AN: We're getting so close to the end! Keep reviewing guys! I hope this chapter shocks a little bit, but i also hope some of you figured it out. I love this story, and while this may not be the end yet... we have yet to see... it's up to the readers...
The feel of warm water running over his skin was welcomed, but foreign. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a proper shower, and not just a simple scourgify. He smirked in amusement as the water coming off of him was almost black.
He leaned his head against the side of the shower and let the water comfort him, soak him until his fingers pruned. It had been a long time since he'd had that luxury.
The effects of the Veritaserum were still wearing off, though they hadn't given him very much. But then, they hadn't held him very long either. Harry, who it turned out had been questioning him, had only had to ask the most basic of questions, but Draco had felt several times that there was something more he wanted to ask, but was holding back. Luckily, Draco had passed the test easily, his allegiance to Ginny taken as an allegiance to the ministry.
"Why did you choose to leave the camp of people known as Death Eaters?" Harry had asked calmly.
"To save Ginny." Draco had stared at the ground throughout his entire interrogation, knowing he could not lie.
"Are you now or do you plan to contact the dark lord again?"
"No."
"So you left for Ginny, no one else?" He had asked, setting down the required questions.
"No one else." Draco repeated.
"What exactly are your intentions with her?" Harry asked, kneeling down to look at Draco's eyes.
Draco tried to bite back his sappy response, but could not. "To love her."
Harry had let him go shortly after that, and his name had been added to the ward around the ministry, allowing him access to Ginny's quarters. He was what Ginny called, off the hook.
Sighing more deeply this time, he ran his hands through his fine and thin hair before finally turning off the water, feeling much more refreshed. He reached for a towel and wrapped his around his waist before heading out of the bathroom.
He looked up to see Ginny setting things on the table, and the smell of food made his mouth water. Ginny turned as if sensing his presence and smiled.
"I thought you might be hungry." She explained, gesturing towards the table. "I know I am."
Hungry? Draco thought. She must think I'm a giant! He was right to think it. Ginny had set on the small table plates of sausages and ham, a roasted chicken, biscuits and gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a large assortment of vegetables and fruits, and a bottle of Spanish wine. Draco noticed that still on a trey on the counter were some cakes and puddings.
Draco glanced back at her amused. She looked sheepish.
"You're cloths have been washed and they're on the chair just there." Ginny pointed to the desk and chair he was standing next to where, indeed, his clean black slacks, black cloak and a nice green shirt were all laying. Draco was reaching for them when Ginny said "But, if you want a fresh change of cloths, I have that too…" She trailed off and Draco smiled at little at her.
"Maybe another day." He told her, imagining shopping in diagon alley with her. He knew she didn't want him to put on his old cloths, but he couldn't help it. He needed something familiar in these strange and unfamiliar surroundings.
He turned and walked back into the bathroom, drying off and tugging his cloths on.
"You look better." Ginny's voice called softly from outside the cracked door. Draco was surprised to find himself wishing she'd push it open and come in.
"Thank you." He muttered gratefully, buttoning his slacks and tugging on the form fitting, long sleeved, green shirt she had found for him. He left the cloak hanging on the towel rack.
"Do you feel better?" She asked as Draco pushed open the door. He saw her leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, eyeing him curiously.
"Yes, very much." He said, stepping forward to look at all the food. Ginny grinned and joined him, studying him more than the food.
"This is different." She mused, reaching up a hand to his shoulder length blond hair. It was back to the bright platinum blond it had once been, and not the dirty grey she had seen before. He realized it was the length she was referring to however as she twisted a particularly long piece around her finger. "Since when do you like long hair?"
"Since when do you like short hair?" He countered, lifting a single finger to move a strand off her forehead and to the side. She smiled, stepping away.
"I guess it just became more practical, easier to manage." She sat down at the table, nodding to the other chair. Draco sat, feeling suddenly more like a schoolboy on a first date than he had ever felt before.
