A/N: Sorry it's taken me longer to update this time. I'm currently living in Zambia, Africa, and they're having their presidential elections this week. The power is constantly going out and the internet has been down for a while. I'm hoping the political situation will calm down here, and will try to get the next chapter up soon, but it could be a while. I'm not giving up on this story, don't worry.
Chapter 20
The next few months passed easily. Draco and Ginny's relationship stayed the same, but the topic of their personal lives was never mentioned. Gwyneth was a sore subject for Ginny as was Harry for Draco. Both Ginny and Draco's birthdays passed, then Christmas and New Year. The morning of January 17th Ginny received an owl from Draco.
Ginny,
How are you? I haven't spoken with you since before Christmas; I hope you're doing well. How was your holiday? I know we aren't supposed to meet until the end of the month, but I'm writing to ask you for a favor. This coming weekend Gwyneth and I have to attend a social function at Malfoy Industries to honor my father. My mum would usually babysit, but she will be attending the function as well. Could you possibly watch Scorpius for a few hours Saturday evening? I would really appreciate it.
With love,
Draco
That evening Ginny kissed Harry goodbye and said, "I'll either be back late tonight or tomorrow morning. Ok, love?"
"Ok," Harry said off-handedly. He was busy watching the television Ginny had gotten him for his birthday. Ginny giggled and kissed him again before flooing to Draco's house.
Draco was standing in the middle of the living room, staring into a floor length mirror, adjusting his tie. Ginny watched him while he grumbled, "Stupid tie," and pulled it back and forth.
Finally Ginny giggled and said, "Stop it, let me help." She brushed his hands aside and reached up to redo his tie. After a moment she stepped back and said, "Perfect."
He smiled down at her and said, "Thanks," before leaning down to kiss her forehead. The contact made them both freeze. He hadn't kissed her since before she had Albus. The eye contact between them sent shivers down Ginny's spine and she shivered, grasping Draco's forearm. His eyes searched hers, fear apparent on his face.
A voice from the door interrupted them, saying, "What happened to you two?" Both Ginny and Draco spun to face the door where Gwyneth was leaning against the doorframe in a slinky silver dress. "How do I look?" she asked, spinning around.
Draco was the first to snap out of the trance, "You look beautiful, love."
He walked over to kiss Gwyneth and Ginny added, "You look gorgeous."
"Thank you," Gwyneth seemed to ignore Ginny and kissed Draco again. "Should we head out?"
"Yeah," Draco turned back to Ginny. "Scorpius is sleeping upstairs, but he should wake up from his nap in about an hour. You can just play with him, keep him occupied-,"
Ginny interrupted him, "Draco, I know how to take care of a baby."
A soft blush flared up over his cheeks, "Right. Well, in that case, we should be back late this evening."
"Have fun," Ginny watched them apparate away and then made her way upstairs to the nursery. Scorpius was sleeping in his crib, his arms wrapped around a stuffed teddy bear. Ginny stroked his hair gently and then sat back in the rocking chair, waiting for him to wake up.
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When Draco and Gwyneth returned that evening Gwyneth immediately headed upstairs to bed saying, "I'm just exhausted, love, I'll see you in the morning."
Draco said goodnight and walked into his study, thinking that he would turn out all the lights before going up to the nursery, but instead he found Ginny asleep on the couch, Scorpius curled up in her arms. Draco sat down next to Ginny and stroked her hair gently, slowly rousing her from sleep. "Draco?" she mumbled.
"Yeah, love, it's me," he said quietly. He tucked her hair behind her ear and then caressed her cheek gently. She closed her eyes again and leaned against his hand.
When she finally opened her eyes again she asked, "What time is it?"
He glanced at his watch, "Almost three."
"I should probably head home," she looked down at Scorpius who was still curled against her. "He's amazing Draco," she looked up at him, "You're lucky to be his father."
"I know," Draco gently took Scorpius from her and cradled the boy in his arms. Ginny stood up and watched them together. Draco finally looked up at Ginny and said, "Let me walk you out." He laid Scorpius back on the couch and pulled a blanket over him before leading Ginny to the front room. "Thank you."
"Anytime," she said, smiling up at him. Once again their eyes connected and Ginny knew in her heart what was coming. Suddenly his lips were on hers, but it wasn't demanding. It was innocent and timid. Ignoring her subconscious she kissed him back, letting her eyes flutter shut.
When they pulled away from each other they just stared, studying each other's face. Abruptly Draco said, "Well, I guess, I'll see you next weekend?"
"Of course," Ginny said. She had forgotten that they had made dinner plans. "Good night," she grabbed some floo powder and quickly got back to her house.
