Sweet Bondage

Chapter 17: And the First Round Goes To....

Blaise shook his head to try and clear his vision; damn, but Draco had a powerful right hook! Carefully testing his jaw, he breathed in avid relief when it only felt tender, not broken. Nevertheless, it hurt like hell.

Draco slowly advanced on Blaise, his fists clenched; there was every intention in his eyes to inflect as much pain on his erstwhile best friend as he possibly could. "You fucking traitor! When were you going to tell me? Were you going to tell me? Do you have any idea what you've done?" He turned tortured eyes towards the stage, taking in the sight of the little boy who was practically stealing the show from the new Minister of Magic; it was clear the gathered assembly did not know what to make of him. But he did, without a shadow of doubt he did. "God, Blaise, why didn't you tell me?" he said lugubriously.

Blaise snapped out of his preoccupation with his jaw and yanked Draco to the sidelines. Thank Merlin they were so far out the back that nobody had paid any attention to the little show of temper Draco had indulged in. He spied a slack-jawed waiter staring at them and revised his thought: Nobody important saw what Draco had done, that is.

"Come with me," Blaise tersely said, grabbing Draco's right forearm and steering him to a door he knew was concealed by the floor-to-ceiling draperies. Draco, on impulse, tried to twist free from his hold; Blaise responded by tightening his hold on his best friend's arm even more. "Don't even try it, Drake; I work with Potter every day, I even beat him occasionally, so there's no way in hell you're going to avoid coming with me." As if to prove his point, he started marching for the door, with Draco viciously cursing after him, but nevertheless trailing after his wake; he didn't have much of a choice, it was either go with Blaise or have his sleeve torn off his arm.

The door opened into a small balcony overlooking a magical view of a courtyard, with several rose bushes in varying degrees of bloom and color dotting the picturesque landscape, and a gigantic fountain in the middle with several small animals frolicking in the gushing waters; considering the Ministry's ballroom was located several feet under the ground, magical took on a new meaning when one viewed the magnificent vista.

Once past the door, Draco hastily freed himself from Blaise's grip and willed himself to take control of his raging temper. He gripped the railing of the balcony, blind to the beauty laid out before him, and started breathing evenly and deeply, willing the voices railing in his head to go away and let him think.

What had he done? Christ above, what had he done?

Blaise leaned on the other side of the railing, watching his best friend try to get back his mental footing. He didn't envy Draco this situation, but at the same time, he knew that it was no less than he deserved for being an ass all his life. He didn't know how the night was going to end, either; Draco and Ginny were two intelligent, stubborn people who needed to have common sense knocked into them some of the time, and because of that, he feared a battle royale was inevitable before the night was through.

"Why?"

On hearing Draco's quiet query, Blaise straightened from his contemplation of the man before him, the same man who had been his constant companion ever since he could remember. Not that Draco's question came as a surprise; he knew that that would be the first one out of his mouth once he saw a bit of the life he wasn't a part of with his own eyes, a life he had eschewed, albeit unknowingly. Yet he, Blaise, also knew that he was not in a position to tell Draco the whys of it all.

"It wasn't my place to tell you anything about Ginny," Blaise started, choosing his words carefully. "I've known you all my life, Draco; there is nothing I wouldn't do for you, you know that. But this thing between you and Ginny?" Blaise shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Draco, but you screwed up. Big time." He sighed. "It's been four years, Drake. Do you even understand just what and how much you've missed out on? And all for what?"

Draco gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to take a swing at Blaise again. "I don't need the lecture, Blaise. Just tell me why?"

Blaise's eyes flashed in anger. "Very well. It was agreed that no one would breathe a word of it to anyone outside of her family and the circle; you had to come to a decision about Ginny without undue influence from any of us. In any case, Lucius made it clear that nothing good would come of you knowing prematurely."

Draco turned around so fast even Blaise was impressed with his speed.

"Father? What's he got to do with all this? And what's this circle you're talking about?"

Blaise shook his head again, his anger ebbing swiftly; he'd said too much already. "It's not for me to tell you, Drake. Talk to Lucius, he's the only person who can tell you all the things you want to know, except Ginny of course, but I don't think she'd be too receptive of you right now."

Draco gritted his teeth. "I should have known Lucius would be behind all this, he's never done anything to make my life easy." He prepared to walk back into the ballroom to confront his father, but was stopped by Blaise blocking his path. "Get out of my way, Blaise," he warned, his tone laden with menace.

"There's a time and a place for everything, Draco," Blaise said reasonably. "Wait until the oath taking ceremony is over; you won't be doing your cause any good by barging in there and confronting your father now. You'll probably be thrown out, and how far will that take you into finding out what has been taking place behind your back all this years? Use your head, mate; for once, don't let that temper of yours get the better of you."

Draco visibly calmed; Blaise was right. If he got thrown out of the Ministry premises, there was no knowing when he would be able to see his father, especially since he had already conveniently made plans to move out of the Manor. Lucius was a wily old bastard; he wouldn't put it past him to hide under a rock just to vex his son.

Blaise knew the minute Draco realized that it would be in his best interest to listen to his suggestion, and he relaxed somewhat. "Just remember what I told you earlier: You have one chance to make things right tonight. Be careful what you do from this point on." He touched his rapidly swelling jaw and grimaced. "And for the love of God, will you keep your fist to yourself? Had I known you were so free with your punches, you can be sure I would have kept my distance from you tonight. Damn, where did you learn to pack a punch like that? You're the last person I would have credited knowing how to fight the muggle way."

Draco threw Blaise a menacing look. "You've been avoiding me for nearly three years, Blaise, a lot can change in a man in a week, let alone three years."

"Pull the other arm, why don't you," Blaise said disbelievingly. "If it were anyone but yourself, I won't have trouble believing the change. But I know you, Drake, you're the most resistant when it comes to your views about muggles, or anything that is in any way connected to muggles. And I haven't been avoiding you; it's not my fault I actually have a job that requires me to work? I may be rich, but I've found out it's much nicer making my way rather than living off what I got from my father." He touched his aching jaw and cursed loudly. "Damn it! Potter would probably kiss you once he sees this handiwork of yours. Where did you pick this skill up?"

Draco smirked as he looked at his handiwork. "The only thing constant in life is change, Blaise. Even rock formations change with time."

Blaise sighed and shook his head in capitulation. "Which means that you're not going to tell me anything. Fine, fine, have it your way. But I still believe you can't teach old dogs new tricks, you can only replace the dog. And since I know it's really you in there, I'll cease my questions. For now," he warned. "I will have my answers eventually, never you doubt that." He took out his wand and quickly mumbled a healing spell on his jaw.

"That's pretty useful," Draco observed, watching the swelling of Blaise's jaw go down and eventually disappear. "I don't know why you were even complaining about that little tap I gave you when you knew how to just spell it away."

"Just because I've learned a few healing charms doesn't mean I thrive on having my face bashed in," Blaise said sardonically. "This being an Auror thing does have its advantages." He put his wand away and tilted his head to the door. "You ready to go back inside? The ceremony's probably nearing its end. You wouldn't want to miss Ginny and your father."

Draco was quiet for a moment; he looked at Blaise with a contemplative look on his face. "Why are you doing this, Blaise?" he finally asked, confusion clearly written on his face. "You and Ginny are supposed to be engaged; I've never pegged you as the martyr type."

Blaise avoided meeting Draco's eyes. "Well, about that - it's a bit complicated. Let's just say I have my reasons," he said evasively. "You'll know them when the time is right. But right now, we have to go inside so you can finally meet that spawn of yours."

A look of wonder dawned on Draco's face. "I have a son," he said quietly, his eyes unseeing. "I'm a father."

"Yes, yes, you're a father," Blaise said impatiently. "I've known you were one ages ago. Now let's go."

The look of wonder was rapidly replaced with one of fear. "W-what if I turn out like my father, Blaise? What if my son also ends up hating me? What do I do?"

"That's looking into the future a bit prematurely, don't you think?" Blaise asked wryly, resigned to the fact that they would not be getting back inside anytime soon. "You're not even sure if they'll want to have anything to do with you at this point yet."

It was the wrong thing to say, Blaise realized that the instant Draco paled so much he feared his best friend was going to drop in a dead faint in front of him.

"Look, Drake," Blaise said quickly, trying to cover for his thoughtless remark. "You'll never know for sure how Ginny will react if you don't go inside. Now. All this suppositions are not going to do you any good."

"But you've raised a good point, Blaise. What if she refuses to let me see my son? What if I never get to find out whether I'd make a good or a bad father? What reassurance do I have that if I go back inside, I won't only be subjecting myself to disappointment? What - "

"Draco, stop! Stop thinking that way." Blaise run a weary hand through his jet-black hair and turned back to look over the courtyard. How could he explain it to Draco without revealing anything?

Finally, he looked his friend over his shoulder and posed his own questions. "Are you really willing to let your insecurities rule your life forever, Drake? What would you gain by avoiding what's out there and staying here, thinking up situations you have no way of knowing whether they could ever happen? Won't you rather go out there and find out once and for all whether you should go and AK yourself several times over, or whether you should start making up for all the bad choices you're so fond of making. You've seen your son." He slowly made his way over to his still friend. They were even in height, so they could look each other squarely in the eye; Blaise held Draco's gaze and went for the kill. "You'll have your hands full with that little guy of yours, you know. I don't know exactly what to call him; surely he can't be human for all the trouble he's put everyone through. He needs a father, Drake," he finished, laying a hand on Draco's left shoulder and squeezing for emphasis.

