Author's note: So, this is it, guys. The last chapter. It's done. Over. Finito. However, depending on the response this gets, I may be goaded into writing a sequel. So in your reviews, tell me what you want. It's as simple as all that. It's been a fun ride, but we knew it all had to end sometime. ~TGP
Glin flipped through a fashion magazine, yawning. The Weasleys had decided that only family could visit Ginny at all. Fortunately, immediately before one of Ron's turns, Glin had played doctor with him in the supply closet, convincing him to sneak her in. Ron had escaped to the cafeteria for a moment, so it was just her and Ginny.
Some sort of a monitor kept bleeping monotonously at her. Really, wouldn't the damn thing be more helpful if it just bleeped when something changed? She glanced at Ginny a moment before turning back to the magazine. "'Perfectly Pear.' Sounds interesting. We'll have to call the company and get some samples. Although, I'm been considering trying an orange color scheme. It'd clash fantastically with Ron, if we ever went out. I doubt we will though. I mean, we've been going at it like rabbits. We'll have to get tired of each other sometime."
"Glin," came a scratchy voice from the bed. "That's fucking creepy."
Glin dropped her magazine. "You're up! Let me get a mediwizard or something."
"Water, first."
Glin hesitated a moment before pouring a glass of water from the plastic pitcher sitting on the bedside table. "Everyone's been out of their minds with worry. The doctors asked them to stay out of the waiting room because there were just too many people."
"How long have I been out? And who are all these things from?" Ginny motioned to the room, which appeared to have been in a battle with a floral shop and lost.
"You've been unconscious for three days," Glin told her. "And you're the Minister of Magic, so they're from lots of people. The pathetic looking mum with the balloon stick is from the Finnigans, The various rose arrangements are from your immediate family members. The fun, little daisy arrangement is from me and Ron. Of course by "and Ron" I mean he forgot to get anything then wrote his name on my card. The Birds of Paradise are from a mysterious 'D.'" She smirked. "I'm sure it's due to all the long hours you spent helping him dispose of his Dark Arts stuff, starting with his ex-wife."
"They're ok?"
"I assume you mean the Malfoys. Fantastic, actually. Although I'm fairly certain you waking up won't hurt matters. Marigold's fairly upset with him over that."
"Over what?"
"She's pissed because he hasn't come and woken you up with true love's first kiss. Probably pretty difficult for him to humor her though, with the entire Weasley collective guarding the door. He tried to sneak in a few times, but Bill, Charlie and the twins almost thrashed him for it."
"Funny, I would have pegged Ron for the childish outburst."
"He was...erm...occupied at the time."
"While I was lying in my death bed, you were shagging my brother?"
"Oh, stop being melodramatic." Glin grinned hugely. "I missed bickering with you."
"Me, too. Do me a favor, get that medi-wizard in here to release me, and bring my secretary back with you."
"You don't want me to owl your mother?"
"Has everyone gone insane while I was sleeping?"
A few moments later, a medi-wizard popped in. "How are we feeling, Minister?"
"Like I'm not dying, so definitely an improvement. Outside of that, I feel like I've been struck by a freight train, if that's indicative of anything."
"It's to be expected. Most of your bones have just been mended, and your muscles are probably pretty sore from the curses."
"Mhmm... Can I walk?"
"Not for six weeks. I wouldn't want you falling and re-injuring something. In fact, you should be on complete bed rest for the next three weeks."
"Why can't I just have a wheelchair or crutches?"
"If we're not careful, you could have permanent organ damage."
"Give me a wheelchair anyway. I'll take a two and a half week vacation, and..."
"Three weeks."
"Whatever. First get the paperwork for my release."
"Minister Weasely, you're incapable of caring for yourself in this condition."
"Which is why I'll get Glin to stay over, or something. Besides, I can sign myself out if I want to."
"Fine," the medi-wizard said. As he stormed out, Glin and a small, timid woman with dark brown curly hair. "Minister?"
