My Soul Belongs To You
Chapter 19
Congratulations...It's a Teenager With Attitude
Ginny was having tea with her mother. “So dear, are things all done for the wedding?”
“Mum, you act like this is something big.”
“Ginny, it's not every day you get married!” Molly scolded.
“I know. I'm just glad Narcissa understands why we want it to be so small. And Draco, he amazes me by understanding that I don't want to announce it until after the kids are in school.”
“We all know it's not going to be pretty once word gets out, Ginny,” Her mother frowned. It was well known that the general public believed Ginny should remain forever the sad, grieving widow of Harry Potter.
“They're just going to have to accept it.”
“Speaking of accepting, any change in James?”
Ginny shook her head. “No, his last letter was three words long. He's really taking the 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all' thing to heart.”
“Ginny, he's mad, and rightly so. His father was taken from him long before he should have been. There's no one to blame. He's not mad at you, or even Draco. Give him time; I know it's hard, but it will work out. So, how are you going to deal with the press when you go to get the boys from the Hogwarts Express tomorrow?”
Ginny had taken to either shopping in Muggle stores or Draco would send a house elf to do any shopping for her so she could avoid the press. They didn't want word of the baby to come out before the wedding. “Luna's going to go for me under Polyjuice Potion so she won't look preggers.”
“Oh yes, you reminded Draco that I expect him and Scorpius for dinner tomorrow?”
Ginny smiled. “Draco isn't exactly jumping for joy, but Scorpius can't wait! He's very excited to see the Burrow. You know, I get more Owls from him than James and Al put together, and Lily gets some too. I think he might have a crush on her.”
Molly started laughing, but was trying hard not to.
“What?” Ginny asked.
“Dear, Harry might have been okay with you and Draco, but his daughter and Draco's son? I can see the look on Harry's face now!” Molly chortled.
Ginny started laughing, too. “Merlin, the only thing worse would be Rose, and the look on Ron's face!”
“And Draco's!” Molly was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her face.
The next evening, the whole Weasley clan was in the backyard of the Burrow. Draco had just stepped out of the house and walked across the yard, not speaking to anyone. Ron watched and determined Draco was mad about something. Then when the women told the men to gather the children and Draco had still not returned, Ron decided that Ginny was in no shape to go looking for him. So Ron went in the direction Draco had headed. He found Draco standing on the edge of the pond throwing stones into the water with too great a force.
“Perhaps you should have played Chaser instead of Seeker in school. Mind telling me what the rocks did to you that you're so violent with them?”
“Piss off, Weasley, I'm in no mood.”
“I can see that. Look, dinner is almost ready and the others will be wondering where you are.”
“Any chance you might be willing to make excuses to your mother, and to Ginny, for me?”
Ron smiled. “Hell no! They'll think I did something to you. What has you so pissed?”
“What do you care? It's my problem; I made it, I'll deal with it.”
“What is it?” Ron pushed. Years of being an Auror told him there was something Draco wanted to admit to.
A couple of minutes passed. “I don't know how to deal with him.”
“Who?”
“James,” Draco admitted.
“What did James do now?” Ron asked.
“I overheard him talking to one of the other children about Ginny and the fact that Luna picked them up instead of her. The things he was saying were not anything acceptable to be saying about one's mother.”
“What do you mean?” Ron carefully asked.
Draco turned towards Ron. “We expected him to be upset about this, but he has had months to come to terms with it! I won't even voice the things he said about Ginny tonight; they're that bad. All I wanted to do was...” he looked back at the water, “ah...use your imagination. How can I leave Ginny to deal with him? However, I also realize that it's not really my place here to deal with him. He seems to know about mine and Harry's past.”
“And then you need to wonder how the rest of us would deal with him after coming to us and telling us how you dealt with him,” Ron paused as Draco nodded. “What did he say?”
“The cleaned up version would include the words: slut, whore, and poor excuse for a mother.”
Ron turned red. “You haven't used the The Cruciatus Curse on him?”
“I didn't think it would bode well for me here,” Draco smiled, feeling relieved that someone else was thinking along the same lines as him.
