Disclaimer: It's not really mine. Except the plot, I suppose, but all the character and whatnot are J.K. Rowling's.
Anyways, thanks for those reviews. I hope you all like the next chapter.
Chapter Four—Never Again
Ginny was awakened by the sound of the shower in the next room. Her teeth chattered, seeing as she was clad in only her under garments. Moving around under the covers, she lay with her head on the pillow and her eyes open.
Her sleepy mind did not immediately comprehend that she was not, in fact, in her bed in home with her husband, but she was in Draco's bed. As soon as she grasped the reality, her heart began to beat faster. I've lost my fucking mind!
She turned over the events of the night. He invited me to his room therefore it is his fault. No, I started it. He wanted to stop, but I kept on. I can't believe this happened, she inwardly cursed herself.
Moments passed and Draco came out of the bathroom with a towel hanging off his waist.
"Oh, you're awake," he said nonchalantly, padding across the room bare foot to the armoire.
"Yeah." There was a period of silence before Draco said something.
"So. What now?" he uttered, unsure of what her reaction would be, but certain of his own to hers. It was awkward and it seemed to Ginny that he realized the mistake they had made the night before as well.
"I'm sorry, Draco, if I led you on that this could go on, but it can't. I have to take care of my family. I don't know what got into me last night. We can't be together. Ever." She tried to sound as sincere as possible, not sure if he would do something impractical if she walked out on him again.
I know what got into you. You remembered how I thought the world of you, and how much better I would treat you than Potter does if you were mine.
"I agree, which is why you should just leave," he replied with a cheery smile that she could tell was fake.
"You are just kicking me out right now?" She was surprised that he didn't even resist. She imagined him to argue with her and fight for her. But he didn't.
"Ginny, if you want out of this, you better get out of here while I still have my senses." She wanted a fight, and he was not going to give it to her. It would only be too soon before she'd be pandering back.
"Fine," she replied in an irked tone. The young woman crawled out of bed, searched for and put on her clothes, a too familiar routine from the past. She stomped out of the room without saying anything else to him. He was amused, seeing as this is what she claimed to want.
"See you around," he leered after her. Yes, she'd be back.
Harry woke up in the early hours of the morning. He wondered if Ginny had a difficult time sleeping without anyone next to her. Being so used to having her there every night, he resorted to piling pillows next to him while he slept.
Deciding it was a bit early he fixed some hot chocolate. By late morning he figured that Molly and Arthur should be awake, so he made off to get his son.
Upon arrival he was surprised to see one of the Weasley son's sitting on the couch. "'Morning, George. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hello, Harry. I was just stopping by to drop off this money for mum and dad. And then I noticed these donuts sitting on the table, " he added, indicating to the donut in his hand and the box sitting next to him on the arm of the sofa. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to pick up James."
"Ah, yes. Well, how's life? You're not mistreating my baby sis now, are you?"
"Well, sometimes she gets out of line, I just have to give her a spanking," Harry replied with a strait face that almost instantaneously turned to a grin due to his lack of lying skills.
"Harry, you are too much…" he replied with a smile, shaking his head.
"I was just kidding, George."
"Right." Just then they heard the sound of large feet clopping down the steps. Both turned to look and see whom the culprit was.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked a very weary looking and hung-over Ron.
"We could ask the same of you? What are you wearing?" George exclaimed, denoting to the pajamas that were definitely too small for the man.
"Be right back." He then careened to the nearest bathroom, and the reverberation of vomit hitting the toilet rang in their ears.
"Holy smokes, that is foul," Harry groaned, cringing at the sound. "The last time I heard someone barf I almost did myself. Ginny had the flu and needless to say it was disgusting."
Ron emerged from the bathroom, moaning in agony.
"Have you been drinking, little brother?" George asked him, chuckling at the thought of an inebriated Ron.
The younger boy didn't answer, but instead just plopped down on the couch next to his brother after snatching a donut. Harry decided to take a seat in the armchair next to the fire that was crackling towards its end.