"I've told you time and time again, Sadie. Just call me Ginny. I need you to arrange a meeting..."
"Are you sure you're"
"-I need to get this done. I want my immediate family, Harry, Herm, and Draco Malfoy in my apartment at 8PM."
"9PM," Glin corrected. "We'll need time to fix you up. You look pretty bad."
"Thanks," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes.
"Glin, are you sure about this?" Ginny looked at herself in the mirror and scrunched her nose skeptically. "I'm just having my family over. Why do I need to get all tarted up?
"Because, you looked all pale before. They're not going to let you alone if you look dead."
"Granted, but aren't you going a little overboard?"
"I haven't added the other layers of blush yet."
"'Layers?' What am I, an oil painting?" Ginny queried worriedly.
"Oil paintings don't complain this much," Glin said pointedly. "Stop talking. You keep moving your face and I'll mess it up."
Ginny sat still for a moment while Glin ran sable brushes of varying sizes over her face. She circled Ginny a few times before putting her brush down. "Okay, now look."
Ginny had to admit, she looked ten times better. Somehow, Glin's blushers and eye shadows were barely noticeable, but still made her face look warmer and more alive.
"Aren't I wonderful?" Glin smiled knowingly. "Want a cup of tea before they all show up?"
"If it's not too much trouble. You're already doing so much..."
Glin spun around, a teapot already in one hand. "Let's be honest here, Gin. We both know that the most likely outcome of this little get-together involves Draco, Marigold and Minnie staying here to take care of you while I shag Ron until he forgets that he's angry at you."
"Glin, ew, he's my brother!"
"He's also a tiger in the sack." She shrugged her shoulders. "What? Just trying to establish my motive here."
The doorbell rang. They both turned their heads to the wall clock in the kitchen which clearly read 8:30.
"I would've thought they'd just floo in," Glin said as she went to answer the door.
"It's just like them to be early the one time I want them to be late."
The three women behind the door weren't family though. In fact, Ginny found herself hard pressed to even call them acquaintances.
"Sheridan?" Glin said in surprise.
"Actually, it's Joanne," explained the honey-blonde. She stuck her hand out to shake Glin's hand. "Joanne Law, Commander, Special Ops. My team and I were assigned to the capture of Pansy Parkinson."
"What, like she was lost?" Glin asked sarcastically.
"We had to wait for her to commit a crime we could pin on her. We knew she was Dark, we just didn't have any proof. If we had known... well actually, I'm not entirely sure we could have done anything, and in the end, our reconnaissance mission did save your life..." Law stared at the shocked faces looking back at her. "I digress. I'm just glad you weren't killed."
Ginny looked confused. "Thanks, I think."
"I'm Tracy Knight," one of the Agents broke in. "And she wouldn't even be here if she wasn't after your brother."
Law's cheeks blushed.
"What is it with you people and my brothers?" Ginny cried. "It's just so horribly and terribly wrong."
"Maggie Ferran," said the remaining woman, shaking Ginny's hand. "And I can assure you I have absolutely no designs on your brothers."
"Well, unless you want to be trapped in this flat with the whole lot of them, you'd better be going. They'll be here any minute now."
As if by cue, a crackling sound in the fireplace heralded Bill's arrival.
"'lo Gin. Sure you're up to all this?"
"I'm fine, Bill, really."
Bill wasn't listening to her though. He was staring towards the door, where Glin was hastily pushing three women into the hall.
"Sheridan? What're you doing here?"
Law successfully skirted the door Glin was attempting to shut in her face. "It's actually Joanne," she told him sheepishly.
"She's actually one of the commandos who saved Ginny," Glin explained. "It's all rather complicated. Actually, Joanne, why don't you explain it to Bill over dinner."
"I-" Sheridan blushed.
"Erm..." Bill said uncomfortably.
"Oh, get out of here you crazy kids!" Glin said happily as she pushed Bill and the women out the door, shutting it and latching it firmly. She slumped against the door. "One brother down, four to go."
