Chapter 3:
Ginny twirled her quill between her fingers absentmindedly a few days later as she tried to concentrate on what exactly Professor Binns was lecturing about. Honestly, if she had to study Grindelwald again, someone was going to get smacked…
The classroom was hot, and stuffy… And Binns was speaking in his usual low, monotone. Ginny glanced around at the mixed Gryffindor and Ravenclaw class, spotting Luna scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. Stifling a yawn, Ginny checked the large clock at the front of the room. She sighed, there was still the better part of an hour left in the class before they could leave for the infinitely more interesting Potions double class.
Putting her quill down before she did it serious damage, Ginny settled for playing with a tendril of her long hair which had come free from her loose plait that snaked it's way down her back. Idly, she wondered what she would look like with shorter hair. Her mother had never really allowed her to cut it, but it felt heavy against her neck at that moment.
Knowing that she was stalling, thinking about anything but the impending meeting with McGonagall that Pomfrey had set up for that day after classes, Ginny forced herself to pay attention to Binns. She did, however, sigh a loud hiss of breath in relief as she left the class forty-five minutes later.
Colin Creevey, whom before their sixth year she had never been particularly close, despite his seeming crush on Harry, happened to be walking in front of her, and he turned to grin. "That was a brutal one, hmm?"
"Gods, I wanted to jump up and kill him again." Ginny grinned at him, warming to his easy smile, realizing with something akin to shock that Colin had certainly grown into his always promising baby-cuteness. They had become close since the end of the Christmas holidays when Padma had seemed to pull away from Ginny so completely.
"Tell me about it." He commiserated, falling into step with her as they made their way to the dungeons, "I really don't think I'll be taking History of Magic next year, and I'm still trying to figure out why I took it this year. I only got a mediocre O.W.L. in it."
"Me too." Ginny grinned at him, "Have you decided what you want to do after Hogwarts?"
"Well, I would like to be a Healer," Colin smiled at her look of surprise, "But I don't think I have it in me to stay in school for that long, or to work that hard for it, or the brains."
Ginny blinked at the frankness of that admission, "So you don't think you have the drive for it?"
"Nah." He shook his head, "I'm also looking at Muggle Relations. I mean, I am muggleborn, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch. And Circe, I have the sense of humour to deal with the crap."
They walked slowly, feeling incredibly at ease with one another, talking easily. Ginny was frankly astonished that beneath the Harry Potter fanaticism of the past, a really nice, and sweet guy lurked.
She told him about her utter confusion concerning her future, and he understood in a way that Draco and Blaise were unable to.
Draco and Blaise were in similar situations concerning their future, with Malfoy Enterprises, and Zabini Incorporated waiting under the incredibly skilled fingers of board members for their respective CEO's and owners to leave school and take over. They had both been groomed for the jobs since birth, and with their fathers deaths, the companies had become even more prosperous.
Neither of them had ever spoken of bitterness that their futures were mapped out to such a degree to Ginny, and she had to admire just how much care they each put into the companies that provided so many jobs to the wizarding community.
They had each also mentioned various positions within said companies that she might be interested in, from time to time, but Ginny had balked at the idea of working for either of her lovers, not matter how remotely. Her sense of independence was entirely too strong for that. Her mind wandered over to her pregnancy, and her mood soured slightly. She had even fewer options now if she did have the baby… and that scared her like nothing else.
Colin watched Ginny from the corner of his eyes, noticing that she was frowning again. He had been observing her for the last couple of days, noticing just how down-trodden she seemed, how upset, and he was astonished that no one had said anything, and that her Slytherins had not seemed to have noticed. It was no mistake that they had started talking… he had been looking for an opening for awhile now.
"Your face can get stuck like that you know." He remarked conversationally, "Trust me. You've seen my brother, right? Yeah, frowned a lot when he was a baby. Ugly fucker."
