Chapter 22

Ginny stayed with Draco for over a week. She eventually went back to work, but ignored owls from Harry and her family. She would wake up with Draco and meet him back at home in the evening. Waking up with him beside her every morning made her happier than she had been in a while. It was early one morning that Ginny sighed and said, "Draco, I should really go soon."

"Ok, I'll see you after work," Draco said, rolling over and kissing her gently on the cheek.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said reluctantly. "I think I should go home soon."

"What? Why?" Draco asked, sitting up.

Ginny sighed and sat up beside him, "Don't misunderstand me. These past few days have been perfect, but I need to get back to my real life. Yes, my relationship with Harry is horrible and worthless, but I need to get back to my kids. They need me, especially now that Harry is barely in their lives. Please, please, please, don't be angry."

"Ginny," Draco chuckled and stroked her hair gently, "I'm not angry. I know you need to take care of your family. I have to do that every day, remember?" He smiled and said, "But I hope you know that I don't want to stop this."

"This?" Ginny asked quietly.

"This," Draco kissed her gently, "I don't want to stop our relationship. I can't lose you again."

A grin broadened Ginny's face and she kissed him deeply, "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that."

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Ginny's return home was fairly uneventful. Harry had told the boys that Ginny had gone on a business trip, so they weren't worried or confused about where she had gone. Harry barely spoke a word to her. He acted as though the whole fight was her fault. Eventually Harry seemed to forget the issue, but it never left Ginny's mind. Even months later, when she and Harry were in bed, Ginny was hesitant in letting him get close to her.

"How is Luna doing?" Harry asked off-handedly as he sorted through the mail.

"Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, didn't you go out with her last night?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," Ginny cursed herself for forgetting her cover story, "She's doing fine. Howard is doing great with the baby, but they still haven't decided what to name her."

"Didn't Luna give birth over a month ago?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Yeah," Ginny shrugged, "They've just been calling her Baby Girl. They want to pick the perfect name and right now they have four names: Violet, Kristin, Gabriella, or Olive."

"Interesting," Harry said in a tone that told Ginny he didn't care. Ginny sighed. This was one of the main reasons Luna was such a great best friend. Harry didn't care what was going on with Luna and Howard. He didn't even like Howard so Ginny could make up news about Luna and Harry would barely listen. "Oh, I almost forgot," for the first time Harry looked up from the mail, "Next week I have to go on a business trip. I'll be gone for three days."

"Ok," Ginny said, sighing. She threw her mail on the floor and turned her light off before curling up as far away from him as she could get.

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"I just don't know what to do Dad," Ginny sighed and put her head in her hands, "Harry is becoming more and more distant, I'm sure he's having an affair. And he spends barely any time with the kids, it's driving me crazy!"

"Gin, I'm sure Harry's not having an affair," Arthur assured her, "Sometimes things can just get crazy at work and he's trying to keep up with everything. Give it time, things will sort themselves out again."

"Are you sure dad?" Ginny asked quietly.

"I'm positive," Arthur said with a smile. "Now, why don't you go home and then send the boys here for a night or two. You and Harry need some time to yourselves."

"Thanks," Ginny hugged her dad closely and then quickly flooed back home. After quickly packing two backpacks for the boys she helped them floo to her parents' house before sitting in the living room to wait for Harry to come home. When he finally walked in the front door Ginny stood up quickly and wrapped her arms around him. "Guess what love? My parents took the boys for a few days, I thought we could have some alone time together."

She started to kiss his neck seductively, but he pushed her away and said, "Not now Gin, I have another business trip. I have to be at the Ministry in less than an hour." He hurried around the house, gathering his things, not noticing the hurt look on Ginny's face. Finally he kissed her cheek gently and said, "I'll be back in a few days," before walking out.

Angry Ginny grabbed her bag and shoved some clean clothes in it before grabbing some flew powder and chucking it in the fireplace. When she came out in Draco's sitting room she found him slung across a couch, book in hand. He looked up at her surprised and she said, "Harry went out of town on business, my kids are staying at my parents' house. I'm coming to stay with you for a few days, ok?"

"Great," Draco scooted over on the couch and let her curl up next to him.

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"Draco," Ginny groaned. She pushed his hands away from her and said, "Draco, stop it!"

"Come on," Draco prodded her again, "I can't sleep."

"What time is it?" Ginny mumbled, covering her eyes.

"Almost eight," Draco said. He kissed her neck gently and said, "Come on, get up."

"Fine," Ginny moaned. She uncovered her eyes and asked, "What do you want?"

Sun poured in the windows, making Ginny squint her eyes. Draco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, "I just want to enjoy the time you're here."

"You could have done that while I was sleeping," Ginny grumbled.

Draco chuckled and was about to say something when Scorpius came streaking into the room. "Daddy!" he jumped onto the bed and crawled under the covers between Ginny and Draco. Luckily they both had clothes on. Scorpius hugged Ginny and said, "Hi Auntie Ginny, what are you doing here?"

"I came to visit," she said, hugging him back. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep," Scorpius held up Mr. Winkie and said sternly, "Mr. Winkie snores a lot."

Ginny laughed and pulled Scorpius tighter into her arms. He was wearing blue pajamas and cow socks. Draco watched them fondly as Ginny whispered, "What do you want for breakfast?" in Scorpius's ear.

"Pancakes," Scorpius whispered back. "Daddy makes good pancakes."

"Do you hear that Draco?" Ginny asked. Her smile made Draco's heart pound and she added, "You're making us breakfast."

He laughed and pulled both Ginny and Scorpius into his arms, squishing Scorpius against his chest. "Daddy!" Scorpius shrieked, "You're squashing me!"

