: ) Thanks for the awesome reviews, I love you guys! So, welcome back to all of you who've read/reviewed Inner Turmoil, and welcome to all you newbies who haven't. It's cool, whatever. Ummm...Oh yeah, many, many more OC's in this chapter, as it's a flash-forward. Twelve years, to be precise...just so you're ready.
Tell me if/that you like the kids (I'm a little wary about introducing them, cause I really really want you guys to like them...and I'm not sure I explained them well enough...ah, well. there'll be another note at the end helping you out in that respect.)
Chapter One, New Beginnings
"Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill.
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
just one more time.
Some will win, some will lose,
Some were born to sing the blues.
Oh, the movie never ends,
It goes on, and on, and on, and on..." -'Don't Stop Believin', Journey
"Mom! I'm home!" Ginny heard a familiar voice yell from the doorway of the diner. She looked up and saw Mike standing there, just like he always had. He'd grown so much over the last year. She ran over and gave him a hug, and he picked her up and spun her around.
"Mike!" She squealed, "I can't believe you're back! We missed you! Wow, so how was your freshman year at college? I can't believe it's already over. Here, have a seat, want a soda or something?" Mike chuckled good-naturedly,
"Naw, Gin. I'm cool. Where's Mom?" Ginny decided to ignore him and get him a glass of water anyway.
"Draco!" she called back into the kitchen, "Mike's home!" She wandered back to his barstool and sat next to him.
"Your Mom's at home, getting ready for your homecoming, didn't you see her?" Mike laughed out loud,
"No, actually, I came here first."
" Of course he did," Said a voice from behind them. Ginny turned around to see Draco smirking.Mike stood up and the two men embraced. "So how's college?" Draco asked, pulling up a chair.
"It wasgreat," Mike smiled, "But I'm glad to be home. Where's everyone else? I practically haven't seen Jules since she was born." Ginny smiled and looked inquiringly at Draco.
"Yeah, where are our daughters?" She said casually, poking his arm.
"Alright, alright. They're in the back playing, I'll go get them." He smiled and stood up. He gave Mike one last look-over. "It's good to have you back, mate." And he disappeared through a door that led to the kitchen.
A few seconds later a squealing flash of white flew out, and practically straight into Mike's leg.
"UNCLE MIKE!" The little girl cried.
"Hey there, you!" He said, picking up the little girl and sitting her on his knee. "How are you?" She grinned up at him as Draco came out with another little girl in his arms, this one only about a year old.
"I'm good." She said, still grinning. "Are you home for good this time?" She asked curiously. He chuckled.
"For the whole summer, chickadee." She squealed again and threw her arms around his neck. "Hey there, little one!" he said, sticking his hand out to the little girl in Draco's arms. She looked at it wearily and hid her face in her father's shoulder. "Aw, come on. Don't you remember your Uncle Mike?" Mike asked and Draco chuckled,
"Give her a few days to warm up to you, she's just feeling shy today."
"So, Izzy," Mike began, looking at the little girl on his lap. "It's been so long since I've seen you! How old are you now?" She giggled, as if he'd just made the funniest joke ever.
"Uncle Mike! You know I'm four! You were at my birthday party, 'member? I had a horsey!"
"Oh, that's right, that's right...I think I remember that..." Mike said, stroking his chin. Ginny grinned at the display, she'd missed Mike over the past year. She surveyed his condition and, like any Weasley woman, decided he was too thin. So she got up and started bustling around, gathering pastries and bagels on a plate.
"What're you doing?" Mike asked her, as Izzy tried to jump up onto his back.
"Isabelle," Draco said warningly, "be careful."
"I am, Daddy!" She said sincerely, still jumping up and down, practically smacking Mike in the head.
"You're too thin," Ginny interjected. "You've always been too thin. You've gotta eat. Although, I do have half a mind to send you home to your mother before she comes storming in here and realizes that you came to say hello to us before going home." Ginny smirked at the thought, it would drive Mia nuts, but it really was pretty funny that he hadn't thought to look at his own house...
"Cut the kid a break, Red," Draco smiled, "he's spent more time here over the yearsthan we have." Ginny grinned widely, bringing a large tray of simple foods to the small crowd. She went back to the counter and took a pot of coffee, refilling everyone's cups before returning to her family.
