Forgotten Children

Forgotten Children

It was nearly three thirty in the morning when Draco rolled over and decided that sleep was not going to hold him any longer. He had been restless for most of the night and finally managed to get some well-deserved sleep a few hours before. Now, as he glanced around his room, he felt very unsure about something.

In fact, he thought to himself, the whole week had been full of an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt her stir beside him, her red hair peeking out from beneath the white pillow, and he smiled somberly. Reaching a hand over, he stroked her hair lightly, making sure not to wake her.

"What is it?" she mumbled, lifting her head, the pillow going with her. She blinked groggily at him and yawned widely, pulling the blankets around her body some more. "Is it time for work?"

"No," he said softly. He still wondered about how lucky he was to get her. When they went to Hogwarts together, they were as different as could be, but once they grew up, and started working for the Ministry, they had seemed to enjoy each other's company.

After work, they would go out for a drink or go dancing. Of course, she was skeptical at first, and he hardly blamed her. It took a few attempts on Draco's part to persuade the redhead to consider him more a friend. He knew that she enjoyed having him around but would never admit it wholeheartedly to him.

He had, inadvertently, ran into Hermione Granger one evening, and she had gushed about how much of a good time Ginny said she had with him. Not far from where they were talking, Harry and Ron sat, glaring at him. Hermione told Draco to ignore them as she continued talking. It wasn't until she had reached the part about Ginny wanting to snog him senseless, that he had realized the bushy-haired girl was drunk.

After Potter and Weasley escorted her away, Draco went home, and was pleasantly surprised to find said redhead waiting for him on the doorstep to his flat.

She had been sitting there for about an hour, trying to come up with something to say to him, because she knew, before him, that there was something between them.

She handed him a piece of paper, looking a little embarrassed about something, before smiling brightly at him. She had a beautiful smile, which was one of the first things he really noticed about her after he was assigned to do a project with her. The second reason was her ability to love. She loved without argument, complaint or hesitation.

Draco saw that one day, while working at the Ministry. It had been a slow day until about mid-afternoon when the receptionist called Arthur Weasley to let him know of a case that had just opened up. There was a young wizard, around his mid twenties, suspected of using an Unforgivable on his mother, because they had gotten into an argument and she had struck him.

When Ginny asked who the boy was, Arthur turned his grim expression towards her slowly and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. When he didn't reply, his daughter asked again, demanding that he say something.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Michael Corner."

Ginny's eyes widened, and she felt as though someone was squeezing the life out of her. She tried to tell him he was wrong, that he didn't know what he was talking about, that Michael would never do that. He loved his mother to death, Ginny had said, and she had seen that when Michael's father passed away, when Michael had moved back home months ago.

"I'm sorry," was all Arthur could manage.

Ginny closed her eyes, willing the tears to go away, when she heard hurried footsteps and familiar voices talking softly. She opened her eyes to see Harry and Ron talking quietly. She shook her head, and the tears spilled down her cheeks, and she ran back to her office, collapsing on the couch.

She kept her eyes closed the entire time she cried, and she hoped that no one would come and seek her out. She was wrong. The office door opened moments later and Draco stood there, unable to say one word to her. He slipped inside and shut the door behind him. He had barely taken another step when Ginny had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and she was crying into his chest, soaking his shirt.

He placed his arms around her as she started to sink onto the floor. He went down with her, and they sat in silence as she softly whimpered. The tears had seemed to stop, he noticed, as he held her, trying his best to calm her. Draco was never really any good at comforting people, but he wanted to try with her. Soon enough, Ginny had fallen asleep on his knee with her arms curled under her, and her hair in her eyes.

He gently moved the red strands when she stirred and whispered his name. He glanced down at her almost unable to believe what she had muttered until she coughed and sat up. Her brown eyes were groggy as she blinked at him. She opened her mouth to speak when he pressed his lips against her cheek. When he pulled away, he was surprised to see that she was blushing, her eyes gleaming slightly.

"What was that for?" she asked softly. She stood up and brushed any dust off of herself and looked at him. "Draco?" she prompted when he didn't answer.

