Disclaimer: The title "Gutterflower" and all of the lyrics included within these chapters are © to the members of the Goo Goo Dolls. Harry Potter is © to Scholastic, Bloomsberry… J.K. Rowling, and everybody else who owns Harry Potter o_o Oh, yeah. May I also say that ORDER OF THE PHOENIX was horrible? Yep…


Gutterflower


"Here is Gone"



"Who's the father, Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her voice wavering with the sobs that wracked on her body. Ginny pouted, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't want her Mum to know… she didn't want anyone to know, now. She didn't even want to know, herself.


Mrs. Weasley repeated herself, turning to her daughter with a severe expression on her face. Virginia really didn't know what to say; she was hard-pressed for words, and her throat didn't seem to want to work. Her eyes were watery, and her vision was blurry from the build up tears.


What would happen if she told her Mother who the father of her unwanted child really was? 'It's… it's Draco Malfoy, Mum…' No, she couldn't do that. She could almost see her Mother's enraged reaction in her mind. Ginny decided, from there on, at that precise moment when the vision of her Mum disowning her crawled into her little disoriented mind, that she would deny the father of her baby. Nobody had to know the truth.


"I… I don't know, Mum…" she whispered, eyes darting to a spot on the floor.


"How could you not know?" Her mother demanded. Her eyes were teary, and beads of salty water flowed down her cheeks. "How could you not know, Virginia? It's not something that you couldn't know!"


Ginny sobbed, pushing past her mother. Why was Mrs. Weasley being so hard on her daughter? She didn't mean to get pregnant… especially with his child. She ran into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.


What was she going to do now? Ginny looked around her room, bawling her eyes out… Nothing. There was no answer in her room.


But there was an answer. The little cage in the corner of her room was the answer; the one that her brother's old owl, Pigwidgeon used to occupy. She would have to use the family own to send her note, though… and that would mean walking downstairs and waking him.


And right now, she didn't feel like confronting her father, or her mother.


Ginny pulled a piece of parchment from her bedside stand, grabbed a quill, and dipped the tip of it into an unscrewed bottle of ink. She would just write the letter out now, and send it in a little while. No matter what it would take, she would send this owl.


Quickly scribbling down a note, she clutched it in her hand. Should I send it now, or later? she asked herself. Sending it now would mean questions, but sending it after her parents took their daily nap would qualify her into the "No Questions" round… but it was only 11:30 A.M… and her parents didn't take their nap until 3.


Nap time for herself, then.


*****



When Ginny awoke, the clock to her side read "2:00 PM." Only an hour to go, before her parents laid down… or maybe, if she was lucky, they had decided to take their nap early. Ginny crept to the door and pulled it open a crack, just to hear if the voices of her parents occupied the living room.


No sounds came, except the sound of soft snoring from upstairs.


She seized the opportunity, and headed down the two flights of stairs it took to get to the living room. The family owl was on his perch, head tucked under his wing to signify that he was sleeping. As Ginny scooted closer to him, the owl hooted and woke.


Ginny attached the note to the Great Horned Owl's leg. This was a new family owl, which Ginny had named "Barrage" because of the little horns that stuck out on the sides. They had gotten him after Errol had finally snuffed it, late last June.


Barrage hooted once more, and took off, flying out of the Living Room window that was usually kept open for him and the owls that usually came to deliver the Daily Prophet and the other owls that friends sent.


The couch looked welcoming and comforting, so Ginny sat down upon it. She didn't understand why she was tired; she had just taken a long nap… But, she figured, it was probably due to the fact that she was pregnant. Her eyes began to water at the thought. Pregnant… at 17.


Who would've thought?


*****



Draco opened his window to allow the Great Horned Owl access to his bedroom. He had never seen this owl before; it's white and brown plumage surprised him, considering that anyone who sent messages to his family used Eagle Owls, or even Ravens and/or Crows. Every once in a while, they had a Phoenix in their midst. Never a Great Horned, though.


The large owl hooted, holding out it's leg. Draco untied the note and unrolled the parchment, arching an eyebrow.


Draco,

We need to talk. Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in half an hour.