She climbed the stairs and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed with Harry. He groaned and rolled over and asked sleepily, "How was Luna's?"
"Fine," Ginny let him wrapped his arms around her and they both fell asleep.
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Albus' birthday came and passed and the months after that surprised Ginny. Albus was crawling and then walking and then, before she knew it, he was talking. Even though Ginny and Harry only understood a few of the words, James understood the other boy's babbling and soon the two would sit and ramble to each other for hours.
Before she knew it, Albus was two and James was four and, even though she loved the boys to death, they were driving her crazy. "Harry," Ginny begged one night, "I can't stand this anymore! I've barely seen you in days! Not to mention," she crawled into his lap, "I haven't seen you naked in weeks."
Harry groaned and said, "God, Ginny, I'd love to do this now, but I'm insanely busy."
Ginny sighed, "Then when?"
Harry pulled out his daily planner and Ginny did her best not to smack it out of his hands. She didn't like being the wife of a man who had to pencil her into his schedule. "How about next Friday night," he looked up at her, "We can ask your parents if they'll take the boys for the night and we can go out to a nice dinner and then come home-," he looked up at her sensually. Ginny inwardly sighed, but kissed him gently.
"That sounds great," Ginny said quietly. She gathered her things and hurried upstairs, not wanting Harry to see the tears in her eyes. Lately it felt that he never had time with her. He seemed to ignore her and blow her off and it was driving her crazy.
She pulled on her nightshirt and crawled into bed. For the seventh night in a row she curled up in bed, alone, and cried herself to sleep.
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The restaurant was gorgeous and fancy. Ginny immediately felt underdressed in her black skirt and white blouse. Harry smiled down at her as they were escorted to a table. They sat and enjoyed quite conversation while they ate. Ginny was in the middle of telling Harry a story about work when he waved for the check and interrupted Ginny to say, "Should we head home now?"
"Sure," Ginny said. He had hurt her feelings, but she didn't say anything. Harry quickly paid and then they flooed home. When they got there Harry immediately slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her deeply. A grin spread across her face; this is what she had wanted from him.
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Ginny groaned as Harry collapsed against her chest. Sweat beaded down his forehead and dripped onto her skin where it flowed with her sweat down her body. After a moment he leaned up and kissed her, saying, "I love you."
"I love you too," she kissed him in return and he rolled over. She had hoped that he would wrap his arms around her and cuddle with her, but instead he slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. The door slammed shut behind him and within seconds she heard the shower running. Feeling used and hurt, she curled into a ball and waited for him to come out.
After a while he emerged, a dark blue towel wrapped around his waist and he said, "I'm glad we did this Ginny. Now, I have some work I need to finish up, so I'm going to go up to my office."
Ginny glanced at the clock, "Harry, it's almost two in the morning and tomorrow's Saturday. You're not even working tomorrow."
"Actually, I am," Harry said off-handedly, pulling some boxers on. "I'm going on a business trip tomorrow. I should be back by Wednesday."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ginny asked, upset.
"Because I didn't think you'd mind," Harry said, shrugging. He pulled some pajama pants on and said, "Did you have plans or something?"
"Yes, I do," Ginny said harshly, "I'm going out with Luna tomorrow night and I can't take care of the boys by myself for five days! Harry, this is really unfair."
"We can ask your parents if they'll take the boys," Harry said. Now he was standing in the doorway and it looked as if he was ready to blow off her concerns and leave.
"It's not fair that we're constantly giving our children to my parents, Harry," Ginny snapped, "I'm sure my father spends more time with them than you do and that's not right. When will you put your family over your job?"
"Ginny, I'm really trying to make a name for myself," Harry snapped back, "I know that you don't care about the future of your career, but I care about mine. Get off my back and let me do my work."
Ginny gaped at Harry as he stomped out of the room and up to his office. Sobbing, she pulled herself out of bed and dragged herself to James' room. They had recently gotten him a 'big boy' bed and Ginny crawled into it. She didn't want to sleep in the bed that she shared with Harry.
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Harry and Ginny's marriage seemed to constantly be on the rocks. She wasn't sure where he was half the week and more and more he was gone on business trips. Soon he was away more than he was at home. Ginny had finally opted to get a nanny, who her mother scorned passionately, but Ginny had no other options. She had been given more hours at work and was making enough money to support her and the boys, which she did. Harry had stopped paying the bills, saying, "I'm barely at home so why should I pay for things?"
