Marcy fiddled a bit with the bathing suit Melinda had brought her from some room upstairs. It fit a bit awkwardly and the dark forest green color made her hair stand out very vividly. It bunched a bit near her stomach because it was too large and then hung too low near her chest. But it was nice to wear in the warm weather as she sat with Andrew, who was clad in just a pair of swimming trunks. The sun was high in the air above the pond and "The Secret Place", save for the slight breeze through the surrounding trees, was deathly silent.
Marcy had asked Andrew to take her there when she had seen Julian quietly sleeping on the couch. Her mother and her father were no where to be found and it seemed a good enough time to run away. Running to a place on the property probably wasn't her most imaginative plan but it had worked thus far and she was content simply lying in the grass next to Andrew. He hadn't said much since they had arrived at "The Secret Place" and she was glad at first. While at times she didn't enjoy the quiet, she simply needed to think.
Maybe things could be different now that her father had returned. She had been extremely irritated when her mother had said that she would have to choose between school and her family. She was even more irritated when her mother dashed up the stairs and refused to talk to her father…a man that could possibly bring peace to their troubled world. Marcy wasn't to sure how things were going to work out or if her mother was still going to make her decide. She knew she didn't want to; picking between her family and a school where she might actually fit in was the worst decision of her entire 11 years.
Rolling over, Marcy looked at Andrew intensely, "Do you like it there?" She asked, not bothering to be more informative.
"I love it." He said simply, staring up into the sky, "The professors are all really nice, except maybe Professor Snape but he's an ugly git, and you make friends really fast. I play on the House Team…just like my dad…same position too. You meet a lot of really cool people."
"Is it worth abandoning my family for?" She asked quietly, moving to sit beside him. It was nice when he put his arm around her and she sunk into it, allowing his earthy sent to fill her nose as she heard his breathing settle a bit.
"No." He said simply at first, making her heart drop. She looked up at him and noticed he had something else to say so she held back her comment, "But Marcy, you wouldn't be abandoning your family. You are supposed to be a witch…it's in your blood…and going to one of those barmy Muggle schools isn't going to do you any good. Your family is abandoning you by making you choose, not the other way around." He kissed her forehead lightly, something she wasn't expecting, and flashed a wide toothy 13 year old grin, "Besides…I won't have any ickle first years to pick on if you don't come."
"What year will you be?" She asked quietly.
"Fourth. Uncle Ron always refers to that as the 'Year he won Aunt Hermione over' but she usually just laughs at him so I think he's just messing around. Supposedly good stuff happened years ago, but I doubt it will happen again. I'm guessing Gryffindor will win the House Cup."
"You're in Gryffindor?"
"Of course I am!" He responded with a look of shock, as if she should have known all along, "Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, my dad, and your mum were all in Gryffindor. It's a family thing I think…since both my dad's mum and dad were in Gryffindor also. Mum didn't go to Hogwarts, she went somewhere else, but that doesn't matter. I bet you'll be in Gryffindor too, although you have some Slytherin in you." He poked at her and made her jump before wrapping her in his arms again.
"Are you going to pay attention to me there?" She asked, wishing she hadn't said it the minute it escaped her mouth. She was always doing that, saying things without thinking them through. His face screwed up a bit as he looked down on her, almost in mock confusion, "I mean…if I go." She added, attempting to remedy the situation.
"Of course I will." He smiled a bit and gave her a large hug before standing up and stretching a bit, looking warily at the pond, "Want to learn how to really fly?" He asked. She moved towards him (he had walked closer to the pond) and looked around. His broomstick wasn't around at all…how was he going to make her fly? Could people in the wizarding world actually fly?
Her question was answered as he bent and picked her up into his arms, her fingers immediately wrapping around his neck and coiling into the soft tuffs of his hair. He smiled at her, spun around a bit, and screamed FLY before throwing her into the pond. The splash was loud in her ears as she fell into the rather chilly water. It was odd, she could hear his laughter from above the water as she swam about (she had always considered herself a rather decent swimmer) and then sprang up, splashing him with water rather sloppily as payback.
"Well if you insist." He quipped before jumping in on top of her, bringing about hours of well deserved laughter and forgetfulness of true troubles.
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Harry Potter smiled down at his wife from his perch on the hilltop. She was leaning into his chest and her breathing had leavened out a bit as her fingers traced random designs into his palm. He had watched Andrew run off earlier but he hadn't stopped him, he was probably going to be with Marcy. Harry had seen the look in Andrew's eyes, the same look he had watched flicker around Ron for more than 7 years. The same look he always gave Mel whenever he had the chance.
She had accepted him so genuinely that Harry had to continuously pinch himself to insure it wasn't a dream. From Ron's words, the exchange between Draco and Ginny hadn't gone nearly as well. Both Julian and Marcy had accepted Draco graciously and they had simply been bubbling over with joy for their returning father figure. For some odd reason, Ginny had pushed him away. She never was one to be logical about her decisions.
