A/N: Hi guys, I'm sorry this chapter was a bit late but it took more time than I expected it to. Also, I have to admit I'm not a fan of too much dialogue but this chapter is mainly based on Hermione and Ginny talking together so an extremely long dialogue is inevitable. I hope I got it right. :)
Hermione was jumping two steps at a time. When she was close enough she almost knocked Ginny to the floor, hugging her as if her life depending on it. They sat down on the nearest sofa.
"Alright, first things first, are you actually pregnant?" Hermione studied Ginny from head to toe, knowing the answer for her question already.
"As pregnant as it gets." Ginny nodded.
"Zabini..Blaise Zabini..out of the entire male population, Ginny?" Hermione asked.
"It's a long story, pretty complicated too." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Oh I have time, lots of it. So maybe start by telling me for the love of Merlin what were you thinking!" Hermione exclaimed
Ginny glanced over Hermione shoulder and Hermione looked back to find Malfoy standing there witnessing their conversation.
"Would I be pushing my luck too far if I told you to leave us alone?' Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.
"Far, but not too far." Draco inclined his head slightly before going back to his room.
"Where do I start?" Ginny looked up for a minute trying to sort her thoughts out. "You see, things have become very different ever since you..left."
"Skip that part I've already heard it several times now. What made you do it Ginny?" Hermione rested her hand on Ginny's arm and looked at her sympathetically
"Were you forced?" she asked.
"No...not really. I had very little other options yes, but I wasn't exactly forced...not me." Ginny smiled weakly.
"What do you mean not you?" Hermione looked puzzled.
"I mean..I think I was the one who..sort of forced Blaise into this." Ginny clarified.
"I'm really trying to convince myself that I'm mishearing things because I hit my head." Hermione closed her eyes.
"Alright, first I want to tell you how everybody is doing." Ginny said "Charlie is confined to Romania; he's not allowed to come back here neither are we allowed to at least owl him. Our post is under surveillance. However, we hear from him sometimes. Every once in a while, when one of his colleagues is here in England he passes by to let us know he's okay." she informed. Hermione nodded silently at her.
"Percy tried to find a job at the ministry but we aren't allowed such jobs because they...doubt our loyalty" Ginny snorted. "He was becoming more frustrated everyday, he would fight with dad almost every hour and I started losing my ability to put an end to their fights, eventually he said he was leaving and he did." she frowned "We don't know whether he managed to ever leave England or..or got killed while trying to escape, we don't know yet but we never heard from him, that was 3 years ago."
"Then there's Bill and Fleur. They fled the country right after the war, before the restriction orders against our family were made so the Death Eaters are still trying to track them. Mum is with them, we had to physically force her onto Bill's broomstick; she was so reluctant to leave. They went to France first but then the French Death Eaters found them, they had a fight and Fleur was injured but they managed to escape." Ginny said.
"The..French Death Eaters?" Hermione repeated.
"Yes, there are some of them everywhere now." Ginny nodded.
"When I was in Germany I found some, that was the reason I couldn't stay there. There weren't any in Australia, though." Hermione looked distracted as she remembered her memories in the different countries.
"You went to Germany..and Australia? How?" Ginny frowned in bewilderment.
"Muggle ways, they were much easier than risking being caught if I tried to apparate or fly. It wasn't very easy, though; I lost my passport so..." Hermione started to explain but stopped when Ginny's frown deepened. "Just some Muggle stuff, never mind them. Continue." she waved her hand indifferently.
"So, Bill, Fleur and mum escaped to Egypt. But Bill was becoming suspicious of one of his colleagues and he decided not to risk being caught again. They moved to Morocco. Bill usually sends some news with any of his colleagues or one of Fleur's family members. We got news from them last month actually. They're doing fine, their Victoire is keeping mum busy but she's becoming so possessive of her and it's driving Fleur mad!" Ginny chuckled mischievously and Hermione couldn't help but grin back. She could definitely imagine Molly as a protective grandmother.
