A/N : Thanks for all the reviews. I welcome constructive criticism from all of you. Some of you are saying that Ginny's engagement seemed too quick for the story. When I came up with the idea for this story, it was meant to be concentrated mainly on Ginny's relationship with her family, how they treat her and her feelings about it. I'm sorry if some of you don't like it that way. I hope that this chapter won't disappoint you. Thanks again for reviewing!
Family Affairs Chapter 3
Ginny was nervous. The bed was piled with clothes that she had tried on in front of the mirror but decided not to wear. She had to find something that was appropriate to wear to The Burrow. She didn't want to get thrown out before she gave her mom the birthday gift.
"This one makes me look fat. That one makes me look too old. I can't wear that! My brothers and my parents will flip out! Damn it! What CAN I wear?" she said to her reflection.
"How about that dark blue skirt near the back of the closet and the white knitted top? It's fairly decent and it really looks good on you," her reflection said in a breathy voice.
Ginny tried in on in front of the mirror and nodded with approval. The dark blue pleated skirt fell to her knees. It wasn't tight nor to short. She was sure that it would pass the scrutiny that her mom and her over-protective brothers would give her. Her top fitted her just nicely and the neckline was just low enough to show the chain and pendant around her neck. She twirled around a bit more before picking up her wand to magic the discarded pile of clothes on her bed to return back into the closet. She put on her black pumps before grabbing her wand and purse to go down to the living room where Draco was waiting for her.
In the living room, she found Draco staring at the beautiful crystal vase, which he had bought for Ginny's mother, with lots of wrapping paper strewn around him. He looked up at her with such a forlorn look on his face that she felt sorry for him. She went over to him and kissed him on the top of his head and rested her cheek on his head.
"You could have just used your wand to wrap it. No one would know the difference."
"But I would! I want it to be perfect. I want her to like me, especially since we're going to get married soon," he answered dejectedly.
"Ok, how about I help you with it. We still have about half an hour before we're leaving for The Burrow," she said looking at the clock.
Ginny sat down beside him and helped him out with the wrapping. Fifteen minutes, three rolls of sticky tape and seven wrapping papers later, the crystal vase was nice wrapped with a dark red wrapping paper with stars all over it. The top of the present was tied with a pink ribbon, tied by Draco. He looked at his handy work and smiled.
"It looks wonderful. I'm sure that my mom will love it," Ginny said, patting his hand gently.
"I hope so. I really hope that today will go well. I don't want to see you hurt Ginny," he said softly as he gently caressing her right cheek with his thumb.
"Me too, darling. Me too," she whispered.
Before the flooed to The Burrow, Ginny called Ron on his mobile to make sure that he was already there by the fireplace to act as buffer when she arrived. After checking that he was there, Ginny grabbed her purse, wand and the present that she was giving to her mom, she grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace.
"The Burrow!" she shouted.
In the Burrow, Ron waited by the fireplace and when he saw the flames turn green, he quickly stood back to allow Ginny room to step out. Ginny stepped out of the fireplace gracefully and went over to Ron, who picked her up in big bear hug. Draco stepped out of the fireplace and found his fiancé almost crushed to death by her brother's hug.
"Weasley, I think you should put her down now. She's turning slightly blue," Draco said.
Ron was so shocked by Draco's sudden appearance that he nearly dropped his sister.
"Malfoy, don't sneak up on people like that," Ron growled as he put Ginny down gently.
Draco just smirked at the auburn-haired young man and held his hand out to Ginny. "Where's Granger and Potter?" he asked when he had Ginny safely in his arms.
"They're all in the garden setting up the table and stuff. Dad took mum out for a movie so that we can surprise her when she gets back," Ron explained, leading them to the backyard.
The three of them stood at the back door of the house, surveying the flurry of activity in the garden. Ginny's brothers were setting up the tables and chairs while Hermione and Harry were hanging up decorations through out the backyard. One by one, they stopped when they realised that Ginny was there, along with Malfoy.
"What's he doing here?" George asked, pointing at Draco.
"I brought him. Besides, Ron invited him to come," Ginny said, lifting her chin up in defiance. She turned to look at Ron and found him smiling very sheepishly at the rest of them, his face bright tomato red.
The rest of the Weasley brothers started shouting at Ron at the same time. They dropped what ever they were holding and moved towards Ron in anger. Seeing their anger, Ron moved back a step and all the blood from his face drained.
"STOP IT! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HIT RON OR DRACO TODAY IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" Ginny screamed at her brothers, brandishing her wand around.
Her brothers stopped their advance and looked anxiously at each other. They knew how merciless and mean Ginny could be when she lost her temper and from the way she looked, she was very close to blowing her top. Her face was flushed and the air around her was cackling with energy. Ginny's brown eyes were alight with fire, burning into Bill, Charlie, Percy and the Twins.
"Will you behave yourselves tonight?" she asked, having cooled down slightly. Fearing that she would hex them till next week, her brothers nodded their heads reluctantly.
"Now, lets get the decorations and tables set before she comes home," Ginny said after taking a deep breath and brushing her fingers through her hair. She grabbed Draco by the hand and led him to the decorations around the garden and started to charm the streamers to hand themselves. Taking the cue form Ginny, everyone went back to what ever they were doing.