Draco pushed back all his apprehensions and nodded. Blaise was right, he had to face Ginny eventually, and there was no time like the present. And if all else failed, he could always act like his father; that never failed to intimidate anybody into doing what he wanted.

"You're right, of course. I have every right to see my son," he stated, injecting as much pompousness in his voice, an emotion he was far from feeling. But he was a Malfoy, and as much as the name brought chills to the very marrow of his being, it could be depended upon in times when arrogance was the only thing he had going for him. "Ginny can't refuse me if I insist on seeing my son."

Blaise groaned. "Don't be an ass, Drake, I mean that. You can't fuck with Ginny, not about this. You have to tread carefully, or I can assure you now, you'll be regretting it for the rest of your short life. I say short because there will be a number of people out there who'll happily tear your flesh from your body, and make you eat it!" he explained, giving Draco a little shake just in case he didn't think he'd been talking literally.

Draco didn't say anything, he just turned on his heel and marched back inside the Ministry ballroom.

After wanting Draco to get back inside for the past few minutes, Blaise was left looking at his best friend's back. "God help us all," he muttered under his breath, before going after the stiff form of Draco Malfoy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I, Arthur Weasley - "

"I heard about what happened," Ron said quietly, looking surreptitiously past Ginny to Bill, who was standing as stiff as a poker immediately behind and to the side of their father. "And from the looks of our dear brother over there, I'd say he's not of a mind to put this behind him anytime soon."

" - do hereby solemnly swear, to faithfully execute the Office of the Minister of Magic."

Ginny wanted so much to make a face, but if she did, it would surely be noticed by the many pairs of eyes that were already trained on them. "Keep quiet, you; I don't want to talk about it," she whispered, her lips barely moving. She adjusted her hold on Nicole, who, unlike her brother who was forever uncomfortable in his own skin and was constantly in motion, was serenely observing her grandfather as he made his oath of office. Ron dare not put down the little boy in case he started running amok on stage. Ginny was fairly certain that he regretted agreeing to hold Luke instead of Nicole, who was now alternately squirming and making faces at his uncle, and for all that Ginny loved her son, there was no way she could manage to keep his energy in check.

"As Minister, I will discharge my duties and perform my functions to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the laws of the Wizarding world."

And it looked as though Ron himself had reached the end of his ropes. "Hey, little man, want to make a deal?" Ginny heard him say softly as he discreetly turned to keep the both of them averted from the crowd.

Ginny winced when she heard Luke loudly say yes, accompanied by a vigorous nodding of the head. Ron didn't even bother being discreet anymore when he moved behind the ranks of the other Weasleys on stage; his mother was going to have his head if he could not control his nephew's exuberance at that crucial point of the program. Already, several disapproving looks had been thrown their way from various members of the Board of Governors, and it was all she could do to keep the sickly sweet smile fixed on her face.

Ginny focused her attention on her father, keeping her eyes on the ceremony. It wasn't easy; she had immediately seen Lucius and Narcissa standing at the forefront of the crowd, and by the looks of Narcissa, Lucius was in for a very rough night himself. Of Draco she had not been able to catch a glimpse of anywhere in the room when the ceremony had started. Except for that brief interlude earlier in the night, their paths had not crossed again. She didn't know whether she ought to be glad or sorry about that, and she castigated herself for it. She had wanted to feel nothing towards him when she saw him again; she had told herself many times over that she shouldn't feel anything for him, but as before, it was one thing to say something, and quite another to actually follow through on that. She dearly wished that when the time came, Draco would be true to form and act like a braying donkey; it was easier to harden her resolve against him when he was like that.

"So Merlin help me."

Ron returned by her side just as their father finished his oath. "What did you bargain him with?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, Gin," Ron answered, juggling Luke over to his left arm. "Your boy and I have reached an understanding." He looked meaningfully at the blond boy and Ginny saw him barely suppress the grimace from materializing on his face. "What's wrong with you anyway, that there's not even a trace of the Weasley in this kid of yours."

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you, the new Minister of Magic - Mr. Arthur Weasley!"

Ginny joined in the round of applause that immediately followed the end of the oath taking. She had mastered ignoring Ron's grumbles over the years; she would be more likely to worry if he suddenly started praising her children's looks. She knew that despite Luke and Nicole's decidedly Malfoyish features, he loved the duo like they were his own and knowing that made it easier to dismiss his complaints.

She beamed proudly at her father who was being congratulated by the board of Governors that had converged in on him as soon as the ceremony was over. Looking at him now, Ginny only saw the man who was her father, not the successful politician that so many now saw him as. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that more than half of the attendees were there because they were happy for Arthur Weasley; oddly enough, she had gleaned enough understanding over the years not to condemn them for their capriciousness. She knew that were the last war's outcome been different, it was very likely that these same people would probably also be cheering for Voldemort. Such was the foibles of war, and their bigotry was something she realized was an essential component of their life, the same one that helped them survive.

Ron nudged her none too gently on the arm. "C'mon, time to congratulate the new Minister." He grinned cheekily at his sister and adjusted his hold on Luke once again. "Let's get this over with so we can finally leave. I don't think I can take much more of this, and your son is getting heavier by the minute."

Ginny giggled. She was about to reply when she felt a tug on her hand. When she looked down, she was surprised at the thoughtful look on her daughter's face.

Bending down so she was eye to eye with the little girl, she lovingly smoothed her long blonde hair over her shoulders. "What is it, honey?"

Nicole turned questioning eyes to her mother. "Why is that woman with Grandpa crying, Mommy?"

Without even looking, Ginny knew immediately whom Nicole was referring to. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she gave her daughter a small smile. "Don't mind them, sweetheart, I'm sure your grandfather will tell you himself. After the party," she added hastily when Nicole opened her mouth to insist on an answer. She straightened and grasped her hand again. "Now let's go give your grandpa a big hug." She didn't give the little girl time to resume her line of questioning again, and instead brought her over to where her father was receiving congratulatory handshakes and pats on the back by her brothers.

"Congratulations, daddy," Ginny said softly when her turn came, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered beside his ear.

"Thank you, Gin-girl," Arthur Weasley replied, his arms tightening around her slim frame.

Ginny pulled back and grinned up at her father. "Who would've thought the Muggle loving Arthur Weasley would be the next Minister of Magic, huh?" Ginny grinned at her father, who had wrapped his arms around her mother's waist again. "If Voldemort were alive today, he'd probably do Harry a big favor and Avada himself in horror."

Molly Weasley gasped. "That's not funny, Ginny!"

Ginny merely laughed off her mother's reprimand. "I think there's one more who'd like to congratulate the man of the moment."

Arthur bent over by the waist and moved his face closer to his granddaughter's. "My, don't you look just like a princess tonight," he said, smiling at the beaming girl before him.

Nicole wrapped her arms around her grandfather's neck, much like the way her mom had just a minute earlier. "I love you, Grampa."

Arthur's smile was serene. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"Me next! Me next!"

Ginny grabbed Nicole back just in time as her son barreled his way towards his grandfather and hurled himself into his arms. Arthur staggered back on impact, nearly falling over on his behind.

"Whoa there, squirt!" Arthur said, laughing delightedly when Luke clung to him and he had no choice but to carry him when he straightened up again.

"Ron! I thought I told you not to let go of him!" Ginny hissed at her brother.

"You try carrying him around for thirty minutes," he grumbled, "let's see how far before your body just gives." Identical scowls were leveled his way and Ron raised placating hands to ward off both his mother and his sister. "He just wanted to go to dad, okay, seeing as how his sister was there first. You know how he gets when he's not first in line."

"Uncle Ron promised to take me for a ride on his broom, Grampa. He said after the party we could go flying on his broom!"

Arthur looked briefly at Ginny. "Maybe not right after, squirt." He noticed his chief of staff motioning at him and nodded once in acknowledgement. "Now why don't you go with your Mum for a spell? Grampa has to do something first."

Luke eagerly held his arms out to his mother, who dutifully took him. She, too, had noticed the little signal Mr. Smithers had sent her father and understood it to mean that it was time for his first speech as the newly elected British Minister of Magic.

Which meant it was time to get out of the limelight.

Sending Ron the sign they'd agreed upon, they immediately moved to the backstage and exited through there. She and Ron were just passing through the exit door when they heard their father begin his speech.

"Minister Scrimgeour, Professor Dumbledore, Minister Fudge, the governing bodies of the International Confederation of Wizards, the members of the Wizengamot, members of the board of Governors, fellow citizens:

"Today, we are entering a new era. I am grateful for the great honor you have bestowed upon me upon my election as the new Minister for Magic. In all my years, never have I dreamed that I would one day be standing before all of you as your Minister: I am a simple man, with simple needs, and I have tried to be a good denizen of our small corner of the world as best I can. The call to office was something that I would have preferred not to pay attention to, but fate has a way of placing you exactly where you ought to be. So, here I am now, before you."

