Wow, remember me? Got caught up in my other fic there for a while! Hope you enjoy the update!


"So this is what it'll be like? When it's all over?"

Ginny and Lucius were eating breakfast on the terrace, dew still drying on the lawn. She was wrapped in one of his big sweaters, hair a bit disheveled, and Lucius had on a pair of navy and green striped pajamas that she teased him mercilessly over.

"I'm comfortable," he had said when he debuted them to her, straightening his collar. "And they're soft, feel."

That she couldn't argue with.

"This is what it's like, my dear. There are some ugly things yet to come, I'm sure, but you are here now."

"Mmm," she mused, reflecting on both the situation and the bowl of fruit an elf had just set in front of her.

"Eat that slowly," Lucius said, touching her wrist as she selected a strawberry.

"You're a horny old man."

"Mmm," he replied, sliding down in his chair. "Get to it then."

Ginny did exactly as he asked, placing the strawberry between her lips and rolling her eyes back, even moaning a bit to add to the charade.

"You're not taking it seriously," he chided.

"How can I?" she replied, biting the strawberry neatly in half with such ferocity that he winced. "I'm not going to put on a show for you out here."

"Why not? We're alone."

"Beg to differ." Ginny nodded up above his head, where an owl was coming in for a landing.

"Owls don't count," he said as the creature landed between them and selected a strawberry for herself.

"They are very cheeky, though," Ginny said, "taking a bite to without even asking."

"Only this one, I'm afraid. She's Draco's."

The owl flew away as soon as Lucius relieved her of the letter she bore; clearly she was not expecting a reply. The note was very short, betraying his son's annoyance.

Coming over in an hour or so. No need to hide Ginger this time, I know she's there.

- Draco

"Behold our future," he said, holding the note out to Ginny. "Intrusions from those who used to love us."

"Stop it. He still loves you." She read the note in a split second and then glanced up, and was able to spy a hint of worry on Lucius's face.

"You're afraid he'll hate you," she said. It was not a question.

"Not afraid. I already know." Lucius was getting up, and she followed him into the house.

"It won't be forever," she said, practically chasing him down. When she got even with him she thrust her hand into his. "Nothing could stop him from loving you, Lucius."

"Really? Because I can think of a lot of things I've done over the years that might not win me Father of the Year."

"Yes, maybe, but let me tell you something: no one else I know spoke so constantly of their father at school, or admired them so much. I mean, half the kids didn't mention theirs once. But Draco…"

"A bit annoying about it, was he?" There was a little lightness in his voice, and she was glad to feel his hand relax around hers.

"A bit like his father," she quipped. They had reached the top of the stairs and she realized with a jolt that he was leading her to the master bedroom, rather than to the room she had always stayed in before. She pulled back against him.

"Lucius, my things –"

"Yes, your things. All three of them. I had the elves move them to my room this morning. Quite a task it was, too; I think one of them had to use both hands."

"But…are we going to sleep there? In her – your, bed?"

He shot her a look, one eyebrow raised.

"I suppose I'd prefer the bed I've been sleeping in for 30 years, but there are plenty of rooms to choose from at this end of the house if you insist on switching. But we are moving you over here, either way. I can't take that long walk every time I want my slippers or a different book; I am just an old man, after all."

"A horny old man. You've forgotten the most important part."

"Careful. Insolent girls get punished."

"Horny, as I said."

He released her hand and reached around to squeeze her ass instead, propelling her to run forward and through the open door at the end of the hall.


Draco found them looking very presentable in the library, almost as if 30 minutes earlier Lucius hadn't had Ginny pressed up against the bathroom sink, hands under her blouse.

"What a sweet little domestic scene," he said when the elf showed him into the room. Ginny could see that the smirk on his face was purely defensive; his eyes were almost skittish. She expected Lucius to shoot a snarky remark right back, but he simply went forward to shake his son's hand.

"Sit down, Draco. Would you care for anything?"

Ginny thought she heard him mutter something under his breath – to her it sounded a bit like "One thing in particular", but she couldn't be sure. Draco chose a place in an armchair across from where Ginny sat on the sofa, and it seemed to pain him to give her a small nod. She smiled back in what she hoped was a kind way as Lucius settled in next to her, keeping a respectable distance.

"Not really," he said aloud. "No, I'm fine."

"I'm sure Ginevra and I would be perfectly happy to indulge you in a hearty dose of small talk, but I have a feeling you'd rather get down to business and tell us why you've come."

Draco looked to be weighing his words very carefully as he looked across to them.

"Do you care about Mum at all anymore?" he finally asked.

