______________________________
Ginny was utterly confused and frightened by the time Draco left. She couldn't- and wouldn't- let Draco break her heart again. The only solution for that was not to see him at all, which she was sure she could do.
Feeling light headed and nauseous, Ginny went to go get ready for work. It seemed to her that it was amazing that she could think about work in her state of mind.
She put on the first thing she saw which was a black knee-length skirt and a white blouse. Slipping on her black high-heeled shoes, Ginny grabbed what she needed and went to the fire place where a pitiful fire was burning weakly. She magically got it started again with her wand and took out some Floo Powder. She knew traveling by Floo Powder was mostly used by those who didn't know how to Apparate, but she much rather preferred Floo Powder than Apparating.
She threw the Floo Powder in and yelled, "Excellcur School!"
The familiar whirlwind of colors flew past her until she saw the fireplace she wanted. She suddenly landed on solid ground and looked around.
The classroom was spacious with eighteen desks arranged neatly in rows. Her desk was in the front of the classroom in a corner, and the door leading to the rest of the building was right across where her desk was. The classroom was empty.
Ginny made her way to her desk and put her things away. She started correcting the rest of the papers that she hadn't had a chance to correct when she was at home.
A couple of minutes later, the kids started to come. Some arriving by Floo Powder, and some relying on good old-fashion walking as a means of transportation. She waited for them to sit down before she spoke.
"Instead of talking about Hogwarts today, we're going to do division," she began writing some problems on the board.
Most of the kids had been accepted to Hogwarts, except for two who had been accepted to Durmstrang.
"Miss Weasley?" a black haired boy (AN: no, he is not related to Harry) raised his hand. "I don't understand this problem."
The kids kept Ginny so busy that day that she forgot about the problem involving Draco.
* * *
When Ginny got home that night, she was greeted by a blob that had curly red hair, which threw itself at her.
"Auntie Ginny," Arianna breathed, looking up at Ginny through shining brown eyes.
Ginny bent down and picked her up and hugged her. "How's my favorite niece?"
Arianna giggled. "I'm your only niece, Auntie."
Ginny gave Arianna a kiss on the cheek. "Yes, I know. The Weasleys are doomed for another major boy generation."
It was true, too. Percy had married someone at the ministry of Magic who was the exact opposite of him. Ginny supposed that Percy and Faye's relationship was a 'opposites attract' kind of thing. Faye was six months pregnant and expecting a boy.
Bill and Charlie had found wives and were raising a growing family. Bill had a five year old son, Simon, and one more was on the way. Charlie had a four year old, named Garth, and a one year old son named Tom.
Fred and George had also found wives. Both had twin boys who had inherited their dad and uncle's love of mischief. The most amazing thing was, both sets of twins were six years of age, and they were born two weeks apart from each other, George's boys being the older ones. His two sons were Esmond and Malcolm. Esmond was older than Malcolm by two minutes. Fred's sons were William and Joel, William being the older one by three minutes. Ginny's mum said that the two sets of twins were more mischievous than Fred and George were when they were little. George's boys, if possible, were more mischievous than Fred's.
So that only left Ginny to start a family. Her mum was constantly pressuring her to start one so she could have more grandchildren to spoil rotten.
"Hello Ginny," Hermione said, coming into the kitchen. "How was work?"
"Same," Ginny said as she sat Arianna down and grabbed a chair. "I was about to throw myself out the window though."
"Did you suppress the urge?" Arianna asked.
Ginny raised her eyebrows and looked at Hermione. "You know she's going to take after you. Has your mummy been reading you educational books for bed time stories, Arianna?"
Hermione laughed, "She wanted me to. She has a mind of her own, just like her daddy."
The word 'daddy' brought the memory of Draco back to her. "Hermione, can I talk to you about something?"
Seeing the serious look on Ginny's face, Hermione nodded and took a seat at the table. "Of course, Ginny."
"Well, this morning, I had just gotten up and was grading papers when somebody knocked on the door. So I opened it and saw. . ." Ginny gulped. Hermione looked at her expectantly. "I saw Draco."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "What?!"