"Really, what are you doing here?" Harry asked Ron.
"I'm not quite sure, actually."
"Maybe you missed your mummy and daddy and decided to show up when you were completely lashed," George mimicked.
"No," Ron answered in an annoyed tone. "Well, I don't think so, anyways."
"Okay, sure," Harry said, as he noticed Mrs. Weasley coming down the stairs with little James in her arms, speaking baby talk.
"Good morning boys," she chimed, the living room where they were all seated.
George and Ron both responded with a mumbled "'Morning mum."
"Good morning," replied Harry brightly. "I hope James wasn't much trouble for you."
"Not any more than usual, until this bumbling idiot crashed a broom in a tree outside and woke him up," she stated, indicating to Ron.
"So that's what happened," he stated to himself, mostly.
"Ron, I can't believe you would do something like that! Haven't your father and I taught you better?"
"Sorry, mum."
"We'll finish this talk later," she scolded, providing her son with a despicable glare. She faced Harry and continued to go on about James. "Anyways, he hasn't had breakfast yet. Actually, he just woke up."
"Alright, ready to go?" he asked the child, while taking his things from Mrs. Weasley. The little boy made a noise that his father perceived as a 'yes' before taking him in his arms.
"Bye, Harry, see you later," Ron called, right before Harry and James apparated back to 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Where were you all night?" Hermione quizzed the redhead, who just entered their room around nine o'clock.
"I fell asleep in the library," she yawned, making it a point to respond shortly while going to her bag and collecting her things for a shower.
"I was in the library last night and I didn't see you in there."
"Oh, you must have just missed me, then. I was there almost all night."
"Are you sure, Ginny? I could have sworn that I saw you walking with Malfoy."
"Malfoy? What would Malfoy be doing at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked, pretending to be clueless.
"He's a teacher. I was certain you knew that." Hermione said from the bathroom, where she was brushing her hair.
"No, I haven't even seen him the whole time we've been here."
"Ginny, stop lying. I saw you with him last night," Hermione demanded forcefully, slamming down her brush on the counter.
"Fine, I was talking to him, but nothing else."
"So you weren't in the library all night. Where were you?"
"I was in the library!" Ginny snapped, while stepping into the bathroom, mildly close to the other girl,and starting the shower.
"Well, I am going to Hogsmeade this afternoon to start the paperwork on the building. Are you coming?" Hermione inquired of Ginny in a more equable manner.
"Yeah, I think I will come down there for a few," the other girl replied faintly.
"Okay, great," Hermione said, gathering the rest of her things and leaving the bathroom. "I am going to grab some breakfast. Do you want me to wait for you?"
"No, that's okay, you don't have to wait for me. I'll just meet you there in a few. We can have lunch together."
"All right. I have to go or I will be late."
"Bye," Ginny said.
"See you later. By the way, you smell like sex," Hermione added, before closing the door to the bathroom.
Ginny stepped out of her clothes from the day before and into the shower, contemplating what would happen if Hermione told Harry about what she had seen, and apparently smelt.
"Draco, can we talk?"
"No. I don't want to talk to you, Emma," uttered Draco from his teacher's desk as he graded papers.
"Please. Just because we can't be together doesn't mean you have to be so cruel to me."
"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't after what you did to me?"
"Why are you being so hostile? I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear. It's just too risky for us to be together."
"That's all I ever hear these days. What is wrong with me?" he said, mostly to himself rather than Emma. He laid his head on his folded arms on the desk, like he was pouting. Emma just stood there, not knowing what to say.
"You're a teacher Draco. You could lose your job," she answered for him, meekly.
"Fuck my job," he murmured into his arms.
"I've met a guy that will take care of me for a while. I am leaving school next Friday. I've decided to move on and forget about my NEWTs."
"Whatever happened to Michael?"
"We broke up."