"So where's the rest of the gang?" Mike asked as he finally grabbed Izzy's waist and swung her up on his shoulders. She squealed in delight and held locks of his hair in her small fists.
"Eat." Ginny commanded.
"What? C'mon, I'm just as big as he is!" Mike protested, pointing at Draco.
"Just because you two are unnaturally thin doesn't mean you shouldn't eat."
"We're not unnaturally thin," Mike protested, "We're just lean." Draco smirked at her and they all laughed.
"The rest of the gang should be getting out of school any time now. I swear, they had better wait for Alex..." Ginny said, looking out of the window for the rest of her children. Julia was squirming in her father's arms now, seemingly bored with the goings-on of the diner. Ginny smiled and reached for her youngest, taking her from Draco. "C'mere, baby," she cooed. Julia looked up, but still struggled against her mother's grasp. Ginny put her on her hip and bounced her up and down, talking to her about Mike and what was happening.
"How about I take these two out for a walk, and you two can either stay here and catch up, or - heaven forbid - Draco could get back to work and you could visit your mother." Ginny giggled, trying to keep ahold of a very unhappy Julia, who was beginning to whimper.
"Yes, dear," Draco sighed dramatically. They all laughed, and Mike dropped Izzy back onto the floor.
"Come on, Izzy, we're goin down to the beach." Izzy squealed and ran towards the door.
"Bye, Uncle Mike!"
"Later, Izzy," he smiled. The three girls walked out, leaving Draco and Mike to tend to the customers. Ginny walked her daughters down to the water's edge, marveling at the number of people who'd already come down for their summer vacations.
She let Julia down, and the two little girls shrieked as they splashed about. Ginny sat down beside them, not caring about getting her jeans wet. She thought about Mike, and how tall he'd grown. He'd gone off to college and come back almost a foot taller. It didn't look like he'd gained any weight, either. She smiled as she remembered the first time she heard him run into the diner, announcing school was over - he was six, and she'd just arrived in New Jersey. She couldn't believe that was twelve years ago, or the changes that had taken place since then. She was a mother now, a mother of five. She shook her head a giggled - five. She'd always wanted a lot of kids, but she'd never imagined herself in this life. She and Draco had been living as Muggles ever since they left England, and had succeeded admirably, in her opinion. He cooked for Harrison's diner, which Mia owned, and Ginny sort of...picked up loose ends. She was a waitress, hostess, busboy, anything Mia needed. Mia had been more than kind to them, and Ginny couldn't believe how far they'd all come...
She watched Izzy and Julia splash around, without a care in the worldand realized that by the time she got them dry, showered and cleaned up, it'd be dinnertime, so she called them back.
"We have to head back, girls," She said, going for Julia. Julia was not at all happy to be leaving the playful waves, and made sure her mother realized that.
"Aw, Mooommm, do we haaave to?" Izzy whined.
"I'm sorry, Izzy, but don't you want to see Uncle Mike and Aunt Mia? We'll probably have a special dinner tonight because he's home." This seemed to focus Izzy's mind on the upcoming celebration, and she willingly followed her mother back to their house.
After much fuss, andmore splashed water, Izzy and Julia were clean. Ginny quickly changed, throwing her dirty clothes in the hamper, and took the girls back to the diner.
"There they are!" Mia exclaimed. Izzy's face brightened again, and she ran towards her aunt.
"Mommy took me and Julia to the beach, Aunt Mia!" She exclaimed as Mia picked her up in a hug.
"Oh really, and did you have fun?" Mia asked, giggling. Izzy nodded fervently, and started talking about how she'd played with her little sister, giving everyone who would listen to her a play-by-play action of what had taken place. Ginny looked around and noticed Damon and Emma, who were eleven, talking to their Uncle Mike off to the side. She didn't, however, see her younger son, Alex, or Draco anywhere. She left Julia with Mia and wandered off to find them.
She went into the kitchen first, and sure enough, they were in there. Draco was grilling something, and Alex was just sitting by, watching his dad with a sulky expression on his face.
Ginny walked up next to Draco and started talking in a low voice so Alex couldn't hear.
"Uh oh..." she began, "they didn't wait for him, did they?" Draco didn't take his eyes off the cheesburgers he was making, but tensed and shook his head.
