Chapter 1: Seeing Things Done Wrong
I don't own any of this. Some lucky rich English woman does. I just play around with some of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny let out a sigh. It had been five days since Draco had been home. Each day he would go from the small Order headquarters to the main one with news. She had seen him for a minute one day when he had popped home to grab some files. Draco had stopped long enough to give Ginny a light kiss and then he was gone again. The Order knew Voldemort was going to strike soon, but how soon, and how hard were the questions. That's what Draco, Harry, and Ron had been working on. Yet so far they had all come up empty.
~~~~~
It was calm and warm in the house. It was June and beautiful weather had set in. If only she was able to share it with her family. Ginny’s thoughts began to calm down as she thought of what her life would be like after the war. Then, from nowhere, a crash came. Ginny was up in a flash and she soon found herself in front of a closed door. She didn't bother to knock; she just tapped her wand to the handle and the door sprang open. Lying on the floor was their seventeen-year-old daughter Sarea. Next to her was what caused the crash: a simple lamp. Ginny, however, was not concerned with the lamp. She knelt next to her daughter and tried to wake her.
"Sarea," she started, tears forming in her eyes, "Sarea please wake up.” Her daughter’s long blonde hair was flowing out onto the carpet and her closed lids hid her beautiful blue eyes.
Quick as a flash Ginny was at the fireplace in Draco’s study; it was closer than the living room. She grabbed a handful of Floo powder and yelled, "Mum!"
A few seconds later Molly Weasley’s upper body was in the fireplace. She began to smile warmly at her daughter but stopped when she saw the tears rolling down Ginny’s cheeks.
"Mum it’s Sarea," she said desperately, "she's passed out on the floor of her room and she won't wake up! I need your help."
"Hermione and I will be right there. Ginny, you just stay with Sarea."
Ginny rushed back into her daughter’s room. She pointed her wand at Sarea and said, "Wingardium Leviosa," her voice shaking slightly.
A few moments later her daughter was lying on her bed still and silent. Ginny wished Sarea would say something; it was so unlike her daughter to be silent. Draco and she were constantly getting owls from Sarea’s teachers at Hogwarts saying just because she was a bright student did not mean she could talk all through lessons. Draco and Ginny’s daughter was unlike any other child born to the Malfoy’s or the Weasley’s.
When she was first born she would not stop crying and the Healer could not figure out why. So she took Sarea out of Draco’s arms and performed a health charm on her from top to bottom. A few moments later, Draco and Ginny were the proud parents of a Malfoy seer. Their daughter had been crying because she had been having a vision. Ever since then, welcome or not, Sarea had visions.
Ginny was just thinking about some of her daughter’s visions when she heard a voice from down the hall.
"Ginny dear, where are you?" Molly Weasley called.
"In Sarea’s room, Mum," Ginny called back, brushing away her tears.
A few moments later Molly Weasley came rushing into the room closely followed by Ginny’s sister-in-law Hermione Weasley, Ron’s wife.
"Oh dearest," Molly cooed enveloping her daughter in a hug. "Now, I've already Flooed the Mediwizard and she said he couldn't be here for at least an hour, but Sarea should be fine. You go and Floo Draco and the boys. Hermione is going to help me for a few moments and then she'll be with you. Don't worry dearest; nothing is going to happen to our Sarea."
"Thanks Mum," Ginny sighed as she walked out of the room and down the stairs. She made her way into their grand living room. The fireplace against the far wall was connected to the Floo network, only two of the fireplaces in the house were, the one in the living room and the one in Draco’s office. Ginny took some more Floo powder and tossed it into the fire saying, "Find Draco."
Draco Malfoy was always moving around when he was on the job. So he had a special Floo device installed so Ginny could call to him and any fireplace he was at would let him talk to her. It worked very well and a lot of the time it was the only way Draco could talk to his family when he was away.
Ginny paced back and forth as she waited for her husband to answer her Floo call. Soon she heard his voice and sat herself down in front of the fireplace to talk to him.
Draco’s head appeared through the flames but before he could speak his wife’s expression stopped him. He regarded her for a moment and knew she was concerned about something; Ginny could hide nothing from Draco.
"What's happened?"