Arthur took a breath and looked at his wife; Molly smiled and nodded in encouragement. He looked back down at the prepared speech laid out in front of him.

"The Wizarding world today has gone through more difficult times than ever recorded in history: Most of us here are descendants of the first war, and all of us gathered today have felt the tyranny of the most recent Dark Lord. Some might be luckier than others, those fortunate individuals who were spared death and destruction in their families, but as a whole, our community was left reeling with the devastation that was Voldemort. We have all avoided saying his name out loud, and I can understand the fear that rises in some whenever the Dark Lord's name is mentioned; after all, it is hard to get over an emotion that had become the norm for more years than I care to remember. But we have to ask ourselves: Why?

"Why are we perpetuating the unreasonable feeling of fear when it is a known fact that in doing so, we are giving somebody power over ourselves? Why, even now, do we still cower at the mention of his name? Hasn't he been dead for some years already?

"Ladies and gentlemen, pardon me if you believe me to be severely lacking tact by tackling this issue now, but I believe that before I can begin my tenure as Minister for Magic, it is only right that all slates be wiped clean. I do not believe in harboring anger, hate, or ill-will, against those we perceive to be undeserving to be here right now. Because if we do so, we would be no better than Voldemort himself. We are made vulnerable by our inherent belief of what is right and wrong, of what should and shouldn't be, when what we should be considering is modifying our ideologies, ideologies that may have unknowingly been feeding the animosity in our hearts. What is right for one might not necessarily be so acceptable to another, and so a middle ground must be reached."

Arthur knew not very many would be pleased by his speech; even his chief of staff had tried to convince him to leave out half of what he wanted to say. But all of them had been skirting around the issue for too long. It was time to finally take a stand and declare once and for all that it was time to embrace change, and accept that there was no changing the past; they could only look toward the future and try not to repeat the mistakes that had been committed by their forefathers, and by themselves.

Bracing his elbows on the podium, he leaned slightly forward to place emphasis on his next words.

"The issue of race has long been a bone of contention among us, and it is high time that we accept the inevitability of the evolving world, instead of fighting over it. Bigotry will take us nowhere; it is only fitting that each and every one of us realizes that now before another Dark Lord emerges to cause death and destruction once again. We won our battles against two Dark Wizards already; we might not be so lucky the third time around."

Arthur paused, and let the enormity of what he said settle in each and every one present in the ballroom before he resumed speaking.

"I do not mean to speak only of gloom, ladies and gentlemen, and since I have already addressed that unpleasant topic, it is now time to look forward to our future. Like I said, I am a simple man, and I believe with everything in me that we as a nation have a brilliant future before us. We have already confronted what could possibly be the greatest challenge any ordinary witch or wizard could possibly face in a lifetime. And triumphed. Through hard work and determination, not to mention an inordinate amount of skill and luck, we have been assured a new tomorrow. My predecessor is a great man who did all he could to win the war for us, but without the help of several key figures, the opposite of what we are currently enjoying could have very well happened. No one person can suppress tyranny; with cooperation and trust, anything is within our reach."

He smiled at the quiet congregation that was riveted by his words.

"I am here now to ensure that we will remain free from oppression, and the only way to do that is by working hand in hand. No one's hand is more important than the other, bear that in mind. We have all seen the devastation differing factions could bring so we must all strive to stay as one nation, as one community. That task might seem insurmountable, but nothing is impossible when you, we, believe.

"My fellow citizens, in your hands will rest the success or failure of our world. I am only a public servant, subject to your will. Yes, I will be the captain stirring our course, but only through unity could we achieve even greater success. The best hope we have of retaining the peace is by ensuring the preservation of freedom among every magical folk, be they pureblood, half-blood or squibs.

"And finally, I leave you with a last message. To borrow what my son's good friend once said: The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. Let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."

Arthur paused; his eyes landed on Hermione whose face was wreathed with a huge smile. Her husband was standing beside her, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. Clearly, Hermione was overjoyed that the new Minister for Magic had used one of her quotes.

Arthur nodded to the assembly. "Thank you."

The applause was deafening; as every witch and wizard felt empowered by their Minister's words, looking up at the humble man before them, none paid attention to the couple who was slowly edging their way towards the back of the stage and eventually disappearing inside a door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I will never forgive you for this, do you understand me? Never, Lucius!"

"You're elucidating with crystal clarity, my dear," Lucius said dryly, slowly steering his wife away from the cheering crowd.

Narcissa's head snapped up and she glared balefully at her husband. "Are you mocking me, Lucius? I am about this close to hexing your bits off and you're mocking me?"

"I wouldn't be so churlish as to do that, Cissa," Lucius said smoothly, keeping his arms around his wife just in case she made good on her promise. "I was just pointing out that I could hear you perfectly well. In fact, I rather believe that they could hear you even way across the room and despite all this noise."

Narcissa stiffened in anger, refusing to budge. "You are mocking me!" she hissed furiously. "I swear, Lucius, when we're alone, I'm going to make you wish you were never born!"

"That I have no doubt, my dear." He sighed feelingly. "But until such a time that we're alone, could we please get a move on? There are people waiting for us."

"What people? Where are you taking me?" Narcissa demanded. "And I want to know right now where that little boy and girl went off to. I can't believe you did this to me. I thought you've changed, Lucius; you made me believe you've changed. Then you go ahead and do this!"

Lucius resisted the urge to just pick up his angry wife and march out of there; it wouldn't do to make a scene with polite, and not so polite, society in attendance.

"I know, and I'm truly sorry, Cissa, but it had to be done. I never wanted to keep something as important as this from you, but there was no other way."

Narcissa sniffled. "Why did you even do it in the first place?" she asked, letting Lucius propel them forward once again. "You said you loved me, then you do this? Can't you really be satisfied with just one, Lucius?"

Lucius stopped walking in confusion. "What are you talking about, Narcissa?"

"What do you think I'm talking about?" she cried, glaring at her husband. "I'm talking about your two bastards, that's what I'm talking about!"

"My - what? What the fuck are you blathering on about, woman? What bastards?"

Narcissa's eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't you dare try and deny it now! You just admitted your sin not a minute ago."

Understanding dawned on Lucius and his eyes grew round as saucers. "You think - you believe Luke and Nicole - " The belligerence in his wife's stance was all the answer that Lucius needed. Jaw tightening in fury, he grabbed his wife's hand, unmindful of her gasp of dismay, and dragged her the rest of the way to the waiting room at the back of the stage. With his free hand, he opened the door without knocking and unceremoniously pushed Narcissa inside the cozy room, startling the occupants inside.

Ginny was surprised to see the unflappable Narcissa Malfoy come flying into the room with Lucius behind her looking very much like the angel of death. Even the twins hesitated in greeting their grandfather at the current mood he was so obviously in.

Narcissa stumbled inside the room and saw immediately that the little boy and girl she'd seen earlier were inside, with who must be their mother. And from the looks of her, a Weasley, without a doubt.

She turned her back on their audience and prepared to blast her husband for insulting her in this manner. But before she could get a word in edgewise, Lucius turned her right back around by grabbing her shoulders and pushing her forward, making her look at the evidence of his unfaithfulness once again. She then felt his face right next to her own, as in a scathing voice, he introduced her to the little boy and girl.

"Luke, Nicole, I would like for you to meet my wife, Narcissa. Narcissa, meet - your grandchildren!"

It didn't immediately register to her what Lucius said; when it did, all except Lucius were surprised when she crumpled to the floor in a faint.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't see them anywhere," Draco said impatiently, scanning the crowd once again for any sign of either Ginny or his parents. He had been looking for the past several minutes with no luck. When he'd entered the ballroom after his little chat with Blaise, Arthur Weasley had been in the middle of his speech. Blaise had immediately dragged him to the buffet table, well away from the other guests. When the new minister's speech had concluded, there had been too many bodies that blocked his way and sight so that he'd completely lost sight of his parents.

Blaise kept his expression innocent. "They're here somewhere; we've already ascertained that they haven't gone out. Don't worry too much, Drake, you'll be meeting your boy before the night is through." He handed a piece of hors d'oeuvres to the impatient man standing beside him. "Try this shrimp, it's really good."

Draco threw his best friend an irritated look. "I can't eat now, what's wrong with you?"

Blaise shrugged and popped the food into his mouth. "Don't see what else you can do without your prey in sight. I, for one, am going to make sure I taste all of this delicious and free food. I say, if there's one thing the muggles should be proud of, it's their food," he stated decisively, popping another morsel into his mouth.

Draco sneered at him. "Since when have you morphed into another Weasley?"

"Since four years ago."

Draco turned and faced the newcomer; there was no way he could forget the voice of his arch nemesis in Hogwarts, and beyond.

"Potter," he said curtly.

"Malfoy," Harry said just as curtly, then the staring down contest commenced.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband and Malfoy's adolescent behavior. "Oh, for the - will you just stop it, you two! You're not still twelve, you know. Blaise, help me out here."

Blaise nodded once and said 'in a minute' before continuing his attack on the buffet table, ignoring the simmering trouble between his partner and his best friend and cousin.

"Oh for the love of Merlin - you're not going to run out of food, you pillock!" Hermione said, coming forward and tugging at his right ear. "I'll cook you enough of that stuff you'll have trouble getting up off you're arse for a week! Now diffuse this right now."

