In Seven Days

Chapter Four

In Seven Days

It's not so Bad

Day Three

Monday December 21^st 2009

Ginny sat down in the kitchen finally after spending twenty minutes looking for it the next morning. This new found life was not exactly doing anything for her. Sure the house was nice, everything seemed perfect but she was sure something bad was on the horizon. Nothing could be this good. That same little girl, Cadence was it? She had come downstairs and hugged her again which hadn't made anything easier. She was still adjusting to things and when she hadn't responded as much as the girl was obviously used to she had pulled away and left the kitchen.

She hadn't felt very good about that.

Then, there was a fire call. She had jumped out of her skin, again, when three people had called to "catch up on the weekly gossip." Was she really just like other housewives that had nothing else to do? She didn't like the sound of them at all.

The last caller, however, she had to like. It was her mother.

"Ginny! What has gotten into you? Draco had to call me last minute the day before to look after Cadence. Are you both having a fight? Should I keep Sebastian for a bit longer? Not that I mind, he's such a sweet boy."

"Sebastian?" she said perplexed.

Her mother raised an eyebrow in a surveying manner. Ginny hated it when she did that. It was as if she were seeing straight through her, she was sure she actually could. "Your son, Ginevra." That did it, that name only meant she was in trouble.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Sure, keep him," she said offhandedly and waved a hand casually. She got up to put her breakfast plate in the sink.

"Ginevra, is something wrong? Is there something going on that I should know about?" she said in that tone. The one tone she could never lie to.

"Um, no mum. Of course there isn't. Why would anything be wrong?" She smiled guiltily, not even her other self had learnt to lie to her mother yet. This woman was impossible.

"You're sure now? I don't want any bad relations in the family."

"She's fine, Molly," Ginny heard behind her. "She was actually about to get dressed."

Ginny turned around to see Draco standing behind her. The stony look was still there but it had softened if anything as he spoke.

"Oh yes, I forgot. Where're you taking her?"

"Well that's a surprise now isn't it? Will you excuse us?"

"Oh of course love," she said with a smile. It left as she turned to her daughter. "I'll speak to you later," she directed at Ginny and left the fire.

Ginny turned to him again. The look had hardened once more. He was still angry at her. She knew she shouldn't care but her other self must have taken over her somehow, like it had yesterday, because she felt decidedly guilty for it. Honestly, she had an urge to apologise to him.

"Thank you," she managed.

"No problem, I couldn't have you saying how you really felt to your mother now could I? That pleasure is reserved for me." He crossed his arms as if waiting for her to spill it. He had saved her from one distress for her to pay for it in another. Figured.

"I guess I should get dressed then," she said softly and made to go past him. As she did, he caught her arm.

"Ginny, please."

She didn't know what to say. When she looked at him, she saw he really wanted to know. He was concerned, she knew it, and she knew that look. Harry had never looked at her that way. He always said she could look out for herself, she declared it often enough so there was no point in forcing help onto her. She had kind of admired him for giving her the space to be herself, but she would have killed for someone to look at her that way.

"I want to know what's wrong with you, please."

"I'm fine, Draco. I'm just a little tired, that's all. Last night took a lot out of me," she lied. If anything it had exhilarated her. She owned her own business. Owned, the word never sounded so sweet.

"I don't believe you." He narrowed his eyes at her. She bit her lip. "You're nervous," he said looking at her action. "There is something bothering you, I want to know what it is. You're not acting like yourself, you look at me like you've never seen me before and Cadence, she was crying in her room just now. What is going on?"

Wouldn't you like to know? She looked at him. The genuine concern was getting to her, it was worse than her mother. Under that gaze she had to give in. The lie she had perfected last night had been brewing and now it was time to serve.

"Oh god I'm so embarrassed." She feigned her best upset face. "I woke up two days ago..." She tried to find the right word. She was a little scared and a tad bit angry. "A little confused," she compromised. "I took a potion to erm... make me feel younger," she said with sudden inspiration. "It must have backfired because not only did I feel younger but I was younger. I didn't know why you were looking at me like that, or why you kept saying we were married. I didn't know... why I was so old. It scared me." She really hoped he was buying this. It looked like it. "Everything was different and I had to get away. I had children, I had a family! I was seventeen I didn't even know how to handle my own family - with my brothers I mean. It freaked me out so I went to the only person I thought I could that wasn't you."

He sighed. "Potter."

