How Do You Choose Between What is Right and What is Easy?

Chapter 23

"What about his parents?" Bill asked questioningly. "What did they say?"

"He wants to marry me, and his parents said that if he goes through with it, and has the children with me, they'll disown him and cut him off from everything. They said they'll no longer consider him a son, or a Malfoy. They said our children will have no place in their family."

"And... that's a bad thing?" Bill asked, obviously confused.

"No, but that's not all they said, though."

"Well, what is it they said?" Bill asked, a slightly confused look still present on his face.

However, it was not Ginny who answered him, but Draco. He entered form the other side of the curtain, having (Ginny guessed) just finished with his parents.

"Lucius... informed me that if I go through with marrying Ginny and having the twins, as soon as they're born they will be kidnapped on Voldemort's orders and raised to be Death Eaters."

"What?!" Bill exclaimed. "You've got to be joking."

"I'm not joking," Draco said solemnly, "and he sounded very serious."

"Dumbledore must be informed of this immediately. There must be some protection put around all of you as soon as possible."

"I agree with you," Draco said. "I told him if either of them or any of the Death Eaters ever come within even twenty feet of us or the children I'll kill them, but that's not going to stop them."

"Definitely not," said Bill. "I'd bet my wand they'll come after you and the children the first chance they get."

"They're not getting anywhere near my babies," Ginny said maliciously. "I will kill any and every bastard Death Eater that even tries."

"Easy there, Ginny," Draco said, looking a little frightened at her anger. "Lie back, you need to take it easy."

"I'm fine, Draco," she said, sounding a little exasperated. "I'm hardly far along anyway."

"I know, Sweetheart. I just want you to be careful."

"Well, I'm fine. I don't need to be babied after."

"I'm not babying you; I just care about you."

Ginny smiled at him. She took his hand and pulled him onto the bed beside her. "I know you do. And I appreciate it very much."

He smiled back at her, gazing intently into her eyes. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Ginny said.

Bill watched the scene happily, a small smile on his face. He just hoped his parents and the rest of the family would be as happy about Ginny and Draco's impending union as he was, and they obviously were.

~*~

After another twenty minutes or so behind the curtain with the happy couple, Bill emerged and went over to rejoin his family. When he had left Draco and Ginny, they were lying on the bed, curled up together closely. When he reached his family, he stopped in front of them, obviously tensed up, and crossed his arms across his chest. He didn't say anything at first, only stared down at the floor in silence. He was very happy about what his little sister and the Malfoy boy had told him (except, of course, what Lucius and Narcissa had said), but he was not altogether sure that the rest of his family would be as happy that Ginny was planning on keeping both of the children she was carrying, and was planning on marrying a Malfoy - the unspoken enemies of the Weasley family.

After taking another second to decide exactly how he was going to broach the subject to the six members of his family standing in front of him, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

He almost immediately shut it again. He couldn't do this, not knowing the outcome, right in earshot of his sister and her fiancé. He opened his mouth to speak again.

"Perhaps... I should tell you what I need to tell you outside. Let's go take a walk on the grounds." Without another look at any of them, he led the way to the door, and out of the hospital wing. The rest of his family followed him, silently and confused, out the door.

Their walk to the Entrance Hall was a silent one as well. The only sound was their footsteps echoing on the stones that made up the floor. It didn't take them long to reach the Entrance Hall, only about five or ten minutes or so. When they reached it, Arthur took point, and led the way to the front doors. When he got there, he pushed the left door open by giving it a good hard shove. Everyone went outside and Bill, bringing up the rear, shut the door behind them.

It was a nice day outside. The weather was warm, albeit a slight breeze blowing around the grounds. They began to walk together, as a group, six of them wondering exactly when Bill was going to tell them what exactly was going on with Ginny. Finally, not being able to stand the suspense anymore, Fred spoke up.

"So, Bill... what did Ginny say?"

Bill stood down at the ground as he walked. He sighed, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly before speaking. "She's... um... she's keeping both of the babies. And... she's planning... she's planning on marrying Draco Malfoy."

Everyone was silent. Finally, Molly Weasley spoke. "You... you cannot be serious." She looked absolutely flabbergasted for a moment before continuing. "She cannot possibly want to marry into that horrible family!"

"Well, she does, Mother," Bill said, trying to assuage her. "She does want to marry him. He wants to keep both of the children, despite that one is the child of Harry Potter - his enemy. He wants to raise them both as his own. And he wants to marry her as well."

"That is... that is very... admirable... of him," Arthur said in a quiet voice. He, too, was looking down at the ground as he spoke. "I honestly would not have believed it of a Malfoy."

"By my observations, Father, he is nothing like his parents. He seems a good man, who wants to do right by Ginny. If he marries her and they keep the children, his parents are going to disown him and strip him of everything, even his inheritance. He's willing to give all that up, just to be with Ginny and raise the children."

Percy, Fred, and George were shocked. They had definitely not expected that kind of behavior from the greedy, obnoxious boy they had spent so many years in school with.

"What changed him?" George asked?

"I presume that Ginny did. They seem like they have been at least friends for a very long while, probably most of the school year. Do you remember, Father, that detention McGonagall wrote us about? That she had to give Ginny? She told us that she would be spending it with the Malfoy boy. Possibly that is when they... struck up their friendship. And over the course of this year, it must have grown into much more. But Ginny seems very, very happy. We should be happy for her."

"I will not stand for it," Molly hissed, her voice contracting a load of rage. "I will not stand for this treachery from my daughter."

"Mum, what treachery?" Fred asked, obviously confused. "I don't understand why you can't just be happy for your daughter. Bill said she's happy with Malfoy. They're going to get married, and their going to keep the twins-"

"That's just it. How can she keep the children when one symbolizes the hatred of the Malfoys that has plagued this family for centuries, and the other one symbolizes a horrific rape by a deranged boy! I don't understand how she can subject herself to that. Or the children! How will she explain to them how they came about? When they're older? They'll never understand! No, I will not have this. I will see that this does not happen."

"Molly," Arthur said, a look of confusion on his face. "What are you planning to do? There's nothing that can be done. This is Ginny's decision to make."

"Not while she is only sixteen, and I am her mother. Whether or not she is here at school, she must still abide by my rules and do as I say. I am going to see her. You may come with me if you want, Arthur. Boys, I do not think this is a scene you will want to witness, but come if you want. You are of age and I do not hold the power to tell you what to do anymore."

With that, Molly stomped off towards the castle, back the way they had come. After only a couple of seconds, the rest of them followed, wanting to make sure they were there in case something got out of control.

It was another silent walk back up to the hospital wing, this time Molly in front, and several feet ahead of the rest of them. Her husband and sons all but struggled to keep up with her. When they reached the hospital wing once again, Molly stopped and took a breath as if to compose herself before opening the still-unlocked door. She opened it calmly and quietly, the hinges making no noise as the door swung open. However, the calmness of her body actions did not mask the absolute fury displayed on her face.

Molly Weasley would not be disobeyed.