Where was that blinding Malfoy confidence? That grace of walking on air? Where had all his will power and sleek concealment gone? The way he used to walk, talk and hold himself around people, even those he cared about. Where had it all gotten off too? Draco found he would have liked very much to have it all back.
Seeming to read his mind, Ginny smiled. "I suppose it will just take time, getting used to everything again. But don't worry," she winked at him. "I'm sure you'll have all of the Draco flare back in no time."
He noticed absently that what they had once called Malfoy flare, she now referred to as Draco flare. Unconsciously? He doubted it.
"Help yourself." She said, beginning to pile things onto her own plate.
"You didn't have to wait for me." He insisted as he reached for the sausages. He took a heaping load of them and then exchanged it with Ginny for the fruit trey.
"I wanted to." She assured him. "We've still got a bit of catching up to do you know." She reminded, slicing pieces off the chicken. Draco loaded more biscuits onto his plate and poured gravy over everything, the anticipation of real food in his mouth building.
They were silent for a few moments as they each filled their plates, and when Draco thought there was more on his plate alone then he could ever possibly eat, he tucked in.
Food! Real food! Not crummy substitutes or rotten meat or moldy bread. The whip lashing of his emotions was exhausting him, and quite consciously he closed off part of his mind and sank into the relief of feeling nothing, for the moment, but hunger.
Ginny was happy to oblige, and they ate in silence for almost half an hour. Draco finally looked up at her, feeling her gaze and smiled at the look on her face. It was approving, but generally amused. Draco cleared his throat, dabbing at his face with his napkin and slowing down his pace considerably. Ginny giggled, returning to her food.
"So you said we had things to talk about?" He inquired, glancing at her cautiously.
"Not if you don't want to." She said, shrugging. Draco furrowed his brow.
"I didn't say that." They locked gazes for a moment. Ginny broke it, looking down at the ham and mashed potatoes on her plate. "What have you been doing working in the ministry, anyway?" Draco asked, taking a sip of the wine. The strange subtle dull of his senses felt nice; better, definitely, than the stale ale he had drank for so long.
"Well…" Ginny regarded her plate curiously, seemingly searching for the right words. "After I finished school I took a break for about two years and spent it at home. It was necessary at the time." She paused, studying Draco curious look. Why had it been necessary? "After that, it seemed like everyone I knew had found something to fight for. So I joined too. The ministry was ready and willing to offer me a job as an auror; but I suppose when you consider how many are employed it isn't that great of a feat.
"Bill, Charlie and Ron were all already involved. Percy was still sitting comfortably behind his desk job, that great git; though I must admit he's softened a great deal over the years. As for Fred and George, well, their shop was going so well that when they realized something needed to be done, they signed up for part times. One of them runs the shop while the other fights. I'll admit, it keeps them comfortable." She explained, taking another sip of wine.
"So why this great place at ministry headquarters hmm? If they employ so many aurors that is." Draco nodded to their surroundings. Ginny swallowed a large bite of food.
"Well, after you've been working for such a long period of time, full time, this comes as part of the deal. People like Harry and Hermione have their own house and such, and go home every night, because they don't take off time like I do. I work and work and then I get a few months to myself. It's rather complicated how everything works out." She mused. Draco nodded, not deeming for respond for several minutes.
"Where do you live?" He asked at last, clearing off the last of the food on his plate and amazed he'd eaten so much.
"At the moment? With my parents." She replied sheepishly, finishing off her remaining wine. "I've been looking for a place of my own for a long time, but what with the war and how long I work, it never seemed practical. I keep telling myself that this time when I go home it will be different. I'll move out like a big girl. But it never is." She admitted, standing to clear some things off the table. "While the war is going on it's just easier if I can-" she was about to say something, but she stopped herself quickly and rushed past him towards her sink. Draco caught her hand.
"What's the matter?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Ginny bit her lip, an old nervous habit, before tugging out of his grasp and turning away again. She didn't say anything, and Draco watched her curiously.