"And...umm..Ron, he.." Ginny mumbled fidgeting in her chair.
"No." Hermione raised her hand in a motion to stop her. "I know about Ron." she looked at her linked fingers as they lay idly in her lap. She knew all about Ron and how he was imprisoned right after the battle. They held a trial for him where he refused pledge loyalty to Voldemort and got killed as a result. Hermione had never been proud of her friend the way she was proud now, She smiled ruefully.
"All that was left was Dad, George and me. George had the best spirit, he continued his business but then he came up with this...this toy. It's some sort of a Jack In The Box. A skull shaped box, you tap it with your wand and a snake jumps out of it, wearing a hat similar to the one Peeves wore." Ginny smiled at the thought.
"He called it 'Mrs. Mordre' which obviously enraged you-know-who and his followers so they raided the shop and left it wrecked. George got injured, in his arm I think but he escaped from them."
"When I heard he was injured I was furious. I went directly to his shop but he had already escaped. Yet, some of the Death Eaters were still there. And I heard one of them bragging about how his curse hit George right in the arm." Ginny grimaced as her eyes gleamed with cold fury at the memory.
"I couldn't help it, so I stunned him...my curse hit him right in the chest." she smirked proudly.
"But they were six and I was one, they started attacking so I ran away. I didn't want to go back home so they won't hurt dad, so I started running around the streets aimlessly and they followed me. One of them attacked me and took my wand, and I realized that if I stopped and tried to take it back from him, then I'm definitely dead. So I ran away and hid in the nearest house, it was abandoned and filthy and I thought they won't search for me there...I was wrong." her mouth curved bitterly.
"I heard them enter the house and then footsteps were approaching the room I was in. I hid behind the curtain and wished for the best; I didn't have anywhere else to hide. Then somebody entered the room and he walked around a little before standing right in front of the curtain. He moved it and I found Blaise standing in front of me."Ginny took a deep breath as she remembered the panic that washed over her in that moment.
"I panicked and tried to punch him but he caught my hand and covered my mouth with his other hand. Somebody asked him if he had found something and he just said there was nothing in that room, turned around and left." she shook her head as if she still didn't believe what had happened. Hermione's mouth fell open and she angled her head down as she looked at Ginny.
"You think that's confusing? After they left, I decided I can't go back home in fear that they would be waiting for me so I decided to leave the house and try to find a wand since I was probably never getting my wand back. But when I went downstairs my wand was right there at the bottom of the stairs!" Ginny raised her hands up in a puzzled motion.
"I dressed myself in rags and tatters and left the house. I heard people talking about what happened, they said there was going to be a trial for the three of us then I realized they found George. I walked to our house and there seemed to be no Death Eaters around so I apparated inside. Dad was sitting by George's bed and they were talking about said trial." Ginny said.
"Dad said that if we wanted to survive the trial then we had to pretend. Deny any loyalty to Harry and claim we have given into the..new regime." Ginny grimaced in disgust. "Geroge and I were reluctant but we eventually agreed. But then Geroge told me he was going to run away after the trial, he knew where Dean Thomas was and was going to join him. He asked me not to tell Dad so he won't try to stop him." she added.
"But why would Geroge leave you in such circumstances?" Hermione asked after a while of silently listening and nodding.
"He wasn't trying to leave us out of fear, Hermione." Ginny shook her head "He was losing his patience, and when they wrecked the shop he had shared with Fred, it enraged him, He decided that he didn't want to feel helpless anymore so he was going to try and reach Dean and fight along with the rest of the insurgents." she explained.
"So then I did something really mad." Ginny bit her lower lip.
"Something, Ginny? Just one thing?" Hermione mocked.
"I went to see Blaise." Ginny said, ignoring Hermione's sarcasm.
"But why?" Hermione sighed in frustration.
