Morning came like a slap in the face for Draco (at least THIS morning, it wasn't literal)…pain flooded his body as his eyes opened. In front of him stood Ginny holding one of his children and watching him in earnest. Forgetting the pain for a brief moment he jumped up.
Ginny stood serenely, cradling Gregory to her breast as she watched Draco. "I trust you've learned your lesson then?" She asked coolly.
"Yes, I have and I'll never be away from you again." He managed to choke out, although his throat was dry as a bone and his body felt like lead. Examining the boy in her arms, he felt tears slip down his bloodied face.
"This is Gregory Donovan." She said quietly. "And Orion Nathaniel is still sleeping at the moment." She explained. "Would you like to hold him?"
Draco looked down at the beautiful child in her arms and immediately felt fear flood him. "Oh Ginny…I'm afraid I'd drop him."
Ginny laughed. "He's more solid than he looks…now come sit down." She instructed and took a seat beside him and gently placed the child in his arms.
"He's so small." He breathed, fearful of even moving him in case he dropped him. Then Ginny would REALLY kill him. "He has my eyes." He smiled down at the child.
"And red hair." She laughed, feeling her own tears spilling over. A cry from the other room floated out and Ginny stood. "You hold him; I'm going to get Orion." Ginny walked into the other room.
Draco stared down at his own son; his own flesh and blood. It was such a strange feeling, being 18 years old and sitting there with your sweet, perfect child. If someone had asked him a year ago where he'd be today, he never in a millennia would have said it would be here.
Ginny reappeared with the second twin; Orion was nestled in her arms, looking quite comfortable. "This is Orion Nathaniel, he was born first."
"I see you stayed with the Black tradition." Draco smiled, looking at the other boy who looked slightly bigger than Gregory.
She nodded. "It was suggestion from your mother and I liked it. Gregory for the man who delivered the twins… but I'm sure you already knew that."
Coughing slightly, Draco nodded. "Have you informed everyone yet?"
"I gave birth 7 hours ago; I haven't had any time to do anything." She answered as she shifted Orion. "I thought you might want to floo your mum and dad…and see if they can get word to my mum and dad."
He stood, holding Greg close. "And we have to floo Potter as well."
Ginny was floored. "E-excuse me, did you just say we had to floo Harry?" She managed to choke out. "Why?"
Draco turned to her. "Last night when Pansy and I were out, we were gathering information on the whereabouts of your brother and I now know where they're hiding him."
A gasp tore from her throat. "Draco, we can end this!" She exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that last night?"
"You didn't give me much of a chance." He said lightly. "But don't get me wrong Ginny! You had every right to want to kill me! First of all, I should have told you where I was gone and second, I should never have left you on the day that Kat said you'd deliver."
Ginny closed her eyes. "I feel like such an idiot now!" She exclaimed, tears running down her face. "Gods, I thought these hormones were supposed to end after I delivered!"
Draco sat back down next to her and kissed her lightly. "I love you and I don't care if you're a hormonal mess for the next decade, as long as you spend it with me."
Ginny wiped her eyes. "Do you really mean that?" She sniffled.
"Well, I'd like it not to last a decade but yes, I mean it." He teased, putting his arm around her.
"I'll work on it." She slapped him playfully. "So you actually know where my brother is?"
Draco nodded. "I've got to put my memory in a pensieve and give it to Potter." He leaned over and kissed her chastely. "This will all be over really soon and we can get on with our lives: You, me and the children."
A genuine smile crossed her face. "I don't think I've ever been so happy."
"Does this mean I'm off the hook?" He asked hopefully.
"No…you have a lot of groveling to do." Ginny answered with a seductive smile. Standing she walked to the floo. "12 Grimmuald Place!" She yelled as she tossed some floo powder in.
A low growling voice answered. "State your name."
"Ginerva Weasley-Malfoy." She answered calmly.
In a flourish of green and red light, she was connected to the floo there. "Wotcher Gin!" An excited voice answered. "What can I do ya for?"
"Tonks, I need to speak to Harry immediately, we have information on my brother." She said, motioning for Draco to come over.
He stood and walked to her side. "Hullo Tonks."
Her eyes were a deep sea green today and her hair a wild shade of the same exact color. "Hey! Harry!" She yelled. "Ya got some visitors!" She clasped her hands together. "Are those the new additions to my family?"
Ginny giggled. "Orion Nathaniel and Gregory Donovan Malfoy were born last night."
Tonks gasped. "Bloody goat cheese on toast! What're you doing out of bed?" She scolded. "Go on an' git yerself into bed this instant!"
Draco nodded. "You go on, I'm not going to have you sick when we're celebrating the defeat of the Dark Lord."
Ginny frowned but did not argue. She trudged back to the bedroom and lay on the bed with Orion in her arms.
Tonks waited until Ginny was out of sight to finish speaking. "Much better, now you tell me everything you know." She said with a smile.
"No. I was instructed to tell no one but Harry. Tell him to floo over with a memory glass." Draco instructed. He was sure that Snape was probably listening in and he didn't need any reason to FURTHER aggravate the bat of the dungeons.
Nodding, Tonks stepped away from the floo and a moment later, Harry Potter stepped through the grate of the fireplace. "What do you want Malfoy?" He snapped, wiping the sleep from his eyes. It was early, barely 8am, and Harry was NOT a happy camper.
"Last night I met Barty Crouch for an exchange of information…he was to give me the whereabouts of Percy Weasley and I was to give him Pansy Goyle." He began.
Harry sputtered. "You'd trade your only friend for some false information!"
Draco narrowed his eyes. "I'm not bloody stupid, Potter." He spat caustically. "It was a trick, but Barty Crouch was stupid and he allowed me to see the information…then was forced to kill himself. Snape was there, he can tell you himself."
It was obvious that Harry didn't much believe him. "Fine, what has this got to do with me?"
"Did you bring the memory glass?" Draco asked, ignoring his insolence. It struck him funny that once, a long time ago, he'd have taken his wand and shown him who was boss…but now Potter just seemed like a silly child. Ginny had done that to him…she had helped him to grow into a man.
"Here." Harry replied gruffly, handing it gently to him…but only because he was holding one of Ginny's babies.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he focused on the memory. After a moment, a silvery wisp of memory transcended into the glass. Draco opened his eyes. "Use this quickly and wisely…I know that Voldemort will try to move Percy quickly when he finds out that Barty let this information slip."
Harry nodded, taking the memory. "You watch out for her, you hear? She's like a sister to me."
"I will." Draco promised and watched as Harry flooed away. Gregory began to fuss in his arms and he stared down at him. "Don't you worry, son, it's all going to work out fine." He whispered.
Well thanks to mylast chapter, I now know which of my readers are male and which are female, lol. Don't worry! One blow to the crotch isn't going to impair Draco for life ;). I know some of you didn't like it and I'm glad you told me so. You, as the people who read my story, tell me what you like and do not like and that helps me write better.
I'll be wrapping up this story in the next 2-4 chapters (but don't hold me to it, it could be longer). I've decided to see where my creativity takes me. If it brings me to a sequel, I'll write it…if an epilogue is better, I'll do that. Thanks for your feedback.
Oh and I am in the process of writing a new fic that, if you liked this one, I hope you'll love this next one. I'll keep you updated!
Thanks!
Marina