Chapter 8 – Regret and Tears
"Draco, I don't want to sound like a bitter woman but what are we Are we anything at all?" Ginny whispered in his ear, while they rested from their activities.
"Do we have to be anything to have sex?" he replied, instinctively, turning his head to look at her.
'Oh, oh... Wrong thing to say...' he thought when he saw Ginny's sad face. He hated to see her sad or worried, like she was now...
"No, of course not..." she lied, trying to sound normal. "I better go have a shower and start preparing dinner... Julie, Mark and Cassie will be home very soon."
Feeling ashamed, she wrapped her body on the bed sheet and left Draco's room. When she stopped at the door to close it, their eyes locked, and mentally, Ginny said the words burning her throat.
'I love you, Draco!'
"Ginny... Tell me what happened. You look so sad; you didn't even smile at Cassie during dinner..." Julie asked, worried with her friend, after putting Cassie to sleep.
"I just thought I could do something other people do, but it didn't work for me..." Ginny said, whipping a tear from her cheek, while she watched the little girl sleep in her bed.
"Please, speak in English..." Julie asked.
"Draco and I had sex..."
"Boy! Was it that bad?" Julie asked, curious at Ginny's sad face.
"Of course not... It was amazing, even though it was my first time..." Ginny said, making Julie yelp in surprise. "I thought I could have sex with him, without worrying about feelings, but I was wrong..."
"You like him..."
"NO! I love him... And there's no feedback to my feelings." Ginny revealed, starting to cry like a baby in Julie's friendly arms.
"What's going on? Why are you crying?" Draco asked, coming into her room.
"She's just crying of happiness... I've just told her that she will be my child's Godmother..." Julie lied, trying to smile convincingly.
"Oh... So, is Cassie asleep?" he replied, looking unconvinced.
"Yes, she is... I'm tired as well! Goodnight..." Ginny said, looking into Julie's eyes, pleading for them to leave.
"Goodnight, Gin... Come Draco, let's go..." Julie said, pushing him out of the room.
That night Ginny cried until she fell asleep. She had to protect her heart, and there was only one way of doing it...
Ginny was still on vacation, but she worked non-stop the following week. The less time she spent next to Draco, the better... That week she had seen him twice, and she never saw Cassie, and missed her like hell. She loved her as if she was her daughter.
'I have to see her...' she thought, sadly. "Tonight I'm going home early..."
When she opened the door of the apartment, she placed a convincing smile on her face, and went into the living room, hoping she would find Cassie there.
What she saw left her on the verge of tears and fury.
In front of her, Draco and Pansy Parkinson were having a snogging session, moaning absurdly loud... The worst was they were doing it in front of Cassie, who was playing with a doll on the living room floor.
When Cassie noticed Ginny, she stood up slowly, trying to keep balance, and for the first time ever... she spoke.
"Winny!" she called, extending her arms on Ginny's direction.
Draco stopped what he was doing to look at Cassie with surprise. Had she just said her first word?
What did she say? Winny? Wait a minute... Translating to English, did that mean Ginny? Looking the way Cassie was staring at, he found a crying Ginny, smiling like a lunatic, before she ran and grabbed the girl in her arms.
"Oh, Cassie, my sweetie... How are you? You look great..." Ginny whispered, eyeing the laughing girl in her arms.
"She's fine... But she missed you! We both did..." Draco said, smiling at her, while Pansy rolled her eyes with boredom.
"You've missed me, Cassie? I've missed you, as well, sweetie... Do you want to have a bath with me? We can splash the water all over the bathroom floor..." Ginny said, going out of the living room with the little girl, completely ignoring Draco and Pansy.
"Stop looking at her like that!" Pansy shrieked, holding his face in her direction. "Why are you behaving so soft and caring? Where is the Draco I used to fuck all the time?"
"That's none of your business... Please leave..." he requested.
"You like her, don't you? That entire "We've missed you" thing was so disgusting..." she stated, furious.
"OUT!" he yelled.