Feeling a need to be moving, Ginny got up and started pacing. "He was just standing there. I asked why he came and he said because he wanted me to love him again."
"Do you?"
Ginny stopped pacing and looked at Hermione incredulously. "Of course I don't! He hurt me, Hermione, and you of all people should know how much he did."
Hermione looked at her thoughtfully. "Did he tell you why he hadn't come sooner?"
Ginny repeated what Draco had told her about his father.
"Well, do you believe him?"
Ginny sighed and shook her head. "No, I don't. Do you think I should?"
"Ginny, you know him better than I do. It's your choice, not mine."
* * *
The next day was Saturday, and it also was Fred and George's birthday. Ginny had willingly volunteered to watch all the kids with the help of her friend, Tilly, who was also a teacher at the Excellcur School.
So at seven o'clock that evening, after much argument that Ginny should go with them, the big lot of Weasleys left.
Ginny turned back to the eight kids who were staring back at her. She took a moment to study them. All of them had red hair, except for Simon, Bill's five year old son, who had inherited his mum's dark blond hair. Fred's twins looked a little like him, while George's looked a lot more like him.
"I'm going to go outside and draw an age line around the house so that none of you will sneak off somewhere. And don't try to cross it either," she directed her attention to the two sets of twins who were huddled in a group and whispering. "Because you can't," she added lamely. She went outside to do what she had told them she would do and came back. Instead of eight, only four remained. "Oh no," she groaned.
She put Simon in charge of the younger ones and went searching through the house, calling, "William, Joel (AN: Fred's boys)! Esmond, Malcolm (AN: George's)! Come out this instant!"
"Auntie Ginny!" she heard Simon call. "There's somebody in the fire for you!"
Ginny hoped that it was Tilly. She ran back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sure enough, it was Tilly.
"Oh Ginny dear," Tilly said, her face in a worried frown. "I'm afraid I can't help you with the kids tonight. My grandma just got real sick and the doctor said she might not make it."
Concern creeped across Ginny's face. "Oh that's terrible! Don't worry, just go and visit her. I hope she gets better."
Tilly gave Ginny a faint smile. "Thanks Ginny. I knew you'd understand," with a faint pop, her face disappeared from the flames.
Ginny sighed. She knew she couldn't possibly handle eight kids all by herself. She didn't want to complain though, since she had volunteered to watch them. Feeling despaired, she turned back to the four pairs of eyes.
"All right, I have an idea. We're going to go for a treasure hunt," Ginny said, picking up Tom, Charlie's one year old boy. The kids cheered. "The treasure are the twins. Whoever finds them first can be the boss of them for the whole night."
Arianna, being the thoughtful one, asked, "What if they don't listen?"
An evil glint entered Ginny's eyes. "Oh, they will. Arianna, you go with Simon. Garth, you can come with Tom and me."
So they split up and searched the house. Who knew there were so many places to hide in a small house? Ginny thought as she searched behind some clothes. Then a thought occured to her. Maybe they were oustide! She had drawn the age line about six feet away from the house all around it, and it was just possible that they were out there.
With Tom in her hands, Ginny went outside. There were squeaks and the sound of pounding feet. Ginny spotted the twins running away from her.
"Hey! Come back here right now!" she used her authorative voice.
The twins made a dash for the age line. They crossed it, and suddenly, all four were thrown back.
Ginny strode over to them. They were all in a heap.
"Ow! Get off my foot!"
"You're sitting on my face!"
After a lot of arguing and squeals of pain, the twins finally entangled themselves. They stood up and looked at Ginny mischievously.
"Don't even think about running off again," Ginny took out her wand as a threat, "or I'll perform the full Body-Bind on you."
Ginny pointed her wand at them. "OK, I want all four of you to march into the house. Right now," she looked at them threateningly. "And stay in the kitchen until I get in there," Ginny watched them go into the house. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "I'll just catch my breath and go inside and deal with them," she told Tom who was looking at her as if she were a lunatic.
Having caught her breath, Ginny walked back inside and had just put Tom down and shut the door, when a knock sounded. She turned around and opened it back up. Her insides went into turmoil at who she saw. Looking hotter than hell in a navy blue shirt and jeans was Draco Malfoy.