Draco was stunned at how freely Hermione touched Blaise. And he was letting her!

"What's this? What's going on?" he couldn't help but ask. "Why do you let her do that to you, Zabini?"

"Because she thinks she's seven feet tall with the wing span as wide as a quidditch field," Blaise mumbled, rubbing his sore ear gingerly.

Hermione snorted. "Hardly," she said, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't be treating you like a child if you'd only act your age and not like orphan Annie who hasn't eaten for a week. Now, what are you still doing here? I thought you were supposed to be taking him to you-know-where."

"I still have ten minutes," Blaise complained. "And besides, I'm sure Lucius and Narcissa won't appreciate the interruption. Let's give them just a few more minutes, and then we'll be right there."

Draco was becoming more confused. Hermione and Blaise were talking in riddles and Potter was just standing there, now glaring at Blaise. If he didn't know better, he'd say the four-eyed freak was jealous of his best friend's proximity to his wife, which was absurd since Blaise would never lower himself so much as to actually conduct an affair with a mudblood. That one time he had to physically remove his best friend from on top of said witch in the room of requirement back in their seventh year did not count, not at all; Blaise was just suffering from temporary insanity back then, and just a touch of what Dianne called post-traumatic stress disorder: Snape had given him a less than satisfactory grades in class and he went bonkers. But the way the two interacted with each other now was so - disconcerting - that he couldn't help blurting out, "Are you two having an affair?"

Three persons gaped at him, before those same numbers burst out laughing. Hermione hung on to her husband as she laughed, and Harry's glasses were getting sopping wet with his tears. Blaise was also guffawing, clutching his stomach helplessly.

"Ooh, gods, that was a good one if I do say so myself," Blaise proclaimed when he was finally able to form a coherent sentence without breaking into another laughing fit. "Thanks, mate."

"You're quite welcome," Draco said dryly, nodding his head imperiously. "If you can now conjure up some semblance of intelligent thought in that thick head of yours, then would you please explain what the hell it is you're playing at? Why do I get the feeling that the three of you are in some sort of twisted relationship?"

Harry sobered up so fast it was as though a bucket of ice-cold water had just been dumped over his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Malfoy. If anyone here has a cemetery-full of skeletons in their closet, look in the mirror and wave!" Harry spat, hostility pouring out of every pore in his body.

"Back up there, Drake," Blaise cautioned Draco when he saw his hands clenching into fists. "It's not what you think. You've been gone so long that things around you have changed, is all. No need putting meaning to actions where there's none at all."

Hermione sighed impatiently. "Why are we wasting time here? It's not as though this discussion can't wait until later. C'mon, Harry, let it go," she said quietly to the tense man beside her, squeezing his right arm encouragingly. "It's time."

Harry didn't immediately concede; he didn't appreciate people questioning his wife's closeness with another man, granted that other man had been someone she had once been involved with before. It had taken some time for him to accept that Hermione considered Blaise to be one of her closest confidants, and there was nothing he could do to stop her from befriending the former Slytherin. He had already resigned himself to their odd relationship, considering that he and Blaise were partners in crime, so to speak, and both often had to work alongside Hermione in the performance of their duties. But for someone like Draco Malfoy, whose sins were as diverse as Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, all of his aggression against the implied relationship between his wife and Blaise had a tendency to rear its ugly head.

"Harry?"

Harry forced himself to relax; Ginny would never forgive him if he caused a scene tonight of all nights. And neither would Hermione, for that matter.

"Right then," he said after giving Malfoy one last malevolent look. "Let's go."

Harry, Hermione and Blaise, who had blessedly kept silent during the whole glaring contest between his best friend and his partner but who had not let go of Draco for fear he would go to town with his fist again, started walking away from him. Draco, for his part, didn't know whether he should follow them or try and locate his parents or Ginny on his own.

Blaise soon realized that Draco had not moved an inch from the buffet table, and turned back with raised brows at him. "You coming?"

"Coming where?" Draco asked quickly, suspiciously.

"I thought you wanted to speak to Ginny. Have you changed your mind all of a sudden?"

He was beside Blaise in a flash, who quirked his lips in amusement. "That was fast."

"Shut up," Draco grumbled. "Lead on."

With a chuckle, Blaise followed Harry and Hermione, with Draco closely on his heels. Blaise knew Draco was used to being the leader of the pack, and being relegated to the very back of the line now would not sit well with him. But he also knew that what Draco hated most was to be left out in the dark, especially with something that could affect him personally. And even if it killed him, he would follow Harry Potter to the very ends of the earth if it could get him what he wanted in the end.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What's wrong with her, Lucius?" Ginny asked, hurrying forward to help the unconscious witch into one of the plush cushions with her brother's assistance.

Lucius angrily crossed his arms and glared at his wife. He was furious, absolutely livid, and he wasn't so sure that if he touched Narcissa right then, it would be so he could strangle her, rather than help her. Nothing anybody had ever said or done to him before had made him feel the terrible rage he was currently nursing inside of him. He knew part of the reason why he was so angry was because he was disappointed at Narcissa, but goddamnit, she should have known better! Hadn't he adequately shown that there was nobody else for him but her for more than a decade now? Was she constantly expecting him to pick up his old habits again then? He just didn't know anymore.

"Lucius, help us out here!" Ginny grunted, as she and her brother struggled with the still form of Narcissa Malfoy.

"Where are your wands, anyway?" Lucius demanded, as he reluctantly pulled out his wand, and cast an enervate charm on his wife.

As Narcissa started stirring, Ginny straightened and smoothed out her hair and dress. "I don't exactly have space for a secret compartment on this dress, you know," she answered, executing a small curtsy, her thumb and index finger on both hands daintily lifting the long skirt of her gown off the floor and out of the way of her stilettos. "And breaking my wand in two just so I could fit them in my purse would be defeating the purpose, don't you think?"

Lucius looked pointedly at Ron, who backed away, his hands raised in mock surrender. "Don't look at me. No wands if you're within five feet of the Minister unless you're on guard duty or an Auror, remember? And may I point out that there was no exception to that rule? I don't know why you have yours with you; I'm sure the Auror details would be happy to ask you about that."

"Shh, Ron, she's coming around."

Ginny watched as the blonde woman slowly regain her wits. For a moment, she seemed to be confused as to why she was reclining on a sofa, and unfamiliar people were around her. Slowly, she sat up. Then, her eyes landed on Lucius and everything came back to her at once. Her eyes immediately moved to the twins, who were sitting side-by-side watching the adults deal with each other with curious eyes, and to Ginny's dismay, she burst into tears.

Ginny didn't know what to do: What do you do when the grandmother of your children is crying her heart out in front of you? She wanted to comfort Narcissa, but she wasn't sure if the older woman would appreciate her gesture, considering they hadn't been officially introduced yet. She only had basic knowledge of Narcissa, and she didn't want her children to see their grandmother rebuff their mother's advances; she wanted to avoid that from happening at all cost.

Making up her mind, and since it didn't look as though Lucius had any intention of comforting his own wife, Ginny tentatively started patting the distressed woman's back, muttering 'There, there'. She felt like an idiot; she didn't know what was wrong with Narcissa. It couldn't be because of the twins; her reaction to them was too extreme, and Lucius looked too forbidding to be thinking of clarifying the whole crying fit either. Ron, well, Ron had fled at the first sign of Narcissa's breakdown, leaving her to fend off for herself. Really, men were such useless creatures 50 percent of the time.

"Mommy, who is she?"

Ginny didn't even notice when Nicole had come up to her, but at the sound of her daughter's voice, she was at a loss as to what to say to her. Was she supposed to just blurt out that the hysterical woman leaking like a rusted out faucet was her grandmother? That wouldn't go over very well, she knew, and the last thing she wanted was for her children to be wary of their grandmother's sanity.

She needn't have worried about what to say to Nicole; Narcissa effectively took care of that herself by rounding on Lucius, her face red in fury, her misery all but forgotten as she unleashed the furies of hell on her obstinate husband.

"You didn't even tell them about me?" Narcissa spat, standing up so quickly that Ginny fell back on the cushions in surprise. "The least you could have done was tell them I existed even if you were too cowardly to tell me about them! What were you thinking!"

Ginny cringed and hastily drew Luke and Nicole from the warring couple. She had to hand it to Narcissa; she might be comparatively small, but she had gargantuan courage. Aside from herself, she didn't know very many witch or wizard who would be stupid enough to provoke the former Death Eater.

"You changed your tune fast enough!" Lucius snarled, looking down at his wife, trying to intimidate her with his height and brawn. "Not two minutes ago, you were accusing me of fathering them! Now you're suddenly doing an about face and biting my head off while calling them you're grandchildren?!"

Narcissa stood her ground, her small fists clenched at her side. "What was I supposed to think?" she hissed. "I suddenly see two small strangers looking remarkably like you - you tell me what I was supposed to think! My God, could you really blame me for thinking the worst? You're not exactly the poster child of fidelity, you know!"

Lucius narrowed his eyes at his wife; a lesser mortal would have started cowering at the sight of that, but Narcissa only raised her chin belligerently in defiance. "You should have known better, that's what! I have never done anything I should be ashamed of where you're concerned, Cissa, and you know that. You knew I would never do that to you again."

