Unaffected

Ginny was in pain. She had been warned that it was possible that she would experience cramps and back pain as the miscarriage ended, but she hadn't expected anything like this. She was lying in her old bed at the Burrow, where she had been for the last week. She had gone to her mother's home immediately after leaving Draco, in the hopes that he would stay away at least while she recuperated.

To her astonishment, she hadn't heard from him at all.

After the realization that he was not going to come rushing after her had set in, she began to go about her life again, a little sadder and wiser for the wear. She was fighting depression as best she could; her marriage had ended on the same day it had begun, and she had lost a baby on top of that. It was enough to make anyone feel as though they might crack at any given moment.

She glanced down at her left hand, where she still wore her wedding rings. When she wiggled her fingers, the diamond sparkled madly, and the sunlight glinted off of the thick golden band. She dropped her hand back to her side and sighed. She was in love with him, there was no point trying to fight that fact. At least she had given him the easy way out and left him, instead of forcing him to leave her, now that the baby was gone.

She felt badly for him - she knew he'd been excited about becoming a father. There was no doubt in her mind now that he'd wanted the baby even more than she had; after all, he'd asked her to marry him because of her pregnancy. She chewed on her bottom lip as she rose from the bed and began to dress slowly. Her mother had been nagging at her to contact Draco, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was sure that someone would tell him she was fine, and that even though Lily was sulking constantly, she was doing fine as well.

She descended the stairs slowly and made her way into the kitchen, where Lily sat at the table, pushing her breakfast around on her plate, but not eating anything. Molly was trying to coax the child into at least eating a bite of bacon, but Lily ignored her. Ginny sighed and lowered herself gently into a chair.

"Poppet, you've got to eat," she said. Lily lifted her emerald eyes to look at her mother.

"I'm not eating until Daddy Draco comes home," she announced. Ginny closed her eyes and sighed.

"You know," Molly started softly. "I could take her to see him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Ginny stared at her, then shrugged.

"That's fine," she said flatly. "If you want to take her to the Manor, that's fine, but I'm not staying here alone." Lily's eyes lit up and she clapped excitedly.

"I'm going to see Daddy Draco?"

"Yes, sweeting," Molly answered. "But only if you eat your breakfast. Don't you think that Draco would be upset if he knew his Lils wasn't eating properly?" Lily's delighted look faded and she frowned. It only took a moment of thought on her part before she began scooping forkfuls of eggs into her mouth. Ginny snorted.

"Everyone in my family is a turncoat," she said, shaking her head. "Even my own daughter would rather be with Draco than me."

"Ginny, you know that's not true," Molly said sternly. "We love you, but you're making a very big mistake. That young man loves you, and he's unhappy without you."

"And he's so unhappy without me that he just came charging over here to rescue me and take me back," she said sardonically.

"A person can only take so much disappointment and rejection," Molly said, amazed at her daughter's lack of understanding. "Would you have even gone with him if he had come?"

"Probably not," she whispered. Molly nodded.

"I thought not. Perhaps you should come with us to the Manor?" she suggested. Ginny shook her head vehemently.

"I'm going out," she said, wincing as she rose from the table. "It might do me some good to stop being cooped up in this house all day." Molly shook her head at her daughter's retreating back.

***

"Ginny Weasley?" she turned, surprised at hearing her maiden name. She was greeted by a tall man with sparkling brown eyes and a head full of wild brown hair. She blinked.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" his smile widened.

"I don't expect you'll remember me," he started. "Owen Cauldwell. I was in Ravenclaw, two years behind you." Her mouth dropped open slightly.

"How lovely to see you again. You've really changed," she said politely. "What have you been doing since Hogwarts?"

"I've been abroad in America," he explained. He pointed to a booth in the corner of the tea shop. "Would you like to sit down?" she nodded and followed him to the table. "I was working with Muggle relations over there - they've got more problems than we do when it comes to that department, you know." She nodded and sipped at her tea as he spoke, not looking up when the door to the tea shop opened and the little bell rang.

She should have looked.

Ron stood in the doorway, staring at his sister. She was sitting at a table with a man that was not her husband, and it didn't bode well. He'd come into the shop because Blaise had been craving some of the specially blended tea that Madam Puddifoot made every Wednesday, but he wasn't going to be taking any tea home today. He turned and left the shop, disappearing just outside the door. When he reapparated, he was standing in the middle of Narcissa Malfoy's sitting room, where she, his mother, Lily, Blaise, and Professor Snape were all sitting.

"Where's my tea?" Blaise pouted, looking pointedly at his empty hands.

"We've got bigger problems than tea," he said urgently, sitting down. "I just saw Ginny at Madam Puddifoot's."

"So?" Molly asked. "She said she wanted to go out and get her mind off of everything." Ron's lips tightened into a thin line.

"Yes, well, she's found something to get her mind off of it, alright. Or should I say, someone." The womens' jaws dropped.

