Twin Trouble

The silence was an ear-shattering silence to Draco as he laid alone in his bed on that Saturday morning where the rain dripped outside and the clouds covered up the sun like the sleep masked his pain. He was lonely once again for the one person that made his life complete. That one person being his wife, Virginia.

It had been a month since the last time her footsteps had graced the floors of the apartment where they had lived happily together for the first six years of their marriage. Three weeks since the last time he had seen her lovely face and the sad smile that she tried to fake for him. Two weeks since he had last heard her voice on the other end of the muggle telephone saying she was leaving him. One week since he had given up hope on believing that she was coming back. And it had been no more than one second from the last time he had thought about her.

Yes, Draco Malfoy was a sad man living in a fantasy world where his only fantasy was a shattered reality. It was hard to think back and tell exactly why she had told him she was leaving. In fact, Draco wasn't even sure she had given a reason when she had walked out and left that day. All he remembered was a lot of yelling and a knife being thrown in his direction.

Ah, the knife. It had cut his arm and he hadn't even bothered to heal it up magically. He had let it heal naturally and there was a nasty cut on his arm where the blade had graced his shoulder. It was a reminder of that day that was etched in his very skin for him to remember always.

In the dark, imposing silence of the morning, Draco heard the heavy clunking of footsteps ring through his house. He popped his eyes open and focused them on the doorway of his bedroom where the footsteps had stopped. There stood his father in all of his black-clothed glory with a smirk on his face that betrayed the emotion he actually felt for his son.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Draco asked through his dry lips.

"I came by to see how you were doing. Last time anyone heard, you and Ginny were fighting. I don't see her around. Did she leave?" Lucius took a few more steps in the room and sat down in his son's chair by the bed.

"She left."

"Do you know if she's coming back?"

"She's been gone a month, Father. I don't think she'll be coming back."

Draco closed his eyes and pretended not to let the talk about Ginny get to him. He didn't want to think about Ginny anymore than he already did, but everytime he closed his eyes her image flashed just as it did now.

"It's such a shame. I actually liked that Weasley. She had the perfect temper to keep you in check."

Lucius Malfoy had taken on a new role in his son's life. Since Draco had graduated from Hogwarts Lucius had taken on a new respect for his son. He knew that Draco wasn't one for the Dark Arts and with great difficulty he had accepted it. This had been one thing that Draco did not understand, but he was grateful for it and did not question his father's motives.

"Can we not talk about Ginny anymore?"

Lucius nodded although through his closed eyelids, Draco could not see it. The silence pierced the room as the two men, one in a chair, and one laying hopelessly in bed didn't speak. After a short time, Lucius stood up and said his silent goodbye, leaving the room to let his son sleep the rest of the morning away.

Outside the rain fell harder in thick sheets that hit the pavement below with a fierce intensity. The thunder cracked loudly and shook the apartment with each hit. Draco still laid in bed and thought about Ginny. The lightning in the sky flashed throughout the day as the storm raged on and by nightfall the storm had gone with the puddles of rain outside left as the only reminder it had been there in the first place.

Ginny looked out at the street that had been her only company for the past month with the exception of the lady that ran the coffee shop she presently sat at. There was a cold cup of coffee in front of her that had long since lost its steam. Ginny paid no attention to the coffee, instead keeping her eyes focused on the empty sidewalk outside.

Caley, the woman that ran the coffee shop, watched Ginny as she sat lonely in the front of the shop. She knew this woman, Ginny, had troubles. Ever since Ginny had come in the shop for the first time the previous month, she had known. It had been a learning experience for herself as well to hear of Ginny's troubles in relation to the perfect life that she herself had.

Ginny was the last one in the shop as Caley walked up and took the coffee that Ginny had not drank. It was of no matter. Caley set it behind the counter and turned off the lights as she walked up to the front, holding the door open for Ginny as the two women left. They said their goodbyes and parted ways for the night.

Ginny walked steadily along the street with her thoughts keeping her company, and the streetlamps being the only thing to light her path. After a while she looked up from the sidewalk to see that instead of standing in front of her own apartment, she had ended up in front of Draco's. The muggle watch she wore on her wrist said it was just after eleven, and it would be another hour walk back the other direction just to get home. With a heavy sigh, she walked inside the building.

The darkness from the night had reached into the building as there were no lights to the steps she walked. Draco's apartment was on the third floor and it was a hastle to get there without falling and hurting herself. As she came to the door, she realized that she might not even have the key. It would be bad enough to have to face Draco in the morning, and she certainly didn't want to have to face him right then. She rumaged around in her pockets until she found her key and unlocked the door.

All of the lights were out in the apartment as she hung her coat on the coatrack she knew that stood by the door. All she wanted was a hot cup of tea before going to bed. The kitchen was difficult to get to since it was dark and there was furniture in the way. After a long few minutes, Ginny made it to the kitchen without making much noise.

The lightswitch was easy to find since it was right by the all when she first walked in, and she made sure that the light stayed on a soft glow to not wake Draco if he were in the apartment.