"Draco," she said, her voice failing her, "its Sarea. Something's wrong, she passed out about fifteen minutes ago and won't wake up. I've called my mum and she and Hermione are here. Mum called the Healer too. I just don't know what could be wrong."
Tears started to fall silently down Ginny’s face and Draco reached his hand through the fireplace to brush them away. Ginny leaned into his touch as she tried to control her tears.
"I'll be home," he told her, looking into her eyes seeing fear and worry, "As soon as I can. I'll be there."
"Draco, please hurry, I need you," Ginny pleaded as his hand left her cheek.
"Just be strong until I get there. I'm coming and Ron and Harry will come with me."
"Hurry," Ginny said, as his head started to recede back into the fire.
"I love you," he said gently, before he was gone totally.
Ginny slowly got to her feet and turned. Hermione was just coming down the stairs towards Ginny.
"Gin, what do you need me to do?"
"Can you please go in and wake the boys?" Ginny asked her sister-in-law, placing a hand on her forehead.
"What should I tell them when they ask why I'm here?"
"Just say: Sarea's very sick and Grandmum and you came to help her get better but you came to see them to make sure they were ok."
"Alright," Hermione said. "Gin, Sarea's going to be fine. If I know her, and I do, she has plenty of Weasley strength and Malfoy stubbornness."
Ginny managed a small laugh at her sister-in-laws words. Hermione placed a comforting hand on Ginny’s arm and then headed in the direction of the twin’s room. Ginny smiled slightly. Their two eight-year-old, identical twin sons, Adam and Corey, were sleeping in the room they shared. They were almost as bad as Fred and George; Ginny probably should have rethought letting her two-mischief making brothers baby-sit as often as they did. Both Ginny and Draco feared for the day they went to Hogwarts. For if the boys were as tricky as they were at eight, they could hardly imagine them as blooming teenagers.
Ginny walked over to her favorite leather chair and almost fell into it. She was tired; it was not even ten at night and yet she felt as if she hadn't slept in days. She always got like this when she was scared or worried. She had been so tired but unable to sleep for five days, ever since Draco had gone. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. What could be wrong with Sarea? She was in no way perfect but she almost never got sick or hurt. It was almost as if her seer abilities gave her the immunity to illness or injury. The not perfect part was a bit of an understatement. She was an incredible girl and Ginny and Draco loved her with everything they had. She was, however, a Malfoy through and through. Her father gave his stubbornness to her; no one doubted that. She had a temper on her as well, though it took a lot to bring her temper out. Once someone saw it, they knew what a mistake they had made. She was Draco’s only daughter and he lavished attention on her. Ginny did too. They both knew her as their Princess, their one and only daughter. Nevertheless, their sons got as much special treatment as their little girl. Draco and Ginny always tried to be fair to all of their children because they loved them all as much as they ever could.
Ginny was now silently cursing herself; she and Sarea had had a little row that night. Sarea had been intent on going to Rome with some of her friends for the rest of the summer. Sarea figured that she'd ask her mother first. Once she got her mums ok then her dads wouldn’t be far behind. Well, Ginny didn't quite see her point of view. Ginny could still hear the whole conversation in her head and she wished that she couldn't; it broke her heart.
Sarea had come into the living room after dinner and threw her arms around her mother, causing Ginny to look up from her book in surprise. Then, Sarea placed a loving kiss on the heads of each of her brothers who were playing wizard chess on the floor near the roaring fire. Ginny thanked Merlin that her children got along. Sarea and her two brothers had a very close bond. It was cute to see the two eight year olds sticking up for and defending the seventeen year old. Sarea and Ginny had three overprotective men in their lives and they both loved them to death. Like all siblings, Sarea, Corey, and Adam fought but their arguments and grudges never lasted.
"Mum?" Ginny was brought back to the living room by her daughter’s voice. "Mum, I wanted to ask you something." Sarea had seated herself on a chair near her mother.
"Of course dearest, what is it?"
"Well Adrienne, Hannah, and Lily are all going to Rome for the rest of the summer and they've invited me. I really want to go with them. Can I mum?"
Ginny was taken aback. She had not expected this.
"Absolutely not Sarea!" Ginny had responded firmly. "No daughter of mine is going to Rome for almost the whole summer without any chaperones. It simply isn't done, if one of the girl’s parents were going I would say yes, but they aren't. Dearest, you are simply not old enough."
