Sometimes It Be That Way

Coffee and Pancakes

*

"When the world ends, collect your things, you're coming with me."

~ Dave Matthews Band, When the World Ends (Oakenfold Remix)

*

When she woke up the next morning, she found that the room was bright from all of the light bouncing off the snow on the window sill and also found her room was filled with new things: teddy bears, roses, baby clothing, a crib and many toys. Her bed had also been sprinkled with rose petals which turned different colours and she slowly sat up, taking it all in.

"Alright, guys," she said aloud, her voice husky from just waking up and a nauseous feeling in her stomach. "Very funny. And very inconspicous! I'm sure anyone coming in here wouldn't wonder why all this baby stuff was here."

No one answered, but the bathroom door opened and Harry asked, "Did you say something?"

"What is all this stuff?" Ginny asked him, gesturing towards everything piled high in the room. "I'm not due for another six months. You could have bought me all this stuff then."

"Hey, who says I bought this stuff?" Harry said jokingly, jumping onto the bed beside her and laying back, his hands behind his head. "It could have been Hermione, or even Ron."

"Hermione and Ron aren't the ones using my bathroom when I just wake up," Ginny told him. "Besides, they cover their tracks better than you do."

He grinned and said, "Alright, you caught me." He rolled over onto his side to look at her better. "So, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Nauseous, and tired, with a weird tingling feeling in my breasts and just a bit of annoyance at being up at all this morning," she replied. "I'm also hungry."

Harry rolled off and said, "Then, I shall get you some food." She started to protest, but he held up a hand to silence her. "What would you like, madame?"

"Blueberry pancakes," she said. "And like five of them. And some water."

"Okay, then," Harry said, crossing the floor to the door. "Stay in bed and get some more rest. I shall be back."

As soon as the door closed, she got up and crossed over to the bathroom. The vomit that she had been holding in because Harry had been there came out as soon as she approached the toilet. She flushed it and washed her hands and face before rinsing some water through her mouth and spitting it out into the sink. She pushed the cabinet door closed and looked into its mirror, seeing a frightened teenaged girl with no idea of what she was doing. Her long russet curls hung limp about her face, waiting for a shower, and her skin was pale and sickly. She had not been kidding when she had said she was nauseous.

She walked back into her bedroom and looked at what Harry had bought her again. He really was stepping up to be the perfect father. There were baby clothes for both genders, just in case it was a girl and just in case it was a boy. She had hoped that the baby would be a girl because she didn't want to have to deal with so many boys like her mother had had to.

She sat back down on her bed and waited for Harry to get back, now more hungry than before. At last, the door opened and he came through bearing a bed tray filled with pancakes and Ron following him.

"Oi, mate, you really went overboard," Ron said to Harry, closing the door as Harry set the tray down over Ginny, its legs on either side of her. He sat down at the foot of the bed and separated some of the pancakes onto his own plate, leaving some for Ron and Ginny to eat. "I can't believe how many things you bought." Harry smirked. "My own best friend and he shows me up, and I'm the one who is the brother!" Ginny silently laughed. "I guess I'm gonna have to buy something now."

"Oh, Ron," Ginny said, smiling, "you don't have to. I think Harry took care of the whole baby section in the Nymph-Rae catalogue."

"Pretty much, yeah," Harry agreed. "You could buy her some chocolates, though," he added to Ron.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Ron said, still awed at the many piles of baby toys. "Thanks, mate."

Ginny sobered when she remembered that Ron had no idea that Harry was the father and quickly gathered herself some pancakes. Ron did the same and sat beside Harry. The three of them made small talk about the past week before the door opened and Hermione came in, a cheerful smile on her face.

"Good morning," she greeted them sunily and nearly pranced over to Ron. Ginny and Harry watched, startled, as Hermione and Ron kissed on the lips. Then, Hermione sat next to Ron and stole bits of pancake off his plate. She looked up, still smiling, to see the other two's expressions. "What?"

