Reviews: 6 | Table of Contents | - Text Size +
Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize are J.K. Rowlings. The ones don't, along with the plot, can all be blamed on me.
Family Affairs
Ginny let out a bark of laughter.
"Not again, Mum!"
For some odd reason, every thought that Ginny needed a nice boy to marry and have kids with. Ginny never understood why she needed to settle down, yet that didn't stop everyone from setting her up.
"But he's such a nice boy!" Molly Weasley gushed loudly. The theatrics of her exclamation made Ginny laugh on the other side of the phone.
"Mum, they are all ‘nice boys.' Besides, I'm buried in work and just don't have time for a date," Ginny said. Then she added, "Not even just this once!"
"Don is such a nice boy! He has a very nice rear too, honey, if I do say so myself."
"Mum!" Ginny said with disgust.
"Sorry, sorry. But won't you just go out with him? Please. He is so looking forward to it!"
"You already told him I would! I told you that you need to ask me first!” Ginny told her, frustrated.
"Honey, I knew you'd see it my way! Thursday, seven o'clock sharp at the Leaky Cauldron."
Ginny hated watching her mum gloat over the floo. She didn’t need any further testament of her mum’s stronghold over her.
"Alright, Mum, but stop setting me up on these dates!” Ginny said before quickly disconnecting the floo. Ginny definitely did not want to hear about how she would grow old with only cats to keep her company if she did not find a mate soon.
----
"Hi, Jaime," Ginny said with a bright smile to the girl sitting on the bed. "My name is Dr. Weasley, but I want you to call me Ginny. How are you?"
Her mother stood up at this question. "Dr. Weasley, Jamie woke up this morning and she was red all over and had lots of bruises all over her body. I brought her straight here," she pulled up a sleeve of Jaime's to reveal a variety of bruises on the girl's arms as explanation.
"Well," Ginny looked down at her chart, "Mrs. Brown, I think Jaime may be having an allergic reaction. She has a low-grade temperature and the welts seem to be concentrated on a part of the body that tends to be exposed. To be sure, I'll want to run some tests.”
“Jaime, are you having any trouble breathing?” Ginny asked as a nurse collected the girl’s vitals.
Jaime shook her head and shied away from the nurse trying to take her vitals.
“Jaime, you know when you go to the doctor and he puts on that thing that squeezes your arm?” Ginny asked.
Jaime nodded.
“It doesn’t hurt, right?”
Jaime shook her head this time.
“That’s what this will do, it’ll give your arm a big hug. Is that okay?”
Jaime nodded again.
“Jamie, I have to use some of your blood to what is going on inside your body. I’m going to put a needle into your arm. It’ll only pinch for a second, Jaime. I promise,” Ginny added with a smile, hoping to allay the little girl’s fears.
Jamie nodded and buried her head into her mother’s shoulder. Ginny counted to three and inserted the needle. Jaime let out a little yelp, but Ginny assured her there would be no more pain, as she drew the blood. When she was done, Ginny put a sparkly band-aid over the puncture.
“You were awesome, Jaime! I think you deserve a lollypop for being such a big girl,” Ginny said, pulling out an assortment of flavors from her pocket.
"Thank you," a little voice said, choosing the butterscotch flavor.
"You're welcome for the lollypop, Jaime. Thank you for being so good while I gave you the shot. I always choose the butterscotch flavor, too." Ginny said with a wink. She turned on The Lion King, a movie she had fallen in love with when she first began to watch muggle movies, and told the pair she'd be back.
As a nurse passed by, Ginny gave her the blood sample for the lab. She thanked the nurse and went to make her rounds.
----
Draco hit the ball against the wall, then backed up, allowing his recent business conquest to take his turn. With one more hit by Draco, the game was over.
"Good game, mate," Seamus Finnegan said. He was an up-and-coming inventor, mostly concerned with all things Quidditch.
"You too. Take a shower and go to the bar?" It was common business discussion area. Draco had taken a liking to the practice when he had dabbled in muggle business.
"Sure. Fifteen minutes," Seamus responded.
----
"Now, Mr. Finnegan, I'd like to talk business with you. You need money to open shop; I'm looking to dabble in sports. Any interest in being backed by Silver Dragon, Inc.?" Draco said in his business like tone, very succinct and clear.
"What, exactly, does being backed by you involve?" Seamus asked, eyes alight, since he definitely wanted to open a store.
"Means I get you started, you give me 15% of your profits. You don't succeed, my company assumes the costs."
"That’s it. Nothing else?" Seamus asked.
"Nothing else,” Draco affirmed. “Building will start tomorrow. We'll go around and pick a locale. We'll talk about the next step when you complete the first one."