"I'm seventeen years old! How is that not old enough?" she yelled getting to her feet. "Besides, all the house elves are going. They'll watch us."
"Sarea, darling, house elves are not good enough. They still believe you are higher then they and they will listen to whatever you tell them. I need someone there who will set boundaries and curfews. I won't let my daughter run wild through Rome."
"Well, I'm not going to, am I? Just because you never got to do anything like this when you were my age, you won't let me either. It's not fair; I'm not you!"
"You most certainly aren't, because if you were, you would understand why I'm doing this. This has nothing to do with me. It has to do with you and your safety Sarea."
"I'm not a baby, mother; I can take care of myself!"
"Good," Ginny had said, losing control of her temper. "Then get your things and move out of our house if you can take care of yourself. You can get your own flat, and do whatever you want with your own money. Get going Sarea. You may want to be gone before your father gets home because we both know he'll stop you."
Sarea had been standing in front of her mother, hands clenched and lip trembling. "You just had to say no. You didn't have to go there but since you did, I'll match you. The Weasley’s never had money, so you wouldn't know how to spend it. You wouldn't know the meaning of fun and now you don't want me to either!"
With that, Sarea had turned and run up the stairs to her room. The slam of the door took away Ginny’s temper. Her only daughter was now up in her room, no doubt crying and hating her mother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I went too far," Ginny said aloud, her tears bringing her back to the present. "She was right; I only had to say no."
Ginny closed her eyes, slammed her head onto the back of the chair as tears flowed down her already damp cheeks. She stayed like this for a few moments then she felt two strong hands on her shoulders. She opened her eyes and saw two gray ones staring back into them.
"Draco," She whispered.
He pressed his lips against her forehead and gave her a slight smile, "Hey Gin."
"Hey," she replied, never taking her eyes away from his. "You’re home." She was pleased.
"Of course I'm home, nothing could keep me from you and the kids now. How's our little girl?"
"We don't know yet; the Healer hasn't gotten here. Mum's in there with her and Hermione is in the boy’s room with them."
"Do they know anything?"
"No, I just told her to say Sarea's sick. I don't want them to worry, not until we know what's happening. Oh Draco, I feel so horrible about this!"
"Why?" He wondered as he folded her into his arms. "This couldn't have been your fault Gin."
"No, but I didn't help matters," she breathed into his chest, "We had a row earlier and she was really upset me."
Ginny proceeded to tell Draco the whole story of that evening. By the end Ginny had her head on Draco’s shoulder, while his arms were wrapped protectively around her waist. Ginny had begun to cry again and Draco was trying to comfort her. He had said many times that Sarea would be fine, she was strong and would make it through. They both knew their daughter and she was anything but weak. After about five minutes they heard a small pop and broke apart. There they saw Narcissa Malfoy, standing before them, and standing next to her was Healer Whimper.
"Darlings," Narcissa said as she floated over to Draco and Ginny. "I just received Ron’s owl about Sarea. I found Healer Whimper just outside, so I took down the wards for a moment so we could apparate in. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all Mother," said Draco as he crossed over to her and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek, "We just didn't expect to see you."
"Oh dear, I hope I'm not coming when I shouldn't."
"Don't be silly Mother," Ginny said, embracing her mother-in-law, "You are, after all, family."
"Well," she began, "I only had to read that my grandbaby was in trouble and I was off."
It was then that Healer Whimper cleared his throat and said, "Where is she Mrs. Malfoy?"
"Oh forgive me Mr. Whimper," Ginny said getting to her feet, "I almost forgot about you. Please follow me."
Just before she left, she turned back, "Draco, why don't you go into the kitchen and make some tea. I'm sure Mother would like some and everyone else may as well."
"Good idea Gin," he said as he stood and began to escort his mother to the kitchen.
Once there, Draco began to make tea almost immediately. He knew his mother was going to start questioning him or talking to him about Sarea soon. He knew he couldn't. It was too hard for him to even think about his daughter. He was so worried. To even think of losing her was unbearable. He wouldn't think about it because Sarea was going to be fine. If he didn't show anyone how afraid he really was, he could still be strong for Gin and the boys.
"Draco, don't worry," she said gently.