"I just wanted to make you feel better," he said.

Ginny smiled at him and looked around her office. "There are papers everywhere. Dad always said the work wasn't going to finish itself."

Before he could reply she had taken a seat and started the task at hand. Draco blinked at her and sat in the chair across from her with a strange expression on his face.

"What are you doing, Ginny?" he asked seriously. "Aren't we going to talk about what happened?"

Ginny, who had been scribbling her signature on a few papers looked up, her eyes wide. "I'm not sure I understand you, Draco." She smiled faintly and bowed her head again, continuing her work.

"It's okay to cry," he assured her. "I won't think of you differently."

The pen fell onto the desk, and she looked at him. To Draco's surprise, he saw that her eyes were narrowed.

"I don't need you to tell me how to feel," she said softly. "You didn't even know him, Draco, so why do you care?"

"He isn't dead, so why are you carrying on like he is?" Draco snapped back.

Ginny had leaned back in her chair, actually looking stunned at him, her eyes wide. "Like I said, you don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm trying to ask you why-"

"I think I can finish this on my own," she said suddenly, frowning at him. "See you tomorrow, Malfoy."

He winced as she spoke to him. She had dared to revert back to childhood names, because she was afraid.

"No," he said and leaned across the table. He grabbed her wrist and began to pull her over the top of the table. To his surprise, she went willingly, practically climbing over all the papers to get to him. She settled on his lap and brushed her lips against his ear.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her breath hot on his face.

He turned to gaze at her, cupping her cheek with his hand, his thumb stroking her jaw.

"I'm so sorry."

A faint smile flitted across Draco's lips and he brushed his mouth against hers gently.

"Your letter was very moving," he said quietly. He watched her eyes wide and she groaned. "No, it was. I'm not trying to tease you. I really loved it."

"I didn't want to give it to you."

He chuckled softly, as she got up off him and sat on the couch. "Then why did you?"

"It was better than telling you in person and humiliating myself in front of you."

Draco frowned and joined her on the couch. He leaned back and stared at her. "You could never humiliate yourself in front of me, Gin. I think you're being too hard on yourself."

She snorted rather loudly.

"I'm serious," Draco said, "Have you seen yourself lately? You take on more than anyone else here, you're always able to help people when they need it, and-"

"If you're going to say I'm a hard worker, save it," Ginny said, sighing.

"Well, what I was going to say is that I think you're gorgeous."

Ginny stared at him, completely surprised. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She sat there mulling over what he said and immediately felt her cheeks redden. She took a breath and leaned over, pressing her lips against his. They stayed like this for a few moments until she spoke.

"I think I owe you a drink."

It took three months for them to sleep together, four months to move in together, and six until they were engaged. They had been planning the wedding for that summer when Draco had received a letter, and his entire world had come crashing down around him.

His parents had died while they slept. Someone had broken into Malfoy Manor and struck Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa, with a blunt object in the early morning hours on Tuesday. The letter was from Pansy, and she wondered how he didn't hadn't already known.

Ginny rolled over to put her arm on him when she felt him trembling beside her. She glanced at him through the darkness of their room and moved closer. He whimpered and grabbed her, pulling her body against his, his head resting against hers. He didn't look at her as she held him, her lips brushing the top of his head.

Sunlight had seemed to take forever to filter into the room and, splaying across the dresser, and onto the picture framed in silver that they could see perfectly if they looked from the bed.

Draco sniffled and brushed his lips against hers.

"Do you want to go see them today?" she asked softly, trailing her hand through his blond hair.

When he gently pushed her away, Ginny felt useless.

He stood up and walked to the window that overlooked the garden in their backyard, he resting his head against the window. Feeling a pair of arms slid around his torso, he shuddered as her lips touched his bare back.

"I think they would appreciate it if I went," Draco said, his voice breaking slightly.

"I think they would, too," Ginny said.

When he had started to get dressed, Ginny asked him what kind of flowers he would get this time, and as he pulled on his shirt, he smiled at her.

"Lilies," he replied softly.

Outside in the garden, the lilies swayed in the wind.