The Prodigy Chapter 2: Summer Solstice, a harry potter fanfic

Well, here goes. enjoy.

italics indicate flashback. word.

read: the prologue took place on new year's eve of 2003 (12/31/02). This is now 2006.

Chapter 2--Summer Solstice

Ginny stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself off. After wiping the steam from the mirror, she looked at her reflection. Her scarlet hair fell in waves just past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were chocolate brown and she laughed as she remembered an encounter she had with a drunk Muggle. He had told her that her eyes looked like big M&M's, some Muggle candy, she figured, and that he wanted to eat them right up. She remembered how she had jokingly asked him if he was a cannibal, and he practically had a conniption trying to figure out what the word 'cannibal' meant.

Ginny continued her scrutiny by looking at her body. She was short, 5'4" at the most, and she had an athletic figure, with subtle curves that made her look more appealing. With the towel still wrapped around her, Ginny walked into her bedroom and opened the wardrobe. In a few short hours' time, she would be attending the Seventh Annual Summer Solstice Ball held by the Ministry. They had held it to celebrate the downfall of Voldemort. The Dark Lord was defeated on June 21, 1999, by none other than Harry Potter. Hermione and Ron had went along with Harry to destroy the remaining Horcruxes in their Seventh Year, abandoning Ginny. She didn't mind; she had made great friends with Luna Lovegood and a girl from Quidditch, Demelza Robbins.

Before his departure, Harry had asked Ginny to wait for her, and she obliged, although a bit stubbornly. He returned for the Final Battle in which Ginny had played a crucial role. Essentially, she was being used as bait for the Dark Lord; he would see Harry's girlfriend and use her to get to him. Though surrounding Ginny, there were a half-dozen Disillusioned Aurors surrounding her and they chorused a Stunning spell so strong that not even Lord Voldemort could stop it. Then Harry killed him, and everything was great. After Ginny's final year at Hogwarts, Harry had asked her to marry him, and she said yes. Everything was picture perfect, until one fateful day almost three and a half years ago...

Harry and Ginny walked hand in hand to the Fertility Clinic in St. Mungo's. After trying for so long to conceive, they decided that they should talk to a Healer to figure out what was wrong. They sat down in Healer Sims' office and she gave them the standard speech about how fertilization works. She explained how she would wave her wand over each of them, and if it glowed green, then they were fertile. If not, it would glow red.

Ginny went first. "Okay," Healer Sims said soothingly, "I'm just going to wave my wand, say the incantation, and either color will glow from your abdomen. Ready?"

Ginny gulped. "Yeah," she croaked out. She was exceedingly nervous. What if she could never produce a child?

The Healer waved her wand and said the incantation. Ginny looked down and saw that her abdomen was glowing green. Delighted, she practically jumped on the Healer and thanked her.

Harry's turn was next. The Healer repeated the process and Ginny gasped. Harry was glowing red.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter," the Healer said. "I know this is very hard for you two."

Ginny had her face buried in her hands and she was crying silently. Harry was just too shocked to have any sort of reaction.

"We have alternatives," the Healer continued. "There are donors so Mrs. Potter could produce a child. There is also adoption." She handed a couple of pamphlets to Harry and he took them blindly. After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry stormed out of the Healer's office.

Ginny stood to follow him. "Thank you for your help, Healer Sims," she sniffled.

Sims looked at her apologetically. "Please, consider our options, Mrs. Potter."

Ginny nodded mutely and went after Harry.

When Ginny had found Harry, he was in their flat, on a rampage. He was convinced that the Healer did it wrong, that the spell got switched and Ginny was the one who was infertile. They fought for several months; Harry would not agree to adopt and he would never have his Ginny carry another man's child. Incensed, Ginny brought up the idea of divorce one day, after Harry had said, "What's the point of being married if we can't even have a child?" Of course, he was being completely tactless and not thinking about what he was saying, but she had had enough. They got divorced in August of 2003, right before Ginny's 21st birthday, where she proceeded to get smashed with Demelza. Ginny had also decided to go back to being a Weasley, instead of staying Ginny Potter.

After rummaging in her wardrobe for the longest time, Ginny finally found the dress she would be wearing to the ball. It was a simple powder blue strapless gown. The ball only required formal dress, not necessarily dress robes. She laid the dress on her bed and looked at her watch. It was about 4:15, and the ball started at 6:00. She decided that she might as well wake Darien from his nap and get him ready for the ball as well.

Darien James Weasley was Ginny's adopted son. After her divorce from Harry, she decided to intern at St. Mungo's to become a Healer in the Maternity ward. She figured if she couldn't have her own child, then she could be around with them all the time. In early October of 2003, a woman came in as she was about to give birth. She was so far in labor that the Healers didn't bother with paperwork or identification. They just delivered the baby as soon as possible. After the baby was born, the mother still wouldn't speak. She didn't name the baby or give her own name. The baby boy was taken to the nursery and the Healers left the mother alone to get sorted out because she didn't appear to be in a right mental state. When they went to find her, she was gone. The baby was put up for adoption and Ginny, enraged that the beautiful boy was abandoned the way he was, adopted him on the spot. She even got to name him and everything. He kept the name Weasley because when they did a paternity charm, they could find nothing. They thought the child must be a Squib or Muggleborn. The former was ruled out when the baby caused the Healer's pants to fall off.