"Did you desert him, too?"
"No, he left me," she hissed, thinking that a tear might come to her eyes, but none did.
"What do you want then?"
"Well, Quigley has a house on the coast of Greece," she mentioned smugly. Her attitude seemed to change from sorrowful to bitchy instantaneously.
"What? Emma, you're such a slut!"
She gasped, taken aback by the insult. "How dare you call me a slut?"
"You'll sleep with anyone. You just want him because he is rich and famous," he snarled.
"Draco, can't you see that is not the point? We just can't be together anymore!"
"Just get out," he sighed, feeling defeated once again.
"I will let you see the baby. I'll keep in touch, okay."
He didn't say anything else, but instead just looked at her until she got the point that he really wanted her to leave.
"Miss Dobbs, would you and Miss Peterson mind paying attention? This is a very advanced potion were working on, hence the name of Advanced Potions class."
"Sorry, Professor Malfoy," she flirted. He was hot, and very off hands. She was always up for a challenge.
"Okay, now if you don't stir this for the right amount of times, exactly," he stressed, looking more at Emma than the rest of the class," then it will explode in your face."
When it was time begin working, the class was doing seemingly well to his surprise. There were no Nevilles in his class, fortunately and while walking around he noticed that everyone, so far, had added the ingredients nearly perfectly. He had hoped for the stirring portion of the recipe that they had paid attention.
He could sense something was about to go wrong, and he was right, as a cauldron blew up in the front of the room to his left. His head spun around to identify the perpetrator.
"Emma, what the hell! You got it all over me!" shouted Jasmine Peterson, Emma's partner. Figuring that he should do something about this he strutted over to the responsible party and found Emma Dobbs smiling, as if maybe she purposely over stirred. The content of the potion was all over her and the area around her.
"Dobbs, I told you to pay attention. Since it seems you can't comply, I think you will have to serve a detention tonight," he suggested, smirking. Now he had someone to put new labels on all the bottles.
"What would you ladies like to drink this afternoon?" Madam Rosemerta asked Hermione and Ginny as they took their seats at the Three Broomsticks. The pub was quite empty compared to the usual Hogsmeade weekend visits from Hogwarts they had spent there. Many folks did not leave their homes in the cold to eat lunch, and the students were packed away at the school.
"We'll have two butterbeers, please," Ginny answered for the both of them. The woman left to fill their orders and the girls began their conversation.
"So, Ginny, you've told me about life with a baby, but how are things with Harry?" Hermione inquired of her friend.
"Harry? Oh, things are wonderful. He keeps my needs satisfied like none other," she replied sarcastically.
"So, there is something wrong." which came out more as a statement than a question.
"It's not Harry. It is me, I suppose. I expect too much from him, and I know that he is a working man, " Ginny began, "but you would think he could just take a little time out of the week—even the month--so that we could have some family time."
"I see." She nodded her head as if she were Ginny's shrink.
"And, he doesn't spend time with his son. This is the first time in I don't know how long since Harry has had responsibility for James. Granted, the other times, I was there to fix the situation in case anything went wrong."
"He never wants to do anything when he gets home. All he wants is to eat and go to bed. It's not fair!" Ginny's face was beginning to turn red out of anger. To Hermione it looked as if she was going crazy. If she only knew the thoughts that were going through Ginny's mind. It's not fair. Why can't I be with Draco? "We never even have sex!"
"Ginny, calm down. I didn't mean for you to get this upset," she consoled the other girl, who was at the edge of crying. A couple of people in the room had turned and looked at them when Ginny had yelled that last line and slammed her fist on the table.
Ginny was busy taking deep breaths when Madam Rosemerta came back to their table carrying their drinks.
"Sorry, it took so long. Had to unpack some, so this is fresh."
"Thank you," they said. Apparently the woman was unaware of Ginny's condition as she took the girls lunch orders before leaving again.
"Ginny, I'm sorry. I'm sure Harry doesn't mean to do this to you. You know how dim-witted he is a lot of times."