With a loud pop, Pansy Disapparated, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Yes, he had missed Ginny's company, her help with Cassie, her sweet voice, her evil comments, and her body in his arms... He liked everything about her, but she had been running from him since that day and he couldn't understand why...
Wanting answers, he walked into the bathroom where Ginny and Cassie were emerged in the bathtub, splashing water and laughing.
"What's going on?" he asked, with a cold voice, surprising Ginny. She tried to cover her body under the water, but the water level was low, because of Cassie. "No need to cover... I already know your body from head to toes. What's going on?"
"We're having a bath. Anything wrong with that?" she replied, not looking at him.
"You know what I meant... Why are you running from me? And from Cassie?" he asked, sitting on the toilet sit. "Do you regret what we did that day?"
"No, I don't regret it..." she said, blushing. "But I'm willing to forget it... That was only a one night stand, Draco... You should be used to it, by now!"
"That was not a one night stand, and you know it..." he replied, angrily.
"Please, leave... I'm trying to have a relaxing bath, and you're not helping!" she sighed.
"Only one more thing... I've received a letter from the Ministry of Magic... I'll lose my sister if I don't adopt her... To adopt her, I must giver her a mother; I have to get married... To get married, I need a woman who cares..." he said, brushing his hand on her wet leg.
"I think you have already found the perfect wife and mother... Pansy Parkinson is a pure-blooded witch... She'll be the perfect wife for you, and the perfect mother for a pure-blooded child..." Ginny said, trying not to cry. "I'm sure she'll be happy with the proposal! Now, let me finish my bath, please..."
As soon as a furious Draco left the room, Ginny started crying like a baby.
"Winny?" Cassie called, hugging Ginny, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Cassie... I'll be ok... And you'll have a good family to love you and protect you! I'm just sad, I won't be there to watch you grow up into a beautiful woman..." Ginny cried, while she kissed the girl's wet hair.
****
"Where's Cassie?" Draco asked, an hour later, when Ginny came into the living room.
"She's sleeping in my bed..." she answered in a low voice.
"I don't want her sleeping there... She'll sleep in my room, like she did this last week..." he said with a furious face. Right now, he looked like the old Draco Malfoy, from Hogwarts.
"Fine..." Ginny whispered, trying to remain calm.
"I want you to stay away from Cassandra... She must forget you exist..." he said, menacingly. "And I don't want to look at your face, ever again!"
"As you wish..." Ginny mumbled, as tears fell from her face. With a loud pop, she Disapparated, and didn't came back that night, or the following others...
****
"Philip, Harry is here to see you..." Julie called from the living room, several weeks later.
"So, how are you Julie? Ginny told me you are pregnant..." Harry asked, while they waited for Draco.
"I'm fine, thank you... Have you seen her lately? She left home, and only owled me back once... She said she needed some time with her family, but I didn't believe it! Draco has been acting strange, and I think he's the cause to all this mess..." Julie said, angrily.
"I didn't know she had left this apartment... Why? Where is she? What do you mean, Draco's acting strange?" Harry asked, furious.
"She left three weeks ago, before I got home, and went to the Burrow... I don't know why, though, and Draco refuses to tell me... He goes around the house with a dark mood, he doesn't talk, doesn't eat... All he does is sit in his room playing with Cassie..." Julie said, sadly.
"Hey, Harry! What's up?" Draco asked, coming into the living room with Cassie in his arms.
"Hi... I just came to finally meet the littlest Malfoy!" Harry said, trying to smile, although he was worried with his friend's state. Draco was incredibly pale, his posture wasn't so straight as usual, his eyes looked really sad and had dark circles under it... Trying not to look at Draco, Harry held the girl in his arms, playing with her.
"Winny?" the girl called, with a soft sad voice.
"No... I'm not Ginny! I'm prettier than she is, don't you think?" Harry joked with the small child, casting a glance at a frowning Draco. "Why are you frowning?"
"She just keeps saying that name... It's getting infuriating!" Draco said, angrily.