Narcissa's lips trembled all of a sudden, and she backed away from her husband. "No, you haven't," she said softly, her voice breaking, "but you doing that would probably be a whole lot better than this. You kept them from me, Lucius. Why?"

All Lucius' anger simmered off at his wife's desolate expression. He had forgotten, just for a short moment, that yes, he had kept the knowledge of their grandchildren from his wife. He had welcomed his anger as a way of possibly excusing what he had done, no matter how crucial the reason behind his actions. He knew this was how Narcissa would react; he knew how much she longed to have children, past tense, and had been severely disappointed when she had failed to have another one after getting pregnant with Draco so quickly. She didn't understand what was wrong with her, to have failed so miserably at what she considered to be the most important duty of a wife to one's husband. It never even occurred to her that it could very well be Lucius who was at fault in their inability to have more than one child.

Now, she was suddenly thrust into the reality of grandchildren. Past tense. It didn't matter that the children didn't come from her own body, they were a part of her son, and so they were also a part of her. And woe betide anyone who kept her from what she had wanted most in the world, aside from her husband's love, even if that anyone was her husband.

Lucius looked past his wife, to Ginny, who was looking at them with wide, incredulous eyes. Sighing, he run weary hands through his immaculate hair, ruffling the flaxen mane in his agitation.

"Look, Cissa," he said, his voice worn out, "I'm sorry for keeping something as precious as this from you. But you have to trust me that I did it for all our sakes. No, no, listen to me," he implored, when Narcissa started sputtering in outrage. "If I had told you about our grandchildren, you would have wanted to keep them. And if you had kept them, Draco would have known about them. And the last thing Luke and Nicole needed was for their father to know about them. The absolute last."

Narcissa was looking fit to burst in her agitation. "I'm not a dog, Lucius, stop throwing me a bone!" she spat angrily, her voice hardening once again. "That's the only justification you have? My God, even Draco doesn't know? How could he not know? He was the one who had sexual intercourse with my grandchildren's mother! And while we're on the subject, I will tan his backside for doing that outside of marriage!" Narcissa seethed and started pacing. Abruptly, she halted in front of her husband, and thrust her face up to his. "And of course I would have kept them! I would have shouted from the rooftops that I had grandchildren! Only. You. Kept. Them. From. Me!" She emphasized each word by poking a finger at her husband's chest.

Lucius sighed and grasped Narcissa's hand. "My point exactly. Cissa, if Draco had known, do you really think we would have been able to keep our grandchildren for long? You know what our son is like. I did what I thought was best for everyone." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "What's more important? That you had not known them for only four years, or the fact that you can now spend all the time in the world with them from this moment on?" He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "And you haven't even bothered introducing yourself to them. All they see is a crazed, but extremely beautiful witch, quarreling with their grandfather."

The distraction worked; Narcissa gasped and turned around right away. True enough, the little boy and girl were eyeing her warily. Her lips trembled once again as she looked at them. "How could Draco not have known?" she whispered forlornly. "Surely the birth of one is difficult enough to conceal; giving birth to a second one should be even harder. And they don't look as though there's a year's difference in their age."

Lucius laid his hands on Narcissa's shoulder and gently pushed her forward. "Try a few minutes," he said quietly before stopping two feet from Ginny and the twins. "Narcissa, this is Luke Ian and Nicole Adrianne. They're twins." He nodded when she looked up at him in surprise. "Twins are quite common in the Weasley family." He looked down at the twins and moved from behind his wife to kneel down in front of them. Luke and Nicole immediately moved into his arms, but they were also looking shyly up beneath their lashes at the trembling woman their grandfather obviously adored.

Luke immediately leaned and whispered to him, "Who is she, Grandpa?"

Lucius answered just as quietly. "Like I said, she's your grandmother."

"Oh." Luke looked at his twin, who hadn't taken her eyes off of their supposed grandmother. He looked back at his grandfather. "Like Gramma Molly?" he clarified, not bothering to whisper anymore.

"Yes," Lucius answered, nodding. "Would you like to meet her? How about you sweetheart?" he asked, turning to the ever quiet Nicole. "Would you like to meet your grandmother?" When both twins looked at him with his own eyes, then nodded slowly, he picked them both up and turned to his wife.

Narcissa couldn't take her eyes off of them; they were so beautiful. Luke looked so much like Draco that it was difficult for her to tear her gaze away from him to look at Nicole. The little girl had the Malfoy genes down pat, but she couldn't be sure who she had taken her looks from. She didn't look anywhere like her mother, which was a shame since that woman was quite beautiful, and she couldn't say for sure that she resembled her twin except for her coloring. No matter; they were her grandchildren, she knew that now without a doubt.

"Can I?" Narcissa asked, coming forward and holding out her arms to Nicole. Nicole looked at her grandfather first before moving from his arms to hers; she was curious about this woman that was her grandma, and she displayed her curiosity by taking Narcissa's face with her small hands and keeping it still so she could examine her. Finally, satisfied with what she had seen, she turned and smiled at her grandfather.

"She's very pretty, grandpa."

Narcissa could not contain herself; she started bawling again, burying her face into Nicole's hair. Nicole didn't seem to mind, as she started caressing the crying woman's hair, much like her mother liked to do with hers when she was upset.

Lucius was happy to see that the highly observant and cautious Nicole had taken to Narcissa right away; that was one obstacle out of the way. He knew that once Luke saw his sister showing partiality to anyone, he would also want to be part of that inner circle. He immediately tightened his hold on the boy when he started struggling in his arms.

"I want her too, grandpa. Let me go to Nikki!"

Lucius winced when Luke's knees hit his midsection in his eagerness to get away from him. "No, Luke, let's wait for your grandmother to settle first. She can't take the both of you at once."

Luke pouted and did not let up on his struggling. Since Narcissa was still not quite herself, Lucius did not give in to his demands.

"Luke, stop that. You'll have your turn," Ginny gently admonished her son, giving him a no-nonsense look.

"But Mommy - !"

"No buts, mister. If you don't stop that right now, you won't be going on any broom ride 'til you're out of Hogwarts."

Lucius sighed in relief when Luke immediately ceased his struggling; he might be strong, but there was only so much he could take where a four-year-old's energy level was concerned.

Lucius gave Ginny a grateful look. "That was quite effective. But why that particular time frame?"

Ginny shrugged insouciantly. "He'll be of age then; if he wanted to go bunjee jumping in a shallow pool at eighteen, by law I can't do anything to stop him."

"Right. Bunjee jumping."

Ginny shrugged again. "Never mind. It's a Muggle thing."

"Ah." Lucius dismissed what they were talking about right away, and turned back to Narcissa, who had finally succeeded in stemming the flow of her tears. She was only hiccupping now, and Lucius resolved to tease her later on with her loss of control.

When Narcissa had sat down on a sofa identical to the one she had been placed in while she'd been unconscious, Lucius finally eased Luke down so he could also share in the moment with his sister. But before he let the boy go, he whispered something into his ears first, to which Luke nodded reluctantly.

Ginny watched as her son practically catapult himself into the arms of his grandmother. When Lucius sighed beside her, she looked at him inquiringly.

"I asked him not to be so enthusiastic in his greeting; I should have enumerated what constituted enthusiastic," Lucius answered wearily. But for all that he was weary, there was still contentment in his voice.

Ginny snorted. "Even if you did that, do you think that would have prevented him from mimicking a human cannonball? This is Luke we're talking about here."

"I know." Those two words were so full of meaning that there was no need for them to say anything more. They stood side by side, looking down at the tableau before them, each consumed with their own thoughts.

As Ginny watched her son interact with Narcissa, she couldn't help but feel relieved at the way they had so easily accepted a virtual stranger into their life. Of course, they were still children, but she knew that Nicole would have otherwise refused to acknowledge the older woman if she'd sensed something unpleasant about her, and that would have been that. And if Nicole had been indifferent to her grandmother, Luke would have also followed suit. No questions asked. That was how the two of them operated. Which made her worry: What would be their reaction towards their father?

Lucius, for his part, couldn't help but feel satisfied. The secret he'd been carrying around with him was finally out, and he could breathe easily again. It was like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders; his wife was totally infatuated with the twins, and the twins were also treating his wife as though she was their newest favorite person. And that was okay with him. He'd had more time with them, and Narcissa deserved to have this moment to get to know them better. As far as Draco was concerned, he was still somewhat hopeful that his son would eventually get his head screwed on right, but he wasn't going to be holding his breath while waiting; doing that was a sure fire way of getting himself a one way ticket to St. Mungo's with no possibility of recovery, with the diagnosis of Cerebral Hypoxia R/I Irreversible Brain Damage. He had finally accepted that Draco would do with his life whatever he wanted with it, and there was nothing he could say or do to change his mind. And for the first time in his life, he was finally okay with that.

"Do you think we should break that up?" Ginny asked quietly, nodding her head at the trio on the sofa: Nicole was standing on the cushions, leaning on her grandmother's right shoulder while they both looked at Luke, who was gesturing wildly with his hand, jumping from one unrelated topic to another, completely dominating their conversation.