"Yeah, P - Harry." She sat down with a sigh. The little girl, her daughter, was upstairs crying because of her. She hadn't meant to do that. She felt wretched for treating a child like that. Janos was right. She had been put into a place where she could find out what her life would have been like and she wasn't even making the most of it. Just spending it in the kitchen and in her room doing nothing and upsetting everyone. It wasn't her normal self, she got that from the constant, 'Are you feeling alrights?', and the numerous, 'Your not yourselves.' She sighed on her stool and looked at M- her husband. She'd have to get use to that too. "She held me and I had no idea who she was. This morning it still felt a little strange but I didn't mean to upset her," she said truthfully. As long as she was here, she might as well make a go of the role. If she was going to make the most of this, she would have to start from the beginning again. "It's worn off now, thoroughly, and I'm back and freak-out free," she smiled.

He regarded her with cautious eyes. His face relaxed and he got up to make his way to her. "I was worried about you. You were acting as if you didn't even know me."

"I know, I'm sorry," she said standing with him and welcoming his embrace. She hadn't done anything to deserve it and yet, he had forgiven her anyway. She wouldn't have done that.

"Why did you even want to be younger, you're beautiful," he said in her ear.

She couldn't help the smile from forming. "Really?" she asked. No one had told her that before. Not even her idiot of an ex boyfriend that was now... well, just a friend she supposed. The most she had gotten was a, 'You're great.' Draco however, said it as if he said it everyday, just like he used to in school. She kind of liked it.

"Of course you are," he said kissing her neck. She closed her eyes smiling. She was certain if she had met him now she would certainly not have been able to resist him. She never could. Except once and she was beginning to regret it even more. She was now in a different life though, a life where it never happened. A place where she was happy, where she felt she was loved. She was in love with him; she guessed this had always been in the back of her mind somewhere. He had given her everything she had wanted from Harry. She was obviously happy, that was the only thing she had ever wanted. Draco had given it to her and he, unlike Harry, had kept his word. The word that her friends had convinced her he wouldn't.

She had made the wrong decision after all. But she could fix all that; Janos had given her another chance, one that she wasn't going to give up. Five days, she'd have five days of happiness and then go back to her old life and no one would be any the wiser. She smiled.

He licked the hollow of her throat as his hands slid higher. She shivered involuntarily moulding herself to him as he kissed along her jaw. Their mouths met perfectly as he hugged her tightly, so deep and forcefully that she ran out of air. She lost herself in an exploration of his mouth as they apparated upstairs. Gasping for breath, she backed off pulling at his shirt to bring him closer.

***

"Happy Anniversary," she heard behind her. She opened her eyes and turned over to see a broad smile and a small package being handed to her. She smiled and took it, tearing the paper apart and suddenly realised it was the same box she had seen two days before on a chest of drawers. It was then that she remembered the other package she had dropped in the wardrobe. She stopped and conjured her wand summoning it for him.

"Happy anniversary." He smiled at her and ripped it open. She continued with her massacre and discovered a small dark wood box with intricate carvings along the side of flowers. Lilies, her favourite. A tear came out of nowhere. She turned it over; there was a winder at the bottom between the legs of it. She twisted it until it couldn't move anymore. When she opened the lid, it started to play a tune. She had heard it before, somewhere... her mouth opened. It was the song that they had first danced to. The day he had told her he loved her. She may not have been fond of him yesterday but it was so overwhelming that she almost cried.

She fell in love with him all over again.

"You like it then."

She turned to him and kissed him soundly, the tears poured out of her eyes. She pressed closer to him as his hands ran down her side, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Ginny pressed a soft kiss against his neck. It felt like she had been here forever, how could that be if she had only been there for two days? She knew there would be some chemistry but this; this was beyond any of her hopes.

"I think, I think I'm in love with you," she whispered.

"After seven years you're just working this out?" She had her head on his shoulder, her leg casually tossed over his thigh. "I love this, by the way, but just because you 'accidentally ruined,' the last one didn't mean that you had to make a new one." She looked over to see what he held in his hand. It was a key. The key chain had a string of letters on it that spelt, 'Preference.' "I love the name, did you change that too?"

She desperately wanted to know what he was talking about. "Well, you'll just have to take me to find out, won't you?" she said with a teasing tone that surprised even herself.

He raised his eyebrows. "I guess I will," he smiled and kissed her again.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. He stopped and turned toward the door. "Come in," he called. The door cautiously opened and both of them eventually had to lean to try to see around the door to who would open a door like that. It was Cadence. "Sweetheart," he smiled and waved her in.

She looked in Ginny's direction stalling for a few moments. Ginny felt worse than she had before, she had caused that stall. She sat up and opened her arms. "Come on." She smiled for good measure. The girl suddenly burst out smiling and ran to her mother swinging her arms around her.