"Five, if you count Harry," Ginny sighed unhappily.
Fifteen minutes later, the living room of Ginny's flat had become a limited seating area. Her parent's were sitting on the loveseat, looking horribly out of place among all the younger people. Fred and George were squished onto the couch with Angelina and Alicia. Ron had been forced into sitting in one of the armchairs by Glin, who was sitting on the arm of the chair, preventing Ron from getting up. Hermione had pinned Harry in the other armchair in much the same manner. Charlie was sitting on the coffee table, and Draco was skulking in the corner near the front door.
"I've called you all here for a very important reason," Ginny told them. "I'm tired of being treated like a four year old."
"Oh, Virginia," pooh-poohed her mother.
"Don't 'oh, Virginia,' me. I've had quite enough of you all bulldozing me into doing what you want me to do. If I let anyone else treat me like this I'd go completely mad and never leave the flat and the only contact I'd have with anyone would be with the boy I hired to bring me my groceries. Now it's all well and good that you want whatever it is you think is best for me, but you're going to have to accept that I'm an adult, now. I don't have to take your advice if I don't want it."
"Virginia, if you wanted to rail at me, you didn't have to bring the whole family into it," Molly said angrily.
"It's not just you, Mum. It's the boys, too, being horrid to Draco just because of some silly school thing."
"Serving He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't 'some silly school thing,' Gin." Ron argued, attempting to stand up, only to be pushed back into the chair by Glin.
"I don't have to justify my choices to you, Ron," Ginny told him calmly.
Glin cut in. "Yeah, Ron. Gin never made rude comments about you dating that dirty French-"
"That was different, though," chimed in Fred. "Ron's a guy." Angelina promptly whacked him on the back of the head. "What?"
"I hate to say it, but I can see where Fred's coming from," Harry told them. Hermione looked daggers at him. "All I'm saying is that Ginny's the baby, the little sister. It's natural for them to be over-protective of her."
"Nicely put," George commented.
Ginny looked at them in disbelief. "We're not going to have a debate over it! It's my life. I want to be with Draco, and I'm going to do exactly that. So treat him nicely, like you'd treat any of my boyfriends." She thought about this for a moment. "Strike that. Be civil. I'm tired. Get out of my flat!"
"What?" Her family said collectively.
"I think you heard her," barked Glin. "Put up, or shut up where Draco's concerned, and get out."
A great deal of arguing later, Ginny and Draco were alone. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Ginny was the first to speak. "Where's Marigold? And where's Minnie?"
"They're looking after one another in my hotel room. Amelia's spending the night with them."
"Hotel room?"
"The Aurors are cleaning the house out. Guess I don't need help with the Dark Arts stuff anymore," he smiled softly. "Did you mean what you said before, about wanting to be with me?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't," she smiled.
"Tired?" She was slumped to one side of the wheelchair, and her eyelids were drooping.
"A little," she smiled apologetically. "I wanted to talk with you a bit before you left, though."
"How about a hot bath first?"
"That sounds wonderful," she sighed.
When the water became cool, Draco lifted her out of the tub and wrapped her in her thick, terry-cloth bathrobe before carrying her off to bed. She rested her head on his shoulder, creating a wet spot on the shoulder of his robes. He laid her gently on the bed, and walked to the door.
"Where're you going?" She asked, her hurt obvious.
"To sleep on the couch. I can't sleep in the same bed as you, Gin. What if I rolled over or something?"
"Oh," she said, her voice small. Could you maybe just sleep on the floor in here? I know it's stupid, I just like knowing you're close."
"It's not stupid," he told her. "I like knowing you're close, too."
She grinned idiotically while he made up a bed for himself on the floor next to the bed. He tucked her in, kissed her nose, and slipped into bed. She let her arm trail off the side of the bed, and he folded her small hand in his. He was almost asleep when something came to mind. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
She murmured something into her pillow.
"I didn't quite catch that."
"I said, I was listening the whole time. I heard what Marigold asked Missus Merriweather."
