A/N Here's the next chapter, It's longer than the others. Enjoy!

TCOTP

Chapter Five

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"Ginny, Draco is not the first unmarried Malfoy. It's Lucius, and there is no one alive who can reject the match."

Ginny's mouth opened ever so slightly and she took a couple of deep breaths, then finally asked, "What?"

"No one on the Malfoy side can reject the match because Lucius is the first unmarried wizard," Arthur repeated. Ginny's mouth opened and closed a few times like she was trying to speak, but no words came out. Her mind screamed 'NO!' "Gin, do you need to sit down?" She shook her head. "Relax Ginny, no one expects you to go through with this."

"Why is she reacting like that? She doesn't seem pleased," Draco commented.

Lucius glanced over his shoulder. Draco was right. "The betrothal was not rejected. It pertains to myself, not you, Draco."

"Oh! Well Father, you have to admit she is rather attractive," Draco countered.

"Draco, this is not the time or place," Lucius growled "Now excuse me." He stepped away from his son and moved towards Arthur. "Arthur, I will have my lawyer check over the betrothal. Perhaps there's some loophole he can find. I will let you know the minute I know anything."

Arthur nodded. He knew he needed to get Ginny home. "Ginny, come on. Let's get you home." He began to lead her down the hall. He was very concerned; he expected her to explode, not be quiet like this. Once he got her to the Floos, he felt a little better. He made the Floo trip with her like he did when she was a small child. When they landed in the kitchen of the Burrow, Molly was nowhere to be seen. "Molly, we're home!" he called out. Ginny moved away from him and headed for the stairs. "Gin, are you-?"

"I need to be alone," she said, then headed up the stairs.

Once she closed her bedroom door she slumped down against it and began weeping. She hated for anyone to see her cry. How could anyone expect her to marry Lucius Malfoy? He tried to kill her! He was a Death Eater! He hated her family! He was an old man!

But if she didn't marry him, her family would die out. She knew how much her mother wanted grandchildren. She knew any witch would have to think long and hard about marrying one of her brothers now. She thought about Bill and Fleur; they seemed so happy when they announced they were going to start trying for a baby.

Downstairs, Arthur Floo'ed his boss and explained that he would be out for the rest of the day. Then Molly finally came in from outside. She smiled at her husband, but, after knowing him for so many years, she instantly realized something was wrong. "Arthur, what happened?"

"We all made a big mistake!"

"Lucius Malfoy didn't reject the match?" she inquired.

"No, he rejected it. However, he was not in the position to reject it," Arthur explained.

"What? Then I don't understand."

"Narcissa Malfoy passed away before Ginny turned seventeen. Lucius is the first unmarried Malfoy."

"No! They can't expect her to marry him! He's old enough to be her father!"

"The betrothal stated under the age of fifty. Lucius said he would have his lawyer check it over. Hopefully there's some loophole to get out of this."

"How's Ginny taking the news? She must be devastated."

"She hardly said a word. She wanted to be alone. Honestly, I'm worried. I expected her to explode," Arthur admitted.

"She must be in shock. I'll go check on her. Maybe you should call the boys together. We wouldn't want them to hear this from someone else and do something rash," Molly suggested.

"You're right as always, but Molly, I should tell you: on Ginny's birthday, Harry had asked for my blessing to marry her. I guess she told him she wasn't ready yet and the ring he gave her was meant to be her engagement ring." Arthur hadn't told his wife before because he didn't want the young couple to be pressured.

"Oh, my poor baby! It's really not fair. You'll Floo the boys?"

"Of course," he replied.

Minutes later Molly stood outside Ginny's room. "Honey, can I come in?" After a second or two, the door opened. Ginny's face was still very red from crying, as were her eyes. She was now sitting on her bed, feet on the floor and her hands between her knees. "Your father told me what happened." Ginny almost gave her mother a dirty look. "He also told me Harry asked you to marry him."

"It doesn't matter now," Ginny muttered.

"Why do you say that?"

"Mum, Harry will claim he still wants to marry me, but I know he needs a child of his own. I can't give him that now."

"Ginny, there are other ways to have children," her mother pointed out.

"But it's not the same, Mum. I've always looked forward to seeing my own body create life."

Molly walked over to Ginny and sat down beside her. "You know, for most of your life people will tell you how great being pregnant is. I won't lie; it is all of those things, but here's the other side of it: you get sick at the thought of some of your favorite foods. You eat things you never dreamed of. You have an intimate relationship with the toilet. Your body gets these stretch marks that never go away. You go months without seeing your feet. You can't take the simplest potion because of how it might affect the baby. And then there's labor! Trust me; that was six experiences I could have lived without." Ginny looked sideways at her mum. "Oh, don't get me wrong; I love you all, but I also love Harry the same way. The point is; carrying a child is not as much of a wonderful thing as you young girls seem to think, and it is possible to love a child who is not of your own body."

