Cherish


Chapter Two--Unexpected


Written by PWR

Sunlight cascaded through the window, into a small, well furnished bedroom. The room, which was usually dark, due to the dim lighting in the entire residence building, lit up considerably. If anyone had decided to take a walk past this particular building, press their nose against the glass, they would be able to see the entire content of the room.

If such a thing happened, one would see a small, mahogany dresser set in the corner of the room. The two small book cases pushed against the wall, would be clearly visible. Just as the small, scrubby wooden table, which was sitting in the opposite corner of the room. The actual surface of the table was hidden underneath piles of quills, inkbottles, pamphlets, and other trinkets. In the final corner of the room was a bed. The bed took up most of the space of the room, but it was large and welcoming.

Lying flat on her stomach was a small, redhead who had the bed sheets pulled up over her head. Ginny Weasley hated the mornings. She had always struggled to get up in the morning, due to the late nights she often worked at the Ministry of Magic.

"Ginny, it's time to get up!"

Ginny groaned, burying her face deep in her pillow, trying to block out all noise disturbing her sleep. Of course, it was really no use. Once Draco realized that she was still in bed, he pestered her until she was up and out the door. He was much too persistent for his own good.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up!" she said, her voice muffled from the pillow. Yet she made absolutely no attempt to move a muscle, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend. "Hey!" exclaimed Ginny sharply, as Draco suddenly yanked her bed sheets off of her and pulled the pillow out from underneath her head. She opened her eyes blearily, to see him dump the bedding onto a vacant chair.

As usual, he was dressed for the day, and looking as if he had been up for hours already. He tossed her crème colored dressing gown over to her, before heading out of the bedroom once again.

"It's seven-fifty," he called out from another room. "You've got ten minutes."

"Damn," muttered Ginny, grabbing her robe, as she finally stepped out of bed.

X.X.X

"Coffee," she ordered around five minutes later, when she hurried into the small kitchen in her apartment. Draco was sitting at the table, reading the prophet, something that he did every morning. Ginny found the habit humorous, as he had never been remotely interested in the news when he first moved in. She was proud to say that she was rubbing off on him, something which he would never admit.

"You know," he said, as he turned the page of the paper, his voice full of mild amusement. "You've got to buy yourself an alarm clock. I don't enjoy wasting my precious early hours on you."

"You cold-hearted person," joked Ginny, rolling her eyes at him. "Coffee," she added, a bit impatiently.

"On the table," said Draco, without looking up from his paper.

He left for work around nine, something which Ginny envied greatly. Ginny walked over to the table, picking up the steaming cup of coffee, which she drank every morning to wake herself up. Leaning against the counter, she quickly downed most of the coffee, her chocolate brown eyes fixed on the clock.

"Well I'm off," announced Ginny, as set her mug back down on the table; she had three minutes left. Ginny was about to head back into the bedroom to get her coat, when Draco grabbed her by the wrist. She turned around looking at him in curiosity, for he had abandoned his paper, something which hardly ever happened.

"Happy birthday."

X.X.X

"Aw, if it isn't our little birthday girl," cried Molly Weasley, embracing her only daughter in a bone crushing hug. Ginny smiled lightly at her mother's behavior.

Ever since she had moved out of the Burrow and into her flat with Draco, her parents had been treating her as if they had been apart for several years. When Ginny asked them about their new demeanor they often covered it up by saying, how they missed seeing their youngest child everyday. But the real reason was obvious; her parents completely disapproved of Draco.

They felt that he wasn't good enough for her and they had never been able to accept the fact that he had changed, not entirely, but enough to turn his back on his family's beliefs. And of course, they were worried for her. They didn't trust him; nobody in her family did. That was made perfectly clear from the first time that they saw the two together.

"Now Molly, let the girl catch her breath," said Arthur Weasley chuckling, as his wife reluctantly let Ginny withdraw from the embrace.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but this is your nineteenth birthday. My, my, my you are growing up so fast." Ginny watched as her mother smiled sadly, before stepping back to get a good look at her.

"Malfoy."

Ginny turned her head as she heard her father greet Draco, who had been standing awkwardly by the door. He had never been fully comfortable with her family, or her childhood home. Draco shook hands with her father, greeting him politely, as her mother pursed her lips.

"Ginny!" The voice of Hermione Granger reached her ears and before she knew it, Ginny was trapped in yet another bone crushing hug. "I've missed you. Happy birthday!" Ginny rolled her eyes, pulling out of the older girl's grasp.

"I saw you last weekend," Ginny reminded her friend, laughing slightly for Hermione smiled in embarrassment.

"Yes I know, but ever since--" she eyed Draco with emphasis, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"Everything is fine, I'm fine, we're great," said Ginny honestly, pulling Hermione by the arm, so they were a bit farther away from Draco, and her father. "Really, you need to relax about everything." Hermione sighed deeply, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, nodding slowly.

"I know, but it's going to take some time for all of us, to get used to."

"You've had over a year," said Ginny, smirking at her flustered friend.

"Yes, well, it's going to take some more time," said Hermione.

"Where is Ron?" inquired Ginny, frowning as she noticed that Hermione had arrived alone. That hardly ever happened now days, seeing as her brother and friend were engaged, both finally ready to accept their newfound relationship.

"He's coming soon," Hermione told her. "He just said he had to go take care of something. He was rather rushed and excited about it."

"What was it?" inquired Ginny curiously.

"I actually don't know," said Hermione frowning lightly.

.X.X.X.

All of Ginny's family had arrived at the Burrow to celebrate her nineteenth birthday, with the exception of Percy. Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, and George, were all wandering around the house, for Ron was running late. Her parents plainly refused to start the celebrations without her youngest brother, so Ginny stood impatiently with Draco, as all of her brothers refused to strike up a conversation with him.

"You owe me," he muttered, his pale grey eyes scanning the room distastefully.

"It's my birthday," she pointed out. "You have to come, it's an unwritten obligation."

"Hm," he grunted, leaning against the wall. "And I wish your brothers would stop staring." His tone was getting clipped, as he fought to keep his temper down.

"You could just t--" Ginny stopped in the middle of her word, for she heard the door knob rustle; Ron was finally here. It had taken him long enough. Her tall, red haired brother stepped into the room in a moment's time, his eyes dancing.

"It took you long enough!" exclaimed Ginny. "What were you do--"

For the second time that evening, Ginny had stopped in the middle of her words. After Ron had stepped over the threshold, another person emerged, a familiar tall, dark haired someone.

Ginny stepped away from Draco, getting closer towards the door. She could feel her heart pounding and a her face suddenly felt hot. She had dreamed of this moment, she had thought about this day for two years, and yet, she could have never felt so unprepared.

Hesitantly she took a step closer, her brown eyes abruptly meeting a pair of emerald green; Harry Potter had reappeared once again in her life, he was standing right in front of her.

"Happy birthday, Ginny."