His mother’s words came through his head and he just about lost it. He took a few deep breaths in to keep his tears from falling. He turned his back on her to keep her from seeing him lose his strength. He gripped the counter as his mother continued to talk.
"Draco, please don't shut everyone out. I know what you're trying to do and you can't. Hiding the way you feel, how worried you are, how afraid, is not going to help anyone dear. Don't try to shut us out; Ginny needs you and so do Corey and Adam. Your family too, all of them depend on you in some way. Ron, Harry, Hermione, Luna, all Ginny’s other brothers, Molly, and Arthur; they all look to you because you're family. I look to you too Draco; you've been my strength for so many years. Your family gives you strength and it scares you to see someone you cherish in such a dangerous position, but darling, backing away from the people who need you, will only cause you more pain."
Draco turned around to face his mother. The tears were now rolling down his cheeks. He walked slowly over to Narcissa. When he reached her, he knelt in front of her and broke down. Draco Malfoy was crying shamelessly into his mother’s lap, just as he had done so many times when his father had hurt him in the past. After about five minutes, Draco finally had himself under control. He got up from off the floor and sat next to his mother.
They both looked up when they heard a series of four pops. There at the entrance to the kitchen was more of the family: Ron, Luna, Harry and then Ginny’s father, Arthur.
"How are you?" Luna asked, "Do you know anything yet?"
Draco just shook his head. "Ron, Hermione is in with the boys if you'd like to join her. Harry--"
But he was cut off. Ginny appeared in the doorway, looking pale and shaken.
"Draco, Healer Whimper knows what's wrong. He says it's rather serious so you need to come back," she managed to get out before her voice failed her.
"The tea's ready," Draco told them as he got up. "Why don't you all stay here, and we'll come back when we know what's wrong."
Draco crossed to Ginny and took her hand in his. He led her out of the kitchen, to the stairs, and up. Neither said a word; there was nothing to say. Not moments later they came to their daughter’s bedroom door, with a deep breath Draco and Ginny went in. They only hoped their little princess had a chance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hugs to MissParker, Ayla, and Madeline. All three of my Beta's rock! Big hugs to my friend Connie who helped me with this even though she's not a DG person. Love to all who read and review.
I don't own any of this. Some lucky rich English woman does. I just play around with some of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny let out a sigh. It had been five days since Draco had been home. Each day he would go from the small Order headquarters to the main one with news. She had seen him for a minute one day when he had popped home to grab some files. Draco had stopped long enough to give Ginny a light kiss and then he was gone again. The Order knew Voldemort was going to strike soon, but how soon, and how hard were the questions. That's what Draco, Harry, and Ron had been working on. Yet so far they had all come up empty.
~~~~~
It was calm and warm in the house. It was June and beautiful weather had set in. If only she was able to share it with her family. Ginny’s thoughts began to calm down as she thought of what her life would be like after the war. Then, from nowhere, a crash came. Ginny was up in a flash and she soon found herself in front of a closed door. She didn't bother to knock; she just tapped her wand to the handle and the door sprang open. Lying on the floor was their seventeen-year-old daughter Sarea. Next to her was what caused the crash: a simple lamp. Ginny, however, was not concerned with the lamp. She knelt next to her daughter and tried to wake her.
"Sarea," she started, tears forming in her eyes, "Sarea please wake up.” Her daughter’s long blonde hair was flowing out onto the carpet and her closed lids hid her beautiful blue eyes.
Quick as a flash Ginny was at the fireplace in Draco’s study; it was closer than the living room. She grabbed a handful of Floo powder and yelled, "Mum!"
A few seconds later Molly Weasley’s upper body was in the fireplace. She began to smile warmly at her daughter but stopped when she saw the tears rolling down Ginny’s cheeks.
"Mum it’s Sarea," she said desperately, "she's passed out on the floor of her room and she won't wake up! I need your help."
"Hermione and I will be right there. Ginny, you just stay with Sarea."
Ginny rushed back into her daughter’s room. She pointed her wand at Sarea and said, "Wingardium Leviosa," her voice shaking slightly.
A few moments later her daughter was lying on her bed still and silent. Ginny wished Sarea would say something; it was so unlike her daughter to be silent. Draco and she were constantly getting owls from Sarea’s teachers at Hogwarts saying just because she was a bright student did not mean she could talk all through lessons. Draco and Ginny’s daughter was unlike any other child born to the Malfoy’s or the Weasley’s.