Lucius shook his head. "Not yet. Let them have this time for themselves." He looked down at Ginny, who looked up at him when she sensed him watching her. "Lord knows this is going to be the lull before the storm. Draco should be here any minute now, and I'm sure that'll be all the interruption those three will need."

Ginny nodded and turned back to sit on the couch she'd been sitting on while Lucius joined his wife and grandchildren on the sofa. He was right; they should enjoy the precious few minutes of calm before the hurricane that was Draco came to do what he did best: muddle things up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ron, what are you doing there?"

Ron looked up from his lazy contemplation of his shoes and saw his two best friends coming towards. He grinned at them and sheepishly scratched his head. "It was too crowded inside, and, um, there was an incident." He didn't look them in the eye when he said the last part, and a hint of red started creeping from his neck to his cheeks.

Hermione frowned. "What incident?"

Ron blushed furiously. "Just something unexpected, is all. I didn't know what to do so I ran out."

Hermione looked up at Harry with confused eyes. "What do you suppose happened?"

Harry looked sharply at his friend, who refused to meet his eyes. "How long have Lucius and Narcissa been inside, Ron?"

Ron shrugged. "A few minutes, I don't know, I didn't keep track. Probably not more than fifteen." Then he finally looked up at Harry, which proved to be a big mistake.

Harry nodded after staring at his friend for several seconds. "You ran out because you were freaked out when Narcissa started crying."

It wasn't a question, and Ron silently cursed himself for forgetting that Harry was an expert at Legilimency.

Hermione pursed her lips disbelievingly and shook her head at her best friend. "Oh Ron, will you ever grow up?"

"Look, I haven't much experience at this sort of thing," Ron said defensively. "And it's not like I get to see a woman faint and cry every day of my life. It scared the shit out of me."

"Is there anything that doesn't scare you, Weasel-king?" Blaise drawled, looking over Hermione's shoulder, giving Ron a meaningful look.

Ron glared at Blaise mutinously. "You shut your gob! Just because my sister happens to like you doesn't mean I do too. I have no qualms of wiping the floor with your face."

Blaise chuckled. "You and what army, Weasley?" He looked over his shoulders and in a bored voice spoke to someone behind him. "He's always making threats, yet he's never followed through on them. 'Course, that might have something to do with Molly Weasley walloping his behind if he so much as gives me the evil eye when she's around, and Mrs. Weasley is always around."

Ron curiously leaned over sideways to see who Blaise was talking to, and his jaw clamped down so hard he heard his teeth crack when he realized just who it was.

"So he's finally decided to show his face around here," he said angrily, clenching his fist in preparation for a fight.

Blaise started chuckling again when he saw that Ron had assumed a fighting stance. "Be careful what you wish for, Weasley. My boy here might not look much, but I can assure you, he packs quite a punch. Take it from someone who knows." He shrugged and grinned when Hermione sent him a questioning look. "He reacted quite violently when he saw Luke on stage and let fly one solid punch to my jaw. It still stings; want to feel it?" He gazed down flirtatiously at Hermione, pointing to his jaw.

Harry didn't even bother with subtlety; he pushed Blaise away from his wife. But when he looked at him, a wide grin split his face. "Did he, really? I'd have loved to see that."

"You're all heart, Potter," Blaise drawled, crossing his arms across his chest and widening his stance aggressively. "Given the chance, I'm sure you would have helped, yeah, you would - helped beat the shit out of me, that is."

Harry just grinned in reply while Hermione groaned at their display of antagonistic, childish behavior, which had been a constant in their lives. She'd gotten used to it; the two would never come out and say they admired the other, even if they were being threatened with death via very painful means. Such was the complexity of their relationship, and anyone who tried to understand the dynamics of it was bound to suffer the effects likened to the Confundus charm.

"Come on, you two, we have no time for another one of your little love scenes." She ignored the sputtering coming from two directions and turned her attention to Ron, who was still looking malevolently at Draco, who, surprisingly, hadn't put a word in edgewise as was his norm. He was just standing there, waiting, whether for Blaise and Harry to start scrabbling all over each other or not, Hermione was not altogether certain.

"And you, Ronald," her voice dripped with authority, "while your glare is quite ferocious - " she ruined her observation by rolling her eyes, " - I'm sure Lucius is already wondering what's keeping Draco. Now, if you could move away from the door, you'll have every opportunity to have a go at him after the meeting."

Ron knew Hermione was right, but a perverse side of him just wanted to be difficult: He didn't budge from his strategic position, his eyes still fixed on the cause of her sister's grief, his bearing screaming 'hell no, he'd nail himself to the door if that's what it takes to keep ferret-man from her sister and his niece and nephew'. He'd forgotten Hermione had grown into a vicious woman, one who wasn't squeamish when it came to her hexes and wasn't discriminating where one of them landed on a man's person.

"Oh, give over, Ron. You knew this was going to happen eventually. Do we really have to do this the hard way?" Hermione asked, producing her wand, and idly tapping it on her open palm. "I thought you and Ginny had already had the talk."

Ron blanched. "Why do you have your wand with you? Only Aurors are allowed their wands tonight." He pointed at Harry, who was still looking quite green around the edges. "Why's your wife carrying her wand around? You're an Auror, do something!"

Harry shook his head once, as though to try and discard the visual his wife had given him, before going over to Ron, slinging his right arm across his best friend's shoulder. "Give over, mate. The sooner this gets done, the sooner you and your brothers can start ganging up on him. Think how ruffled Malfoy'll be afterwards." Casually, he moved Ron from the door, and Hermione quickly took up his other side.

Ron took the easy way out and allowed his best friends to steer him away. But not before he threw one last scathing remark at Draco over his shoulder.

"Yeah, he'll be easy pickings once Ginny shows him the door. Nobody screws a Weasley and gets away with it." Then, as though belatedly realizing what he'd said, he turned beet-red. "I mean - "

"We know, Ron," Hermione interrupted before he could start in again. "Why don't you stop while you're ahead, hmmm?" They continued walking away while Blaise and Draco watched their retreat. Hermione looked back at the stationary duo standing by the door and fixed her eyes on Blaise.

"Blaise, you'll - ?"

Blaise nodded. "Don't worry. I'll take it from here." He watched as the trio vanished into the crowd. Finally, Blaise turned to Draco and regarded his friend quietly. He wasn't looking too well once again; whether that was because of what Ronald Weasley had said in parting, was hard to tell. He lightly punched his friend between the shoulder blades to get his attention. "You ready, Drake?"

Was he ready? Was he ready? He wanted to say no, he wasn't ready, but would he ever be, really? It wasn't everyday that a body was suddenly faced with fatherhood. There was no going back though, and he wanted to get this over with, now, before he lost his nerve.

Draco nodded grimly. "Let's get this over with."

Blaise nodded and stepped up to the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You darling," Narcissa crooned, dropping a lingering kiss on Luke's cheek. He was sitting in her lap, eating his way through a bag of chocolates, while his sister sat properly between their grandparents. "And I just love their accents," she said, looking at her husband, her eyebrow's raised.

Lucius shrugged. "They spent almost all their time in America. Legally, they're Americans; they were born there, and only came to England on special occasions."

Narcissa's eyes widened. "So that's why I never heard any rumors about them." She turned to look at Ginny, who was overseeing the visit with a gentle smile on her face. "It must have been hard for you, my dear, being all alone in a foreign land with a baby on the way. I know how difficult it can get emotionally and financially, especially since you're so far away from your family; they were the only source of support you had back then, and to be parted from them? I can just imagine how terrifying that experience must have been for you. I hope Lucius was more than generous in providing you with all that you needed?"

Lucius coughed to cover his snort. Financially hard up? Ginevra Weasley aka Moira Welsh? Hardly!

Ginny sent a censorious look at Lucius, one he completely ignored as he continued alternately coughing and clearing his throat. Blast the man!

She smiled amiably at Narcissa. "It wasn't as difficult as I first thought it would be, not at all. My best friend accompanied me, and he managed to fill my time with, um, little tasks here and there," she fabricated, throwing a warning glance again at the blond wizard sitting beside his wife with a knowing smirk on his lips. "Nothing too strenuous, of course; he was very careful with me while I was still carrying the twins. Colin made my stay in New York as pleasant as possible, and the four years I stayed there were years that I will always treasure, and do over again, if given half the chance."

Narcissa blinked. "Umm - "

Ginny immediately realized just how inflammatory her statement was, and she colored brightly. "Not that getting pregnant outside of marriage is something that I would endorse! No, no! I only meant that I don't regret having Luke and Nicole, and - "

"Settle down, Ginevra," Lucius said smoothly, still smirking. "We know what you mean." He sent his wife a sly look. "We know how irresistible our son is, you don't need to explain."

Ginny gasped in horror. "That's not - !"

"Stop it, Lucius," Narcissa admonished her husband lightly. "You're embarrassing the poor girl needlessly. No, honey, let me get that," she said gently to Luke when the sticky piece of candy he was currently devouring fell on her lap.

Ginny could not believe how well Narcissa was holding up with the twins; she didn't even complain when Luke had effectively ruined her dress with the sticky piece of chocolate he'd started eating not five minutes ago. Her pre-conceived notion of Narcissa Malfoy, socialite and elitist extraordinaire had just been shot down to hell. Permanently.