"See, it's not that hard is it?" Draco said to her with a smile. "Cadence, could you just wait outside for a minute, mum will be right there." She smiled at her father and nodded before kissing Ginny on the cheek and running outside shutting the door behind her.

"She's so beautiful," she said absently sitting back on her pillows.

"Hmm, takes after her mother." She smiled and shut her eyes. "Come on, take a shower and get dressed. I'll ask a house elf to fix us a dinner." She opened them again and looked at him. He was standing up in his boxers looking around the room.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He shook the key in front of her. "I'm going to find out just what you did to it."

To what? She felt like asking that more than once as she showered and dressed. They apparated with Cadence into a small docked area filled with boats. Oh my god, we own a boat? Hold on, he said I ruined it. "I ruined your boat," she said as more of a statement than a question. She guessed it was the right statement.

He shook his head. "It was nothing really, I've been meaning to get it fixed to tell you the truth but I just never had time. I suppose it's in the same place?" he asked her and pointed ahead of him with the basket in his hand.

She nodded with raised eyebrows. "I should certainly hope so."

They walked along different aisles along hundreds of boats whose sails towered above them. If she had wanted to fix it, she couldn't possibly have spent money on anything big right? Then again, she did own her own business. She couldn't help the smile. She didn't notice when Draco had stopped, Cadence had to hold her back from walking any further.

"Oh, Ginny, she's beautiful."

She snapped her gaze at a slightly larger boat to the ones around her. It was a pristine pastel blue, and its sails were a brilliant white. There was slanted script along the stern that read, "Preference." It was beautiful. "All of our favourite things in one place, she's perfect, Ginny." He turned and kissed her. "Thank you."

She took in a deep breath and smiled. "Erm. You're welcome." She watched as he boarded and picked Cadence up with him. "Ginny?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you possibly go for Sebastian, Cadence wants to sail."

"Erm, okay then," she said and apparated to her mother's home immediately to be bombarded with a small boy that ran to her with his arms out, she bent as he ran at her to pick him up. "O-Kay," she said in surprise as his arms wrapped around her neck. He appeared to be crying. She shushed him instinctively and rocked from side to side. His cheeks were bright red.

"Sebastian get back here!" she heard as her mother came rushing into the kitchen. "Oh, Ginny dear, you startled me. Is something wrong?"

"No, mother everything is perfect. We were going to sail Draco's boat now and I just came for Sebastian." The small boy tightened his fists in her robes.

"Oh well the girls wanted to say goodbye but that's lovely. As long as you're alright there's nothing to worry about. Have a nice time."

"I will mum," she said and apparated back to the dock. Draco had already stirred the engine and was ready to disembark. He looked at her with a smile but frowned when he noticed how Sebastian was clinging to her for dear life.

"Oh, what happened to him?"

She smiled. "I think mum was terrorizing him."

He smiled knowingly. "Again? Oh no, well no Grandma for Sebastian for the rest of the week, Okay?" The boy suddenly smiled brightly as he turned around and hugged his father in gratitude. "I don't know what's wrong with her, she's fine to me." He said as he put the boy down to run to his sister. He gave her his hand to get on board.

"Yeah, she would be." He laughed.

As they set sail Ginny sat at the bow staring at the water below as it split to both sides and rippled along the sides of the boat. The wind hit her face and she welcomed the free feeling of it. The sails rustled and pulled on their ropes as the wind told their direction and she smiled. She had never sailed before, unless you counted the small boats on the way to Hogwarts gates. She turned as her son tapped her shoulder and smiled at her. She moved a little so that he could sit with her and they both stared out at the horizon. They sailed for hours and it was crossing through evening when they docked. Sebastian and Cadence were already asleep by the time they got off and walked to the main office to sign in again.

Sebastian slept soundly in Ginny's arms. She couldn't help the smile that refused to go away. She didn't even know these children but the knowledge that they were hers felt like she never wanted to let go. There was that grim feeling she kept getting when, for the thousandth time that day, she was reminded of her limited time. She waited outside with a sleepy Cadence on a chair in the waiting area with Sebastian on her lap and waited for Draco to finish signing in the boat and giving the club his key.

When he returned, he found Ginny to be doing a rather good impression of a mattress as both children were leaning on her fast asleep and dead to the world. "Help me," she mouthed and he smiled. She melted instantly.

He woke Cadence and scooped her up into his arms. Walking to the apparition bay in silence, Ginny kept chancing glances at them. He turned to her. "What?" he asked.

She was caught off guard and looked away. "Huh?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" she laughed.

"Like we're on a first date or something." He stopped in the apparition room and faced her wondering why she had stopped at the door.

Because we are, she thought to herself and walked in after him. "No reason." She smiled and they apparated home.