He went deathly still. "Really?"
"Really. And she would you know."
"Who would what?" He asked cautiously.
"She'd say yes."
Glin flipped through a fashion magazine, yawning. The Weasleys had decided that only family could visit Ginny at all. Fortunately, immediately before one of Ron's turns, Glin had played doctor with him in the supply closet, convincing him to sneak her in. Ron had escaped to the cafeteria for a moment, so it was just her and Ginny.
Some sort of a monitor kept bleeping monotonously at her. Really, wouldn't the damn thing be more helpful if it just bleeped when something changed? She glanced at Ginny a moment before turning back to the magazine. "'Perfectly Pear.' Sounds interesting. We'll have to call the company and get some samples. Although, I'm been considering trying an orange color scheme. It'd clash fantastically with Ron, if we ever went out. I doubt we will though. I mean, we've been going at it like rabbits. We'll have to get tired of each other sometime."
"Glin," came a scratchy voice from the bed. "That's fucking creepy."
Glin dropped her magazine. "You're up! Let me get a mediwizard or something."
"Water, first."
Glin hesitated a moment before pouring a glass of water from the plastic pitcher sitting on the bedside table. "Everyone's been out of their minds with worry. The doctors asked them to stay out of the waiting room because there were just too many people."
"How long have I been out? And who are all these things from?" Ginny motioned to the room, which appeared to have been in a battle with a floral shop and lost.
"You've been unconscious for three days," Glin told her. "And you're the Minister of Magic, so they're from lots of people. The pathetic looking mum with the balloon stick is from the Finnigans, The various rose arrangements are from your immediate family members. The fun, little daisy arrangement is from me and Ron. Of course by "and Ron" I mean he forgot to get anything then wrote his name on my card. The Birds of Paradise are from a mysterious 'D.'" She smirked. "I'm sure it's due to all the long hours you spent helping him dispose of his Dark Arts stuff, starting with his ex-wife."
"They're ok?"
"I assume you mean the Malfoys. Fantastic, actually. Although I'm fairly certain you waking up won't hurt matters. Marigold's fairly upset with him over that."
"Over what?"
"She's pissed because he hasn't come and woken you up with true love's first kiss. Probably pretty difficult for him to humor her though, with the entire Weasley collective guarding the door. He tried to sneak in a few times, but Bill, Charlie and the twins almost thrashed him for it."
"Funny, I would have pegged Ron for the childish outburst."
"He was...erm...occupied at the time."
"While I was lying in my death bed, you were shagging my brother?"
"Oh, stop being melodramatic." Glin grinned hugely. "I missed bickering with you."
"Me, too. Do me a favor, get that medi-wizard in here to release me, and bring my secretary back with you."
"You don't want me to owl your mother?"
"Has everyone gone insane while I was sleeping?"
A few moments later, a medi-wizard popped in. "How are we feeling, Minister?"
"Like I'm not dying, so definitely an improvement. Outside of that, I feel like I've been struck by a freight train, if that's indicative of anything."
"It's to be expected. Most of your bones have just been mended, and your muscles are probably pretty sore from the curses."
"Mhmm... Can I walk?"
"Not for six weeks. I wouldn't want you falling and re-injuring something. In fact, you should be on complete bed rest for the next three weeks."
"Why can't I just have a wheelchair or crutches?"
"If we're not careful, you could have permanent organ damage."
"Give me a wheelchair anyway. I'll take a two and a half week vacation, and..."
"Three weeks."
"Whatever. First get the paperwork for my release."
"Minister Weasely, you're incapable of caring for yourself in this condition."
"Which is why I'll get Glin to stay over, or something. Besides, I can sign myself out if I want to."
"Fine," the medi-wizard said. As he stormed out, Glin and a small, timid woman with dark brown curly hair. "Minister?"
"I've told you time and time again, Sadie. Just call me Ginny. I need you to arrange a meeting..."