Laughing in an astonished manner, Ginny jumped lightly over the tricky step, landing on the hard stone with a slight jar, making her clutch at her flat abdomen in sheer reflex, fear ripping through her. The baby… She had never been this worried about anything else, and that thought made her tense, and glance quickly to see if the guy beside her had noticed anything remiss. Colin had noticed, and raised a golden-brown eyebrow at her.
"You know, my mum had my baby sister a couple of years ago," He spoke quietly, watching her carefully as she blushed, and hurriedly stuck her hands into her pockets, looking away, "And I remember that she would touch her belly, stroke it, even whisper to it, nutter that she is, at the smallest provocation. She was also moody, and pale… and quite sickly-looking for about two months."
"Fascinating." Ginny could hear her heart beating in her ears, and she swallowed thickly at the sudden rise of moisture at the back of her eyes. She stared down at her maryjanes, trying to get a hold of her suddenly ricocheting emotions.
"Ginny," Colin started, and shook his head as if deciding something, "I'm not going to pry, and I definitely won't say anything to anyone, but if you ever need to talk, I am around. I mean, I am good for more than bitching about Binns."
She looked up, seeing how soft his big brown eyes were, and nodded, "Thanks Colin, that does mean a lot."
"Anyway," He shifted the subject, sensing just how uncomfortable she was talking to him in this way, "You need to give me a few clues about Lavender. I've been after her for months, and I really don't think she's noticed. If I wasn't so thick-headed, I would have definitely given up by now."
Ginny laughed, feeling lighter than she had since that fateful meeting with Pomfrey, "You've got your work cut out for you."
"Don't I know it."
Padma shoved the remainder of her notes into her leather satchel, and left Advanced Potions, noticing that Draco, Blaise and Pansy had long since vacated the drafty classroom. Generally, she tried to stick around to chat with them, but it seemed like they had more sense than to stay in one of the coldest parts of the castle when they didn't have to.
McGonagall, at the beginning of the year, had forced Slughorn to move his comfortable classroom back to the dungeons, fearing for other student's safety, and despite his best efforts, it still rang with a cold that had most of his students casting hasty warming spells throughout the lessons.
Wandering into the hallway, she noticed the sixth year students milling around, waiting for Slughorn to admit them for their class, and spotted Ginny's bright head amongst them.
Padma sighed. It was too… weird to talk to Ginny at the moment. The only thing on her mind was either school, or George, and she really did not want to discuss her love life with her boyfriend's sister. There was also the small fact that she had no idea how Ginny felt about her and George being together. It was a tense situation for Padma, and she had decided avoidance was the best bet for the time being.
She was talking rather in depth to Colin though, which was odd. Padma had had no idea they were that close. Pushing away her feelings of loneliness, she walked away, cursing to herself again that she had let Parvati talk her into taking Divination again this year.
Ginny watched intently as Slughorn introduced them to the makings of veritaserum. He chuckled at a joke he had just told, seemingly not noticing the smirking looks of condescension on most of his student's face.
"Class, pull out your textbooks, and please turn to page 106. We need to fully understand the theory of this potion before attempting it." With that, Horace Slughorn sat back in his large, overstuffed chair, and dipped a pudgy hand into the ever-present bag of crystallized pineapple at his side.
The rest of the class was spent in silence, reading, and Ginny blinked as she stared down at the words in front of her. Yawning, she propped her chin up on her palm, her elbow resting precariously on the open book.
Colin watched Ginny from the corner of his eye, noticing how her nose was looming closer and closer to the words on the affects of the veritaserum. He was trying to concentrate on his own reading, but it was hard to ignore Ginny who was suddenly so pale, and delicate looking, and fast asleep, her cheek pressed intimately to the book.
Sighing, he gently shook her shoulder, looking around surreptitiously to make sure no one was paying any attention to them in the corner of the potions dungeon. As she slowly woke, swatting at his hand like one would a persistent fly, he placed his other hand in the air for Professor Slughorn's attention.
"Mr. Creevey?" The portly man asked with a slight smile on his rotund features.