“Let's head back. We won't tell Ginny about this, but let's talk with Dad and the rest of my brothers and see if we can't find a way to deal with him.”
For a second, Draco felt sorry for James.
“You're all a bunch of sell outs!” the teenage boy lashed out. “Dad would be sick if he knew how welcoming you were of him! Don't you see that she has completely betrayed Dad!”
Draco was leaning against a wall in Shell Cottage. The Weasley men decided it would be better to deal with James far away from Ginny. It killed Draco to stand back and not defend his love, but, logically, he knew these men were the wiser choice this time.
“He doesn't know when to shut up, does he?” Ron said to George.
“He does seem to take after Harry in that if he thinks it, it must be right,” the single twin replied.
“James, your dad knew about your mum and Draco,” Arthur declared.
The boy got a cold look in his eyes. “Bull. Why do you say that?”
“James, remember how she was after your dad passed? It was because he told her he knew of her and Draco's feelings for each other, and just like you, Albus, and Lily, he only wanted your mum to be happy,” Arthur tried to reason.
To Draco, James looked like if he knew the Avada Kedavra spell, he would use it on everyone in the room.
Ron looked at James. “Look, right now we really don't care how you're feeling; you can't talk about your mother like that! Harry NEVER would have stood for it! Frankly, I believe you're lucky Draco's not dealing with you himself. There's a reason he has the Dark Mark, you know.”
Draco went to react to this, but received a sharp shaking of Arthur's head, letting him know to let it slide.
George moved in front of the boy. “James, for speaking about your mother like that, we have come up with a punishment; you will be volunteering your whole summer working at the Joke Shop. You will be my slave, my guinea pig – I mean, product tester, and do everything I tell you. And you're not going to complain to your mother, either.”
Bill added, “And until you calm down, you're going to be staying here.”
Draco wasn't worried about the punishment for he knew from the reaction of the Weasley men that they were as unhappy about James' comments about Ginny as he was. He was sure the teen was in no way getting off easy. As he walked out, Arthur stopped him. “Ron wasn't trying to piss you off; he was trying to scare James. The boy doesn't know everything about the war and it might do him well to be a little more fearful of you.”
Draco had been rather surprised at how willingly Ginny's family had accepted him. “I have my own ways of how I'd like to put fear into him,” Draco admitted.
“I understand how you are feeling. You know, Percy disowned the family during the war, and I know how I felt about the things he had said about us. I don't have to think about how I would have felt if he had said things like James did about Molly. You were right to let us deal with him this time. If you had dealt with it yourself, the boys would have taken his side. After all, you are still a Malfoy. But this way, James sees that we're all united about this.”
Later that night, Draco sat in the main parlor at the Manor having a drink. He was still upset over what James had said about Ginny. “Your time at the Weasleys was that bad?” Lucius asked from the doorway.
Draco shook his head. “No. While different from what I'm used to, Mrs. Weasley is a hostess who clearly feels a guest can only say he had a good time if he feels ready to burst after a meal. It's all quite warm over there.”
Lucius smiled. “Yes. As I remember, Molly Prewett was rather pushy about people eating enough. I would have thought that between the lack of money and all the children, that would have lessened over time. But why, then, do you remind me of the time the Dark Lord used this house as his headquarters?”
Draco let out a heavy sigh and began to pace. “It's Ginny's oldest, James. He's still not happy about us, and he made some highly inappropriate comments to one of his cousins tonight.”
“And what did you do?” Lucius questioned.
“Had it been any other place, I would have done things I shouldn't have. Instead, I let his grandfather and uncles deal with him.”
“Do you feel they were too easy on him?” the elder Malfoy asked as he poured himself a drink.
“No, they were reasonable. I just feel that this is my fault. He and Ginny shouldn't be at odds with each other. Had I used my head, things could have progressed normally with us. Then she and James wouldn't be going through this. This is my fault and I can't fix it.”
“Nothing is going to fix it except the boy himself, Draco,” Lucius said.
“I know that, but when Ginny was told he wasn't going to be coming home, she looked so hurt.”
After a minute's silence, Lucius declared, “Your mother wants to know when she can meet Albus.”