"I don't know how to tell him how I feel. I don't want to leave him, for all of ours sake, but he needs to either be there or not, because we can't go on as a family like this. Merlin, people always say that the first few years of marriage are easy."
"Maybe you need to give him some time. He is just trying to adjust to this new life."
"It doesn't take a year to get used to this new life," she hissed, folding her arms. She had only taken one sip of her butterbeer and it seemed she was going to sit there and pout.
"Do you want me to talk to him for you? I can't bear to see you like this. He doesn't even know that he is doing anything wrong."
"Yeah, you can talk to him. After all, you are his best friend," Ginny sighed. Maybe if somebody else told him what was going on he would get the picture and change his ways. Ginny already knew that Harry talked to Hermione about everything—even things he didn't tell her.
The girls finished their butterbeer and lunch before heading to the bookstore. While Hermione was busy directing movers and designers, Ginny fished through a box of romance novels. After finding one that looked interesting, she plopped down in an armchair that was just brought in. Hours passed and she was engulfed in the book, not taking notice to the reshaping of her surrounding. Finally everyone left and Hermione fell into the chair across for her with an exhausted expression on her face.
"Thanks for waiting here for me. You could have gone back to the school, though."
"I didn't want to steal this book," Ginny said, glancing away from the page she was reading to look at Hermione.
"Oh. Well, I wouldn't have minded," Hermione shrugged.
"It's alright. I didn't really want to risk running into somebody at the school, again."
"Who? Malfoy?" she responded, with a curious bearing. Ginny didn't reply with words, but instead Hermione noticed her friend scowl at the name.
"Has he been bothering you?" she posed the question, shaking her head in mere disgust. "I swear, some people never change."
"Yeah, I suppose."
"I am ready to drop any second now. I think I am going to head back to the castle."
"I'm going to go over to the pub and have a drink before I come back."
"Alright. See you later. Don't have too much now, okay."
"I won't," she smiled, mostly at the naiveness of the other woman.
Draco walked into the Three Broomsticks, ready for a night of drinking to drown his sorrows away. He only participated in this ritual once in a while, and he hadn't had a real strong drink in what seemed like ages. Too bad there wasn't any clubs with naked girls around Hogwarts. Apparating to Knockturn Alley was always an option, but it was too risky, considering his past.
At the bar he was not surprised to see his favorite redhead knocking back shots of who knows what. It looked to him as if she was here for the same reason as himself. Deciding to have a little fun, he insouciantly sat down at the bar next to her. When she realized who had just stolen the seat beside her, she rolled her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned him bitterly.
"I came here to have a drink. Isn't that why most people come here?" he replied snidely.
"Are you following me?"
"It depends. Are you happy to see me?" he asked, eyeing her as if he were attempting to read her.
"Well, yes and no," she started, thinking about it. She noticed his smirk and exclaimed as if she came to a realization. "Wait, no! I am not, in fact, happy to see you. You are going to make me cheat on Harry!"
"Oh, here we go again. Always putting Potter first. You know, I give up. You are never going to see what is best for you. And as for cheating on him, it is too late for that."
"You are so…I don't know the word, but it is driving me crazy!"
"Is the word "sexy"? I have been known to drive people crazy with my sexiness."
"Shut up," she scowled.
"Ginny, dear. I understand that you just want to be friends, and I am willing to except that," he said in a sugary tone.
"Cut the crap, Draco. We both know that it is either friends or not friends. I can't just be friends with you after…"
"After spending countless nights making love to me?"
"Yes. Now if you don't mind, I have to go before I do something incredibly stupid, again."
"What about your drinks? You're not going to leave me to pay the tab."
"Fine, I am going to down the rest of this alcohol and then go to my room and go to sleep. And when I wake up in the morning I am going to go home to my family."
"Okay, whatever you say," he said, turning away from her and to the bar to order his drink.