So Ginny kept Darien and she loved being a mother, even though she was a single mother. He would be turning three this fall (October 4th). She always brought him to the Summer Solstice ball because everyone loved to see him. He was the most gorgeous little boy in the world, in Ginny's opinion. He had dark, chocolate brown hair and steel blue eyes. His skin was a light olive tone. He was also very charismatic and was showing strong signs of magic already.

Ginny made her way to Darien's bedroom to see that he was sitting on his bed and staring at the clock in wonderment. She glanced at the clock and saw that the minute and hour hands were spinning around very fast. Soon, Ginny was practically hypnotized by the movement of the clock hands.

"Mummy!" Darien exclaimed, and she was broken from her trance. He leapt off the bed and ran into Ginny's arms.

"Dary! How was your nap, sweetheart?"

"Boring," he pouted.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "So, you didn't nap, did you?"

Darien gave her puppy dog eyes. "Mummy I wasn't tired. Why couldn't Abby come over to play?"

Ginny sighed. Abby was Ron and Hermione's daughter. She was born a month before Darien. "Because, honey, Abby has nap time, just like you're supposed to." She gave him a mischievous look. "Since you didn't take your nap, I guess I'll just have to punish you!" she said, as she lunged for him. She restrained him easily and began to tickle him.

He was laughing so hard that he began gasping for breath. "Mum! Okay, okay I'll nap tomorrow, stop!"

She stopped tickling him and kissed him on the nose. "That's my boy. Okay, time for your bath so we can get ready to go to the big people party." He gave her a hopeful look and she answered his unasked question. "Yes, Abby will be there. Now come on, mister."

After his bath, Ginny dressed Darien in his little toddler tuxedo. She combed his hair and he looked ready to go. She told him to behave while she got ready, so he wouldn't ruin his appearance. It's not that she cared so much about appearances, but she liked it when her little boy looked nice.

At quarter to six, Ginny was running around her kitchen to find something old to make a Portkey out of. She got permission to make a Portkey last week from the Ministry, but she just needed something to use. Finally, she settled on using an old grocery list. Pointing her wand at it, she muttered 'Portus' before it glowed and settled back to it's original state. "Come on, Darien!" she called. "You don't want to keep Abby waiting!"

Darien scrambled into the room and grabbed his mom's hand. She held out the Portkey to him and he held it with his other hand. After a moment, they could feel the pull behind their navel as they traveled to the Ministry of Magic.

!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!

Draco entered the ball at about 6:30. He was dressed in a Muggle style tuxedo, his hair wasn't slicked back, but it was well kept. His silver eyes scanned the room as he looked for familiar faces. He saw Parvati Patil with a bittersweet expression on her face. He then realized that it was because she had lost her twin, Padma, in the final battle. He also saw Weasley with his wife, Granger. He also recognized their daughter, Allison? Anna? Abigail, that's it. The daughter, of course, had the Weasley hair and freckles, but she had Granger's eyes. It appeared that Abigail was playing with a boy about her age, whom Draco didn't recognize.

He sauntered over to the refreshment table to a glass of water. He wasn't much of a drinker anymore; after one too many hangovers, he decided to sober up a bit. He stood off to the side a bit and continued with one of his favorite activities: people observing.

He was watching as Granger began to lecture Weasley about something, when somebody bumped into him. "I'm sorry! Here, do you want me to do a drying spell for you?"

Draco looked over at the somebody who had bumped into him. Apparently, Ginny Weasley had clumsily bumped into him and spilled his water all over the front of his tux. He stared at her in confusion. "Weasel, are you aware as to who you are talking to?"

Ginny stared back at him. "Yeah, you're Draco Malfoy, playboy extraordinaire, and immature schoolboy who uses fifth grade insults when he's in his twenties."

Draco feigned hurt. "Weasley, you wound me. I was just looking out for your mental well-being, after all. I mean, with so many of you Weasleys, I wasn't sure if you remembered your own name so I just used a general term to address you."

Ginny glared at him. "What, you think that us Weasleys are stupid? At least we know how to choose the winning side of the war." She paused. "Well, not you in particular, but the rest of you Malfoys," she waved a hand.

He grimaced. "Touché. Well, considering how you just practically assaulted me, you just aren't graceful, now are you?"

"Graceful? Merlin, no," she laughed. She thought for a second. "Although, I could be very sophisticated if I tried."

Draco snorted. "You? Sophisticated? Let's see then." He crossed his arms and waited.

"Well, first introduce yourself to me." He raised an eyebrow at her and she glared. "Just do it."

He sighed exasperatedly. "Hi. I'm Draco Malfoy."

