A/N: I know, I know, this has taken forever, but I figured I'd wait out the writer's block instead of write something I wasn't satisfied with [trust me, it's worth it]
***
Things cannot get much worse than they already are.
A lovely sentiment, but I had yet to begin my free fall into hell. Oh yes, I had
most certainly hit the bottom; but I found myself doomed to stay there.
Of course, these were only thoughts. I didn't realize how bad things could
actually get.
It was July 10, a fully three months time since the incident. I thought I had made
it through the storm, but I was about to realize I was right in the eye.
I got an owl.
'I need to tell you something... and I'd rather you
find out from someone other than the press. She's pregnant... and engaged. She won't tell
anyone what is going on. I really think you two should at least have one last conversation.
They're announcing the marriage this Tuesday.
-Ron'
I didn't get a chance to reply; my mother grabbed the letter from my hands when she
saw my face go slack. She was trying to say something; her lips were moving, but I was only
vaguely aware of the sounds.
I didn't talk with anyone about Ginny for a months after that letter. Since Ginny
and I had no property to split, and no legal ties to sever, besides our marriage of course,
the divorce procedure was scheduled to run for another two weeks.
Of course, life, it seemed was not so willing to let me walk away.
Roughly three days later, I began to get interview invitations. First, they were
from rags like the Squibbler, but later they started coming from Witch Weekly, and
eventually, The Daily Prophet. I ignored them, thinking I could escape the entire world if
I didn't return the owls. I honestly don't know why such thoughts even came to me; I
must've been insane at the time. I guess I had been spending too much time indoors; a
month passed between the time I spoke with Ron and the next time I spoke with someone
outside of the Manor. Most of my conversations took place in my head between myself and
Victor Zimmer, an infamous author of books on dark magic.
It was during one of these imaginary conversations, that a very dear friend of mine
came to call. Pansy walked steadily through the maze of bookshelves through the library to
find me, and, as I glanced up expecting to see a house elf or perhaps my mother, I was
instead greeted by a slap across the face.
"How dare you!" she shrieked, throwing the current issue of the Prophet onto my lap.
"I'm forced to come out of hiding because you can't seem to get your act together!"
I picked up the paper and spread it out between my hands, reading the headline and
feeling the lump in my throat drop to my stomach.
"Virginia Weasley, formerly Malfoy, Engaged to Legendary Harry Potter." I slid down
against the bookshelf, my mind blank, except for one thought that just kept circling:
This is what you get.
Pansy slowly sank down besides me, pulling me into her arms, as though she expected
me to cry. We both knew I wouldn't; rather, I couldn't. She had crushed me.
I wasn't allowed to show that she had hurt me. An inbred Slytherin trait, and I can't
tell if it did me more harm than good.
"Come on, love, let's get some tea," she said softly. Pansy was a nurturer, even
if she herself didn't believe it. I grunted in protest, still thinking that somehow I had
deserved this.
Then Pansy did the one thing I had needed someone to do, but no one had yet done.
She just sat with me in silence.
***
My encounter with Pansy was one of the few highlights of my life. Pansy kept me
grounded after that, and she was my distraction from my troubles with Ginny. Every time I
walked through my front door, I was hounded by owls from all different sources. I had
letters from distant relatives, reporters wanting the story, old friends, and even from
some sources I didn't know. Most of them had a tinge of malice in them; the true story of
my failed marriage hadn't hit the presses yet. I didn't even want to let it drop; I still
loved Ginny, even though she destroyed me.
Eventually, life at the Manor, life in the wizarding world, everything seemed to be
too much. As the date of Ginny's wedding loomed ominously at the end of the year, I had to
escape, from everything.
As it was, Pansy had been in hiding for a damn good reason: she was wanted by
Voldemort for double dealing. In the final stand against Voldemort, Pansy had been the
focal point of a spell involving 'The Traitors' as we were so loving called. The group was
simply myself, Pansy, and our year mate, Blaise. It was a Dark spell, one the Aurors were
too scared to attempt. The ultimate end was the demolishment of Voldemort's Army, as he
called his Death Eaters as a perverse response to the underground dueling club from Hogwarts
, as well as Pansy's controllable magic.
Unfortunately, our efforts were deemed... disreputable, and we were left out of the
celebrations and spoils of the war. Even the textbooks would leave the question of what
happened to the Death Eaters unanswered. They thought it was righteous to only show the
glorious side of the war; they thought our doings to be too base. The powers that be
assumed that our use of Dark magic had cost us nothing, but in reality, it was almost a
price too heavy to pay. Pansy lost her magic, Blaise lost his family, and I lost every
shred of power my father had placed in my hands. Though he had accepted me into his house,
I was treated almost like an outsider; I was always his son, and we both knew this, but I
was no longer his friend, his confidant. I was no longer trusted among any of my peers,
most of whom had sympathies with Voldemort and his following.
By the end of the month, I had moved into a flat in muggle London in the same
complex as Pansy. Blaise had relocated to another country soon after the war's end, and no
one had heard from him since. I suppose it was just as well, he needed to think through
his life and I supposed having space will help.
At first, I thought my biggest trial would be a job, but that actually proved to be
the easiest. I applied for a rather shady branch of the Ministry of Magic known as
'Sector 12.' It was a joint muggle/magical branch, in which I would be investigating
unusual occurrences in both realms, and reporting which were magical and which were plain
phenomena.
No, the hardest part came with unloading my boxes. I had simply told the house
elves to pack everything, and I didn't even bother watching what they packed.
Things had gone relatively smoothly. With Pansy's help, I had most of them unpacked
by the evening. After thanking Pansy profusely for her help, I set to work on the final
box. I split the tape and peeled back the flaps only to have Ginny Weasley beam happily up
at me.
***
A/N:Yeah... not much of a cliff hanger, ne? Thanks to everyone who reviews, you all rock my
socks ^_^