Ah, the beginning of a new story… Nice of you to join me… Now I'm stopping and adding these:
Disclaimer- (will stand for all chapters unless I decide that I want to write another one) This story is based on characters created by JK Rowling, and belong to her and anyone else who has a copyright. I don't claim to own them, because, let's face it, I unfortunately don't. Thanks for realizing this.
HI! I hope that caught your attention. Just to let you know- if I have any new readers reading this, it is a sequel. That means that it has a story that goes before it. It is not necessary to read the prequel, but it might be helpful to understand the relationship that some characters have. I won't say who, because that would be telling. All right? Just so you know!
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Virginia Malfoy sat watching her child play with Everett, the ever-faithful Brittany spaniel. At three years old, her daughter was a true Malfoy. No one who knew of the Malfoy family would have mistaken her for anyone else's daughter. She resembled Draco in her looks, and her attitude was a little bit haughty.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Karissa called. Ginny smiled and said,
"Yes, Kari?" Her daughter smiled a huge smile and said,
"Daddy teached me how to open door!"
"Did he really, now?" Ginny asked her daughter, scooping her up in her arms.
"Yes!" Karissa said, laughing.
"Telling on me, Kari?" Draco asked, coming up behind Ginny and wrapping his arms around his small family. Karissa giggled, and put her arms up to be picked up by her father. Draco just smiled at her and plucked her out of her mother's arms. Was Karissa spoiled? Oh, no more spoiled than Draco himself.
"Draco, how have you been? I haven't seen you much this week." Ginny said quietly after he had put Karissa down and she went back to playing with Everett. Draco looked at his wife and smiled.
"You know I have work to do. Even with your father being Minister, and my father being his best friend, I still have to do work in the Ministry."
"I know. But you're never home anymore." She whined. He gave her a despairing look.
"Ginny…" He began. She smiled, and pointed to their daughter. Karissa was pointing to a tomato plant. It was growing larger, and larger, and larger, and Karissa was giggling.
"Kari. What did Mommy tell you? No using magic on Grandma's plants!" Ginny started. Draco gave her an exasperated look, as if Ginny were being totally unreasonable in not allowing Karissa to use magic on her grandmother's tomato plants.
"She can play with it. You know Mother doesn't mind. Especially since its Kari."
Ginny rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling. She loved Draco with all her heart, and loved Karissa just as much. It was amazing that two people who had been enemies for so long had become so close. But really, wasn't that how things were? One extreme to the next.
"Come now, Virginia. Let's all go in. We can read a story to Kari." Draco said appealingly. He, of course, said it quietly enough so that Karissa could not hear.
"We? No, Draco. I have to finish those applications. And… well… yeah…" Ginny said weakly. She really wasn't a big fan of reading, especially those damn Dr. Seuss books that Karissa seemed to love.
"Virginia…" Draco began, glaring at her. She glanced at him, an evil glint in her eyes.
"Draco." Ginny mocked barely keeping in her laughter.
"You should come read a story with us. And then you can go finish that." Draco pleaded. But the way he did it just made her laugh. Of course, she gave in pretty soon.
"Fine. Kari!" She shouted at her daughter. Kari's head snapped back at her mother, trying to hide the rapidly growing squash plant behind her. This made even the stoic Draco Malfoy laugh. Karissa gave him a dirty look so reminiscent of his own dirty looks that he felt proud that the Malfoy side was showing through.
"Yes, Mommy?" Karissa asked sweetly, all mischievousness gone. She was an expert at deception, just like her mommy and her uncles.
"We're going to go in and read a book. What book do you want to read?" Ginny asked sweetly. Sure, she might give Draco a hard time, but she loved Karissa so much. She knew that if Karissa asked for her to read a book to her that she'd do it without any second thoughts.
Karissa knew it, too.
"Cat in the Hat!" She squealed in such a high pitched voice that they both covered their ears.
"No, please. God, no!" Draco whined softly into Ginny's ear. She smiled evilly.
"Let's read that, Kari. Do you want to go get it? Daddy and I will be waiting in the parlor. Okay?"
"Okay!" Karissa said, running into the house to find her favorite book. True, all she had to do was walk inside and find a house-elf and order it to get her book, but still her enthusiasm was adorable.
They walked into the parlor and sat down. Soon, Karissa came in carrying in the book. Ginny sat Karissa on her lap and began reading. When they finished, Kari wanted to read Green Eggs and Ham.
"I do not like green…" Ginny read, while Draco sat watching.