"Draco? What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, completely taken by surprise.
"Tilly Winters told me you were babysitting eight kids. I thought I could help."
"I really don't need any help," Ginny lied. Draco gave her a look that clearly said, 'I don't believe you'. Ginny knew that he knew her too well and could tell when she was lying. "OK, maybe I DO need help, but you really don't have to-"
"Stop arguing and let me help, or I'll kiss you."
Ginny opened her mouth to say something but then decided against it. She closed her mouth back up, stepped back to let him in, then closed the door. She went and stood behind the kids who were all staring at Draco curiously.
"Um, kids, this is Dra- I mean Mr. Malfoy. He'll be helping me watch all of you tonight. And I want ALL of you to listen to him when he tells you to do something."
"Everyone including you?" he asked her when she went to stand beside him.
Ginny blushed and looked away from his stormy gray eyes.
Arianna walked up to Draco and tilted her head way back so she could see his face. "You're tall," she commented.
He knelt down so she wouldn't have to tilt her head back so far. "Yes I am. And you're a very pretty little girl."
Arianna giggled and gave Draco her most charming smile, showing him her small baby teeth. "Thank you. My daddy said that I look like my mummy."
"And who is your mummy?" Draco asked.
"Hermione M. Weasley," Arianna recited.
Draco stood up quickly and turned to Ginny. "That's the Mudblood's daughter?" he whispered.
Anger and shock welled up inside of her until she felt like it was going to explode. She grabbed Draco's arm and then turned back to the children. "I have to go and discuss something with Mr. Malfoy. I want all of you to stay put," she then proceeded to pull Draco outside. As soon as the door closed, she turned to face him. "How dare you call Hermione that in front of the children, and especially in front of her own daughter too!"
* ~ * ~
Draco watched at the way her eyes flashed dangerously, and how her lips moved. He was absolutely fascinated by her! Her chest heaved from all the pent-up anger that he knew she wanted to unleash on him.
He really hadn't meant to call Hermione a Mudblood, but old habits were hard to break. Besides, he loved making Ginny go into a fit of rage, and then silencing her with a kiss. He knew it drove her crazy and she got frustrated when he did that, but he could never help himself. He had done that in their sixth year at Hogwarts when they were dating too.
How could she not believe that he loved her and that he always would? He knew full well he had risked her love for him when he had transferred to Durmstrang. But when he imagined all the pain his father would inflict on Ginny and her family if Draco didn't listen to him, Draco had not even dared to hesitate to listen to his father.
His father was cold and merciless. Draco supposed that he did love his father- after all, he was Lucius's son and a son was suppose to love his father-, but still, if Draco wasn't his son, he sure as hell wouldn't even think about approaching that malicious bastard.
Lucius's death had come as a shock but not as a surprise to Draco. Draco had known all along that the Death Eaters would kill his father sooner or later, though the reason was unknown to him.
Even after Harry's defeat of Voldemort in their seventh year, Death Eaters still existed, looking for a way to bring their dark lord back. The Aurors had caught or had killed the majority of them, though. Lucius had wanted Draco to join them as soon as he graduated from Durmstrang, and not having much of a choice, Draco had obliged. But he tried to have as little to do with them as was possible.
During the Final Battle, with Harry and Voldemort leading their own sides, Draco had watched the bloody scene from afar. He had seen the inhumanly things that they had done to each other. He had heard screams of pain and agony, and voices all around, yelling out different curses at one another.
It had been raining pretty hard, so the scent of blood had mixed with that of the earth, creating a nauseating scent. Draco had smelt it, and he knew that he would never ever forget that smell for as long as he lived.
As he had watched Harry fall and cry in pain from all the curses Voldemort was throwing at him, Draco had done something he would NEVER tell anyone about. He had used the Giver's Strength. It was an old and powerful spell. He had magically binded his strength to Harry's, so that Harry could use Draco's strength and become more powerful.
So with a final curse, Harry had killed what was left of Voldmort. The others had stopped fighting as they watched Harry kill Voldemort. As soon as Voldemort's body had hit the ground, the Death Eaters had tried to escape, but most of them hadn't succeeded.