Chapter 19
Congratulations...It's a Teenager With Attitude
Ginny was having tea with her mother. “So dear, are things all done for the wedding?”
“Mum, you act like this is something big.”
“Ginny, it's not every day you get married!” Molly scolded.
“I know. I'm just glad Narcissa understands why we want it to be so small. And Draco, he amazes me by understanding that I don't want to announce it until after the kids are in school.”
“We all know it's not going to be pretty once word gets out, Ginny,” Her mother frowned. It was well known that the general public believed Ginny should remain forever the sad, grieving widow of Harry Potter.
“They're just going to have to accept it.”
“Speaking of accepting, any change in James?”
Ginny shook her head. “No, his last letter was three words long. He's really taking the 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all' thing to heart.”
“Ginny, he's mad, and rightly so. His father was taken from him long before he should have been. There's no one to blame. He's not mad at you, or even Draco. Give him time; I know it's hard, but it will work out. So, how are you going to deal with the press when you go to get the boys from the Hogwarts Express tomorrow?”
Ginny had taken to either shopping in Muggle stores or Draco would send a house elf to do any shopping for her so she could avoid the press. They didn't want word of the baby to come out before the wedding. “Luna's going to go for me under Polyjuice Potion so she won't look preggers.”
“Oh yes, you reminded Draco that I expect him and Scorpius for dinner tomorrow?”
Ginny smiled. “Draco isn't exactly jumping for joy, but Scorpius can't wait! He's very excited to see the Burrow. You know, I get more Owls from him than James and Al put together, and Lily gets some too. I think he might have a crush on her.”
Molly started laughing, but was trying hard not to.
“What?” Ginny asked.
“Dear, Harry might have been okay with you and Draco, but his daughter and Draco's son? I can see the look on Harry's face now!” Molly chortled.
Ginny started laughing, too. “Merlin, the only thing worse would be Rose, and the look on Ron's face!”
“And Draco's!” Molly was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her face.
The next evening, the whole Weasley clan was in the backyard of the Burrow. Draco had just stepped out of the house and walked across the yard, not speaking to anyone. Ron watched and determined Draco was mad about something. Then when the women told the men to gather the children and Draco had still not returned, Ron decided that Ginny was in no shape to go looking for him. So Ron went in the direction Draco had headed. He found Draco standing on the edge of the pond throwing stones into the water with too great a force.
“Perhaps you should have played Chaser instead of Seeker in school. Mind telling me what the rocks did to you that you're so violent with them?”
“Piss off, Weasley, I'm in no mood.”
“I can see that. Look, dinner is almost ready and the others will be wondering where you are.”
“Any chance you might be willing to make excuses to your mother, and to Ginny, for me?”
Ron smiled. “Hell no! They'll think I did something to you. What has you so pissed?”
“What do you care? It's my problem; I made it, I'll deal with it.”
“What is it?” Ron pushed. Years of being an Auror told him there was something Draco wanted to admit to.
A couple of minutes passed. “I don't know how to deal with him.”
“Who?”
“James,” Draco admitted.
“What did James do now?” Ron asked.
“I overheard him talking to one of the other children about Ginny and the fact that Luna picked them up instead of her. The things he was saying were not anything acceptable to be saying about one's mother.”
“What do you mean?” Ron carefully asked.
Draco turned towards Ron. “We expected him to be upset about this, but he has had months to come to terms with it! I won't even voice the things he said about Ginny tonight; they're that bad. All I wanted to do was...” he looked back at the water, “ah...use your imagination. How can I leave Ginny to deal with him? However, I also realize that it's not really my place here to deal with him. He seems to know about mine and Harry's past.”
“And then you need to wonder how the rest of us would deal with him after coming to us and telling us how you dealt with him,” Ron paused as Draco nodded. “What did he say?”
“The cleaned up version would include the words: slut, whore, and poor excuse for a mother.”
Ron turned red. “You haven't used the The Cruciatus Curse on him?”
“I didn't think it would bode well for me here,” Draco smiled, feeling relieved that someone else was thinking along the same lines as him.