"Oh really?" Draco asked. Scorpius nodded and Draco started tickling him ferociously. Scorpius screeched excitedly and laughed, thrashing around under the covers.

When Draco finally stopped Scorpius giggled and then said seriously, "Daddy, Mr. Winkie is getting very hungry."

"Well, then we'd better go start making breakfast," Draco suggested. Scorpius climbed out of bed and ran out of the room. Rolling over, Draco kissed Ginny deeply and said, "We usually eat breakfast in our pajamas, but if you want to shower and get changed, you can."

"No, it's fine," Ginny said. She pulled herself out of bed and brushed her hair before putting it up in a pony tail. He pulled a shirt on and she watched him closely, admiring his body before wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her tip toes to kiss him deeply. He kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her into his arms. She shrieked in surprise as he carried her down stairs. When they got to the kitchen he set her on the counter and then lifted Scorpius so he could sit next to her.

"Now," Draco said dramatically, "Prepare to be amazed. You're going to see magic!"

"Oh dear," Ginny mumbled. Scorpius, who was thoroughly amazed, covered Mr. Winkie's eyes.

Within an hour a heaping pile of pancakes adorned the table along with syrup, bananas and whipped cream. Scorpius sat at the head of the table and within seconds Mr. Winkie was covered in syrup. Ginny and Draco sat at opposite sides of the table. His long legs reached under the table and linked his feet with hers. They ate in silence. Scorpius was right, Draco made amazing pancakes.

When they had finished, Scorpius ran upstairs to go wash up and get dressed while Ginny and Draco cleaned up the kitchen. When they finished Draco grabbed Ginny and whispered in her ear, "I'm going to drop Scorpius off at school and then I'll be right back. Ok?"

"Ok," she looked up at him, "What do you want me to do while I wait for you?"

"Stay in your pajamas," he said. "On second thought, take them off and wait for me in bed."

She followed him upstairs and watched him as he dressed. First he pulled on a simple pair of black slacks and then pulled on a black button up shirt. He kissed her deeply before walking out.

Ginny took her time getting comfortable again in Draco's bed. Instead of falling back into place on her side of the bed, she curled up in Draco's pillow and breathed in his scent. Even though they had been out of bed for over an hour, the spot still held a little of his lingering body heat. The blankets were nice and poofy, giving her the opportunity to cuddle under them.

She had almost drifted back to sleep when the door opened and Draco walked in asking, "Trying to steal my side of the bed?"

Grunting she shifted under the covers so he could perch on the edge of the bed by her feet. "Do you know how good you smell?"

"No," he said, looking concerned.

"It's like," she paused, "It's like a mix of soap, alcohol and sex." He stared down at her, surprised and she giggled, "It's a good thing, don't worry."

"If you say so," he shrugged and leaned over to kiss her deeply. After pulling away he peeked under the blankets and then teased, "I gave you one thing to do: take off your clothes, and you didn't do it!"

"I like it much better when you take my clothes off," Ginny said.

The grin that spread across his face was almost devilish and he quickly threw the blankets off of her. He practically ripped her shirt off and then tugged her pajama bottoms down before throwing them on the floor. His eagerness made Ginny laugh and he laughed too before collapsing next to her on the bed. She leaned over and kissed him deeply.

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Back at home Ginny grabbed Albus off the floor, where he was playing with Harry and hugged him tightly. "Ow mum!" Albus struggled in her grasp, "What's wrong with you?" He hadn't completely lost his lisp.

"Mum, have you gone mental?" James asked quietly, standing up. Ginny shook her head and he cautiously hugged her leg. She stroked his hair, making him snuggle his face into her thigh.

After a moment Harry asked, "Seriously Ginny, what happened?"

Ginny ignored him and kneeled down to look James in the eye. "Would you two like to help me fix dinner?" The boys eyed her skeptically and she added, "We'll make a cake for desert." The boys shouted excitedly and scampered into the kitchen.

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That evening Ginny carried Albus and James up to bed. James willingly brushed his teeth and changed into his pajamas before crawling into bed, but Albus, who was already fast asleep wasn't as easy. He had flour, cake batter and frosting smeared across his face. Ginny carefully washed him and changed him into his favorite bug pajamas before kissing his forehead and tucking him into bed.

Begrudgingly, Ginny made her way to her room. Harry was already sitting up in bed, showered and in his pajamas. Ginny quickly changed into some lose shorts and a football shirt before climbing into bead. "Um, Ginny?" Harry asked quietly. She grunted in response and he added, "Wouldn't you like to take a shower before bed? You got all covered in flour when you were baking with the boys and this is a new mattress. Don't you think we should try to keep it nice?"

"I don't think a little flour is going to ruin your cherished mattress," Ginny said sarcastically.

"Ok," Harry said, but it was obvious he had more to say.

"What?" Ginny snapped, sitting up. "What more do you have to say to me Harry?"

"I just don't think that our boys should be baking," Harry said shrugging. "Don't you think they should be focusing on more important things like Quidditch or, I don't know, their studies?"

"Harry, they're four and six," Ginny said bluntly, "And if they like baking, you should support them! Why do you have to be like this?"

"Like what?" he snapped.

"Like such an ass," Ginny sighed, "Harry, I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Well, if you're so upset, we should talk about it," Harry said sarcastically, "And then we can go bake something."

"Fuck you, Harry," Ginny snapped. She grabbed her pillows and stomped downstairs to the couch. She flopped down and fumed for a while before the tears came. In the morning, when she woke up late, Harry was gone.

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