"Well he did actually help me. He denied my existence and I'm pretty sure that wand didn't just fall from the other Death Eater's hand. Anyway, I thought that if he helped me once maybe he could help me twice. I wanted to leave with George and take dad with us. George was right, staying in such circumstances pointless, we needed to do something like the others were trying to." Ginny reasoned with Hermione
"So I went to his house and waited for him until he came back, it was a rather odd encounter actually_" Ginny frowned "_ we were holding wands against each other's throats." her mouth twisted.
"He refused to say why he helped me but he also said that this wasn't a real trial and whatever I said the result was still the same, I was going to receive a death sentence. The trial was only a cover to kill me without causing the other pure blood families to feel threatened. Then he said something that triggered all this, he said that unless I found a Death Eater generous enough to touch me then death was inevitable for me." Ginny said and it was Hermione's turn to grimace in disgust.
"I returned home that day to find that we received an owl from the ministry informing us of a trial within two days. Dad kept begging us to deny loyalty to Harry in the trial. He said we were the only family he had left and he...he cried." a pained expression crossed Ginny's face and her voice trailed off.
"When I went home that day I was thinking I wasn't afraid of death, but then I saw how dad was like and I realized he was only surviving all this because he had me and George. If something happened to us, I don't think he was going to survive any longer." her voice was barely audible as if she was speaking to herself.
"I thought that maybe if I died George would find more reasons to leave, and that would mean either leaving Dad behind or Dad trying to stop him which will eventually lead into the first option: leaving Dad behind. There were lots of other scenarios, but I couldn't fathom any of them. Honestly, I was almost sure George wasn't going to survive his planned escape. "Ginny shook her head as a shiver ran through her body.
"And what Blaise said kept echoing in my head; I knew what he meant, but I never thought about it. There's this law.." Ginny started to speak but Hermione interrupted her.
"Malfoy told me about it" Hermione said. "So you decided to throw yourself in hell willingly?" she added.
"Wouldn't you do the same for your own family?" Ginny asked.
"I think I would" Hermione conceded.
"I thought so." Ginny smiled briefly at Hermione "So, I have to admit part of why I chose Blaise was purely to get back at him. Some sort of, if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me." Ginny confided. "The other part was what he did in the abandoned house." she inclined her head.
"I then went to his house again and..umm..." Ginny looked down as she tucked her hair behind her ear "I..sort of..pounced on him." she stammered as color flooded her cheeks.
"Ginny!" Hermione gasped incredulously.
"I know! I'm not really proud of it, alright?" Ginny rolled her eyes and looked away.
"Anyway, after we...I mean..later on, he tried to catch me but I was faster than him. You know that quote about how girls with their skirts up are faster than boys with their trousers down?" Ginny grinned at her.
"Ginny! You've become really bawdy!" Hermione fought to maintain a serious expression.
"Come on, it was just a metaphor!" Ginny feigned innocence.
"So I ran away that day and payed dad a brief visit telling him that I was going to hide for a while. I couldn't tell him why but I think he trusted me enough to let me go. He had so much faith in me, he said he trusted that I was the only one who would never leave his side, and it only made me more determined on what I was doing." she said.
"I had to wait for 21 days until I could perform a pregnancy spell. Not the best days of my life, I have to admit." Ginny stood up and started to walk "Sitting down for a long time can be very irritating. " she explained when she saw Hermione looking at her in bewilderment.
"I think you already know how things went on from that point. I knew I was pregnant, I returned home and the next day there was a trial and...I guess Malfoy told you about that." Ginny shrugged. "Living with Blaise its up sides, though." she added.
"I'm sure he's great at small talk, is he a flowers and chocolate sort of guy too?" Hermione smiled innocently at Ginny.
"No he just looks like one." Ginny retorted playfully. "That's not the sort of up sides I was talking about. His owls aren't being inspected so I get to send letters to mum and Charlie every now and then. They seem to be able to get more information about the others." she clarified.
"Like around a week ago, I heard Blaise talking to somebody, they said they have found Neville in Australia and they were heading there to capture him. I sent an owl to Charlie and he managed to pass the news to Neville through the family of one of his colleagues who lived in Australia. If I didn't hear what Blaise said, they might have had Neville by now." Ginny's voice came out laced in pride.