When everything was set, Ginny inspected the garden with a critical eye. The sun was setting and candles were lit and charmed to float about the garden. Hermione, Ginny and her brother's wives set the table while the men brought out the food. In the kitchen, Harry and Ron had to act as Draco's bodyguards as the Twins kept charming the sharp items to fly at Draco. Bill, Charlie and Percy gave Draco the cold shoulder, pretending that he wasn't in the room.
"Why don't you take this and wait outside with the girls and will handle the rest," Harry suggested after pushing Draco out of the path of a flying cleaver. Draco nodded and took the large platter of herbed potatoes into the garden, away from the angry Weasleys.
In the garden, Ginny was folding the napkins and placing them by the dinner plates when Bill's wife, Andrea, came up to her and asked, "Ginny, why did you bring Malfoy today?"
Ginny stopped what she was doing and sighed. She turned to he petite brunette and said, "I wanted my parents and my brothers to accept that we're together because we love each other. Not because he put a spell on me or anything."
"I know that they've been giving you a very bad time since you moved out. I just want you to know that I and the other Weasley women support you even though your brothers don't. We don't want to see you get hurt, that's all," Andrea said, squeezing Ginny's hand gently. "Your man is making his way here with the potatoes," she continued, looking pointedly beyond Ginny's shoulder.
Ginny turned and saw Draco smiling and walking towards her with a large platter. He placed the potatoes on the table and went over to her to kiss her lips gently. Ginny looked up and smiled, thinking how much she loved that man. Totally forgetting that her sister-in-law was standing behind her, she trailed her finger long his jaw line, his lips and his ears. She stopped her trailing fingers when she realised that his ear was bleeding. She pushed him into a chair and inspected his bleeding ear closely.
"What's wrong honey?" Draco asked, puzzled.
"Why's your ear bleeding?" she asked.
Draco touched his ear gingerly and looked at the blood smeared on his fingertips. He just shrugged and said, "I guess I didn't dodge that cleaver fast enough."
"Cleaver? What cleaver?" she asked, her voice and temper rising.
"Cleaver, did I say cleaver? I mean… I mean…." he trailed off as Ginny stood up and started walking towards the kitchen where yelling could be heard.
"Did the Twins do something?" Andrea asked, handing him a tissue to clean the small cut.
"They kind of charmed the sharp utensils to fly at me," he said softly. He cringed when he heard Ginny screaming at the Twins. "I hate to be in their shoes right now," he continued. Just then, the yelling stopped and Ginny walked out of the kitchen, smiling. Behind her, two identical red weasels came running out to Fred and George's wife, Angelina and Katie. Seeing the weasels, Draco burst out laughing and shook his head at her.
"Are those who I think they are?" Andrea asked.
"Yep. Don't worry; the charm will wear off in five minutes. We better get the table all set before mom and dad come home," Ginny said before shouting to the kitchen to get the rest of the men to bring out the food.
Fifteen minutes later, the garden and the tables were set and everyone was standing in the living room, waiting for Mr and Mrs Weasley's return. There was a very noticeable division of the group of people in the living room, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George stood on one side of the living room with their wives while Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Draco stood on the other side. Ginny's brothers were shooting Draco with dark looks and when Ginny noticed what they were doing, she plastered herself against Draco and brought his face down for a passionate kiss, just to rile her brothers. When Ginny ended the kiss, Draco had a dreamy look on his face and the older Weasley brothers tried to storm over and pound him to the ground but were stopped by their wives. Fortunately nothing else happen as at that moment, Mr and Mrs Weasley stepped out of the floo network and into the living room.
Ginny and Draco hung at the back of the room, readying herself for her mother's reaction. The group suddenly parted and Mrs Weasley stood at the centre of the room, staring at Ginny and Draco. She gave Ginny the once-over and shot Draco a murderous glare.
"So, you've come back. Why are you here and with him to boot?" she said.
"It's your birthday mom. Ron said they were throwing a party and he invited Draco as well," Ginny answered.
"Well, I don't want either of you in my house. Get out! Get out of my house, both of you! I told you not to come back!"
"Now calm down Molly. That boy is a guest in our house, we can't throw him out. Besides, it's your birthday. Just calm down and have some dinner," Arthur said, rubbing his wife's back and steering her towards the garden.
Draco hugged Ginny to his side as they watched her brothers walked pass and sneered at them, shoving Draco none to gently to the side. Harry and Hermione gave her a reassuring hug before going into the garden with the rest of them. Ron shook his head at his family and hugged Ginny closely, rubbing her back slowly.
"I'm sorry Ginny. I didn't think that she would still be angry at you. I'm so sorry Gin," Ron whispered.
"It's alright Ron. It's now your fault. Besides, there's something I need to tell the family."
"You're not pregnant are you?" Ron asked, looking into her eyes.
"No, no. It's something else. I'm alright. Why don't you go and sit down first. I'll be out in a bit."
"Ok but hurry or there'll be no food left," Ron said, kissing her forehead before going into the garden.