"What was it like in the camp, in all those different places? I mean, where were you all this time?" She had her back to him while she said it, and turned around to return to the table. She put the cakes and puddings on the table, and Draco couldn't help but reach for a chocolate one, not having had sugar in years.
He shrugged in response to her question, still eyeing her curiously over his desert. "Different places. All over really. Before I was actually registered as a Death Eater by the ministry I stayed near the bigger cities doing spy work and mapping things out. After they tried to arrest me I was sent to the camps where we were massing numbers." The nonchalance at while he seemed to be talking about all this looked like it was unnerving Ginny. But she had asked. "I moved around a lot. I'd only been in that camp about 7 months." He mused, recalling the different places he'd been. Ginny nodded, picking at her pudding. They ate the rest of their desert in silence and this time it was Draco who stood and put the plates away.
Ginny had been right. He could feel himself relaxing slowly, and he thought that maybe it would be okay after all. Or perhaps, Draco smirked, the warm relaxation was simply the effects of the 3 glasses of 12 year old wine.
He stiffened as he felt arms go around his waist, and Ginny's head pressed into his back. He stood up just a little straighter, finishing what he was doing and resting his hands on the edge of the counter top. Ginny inhaled deeply, and it reminded Draco to breath.
"You smell good." She mused, pressing her face into his back. Draco swallowed hard.
"I used your soap." He pointed out, and he felt her smile into his back. Her grip loosened, and he realized she wanted him to turn around. Slowly, he did. He couldn't help but lean back a little bit on the countertop as she had earlier. He was clean, full of good food, and comfortable, and the effects of two days without sleep were beginning to wear on him.
Ginny was looking at him with an expression he couldn't read, and it wasn't until she put her head down on his chest and took a shaky breath that he realized her eyes were teary.
"I missed you, Draco." She said at last, looking back up at him. Draco let his arms settle on her back instead of her arms, and he held her just a little bit tighter.
"I missed you too." He replied, putting his head down in a familiar position on top of her head. He closed his eyes and they stood there for several minutes, neither daring to move.
Ginny finally looked up, wiping a few tears from her eyes. Draco watched her, unsure how to respond. He'd never been good at that.
Ginny looked up at him again, and this time she moved her hands to his face and he couldn't help the sharp intake of breath. Her fingers on his chapped skin were still incredibly strange. Ginny pushed herself up to kiss him, and Draco leaned even more heavily against the counter.
Their kiss was gentle, soft, and vulnerable, expressing emotions both were to afraid to speak of or acknowledge. Her left hand tangled in his hair, and her right stayed on his face, caressing his cheek. Draco was afraid to move his hands from the small of her back, but the closer she got to him, the farther upward his left hands moved, and the farther downward his right moved. Pressed tightly against each other, Draco could feel ever motion of her body. The caresses on his face and shoulder were sending chills down his spine, making him tingle. It had been so long since anyone had touched him, let alone like that. Of course, he was hardly objecting.
They finally pulled away from each other, both breathing quicker and heavier than they would have liked. They remained in each others arms though, until Ginny pulled away and headed in the direction of the bedroom. Draco waited several minutes, wondering if she wanted him to follow her. But then, where was he going to sleep? Slowly, he followed her into the bedroom, where she was rummaging around in a drawer.
He looked around. There were several picture frames on the bedside table, but two of them had been turned down. Curious as he was, Ginny chose this moment to turn around.
He held out her hand. "Draco, come here." She said. He obeyed and took her hand, and she pulled him close. "I haven't been completely honest with you." She said, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. Draco had a sneaking suspicion that whatever she was going to tell him had to do with those pictures. "Come on, sit down."
She pulled him over to the bed where they sat, Ginny facing him, an apprehensive look on her face.
"What's the matter?" He asked for the second time that night. Sudden fears found their way into the back of his mind. He wondered for a moment in she was still single after all this time. If she hadn't found someone else… someone better. She looked like she was so scared to tell him this…
"I have no idea how to tell you this Draco," She stood, walking near the bedside table with the pictures. She picked one up and crutched it tightly in her hands, turning to face him once more. "So I'm just going to say it." She handed him the picture.