"No, they didn't." He said stiffly. Ginny gave him a confused expression, but he didn't reply. She thought she might have better luck with her son. His hair might not have been as red as a Weasley's, but she couldn't help but think he looked exactly like Ron when he sulked...
"Hey," she said softly, squatting down so she was eye level with the sitting boy. "You ok?" He just folded his arms and stared straight ahead. He may have looked like Ron, but his attitude was all Draco today.
"It's not fair." He huffed, as he began to pout.
"Alexander," Draco said firmly, "Now is not the time." Now Ginny was really confused. "We'll talk about it after dinner, alright?" Ginny looked from Alex to Draco and back, trying to figure out what was going on. Damon and Emma had left Alex at school countless times over the year - they were fifth graders, and he was a first grader -she couldn't understand why today upset him so much. He usually sulked about it, and was fine ten minutes later. It had almost become a weekly ritual.
Ginny knew that the best thing to do with Draco when he got like this was to leave him alone for awhile, then come back later when he'd calmed down, so she figured she'd handle his son the same way. She left them alone and walked out of the kitchen.
"Anyone ready for dinner? Looks like Draco's almost done in there," Ginny chirped, looking at the reunion in front of her. Mia and Mike had pushed a few tables together so it was large enough for the Malfoy family, and Ginny sat down.
After a few minutes of chatting, Alex and Draco emerged from the kitchen with a few plates of food. Draco dropped one off at a nearby table before bringing the rest to their table.
The nine of them enjoyed the rest of their dinner animatedly, talking about Mike's first year in college, Alex's first year in elementary school, Damon and Emma's last year at elementary school, and Izzy's last year of preschool. It had been an eventful year.
As Draco started passing out dessert, Mike stood up and tapped on his plate of cake with his fork. The entire table stopped talking and looked up at him as he grinned.
"I'd like to make a toast," snickers were heard throughout the diner as he held his dessert plate high. "On my chocolate cake. It's been one he--"
"I'm sure you mean 'happy'," Ginny said warningly. He nodded his head and tried to supress his laughter.
"Absolutely. It's been a happy year. A crazy and eventful year. A year to remember!"
"Get to the point!" Draco smirked.
"Alright, alright. 'Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end'. So here's to family, friends, and new beginnings!" Mike said, his fork finally diving into his chocolate cake as he took his seat. Everyone else, including all of the children except Julia, raised their forks to him, and said,
"Here, here!"
"That's my son!" Mia exclaimed, barely able to control her laughter. A few minutes later, Draco stood up and began to clear away plates and dirty dishes.
"Draco, what are you doing?" Ginny asked. "We barely just started dessert!"
"Red, we need to go home." He said seriously.
"What? But you told Mia you'd lock up tonight since Mike was coming home!"
"I know, but we need to talk." He said, all too tensely. Ginny smirked,
"What have I told you about that phrase?"
"Red, I'm serious." He stated. She looked up at him and shifted uncomfortably, he really was upset about something.
"Well, at least let Izzy finish her cake."
"She can finish it at home." He said, moving away to get a few boxes.
"What's going on?" Mia asked from across the table. Ginny looked at her with a confused expression.
"I'm not really sure..." She answered honestly. Draco came back with a few styrofoam boxes, and Ginny started packing up the leftover cake on her childrens' plates.
"Draco, what's going on?" Mia asked, sobering from the emotional high she was on. Ginny glanced from her best friend to her husband, unsure of what to do. She decided to start putting Julia's booster seat away.
"Come on, sweetie." She cooed as she picked Julia up and worked to clean up a little bit.
"Mia, something's come up." Draco said seriously. "Is there any way you can close up for me tonight?"
"And we're sorry about this." Ginny said through gritted teeth, more towards Draco than Mia.
"Yes, I'm really sorry about this." He said unhappily as he continued to clear things away. Ginny looked around at her family,
"Come on, kids, we have to go home now. Say goodbye to Uncle Mike and Aunt Mia." She expected a lot of moaning and groaning from all of them, but Damon's eyes widened as Alex sulked, Izzy was the only one who whined at all. Emma just sucked it up and said goodnight to her aunt and uncle. Ginny got even more confused, because Emma and Damon were incredibly headstrong kids, who both loved chocolate cake...
Draco ushered all six of them out and down the street. They walked the few blocks back to their house and went inside.
