The Cruelty of the Past

Chapter 25

Bedding Down

Ginny watched as the aide pierced her skin with the needle and then pushed Muggle drugs into her blood. "This will make you sleepy. Your husband has a room set up for me, so if you need more just call."

Ginny nodded. "Thank you, Stella."

The older woman smiled at Ginny. "What you're trying to do is very admirable."

Ginny gave a weak smile. "Thanks."

"Get some sleep," the aide said as the bedroom door opened.

Lucius looked in at his young wife. She looked like a rainbow of colour in his bed. Her red hair, her purple bruises, and the yellow nightshirt she wore against the stark white bedsheets and blue duvet.

Stella the aide looked up and smiled at him. "Mrs. Malfoy should be falling asleep pretty quickly now."

Lucius nodded.

"Good night, Ginny." Stella then excused herself.

Once the door closed behind the woman, Lucius asked, "How are you feeling?"

Ginny gave him a goofy grin. "I'm ooookay."

Lucius smiled; the drugs had clearly taken effect. "Alright, I'll be back in in a few minutes." Ginny nodded as Lucius headed into the bathroom.

When Lucius returned, Ginny was sleeping. As he stood there looking at her, he was finally hit with the fact that today's events could have ended far worse. He couldn't help but see how much this was like the events of Narcissa's death. Both women had been doing something they loved, but unlike Narcissa, Ginny fell the right way and didnt kill herself.

Lucius was amazed at the personal sacrifices she was willing to make. He knew he could never do the same thing. He thought about the fact that since Ginevra's birthday, she was living her life for everyone else. It really wasn't fair that she had to give up on her dreams. He even thought about the fact that for her it didn't matter that Voldemort was dead and most Death Eaters were in prison; her faith was the same. Married to a man she did not love, used as a sex toy, and now bearing his child. Lucius hated to admit it to himself, but over the last few months he had been selfish in the demands he placed on her.

Yes, she had proven herself to be an asset at functions, but what did she get in return? One trip to Russia wasn't much. Now she was giving up a year of her life, all in bed yet! As Lucius gazed at her, he made a decision; he would do everything in his power to have Ginevra fall in love with him! And, as of now, he would treat her as his partner!

Lucius himself believed love, or being in love, was something only women felt. He knew he loved Draco and he loved Narcissa, but the earth-shattering love women talked about wasn't something he had ever felt. He could always tell the difference between his love for Draco and for Narcissa; he would do anything for his son, but Narcissa was different. She had been a friend, but that was all, and given the choice between the two, Draco would have won every time without a second thought.

He then thought of the child Ginny was carrying. He could tell he felt the same feelings he had for Draco before he arrived, but Lucius was also trying not to get attached to it. Ginevra had the right to change her mind about this at any second, and right now no one could blame her if she did.

Lucius then realized that there had been no Floo call from the Weasleys! Did they not know? Or did they not care? He thought about placing a Floo call or sending an Owl to them himself, but he was unsure of what was happening between Ginevra and them. He chose to wait and see if she asked him to send them word.

Lucius carefully climbed into bed so as not to move the bed and jar Ginny's body. He chose to lay close to her so he would feel if she woke in the night.

Hours later, Lucius was woken up by the feeling of his hand trembling. It had been resting on Ginny's stomach, and she was sobbing. "Ginevra? What's wrong?"

"It- it h-u-r-t-s!" she managed. Her teeth were chattering due to the pain she was in.

Lucius instantly summoned the aide. As the light in the room came on, he soothed her, "She will be here in a second."

Ginny just nodded.

Lucius looked at Ginny and felt his anger grow.

When Stella arrived, she already had a needle filled. "Mrs. Malfoy, here you go." After shooting the drug into Ginny's blood, she said calmly, "You should feel it very quickly. Can I get you anything else?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Why was her pain allowed to get so bad?" Lucius barked.

"It's Muggle medicine; there are too many variables to know exactly when it will wear off."