And that was the end of the note. There was no signature, or anything. Draco folded the parchment, nodded at the Owl as indication for it to take flight once more, and looked around his room. Who the hell would want to talk to him? Nobody ever really did; it was actually a burden on people to have his presence.


For a while, after he had left the Leaky Cauldron the week of his Business trip, his mind was set on that first night. That first night, he had run into the little redheaded Weasley vixen, and in a sense, taken advantage of her. She was soft, careful… and the orgasm they reached only took a few minutes. But it was pleasurable; not like he hadn't felt that sort of pleasure before with other girls, but it was just… different with her.


If his father ever found out, he'd be in deep shit.


Draco changed into something less formal, more casual, and grabbed his wand. He disapparated, and appeared in the Leaky Cauldron, within a matter of seconds. He looked around the dusty pub; he really didn't like the place that much - it was too dark and dirty for his taste, letting everyone, and anyone, who wanted in to come in (except for Muggles, of course.)


He figured that, since nobody caught his eye as he looked around, whoever had sent the note was not here just yet. He took a seat at a table in the corner, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited.


A half-an-hour later, the fireplace spat out a tall redheaded girl. Draco stared at her for a minute, and the thought suddenly came to him. Ginny had sent the letter.


Ginny looked around the room, obviously searching for Draco. She saw the dark corner, a flash of platinum blonde, and the rest was a dead giveaway. She walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.


"Your eyes are puffy," Draco acknowledged, looking up to stare at her. "What is it?"


The redheaded girl chocked back a sniffle and a pout, raising her long-fingered hands to wipe her swollen eyes of more unshed tears. "Draco…" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes more vigorously.


"Quit pouting and get to the point. What?"


Ginny broke out into huge sobs and wrapped her arms around herself. Her breath came in short puffs, making her chest pop out at uneven strokes. "Oh Draco…"


Draco arched an eyebrow. "You're starting to piss me off, vixen. Just get out with it, or I'm leaving."


"Draco! Quit… being… so… insensitive!" she puffed out, speaking between large sobs. A few of the customers inside of the Leaky Cauldron turned to watch them.


The blonde growled. She was being so stubborn, and on top of that, she was being a whiner. He couldn't tolerate whiners… they drove him nuts with their pitying. "Just get out with it!" he growled in a whisper.


Ginny stood up, and walked to his side of the table, taking up a chair next to him. She placed her lips next to his ear, holding back more sobs that threatened to escape her any second. "Draco… I'm…"


He jerked back, staring at Ginny with wide eyes. "Oh no, you're not. Don't even try that with me." He jumped out of his chair, walking to the other side of the table. "You are not!"


The girl wailed louder than ever, wiping her eyes with her long, angelically white fingers. "Draco! I'm not lying! Please… don't run away!" she said, pouting all the more.


Draco shook his head. "No… No!"


With his last 'no,' Draco apparated back to his home, leaving Ginny, sobbing, in the Leaky Cauldron.


*****



Draco bashed his head into his bedroom wall. This was not happening to him… it couldn't happen to him. Especially not right now! Let alone when he didn't want this to happen to him. How could he have been so stupid?


He just happened to forget to cast the charms, didn't he? No, that wasn't it. Draco sighed, sliding down the length of the wall to sit upon the cold floor. He put his head in his hands, rubbing his temples with his long thumbs.


Just his fucking luck. He'd had to go and get a Weasley pregnant. His father would disown him for sure, if he knew. Draco threw his head backward, knocking it into the cold wall behind him.


Fuck it. He didn't have a fucking clue about what to do next.


Support Ginny, and her decisions? Pay the little fuck and just forget about it? No… he couldn't figure it out. He didn't know if he wanted to. This was all happening too fucking fast for his taste. He had only graduated from Hogwarts last year! And the little vixen had just gotten out of Hogwarts the night they went at it…


He didn't have anyone to confide his secrets in, so he would be forced to keep this inside of him… even if it killed him.


But then, his thoughts wandered over to Ginny. Ginny was the one who was being forced to carry this baby, his child, not him, so surely, she had the worst end of the deal? What would her parents think about this…? And if they knew that it was his child? Oh god…


If her parents knew that it was him… They'd surely write to his father. Or disown Ginny… Or give the child up for adoption when it was born.