"Maybe she says it because she misses Ginny..." Julie said, furious at her nephew. "Look, Philip, why don't you tell me what happened? Ginny is one of my best friends and I want her back where she belongs: HERE AT HOME... What did you do to her?"
"I told her I never wanted to see her again, and that I wanted her away from Cassie..." he said, quietly.
"YOU WHAT?!" Harry and Julie yelled at the same time.
"She refused me... She refused Cassie..." Draco yelled back, his pale face becoming red.
"What do you mean?" Julie asked quietly.
"I asked her to marry me, so that I could adopt Cassie! The Ministry wants to take her away from me unless I get married..." Draco explained impatiently. "And she said no..."
Suddenly Julie's face became softer, as if she understood what had happened.
"Why do you think she refused, Draco?"
"Because she doesn't love Cassie like I do... She doesn't want to be a part of Cassie's life..." he said, sitting on the couch with his face in his hands.
"No, Draco... That's not why she refused, and you know it! She loves Cassie more than anything... And she would do anything to protect her, except marry without love from both parts..." Julie explained, patting his shoulder. "Do you love her?"
"I ... I miss her... I like the way she pushes me over the edge with her comments, I like the way she smiles and sings to Cassie, I like the feeling of her body against mine... But I don't know if that's love..." he whispered, with a sad smile. "I never loved anyone..."
"That's not true, Draco! You love Cassie! Please, describe me how you feel for her." Julie insisted.
"I love her smile, her small laughs, the way she says "Winny", the smell of baby powder and diapers, the way she snuggles close to me at night... I could go on for hours..." he said, kissing his sister's cheek.
"Well, Draco, I'll tell you something Hermione told me, when I asked her what love is..." Harry said, smiling.
"I'm sure she gave you a dictionary definition... That girl is an ambulant library!" Draco sighed. "But if you want to say it, anyway, go ahead..."
"She told me Love is when you want nothing else except being close to someone, to protect her from any danger, to hold her in your arms whenever she's happy, or to cry with her whenever she's sad. Love is being ready to give your life for that person, to make sure she's ok and happy... That's how you feel for Cassie, that I can tell you... But, do you feel that way towards Ginny? That's for you to answer!" Harry said, slowly, so that Draco could process all that information.
"When did you get so wise in this matters?" Draco sneered, curiously.
"Since I found my other half..." Harry said with a knowing smile.
"So, do you feel that way towards Ginny?" Julie asked, with a knowing look.
Draco closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking about it seriously. When he opened his eyes again, Julie screamed happily, and hugged her nephew!
"I knew that you would finally see what was there all this time... I'm just sorry that you are so thick that you didn't realise it sooner..." Julie laughed. "Now, get your ass moving and go apologize to Ginny! She must be miserable..."
"I'm going right now... Oh, by the way, Ginny says I have a nice ass, so don't joke with it..." Draco said, smiling for the first time that week. "Come on, Cassie, let's visit Ginny!"
"WINNY!?" the girl repeated, understanding that she would finally see her friend.
Draco, Harry and Cassie, went to the Burrow by Floo Powder, arriving in the middle of the living room with a huge cloud of ashes.
Draco cleaned Cassie's dirty face, and clothes, and then did the same with himself. Only after he felt good with his appearance, did he look to the house where he had just arrived. The living room was a small cosy place, with two couches and two armchairs, adorned by hand knitted shawls of several colours. This was a real home... Ginny was so lucky of having grown up in such a warm and loving place...
"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry called, from his right side.
"Harry?!" a female voice called from a nearby room, before a red-headed woman came into the living room, smiling widely. "Harry, darling... I haven't seen you for so long! You don't come here as much as you used to..."
"I know, Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry! I've missed you all, as well..." Harry admitted, loving the feel of the tight embrace the woman had on him.
"And, who are these people?" she asked, with a curious smile. "And such a lovely girl..."