He looked and saw a little girl who looked surprisingly like Ginny. She had red hair that was pulled back into a pony tail, and was dressed in a bright orange little dress. Draco looked up a Ginny questioningly.
"Draco, she's your daughter."
Draco froze. Starring at Ginny he knew he had heard the words, but they did not register. His what? He looked down at the photo again, sure that he was not really holding it. But the little girl in the photo did have something that was not her mothers… light grey eyes. And a bone structure that he could not help but notice resembled his own.
He lifted his eyes to Ginny once more, who had not moved. She was biting her lip hard, trying to judge his reaction.
"My… I… I have a daughter?" He asked at last. There was a tense silence in which Ginny merely nodded. Draco glanced down at the photo again.
A daughter. He had a daughter. How on earth had this happened?
Ginny sat down beside him, closer than she had been before, now also looking at the picture. Draco turned to her, apparently having developed jaw-drop syndrome.
"How did… I… are you sure?" He asked, wanting to know everything at once and unable to express it.
Ginny giggled. "Yes, she's right there. And yes, I'm sure she's yours." Ginny said in a firm tone. "There was never… anyone else, Draco." She looked down when she said this. Draco set the picture behind him and turned to face her fully.
He placed his hands on her arms. "I… We, you and I, we have a daughter?" He asked once more, the fact sinking in.
"Yes Draco. We have a daughter." A tear rolled down her smiling face as she said it, and without warning Draco lunged forward and kissed her. Hard.
They toppled backwards and they broke apart, Draco smiling fully and completely, overwhelmed with a happy feeling he couldn't explain. Ginny was laughing, and as they sat back up she came forward and hugged him.
Draco stood up, pacing excitedly. "I have a daughter. I have- what's her name?" He sat back down expectantly, starring at Ginny as everything seemed to sink in and a thousand thoughts came to his head at once.
"Larissa." Ginny said, grabbing the picture again. "Though everyone mostly calls her Lara." Draco looked back down at the picture. Then just as quickly he looked back up at Ginny.
"But Gin, what… I mean how did you… what happened?" He thought suddenly of Ginny pregnant and alone, giving birth without him and raising their child by herself. Ginny smiled at him again though, setting the picture aside.
"Calm down." She whispered, kissing him gently. "And I'll tell you everything."
Draco obliged, though it was quite hard to listen without interrupting.
"After you left, I found out I was pregnant. I didn't know how it could have happened, because I performed that contraceptive spell every time. I think it was that last night we were together before you decided to leave." She mused, looking at him sadly. "But I don't really know. The point is, I was pregnant, and I had no idea what to do. I still had another year of school to finish and Dumbledore, bless him, allowed me to stay, using a disillusionment charm to hide my pregnancy. She was born on February 16. Just about everyone knew by then, I suspect, that I wasn't out with pneumonia.
"I left her with my mum while I finished school. After that I took a few years to raise her. When I finally felt like I need to do something, that's when I joined the aurors. Right now, she's at home with my mother, who takes care of her whenever I'm not there." Ginny stood and put the picture back on the table, standing up the other one which appeared to be them in the hospital on February 16.
Draco felt as though he could hardly move. The thought of Ginny going through that pregnancy alone, and then giving birth alone, and raising Lara alone… it made him feel more than ever that he had deserted her. Deserted her when she needed him most.
"Most of the reason I joined was because… well… the hopeful part of me thought I'd find you." She crossed her arms over her chest, smiling sadly. Draco stood as well, pulling her into a tight hug. They held each other for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts, but a new kind of bond between them.
Ginny finally pulled away, looking up at him thoughtfully. "I guess the hopeful part of me was right, after all." She said, brushing his hair out of his face again.
Draco smiled and then bent down and kissed her. It was slow and easy and understanding and Draco felt, for perhaps the first time in 6, almost 7 years, that he was home.
In her arms.