Draco and Gwyneth had announced their divorce only a year after their wedding. Ginny asked Draco how he was handling it and he said he was fine. That's all they said on the subject. Their friendship was still comfortable. They could laugh and joke around for hours and Ginny cherished her time with him.
A year passed and Ginny watched her boys grow. They were smart and, even though Molly hated it, James loved the muggle preschool he attended for a few hours every morning. It was one of the rare evenings that Harry was home that Ginny found herself in the kitchen, chopping onions and carrots. Harry had come home after being away for two weeks and then asked her to make his favorite meal. Chicken linguini.
"Come on James, Albus, stop fighting," Ginny said from the kitchen. The boys had been arguing all afternoon and no matter how often Ginny asked them to stop, they continued.
"But Mum," five year old James whined, "Albus stole my broomstick!"
"Did not!" Albus protested, "I had it firs'!!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. She was never sure who to believe, James liked to lie about what Albus was doing while Albus had a hobby of stealing. "Harry!" Ginny yelled upstairs. When he didn't respond she sighed and stopped chopping vegetables to march upstairs, "Harry!"
"What?" Harry asked lazily from his office.
Ginny walked in and sighed. Harry was leaning back in his chair staring up at the ceiling. "Harry, I could really use your help right now. I'm trying to cook dinner and the boys are going to knock the house down."
"I'm sorry, Gin, but I'm busy," Harry said, leaning forward in his chair, "I'm trying to organize the new curriculum for the Defense Against the Arts classes. I told you last week, I'm going to be very busy for a while."
"Fine," Ginny hissed. She stomped back downstairs to find Albus and James hitting each other with their fake wands. "Boys, stop it," Ginny snapped, grabbing the wands and throwing them on top of the bookcase, "Go get washed up, dinners almost ready."
"But mum!" the boys chorused.
"Now!" Ginny yelled. The boys chased each other up the stairs to the bathroom where Ginny heard water splashes and thuds. Finally, she set the table and yelled, "Harry, dinner's ready."
Thumps answered her and soon Harry and the boys were seated at the large dining table. Ginny put the food on the table before sitting down. She didn't eat much, only picked at her food. Recently she had lost her appetite. Harry had been pressuring her about having more children and it had become too much for Ginny, who was already stressed out from the two boys.
As soon as they finished eating James went upstairs to play while Albus sat with Harry in the living room. Ginny quietly cleaned the kitchen, trying to ignore the conversation drifting in from the living room, but within minutes she slammed her sponge down on the counter and said, "Harry, can I speak with you?"
Harry strode into the kitchen and said, "You ok?"
"No, I'm not ok," Ginny said angrily, "Do you hear yourself? Why are you telling Albus that he should work at being as good as you were?"
"Well, the wizarding community will have high expectations of him and James," Harry said shrugging. Ginny gaped at him before turning and huffing out of the kitchen. As if realizing he might have said something wrong Harry followed her and said, "Ginny, don't be so dramatic. You know they'll want to know about Harry Potter's sons."
"Harry, just because you were the-boy-who-lived doesn't mean that our children have to live up to your 'standards,'" Ginny hissed, "You don't seem to get it, do you? Voldemort is gone. Your glory is gone. You killed him; you did your job. Now move on, live your life with your family."
She tried to turn away from him but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back, "Ginny don't talk about what you don't understand. My years at Hogwarts were the best years of my life. You can't ask me to just forget about those times."
"I don't ask you to forget," Ginny snapped, "I let you go with Ron and Hermione on your little adventures while I get left at home with our children and their children as well. Do you know how unfair that is Harry? I'm your wife. You're supposed to love me."
"I do love you," he said harshly.
"Then stop being so selfish," Ginny said sternly.
The next moment Ginny found herself on the floor, her cheek burning red and tears spilling down her cheeks. Shocked she looked up at Harry who looked just as surprised as she felt. "Ginny," he gasped, "I'm so sorry, are you ok?"
He reached out to touch her, but she pushed him away, "Don't touch me!" Sobbing, she pulled herself up and ran to the fire place. He chased after her, but before he could grab her arm she stumbled through the fire and into Draco's dining room.
Alarmed Draco grabbed her as she collapsed saying, "Mum, get Scorpius out of here; take him to your house."
Out of the corner of her eye Ginny saw Narcissa gathering up a small boy. She flooed away, leaving Draco and Ginny alone. Sobs still racked Ginny's body and she clung to Draco. He easily picked her up and carried her to the front room where he sank onto a couch, cradling her in his lap. She buried her head in his chest and he wrapped his arms firmly around her, pulling her tighter against him. A short time later Ginny looked up, gasping for air. Draco stared at her, shock crossing his face.