"I am Draco Malfoy, Mrs. Weasley, and this is Cassandra Malfoy, my sister..." Draco said in a soft voice, watching her smiling face turn into one of shock.
"A Malfoy?" she gasped. "What brings you here?"
"I need to see your daughter, if you don't mind, of course... I have something very important to tell her..." he asked, with a sad face.
"Are you the reason why she's acting so differently?" Mrs. Weasley asked, placing her hands on her hips on a furious way.
"Yes, I am..." Draco admitted, lowering his head, to look at his shoes.
"Well, then we need to talk before I decide if you can or can not go see her..." Mrs. Weasley stated, pointing to a couch near him. As soon as they all sat, to start talking, little Cassie jumped from Draco's arms, and walked to Mrs. Weasley.
"Winny?" the girl called, opening her arms, waiting to be held. Ginny's mother smiled at the little girl, and sat her on her lap.
"You will see Ginny really soon, darling... Hold on a little!" she whispered. "So, tell me all..."
"Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and I have been roommates for the last months, and we became very close, specially since Cassie was found, and Ginny saved her from certain death... Somehow, I've done something to infuriate your daughter, and she backed away from Cassie and me... Three weeks, I found out that I would lose my sister if I didn't adopt her, and to be able to adopt her, I must be married, so I asked Ginny to marry me... She said no!" Draco explained, hiding some private facts. "I got so mad that I told her I didn't want to see her ever again, and that I wanted her away from Cassie... I was the stupidest man to ever walk on this earth..."
"My Ginny would never marry someone she doesn't love, Mr. Malfoy! You were too harsh, telling her those things..." Mrs. Weasley said, quietly. "But, I know my daughter, and she's not easy, either! I agree with you... You two must talk..."
"Thank you..." Draco said, his face opening into a beautiful happy smile.
"But first, tell me something: Do you love my daughter?" she asked, softly.
"Yes, I do... With every bit of my heart!" he said, serious. "All I want his to see her happy... And if that's with me and Cassie, then I'll be a very happy man..."
"Good! She has been so sad all this time... She doesn't eat, she doesn't smile like she used to, and she stays in her bedroom all day long... Really, it was breaking my heart seeing her like that, and not being able to know what was happening. Please, make my daughter smile again..." the lady begged, rising from her sit, giving Cassie to Harry. "I'm going to call her down, and tell her Harry is here to see her. Otherwise, she won't come down..."
Soon, soft steps descended the narrow staircase, and Ginny's form came into the room. She looked really pale, her body was a little thinner, and she looked really unhappy. Seeing her like this, made Draco feel even more guilty of having told her those awful things...
"Harry, you brought Cassie?" Ginny screamed with happiness, and ran to Harry, taking the little girl from his arms, hugging her tight against her body. "Oh, I've missed you so much, sweetie! How's Draco? Have you taken good care of him, uh?"
"WINNY!" the girl screamed, enthusiastically, never stopping to recover her breath. It was clear that both girls were happy to be together again... Only a foul like him, to try and separate them.
"Hello Ginny!" he said, behind her, causing her to turn quickly to face him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, hurt all over her face and voice.
"We need to talk... Can we?" he asked, with a sad smile.
"I think there's nothing left for us to say... If you thought that by bringing Cassie, I would do anything you wanted me to do, then you're wrong..." she said, although she kept a tight hold on the little child, as if afraid that Draco would take Cassie away from her.
"Ginny, I think you should ear what Mr. Malfoy has to say..." Mrs. Weasley said, with a commanding tone. "Give me Cassie... Harry, Cassie and I are going to bake a cake!"
While the three figures left the living room, Ginny felt herself become even tenser.
"Please, say what you have to say and leave my house and my life..." she said harshly, while she sat on an armchair.
//////////////////////
Hello everyone, I'm back from Lisbon and I have more chapters to post...
This ff is coming to an end, but I'm going to post the Sequel along with this story, so you don't have to start looking for it, ok?
Thank you for the wonderful replies, I never thought I would be receiving so many of them and I'm truly happy.
