A/N: To answer some questions: Yes, Ginny and Draco are really married. They got married during one of his leave times. So the wedding sequence really happened. I hope that I cleared it up for you.

A Simple Gold Band

Chapter 3

Three weeks after handing the letters to Ginny, Blaise was fit enough to leave the hospital. He had gone back to the Ministry to take the portkey back to his camp. Ginny had seen him off and gone back to work, doing her rounds. Her belly was starting to show signs of her pregnancy and she was gaining a little weight. Early each morning, she would stand in front of the mirror and stare at her reflection, inspecting her growing tummy with both excitement and dread of gaining weight.

Some time during lunch hour, a nurse had called for Ginny informing her that she had a soldier asking for her. Thinking that something bad had happened to one her loved ones at the front line, Ginny dropped everything she was doing and rushed to the nurses' desk. As she rounded the corner to the desk, she saw a very familiar male figure with blond hair glinting in the sunlight. Her heartbeat raced, as she got nearer, she felt her throat choke with tears. When the man looked up, her tears fell freely and she rushed into his opened arms.

"Draco! Draco I can't believe you're here!" she sobbed into his neck.

"Neither can I sweetheart. I'm so happy to see you again," he whispered.

He cupped her face and kissed her gently on the lips, causing her to cry even more. He wiped away her tears and hugged her once more.

"Can you leave early today?" he asked.

"Actually I get off in ten minutes because I have an appointment with the doctor about our baby," she said, patting her tummy fondly. "Would you like to go with me?"

"Of course I would."

Draco waited for her at the waiting area as she went to change into her regular robes. He flipped through some magazines until he saw a picture of a couple, playing with a little boy, in on of the pages. He hoped and prayed that he and Ginny would be as happy as the people in the picture would. He looked up to search for Ginny and smiled when he saw her walking towards him. Hand-in-hand, they went up to the maternity level of the hospital for the check-up.

Upstairs, a bubbly nurse greeted them and told them to wait for a while as the doctor was currently with a patient. Ginny could tell that Draco was nervous from they way his knee was bouncing up and down. She held his hand in hers and asked, "Why are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," he said. When she raised an eyebrow at him, he hurriedly continued,"Ok, I AM nervous. I don't know why but I just am."

"There's nothing to worry about honey," she said, rubbing his hand gently. Just then, they heard the doctor's office opened and a very pregnant witch left the office. Draco helped Ginny stand up and led her to the doctor's office. When he entered, his jaw dropped when he saw who Ginny's doctor was.

"Pansy Parkinson, I never thought I would se you here," he said, kissing the pretty brunette's cheeks fondly.

"I know. I just couldn't handle seeing all the wounded soldiers, not when Harry's in the frontline. I'm not as strong as Ginny here," she said as she sat back down.

"Has Potter come in to see you yet?" Draco asked after making sure that Ginny was comfortable in her chair.

"Yes he did. He gave me quite a shock too," she said with a dreamy smile on her face. "He's gone back to the flat to sleep. Anyway, enough about my husband. Let's see how Ginny is doing."

After doing the check up and the wizards' version of an ultrasound, Pansy declared that the pregnancy was going well and that Ginny was in the pink of health. She told Ginny not to tire herself out and to keep away from stress. After thanking Pansy, Ginny and Draco went back to their own apartment to catch up and spend time together, alone.

~          *           ~

Time flew by quickly and soon Draco's two weeks leave ended. A tearful Ginny and Pansy went their respective husbands off to the Ministry where they were taking the portkey to their base.

"Take care of yourself and our baby. I love you always," he whispered to her ear.

"I will Draco. I love you too," she sobbed. He kissed her forehead and hugged her one last time before going into the Ministry building. She could see Harry and Pansy saying their farewells and she realised that Pansy was crying too. After their husbands left, the two women hugged each other crying, already missing the men they love.

Over the next few weeks, Ginny threw herself into work to keep herself from worrying about Draco's safety. It wasn't until she passed out from exhaustion that she realised that what she was doing was harming her health and her baby. Fortunately, Pansy was around when she passed out. Pansy had come down to see if Ginny was free for lunch date when she saw Ginny collapse.

Ginny opened her eyes slowly and found herself lying in a hospital bed and Pansy, who was looking very angry, was scowling at her. "Pansy, what happened? Why am I in bed?" she asked as she struggled to sit up.

"You're very fortunate that I was there when you collapsed to cast a cushioning charm on you. If I wasn't there, you might have hurt yourself and the baby," she said roughly, as she helped Ginny sit up.

"I fell?" Ginny gasped, turning paler than she already was.