"You know, Malfoy just offered me the same...situation." Hermione informed.
"And what did you say?" Ginny asked, seemingly not surprised by what Hermione just said.
"Seriously Ginny? Isn't the answer obvious? I declined of course." Hermione answered.
"Well, whatever your decision is, I want you to know I fully support you. " Ginny patted Hermione's shoulder. "But if you're going to leave make it soon because you've become some sort of a...prize. A lot of people are determined on finding you." she advised.
"I know, I'll try to leave England as soon as I could." Hermione nodded.
"Is there anything I could do to help?" Ginny asked eagerly.
"Well, I really need a wand." Hermione requested.
"A wand..yes..lots of Muggle-borns got their wands confiscated lately. I'm not sure if I can find you a decent one but I'll do my best." Ginny promised. "What are going to do after that?" she added.
"Same thing I've been doing for years. Try to survive." Hermione smiled briefly at her friend.
"I haven't said congratulations yet!" Hermione squealed when her eyes traced Ginny's hand as she pressed it against her belly.
"Despite everything, I'm really happy about it." Ginny's smile widened. She hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should say it but she eventually spoke "You know, I believe part of why I did that was because I was really desperate to be a mother. Do you know that feeling?"
Hermione's smile faltered, she did. She most definitely did know what wanting to be a mother felt like. She always had that dream and although it became impossible by every day, she never stopped thinking about it.
"I know. I'd love to be one myself. But not a Death Eater's mother." Hermione shook her head.
"Oh I won't be one. I won't raise a Death Eater. I will raise a future member of the Order." Ginny looked at Hermione with determined eyes.
"I really feel like I'm doing something at last. I've been idle for too long, doing absolutely nothing to help the order. Now with that new security I'm having, I'm much more useful for them. I don't think I've ever felt so optimistic since Harry had died." Ginny's smile faded at the memory of Harry, but she hid it quickly.
"Anyway, Malfoy told me he found you in Australia, were you seeing your parents?"
"Yes, I barely saw them but they seemed happy and that was good enough."
"And what have you been doing all those years?"
Hours had passed before Hermione was done recounting her unfortunate adventures in several countries. When she was finally done, Ginny excused herself saying she needed to see her dad and then get some rest. They said their goodbyes and Ginny pleaded with her not to leave without telling her where she was going and Hermione promised she would. Whether or not she could be able to keep her promise was still unknown to Hermione.
Her head felt like it had been set on fire. It was crowded with thoughts, conflicting and persistent ones. She was being pestered by her own thoughts and desperately needed a moment of peace. She ran back to the room before Malfoy could notice, entered the adjoined bathroom and closed the door behind her.
She watched the water flow as she deftly took off her clothes. When she stepped into the the bathtub she submerged her head under the water for as long as she could. Desperately, she willed all of Ginny's words out of her head as they kept echoing in it repeatedly.
A sharp knock on the door followed by another one snapped Hermione out of her trance. She looked at her fingers and they were wrinkled and she couldn't tell how long had she been napping there.
Hermione put on a bathrobe and opened the door to find Malfoy.
"I was starting to seriously consider bursting the door open" Draco admitted.
"Of course you were! How dare I not answer the door the minute you knock?" Hermione scowled at him.
"This was the tenth time I knock that door." Draco informed dryly.
"I didn't hear you." Hermione dismissed.
"I figured that out." he twisted his mouth at her sardonically "Ginevra stayed for quite a while." he remarked.
"We apologize for abusing your hospitality." Hermione gave him a fake smile.
"Apology accepted." he smirked at her.
"I suppose you're leaving now?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
"Umm..I don't think so." Hermione mumbled.
"I beg your pardon?" Draco cocked his head slightly forward.
"That..offer you made...I'm taking it." Hermione raised her chin up, crossing her arms across her chest.