Love, Carina
"Draco, I don't want to sound like a bitter woman but what are we Are we anything at all?" Ginny whispered in his ear, while they rested from their activities.
"Do we have to be anything to have sex?" he replied, instinctively, turning his head to look at her.
'Oh, oh... Wrong thing to say...' he thought when he saw Ginny's sad face. He hated to see her sad or worried, like she was now...
"No, of course not..." she lied, trying to sound normal. "I better go have a shower and start preparing dinner... Julie, Mark and Cassie will be home very soon."
Feeling ashamed, she wrapped her body on the bed sheet and left Draco's room. When she stopped at the door to close it, their eyes locked, and mentally, Ginny said the words burning her throat.
'I love you, Draco!'
"Ginny... Tell me what happened. You look so sad; you didn't even smile at Cassie during dinner..." Julie asked, worried with her friend, after putting Cassie to sleep.
"I just thought I could do something other people do, but it didn't work for me..." Ginny said, whipping a tear from her cheek, while she watched the little girl sleep in her bed.
"Please, speak in English..." Julie asked.
"Draco and I had sex..."
"Boy! Was it that bad?" Julie asked, curious at Ginny's sad face.
"Of course not... It was amazing, even though it was my first time..." Ginny said, making Julie yelp in surprise. "I thought I could have sex with him, without worrying about feelings, but I was wrong..."
"You like him..."
"NO! I love him... And there's no feedback to my feelings." Ginny revealed, starting to cry like a baby in Julie's friendly arms.
"What's going on? Why are you crying?" Draco asked, coming into her room.
"She's just crying of happiness... I've just told her that she will be my child's Godmother..." Julie lied, trying to smile convincingly.
"Oh... So, is Cassie asleep?" he replied, looking unconvinced.
"Yes, she is... I'm tired as well! Goodnight..." Ginny said, looking into Julie's eyes, pleading for them to leave.
"Goodnight, Gin... Come Draco, let's go..." Julie said, pushing him out of the room.
That night Ginny cried until she fell asleep. She had to protect her heart, and there was only one way of doing it...
Ginny was still on vacation, but she worked non-stop the following week. The less time she spent next to Draco, the better... That week she had seen him twice, and she never saw Cassie, and missed her like hell. She loved her as if she was her daughter.
'I have to see her...' she thought, sadly. "Tonight I'm going home early..."
When she opened the door of the apartment, she placed a convincing smile on her face, and went into the living room, hoping she would find Cassie there.
What she saw left her on the verge of tears and fury.
In front of her, Draco and Pansy Parkinson were having a snogging session, moaning absurdly loud... The worst was they were doing it in front of Cassie, who was playing with a doll on the living room floor.
When Cassie noticed Ginny, she stood up slowly, trying to keep balance, and for the first time ever... she spoke.
"Winny!" she called, extending her arms on Ginny's direction.
Draco stopped what he was doing to look at Cassie with surprise. Had she just said her first word?
What did she say? Winny? Wait a minute... Translating to English, did that mean Ginny? Looking the way Cassie was staring at, he found a crying Ginny, smiling like a lunatic, before she ran and grabbed the girl in her arms.
"Oh, Cassie, my sweetie... How are you? You look great..." Ginny whispered, eyeing the laughing girl in her arms.
"She's fine... But she missed you! We both did..." Draco said, smiling at her, while Pansy rolled her eyes with boredom.
"You've missed me, Cassie? I've missed you, as well, sweetie... Do you want to have a bath with me? We can splash the water all over the bathroom floor..." Ginny said, going out of the living room with the little girl, completely ignoring Draco and Pansy.
"Stop looking at her like that!" Pansy shrieked, holding his face in her direction. "Why are you behaving so soft and caring? Where is the Draco I used to fuck all the time?"
"That's none of your business... Please leave..." he requested.
"You like her, don't you? That entire "We've missed you" thing was so disgusting..." she stated, furious.
"OUT!" he yelled.