"Mum, it's not just me. Do you realize what will happen once word of this curse gets out? It already started the other night when we told everyone. Hermione pulled back from Ron. She really loves him, but she pulled away. What about Charlie, George and Percy, for they don't have someone already?"

"Ginny, none of your brothers would ever expect you to marry that man so they could have a woman."

Arthur was really amazed at how quickly the boys, Hermione, and Fleur arrived. Once everyone was there he got right to the point. "The match couldn't be rejected because Draco is not the first unmarried Malfoy. Lucius is, and he can't reject his own match."

Fleur instantly had a sob escape, and Hermione asked, "But aren't there other Malfoys; an older cousin or someone who could?"

"There are older cousins, but Lucius is from a long line of firstborns, so he is the head of the family. The only person who could have rejected it was his own father."

"What does Ginny plan on doing?' Harry asked.

"She's not marrying him," Charlie said defiantly.

"I don't know where her head is at right now. I expected her to explode when I told her, but she instead got very quiet. Molly is with her now."

At Malfoy Manor, Lucius sat in his study with his lawyers who were going over the official betrothal agreement. "Mr. Malfoy, Primo Malfoy was very precise in this agreement. He left no room for misinterpretation and no loopholes. Even if you were to die, your son would have to marry the girl."

"Surely there must be some way to break the curse," Lucius demanded.

"I highly doubt it. The one used here can only be avoided."

"Avoided? How?"

"By the Weasleys not having a girl, and I would guess that some member of their family who was aware of this agreement cast a spell that left them only able to have boys. But magic like that only works for so long. Unless it was reinforced, it would have been time for a female Weasley to be born."

"This is ludicrous! The Malfoys and Weasleys having to rely on each other for survival!" Lucius spat.

"That was the point of this agreement," the lawyer pointed out calmly.

"Can't we have it thrown out on the grounds that Primo Malfoy was insane?"

"At the time the agreement was made, perhaps. But eight generations later, no," the lawyer explained. "I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy, but Primo Malfoy made this iron clad. If you and Miss Weasley don't marry and have a child together, then both families will be wiped out completely."

Molly finally got Ginny to come downstairs. When she did, Bill rose and walked over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Ginny, I speak for everyone here; no one expects you to marry him."

They could all tell she had been crying, despite the fact that she had washed her face. Her eyes were still very red. As Bill spoke tears began to form again. "What about the curse?" she mumbled.

Bill gave her a cocky smile. "Remind me, please; what's my job title?"

"Curse breaker," Ginny replied.

"Exactly, and I will find a way to break this. I promise you."

"I hope you're right."

Later, when Harry took Ginny for a walk, Hermione had a chance to speak to Fleur alone. "I'm going to ask you because I know how they will all react if I ask them. If Bill can't break this, couldn't Ginny marry Lucius, have his child, and then divorce him?"

Fleur smiled sadly at Hermione. "I see zere are some sings you 'ave not read, 'Ermione. You see, when a magical, Pure blood couple consummate deir marriage vows, deir magical forces are tied togeder and dat tie can only be severed by death. Witout regular marital relations, dey both would lose de magic and die. Dere is no divorce in our world."

"But there are other ways, Muggle ways, to get pregnant without actually having sex."

Fleur laughed " 'Ermione, a wizard marriage is not valid until de couple 'ave 'ad sex. It would do no good to 'ave a marriage in name only."

"But if sex is so important, then--"

"'Ermione, you 'ave Muggle cousins, right?" Hermione nodded. "Most of dem 'ave 'ad sex already, right?"

"Yes."

"But Ron 'as never pushed for it, right? Look, dere are reasons most Pure blooded men want a Pure blooded wife. Dat's one reason Ron has never pushed you for sex. Sex in itself is magical. Brides need to be untouched. It's to solidify de bond. Tousands of years ago when Wizards began to marry Muggles, men not unlike Lucius Malfoy put fort' a magical curse dat was placed on all Pure blood girls; dey cannot 'ave sex until dey are married."

"That's barbaric! Why has no one fought it?"

"Because no fodder wants to tink of deir daughter as a sexual creature. I'm sure your own Muggle fodder 'as made comments like you were not allowed to date until you were forty, or someting. And no mudder ever wants to see her daughter be a single parent."

"Ginny really is doomed; marry him or watch her family be wiped out," Hermione summed up.

"Ginny, I just want you to know I don't care about this betrothal. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"That's really very noble of you, but Harry, that would mean I would never have a child."

"That doesn't matter."

"Harry, it's easy to say that now, but what about in five years?"

"I don't care; we'll figure something out. Just marry me!"

"Would you stop pushing me! I have more than myself to think about here. This does not just affect me, but my brothers too."

"Gin, you have to live for yourself, not for them."

"Really? And what about Ron and Hermione? You may not have noticed it; Hermione probably doesn't even realize she did it, but the second she heard about the curse she pulled back from Ron. She won't marry him because she wants her own child. AND ONE DAY YOU WILL FEEL THE SAME!" Ginny yelled.