"Kids, go put on your pajamas and brush your teeth." Draco commanded. He took Julia from Ginny's arms and started to walk off towards the children's bedrooms.
"What!" Emma exclaimed, "But it's only..." she searched for a clock, and found one on the table a few feet away from her. "6:30!" Draco whirled around to face his daughter.
"Emma," He said seriously, "Once you're in your nightgown you can come back to the living room and watch TV, but you will do as you're told." They stared each other down, Ginny almost burst out laughing at how alike they were, until finally Emma stalked off to her bedroom. Damon followed her, surprisingly quiet, and the rest walked off.
Ginny was left, standing in the entrance to their house, confused and out of the loop. She wondered what possibly could have happened to make Draco so upset - the last time he'd acted like that was last year, when Alex had broken his arm playing soccer in the rain. She wandered into the kitchen and made a pot of tea, figuring that, even if it was June, it would calm everyone down just a little bit. She set up the DVD player in their large living room, and put The Lion King in.
Soon enough, the kettle whistled and her kids started meandering into the living room. Ginny set out a small bowl of Chex Mix as a bedtime snack, and put a handful of juice boxes on the coffee table.
Once everyone was back and situated, she started the movie and sat down at the kitchen table with Draco. The kitchen was open, and led into the living room, so she could watch all five kids from her seat at the table. She poured two cups of tea and looked at him with questioning eyes. He looked up at her, and she noticed how harried and worn he looked, how old. He sighed and pulled a few pieces of battered paper out of his pocket and threw them onto the table with unnecessary nonchalance. It was almost as if he were hopeless...
Ginny began to get very worried about him, but figured whatever was bothering him had to do with these papers. There were three, and they were envelopes. On two were the names of each of the twins, 'Damon Lucas Malfoy,' and 'Emma Grace Malfoy' but the third was adressed to 'Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy'. Ginny's heart stopped as she turned the envelopes over to see the broken Hogwarts seals on all of them and she immediately dropped them and put her hands to her mouth.
"Oh my God..." she gasped. Her mind flew into a whirlwind - how did they know? How did they know where to send the letters, the names of the children...that Draco and Ginny were together? After a few moments, Ginny managed to squeak out one question.
"How could they possibly have known?" She whispered breathlessly. Her hands began to tremble and she couldn't pick up her cup of tea. Draco hadn't touched his yet, he was leaning back in his chair angrily. After she spoke, he rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"I don't know. Accidental magic...sometime over the years and were spotted. I don't know how we missed it..." He shook his head and leaned forward, putting his face in his hands. "Red, I don't know what to do." He said honestly. "Read the one to us."
She opened the envelope addressed to them and saw very familiar writing - it almost made her cry.
Dear Draco and Ginny,
It has been quite a long time, my old students. I know you are probably wondering how I knew where you were. You see, your children have had a few magical accidents over the years that were recorded at the Ministry of Magic in America. When investigated, and they found out who you were, I was alerted for specifically this reason.
Although Damon and Emma have spaces at Salem Academy in Massachusettes, I have reserved them spaces here, at Hogwarts if you would like them to attend. There are many people who would like to hear from you again. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone anything, although I do believe Professor Weasley has her suspicions. You have been missed over the years, by all who knew you, myself included.
If you do not wish your children to attend Hogwarts, that is entirely acceptable, but I urge you to not ignore their gifts. We would all love for you to return, but I can understand that you left for a reason. I mailed these letters a few months early so that you could have time to discuss it and come to a decision in your own time. Please accept my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience or discomfort these letters may cause, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Ginny must have read the letter ten times over before letting it flutter back onto the table. Her hands were still trembling and she couldn't find anything to say.
"Merlin..."she muttered. "What are we going to do? How could we not have...thought about this?" She said, beginning to get frantic about the situation.
"I was kind of hoping they were Squibs." Draco said bluntly. Under any other circumstances, Ginny would have giggled, but this situation was far from funny.
"Draco," she chided.
"What? That would make this all a lot easier." They slipped into silence as they stared at the three letters on the table, Ginny mulling over their options. There were three: ignore them, send the kids to Massachusettes, or...go back.
If they ignored them, that would be the end of it, but they'd be denying their kids a piece of themselves - a large piece. Ginny and Draco were both from well known pureblooded families, and their children deserved to know. If they sent them to Salem Academy, they'd find out about the war that was probably over by now, about the famous Harry Potter and his brave friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. And they'd know. They'd know that their mother's name was Weasley, and they'd connect the dots. But if they returned to England, to Hogwarts, they'd have to deal with everyone from their past, everything they left behind...