Ginny wished it would have been appropriate to grasp Lucius's hand at that moment, but they had decided beforehand that they wouldn't touch in front of Draco. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye instead, and saw him sit up a little bit straighter. She noted how similar father and son looked when they were thinking strategically.

"Yes, Draco, of course I do. You do not just stop loving someone overnight, not when you've been together for so long."

"Could have fooled me," Draco said.

"I assume there's something else you want to say?"

"She's not doing well again. Andromeda and I thought you should know, although I'm not sure why it matters anymore."

"It does matter, Draco. You were right to tell me. Are her old Healers with her?" Lucius had leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, and Ginny heard distinct panic in his voice.

"Maybe I should leave you two –" she ventured, the first thing she had said the whole time. She was becoming distinctly uncomfortable and began to stand up, but Lucius placed a firm hand on her leg.

"You will stay," Lucius replied, coming close to shouting. He then took a deep breath, and softened his tone. "There is no reason for you to go."

Startled, Ginny sank back down, and chanced a glance at Draco. He was still focused solely on his father, clearing working hard to maintain a passive expression.

"Go on, Draco. Does she have the proper care?" Lucius finished.

"She's at Andromeda's now, and yes, all the same people have come to examine her. But Professor McGonagall's come now as well, to tell about the diary. She said that she and Flitwick and Slughorn have all been examining it whenever they can and trying whatever they can think of to understand the curse, but they can't figure anything. They want to destroy it and have it over with. But of course we don't know if that will affect Mother."

"Has anyone tried writing in it?" Ginny asked. Both men finally looked at her, both as if she was recently dropped on her head.

"No one can touch it, Ginny," Lucius reminded her gently, as if talking to a small child.

"With gloves you can. You must have before, didn't you? Or you could open it with your wand and only touch it with the quill. Or have the quill enchanted to write without anyone touching it. Honestly, don't you have any imagination?"

"But it can't possibly write back. He's not in it anymore, is he?" Draco pointed out.

"Once again, I see a lack of imagination. I knew Tom Riddle better than anyone, I like to think, and I believe that with a bit of dedication he could have charmed a diary to keep talking even after he was gone. And I'm sure that he had that dedication, and I'm also sure that neither of you are foolish enough to deny that."

Lucius and Draco sat in silence for a moment, and she took the time to catch her breath. Something about making her point had been nerve-wracking, and she wasn't sure if had been talking about Tom or breaking into a family conversation in which she felt she had no place.

"She's right, Draco," Lucius finally said. "You should tell them to try it."

Draco stood up, smoothing his robes.

"They'll want to talk to you," he said to Ginny. "You're the one with experience in the matter."

"A bridge to cross when we come to it, Draco," Lucius said. "Go back to your mother now."

Draco made to go as Lucius leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. With Draco's back turned, Ginny let her hand go to Lucius, rubbing his back.

"She may die," Draco said, stopping in his tracks after only a few slow steps. He was clearly unable to leave without letting his anger spill over, and Ginny couldn't blame him; in his place, she was sure she would have started out by yelling and ended in tears. "And then what? Do you think they'll let you off your house arrest, or will it be the opposite? Straight to Azkaban for murder?"

"Draco," Lucius warned, but he was raging now and couldn't be stopped.

"And she's asked for you, too, you know. She's all feverish and she doesn't remember and she wants you there. So what can we say to her? That you won't come, or that you can't? Which would you prefer for her to remember you by?"

"She is perfectly welcome to come back to the Manor, I hope you know."

Draco scoffed.

"I wouldn't do that to her, not unless you're going to send Weasley away. At least at Andromeda's she's safe from more hurt."

"I would love to argue with you all day, son, and hear every insult you have to throw at myself and Ms. Weasley, but I believe we both know that's all useless now. Don't you agree? You're going to be angry with me no matter what."

"Damn right, I am! And at you too," Draco replied, turning to Ginny. "How many people have you turned against or used over the past months? Not just me; Potter and Andromeda. And Father too, for that matter."

Ginny stuttered for a moment, until Lucius interrupted.

"What on earth are you talking about, Draco?"

A smile spread across Draco's face in a very sinister way. In this terrible moment, he had been given a gift: the ability to tear it all apart.

"You never told him, did you, Weasley?"

They were all standing at that point, Ginny and Lucius having jumped to their feet in the heat of debate, and at some point or another Ginny had let her hand close over Lucius's wrist. Through the pads of her fingers, she could feel his pulse spike at Draco's accusation.

"Told me what?" he asked, and suddenly, for Ginny, everything changed to slow motion.


Ginny and Lucius have forgiven one another more than once before, but we'll see how they handle this hurdle! xoxo