When she was first born she would not stop crying and the Healer could not figure out why. So she took Sarea out of Draco’s arms and performed a health charm on her from top to bottom. A few moments later, Draco and Ginny were the proud parents of a Malfoy seer. Their daughter had been crying because she had been having a vision. Ever since then, welcome or not, Sarea had visions.
Ginny was just thinking about some of her daughter’s visions when she heard a voice from down the hall.
"Ginny dear, where are you?" Molly Weasley called.
"In Sarea’s room, Mum," Ginny called back, brushing away her tears.
A few moments later Molly Weasley came rushing into the room closely followed by Ginny’s sister-in-law Hermione Weasley, Ron’s wife.
"Oh dearest," Molly cooed enveloping her daughter in a hug. "Now, I've already Flooed the Mediwizard and she said he couldn't be here for at least an hour, but Sarea should be fine. You go and Floo Draco and the boys. Hermione is going to help me for a few moments and then she'll be with you. Don't worry dearest; nothing is going to happen to our Sarea."
"Thanks Mum," Ginny sighed as she walked out of the room and down the stairs. She made her way into their grand living room. The fireplace against the far wall was connected to the Floo network, only two of the fireplaces in the house were, the one in the living room and the one in Draco’s office. Ginny took some more Floo powder and tossed it into the fire saying, "Find Draco."
Draco Malfoy was always moving around when he was on the job. So he had a special Floo device installed so Ginny could call to him and any fireplace he was at would let him talk to her. It worked very well and a lot of the time it was the only way Draco could talk to his family when he was away.
Ginny paced back and forth as she waited for her husband to answer her Floo call. Soon she heard his voice and sat herself down in front of the fireplace to talk to him.
Draco’s head appeared through the flames but before he could speak his wife’s expression stopped him. He regarded her for a moment and knew she was concerned about something; Ginny could hide nothing from Draco.
"What's happened?"
"Draco," she said, her voice failing her, "its Sarea. Something's wrong, she passed out about fifteen minutes ago and won't wake up. I've called my mum and she and Hermione are here. Mum called the Healer too. I just don't know what could be wrong."
Tears started to fall silently down Ginny’s face and Draco reached his hand through the fireplace to brush them away. Ginny leaned into his touch as she tried to control her tears.
"I'll be home," he told her, looking into her eyes seeing fear and worry, "As soon as I can. I'll be there."
"Draco, please hurry, I need you," Ginny pleaded as his hand left her cheek.
"Just be strong until I get there. I'm coming and Ron and Harry will come with me."
"Hurry," Ginny said, as his head started to recede back into the fire.
"I love you," he said gently, before he was gone totally.
Ginny slowly got to her feet and turned. Hermione was just coming down the stairs towards Ginny.
"Gin, what do you need me to do?"
"Can you please go in and wake the boys?" Ginny asked her sister-in-law, placing a hand on her forehead.
"What should I tell them when they ask why I'm here?"
"Just say: Sarea's very sick and Grandmum and you came to help her get better but you came to see them to make sure they were ok."
"Alright," Hermione said. "Gin, Sarea's going to be fine. If I know her, and I do, she has plenty of Weasley strength and Malfoy stubbornness."
Ginny managed a small laugh at her sister-in-laws words. Hermione placed a comforting hand on Ginny’s arm and then headed in the direction of the twin’s room. Ginny smiled slightly. Their two eight-year-old, identical twin sons, Adam and Corey, were sleeping in the room they shared. They were almost as bad as Fred and George; Ginny probably should have rethought letting her two-mischief making brothers baby-sit as often as they did. Both Ginny and Draco feared for the day they went to Hogwarts. For if the boys were as tricky as they were at eight, they could hardly imagine them as blooming teenagers.