"What exactly are you saying, Ron?" Blaise asked cautiously.

"I'm saying that she's sitting in a very dark, very secluded booth with some bloke I've never seen before!" The room fell silent.

"Oh," Narcissa breathed. "Oh, my. What are we going to do?"

"What can we do?" Molly asked helplessly.

"For one, you can all be relieved that her husband isn't here to hear what's going on," Snape interjected. There were murmurs of assent, until a loud crack sounded just outside the door. Ron jumped up and ran to peer down the hallway. When he turned back, his face was pale.

"There's no one out there," he announced. Narcissa turned to Snape, who looked vaguely amused.

"Well, it would seem that her husband is on his way to remedy the problem."

"Oh, Gods," Blaise said, standing. "We've got to stop him. He'll kill that poor man."

"Do you have any suggestions on how to do that?" Ron snapped. Blaise arched an eyebrow, then turned to Narcissa.

"Do you have a room we could lock them in? Two of us can go and get them, grab them and apparate back here with them, and the rest of you can lock them in a room together until they get all of this hashed out. Personally, I'm a little tired of their stupidity."

"Hear, hear," Narcissa nodded. "I have the perfect room, too. The little bedroom that Lily chose as hers is perfect; I've had it enchanted so that no spells can be used inside its walls."

"All right," Blaise said, turning to Ron. "Let's go."

***

Ginny smiled and nodded politely at Owen, not really paying attention to what he was saying. It wasn't that he wasn't a sweet man, or that he was unattractive; she was just not interested. He was making it very clear that he was interested in her, though, and it was more than a friendly interest. He leaned across the table and covered her hand with his as he smiled at her.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to have run into you," he said softly, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. She was just about to say something when Draco barged up to their table, his eyes blazing.

"Get your damn paws off of my wife," he snarled. Several heads turned to stare, and Ginny looked up at him in shock. Owen gave him a cool, appraising look.

"Draco," she hissed through clenched teeth, finding her voice. "We are in public! Can you not lower your voice just a bit?"

"Yes, I remember all about being in public with you," he snapped furiously. "We've been through this before, remember?" She gaped at him, then stood slowly, wincing as she did. The gesture was lost on Owen, but Draco caught it, and it pained him, although he said nothing about it.

"How dare you!" she hissed, poking her finger at his chest. "You haven't even spoken to me for a week! What makes you think you have any right to come and interrupt me now?"

"Because you are my fucking wife, that's why!" he yelled. No one in the tea shop seemed to be embarrassed by the fact that everyone was staring at the couple. "Did you tell him that you're married, and that you have my last name?" Owen looked nonplussed.

"You're married?"

"Shut up!" they chorused in unison.

"What does it matter if I'm married or not?" she shrieked, throwing her hands in the air. "You don't want me! You never did! You only wanted the baby!"

"You are the stupidest woman I have ever met," he said, his voice clipped. "Maybe you did do me a favor by leaving me that night." Something snapped inside of Ginny, and her rage boiled over. She grabbed the first thing she could find, which was a glass of ice water. Without thinking twice, she threw the water on him, then sat the glass down on the table. She put her hands on her hips and smirked at him. His jaw clenched, and he reached across the table and picked up Owen's ice water, flinging it on her. They stood there, dripping wet and staring at each other.

A moment later, they burst into laughter.

Before anything more could be said, there was a flurry of arms around them, and the next thing they knew, they were being shoved into a bedroom. Ginny turned when she heard the door being locked behind them, and she beat on the door.

"What the hell is going on?" she fumed, turning to look at Draco. He sat down on Lily's bed, wearing an amused smirk. Ginny wanted to laugh; there was something that was innately funny about a soaking wet Draco trying to look regal.

"You can come out once you've admitted to being madly in love," Blaise's voice called through the door.

"I already did that, and she ran away from me. Repeatedly," Draco called back. Ginny turned on him.

"You were only saying that! And I did not run away, I was giving you your freedom."

"I don't want my bloody freedom, I want you, but you're too thick to realize it."

"You only wanted me because I was pregnant with your heir," she snapped.

"Maybe I don't want my bloody heir to be born to someone so incredibly stupid," he snarled. "You've no connection whatsoever with logic in that little brain of yours, do you?"

"You're right," she said, her eyes flashing. "I have no logic. If I did, I'd be able to understand why the hell I fell in love with you in the first place!"

"Precisely," he said, folding his arms in front of his chest and sneering. "If you stood still for one second and let two thoughts rub together without your tearing off on some paranoiac delusions, you'd see that we're absolutely perfect for each other, but oh, no, then you'd have to admit that maybe you don't know everything."

"You bloody pillock," she said, half laughing. "I've just told you for the first time that I'm in love with you, and you stand there and insult me!"

A smile threatened to break through his stony façade, but he fought it down and huffed, "Well, it was working thus far, I didn't want tochance ruining the conversational flow... You silly cow."

She stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Silly cow? Is that the best you could do?"