"Fine! So if at some point she and I do, maybe we could help each other out and she could have a couple of kids with me and each couple would get one." Ginny slapped him across the face and ran back to the house. Everyone watched as she headed up to her room with tears pouring down her face. Ron and Hermione got up and went after Harry.

When they found him he looked a little shocked. "Mate, what happened?"

"I was trying to talk her into marrying me, but she was worried about children. I suggested that maybe Hermione and I could provide a couple of kids and each -" Ron was on top of Harry, trumping him out.

"RON! RONALD! RON!-" Hermione yelled as she pulled at Ron. Finally, she whipped out her wand and froze him. Harry then pushed Ron off of himself. "Merlin, Harry, you don't think! They're wizards; they only know one way to conceive a child!" She walked over to Ron. "Ronald, there are Muggle ways for a couple to have a child without ever being intimate. I'm sure that's what Harry was talking about. Right, Harry?"

"Of course, mate! I mean, I love her and all, but like a sister. I would never in a million years touch her that way."

"Gee, thanks Harry." Hermione sounded offended. "Now, are you calm enough for me to release you?"

His eyes replied yes. Hermione released the charm. "What Muggle ways?" he asked.

"Well, I don't exactly know, but they get a sample of genetic material from Harry and then inject it into the woman. They never even have to meet, never mind do anything else."

Ron looked disgusted. "That's just sick! I mean, yeeecch!"

"Well Ron, Muggles have to do something. They don't have spells and charms. It's science."

"What the hell is science?" Ron barked, still looking angry

"It's biology, physics, and chemistry, which is similar to Potions."

"Well I don't know what that is!" he haughtily retorted.

"Of course you don't, just like Muggles don't know about spells and charms." She then turned on Harry. "You really fucked up with Ginny."

"I know, I wasn't thinking. We were fighting right before I said it!" he explained.

"While you two make up, I will try to explain it to Ginny, if she'll talk to me!" Hermione said.

At that moment, Lucius Malfoy's owl flew into the kitchen of the Burrow. Arthur opened the letter and read it aloud. "'Arthur Weasley, My lawyers have looked at the betrothal agreement from every angle and there is no way out of this. I suggest that we meet to discuss things if we intend to do anything. Please meet me at my office tomorrow at ten. Lucius Malfoy.' That's it, that's all there is," Arthur told his sons and wife.

Then the kitchen door opened and Hermione entered. "Where's Ginny? Upstairs?"

"Yes, but Hermione, a letter just arrived from Malfoy. I think I should tell her about it first," Arthur sadly explained.

"Well, she's already really upset. Harry really screwed up."

"She doesn't need any more problems right now," Charlie stated.

"I don't think Harry was trying to cause a problem, he was just trying to offer a solution, and it came off wrong. But before anyone gives him a hard time about it, Ron took care of that with the black eye Harry's now sporting."

In Ginny's room she lay on her bed, sobbing. She was mad at her ancestors for promising her to a man who tried to kill her. She could not believe that Narcissa Malfoy died hours before she turned seventeen! She might not have liked it, but she could have dealt with being married to Draco. But Lucius? The man had no heart, he was a Death Eater. He tried to kill her as a child. He has probably raped more women than Ginny had ever met. How many others had he killed? He probably tortured puppies in his spare time and stole candy from babies to see them cry. Monster was too good a word for him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in."

The door opened and in walked her father. "Gin, are you – honey, I'm worried about you. This is a lot on your plate. You have always been so strong. Please Ginny, don't close me out now!"

She sat up on the bed and patted the spot next to herself. Arthur came over and sat down. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I-I-"

"No one expects you to even think about doing this, Ginny."

"I know, but why did they do this to me?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Do you know what Harry said to me?"

"No. After you came in Ron and Hermione went after him."

"They would," she blurted out.

"Ginny, I don't want to upset you, but you're a little scary when you're upset."

"He suggested having H- someone else give him a child of his own!"

"No?!"

"He did," came Hermione's voice from the doorway. "but it's not--"

"Get out!" Ginny screamed as she got up and moved towards the door. Hermione backed up ever so slightly.

"Ginny, please hear me--"

"I want nothing to do with you!" Ginny then used wandless magic to push Hermione out of the room and slam the door.

"I take it Hermione was the person he suggested," Arthur guessed.

"Yes. It just goes to show he always felt she was better than me."

"I don't know about that, Ginny. Why do you say that?"

She came and sat next to her father again. "He let her go with him looking for the horcruxes when I was the one who spent a good part of a year with Tom Riddle in my head! He felt he needed her more than me."

"I don't think that was it, Ginny. I think Harry has lost so many people he cared about, he didn't want to place you in any more danger."

"It sure didn't feel that way," she concluded.

A/N- I wrote 3000 words for you, please drop me a few words back and let me know what you think!