After Ron left, Ginny turned to Draco and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face into his chest and inhaled his scent and cologne. It helped calm her down slightly. She felt so safe and loved in his arms, unlike how she felt when she was still living in The Burrow. She just didn't understand why her parents couldn't see that she was no longer a child. She sighed and hugged him tighter.
"Hang in there love. I'm sure that dinner will be better," he said, stroking her hair.
"I hope so."
~ ~
Dinner was horrendous. Through out the meal, Mrs Weasley made sarcastic comments about Ginny and Draco. Ginny picked at her food trying not to listen to her mother's comments. Under the table, Draco held her hand and caressed her knuckles with his thumb, trying to calm her down. It wasn't until Mrs Weasley said something bad about Draco's mother that her temper broke. She stood up so quickly that her chair fell backwards onto the grass, causing all conversation to stop.
"Damn it mom! Don't drag Draco's mom into this! She's got nothing to do with my decision to move out!" she yelled across the dinner table, the breeze picking up, causing her hair to whip her face.
"Don't swear at your mother! It's that boy. You never used to swear until you met up with him. It's all that boy's fault. That boy's a bad influence on you," her dad said.
Ginny laughed harshly and said, "He has a name dad and it's not That Boy. It's Draco. Say it with me, Dra-Co."
"Don't you smart mouth me missy," her dad said, standing up.
"Well, I wouldn't have to if you would just say his name," Ginny said. Draco stood up and placed hand on her arm to calm her down.
"Get your filthy hands off my daughter!" Mr Weasley shouted at him.
"He can put his hands anywhere he wants since we're going to get married," she said, smirking at her family.
At that comment, the table went into an uproar. All her brothers stood up and started shouting at her at the same time.
"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" she screamed. "I'm going to marry him and that's final!"
"No daughter of mine is marrying a Malfoy!" her mom spoke up.
"Mother, I love him and he loves me. I want to marry him and all I ask is for you to be happy for me. It's my decision to make and I hope that you respect it."
"You are not marrying that Malfoy boy and that is final!" her mother yelled, her face all red and she was shaking with anger.
"Mom, please. I love him as much as you love dad. At least open you presents first."
She summoned the presents that she and Draco had brought and placed it in front of her mother.
"Happy birthday mom," she said. She tried to give her mother a kiss on the cheek but her mother moved away, leaving her standing alone. She turned and walked back Draco's side.
"Please open the presents. It's from both of us," Ginny said.
After much urging by Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley opened both presents and found a beautiful crystal vase and a knitted jumper with MOMMY on the front. She knew that the vase had cost a fortune and that her daughter had knitted the jumper just for her but her anger was too great and it couldn't be ignored.
"This is what I think about your presents," she said harshly. She threw the vase at Draco's feet and it shattered, causing the shards of crystal to cut Ginny's legs. Mrs Weasley then proceeded to set the jumper on fire and throwing it at their feet.
Ginny felt her already wounded heart, shatter. She fought back her tears and her rigid posture belied her sadness and disappointment. She straightened her clothes and said, "Since we're not welcomed here, I bid you good night and we'll leave." She turned and led Draco back towards the house to floo back because she didn't think she could concentrate enough to apparate back o their apartment.
"If you marry that boy, you're no longer my daughter," she heard her mother shout, causing her to stop walking. There was a collective gasp from everyone present.
"Molly, don't make hasty decisions," her father admonished. "I'm sure that we can work this out."
"I'm serious Arthur. If she leaves tonight with that boy and marry him, I no longer have a daughter, only six sons," her mother said.
All of Ginny's brothers, their wives, Harry, Ron and Hermione, looked at her expectantly. She gave them all a small sad smile and turned to Draco. She looked into his eyes and knew what her decision would be. Ginny took Draco's hand and led him back to the house.
"Ginny, wait!" Ron shouted for his sister, standing up from his seat.
"Ron, if you go after her, you may not be welcomed back to the family," his mother warned.
Ron looked from his mother to Ginny and back, not sure what to do. He felt and a hand on his arm and looked down to find Hermione shaking her head at him, stopping him from going after Ginny. He sat back down and sighed dejectedly.
"Now, how about some cake?" his mother asked cheerfully, looking at what was left of her family.
~ * ~
Back in the house, Ginny quickly flooed back to their apartment, wanting to get away from her mother as soon as possible. Once back in their apartment, Ginny let her tears flow freely and she sat down on the couch, not having the energy to go up to the bedroom.
When Draco stepped out of the fireplace, he saw her sitting limply on the couch with tears down her face. He scooped her up and went up to their bedroom. He placed her on the bed and helped her out of her clothes before cleaning the cuts on her legs from the shards of crystals. Satisfied that it wasn't serious, he helped her get under the covers and changed out of his clothes before joining her in bed.
He held her close as she cried herself out, rubbing her back gently to calm her down. After twenty minutes crying, Ginny finally fell asleep in his arms. Draco stroked her hair softly and kissed her forehead.
"I'll take care of you Ginny. I love you so much," he whispered to her.
"I love you too," he heard her mumble sleepily.
Smiling in the dark, Draco snuggled Ginny closer to his body and drifted off to sleep.