“Let's head back. We won't tell Ginny about this, but let's talk with Dad and the rest of my brothers and see if we can't find a way to deal with him.”
For a second, Draco felt sorry for James.
“You're all a bunch of sell outs!” the teenage boy lashed out. “Dad would be sick if he knew how welcoming you were of him! Don't you see that she has completely betrayed Dad!”
Draco was leaning against a wall in Shell Cottage. The Weasley men decided it would be better to deal with James far away from Ginny. It killed Draco to stand back and not defend his love, but, logically, he knew these men were the wiser choice this time.
“He doesn't know when to shut up, does he?” Ron said to George.
“He does seem to take after Harry in that if he thinks it, it must be right,” the single twin replied.
“James, your dad knew about your mum and Draco,” Arthur declared.
The boy got a cold look in his eyes. “Bull. Why do you say that?”
“James, remember how she was after your dad passed? It was because he told her he knew of her and Draco's feelings for each other, and just like you, Albus, and Lily, he only wanted your mum to be happy,” Arthur tried to reason.
To Draco, James looked like if he knew the Avada Kedavra spell, he would use it on everyone in the room.
Ron looked at James. “Look, right now we really don't care how you're feeling; you can't talk about your mother like that! Harry NEVER would have stood for it! Frankly, I believe you're lucky Draco's not dealing with you himself. There's a reason he has the Dark Mark, you know.”
Draco went to react to this, but received a sharp shaking of Arthur's head, letting him know to let it slide.
George moved in front of the boy. “James, for speaking about your mother like that, we have come up with a punishment; you will be volunteering your whole summer working at the Joke Shop. You will be my slave, my guinea pig – I mean, product tester, and do everything I tell you. And you're not going to complain to your mother, either.”
Bill added, “And until you calm down, you're going to be staying here.”
Draco wasn't worried about the punishment for he knew from the reaction of the Weasley men that they were as unhappy about James' comments about Ginny as he was. He was sure the teen was in no way getting off easy. As he walked out, Arthur stopped him. “Ron wasn't trying to piss you off; he was trying to scare James. The boy doesn't know everything about the war and it might do him well to be a little more fearful of you.”
Draco had been rather surprised at how willingly Ginny's family had accepted him. “I have my own ways of how I'd like to put fear into him,” Draco admitted.
“I understand how you are feeling. You know, Percy disowned the family during the war, and I know how I felt about the things he had said about us. I don't have to think about how I would have felt if he had said things like James did about Molly. You were right to let us deal with him this time. If you had dealt with it yourself, the boys would have taken his side. After all, you are still a Malfoy. But this way, James sees that we're all united about this.”
Later that night, Draco sat in the main parlor at the Manor having a drink. He was still upset over what James had said about Ginny. “Your time at the Weasleys was that bad?” Lucius asked from the doorway.
Draco shook his head. “No. While different from what I'm used to, Mrs. Weasley is a hostess who clearly feels a guest can only say he had a good time if he feels ready to burst after a meal. It's all quite warm over there.”
Lucius smiled. “Yes. As I remember, Molly Prewett was rather pushy about people eating enough. I would have thought that between the lack of money and all the children, that would have lessened over time. But why, then, do you remind me of the time the Dark Lord used this house as his headquarters?”
Draco let out a heavy sigh and began to pace. “It's Ginny's oldest, James. He's still not happy about us, and he made some highly inappropriate comments to one of his cousins tonight.”
“And what did you do?” Lucius questioned.
“Had it been any other place, I would have done things I shouldn't have. Instead, I let his grandfather and uncles deal with him.”
“Do you feel they were too easy on him?” the elder Malfoy asked as he poured himself a drink.
“No, they were reasonable. I just feel that this is my fault. He and Ginny shouldn't be at odds with each other. Had I used my head, things could have progressed normally with us. Then she and James wouldn't be going through this. This is my fault and I can't fix it.”
“Nothing is going to fix it except the boy himself, Draco,” Lucius said.
“I know that, but when Ginny was told he wasn't going to be coming home, she looked so hurt.”
After a minute's silence, Lucius declared, “Your mother wants to know when she can meet Albus.”
Author notes: Please review!
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