"Okay. We have a deal." They stood up, did the customary handshake and signed the paper work.
----
Ginny had just gotten home from a double shift. Her apartment was near the hospital she worked at, Saint Grace Hospital. The hospital, just outside of Diagon Alley, had a clinic for witches and wizards hidden up on the top floor. The muggle patients always assumed the administrative people worked up there. Ginny was sometimes called up, as she had dual-enrolled in college, earning both her medical degree and her Healer degree.
Ginny picked up the paper she'd brought home with her, the tragic headline catching her eye.
"Young couple killed in car crash. Child left orphaned."
Ginny's heart sunk. Two people were killed, a tragedy in itself. But a child, left confused in the world with no parents, was horrible. She fell asleep at the table, dreaming with sympathy about the family she didn't know she knew.
----
Ginny was startled by the ringing of her cell phone. She groggily answered it.
"Dr. Weasley."
"Hello. This is Mr. Reid, Mrs. White's lawyer."
"Hi. What is this about?"
"Custody of Sophie White," he replied.
"Sophie? Custody? Wait, what?" Ginny was having a hard time piecing all these things together.
"Dr. Weasley, you don't know, do you?" he asked.
"Know? What should I know?!" She asked frantically. She was definitely beginning to worry.
"Well, Mrs. White and her husband…. they've died," he finished softly.
She looked at the paper. A tear slid down her cheek. Her best friend Lauren White was dead. She was too shocked to speak.
"Dr. Weasley, are you okay?" the lawyer asked worriedly.
"Yes, yes," was her quiet response.
"Would you meet me at the Leaky Cauldron at 7 this evening, please? We need to discuss the situation immediately."
"Mmm…" was her response.
"Seven then. Dr. Weasley? I am sorry." He hung up the phone.
----
Draco was surprise to hear his new phone ring, since he couldn’t remember giving it out to anyone but his secretary.
"Mr. Malfoy. Who is this?" he answered the phone tersely.
"This is Mr. Martelli, Mr. White's attorney."
"Bill? What's up with him?" Draco asked.
"Sir, we need to talk about custody of his daughter, Sophie," the lawyer said in a no-nonsense tone.
"Why? What?"
"Could you meet me tonight at seven? The Leaky Cauldron?"
"Yeah. Um. Sure?" Draco was curious now.
Draco dialed his secretary. "Cancel with Payton tonight. Thanks."
"You know how she gets," Connie answered.
"Just do it," Draco hated not knowing things and Payton wasn't pressing. A Malfoy was never out of the loop.
"Okay. I'll do it. Why?"
"Not sure yet."
"Fine. Have fun," Connie said.
----
"Ah, Ms. Weasley. Yes. Your party is waiting for you."
They reached a table in the back. There were three men seated at the table. Ginny only recognized one, Draco Malfoy. All three men stood when she approached.
“Dr. Weasley,” the man closest to her said, “I am Mr. Reid, Lauren White’s lawyer. This,” he indicated to the other stranger, “is Mr. Martelli, Bill White’s laywer. Lastly, this is –“
“Draco Malfoy,” Ginny finished for him.
“Oh good, you two know each other. That should make things much easier,” Mr. Reid said as he pulled out Ginny’s chair for her. After she had sat down, the three men took their seats.
"Dr. Weasley, would you like anything?"
"Water is fine," she said. "Thank you. Now, what is going on. And why is Draco Malfoy here?"
“You and Mr. Malfoy have been named the co-guardians of Sophie White," Mr. Reid said as clearly as possible.
"How?" Draco asked, finding his voice first.
"Well," Mr. Martelli answered, fielding this question. "Both Mr. and Mrs. White named different guardians. As long as both of you are fit, you will share custody of Sophie White."
“What exactly does all of this mean? We don’t live with each other. Are we to ship Sophie off to a different home every week?” Ginny asked, her tone clearly showing that she did not approve of such a situation.
“This type of case doesn’t often come up. However, most of the legal courts agree that a child should live in one place,” Mr. Reid explained.
“So I need to move in with Malfoy?” Ginny asked incredulously.
“If you don’t move in together, the case will go to court. The judge may find that if you two do not agree to cooperate, Sophie would be best cared for in an orphanage.”
“There is no way she will go to an orphanage,” Draco said brusquely.
“Then, you know exactly what you have to do, Mr. Malfoy,” Mr. Martelli said.
“Where is she now?” Ginny asked.
“In the custody of Child Services, awaiting your arrival,” Mr. Reid answered.
Ginny gathered her things and looked at Draco.
“Are you coming or not?”
He rose out of his chair and said good bye to the two lawyers sitting at the table as he walked out the door on the heels of Ginny Weasley.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Family Affairs
Ginny let out a bark of laughter.