As soon as Harry got done performing the curse, Draco's bond broke with his, and Draco was left weak from all the strength Harry had to use of his (Draco's) to kill Voldemort.
Draco knew Harry had known who had given him extra strength, but he never mentioned it to Draco, and hopefully not to anyone else-
"Are you even listening to me?" Ginny's voice brought Draco back from his deep thoughts.
* ~ * ~
Ginny was angrier than hell at him and knowing that he had not been listening to anything she had been saying only added to her anger. She had been yelling at him for the past five minutes, and he hadn't even heard a word of it!
"What?"
Ginny sighed in frustration and counted to ten. "I said you should've known better than to call Hermione that! What if they repeat it? My brothers and their wives are going to ask-"
"Wait, wait. Are you telling me that all those kids in there are your nephews and niece?" Draco asked incredulously.
"Of course!" Ginny snapped.
"There's so many of them!" Draco said in amazement. "So are you saying that all your brothers have children?"
Ginny nodded. "Well yeah, except for Percy, but he is expecting one soon."
"So you're telling me that you're the only one that doesn't have children?" a sly smile played across Draco's lips. "You know how to solve that problem, don't you?"
Ginny blushed hotly. "I would never! How can you even THINK about that! I-I. . ." Ginny faltered as Draco took a step towards her. She took a small step back. "I can't believe-" she stopped as Draco reached out and cradled her face in his hand. She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling his warmth seep through her skin.
"You can't believe what?" he asked as he slowly ran his thumb across her cheek.
"I-I, uh-" she couldn't think when he was touching her. "What I'm trying to say is, um," she stopped. She wondered, what was she trying to say? Then she tried again. "You really shouldn't say-" her voice faded as he leaned closer to her. Her eyes slowly closed, and she awaited his kiss. She could feel his warm breath on her lips. When she didn't feel his lips descend on hers, she opened her eyes. His face was so close that their noses almost touched.
"I think we better get back inside," he was smirking at her glazed expression.
She took a deep breath to get her senses back under control. Still smirking, he went back inside.
Ginny Weasley, she told herself angrily, you're a weak helpless fool!
Still scolding herself, Ginny opened the kitchen door and stepped into the warm room. She was amazed at what she saw. Sitting around the table were the eight kids and Draco, playing a game that had to do with dice. Ginny stood by the door and watched them quietly until Esmond (AN: George's son, the older twin) noticed her.
"Auntie Ginny," he called. "Come and play with us!"
"I don't think so," Ginny said quickly. "I have to put Tom to bed." She went and picked Tom up, who was sitting on Draco's lap. She avoided his eyes and was careful not to touch him. She carried Tom to her mum and dad's room.
"OK Tom-Tom," Ginny said as she tucked him into her mum's bed. "Close your eyes and go to sleep."
"Story," Tom said.
Ginny sighed and smiled. "All right. One story and then you have to go to sleep." She chose a muggle story that Harry had told her once. "And they lived happily ever after," she concluded the story. "The end," she gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Now go to sleep or your mum will kill me for letting you stay up past nine."
Tom struggled to keep his eyes open for one last question. "Are you and that man gonna get married?"
Ginny brushed a strand of flaming red hair from his forehead. "Of course not, Tom. Mr. Malfoy and me are just. . . friends. Now go to bed," she gave him another kiss and quietly left, leaving the door open a crack.
A smile was still on her lips when she turned around and came face to face- or face to neck in her case- with Draco. "Draco? I thought you were in the kitchen," Ginny said, surprised.
"Nah, they pretty much got the point of the game. I didn't think they really needed my help anymore," he rested his arm on the door frame. "You know, I love it when you smile," he said, leaning close to her.
Oh no, I'm not going to fall for it this time, Ginny thought. "Yeah, that's why I never smile much around you," she said coolly, going the other way. He stopped her with his other hand so that she was trapped. This was one of the many 'I'm-trapped-with-a-tempting-Draco' situations that she had gone through.
Ginny took a shaky breath, overwhelmed by the scent of his cologne that filled her nostrils. "Let me go," she said calmly.