"Professor, Ginny Weasley seems to be unwell, may I escort her to the Hospital Wing?"
Ginny sat up blinking at the sound of Colin's voice, looking around, faintly confused as to what was going on. Slughorn looked at her for a moment, before nodding at Colin, "Please do."
Making their way through the hallways, Ginny turned to her friend, "Thanks Colin. I don't really need to go to the hospital wing though…"
"I know." He stared ahead, "I was going to take you back to the tower for some rest. I would imagine you need more of that than usual at the moment."
She nodded, grateful that he understood, and wasn't pushing her with questions. "Thanks again."
Colin walked Ginny to the bottom of the stairs to the girl's dormitories before quietly walking right back out, and making his way to the library. People tended to leave him alone, to let him observe, and for some reason, the majority of the Slytherin seventh years had this period off together every other day, and tended to lounge in the darkest corner of the library near the restricted section.
Swallowing his apprehension of approaching the group that, despite their association with Ginny, still scared the shit out of him, Colin walked slowly to that corner, trying to be as quiet as possible, stepping lightly so that the library aides would have no reason to approach him.
Draco Malfoy was holding court, his long form sprawled in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs, tipped back on two legs, his arms behind his head. Pansy was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment, trying to finish her Charms essay, while Vince appeared to be asleep at her side.
Blaise was definitely asleep in one of the window seats, the shades pulled tightly against the harsh mid-day, winter sun, his longish black hair obscuring half of his face.
Colin cleared his throat hesitantly, not really wanting to gain the attention of the Slytherins at rest.
Draco looked at him with narrowed silver eyes, "Are you lost?"
"I'm a friend of Ginny's…" Colin's voice trailed off as Blaise Zabini sat up with an effortless grace, turning his full attention on the Gryffindor.
"Uhm… Ginny Weasley?" Colin licked his dry lips, the full intensity of Draco's gaze now upon him.
"Yes, we would know who Ginny is." Draco drawled in his low, husky voice, "Is there a reason you felt like coming in here, and announcing that?"
"Uhm…"
"For a Gryffindor, you're not all that courageous." Blaise remarked from his seat, watching Colin with curiosity.
"She needs you." Colin finally managed to burst out, almost wishing he could take it back as Draco and Blaise shot to their feet, staring at him.
"What? What happened?" Blaise's usual dulcet-tones were coming out much higher pitched than he was used to. He cringed, and coughed, hoping that Colin had not really registered that as he stood under Draco's intense scrutiny.
"She's not hurt!" Colin added hastily as Draco advanced on him in a threatening way, "She was… unwell in Potions, and I took her back to the tower. She's there now. I just think that she… needs you. Both of you."
Pansy watched this exchange with interest, her quill still in her hand where it lingered over her essay, slowly dribbling black ink onto her carefully formed words. She would curse over her own carelessness later.
"Let's go." Blaise's response was immediate, and Colin sighed in relief as Draco turned away from him, to face his fellow Slytherin.
Colin led the two older boys up through the school silently. They seemed just so… intense when it came to Ginny, anyone could see that, and yet, for some strange reason, he got the feeling that they had no idea about the baby. He couldn't understand that at all, as it had seemed as clear as day to him, but she still needed them in these early stages.
Blaise glanced at Draco, noticing how taut his jaw was, We knew she was going through something, Blaise. We knew.
I know.
Why did it take some sniveling little sixth year to… Gods! Draco was upset, Blaise could tell. It was mildly obvious.
Don't worry yet, love, we don't even know what's going on.
Colin watched with awe as both Slytherins made their way up the stairs that he had never managed to overcome with little to no effort, and sighed. Maybe this was why the girls always went for the bad boys. It was quite enough to make one to go out and buy a badass leather jacket.
Draco pushed the door open carefully, immediately spotting Ginny curled up in a small ball on her bed. Feeling Blaise following close behind him, he picked his way around the various items of female paraphernalia that littered the floor, coming to a kneeling position beside the bed at her head.