Harry took a glance at the swing and sighed. Lillian was moving ever so slowly back and forth, her thumb tightly in her mouth and her eyes glued to her small shoes. She hadn't spoken to him or anyone for that matter, since his arrival. It was odd, for he was used to people speaking to him, even Ron had bounded at him with a hug (any Weasley knew that Ron was the most temperamental). But she was his little girl, and he needed her.
Melinda sighed as she rolled off of Harry and turned to look up at him, smiling brightly, "Are you and Andrew doing alright?" She asked sweetly. He simply nodded, Andrew wasn't the problem in his mind, "I know that look." She replied quietly, causing him to shift his gaze directly onto hers as she held her head up with her hands.
"Mel..."
"Harry she's a quiet girl. She always has been." She started, her brow furrowing a bit, "Andrew used to tell her outlandish stories about you when they were younger. She grew up hearing all about you, about the things you did and the way you were so marvelous and such. I didn't want to stop him; I thought it was good for a boy his age to have such a perceptive imagination. Soon she stopped talking. When we moved in, she took up sitting in that swing. She practically grew up there."
"She should talk to someone."
"She will when she's ready."
"She can handle it now." He bit back a tear as he rolled so he could no longer see Melinda's eyes anymore, only the blissful color of the morning sun.
"She's eight Harry." The woman to his left spoke sharply, her voice allowing no arguments, "She doesn't know who you are. Hell, she doesn't know who she is. She'll come around eventually."
"I can't wait for bloody ever."
"She's waited for you." Melinda said thoughtfully, "We all have. Give her the time that we gave you." Harry went to retort but a loud slamming door drew his attention to the Burrow where Ginny was standing with her hands on her hips. Draco was standing in front of her, his hair a rather dumpy mess and the flush easily visible on his cheeks.
"Ginny honestly…can't you just see where I'm coming from?" Draco murmured, trying to not draw attention to the argument they were having. He and Harry had of course fixed their friendship to the best of their ability during their time at Murmansk, but he wasn't about to let the man watch a row between him and his wife.
"No Draco." She said firmly, "We're going back to Manchester when the day is through."
"She got accepted to Hogwarts Gin! We can't just bloody well take her away from that…"
"She's my daughter and I can do bloody well what I please." She replied, throwing his words back at him.
"I'm her father!" He yelled, losing a bit of his self control.
"If you had been around for the past 9 years maybe I'd care more!" She shouted back with equal fervor, her face turning a color that matched her hair. If they weren't in the middle of an argument, Draco would have dared to call her pretty, but that was probably not recommended if he wanted to salvage anything of their marriage. She started to move away but he stuck out a hand and grabbed hold of her arm, ignoring the shudder that moved through her as she tensed.
"She deserves to go Ginny." He stated lamely.
"She isn't going."
"You said you would give her a fucking choice."
"Give me what?" A rather loud voice came from his side and he looked down at his daughter, standing with her hands on her hips, her hair dripping wet from a swim in the lake and her eyes blazing from the summer sun. Andrew was standing next to her, his hair equally damp, attempting to keep himself distant from the conversation. Draco sighed and moved to one of the deck chairs, beckoning Marcy to follow him. She sat directly on his lap, her green bathing suit making his knee feel slimy and warm as she prodded his shoulder again, "Give me what?"
"Honey…you know about Hogwarts right?" Draco asked and only continued when Marcy nodded, "Do you want to go?"
"More than anything Dad!" She shrieked, wrapping her arms around his neck. He should have known she would be that excited to go to Hogwarts. Even when he was wizard born he had wanted to go to Hogwarts so badly as a youngster. Andrew was grinning wickedly from the side of the garden and running his hands in his hair, attempting to look preoccupied, his hazel eyes gleaming with something Draco couldn't quite put a finger on. As Marcy continued to hug him he looked up at Ginny, half expecting her face to be smattered with pride for her daughter. Quite the contrary, it was set stony cold and she was shaking her head, her hands still on her hips.
"Marcy, you are coming home." She said through pursed lips.
"But Mum…it's Hogwarts…you said…"
"That was before and this is now. You don't need to go to that school…"
"Mum?" She squealed, jumping off of Draco's lap in a second, "You said I could choose! Dad?"
"It's your mother's decision."
"I want to go." Marcy said sternly, moving towards Andrew, "Andrew goes there. Michael goes there. Everything about me is there…not in Manchester."
"You belong in Manchester dear." Ginny piped up, moving towards the door, "Now your father just got home and we are going to have a lot of…adjusting…to do at home. Maybe when Julian gets his letter we can send you but right now just isn't the time. Come dear, we need to be leaving."
"I'm going to Hogwarts." She said again, not budging from her spot.
"Marcy I am your mother."