Draco watched them while Ginny read. Smiling when he saw her eyes light up, he could not help but think how wonderful a mother Ginny made. She was a wonderful mother and a wonderful wife. She was obviously a Weasley but after all that was what Draco needed. He needed someone who wasn't completely absorbed in Pureblooded fantasies. Like the idea that Purebloods were better than Muggleborns. Ginny felt him staring, and finally looked back and smiled at him. Kari didn't notice that her parents were sharing a "moment", but she did notice that her mother had stopped reading.
"Keep reading, Mommy! Is the best part!"
"-Sam I Am." Ginny finished the phrase, and let Karissa look at the pictures on the pages.
"Let me read for a while, Virginia." Draco broke in. She smiled and let him read. Karissa was paying a lot of attention to the pictures. It was adorable.
Narcissa came in a few moments later.
"Do you want me to watch Kari, you two?" she asked sweetly. It was a complete turnaround of the cold, distant Narcissa of as soon as three years ago. The change, of course, was due to her new granddaughter, Karissa.
"That would be nice." Draco said before Ginny could say anything. She gave him a look which he returned, and they walked out of the room. As they left, they heard Karissa say,
"Grandma, let me read you a story!"
"Definitely a Malfoy." Ginny stated.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco said with mock hurt.
"She loves to perform."
"And that isn't a Weasley quality? Your father, the Minister of Magic, and your brothers are all famous in their own rights, and yet you call performing a Malfoy quality?"
"Of course. Only a Malfoy is that arrogant." She said jokingly. They had long since gotten over those family problems. A lot of the misunderstandings that had stood between the two of them had been cleared up by their fathers.
They walked up to Draco's office. When they got there, he asked,
"Have you decided on a college?" This was a long-standing issue between them. After she had had Kari, she hadn't wanted to leave the house to go to school. This didn't mean that she wanted to be a house wife or a full time mom, but she just wanted to be able to spend as much time with Kari as possible.
"Well, there's this one in America, but I don't know about it… with Kari and all." She didn't need to add the "and with you", because Draco knew exactly what she meant. However, he pretended as if he didn't, and said, faking ignorance,
"Don't worry about Kari! Mother and I can take care of her."
"But…" Ginny began to argue.
"Ginny, its time you did something for yourself." Draco said firmly.
"But…" She began again.
"Don't argue. If that's where you want to go, go!" Draco ordered. Ginny glared at him, and he smiled wickedly.
"That's not what I wanted to argue about. I think we should find ourselves a house. Move out of Malfoy Manor. Get away from your parents for a while." She suggested. He gasped, and hissed,
"Ginny!"
"What? I'm feeling suffocated. Aren't you? We've been living here for almost five years! I'm getting tired of it." Ginny tried to explain. She didn't notice that he was just toying with her.
"Virginia Ann Malfoy! How can you say such a thing?" He said. He laughed inside when he saw that he was actually fooling her. She wasn't the only one who was able to play the innocent little person.
"Quite easily, actually. Now, please? I know you have the money." She pleaded. She hated this feeling of weakness he could exercise over her. But this time she didn't realize that he was joking.
"I know I do, too. But how can you say that? You've never complained before." Draco kept on accusingly.
"I know. I'm just getting tired now." Ginny said exasperatedly.
"We have houses all over the world. We don't need to buy one." He conceded.
"Why haven't you ever brought it up before?" She accused.
"There was no need." He said shrugging. "I'm sure we'll have one by this American school you want to go to." He said haughtily.
"In South Dakota? Where is that, anyway?"
"Oh, you want to go to Arwen's Academy for the Magically Gifted?" He said, naming one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States, if not the world. He ignored her second question, mostly because he himself had no idea of where it was.
"Yes." Ginny said, nodding.
"A fine school. You should have no trouble getting in." Draco approved. He smiled at her.
"I haven't so far." She admitted, returning his smile.
"That's good." He said, moving closer to her, and slipping his arms around her in a hug.
"I know." Ginny said, leaning back into his arms.
"But we have a house near there, yes. You can stay there. Maybe Kari and I will move with you, too." Draco suggested. She smiled and moved to the other side of the room.
"Thanks. And that would be excellent." Ginny thanked him gratefully.
"No problem, Ginny. Shall we talk to Mother and Father?" Draco suggested.
"Yes." She said happily.
They smiled at each other again, each understanding the other perfectly.
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This is the prologue… it's just to show how they get where they are later. All right?
Excellent!
Thanks for reading the story…
I'm off to go… do something.
Love you all
~Lili
Oh, BTW, a big thanks to my beta MiSs-BeHaVe, who is nice enough to talk to me when I'm rambling… you know, like I'm doing now…
See you next chapter!