"Forgive me, I'm a bit on the giddy side," he said, the smile that had threatened finally bursting forth. "The woman I'm madly in love with just said she loves me, you see. It's affecting my thinking."

"I told you when you started coming to see me that you were afflicted," she smiled, moving forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Certifiable, remember?"

He pulled her close, nuzzling her cheek as his arms went around her waist. "What treatment options do you suggest?"

"Oh, there is no treatment for you, love," she murmured, closing her eyes. "You're beyond help. Then again, I am too, so perhaps we can work out a suitable solution together?"

He kissed her, deeply, then alternated words with kisses as he said, "I believe what we need is long, intensive, thorough sessions every night, for at least fifty years."

"Ahh," she breathed, sighing. "Fifty years is hardly long enough to fix the both of us."

"Well, it's just a preliminary course of treatment," he said, running his hands up and down her back. "We may need to include days, as well, and continue indefinitely."

"I could donate a morning or two to that, and up you weekends."

"Hmm," he murmured against her skin, as he nuzzled his way down her neck. "At that rate, perhaps it would be most efficient to never be apart."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing that we're already married, isn't it?" she breathed, tilting her head back to allow him better access.

"Highly convenient," he said, sliding one hand down her hips and over her thigh.

***

"Can you hear anything?" said Ron, jostling his brother and trying to press his ear to the door.

"No, they went all quiet, shut up so I can listen."

Molly moved closer to the door, leaning a bit on her toes. "You shouldn't be listening to their private talk," she said piously, even as she drifted closer to the door.

"Isn't it lovely out today? I just wanted to drop off these books for Draco," Hermione walked in, saw them leaning against the door, and smiled brightly. "Oh, is that door sticking? Let me help."

Before any of the room's occupants could protest, Hermione had flicked her wand and made the door swing inwards, leading to a pile of highly embarrassed conspirators landing at the feet of an oblivious and passionately embracing couple. Ginny's bra was dropped on Ron's head and he squealed in terror and pain, scrabbling backwards on his hands and knees. Blaise was moaning about her eyes while Molly giggled nervously and shielded her eyes with one hand, the other holding up Ginny's previously discarded blouse.

"Oh," Hermione muttered, her cheeks going red. Ron glared at her, and she turned away so he wouldn't see her smile. Ginny pulled her blouse back on and glared at them, while Draco tightened his arms around her and pulled her closer. He arched an amused eyebrow at the group of people who had begun slowly backing out of the room.

"Did you enjoy the floor show?" he asked. Ginny smacked him playfully, and he chuckled. "I believe my wife and I are going to need some time alone. Perhaps we should go back to Grimmauld Place and discuss matters further?" She nodded and gave him a small smile. Lily frowned and began to cry.

"But..but," she sniffled. "I came to see Daddy Draco, and you're taking him away!" Ginny's face fell as she tried to think of what to say to her daughter, but Draco simply picked the child up and started to whisper in her ear. The more he said, the more Lily smiled, until finally she nodded firmly, kissed Draco on the cheek and wriggled down. "Okay, Mummy, it's time for you and Daddy Draco to leave now."

Bemused, Ginny complied, allowing her little girl to tow her to the hearth. Lily climbed up and retrieved the pot of floo powder, holding it out for her mother to take a pinch, then presenting it to Draco. Once they had arrived at their destination, Ginny turned to her husband. "What on earth did you say to her?"

"Oh, that," he said, sweeping her into his arms. "You see, it's like this... I explained to Lily that we needed to get your permission in order to go on a holiday to the seaside."

She looked at him quizzically. "And?"

"And," he purred, moving so that her back was pressed to the wall and he was pressed against her, "I'm supposed to ask your permission very, very nicely."

"Is that right?" she asked, smiling. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently before pulling away slightly to look him in the eye. "I love you, Draco." He growled and captured her lips in a consuming kiss.

"Do you know how bloody long I've been waiting for you to say those words? I don't like to be kept waiting, you know," he murmured, kissing the sensitive spot just below her ear. She closed her eyes and gasped.

"I suppose you have some way in mind for me to rectify my mistake?"

"Of course. You'll just have to say it to me at least ten times a day for the rest of your life," he whispered, nibbling on her earlobe.

"You're getting soft," she breathed. "That's the easiest punishment I've ever heard." He pulled away to direct an evil smirk at her.

"I don't think I'm going to be anywhere near soft, for a very long time," he said. She blinked, then laughed at him.

"You're horrible."

"You like it."

"No, I don't," she said, shaking her head. "I love it. I love you."

"I love you," he whispered, lowering his mouth to hers for a sweet kiss. Those three words, at this moment, made Ginny feel like everything was going to finally be all right. There were no more fear or hesitation; she knew why he wanted her, and she had no

reason any more to doubt, or to hide what she felt. All that was left was to be happy and in love. With that thought reverberating in her head, she buried her fingers in his hair and kissed him back.