She cleared her throat and put on a fake smile. "Draco Malfoy! I'm Ginevra Weasley and I'm so pleased to make your acquaintance." She took a sip of her drink and proceeded to inhale some of it, and began coughing and spluttering. Once her airway was clear, she began to laugh.

Draco looked at her with a wary expression. "You're insane, aren't you?"

Ginny stopped laughing. "Merlin, I wish I was." She took a deep breath. "So, Draco Malfoy. What have you been doing all these years?" she said, trying to engage him in casual conversation.

He shrugged. "Well, not much. A little bit of this, little of that. I'm sort of an entrepeneur. What about you?" he asked with a polite indifference.

"Wow, little Draco Malfoy has finally grown up. Actually having a conversation with a Weasley." He glared at her and she answered his question. "Oh, I work at St. Mungo's, in the Maternity ward. I deliver babies," she said. "So how about you? Got a wife, kids, whole nine yards?"

Draco's eyes widened. "Merlin, no. I don't think I could handle the commitment." At that, Ginny snorted. "What about you? Weren't you Mrs. Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die once upon a time?"

Ginny sighed sadly. "Indeed."

He was about to ask her to elaborate, but he caught himself. What am I doing? Discussing personal lives with a Weasley, he thought to himself. An attractive Weasley at that, he added as he looked her up and down.

"Mummy!" Draco looked up to see Ginny whirling around and catching the little boy he had seen earlier in her arms.

"Weasley, I didn't know you had a kid," he said before he could stop himself.

She stood to face him with Darien positioned on her right hip. "Well, yes, I do have a son," she said proudly. "This is Darien James Weasley. Darien, this is Draco Malfoy." She turned to Draco. "Isn't he adorable?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking to me or the kid?" She glared at him and he smirked before turning to Darien. "Nice to meet you, Darien."

"Nice to meet you, too, Draco Malfoy," Darien responded politely.

Draco looked astonished. "How old is this kid?" he asked Ginny.

"He'll be three in October, why?"

"I don't know, just he seems very mature for his age, the way he can talk and stuff. Has he showed signs of magic yet?"

Ginny laughed. "You bet. Since the day he was born, actually. He made the Healer's pants fall off." She put Darien down and told him to go play with Abby.

Draco quickly checked her out again. "Weasley, you don't look like you had a kid.'

Ginny smiled. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment. But no, I didn't have him, I adopted him. While I was interning at the hospital, some woman showed up, had the kid, and left spontaneously. She left no name, no identification and they couldn't trace his bloodline to the father. Poor dear, he was probably the result of some one-night stand that went awry. But, I love him and he's the greatest thing that's happened to me, so I guess I'm a happy camper." She sighed sadly. "It just breaks my heart that he'll never know his real parents. They must have been powerful Purebloods for him to be showing the magical strength that he does. I just don't understand why anyone would want to abandon their child, though."

Draco nodded, a bit uncomfortable. "Well, I see an old comrade of mine, so I must be going."

"Okay. So, I guess it was nice to see you again?" she said awkwardly.

"Sure. See you around, Weasley," with that, he walked away.

!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!

Harry looked over to where Ginny was talking to Malfoy, and he stared at the kid that she had just put down. It made him so angry that she had adopted a kid, even though they were already divorced. It was difficult for him, though, because deep down he knew that the spell wasn't faulty and that he was incapable of producing a child. He could never bring himself to talk to her, because he didn't want to see the boy. He hadn't talked to Ginny in almost three years, so as Malfoy walked away form her, he decided that three years was too long.

He walked over to where Ginny was still standing by the refreshment table, and he saw how beautiful she looked. He mentally cursed himself for leaving her. "Ginny," he said as he approached her.

She looked up at him, shocked. "Harry, hi. How are you?"

He shrugged. "All right, I guess." He scanned the room as he tried to find a topic to talk about. "So, you work at the hospital right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I deliver babies," she said, looking down. "How about you? How's Auror life?"

"Kind of boring, really. Just minor infractions of the law here and there. Nothing exciting."

Then, she brought up the one thing he was dreading. "Have you met Darien?"

Harry looked at her morosely and shook his head, not trusting his voice at the moment.

Ginny stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. "Harry, I'm sorry. If you don't want to meet him, I understand."

"No, Ginny, you don't understand," he lashed out. Ginny stepped back, her eyes wide. "You don't know what it feels like, waking up every day and knowing that you will never have something as beautiful as a child. You could never understand it, Ginny, so don't give me this bullshit sympathy."

That last statement angered Ginny. "Harry, I do understand, you dunderhead. I felt that way when we were married, when we would try over and over again to have a child and it just seemed that there was no hope for us. I care about you, Harry and I can partially understand what you're going through, so there's no need to bite my head off because you're emotionally unstable," she snapped. Then she gasped. "Harry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that last--"

"Save it, Ginny," he growled before stalking away.

Tears gathered in Ginny's eyes and she walked to the Ladies' Room, trusting that Hermione would watch Darien while she was gone.

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A/N: well, this chapter is purdy long. so we met darien. yayyyyy. lollipops to anyone who can guess who darien's parents are.

reviews are appreciated :D