"I do not want to see my wife in this kind of pain again!"

Stella then shocked Lucius; she didn't back down. "Mr. Malfoy, if you had been sleeping lighter you would have realized she was in pain long before it got this bad." She then turned to Ginny, "Dear, you need to let us know as soon as you start feeling uncomfortable. DON'T wait intil its hurting."

"Yes," was all Ginny said.

"Do you need anything else?"

Ginny whispered, "No thank you."

"Alright, try to get some more sleep." Stella smiled at her.

"Thank you," Ginny whispered as the pain meds began to take effect.

Lucius followed Stella out of the room. "How dare you speak to me like that!" he growled.

"I am paid to care for your wife, not to sugar coat things for you. Fact of the matter is, had I been in the room I would have been able to see her pain level rising."

"Yes, but Ginevra wouldn't sleep with someone watching her all night," Lucius retorted.

"Well then, as I said, you must sleep lighter and be more in tune with your wife."

Two days later, Ginny had a visitor; Headmistress MacGonagall.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. She was sitting in the chair that Stella used during the daytime.

"I'm sore, very sore." Ginny downplayed the pain she was in.

"I feel I have to check, but is Lucius forcing you to do this?"

"I understand your concern, but no, Lucius is not."

The older woman nodded. "Everyone is very worried about you. We aren't allowed to tell the staff or students much of anything."

"I know. Draco explained that to me," Ginny lamented.

"Ginny, not only did I come to check on how you're doing, but I know how much finishing your schooling means to you. Professor Wood and I have talked about it, and there should be no reason you can't still learn the theory. Then after the baby arrives, we would arrange the practical testing."

Ginny's eyebrows rose with interest. "How?"

"Professor Wood said he would be willing to come here and work with you, giving lectures and oral tests."

"Really?" Her face lit up even more.

Minerva rose and began to pace. "Ginevra, you don't realize it, but you aren't a normal student; you are special. You have always had very good grades and still had a healthy balance of social life and school spirit. You, at great risk to yourself, did what we teachers couldn't do last year. I feel the school owes you the chance to finish what you've started."

Ginny pondered it, and wondered how Lucius would feel about it.

"Ginevra, I think you should," came Lucius' voice from the doorway. "Nine months with nothing to do will be very dull."

"Really?" Ginny asked. She then turned her attention to Headmistress MacGonagall. "I don't want to inconvenience anyone."

Lucius cleared his throat to get Ginny's attention. Without words, he let her know he was leaving.

"Professor Wood offered. I will set things up and Owl you with details of when you can expect him. You may have to wait till next May to take your NEWT.s, but really, with a baby you will be busy. Ginny, are you positive about this?"

"Lucius keeps asking the same thing. Yes, this is the right thing for us. Once the baby is here, everything will get back to normal."

The older woman looked at Ginny with a mixture of emotions. Part of her was proud of the young woman before her and part of her was sad that this strong, independent young woman was stopping her life for everyone else.

Ginny bit her lip. "Professor, er, Headmistress, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"I don't - I haven't heard from Mum since school started. I don't want to ask anything of Lucius. I already feel like a child around him."

The older woman was shocked to hear Molly Weasley had gone so long without hearing from her daughter, but she focused on Ginny's husband first. "Is he mistreating you?"

"No, no, not at all, Professor! I just, I'm scared. The bond; I can't have sex now, so are we both going to die?"

"No!" Minerva was shocked this was Ginny's question, but at the same time she realized most girls get married and have time before getting pregnant, and don't end up on total bed rest because of it. "You know, there are some things we can't explain about magic. This is one of them. I think the baby, or the baby's magic, or part of it, is the father's, and while the baby is in you, you don't have to engage in se- marital duties." Sex education wasn't part of the Hogwarts curriculum, and she was a bit embarrassed!

A/N well this story won the poll, I may still from time to time post another stories chapter but this will be my main focus! Please leave a review, hearing how much you like what I am writing really helps the writing flow!