Draco leaned in so close that his lips were touching hers. She shivered as his mouth moved and rubbed against hers when he spoke. "You want me to kiss you. I know you do. You had wanted it when we were outside," he nuzzled her neck, sending delicious shivers down her spine. His lips barely touched her skin as it traveled back to her mouth. He kissed her bottom lip, running his tongue over it.
Ginny closed her eyes, the only thing on her mind was him and his teasing kisses. "The kids," she said thickly. It was the only thought that hadn't completely faded from her mind.
"What about them?" he whispered in her ear.
"We can't kiss in front of them," she whispered, slowly opening her eyes.
"Says who?" he planted kisses along her jawline.
Ginny gulped. Her mind had become foggy and she couldn't find a single answer to his question. Come on Ginny, a voice in the back of her mind said. Don't let him do this to you! Remember, he broke your heart once and he's going to do it again.
At the last thought, Ginny put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. "I said," she said, her voice firm. The fog had disappeared from her mind and her body was back to normal.
A look of surprise crossed Draco's extremely handsome face. "Oh really?" he took a step towards her.
Ginny side-stepped him so he wouldn't trap her again. She made her way to the kitchen where she found Arianna and Garth with their heads on the table, their eyes closed. Simon and the twins' heads were nodding, their eyes closed one moment, then snapping open the next.
She felt Draco behind her. "I guess we should put them to bed," she said. "I'll conjure up some sleeping bags in the living room," she turned and went into the living room. She conjured up seven sleeping bags and pillows, then came back in the kitchen.
Draco was bent over Arianna, then straightened back up and had the sleeping girl in his arms. Ginny watched as he carried her to the living room. She turned back to Garth and picked him up. She carried him to the living room and tucked him in a sleeping bag next to Arianna. Draco and her repeated the process until all seven were in the living room, fast asleep.
Ginny sighed and plopped herself down on the couch. Draco sat next her. She was too tired from carrying the twins to get any reaction from her body at the nearness of him.
"Are they always this hard to deal with?" Draco quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, not if there's two. Tilly was supposed to help me, but-" she stopped abruptly, then suddenly realized something. "Hey, how did you know Tilly?"
"She was one of the professor's aid at Durmstrang. We took an interest in each other," Draco gave Ginny a sly smile.
"Don't tell me you slept with her," Ginny found herself saying. She blushed when he laughed.
"No we didn't. Even though she was only six years older than me, she never seemed my type."
"And your type would be?" Ginny could've bit her tongue, in fact she did. She was too tired to think about what to say and what not to say.
"My type of a girl has to have red hair, brown eyes, a perfect body, full red lips, and a sexier than hell of smile. And that would be you," he looked her over.
She blushed to the roots of her hair. Thinking she needed something to drink, she got up and went to the kitchen. She glanced at the grandfather clock and then looked again. Her mouth dropped. All eight hands were turning 'home'. Oh no, she thought. If they find Draco here, I'm dead meat.
She rushed back in the living room. A surprised Draco looked up at her panic-stricken face. "Draco! You have to Disapparate because my family is on their way home."
Draco stood up quickly. There were the sounds of voices. Draco strode over to Ginny and gave her a short and sweet kiss on her lips. "See you later," he said before there was a faint pop and he disappeared.
All fourteen Weasleys entered the kitchen. Ginny went to the kitchen and greeted them. Her lips were still tingling from Draco's quick , but very effective, kiss. Her heart was beating fast and Ginny knew it would be a while before it returned to normal.
Her mum beamed at her. "Hello Ginny, dear. You must be exhausted, you sure look like it. Where's Tilly?"
"She left a few minutes ago," Ginny lied.
"Were the twins devilish?" George's wife, Sophie, asked.
Ginny visibly grimaced. "Were they?!"
"That's my boys," Fred and George said at the same time, pretending to wipe invisible tears away.
"So I bet you had a pretty eventful night," Hermione commented.
You wouldn't believe it, Ginny thought.
_______________________________
Sorry it took me so long to get this out! I wrote this on a notebook and it was long, and so I just typed some and then I didn't have a chance to finish the other part. Please review! super sailor saturn39