Ginny walked over to her favorite leather chair and almost fell into it. She was tired; it was not even ten at night and yet she felt as if she hadn't slept in days. She always got like this when she was scared or worried. She had been so tired but unable to sleep for five days, ever since Draco had gone. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. What could be wrong with Sarea? She was in no way perfect but she almost never got sick or hurt. It was almost as if her seer abilities gave her the immunity to illness or injury. The not perfect part was a bit of an understatement. She was an incredible girl and Ginny and Draco loved her with everything they had. She was, however, a Malfoy through and through. Her father gave his stubbornness to her; no one doubted that. She had a temper on her as well, though it took a lot to bring her temper out. Once someone saw it, they knew what a mistake they had made. She was Draco’s only daughter and he lavished attention on her. Ginny did too. They both knew her as their Princess, their one and only daughter. Nevertheless, their sons got as much special treatment as their little girl. Draco and Ginny always tried to be fair to all of their children because they loved them all as much as they ever could.
Ginny was now silently cursing herself; she and Sarea had had a little row that night. Sarea had been intent on going to Rome with some of her friends for the rest of the summer. Sarea figured that she'd ask her mother first. Once she got her mums ok then her dads wouldn’t be far behind. Well, Ginny didn't quite see her point of view. Ginny could still hear the whole conversation in her head and she wished that she couldn't; it broke her heart.
Sarea had come into the living room after dinner and threw her arms around her mother, causing Ginny to look up from her book in surprise. Then, Sarea placed a loving kiss on the heads of each of her brothers who were playing wizard chess on the floor near the roaring fire. Ginny thanked Merlin that her children got along. Sarea and her two brothers had a very close bond. It was cute to see the two eight year olds sticking up for and defending the seventeen year old. Sarea and Ginny had three overprotective men in their lives and they both loved them to death. Like all siblings, Sarea, Corey, and Adam fought but their arguments and grudges never lasted.
"Mum?" Ginny was brought back to the living room by her daughter’s voice. "Mum, I wanted to ask you something." Sarea had seated herself on a chair near her mother.
"Of course dearest, what is it?"
"Well Adrienne, Hannah, and Lily are all going to Rome for the rest of the summer and they've invited me. I really want to go with them. Can I mum?"
Ginny was taken aback. She had not expected this.
"Absolutely not Sarea!" Ginny had responded firmly. "No daughter of mine is going to Rome for almost the whole summer without any chaperones. It simply isn't done, if one of the girl’s parents were going I would say yes, but they aren't. Dearest, you are simply not old enough."
"I'm seventeen years old! How is that not old enough?" she yelled getting to her feet. "Besides, all the house elves are going. They'll watch us."
"Sarea, darling, house elves are not good enough. They still believe you are higher then they and they will listen to whatever you tell them. I need someone there who will set boundaries and curfews. I won't let my daughter run wild through Rome."
"Well, I'm not going to, am I? Just because you never got to do anything like this when you were my age, you won't let me either. It's not fair; I'm not you!"
"You most certainly aren't, because if you were, you would understand why I'm doing this. This has nothing to do with me. It has to do with you and your safety Sarea."
"I'm not a baby, mother; I can take care of myself!"
"Good," Ginny had said, losing control of her temper. "Then get your things and move out of our house if you can take care of yourself. You can get your own flat, and do whatever you want with your own money. Get going Sarea. You may want to be gone before your father gets home because we both know he'll stop you."
Sarea had been standing in front of her mother, hands clenched and lip trembling. "You just had to say no. You didn't have to go there but since you did, I'll match you. The Weasley’s never had money, so you wouldn't know how to spend it. You wouldn't know the meaning of fun and now you don't want me to either!"
With that, Sarea had turned and run up the stairs to her room. The slam of the door took away Ginny’s temper. Her only daughter was now up in her room, no doubt crying and hating her mother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I went too far," Ginny said aloud, her tears bringing her back to the present. "She was right; I only had to say no."
Ginny closed her eyes, slammed her head onto the back of the chair as tears flowed down her already damp cheeks. She stayed like this for a few moments then she felt two strong hands on her shoulders. She opened her eyes and saw two gray ones staring back into them.
"Draco," She whispered.
He pressed his lips against her forehead and gave her a slight smile, "Hey Gin."
"Hey," she replied, never taking her eyes away from his. "You’re home." She was pleased.
"Of course I'm home, nothing could keep me from you and the kids now. How's our little girl?"
"We don't know yet; the Healer hasn't gotten here. Mum's in there with her and Hermione is in the boy’s room with them."
"Do they know anything?"
"No, I just told her to say Sarea's sick. I don't want them to worry, not until we know what's happening. Oh Draco, I feel so horrible about this!"