"Not again, Mum!"
For some odd reason, every thought that Ginny needed a nice boy to marry and have kids with. Ginny never understood why she needed to settle down, yet that didn't stop everyone from setting her up.
"But he's such a nice boy!" Molly Weasley gushed loudly. The theatrics of her exclamation made Ginny laugh on the other side of the phone.
"Mum, they are all ‘nice boys.' Besides, I'm buried in work and just don't have time for a date," Ginny said. Then she added, "Not even just this once!"
"Don is such a nice boy! He has a very nice rear too, honey, if I do say so myself."
"Mum!" Ginny said with disgust.
"Sorry, sorry. But won't you just go out with him? Please. He is so looking forward to it!"
"You already told him I would! I told you that you need to ask me first!” Ginny told her, frustrated.
"Honey, I knew you'd see it my way! Thursday, seven o'clock sharp at the Leaky Cauldron."
Ginny hated watching her mum gloat over the floo. She didn’t need any further testament of her mum’s stronghold over her.
"Alright, Mum, but stop setting me up on these dates!” Ginny said before quickly disconnecting the floo. Ginny definitely did not want to hear about how she would grow old with only cats to keep her company if she did not find a mate soon.
----
"Hi, Jaime," Ginny said with a bright smile to the girl sitting on the bed. "My name is Dr. Weasley, but I want you to call me Ginny. How are you?"
Her mother stood up at this question. "Dr. Weasley, Jamie woke up this morning and she was red all over and had lots of bruises all over her body. I brought her straight here," she pulled up a sleeve of Jaime's to reveal a variety of bruises on the girl's arms as explanation.
"Well," Ginny looked down at her chart, "Mrs. Brown, I think Jaime may be having an allergic reaction. She has a low-grade temperature and the welts seem to be concentrated on a part of the body that tends to be exposed. To be sure, I'll want to run some tests.”
“Jaime, are you having any trouble breathing?” Ginny asked as a nurse collected the girl’s vitals.
Jaime shook her head and shied away from the nurse trying to take her vitals.
“Jaime, you know when you go to the doctor and he puts on that thing that squeezes your arm?” Ginny asked.
Jaime nodded.
“It doesn’t hurt, right?”
Jaime shook her head this time.
“That’s what this will do, it’ll give your arm a big hug. Is that okay?”
Jaime nodded again.
“Jamie, I have to use some of your blood to what is going on inside your body. I’m going to put a needle into your arm. It’ll only pinch for a second, Jaime. I promise,” Ginny added with a smile, hoping to allay the little girl’s fears.
Jamie nodded and buried her head into her mother’s shoulder. Ginny counted to three and inserted the needle. Jaime let out a little yelp, but Ginny assured her there would be no more pain, as she drew the blood. When she was done, Ginny put a sparkly band-aid over the puncture.
“You were awesome, Jaime! I think you deserve a lollypop for being such a big girl,” Ginny said, pulling out an assortment of flavors from her pocket.
"Thank you," a little voice said, choosing the butterscotch flavor.
"You're welcome for the lollypop, Jaime. Thank you for being so good while I gave you the shot. I always choose the butterscotch flavor, too." Ginny said with a wink. She turned on The Lion King, a movie she had fallen in love with when she first began to watch muggle movies, and told the pair she'd be back.
As a nurse passed by, Ginny gave her the blood sample for the lab. She thanked the nurse and went to make her rounds.
----
Draco hit the ball against the wall, then backed up, allowing his recent business conquest to take his turn. With one more hit by Draco, the game was over.
"Good game, mate," Seamus Finnegan said. He was an up-and-coming inventor, mostly concerned with all things Quidditch.
"You too. Take a shower and go to the bar?" It was common business discussion area. Draco had taken a liking to the practice when he had dabbled in muggle business.
"Sure. Fifteen minutes," Seamus responded.
----
"Now, Mr. Finnegan, I'd like to talk business with you. You need money to open shop; I'm looking to dabble in sports. Any interest in being backed by Silver Dragon, Inc.?" Draco said in his business like tone, very succinct and clear.
"What, exactly, does being backed by you involve?" Seamus asked, eyes alight, since he definitely wanted to open a store.
"Means I get you started, you give me 15% of your profits. You don't succeed, my company assumes the costs."
"That’s it. Nothing else?" Seamus asked.
"Nothing else,” Draco affirmed. “Building will start tomorrow. We'll go around and pick a locale. We'll talk about the next step when you complete the first one."
"Okay. We have a deal." They stood up, did the customary handshake and signed the paper work.