"Are you sure you're"
"-I need to get this done. I want my immediate family, Harry, Herm, and Draco Malfoy in my apartment at 8PM."
"9PM," Glin corrected. "We'll need time to fix you up. You look pretty bad."
"Thanks," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes.
"Glin, are you sure about this?" Ginny looked at herself in the mirror and scrunched her nose skeptically. "I'm just having my family over. Why do I need to get all tarted up?
"Because, you looked all pale before. They're not going to let you alone if you look dead."
"Granted, but aren't you going a little overboard?"
"I haven't added the other layers of blush yet."
"'Layers?' What am I, an oil painting?" Ginny queried worriedly.
"Oil paintings don't complain this much," Glin said pointedly. "Stop talking. You keep moving your face and I'll mess it up."
Ginny sat still for a moment while Glin ran sable brushes of varying sizes over her face. She circled Ginny a few times before putting her brush down. "Okay, now look."
Ginny had to admit, she looked ten times better. Somehow, Glin's blushers and eye shadows were barely noticeable, but still made her face look warmer and more alive.
"Aren't I wonderful?" Glin smiled knowingly. "Want a cup of tea before they all show up?"
"If it's not too much trouble. You're already doing so much..."
Glin spun around, a teapot already in one hand. "Let's be honest here, Gin. We both know that the most likely outcome of this little get-together involves Draco, Marigold and Minnie staying here to take care of you while I shag Ron until he forgets that he's angry at you."
"Glin, ew, he's my brother!"
"He's also a tiger in the sack." She shrugged her shoulders. "What? Just trying to establish my motive here."
The doorbell rang. They both turned their heads to the wall clock in the kitchen which clearly read 8:30.
"I would've thought they'd just floo in," Glin said as she went to answer the door.
"It's just like them to be early the one time I want them to be late."
The three women behind the door weren't family though. In fact, Ginny found herself hard pressed to even call them acquaintances.
"Sheridan?" Glin said in surprise.
"Actually, it's Joanne," explained the honey-blonde. She stuck her hand out to shake Glin's hand. "Joanne Law, Commander, Special Ops. My team and I were assigned to the capture of Pansy Parkinson."
"What, like she was lost?" Glin asked sarcastically.
"We had to wait for her to commit a crime we could pin on her. We knew she was Dark, we just didn't have any proof. If we had known... well actually, I'm not entirely sure we could have done anything, and in the end, our reconnaissance mission did save your life..." Law stared at the shocked faces looking back at her. "I digress. I'm just glad you weren't killed."
Ginny looked confused. "Thanks, I think."
"I'm Tracy Knight," one of the Agents broke in. "And she wouldn't even be here if she wasn't after your brother."
Law's cheeks blushed.
"What is it with you people and my brothers?" Ginny cried. "It's just so horribly and terribly wrong."
"Maggie Ferran," said the remaining woman, shaking Ginny's hand. "And I can assure you I have absolutely no designs on your brothers."
"Well, unless you want to be trapped in this flat with the whole lot of them, you'd better be going. They'll be here any minute now."
As if by cue, a crackling sound in the fireplace heralded Bill's arrival.
"'lo Gin. Sure you're up to all this?"
"I'm fine, Bill, really."
Bill wasn't listening to her though. He was staring towards the door, where Glin was hastily pushing three women into the hall.
"Sheridan? What're you doing here?"
Law successfully skirted the door Glin was attempting to shut in her face. "It's actually Joanne," she told him sheepishly.
"She's actually one of the commandos who saved Ginny," Glin explained. "It's all rather complicated. Actually, Joanne, why don't you explain it to Bill over dinner."
"I-" Sheridan blushed.
"Erm..." Bill said uncomfortably.
"Oh, get out of here you crazy kids!" Glin said happily as she pushed Bill and the women out the door, shutting it and latching it firmly. She slumped against the door. "One brother down, four to go."
"Five, if you count Harry," Ginny sighed unhappily.