"Why?" He wondered as he folded her into his arms. "This couldn't have been your fault Gin."
"No, but I didn't help matters," she breathed into his chest, "We had a row earlier and she was really upset me."
Ginny proceeded to tell Draco the whole story of that evening. By the end Ginny had her head on Draco’s shoulder, while his arms were wrapped protectively around her waist. Ginny had begun to cry again and Draco was trying to comfort her. He had said many times that Sarea would be fine, she was strong and would make it through. They both knew their daughter and she was anything but weak. After about five minutes they heard a small pop and broke apart. There they saw Narcissa Malfoy, standing before them, and standing next to her was Healer Whimper.
"Darlings," Narcissa said as she floated over to Draco and Ginny. "I just received Ron’s owl about Sarea. I found Healer Whimper just outside, so I took down the wards for a moment so we could apparate in. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all Mother," said Draco as he crossed over to her and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek, "We just didn't expect to see you."
"Oh dear, I hope I'm not coming when I shouldn't."
"Don't be silly Mother," Ginny said, embracing her mother-in-law, "You are, after all, family."
"Well," she began, "I only had to read that my grandbaby was in trouble and I was off."
It was then that Healer Whimper cleared his throat and said, "Where is she Mrs. Malfoy?"
"Oh forgive me Mr. Whimper," Ginny said getting to her feet, "I almost forgot about you. Please follow me."
Just before she left, she turned back, "Draco, why don't you go into the kitchen and make some tea. I'm sure Mother would like some and everyone else may as well."
"Good idea Gin," he said as he stood and began to escort his mother to the kitchen.
Once there, Draco began to make tea almost immediately. He knew his mother was going to start questioning him or talking to him about Sarea soon. He knew he couldn't. It was too hard for him to even think about his daughter. He was so worried. To even think of losing her was unbearable. He wouldn't think about it because Sarea was going to be fine. If he didn't show anyone how afraid he really was, he could still be strong for Gin and the boys.
"Draco, don't worry," she said gently.
His mother’s words came through his head and he just about lost it. He took a few deep breaths in to keep his tears from falling. He turned his back on her to keep her from seeing him lose his strength. He gripped the counter as his mother continued to talk.
"Draco, please don't shut everyone out. I know what you're trying to do and you can't. Hiding the way you feel, how worried you are, how afraid, is not going to help anyone dear. Don't try to shut us out; Ginny needs you and so do Corey and Adam. Your family too, all of them depend on you in some way. Ron, Harry, Hermione, Luna, all Ginny’s other brothers, Molly, and Arthur; they all look to you because you're family. I look to you too Draco; you've been my strength for so many years. Your family gives you strength and it scares you to see someone you cherish in such a dangerous position, but darling, backing away from the people who need you, will only cause you more pain."
Draco turned around to face his mother. The tears were now rolling down his cheeks. He walked slowly over to Narcissa. When he reached her, he knelt in front of her and broke down. Draco Malfoy was crying shamelessly into his mother’s lap, just as he had done so many times when his father had hurt him in the past. After about five minutes, Draco finally had himself under control. He got up from off the floor and sat next to his mother.
They both looked up when they heard a series of four pops. There at the entrance to the kitchen was more of the family: Ron, Luna, Harry and then Ginny’s father, Arthur.
"How are you?" Luna asked, "Do you know anything yet?"
Draco just shook his head. "Ron, Hermione is in with the boys if you'd like to join her. Harry--"
But he was cut off. Ginny appeared in the doorway, looking pale and shaken.
"Draco, Healer Whimper knows what's wrong. He says it's rather serious so you need to come back," she managed to get out before her voice failed her.
"The tea's ready," Draco told them as he got up. "Why don't you all stay here, and we'll come back when we know what's wrong."
Draco crossed to Ginny and took her hand in his. He led her out of the kitchen, to the stairs, and up. Neither said a word; there was nothing to say. Not moments later they came to their daughter’s bedroom door, with a deep breath Draco and Ginny went in. They only hoped their little princess had a chance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hugs to MissParker, Ayla, and Madeline. All three of my Beta's rock! Big hugs to my friend Connie who helped me with this even though she's not a DG person. Love to all who read and review.
Leave a Review