"You passed out you silly woman. You work yourself too hard when I specifically told you NOT to stress yourself. I know you're as worried about Draco as I am about Harry but you shouldn't push yourself too hard. Draco would never forgive me if something happened to you. I'm going to prescribe to you bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy."

"But Pansy-"

"No buts. You're going to stay at the Burrow and I'm going to make sure that you're getting enough rest. I'm sure that Molly would agree with me," Pansy said, giving her a smug look and crossing her arms on her chest. Knowing that she would never win the argument Ginny just nodded and sighed.

The following day, Ginny found herself back in her room in the Burrow. She was glad that she wasn't the only one who was staying with her parents at the Burrow. All her brothers' wives and children were also there. Bill's wife, Andrea and Charlie's wife, Sandy were in the kitchen helping Molly out with lunch while Penelope, Percy's wife was teaching Bill and Charlie's children to read. Angelina and Katie, who were married to Fred and George respectively, were hanging out the laundry at the backyard. Hermione, Ron's wife was at the Daily Prophet where she was working as a journalist and was coming back for lunch. Only Bill, Charlie and now Ginny were the only Weasley children who had or were going to have kids, as the rest of them didn't think that it was a safe time to bring children into the world.

Ginny heard her mother call for her from the kitchen so she got up from her bed and headed down stairs. She entered the kitchen and saw that Andrea, Sandy, Angelina and Katie were already in the kitchen peeling beans and talking.

"How are you feeling dear?" Molly asked pushing a glass of milk towards Ginny.

"I feel better now," Ginny answered. Taking a sip of her milk, Ginny thought that her brothers had chosen their wives well. They women they married were intelligent, loving women with strong characters. Strangely enough, they somehow remind Ginny of her mother. Shrugging her shoulders, Ginny went back to her milk.

Just then, they heard the fireplace roar to life and someone rushing out of it. Ginny and the rest looked rushed out of the kitchen and found Pansy kneeling in the leaving room. Her tear streaked face and her bloodshot eyes worried Ginny very much.

"Pansy what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong," Ginny said as she knelt down beside her.

"Ginny I'm scared."

"Why?"

"Because I'm pregnant!" she wailed. "We were so careful. We didn't want to have any kids during this unsettling times but I'm still pregnant."

"Hush now child. Let us get you into the kitchen and calm you down. All that stress isn't good for the baby," Molly said, looking pointedly at Ginny.

After drinking three cups of camomile tea and a glass of milk, Pansy calmed down sufficiently to tell them her story. She had been having her suspicions for some time but only took the test this morning. Being a healer that specialises in the pregnancy, she was certain about her condition but to actually see the test coming back positive freaked her out.

"Pansy, I want you to stay at the Burrow with us," Molly said.

"Thank you for the offer but –"

"No buts. You're not staying at your apartment alone. What if something happens? At least by staying here, not only can you make sure that Ginny is following your orders for lots of rest; we can take care of each other. Weasley women always stick together."

"But I'm not a Weasley," she said quietly.

"Harry is like a son to me so that makes him almost as good as being a Weasley. So that makes you one of us," said Molly.

"Thank you," Pansy said, bursting into tears once more.

A few more weeks passed and nothing major was happening on the war front. The Burrow filled with people made Molly very happy. Especially since, she had her grandchildren to play with and two more on the way. As the wards around the Burrow were strong, Molly allowed her grandchildren to play in the back garden so that she could keep an eye on them from the kitchen.

The plate that she was washing suddenly slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor, breaking into pieces. As she was picking up the pieces, she accidentally cut her palm on one of the glass pieces. Seeing the blood dripping onto the floor, an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.  She quickly called her grandchildren in and locked the doors. She then made sure that her daughters were all accounted before going back into the kitchen and started making tea.

Sensing Molly's unease, the Weasley women gathered in the leaving room minding the children and waited quietly. They were drinking their tea when the floo network flared up and Harry stepped out. His face was a myriad of scratches and his uniform was bloody.

"Harry!" Pansy said rushing to her husband.

"I'm fine Pansy, where's Ginny?" he asked hurriedly, holding something tightly in his fist.

"I'm here Harry. What's wrong? What happened?" she asked, dreading his answer.

Harry looked at her sadly and opened his palm to her. On his hand lay a simple gold band, which Ginny immediately recognised as Draco's wedding ring.

Ginny picked the ring up with trembling hands and her knees gave way. She let out and animal-like howl.

"NO!" she screamed. Her whole body racked with sobs, hear tears raging like a river. She looked up and saw Harry's worried face before all the lights went out and the world turned black.