"Let me get him, Narcissa; he knows better than to eat that stuff while in his formal robes." That was the second time she had offered to take her errant son from his grandmother, and for the second time, she was refused.

"No, no, it's okay. It's just a dress, after all, it can easily be replaced." Finally free of the offending piece of candy, she smiled brightly at Ginny. "Now, where were we - "

She was cut off by the opening of the door. Five pairs of eyes turned and watched as two figures came in, then the lull in the conversation was broken by Luke's delighted shout.

"Uncle Blaise!"

In a flash, Luke had wriggled down from his grandmother's lap and was hurtling himself into Blaise's arms, who grimaced when he felt his sticky fingers wrap around his neck.

"Oh man, not again, sport," he groaned dramatically, making a face at the boy in his arms. "This is the third time you've done this to me in less than two days. If you keep doing this, I'll charm a protective bubble around myself so you won't be able to get within an inch of my immaculate self."

Luke only laughed at him, rubbing his nose against his uncle's.

Draco stood rooted by the door, envious at the scene before him. He didn't know what it was he felt when he saw the little boy, his son, greeting some other man so warmly. His chest felt absurdly tight, and he was finding it hard to breathe. He wanted to reason that his son probably thought Blaise was his father, and Blaise was probably going to be that before long, but damn it, he couldn't bear to see the closeness they shared. The boy was his son, not Blaise's!

Ginny slowly rose from her seat, her eyes riveted on Draco. He was here! He was finally here! And she felt the overwhelming urge to run. To hide. She wasn't ready after all, far from it in fact. She didn't know what to say to him; she couldn't string two words together to save her life at that moment and she freely admitted that failing. What was she to do?

Lucius languidly stood up and walked up to Draco. "Took you long enough," he said lightly, his tone belying the importance of the moment. "I was beginning to wonder if you had decided against coming after all."

With great difficulty, Draco tore his eyes away from his son and looked at his father. "You told me my dream didn't mean anything. You warned me away from them." Draco's tone was mild and even, and his eyes were blank.

Lucius stood before his son, his shoulders back, head high. He was the picture of a dignified man, facing an adversary without a heed for his own safety. The next second, his head snapped back and he staggered a few steps as Draco expressed what he thought of his father at that moment.

"You bastard! You worthless piece of dragon shit! You snake!" Draco roared. He grabbed the front of his father's expensive suit and brought his face up short. A trickle of blood ran from a split on Lucius' lips, but he didn't care if he'd managed to knock all his father's teeth down his throat. He was shaking badly, and it was so easy to just let his anger have free reign and kill the sorry excuse for a father that was Lucius Malfoy.

Before he knew it, Blaise had successfully insinuated himself between them, and managed to sever his hold on his father. He struggled like a demented man, pushing at Blaise to try and get to Lucius, yelling obscenities at him. Blaise got tired of keeping him at bay and slammed him up against the wall, effectively halting his efforts for a few seconds as he wondered how on earth Blaise had gotten so strong. Then he was at it again.

"Get away from me! Let me at him! I'll make him sorry he ever messed with me! Let go, Zabini!"

Blaise used the only move he knew how to immobilize a hostile suspect: Bracing his feet on the carpeted floor, he pressed his forearm against Draco's throat and cut off his breathing.

Draco couldn't move as he struggled for air. He was beginning to see stars, and somehow he knew that Blaise would not ease off him if he continued acting like a mad man. But how could he not? His own father robbed him of the chance to know his son! He lied to him about the most important thing in the world to any man, and he would never forgive him for it.

"Will you try and act more reasonably now?" Blaise asked quietly, not easing up on his hold of his best friend. "I can do this all day, Drake, trust me. The question is: Can you?"

It was a stupid question; he wasn't probably going to last another five minutes and Blaise knew that. Grimly, his teeth gritted, he nodded, and closed his eyes in relief when the pressure on his windpipe finally eased.

"Now." Blaise straightened his jacket and looked at Lucius and Draco. "You two are adults who can surely discuss this without going for the other's jugular. I suggest you do so before you frighten the children any more than they already are."

Children? Draco's eyes snapped open and immediately settled on the little girl who was clutching Ginny's right thigh; the boy was on her left, and both had tears running down their face.

The dream. He'd dreamt about a girl and a boy, and he'd completely forgotten.

Shocked beyond words, Draco looked helplessly at Blaise. Sighing, Blaise stepped aside and gestured to the twins.

"Drake, I'd like you to meet Luke Ian and Nicole Adrianne Weasley. They're twins. Would you like to come and say hello?"

Blaise knew he wasn't making things any easier for his friend, but he couldn't help it. He hated seeing the look of fear on the twin's faces, and their own father had put it there! Unknowingly, yes, but try explaining that to two impressionable children. He had warned Draco not to make a muck of his chances tonight, but he was too much of a fool to listen. How could the twins warm up to him now, when he had just assaulted their beloved grandfather?

Draco swallowed audibly; he didn't know what to do. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn't know where he should start. And even if he could summon enough gumption to try and explain his actions, would it matter in the face of what he had done to them? He wasn't delusional; he knew he was in for the fight of his life if he wanted to be given equal opportunity where the twins were concerned, and the fact of the matter was, he wanted them. He didn't know them, but he wanted them with every fiber of his being. If it weren't so tragic, he would have laughed at the irony of it all. He was Draco Malfoy - never in his life had he been denied anything that he wanted if there was a way of getting it. But now, he was faced with the very great possibility of being disappointed for the first time. And it petrified him.

"Draco, honey, are you all right?"

He barely recognized his mother's voice; he was too preoccupied with his impending loss. But when he felt her touch, he had to force himself to look down at her.

"You don't look too good, Drake. Maybe you ought to sit down." Narcissa tugged at her son's arm to try and make him sit, but he didn't budge from his position pressed up against the wall; it was currently the only thing keeping him from toppling over.

"I'm okay, Mother, just a bit shocked. I'll be all right."

Narcissa looked at him skeptically. "Are you certain?"

He nodded curtly. "Yes."

Narcissa took a deep breath, then before Draco's eyes, the concern in them changed into one full of accusation. "How could you, Draco Malfoy! How could you do this to me? How could you be so irresponsible? Do you know I almost had a heart attack when I found out? Do you have any idea how hard it was seeing the evidence of your complete lack of sense? And you abandoned them! You turned your back on them and never looked back, even once to try and see if there was any consequence relating to your despicable behavior! No, no! Don't you dare try and talk your way out of this! I am severely disappointed in you, Draco. Severely!" Narcissa took a deep breath, giving her son a warning look when it looked as though he was about to say something.

"If you were smaller, I'd take a paddle to your backside," she said furiously, planting her hands on her hips. "Now. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Draco looked incredulously at his mother. "I didn't abandon them!" he denied vehemently. "If I had known I would have been there. And it's not fair, you biting my head off for something that I was completely unaware of. I asked father about the possibility of - this!" He waved his hands towards Ginny and the twins. "And he categorically told me there was nothing for me to worry about." He shot the quiet Lucius a hateful glare. "He told me I should go back to France and forget about whatever suspicions I had about Ginny. If you should start castrating someone, start with your husband!"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare use that tone of voice with me, young man! You might be much too grown up for a spanking, but I am still your mother! You will accord me the respect I deserve! And leave your father out of this; I'll deal with him myself over his involvement in this affair."

Draco bit back the words he wanted to say about her abilities as a mother. What was the point anyway? He would always be a boy in her eyes, despite how old he was going to get eventually.

"I'm sorry, Mother," he bit out, tucking his hands in his pockets so she wouldn't see the fists he'd made of them. He ached to pound his father to within an inch of his life, but he knew Blaise would only get the upper hand with him once again, and he didn't think that he could defeat his best friend with his present state of mind. "I don't mean any disrespect. But this has also come as a surprise to me, and you know I'm not very good at dealing with surprises, unpleasant or otherwise."

Narcissa contemplated her son for a few seconds before nodding ungraciously. "Very well. But I hope you learn that violence will not solve your problem, Draco, and this is your problem. You have to find a way to fix this."

He nodded grimly, his eyes moving over to Ginny and the twins. Thankfully, they were no longer crying. Rather, they were looking at him with a wariness one employed around a caged lion. And that same longing swept over him once again. He wasn't quite sure what to call the feeling; yes, it was possessiveness, but he knew there was more to it than that. He was bombarded with so many conflicting emotions he could no longer identify one from the other. He ached as he looked at them, and he didn't like the feeling at all.

"If you're quite sure you're over your tantrum," Narcissa broke through his inner contemplation, "maybe you ought to introduce yourself to your children?"

Panic flew inside Draco's chest. He wasn't ready for this! He wasn't ready to introduce himself to them as the man who had helped create them, and then left! Sure, they probably don't completely understand what that meant yet, but he couldn't risk it, he just couldn't.

"I - I - "

Lucius felt sorry for his son; he could pretend to understand what Draco was currently feeling, but really, who was he kidding? He wasn't much of a father to Draco, but even dreadful fathers like himself could imagine that should he say even one thing remotely wrong, there was every opportunity for him to completely alienate himself from his children, and very little chance of them accepting him into the fold with welcoming arms. If he was in his son's place, he would probably also try and keep them from knowing the truth right away, if only to buy some more time.