Blaise sat down on the bed beside her hip, watching her intently. Ginny had felt their presence the moment they had stepped into the tower, and she slowly opened her eyes to stare into Draco's beloved face.
"Hi." She smiled softly, reaching out a hand to trail it through his silky hair. He smiled in return, turning his head to press a gentle kiss into her palm.
Blaise leaned forward to kiss her cheek, sitting back as she turned to smile at him sleepily. "Hi kitten. Feeling lazy today?"
"Mmhmm…" Ginny rubbed her hands across her eyes, reminding Blaise strongly of a kitten. He grinned at her again, stretching out beside her, feeling Draco laying on her other side.
Ginny reached out for each of their hands, holding on tightly. She knew it was time, but she had no idea how to tell them. She had no idea what she even wanted to do.
"Tell us." Draco spoke quietly, hugging her close, "Let us in."
"I'm trying…" She said just as softly, no louder than a whisper.
"You do tend to lock us out of anything important, I hate to bring that up, kitten." Blaise chuckled lightly as she aimed a punch at his shoulder, before turning over fully to kiss his cheek.
"I love you…" She whispered to him, then looked at Draco, "I love you…"
"Stop changing the subject, Red." Draco admonished softly. "I love you too though."
Ginny sighed, burrowing deeply into his side, "Fine."
Blaise listened in mild shock as Ginny outlined what had happened in the Hospital Wing after her Quidditch fall.
"Are you sure?" Draco's authoritative voice broke the silence that fell after those two fateful words were spoke, 'I'm pregnant.'
"Yes." Ginny could feel her eyes smarting, tears gathering, and she could barely say a thing.
"Well, I didn't see this coming…" Blaise murmured, his thoughts going a thousand miles a second. "We have to get married… we need to figure out what you're going to do about school…"
Ginny looked at him in shock, "Blaise, I'm not sure if I want to have the baby yet."
"What?" He looked down at her in disbelief, "What are you talking about?"
"I might take a potion from Madame Pomfrey that… well, it would make me lose the baby."
"How could you think about doing that?" Blaise moved away slightly, still unable to believe that she had seriously said something like that.
Draco shot him a sharp look, before look back at Ginny, "We'll support you no matter what you decide, Gin. If you decide that, then that's fine… It is your future that we are talking about here, and it is your body."
"No!" Blaise exclaimed, climbing off the bed with none of his usual grace, "I can't understand why you would say something like that? That would be murdering a child!"
Ginny whimpered slightly, and turned her head into her pillow. She was starting to feel sick to her stomache, and just so damned guilty. Blaise was so upset…
Draco pulled Ginny into his arms again, holding her tightly, feeling her trembling, and he stroked her hair away from her face. "Come on Blaise, we'll talk about this later. Can't you see that she's not up to talking about this yet?"
"Fine." Blaise sat down on the edge of the bed, his back to both of them, and buried his head in his hands. He just couldn't… that's what his mother had wanted for him, she had told him often enough. Why would Ginny want to do that to their child?
--
Charlie stroked a hand over Emily's thick, rich hair, feeling the strands catch at his fingers as she slept. He sighed, and rolled onto his back. She had been distant all evening, and when asked what was wrong, her only reply was "Nothing.".
Admitting to himself that he quite suspected women were insane, Charlie closed his eyes, and hoped that sleep would find him soon.
Waking up what felt like a moment later, Charlie reached out with a languorous arm, ridged with hard muscles from exhausting physical labour, for the curvy, warm body that he expected to be laying beside him. His fingers curled into a fist as he slowly realized that Emily had already left for her shift.
Stretching his arms over his head to work the kinks out of his back, Charlie stared up at the rough wood of the ceiling, thinking about all that he had to accomplish at work.