With a loud pop, Pansy Disapparated, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Yes, he had missed Ginny's company, her help with Cassie, her sweet voice, her evil comments, and her body in his arms... He liked everything about her, but she had been running from him since that day and he couldn't understand why...
Wanting answers, he walked into the bathroom where Ginny and Cassie were emerged in the bathtub, splashing water and laughing.
"What's going on?" he asked, with a cold voice, surprising Ginny. She tried to cover her body under the water, but the water level was low, because of Cassie. "No need to cover... I already know your body from head to toes. What's going on?"
"We're having a bath. Anything wrong with that?" she replied, not looking at him.
"You know what I meant... Why are you running from me? And from Cassie?" he asked, sitting on the toilet sit. "Do you regret what we did that day?"
"No, I don't regret it..." she said, blushing. "But I'm willing to forget it... That was only a one night stand, Draco... You should be used to it, by now!"
"That was not a one night stand, and you know it..." he replied, angrily.
"Please, leave... I'm trying to have a relaxing bath, and you're not helping!" she sighed.
"Only one more thing... I've received a letter from the Ministry of Magic... I'll lose my sister if I don't adopt her... To adopt her, I must giver her a mother; I have to get married... To get married, I need a woman who cares..." he said, brushing his hand on her wet leg.
"I think you have already found the perfect wife and mother... Pansy Parkinson is a pure-blooded witch... She'll be the perfect wife for you, and the perfect mother for a pure-blooded child..." Ginny said, trying not to cry. "I'm sure she'll be happy with the proposal! Now, let me finish my bath, please..."
As soon as a furious Draco left the room, Ginny started crying like a baby.
"Winny?" Cassie called, hugging Ginny, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Cassie... I'll be ok... And you'll have a good family to love you and protect you! I'm just sad, I won't be there to watch you grow up into a beautiful woman..." Ginny cried, while she kissed the girl's wet hair.
****
"Where's Cassie?" Draco asked, an hour later, when Ginny came into the living room.
"She's sleeping in my bed..." she answered in a low voice.
"I don't want her sleeping there... She'll sleep in my room, like she did this last week..." he said with a furious face. Right now, he looked like the old Draco Malfoy, from Hogwarts.
"Fine..." Ginny whispered, trying to remain calm.
"I want you to stay away from Cassandra... She must forget you exist..." he said, menacingly. "And I don't want to look at your face, ever again!"
"As you wish..." Ginny mumbled, as tears fell from her face. With a loud pop, she Disapparated, and didn't came back that night, or the following others...
****
"Philip, Harry is here to see you..." Julie called from the living room, several weeks later.
"So, how are you Julie? Ginny told me you are pregnant..." Harry asked, while they waited for Draco.
"I'm fine, thank you... Have you seen her lately? She left home, and only owled me back once... She said she needed some time with her family, but I didn't believe it! Draco has been acting strange, and I think he's the cause to all this mess..." Julie said, angrily.
"I didn't know she had left this apartment... Why? Where is she? What do you mean, Draco's acting strange?" Harry asked, furious.
"She left three weeks ago, before I got home, and went to the Burrow... I don't know why, though, and Draco refuses to tell me... He goes around the house with a dark mood, he doesn't talk, doesn't eat... All he does is sit in his room playing with Cassie..." Julie said, sadly.
"Hey, Harry! What's up?" Draco asked, coming into the living room with Cassie in his arms.
"Hi... I just came to finally meet the littlest Malfoy!" Harry said, trying to smile, although he was worried with his friend's state. Draco was incredibly pale, his posture wasn't so straight as usual, his eyes looked really sad and had dark circles under it... Trying not to look at Draco, Harry held the girl in his arms, playing with her.
"Winny?" the girl called, with a soft sad voice.
"No... I'm not Ginny! I'm prettier than she is, don't you think?" Harry joked with the small child, casting a glance at a frowning Draco. "Why are you frowning?"
"She just keeps saying that name... It's getting infuriating!" Draco said, angrily.