And he owed that time to his son.

"Maybe he and Ginevra should talk first, Narcissa. It would be so much easier if they could clear the air before the children are brought in." He wrapped an arm around his wife and reached his other towards the twins. "Luke, Nicole, why don't you come with me and your grandmother? Let's go and see what your Uncle Ron is up to. And didn't you tell me that your cousin is also here? Let's pay him a visit, shall we?"

Luke shook his head vehemently. "We can't leave Mommy here, Grandpa!" Luke protested, tightening his hold on his mother's thigh. "The bad man will do something to her. I don't want my Mommy to stay with the bad man!"

Again, Draco felt that unfamiliar achy feeling in the vicinity of his chest. He was a bad man in the eyes of his son, and that was not a very auspicious start to their relationship.

Ginny saw Draco flinch; the movement was very slight, she wasn't even sure if she'd seen right, but she knew that for all his shortcomings as a man, Draco could still feel hurt by such honesty coming from his son. He was human, after all, no matter how he tried to act otherwise.

Carefully, she dislodged her son's hold on her thigh and tipped his chin up so he could see that she wasn't afraid; he would never leave if he saw that his mother was fearful of the stranger who had assaulted his grandfather.

"Go with your grandfather, baby; I'll be okay." She smiled down at him, then at Nicole. "Really. He won't hurt me. I'll see both of you in a little while." She allowed Lucius to take Luke, and Narcissa, Nicole. Luke was still not cooperating with the adults, trying hard to free himself from his grandfather's hold. Nicole was her usual self, trying to look brave, but the way she was holding on to her grandmother's hand belied the truth of her feelings. "Luke, please? I just really need to talk to Draco. Nothing's going to happen to me, I promise." She kissed the top of his head. "Now go, go and play with your cousin. I'll be there before you know it. Bye, darlings."

Nicole kept looking back at Ginny, giving her penetrating looks before moving her gaze over to Draco. Ginny didn't know what her daughter was thinking; she only hoped she wouldn't voice whatever it was she was thinking to her brother before they left the room. She usually let Luke be the flamboyant one in their relationship, as though she thought it beneath her to show so much unguarded emotion, and it frightened her sometimes, this reticence her daughter most of the time displayed.

Ginny watched the four figures pass through the door. Once they were safely out of hearing, she forced herself to look back at Draco. He was staring at her as though she was something he had never seen before, and her hackles rose involuntary.

"Well!" Blaise broke through their staring match. "I'll just wait outside then. Gin, just holler if you need help, okay?" He didn't wait for a response before also exiting the oppressive room.

Draco stared at Ginny. He couldn't believe she didn't tell him she had gotten pregnant. With twins, no less! And fool that he was, he had been too obsessed with her to notice the signs on her body when they last made love!

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ginny's chin rose in defiance. "Would it have mattered?"

Draco was stunned. He couldn't believe what she'd just said. "Of course it would have mattered! If you had told me, things could have ended up differently."

Ginny crossed her arms. "Or it could have ended the same way. I'm not stupid, Draco. I may have given you the impression that I am, but I assure you, I am far from being it. Nothing would have changed between us; you would have been the same Draco Malfoy who thumbed his nose at us Weasleys. And worse, you would have done far more damage by being a part of my children's life the way you are. I couldn't risk it, I won't risk it."

"You don't know what could have happened!" he said defensively, his tone raising a notch. "You only supposed that would have happened, but you couldn't really know for sure."

Ginny stared at Draco for a minute, her eyes searching his. "Tell me, Draco," she said after sometime. "What was I supposed to think? The night you slept with me, you told me it was nothing more than sex. You couldn't wait to get rid of me. You called me deluded, told me I was reading too much into what happened. You told Parkinson I was beneath her. And oh!" She tilted her head to the side as though just remembering something. "Incidentally, that was the night I found out I was pregnant. Ironic, isn't it? The things we said to each other that night, and there I was, on the family way, with your baby." She laughed a little, but there was no joy to be found in the exercise. "It wouldn't take a genius to know what I must do when I found out. I disgust you; why should you feel differently towards my children?"

She turned her back on him and walked over to the seat she had previously occupied. Draping her left arm over the back of the padded seat, she stared at the scooped seat, lost in remembering. "And even if I had wanted to tell you, when would I have had the chance to do so? At our last meeting? When you all but abandoned me with just a note? How did that note go again?" She raised her eyes and showed him how much it had hurt when she'd found the note. "Stay as long as you like, the room's been paid for. Great night, by the way, you were always the best lay I've ever had. If you want to do it again, owl me. I might not get back to you right away, I'll be busy getting married, but after the honeymoon, I'll be more than happy to pick up where we left off. Sorry about disappearing on you like this, got to pick up the misses. But I'm sure you understand that, being in the business that you're in." She dared Draco to defend himself.

"Did I leave something out in there? Pretty accurate wouldn't you say? McGonagall always told me I had one of the best memories among all the students she had taught before. It's served me very well all my life, being able to recall unforgettable moments such as that night. And that little love note you left helped me to realize that I had done the right thing all along. You don't deserve to be called father."

"But you can't change the fact that I'm their father. I am!" Draco said desperately. He detested his pride that had made him say those awful things to her, but they'd already been said, he could no longer take them back. He wanted to take them back, but short of going back in time to try and keep himself from making the biggest mistake of his life, there was nothing he could do about it anymore.

Ginny's eyes blazed. "You were only a sperm donor, Draco. It takes more than humping a few times and ejaculating to make a father. That's an honor you don't deserve."

"Ahhh!" He yelled, whirling around and punching the wall behind him. "Goddamnit! What do I have to do to make up for this?" He pressed his forehead against the abused wall, unmindful of his bruised knuckles. "Tell me!"

"I don't know that you can make up for what you've done," Ginny said quietly. She wanted to go to him so badly; she wanted to tell him that everything was going to be all right. But she knew nothing would ever be all right between them. Maybe, over time, she could learn to forgive all the bad things he'd done to her, but she didn't think she'd be able to forget. He had cut her deeply, and she was prepared to ignore her heart if that meant he would never be able to get the chance to hurt her again. The two of them were doomed to spend their life apart, and no amount of contrition on Draco's part could change that.

"There must be something!" Suddenly, he closed the distance between them and grabbed her arms, pulling her body up against his. "Tell me! Tell me what I can do to make this all go away. I need to make this go away!"

"This is not like a fly you could swat away, Draco," Ginny said calmly. "You can't always get what you want."

"Do you want me to marry you? I will, I'll marry you. Right now, if you want. Just, tell me what you want me to do." The desperation in Draco's eyes was heart wrenching, and Ginny wanted to cry and beat at his chest for acting like this now, when she had promised herself never again.

"Please, Ginny, please give me another chance. I'll do anything."

Ginny could no longer stop her tears from falling. She didn't want this! She didn't want Draco begging her! A Malfoy never begged; she knew that. She never wanted this!

"You can't marry me, I don't want you to. And have you forgotten that you're engaged? You're getting married in less than two weeks, Draco, and not to me." She extricated herself from his hold, putting as much distance between them as possible. "You've made your bed, Draco, and I've made mine. Try and be happy in yours; I've made my peace with mine a long time ago."

"Ginny." What was he to say to that? He was about to marry another, despite his apprehensions on the whole business. He had not voiced his concerns to Dianne, and so it most probably meant the wedding was on; it wouldn't go over very well if he suddenly changed his mind after all the preparations had been made. But then again, is the scandal of an aborted wedding really all that important when pitted against the likelihood of him not being made a part of Ginny and the twins' life? What was it Draco Jr. had once told him? He was the master of his own destiny; he alone had the power to ruin his life. Make or break it, the decision was his alone. And if he proceeded to go through with the wedding, well, Draco Jr. would surely dance on his head in glee, chanting I-told-you-so.

He would be damned before he would let the annoying voice in his head get the better of him!

"I won't keep you from getting to know your children, Draco, Merlin knows it's hard enough in this world not knowing your father. But knowing and being unable to do anything about it is even harder." She sighed. "I'm sure Lucius will be more than happy to supervise your visits; I'll talk to him about it. In the meantime I suggest you try and make yourself as pleasant as possible; Nicole has a tendency to spot erratic behaviors and emotions in people, and she's not shy about showing you she doesn't like you if that's how she feels. Luke is much better at dealing with strangers, and you'll be a stranger to them, make no mistake about that. But he usually differs to his sister; make an enemy of Nicole, and you'll never get a chance to get anywhere with Luke."

Draco stood up straight and listened as Ginny talked. It was decided: He wasn't going to just lay down and play dead, no sir! This wasn't over between him and Ginny, that was for sure. But trying to reason with her, appealing to her emotional side, hadn't proved effective so far, so he was going to back off. For now. Let her think that she had won the battle. But the war had only just begun. Even if it took him a long time to set things right, by Salazar's shrine he would persevere! Whatever it took, however long it took. In the end, he was going to get Ginny and the twins.

And anyone who stood on his way was going to regret he had ever messed with him in the first place.

*****

The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. Let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. = John F. Kennedy