----
Ginny had just gotten home from a double shift. Her apartment was near the hospital she worked at, Saint Grace Hospital. The hospital, just outside of Diagon Alley, had a clinic for witches and wizards hidden up on the top floor. The muggle patients always assumed the administrative people worked up there. Ginny was sometimes called up, as she had dual-enrolled in college, earning both her medical degree and her Healer degree.
Ginny picked up the paper she'd brought home with her, the tragic headline catching her eye.
"Young couple killed in car crash. Child left orphaned."
Ginny's heart sunk. Two people were killed, a tragedy in itself. But a child, left confused in the world with no parents, was horrible. She fell asleep at the table, dreaming with sympathy about the family she didn't know she knew.
----
Ginny was startled by the ringing of her cell phone. She groggily answered it.
"Dr. Weasley."
"Hello. This is Mr. Reid, Mrs. White's lawyer."
"Hi. What is this about?"
"Custody of Sophie White," he replied.
"Sophie? Custody? Wait, what?" Ginny was having a hard time piecing all these things together.
"Dr. Weasley, you don't know, do you?" he asked.
"Know? What should I know?!" She asked frantically. She was definitely beginning to worry.
"Well, Mrs. White and her husband…. they've died," he finished softly.
She looked at the paper. A tear slid down her cheek. Her best friend Lauren White was dead. She was too shocked to speak.
"Dr. Weasley, are you okay?" the lawyer asked worriedly.
"Yes, yes," was her quiet response.
"Would you meet me at the Leaky Cauldron at 7 this evening, please? We need to discuss the situation immediately."
"Mmm…" was her response.
"Seven then. Dr. Weasley? I am sorry." He hung up the phone.
----
Draco was surprise to hear his new phone ring, since he couldn’t remember giving it out to anyone but his secretary.
"Mr. Malfoy. Who is this?" he answered the phone tersely.
"This is Mr. Martelli, Mr. White's attorney."
"Bill? What's up with him?" Draco asked.
"Sir, we need to talk about custody of his daughter, Sophie," the lawyer said in a no-nonsense tone.
"Why? What?"
"Could you meet me tonight at seven? The Leaky Cauldron?"
"Yeah. Um. Sure?" Draco was curious now.
Draco dialed his secretary. "Cancel with Payton tonight. Thanks."
"You know how she gets," Connie answered.
"Just do it," Draco hated not knowing things and Payton wasn't pressing. A Malfoy was never out of the loop.
"Okay. I'll do it. Why?"
"Not sure yet."
"Fine. Have fun," Connie said.
----
"Ah, Ms. Weasley. Yes. Your party is waiting for you."
They reached a table in the back. There were three men seated at the table. Ginny only recognized one, Draco Malfoy. All three men stood when she approached.
“Dr. Weasley,” the man closest to her said, “I am Mr. Reid, Lauren White’s lawyer. This,” he indicated to the other stranger, “is Mr. Martelli, Bill White’s laywer. Lastly, this is –“
“Draco Malfoy,” Ginny finished for him.
“Oh good, you two know each other. That should make things much easier,” Mr. Reid said as he pulled out Ginny’s chair for her. After she had sat down, the three men took their seats.
"Dr. Weasley, would you like anything?"
"Water is fine," she said. "Thank you. Now, what is going on. And why is Draco Malfoy here?"
“You and Mr. Malfoy have been named the co-guardians of Sophie White," Mr. Reid said as clearly as possible.
"How?" Draco asked, finding his voice first.
"Well," Mr. Martelli answered, fielding this question. "Both Mr. and Mrs. White named different guardians. As long as both of you are fit, you will share custody of Sophie White."
“What exactly does all of this mean? We don’t live with each other. Are we to ship Sophie off to a different home every week?” Ginny asked, her tone clearly showing that she did not approve of such a situation.
“This type of case doesn’t often come up. However, most of the legal courts agree that a child should live in one place,” Mr. Reid explained.
“So I need to move in with Malfoy?” Ginny asked incredulously.
“If you don’t move in together, the case will go to court. The judge may find that if you two do not agree to cooperate, Sophie would be best cared for in an orphanage.”
“There is no way she will go to an orphanage,” Draco said brusquely.
“Then, you know exactly what you have to do, Mr. Malfoy,” Mr. Martelli said.
“Where is she now?” Ginny asked.
“In the custody of Child Services, awaiting your arrival,” Mr. Reid answered.
Ginny gathered her things and looked at Draco.
“Are you coming or not?”
He rose out of his chair and said good bye to the two lawyers sitting at the table as he walked out the door on the heels of Ginny Weasley.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
To Be Continued.
Citrus587 is the author of 5 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 2 members. Members who liked Family Affairs also liked 264 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 2 members. Members who liked Family Affairs also liked 264 other stories.
Leave a Review