A group from the British Ministry of Magic was visiting the reserve, and Charlie was expected to present them with his work, as well as act as an interpreter for them to be able to converse with the Director, who only spoke Romanian and French. He had a few hours before their arrival, however, and he wished that Emily had stayed to play hooky with him.
It had been awhile since they had made love, he realized with a shock, almost two weeks. Even though his mind hadn't registered that, his body sure had… He looked down at his straining flesh, grimacing at his almost-painful desire.
Charlie looked to the window, with the shades still pulled tightly against the harsh mid-morning sun, and he ran slightly trembling fingers over the length of his cock, feeling lust pool in his stomache.
Wrapping his hand around his aching flesh, Charlie slowly moved his fist, images of Emily's naked form flitting through his mind. Gasping, he rubbed his thumb over the tip, the sensitive nerve-endings there pulsating at the motion.
His hand circling around, moving rhythmically, Charlie could feel the sweat running down his sides as he arched his back, his eyes closed tightly against the incredible feelings. As if by it's own volition, his hand sped up, wringing more and more moans of pleasure from his lips.
With a finally low cry, Charlie came, his hand pulling away as his flesh became too sensitive. Trying to catch his breath, he lay in bed for a few moments longer, before rising to take a quick shower. His body at ease, his mind working a thousand miles a second trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his relationship.
--
Padma entered the Hogsmeade branch of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes with a slight feeling of trepidation. One never could know what her boyfriend, and his brother, would be up to upon entering one of their stores.
"Padma!" George spotted her entering the shop, and walked over to greet her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he leaned in to kiss her hard on the mouth. Padma smiled against his lips, wrapping her arms around his slim waist.
"Hey you." She grinned up at him, before turning away to check out their new displays, "Have you been behaving yourself?"
"Never." He grinned back, grabbing her hand to pull her to the back of the shop where his coat was waiting, "I am starving. I actually started fantasizing about the canary creams, it was bad. Liam had to hold me back, the poor boy is an accountant, not a dragon-keeper, after all."
"Ha ha." She remarked dryly, spotting a new candy that she had never seen before. "What does this one do?"
"Try it." Not trusting the evil glint in his eye, Padma hastily put the box back on the shelf, and then turned and kicked him in the shin.
"Hey!" He leaned down to rub the pained appendage, trying to grab hold of her arm in the process. She laughed at him, and jumped back a few paces, just out of reach, "Oh, I'm going to get you back for that, you know that, right?"
"I look forward to it." Padma quirked a dark eyebrow at him, before walking back to the front door.
"You're all talk, girly!"
As George hobbled after her, he reflected just how true those words were. Padma always seemed to be so hot and passionate, until a certain point, when she seemed to shut down, and push him away. It was confusing as hell… and he was pretty sure he loved her.
Sitting down to eat at the Hog's Head, Padma waved to a few of her classmates that she spotted, waiting for George to catch up to her, still limping slightly. Huh. She didn't really feel that guilty over that.
George glared at her, and then caught up her hand to kiss her knuckles, ordering himself a butterbeer as he went. "I can't seem to stay mad at you, even when you kick me. It's a real curse."
Padma grinned in return, "And all that without a blowjob. Yay me!"
Sighing, George took a large gulp of his drink. It was like a rollercoaster, it really was.
A/N: Ah…. A bit late on the update this time… sorry about this. I'll try to write this weekend (Happy Canada Day All!!! I know… Corona and the beach long weekend!)
Thank you again for the lovely reviews, I especially appreciated the declarations of love, and about my adjectives. Those made me laugh…. heheh
Ok, there's going to be some residual fall out from this chapter, but I really wanted to have a non-cliché Ginny pregnancy, and this was the best way to do it. I thought it would also be interesting to have Draco be the pro-choice, and Blaise pro-life of that particular debate. Please don't flame me with your personal beliefs on this issue, as that's not really the point here. Just read… I already know what I'm going to do with that storyline.
A BIG THANK YOU TO AIRMIDM! She shared her knowledge with me, and I hope that I stay faithful to that. Thank you once again!