The cabinets were stocked full of everything and Ginny had a hard time finding the tea since Draco had rearranged everything in the kitchen. After several minutes of frustrated looking around she found what she wanted up in a cabinet on the very top shelf. She reached up but found that the tea was out of her grasp, so she lifted herself on the countertop and grabbed what she wanted.

"You could have asked me and I would have gotten it for you, you know," Draco said as he pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat down.

"I could have asked you a lot of things," Ginny said as she reached down and found the tea kettle.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco asked with a furrowed brow.

Ginny ignored his question and began to make her tea quietly, humming to herslef. Draco listened as she hummed. He had always loved it when she did that. It made him feel at ease.

Ginny went and sat down at the table in a chair across from him as the water heated up to its boiling temperature. Draco looked her over as if he hadn't seen her in years, and the month that they had spent apart felt just that. Ginny saw him looking at her and she looked back.

"Why did you come here, Ginny?" Draco asked softly, hope and glum mixed together on his face.

"I started walking and it got too late to walk back home. Don't get your hopes up because I don't plan on staying."

Draco flinched as her words hit him hard. He took in a shaky breath and watched her get up as the water boiled on the stove. Ginny made her tea and went to sit back at the table and enjoy it. But something kept pulling at her and she found that tea was not what she wanted at all.

"Why did you leave?" Draco asked quietly.

"You should be the one to answer that, Draco. It wasn't me that was in the park with my arms wrapped around someone else."

Draco's eyes shot open and he looked at her in shock. He had never been with another woman. Why would he want to be with anyone that wasn't Ginny? It didn't make any sense.

"I wasn't with anyone else but you," Draco said.

"And I suppose I'm seeing things? No, I'm afraid that you're mistaken, Mr. Malfoy," Ginny said venemously.

"I'm being serious, Virginia!" Draco stood up and began to pace the kitchen, his hand resting just above his eyes, his head beginning to throb with the amount of thought he was conjuring up.

"Quit denying things Draco," Ginny said.

Draco walked back over to the table and slammed his fists down hard on the wood. The teacup jumped up and clanked back down on the saucer, tea spilling out. Ginny looked startled and even a bit scared as Draco stood a few inches away from her, his breathing ragged as he looked through piercing eyes into her own eyes, maybe even her soul.

Draco's face lifted and he ran back into the apartment with Ginny trailing after him. He came to a closet and opened it up, looking through the bottles of potions and shelves of books that made up his magic closet. This was a new addition since she had gone, and it was impressive looking.

Draco found what he was looking for among the potions and pulled out a small bottle, looking at the label and smirking a little. He handed it to Ginny to examine. It was truth potion. She looked up at him and met a pair of eyes that looked very anxious to prove themselves. She handed the bottle back to Draco and he walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch and making room for Ginny.

Ginny sat down and watched him as he pulled the stopper off of the bottle and let the potion glide down his throat like icy fire. He closed his eyes as it burned and then opened them to look at Ginny pleadingly.

"Was it you I saw in the park that day with that other woman?" Ginny looked at him and waited for his answer, her heart beating nervously in her chest. She felt as if her heart would explode if he did not speak soon. She needed to hear the words escape his lips.

"It was not me."

Ginny heard a strangled cry escape her throat and she jumped into his arms, letting herself cry into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her soft hair, inhaling the scent that he had missed so much. He felt himself crying with her as they sat there on the couch, each feeling guilty for the actions they had or had not taken in the past month.

Ginny pulled back and held his face in her hands. She leaned over and kissed him with the force that had been building up within the past month that she had been gone. Draco felt himself kissing her back with as much passion and desire.

Ginny looked into his eyes as she sat back in her seat. "Are you still under the influence of the potion?"

"Yes," Draco said as he leaned over and captured her mouth in another blinding kiss.

"Do you forgive me?"

That question had caught him off guard and even he did not know if he did or not. It was a hard question to answer, even with the truth potion running in his body. But there was something inside that told him he forgave her, so he nodded his head and spoke the word 'yes'.

Once gain Draco found himself holding tightly onto Ginny as she kissed him again. Draco barely noticed his actions as he found himself standing up, carrying Ginny with him as he walked into his bedroom, kicking the door shut before falling on the bed, their emotions and actions making the words for them.

Later on that night (or in the morning hours I guess), Draco opened his eyes and looked over at Ginny as she slept. He couldn't believe that she thought he had been unfaithful. It didn't make any sense. There weren't that many people that he had ever seen in his life that had ever looked like him, especially since he was part veela.

Ginny stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes partway to look over and find that Draco was staring at her. She smiled and reached a lazy hand up to play with some strands of his chin-length hair that were strayed all over his pillow.

"I guess we've got our work cut out for us tomorrow," Ginny said thoughtfully.

Draco tilted his head to the side with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"We have to move my things back in, of course," Ginny said with a tired laugh.

Draco smiled and leaned over onto her pillow, kissing her temple. He laid his head down close to hers and shut his eyes. The last thing her heard was his wife's steady breathing as she fell back into sleep before sleep claimed him.