Gently he touched her cheek, making her flinch, and he asked, "Did he do this to you?" Ginny slowly nodded. Standing up quickly Draco shouted, "Stupid bastard, I'll kill him!"
He headed towards the fireplace but Ginny grabbed him saying, "No, no, don't go, please."
Draco though about it for a minute and sighed, "Fine. Are you ok?"
"I-I," Ginny stuttered, "I can't go back there."
"You'll stay here," Draco said quietly, "Wait here, I'll go get my wand and clean you up." Ginny waited patiently, wrapping herself in a soft blanket from the couch. When Draco returned he sat next to her saying, "I probably can't heal all the bruising, I'm not a great healer, but I'll do my best." His wand was cold on her cheek, but heat flooded through her muscles and when he set his wand down Ginny felt the swelling go down.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," Draco said softly. He brushed her hair out of her eyes. Leaning forward Ginny kissed him deeply.
He pulled away quickly and cupped her face in his hands. "Ginny," she looked up at him, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Draco," she took a deep breath, "I need someone to love me."
Ignoring his conscious Draco kissed her, pulling her into his lap. They had both felt the sexual tension building between them in the last few months. She straddled him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Pulling out of the kiss Ginny kissed down his neck and started unbuttoning his shirt. When she had his shirt completely unbuttoned she pushed it off his shoulders and let her lips make their way down his chest. He pulled her back up to kiss her lips, but pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.
They stared at each other, taking deep breaths. Finally Ginny smiled. Draco laughed quietly and kissed her again, pushing her backwards so he could pin her down to the couch. Impatiently he pulled her shirt off and tugged at her trousers. As he unbuttoned her jeans his fingers brushed innocently against her skin making her groan and eagerly lift her hips so he could slip her trousers down her legs and toss them to the floor.
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Groaning, Ginny wrapped her arm around Draco's waist and kissed his shoulder. He smiled and said, "I never knew this floor was so comfortable."
Ginny laughed quietly and rolled over to rest her chin on his chest so she could look up at him, "Have you ever tried the floor in the library?"
He chuckled and said, "I'd love to try it, but I'm starving. I missed dinner, remember?" She smiled guiltily but let him pull her up. He tugged on his boxers while she pulled her underwear on and stole his shirt. When he caught sight of her he moaned throatily and said, "Never mind. Seeing you in my shirt has convinced me that we need to test the library floor. Now."
"Nope," Ginny said stubbornly, "You should eat."
"Fine," he whined. He led her into the kitchen and helped her hop up onto the counter, "What are you in the mood for?"
She shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me. What do you want?"
He pulled a box of crackers out of the cabinet and a jar of peanut butter. With a knife he spread peanut butter over the cracker and offered it to Ginny. She bit into it and then giggled as the sticky spread smeared down her chin. He laughed as she tried to lick it off and then finally offered her a wet washcloth.
"Draco?" she said after minutes of silent chewing.
"Yeah?" he asked, putting the crackers back in the cabinet.
"Are you ready to try out the library floor?" A grin crossed his face and he grabbed her before carrying her up the stairs and to the library.
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The early hours of the morning found Ginny curled up and fast asleep in Draco's bed. At some point during the night they'd made their way to his chambers and now Draco watched her as she slept. Moonlight spilled through the large windows, casting strange shadows around the room, but lighting Ginny's face. Her gorgeous dark red hair cascaded over the white pillows, and Draco had to resist the urge to run his fingers through it.
The moonlight cast softer shadows across her face, pronouncing every flaw, but Draco knew that the few flaws only added to her beauty. Hours of kissing had left Ginny's lips swollen and they parted slightly as she slept. One of her hands was tucked awkwardly under her pillow while the other was clasped tightly in Draco's hand.
White silk sheets covered most of her body, but the thought of her lying naked in his bed again after so many years was driving him mad. Exhaustion pulled at his eyelids, but he refused to go to sleep. He was terrified that he would wake up and find that it had all been a dream.
Suddenly Ginny groaned and shifted in her sleep before her eyes drifted open. For a moment she looked confused as to where she was, but when her eyes landed on Draco she smiled sleepily and said, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Draco whispered, stroking her hair, "I just can't sleep."
"Well, come here," Ginny pulled him towards her and wrapped his arms around her before snuggling against his chest. "Now isn't that better?"
"Yeah," he rested his head in the crook of her neck and took in her scent before murmuring, "This is perfect." She grunted in response, but was soon fast asleep. He followed suit, letting his eyes shut and within minutes sleep found him.
A/N: Please Review!!!