"Wait, when did this happen?" Ginny protested. "I didn't know you two were together."

"Neither did I," Harry said.

Ron chuckled and said, "It happened yesterday."

"So, you finally got the courage to ask her out?" Harry asked, some of the shock fading. Ron nodded happily and Harry added, "Congratulations."

Ginny nodded and Hermione said, "Aww, thanks guys." Everyone went back to eating and Ginny saw Hermione look around the room at all of the toys and clothes and teddy bears. "Whoa, who bought you all this, Gin?"

"Harry did," Ginny told her, trying not to let her voice waver. She saw how Hermione immediately tensed up and how Harry tried not to look at anyone in particular.

"Oh," Hermione simply said and quickly went back to stealing out of Ron's plate. Ron looked a little confused, but Ginny shook her head at him and he quelched whatever he was going to say. Harry slowly lifted his eyes to Ginny's and they shared a look before both of them went back to eating.

*

It was awhile before Ginny finally ventured out of her bedroom. Once Ron had left, Hermione had forced Harry to organize everything he had bought for Ginny, which he did without argument. It would be another hour and a half before they both left Ginny with mention of plans for going outside to enjoy the snow with all of the other Gryffindors.

Ginny wasn't too thrilled with going outside to throw snowballs at everyone in the freezing cold. So, she got up and got dressed before leaving the tower to walk about the school, looking at all of the paintings. They all suddenly fascinated her, each with their own scenes and their own characters, different time periods and different personalities and different artists behind each painting. She looked at each in turn, and it was awhile before she realized that there was someone standing behind her, leaning against the windows lining that wall.

Her heart beating wildly, she turned to find Malfoy watching her, his arms folded. She folded her arms too and said, "I thought we weren't going to be friends."

He just shrugged and asked, "Walk with me?"

She nodded and they headed down the corridor. It was awhile before she finally asked, "Why are you talking to me?"

"Because you talked to me," Draco told her. "As corny as that sounds. And because I'd like to screw my father over and defy virtually every rule he's put in place for me."

Ginny just looked at him and said nothing. They continued walking and somehow found themselves in the corridor that led to the kitchens. He ushered her in first and the house elves crowded around them, excited to see them together again. When they sat down, they somehow got to talking about their lives so far, with Ginny carefully leaving out the subject of her being pregnant.

"I hate my father," Draco said, nearly spitting the word 'father' out. "I hate everything my father stands for and what he's done to me. There are few moments in life where everything is suddenly clear to you and this is one of those moments."

"You saw the light?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"More like I saw the darkness," Draco replied, a faraway look in his eyes. "I saw what the darkness could do and I hated it. I hated it so much. And it's so hard to believe that for a whole lifetime, that was what I was living up to. That was who I was going to become: a puppet to the Dark Lord, a slave to his will. Then I started to lose faith."

"And now you hate your father," Ginny repeated. He looked up at her and nodded. "Okay, I don't want to sound rude or anything and I don't mean to sound like I don't believe you, but our families are mortal enemies like you said last night, and well... are you sure about this? This isn't a trick, right?"

He laughed and said, "I wish it were. I wish I had a different life and this life of mine was a trick, or some nightmare that I had when I was little. But it's not. So I'm here, talking to you." He became angered. "And you know, part of me still hates you because you're beneath me--no offence--and because you're a Weasley. I guess I had all of that beaten into me when I was little."

"Your father beat you?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"You're surprised about this?" Draco asked her, a little bit condemning.

"Well, yeah," Ginny said. "I never really associated it with your family."

"Well, now you know," Draco said, calming down. He ordered another coffee and changed the subject. "So, you get back to your dorm alright?"

Ginny nodded, and watched him sip the last of his coffee, wondering how he could turn so quickly to the good side when it was only a week ago that she had seen him pin Pansy against a wall. Perhaps it was his way to get back at all of those who were in Slytherin, but his violence suggested otherwise. She decided to become his friend, but still be wary of him. At this point, she still had no idea of what he was capable of.