"Maybe she says it because she misses Ginny..." Julie said, furious at her nephew. "Look, Philip, why don't you tell me what happened? Ginny is one of my best friends and I want her back where she belongs: HERE AT HOME... What did you do to her?"
"I told her I never wanted to see her again, and that I wanted her away from Cassie..." he said, quietly.
"YOU WHAT?!" Harry and Julie yelled at the same time.
"She refused me... She refused Cassie..." Draco yelled back, his pale face becoming red.
"What do you mean?" Julie asked quietly.
"I asked her to marry me, so that I could adopt Cassie! The Ministry wants to take her away from me unless I get married..." Draco explained impatiently. "And she said no..."
Suddenly Julie's face became softer, as if she understood what had happened.
"Why do you think she refused, Draco?"
"Because she doesn't love Cassie like I do... She doesn't want to be a part of Cassie's life..." he said, sitting on the couch with his face in his hands.
"No, Draco... That's not why she refused, and you know it! She loves Cassie more than anything... And she would do anything to protect her, except marry without love from both parts..." Julie explained, patting his shoulder. "Do you love her?"
"I ... I miss her... I like the way she pushes me over the edge with her comments, I like the way she smiles and sings to Cassie, I like the feeling of her body against mine... But I don't know if that's love..." he whispered, with a sad smile. "I never loved anyone..."
"That's not true, Draco! You love Cassie! Please, describe me how you feel for her." Julie insisted.
"I love her smile, her small laughs, the way she says "Winny", the smell of baby powder and diapers, the way she snuggles close to me at night... I could go on for hours..." he said, kissing his sister's cheek.
"Well, Draco, I'll tell you something Hermione told me, when I asked her what love is..." Harry said, smiling.
"I'm sure she gave you a dictionary definition... That girl is an ambulant library!" Draco sighed. "But if you want to say it, anyway, go ahead..."
"She told me Love is when you want nothing else except being close to someone, to protect her from any danger, to hold her in your arms whenever she's happy, or to cry with her whenever she's sad. Love is being ready to give your life for that person, to make sure she's ok and happy... That's how you feel for Cassie, that I can tell you... But, do you feel that way towards Ginny? That's for you to answer!" Harry said, slowly, so that Draco could process all that information.
"When did you get so wise in this matters?" Draco sneered, curiously.
"Since I found my other half..." Harry said with a knowing smile.
"So, do you feel that way towards Ginny?" Julie asked, with a knowing look.
Draco closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking about it seriously. When he opened his eyes again, Julie screamed happily, and hugged her nephew!
"I knew that you would finally see what was there all this time... I'm just sorry that you are so thick that you didn't realise it sooner..." Julie laughed. "Now, get your ass moving and go apologize to Ginny! She must be miserable..."
"I'm going right now... Oh, by the way, Ginny says I have a nice ass, so don't joke with it..." Draco said, smiling for the first time that week. "Come on, Cassie, let's visit Ginny!"
"WINNY!?" the girl repeated, understanding that she would finally see her friend.
Draco, Harry and Cassie, went to the Burrow by Floo Powder, arriving in the middle of the living room with a huge cloud of ashes.
Draco cleaned Cassie's dirty face, and clothes, and then did the same with himself. Only after he felt good with his appearance, did he look to the house where he had just arrived. The living room was a small cosy place, with two couches and two armchairs, adorned by hand knitted shawls of several colours. This was a real home... Ginny was so lucky of having grown up in such a warm and loving place...
"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry called, from his right side.
"Harry?!" a female voice called from a nearby room, before a red-headed woman came into the living room, smiling widely. "Harry, darling... I haven't seen you for so long! You don't come here as much as you used to..."
"I know, Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry! I've missed you all, as well..." Harry admitted, loving the feel of the tight embrace the woman had on him.
"And, who are these people?" she asked, with a curious smile. "And such a lovely girl..."