"And as such you should just listen to me!" She yelled angrily, her blue eyes flickering with resentment, "I don't have any friends in Manchester Mum. I hate it there. I hate being in a place where no one understands me. There are people here who understand me. People like me. People who I really care about." She flashed Andrew a smile and he blushed a bit, moving towards the hilltop that Harry and Melinda were laying on, "I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I'm old enough to know what's good for me. I'm old enough to know that you and dad can fix everything without me. You should see that the only thing that would be the 'wrong timing' would be keeping me in that bloody town."
Ginny stopped from moving towards her daughter, her eyes lingering on the girl's frame. Her hair was twisted about from the water around her face and her bright sapphire eyes were sparkling more than they usually did. She looked very small next to the large manly figure of her husband and the lanky boyish figure of Andrew, but she had grown to say the least. For the first time since she had moved away from the wizarding world, Ginny noticed what she had tried to avoid for 11 years. Her Marcy, her baby girl, had indeed grown up. She no longer needed Ginny's constant guidance to bring her to the right path. She knew how to handle herself. She knew, even more importantly, how to make her own decisions.
She let out a sigh of defeat and threw her hands up in the air. Marcy seemed to glow with excitement although it disappeared rather quickly as Ginny moved to the door, "You can stay. Hermione and Ron can set you up a proper room when they get around to it. Draco, we need to pack."
"You're…you're leaving?" Marcy asked, a slight hitch in her voice. Ginny turned around and gave Draco a very stern look. Taking the hint, he stood and moved into the Burrow. He would surely find something to do.
"Darling…I told you before. The wizarding world just isn't for me. I need to sort things out with Daddy. Julian still needs some…guidance…with life. He's only nine. Besides…if his big sister is going off to Hogwarts I'll have some extra explaining to do." When a small tear rolled down Marcy's eye she brushed it away before gathering her daughter in her arms, "Marcy, Marcy, you're a big girl now. You're going to go off to school and have an amazing year. You're going to live with Ron and Hermione and Michael and have a fantastic time. Daddy and I will come by all the time, I promise you. When things are settled at home I'll work something out for all of us."
"I love you Mum." Marcy gushed into her shoulder.
"I love you too Marcy…I love you too."
Harry Potter watched the exchange with heavy eyes as his wife unraveled herself from his arms. He had told her only minutes before that he needed to go speak with Ginny and Draco, that he needed to say farewell and she had simply nodded, but the quiet exchange between mother and daughter had kept them planted firmly amongst the grass and dandelions. Melinda sighed and allowed him to stand and pull her to her feet, gripping her in a tight hug.
"For some reason every time you move away from me I have the distinct feeling your going to leave." She whimpered into his chest.
"Hey look at me," He coaxed, bringing her eyes up to his, "I'm never leaving you." He kissed her soundly as Andrew reached his side.
"Give it a rest you two…I'm only 13 you know." Harry laughed as he released his wife and gave Andrew a hard shove, although he barely made contact as the boy quickly moved out of his reach.
"One day you'll be a better Seeker than I am." Harry chuckled, moving down the hilltop.
"I ALREADY AM!" Andrew shouted. Harry merely shook his head as he continued down the hill on slightly shaky feet. He never was good at walking down hills. Ginny and Marcy had disappeared from the back of the Burrow, probably going inside to help Draco and Julian pack he reckoned, but it would still give him a bit of time to say goodbye. He wasn't sure what him and Melinda were planning to do now that they no longer were required to live in the Burrow. For some reason, he felt very odd even considering leaving. Wasn't (minus Hogwarts of course) the Burrow always his real home?
A shouting from over his shoulder stopped him and he turned around quickly, almost losing his balance. Melinda was standing at the top of the hill with her hand over her mouth, almost shrieking, and Andrew was looking nearly as perplexed as she was. However, he noticed the swing almost instantly, the empty swing, and the little girl running down the hill. Her thumb was no longer in her mouth and she was screeching at him.
"Don't leave Daddy don't leave!" She yelled as she reached his side and wrapped herself around his legs.
He brought her into his arms quickly, coaxing her as soothingly as he could to stop her crying, her face dampening his shirt with her tears. She soon stopped shaking, her voice quavering as she breathed one more, "Don't leave Daddy", into his chest.
It probably wouldn't have been enough for anyone else. A few simple words and a hug into old fabric would seem quite under played for a father who hadn't seen his child for nine years. Hell, it probably would have meant nothing to most, just as most people wouldn't see the irony in the oldest Malfoy child living at the Burrow for her first year at Hogwarts.
But to Harry Potter and the people he loved, the simplicity behind it all was enough as he tucked his daughter under his arm and joined with the remainder of his family before moving into the Burrow.
Family was enough.
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AN: The Patriot gets all credit for the scene of Lillian running down the hill into Harry's arms. It's a lot different in the movie but it's the same sort of idea and they deserve all the credit for it.
Other than that, this story is finished. There is a possibility (with enough reviews, I'm saying 20?) that I may do a snapshot epilogue into the lives of Marcy and Andrew at school. I don't know yet. Hopefully you all enjoyed it, YAY Ginny Draco!