute Draco said, "Would you two like to hear the story?"

Lily nodded and the four of them sat down on the couch. Draco and Scorpius sat on opposite ends of the couch, leaving Ginny and Lily to take the middle positions. Ginny sat awkwardly next to Draco, while Lily made herself comfortable next to Scorpius. The younger woman pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned back against Scorpius' shoulder.

"Well, it all started my fifth year," Ginny said slowly.

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By time they reached their first break up both Ginny and Lily were sobbing. Ginny jumped as Draco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Her body trembled against his, but he kept his arms wrapped tightly around her. They both felt Lily and Scorpius' eyes on them, but Draco ignored them and stroked Ginny's hair whispering, "It's ok, love. Don't cry."

When Ginny finally gained control of her tears she reached over and touched Lily's cheek gently, "Are you ok sweetie?" Lily nodded and wiped tears off her cheeks. "Can we continue?" Lily nodded again and Ginny relaxed back into Draco's arms. "I didn't see Draco for," she paused to think for a moment, "For what? Three years? Four?"

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"I love you Mum," Lily said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Thank you for telling me the truth."

"I love you too," Ginny hugged her daughter and then turned to Draco. Scorpius had left the trio alone in the parlor and now Draco stood, watching the two women, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Ginny touched his arm gently. "Thank you so much for taking care of her. She really needed this."

"Anytime," Draco offered.

Lily hugged Draco and said, "So, I'll see you next weekend?"

"Definitely," a grin spread across his face and he said, "Owl me if you need anything."

"Thanks," Lily smiled up at him and then followed Ginny to the fireplace where the two women flooed away. They arrived in Ginny's small apartment and Lily said, "I'm going to go to bed, tonight was a long night."

"Ok love," Ginny kissed Lily's forehead and said, "Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."

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It seemed so déjà vu. It had been years since she had met Draco in this café and now she sat at the same table, the same mug of tea in her hands. Her hands trembled, making the tea vibrate and spill out of the cup. The door to the café clinked open and she closed her eyes, praying that it wasn't him. She had no idea what she was going to say to him.

She felt him sit down across from her and he said, "Thank you for meeting with me."

Her eyes fluttered open and she watched him carefully. He truly was completely different than his father. Scorpius lacked Draco's sense of confidence and grace, and brought a more rugged front to the Malfoy features. Scorpius, who was wringing his hands nervously under Ginny's intense stare, didn't have the same angelic qualities to his face like Draco did, but he also didn't have the devilish qualities of Lucious. He looked… smart.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable owling me," Ginny said quietly. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Um, coffee?" Scorpius asked. Ginny gestured to the waiter and soon a steaming cup of coffee was placed in front of Scorpius. In this aspect he was just like his father: he drank his coffee black.

"So why did you want to meet with me?" Ginny sipped her tea. Somehow, in a matter of minutes, all her nervousness had vanished. Maybe it was the nervousness that was obvious in Scorpius' eyes or maybe it was the sudden spell of motherly instincts that the young man sparked in Ginny.

"I just wanted to ask you some questions," Scorpius said quietly. Ginny watched him carefully. "I do remember you," he said slowly, "How could I forget you? You were the closest thing I had to a mother for years and even after you left my father still talked about you. God, he even talks about you now. Why do think Astoria knows so much about you? He's always talked about you and she's the only wife who doesn't get insanely jealous."

"Seriously?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Yeah," Scorpius chuckled, "You should hear some of the things she says sometimes. 'We should try to do it like you and Ginny did that one time,' and, 'Did you ever have sex with Ginny in this kitchen.'" Scorpius groaned and rolled his eyes, "It's horrible."

Ginny chuckled and said, "So you don't like Astoria?"

Scorpius thought for a moment before saying, "No, I like her, but she's not a mother to me. She never has been. Even when I was nine and they got married she wasn't a mother to me, she's always just been my dad's wife. And she's never considered me her son." Scorpius shrugged, "It's just hard to see my father so unhappy."

"Unhappy?" asked Ginny, shocked.

"Yeah," Scorpius said, "He's only stayed with her because he doesn't want to get divorced again." Ginny's jaw dropped open and Scorpius continued. "First there was my mum, then a string of other women and all of those marriages ended because the woman realized that my father didn't love them. Astoria seems to be living in this fantasy world. She thinks that he loves her, but he doesn't." Scorpius sneered, "My father has never loved anyone in his life."

"That's not true," Ginny reached across the table and touched Scorpius' hand. "Your father is one of the most loving men I know." Scorpius eyed her and she said, "From the moment you were born your father loved you and he always has and always will love you."

"And you?" he asked quietly.

Ginny took a deep breath and said slowly, "You father loved me and it was amazing. The amount and strength of the love he has to give is just overwhelming."

Scorpius looked down at the table and mumbled, "Then why aren't you with him?"

"Sometimes things just don't work out," Ginny said quietly. "That's life."

Scorpius nodded. Their conversation flowed for hours and when three o'clock came around Ginny said, "I should go. I have to meet Albus and James."

"Ok," Scorpius stood up and paid for their coffee.

Without thinking Ginny hugged Scorpius and he leaned into her arms just like he did when he was five. When she pulled away she smiled up at him and said, "I know you don't have a mother, but if you need one, I'm here."

"Thanks," Scorpius smiled and turned to walk out, but first he turned and said, "It may not have worked out for you and my father, but trust me, he still loves you."

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"Go talk to him," Luna said strongly.

"I can't!" Ginny exclaimed. "He's married!"

"But, Mum! He's not happy! Even I can see that!" Lily insisted. "Every time I go and see him he seems more and more depressed and Astoria seems more and more… annoying."

Luna laughed and Ginny chuckled but said, "Look, you two, I'm really glad that you two want me to be happy, but there's really nothing I can do now. He's married and he's moved on with his life. I know he may be unhappy, but that's the life he chose." Lily and Luna both started to protest but Ginny cut them off. "I'm over it, guys, so please, drop it."

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