Fifteen minutes later, the living room of Ginny's flat had become a limited seating area. Her parent's were sitting on the loveseat, looking horribly out of place among all the younger people. Fred and George were squished onto the couch with Angelina and Alicia. Ron had been forced into sitting in one of the armchairs by Glin, who was sitting on the arm of the chair, preventing Ron from getting up. Hermione had pinned Harry in the other armchair in much the same manner. Charlie was sitting on the coffee table, and Draco was skulking in the corner near the front door.
"I've called you all here for a very important reason," Ginny told them. "I'm tired of being treated like a four year old."
"Oh, Virginia," pooh-poohed her mother.
"Don't 'oh, Virginia,' me. I've had quite enough of you all bulldozing me into doing what you want me to do. If I let anyone else treat me like this I'd go completely mad and never leave the flat and the only contact I'd have with anyone would be with the boy I hired to bring me my groceries. Now it's all well and good that you want whatever it is you think is best for me, but you're going to have to accept that I'm an adult, now. I don't have to take your advice if I don't want it."
"Virginia, if you wanted to rail at me, you didn't have to bring the whole family into it," Molly said angrily.
"It's not just you, Mum. It's the boys, too, being horrid to Draco just because of some silly school thing."
"Serving He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't 'some silly school thing,' Gin." Ron argued, attempting to stand up, only to be pushed back into the chair by Glin.
"I don't have to justify my choices to you, Ron," Ginny told him calmly.
Glin cut in. "Yeah, Ron. Gin never made rude comments about you dating that dirty French-"
"That was different, though," chimed in Fred. "Ron's a guy." Angelina promptly whacked him on the back of the head. "What?"
"I hate to say it, but I can see where Fred's coming from," Harry told them. Hermione looked daggers at him. "All I'm saying is that Ginny's the baby, the little sister. It's natural for them to be over-protective of her."
"Nicely put," George commented.
Ginny looked at them in disbelief. "We're not going to have a debate over it! It's my life. I want to be with Draco, and I'm going to do exactly that. So treat him nicely, like you'd treat any of my boyfriends." She thought about this for a moment. "Strike that. Be civil. I'm tired. Get out of my flat!"
"What?" Her family said collectively.
"I think you heard her," barked Glin. "Put up, or shut up where Draco's concerned, and get out."
A great deal of arguing later, Ginny and Draco were alone. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Ginny was the first to speak. "Where's Marigold? And where's Minnie?"
"They're looking after one another in my hotel room. Amelia's spending the night with them."
"Hotel room?"
"The Aurors are cleaning the house out. Guess I don't need help with the Dark Arts stuff anymore," he smiled softly. "Did you mean what you said before, about wanting to be with me?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't," she smiled.
"Tired?" She was slumped to one side of the wheelchair, and her eyelids were drooping.
"A little," she smiled apologetically. "I wanted to talk with you a bit before you left, though."
"How about a hot bath first?"
"That sounds wonderful," she sighed.
When the water became cool, Draco lifted her out of the tub and wrapped her in her thick, terry-cloth bathrobe before carrying her off to bed. She rested her head on his shoulder, creating a wet spot on the shoulder of his robes. He laid her gently on the bed, and walked to the door.
"Where're you going?" She asked, her hurt obvious.
"To sleep on the couch. I can't sleep in the same bed as you, Gin. What if I rolled over or something?"
"Oh," she said, her voice small. Could you maybe just sleep on the floor in here? I know it's stupid, I just like knowing you're close."
"It's not stupid," he told her. "I like knowing you're close, too."
She grinned idiotically while he made up a bed for himself on the floor next to the bed. He tucked her in, kissed her nose, and slipped into bed. She let her arm trail off the side of the bed, and he folded her small hand in his. He was almost asleep when something came to mind. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
She murmured something into her pillow.
"I didn't quite catch that."
"I said, I was listening the whole time. I heard what Marigold asked Missus Merriweather."
He went deathly still. "Really?"
"Really. And she would you know."
"Who would what?" He asked cautiously.
"She'd say yes."