Well, in a sense, Draco didn't give a damn about what happened to Ginny… but part of him knew better than to think like that. Leave it to his Malfoy side to come out at a time like this.


Draco stood up and shook his head. What was he going to do about this? Shrugging inwardly, the blonde sat down on his bed, running his fingers over the soft, silky material that made up his bedspread. Should I help out, or just leave it to her?


Fucking hell, things like these were hard to decide.


*****



Things were not going well for Ginny. Her Mother told her Father about the pregnancy… and he went into his room, leaving without saying a thing to either of them. He didn't come down for supper, and he didn't acknowledge it when Ginny knocked on his bedroom door to try and talk to him.


Mrs. Weasley, though profoundly pissed off at her daughter, was still comforting and kind to her. It made the facts worse, however, that her daughter… her only daughter, didn't know who the father of her baby was. Her daughter was a tramp? Molly shook her head, cleaning up the kitchen with a flick of her wand.


And why would she go around, sleeping with a bunch of boys on her last day of Hogwarts? When she finally had a chance to find something to do for herself, and to make her parents proud? Well, her parents were proud of her, no doubt about it, but they seemed… they seemed so distraught over the news…


Ginny sulked in her bedroom. Draco had denied the existence of their newly formed child… and why wouldn't he have? He had just walked away on the night of their encounter, after all, so why would he stay to find out more about the child? She shook her head, lying back on her bed and extinguishing the light. Draco…


What if the baby looked like him when it was born? Surely her parents would find out, and Owl the Malfoys, demanding an explanation. Ginny smiled softly, putting a hand on her lower abdomen. What if it really did look like it's father? The smile faded from her lips. What would she tell it when it got old enough to understand?


Seriously, Ginny hadn't thought of the consequences before sleeping with Draco, though. Nothing had happened with her encounter with Harry, so why would anything have happened on her second time of having sex? She curled up under the blankets on her bed, pulling her knees to her chest.


"I hate you!" she croaked out.


The mirror on her vanity grunted. "Thank you, miss!" it replied to her outburst.


Ginny threw a pillow at the mirror. "I wasn't talking to you."


"Somebody's moody today!" the mirror said haughtily back.


She really didn't want to face the facts, now. Rolling over, she took a glance out of her window. The stars were shining brightly and beautifully. Her eyes traced over the constellation forms; she had learned the Muggle constellations from her Astronomy class. Hermione had also taught her a lot about what the class had forgotten to mention.


Draco. Even his name was written in the stars… well, not exactly his name, but… it was good to think so.


One last look at the stars left her tired and speechless. She rolled over, and fell asleep.


*****


You and I've got something
But it's all and then it's nothing to me
And I've got my defenses
When it comes to your intentions for me
And we wake up in the breakdown
Of the things we never thought we could be
I'm not the one who broke you
I'm not the one you should fear
What do you got to move you darling
I thought I lost you somewhere
But you were never really ever there at all
And I want to get free talk to me
I can feel you falling
And I wanted to be all you need
Somehow here is gone
I have no solution
To the sound of this pollution in me
And I was not the answer
So forget you ever thought it was me
And I'm not the one who broke you
I'm not the one you should fear
What do you got to move you darling
I thought I lost you somewhere
But you were never really ever there at all
And I want to get free talk to me
I can feel you falling
And I wanted to be all you need
Somehow here is gone
And I don't need the fallout of all the past
That's here between us
And I'm not holding on
And all your lies weren't enough to keep me here
And I want to get free talk to me
I can feel you falling
And I wanted to be all you need
Somehow here is gone
And I want to get free, talk to me
I can feel you falling
I know it's out there
I know it's out there
I can feel you falling
I know it's out there
I know it's out there
Somehow here is gone



A/N: I think that I should clear something up, in case some of you are having problems understanding the story thus far. Virginia figured out that she was pregnant because it had been about a month and a half since she had left the Leaky Cauldron and began feeling sick. Sorry for those of you who got confused!