"I am Draco Malfoy, Mrs. Weasley, and this is Cassandra Malfoy, my sister..." Draco said in a soft voice, watching her smiling face turn into one of shock.
"A Malfoy?" she gasped. "What brings you here?"
"I need to see your daughter, if you don't mind, of course... I have something very important to tell her..." he asked, with a sad face.
"Are you the reason why she's acting so differently?" Mrs. Weasley asked, placing her hands on her hips on a furious way.
"Yes, I am..." Draco admitted, lowering his head, to look at his shoes.
"Well, then we need to talk before I decide if you can or can not go see her..." Mrs. Weasley stated, pointing to a couch near him. As soon as they all sat, to start talking, little Cassie jumped from Draco's arms, and walked to Mrs. Weasley.
"Winny?" the girl called, opening her arms, waiting to be held. Ginny's mother smiled at the little girl, and sat her on her lap.
"You will see Ginny really soon, darling... Hold on a little!" she whispered. "So, tell me all..."
"Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and I have been roommates for the last months, and we became very close, specially since Cassie was found, and Ginny saved her from certain death... Somehow, I've done something to infuriate your daughter, and she backed away from Cassie and me... Three weeks, I found out that I would lose my sister if I didn't adopt her, and to be able to adopt her, I must be married, so I asked Ginny to marry me... She said no!" Draco explained, hiding some private facts. "I got so mad that I told her I didn't want to see her ever again, and that I wanted her away from Cassie... I was the stupidest man to ever walk on this earth..."
"My Ginny would never marry someone she doesn't love, Mr. Malfoy! You were too harsh, telling her those things..." Mrs. Weasley said, quietly. "But, I know my daughter, and she's not easy, either! I agree with you... You two must talk..."
"Thank you..." Draco said, his face opening into a beautiful happy smile.
"But first, tell me something: Do you love my daughter?" she asked, softly.
"Yes, I do... With every bit of my heart!" he said, serious. "All I want his to see her happy... And if that's with me and Cassie, then I'll be a very happy man..."
"Good! She has been so sad all this time... She doesn't eat, she doesn't smile like she used to, and she stays in her bedroom all day long... Really, it was breaking my heart seeing her like that, and not being able to know what was happening. Please, make my daughter smile again..." the lady begged, rising from her sit, giving Cassie to Harry. "I'm going to call her down, and tell her Harry is here to see her. Otherwise, she won't come down..."
Soon, soft steps descended the narrow staircase, and Ginny's form came into the room. She looked really pale, her body was a little thinner, and she looked really unhappy. Seeing her like this, made Draco feel even more guilty of having told her those awful things...
"Harry, you brought Cassie?" Ginny screamed with happiness, and ran to Harry, taking the little girl from his arms, hugging her tight against her body. "Oh, I've missed you so much, sweetie! How's Draco? Have you taken good care of him, uh?"
"WINNY!" the girl screamed, enthusiastically, never stopping to recover her breath. It was clear that both girls were happy to be together again... Only a foul like him, to try and separate them.
"Hello Ginny!" he said, behind her, causing her to turn quickly to face him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, hurt all over her face and voice.
"We need to talk... Can we?" he asked, with a sad smile.
"I think there's nothing left for us to say... If you thought that by bringing Cassie, I would do anything you wanted me to do, then you're wrong..." she said, although she kept a tight hold on the little child, as if afraid that Draco would take Cassie away from her.
"Ginny, I think you should ear what Mr. Malfoy has to say..." Mrs. Weasley said, with a commanding tone. "Give me Cassie... Harry, Cassie and I are going to bake a cake!"
While the three figures left the living room, Ginny felt herself become even tenser.
"Please, say what you have to say and leave my house and my life..." she said harshly, while she sat on an armchair.
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Hello everyone, I'm back from Lisbon and I have more chapters to post...
This ff is coming to an end, but I'm going to post the Sequel along with this story, so you don't have to start looking for it, ok?
Thank you for the wonderful replies, I never thought I would be receiving so many of them and I'm truly happy.
Love, Carina