"Well, the way I see it," Ginny began, with more confidence than she had, "we can ignore them, send them to Massachusettes, or go back."
"Very astute observations." Draco sneered.
"Draco, stop it. Right now. I'm just as excited about this as you are --"
"I doubt it." Ginny was beginning to get inredibly angry, and she had to constantly remind herself that he was just as scared and unhappy as she was.
"Look, we need to discuss this rationally. We need to figure out...what to do." Ginny didn't know what to think, let alone what to do. Draco just huffed for a few minutes, and then sighed, defeated.
"I don't know what to do..." He began slowly, sounding hopeless, "if we send them to Massachusettes..."
"They'll find out about us."
"And if we send them to Hogwarts..."
"They'll find out about us."
"But if we just ignore the letters..."
"Draco, we have to tell them. They deserve to know, to be a part of this decision." She urged him to see logic and rationality, but part of her knew better than to introduce logic to an angry Malfoy. Of any age.
"No." He said firmly. "We'll decide what's best, and if that involves not telling them, then so be it."
"Drop this ridiculous attitude and act like a rational adult. We aren't Muggles, and we aren't teenagers anymore! We have more people to think about! They're eleven years old, for crying out loud, they're not infants!"
"They're too young to understand the circumstances. All they'll see is a world of magic versus a world without it, and as an idealistic eleven year old, which would you choose?" He spoke seriously, and they stared each other down. Ginny sighed and leaned back, looking out into the living room at her children.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, and the sound of the TV made it's way to Ginny's ears. She watched the scene unfold, Rafiki chasing after Simba, then hitting him on the head.
"What was that for?" Simba asked incredulously.
"It doesn't matter! It's in the past!" Rafiki exclaimed.
"Well, yeah, but it still hurts..."
"Ah, yes. The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it."
Ginny may never have been able to idetify fate before as it was happening, but she knew that their pause in conversation at that exact scene was no accident. She looked back at Draco pointedly, and he just glared at the television.
He stood up and stormed out of the room, spilling some of his tea.
"Kids, bedtime." He barked as he turned off the movie. He ushered them all out, despite their protests about the movie not being over. "You all know how it ends, and you can watch it tomorrow at the diner." He finally got them all out of the room, and Ginny cleaned up their mess. She left the letters on the table as she went to read her children a few stories and kiss them goodnight.
When she got to her bed later on, Draco wasn't speaking. He wasn't just not speaking to her, he wasn't speaking at all. He had a piece of paper and a pen in hand, and he kept scribbling things down. She was too tired to ask, and she figured they both needed time to think this over, to mull it over individually before collabortaing and making a decision. So she left him to his own inner workings, and tried to fall asleep...
"Hey, Draco?" She said quietly, rolling over to face him. He looked at her with weary eyes, and raised his eyebrows in response. "I love you." She said quietly. He sighed and leaned in, kissing her forehead lightly.
"I love you, too, Red." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and she just watched him fall asleep.
Twelve years is a long time to be running from your past. Five kids is a lot to have hidden from the world. She didn't know what to do. Part of her just wanted to stay in New Jersey, at the diner, and let the kids go to Muggle schools, grow up and live as Muggles. It had worked for twelve years, she and Draco had made this place their home...She was trying to see the downside to that option...
: ) Alright, so did you like that? Did you catch all the little information? I sure hope so.
Here's the info on the kids...
Damon and Emma are twins, age 11. Both look strikingly like Draco, with white-blond hair, but brown eyes. Alexander is next, age 7, and he's got strawberry blond hair, blue eyes. Next comes everyone's favorite ex-toddler, Isabelle (Izzy for short), age 4, with white-blond hair and blue eyes (I know a little girl, who I swear to GOD could be Draco Malfoy's daughter. She's hysterical, I'll try and find a picture of her to show you, but that's who Izzy's modeled after.) Then comes Julia, last but not least, at just a year old. She's got strawberry blond hair, like Alex, and brown eyes. Yaaaay. I know their birthdays, too, if you're curious, lol. November, July, March, and January. In case you were curious.
Well, leave a nice review!