The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache. I had barely been awake for five minutes before I got sick. It could have been the morning sickness, but my throbbing head certainly didn’t help. And when I checked the time, I felt a searing pain behind my eyes when I realized I had to be at work in ten minutes.
I got dressed quickly and barely had time to run my fingers through my hair before I was out the door. Normally, I’d be Apparating, but pregnant witches were advised to avoid Apparition due to the possibility of injuring the baby. It was definitely an inconvenience, especially when I only had five minutes to get to work on time, but it made sense. The sensation was uncomfortable enough for me, so I can only imagine what would do to a tiny, frail baby. I only hoped my new mode of transportation wouldn’t draw too much attention.
I was able to catch a bus, thankful that I carried a little bit of Muggle money with me now that I lived on my own. I’ve sort of taken after my dad in some ways, finding Muggles more interesting than most wizards would. Truthfully, I’ve begun to think that it’s a bit ignorant to be living in the same world as Muggles and know nothing about them. I think he would agree.
The bus was crowded, but I was able to find a row with both seats empty. I sat down, not wanting to sit next to anyone in case I did get sick. I rested my head against the cool window, trying not to think of my aching head or how queasy I was feeling. I closed my eyes, trying to relax and pretend that I was curled up in my bed, warm beneath the blankets and“
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
I opened my eyes and saw a young man standing in the isle. He was wearing a suit, but his shirt was partially un-tucked and his tie hung loosely around his neck. His sandy-colored hair was short and untidy, making it look as if he had just rolled out of bed. He couldn’t have been much older than me.
“No,” I said, grabbing my purse off the seat next to me and putting it on my lap. “It’s not.”
He thanked me and sat down, setting a leather briefcase on the ground beside him. Then he turned back to me, and I was momentarily startled when I looked into his eyes “ they were a vivid blue, and were absolutely piercing.
“I’m Chris,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Ginny,” I replied.
Chris smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
I nodded, but said nothing else. I was finding it hard to be as friendly as him when I felt like I was going to be sick any minute.
We both sat in silence for a few minutes until I heard a shrill ringing. I turned to my left and saw Chris digging around in his pocket, finally pulling out a cell phone and flipping it open.
“Hi, honey,” he said. “You did? What is it?... Yeah, I like it...” He laughed. “I think so... That’s it? Okay... I’ll talk to you later. I love you... bye.”
Chris hung up his phone, and put it back in his pocket. He sat there smiling for a minute until he turned to me.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Um, sure.”
“Do you know anyone named Draco?”
Chris laughed at my puzzled expression. “I’m sorry, that came from nowhere. That was my wife on the phone. She’s pregnant,” he explained, and his face seemed to glow with pride at that statement. “We’re trying to think of baby names that are uncommon.”
Draco’s face flashed through my mind, causing my already nauseated stomach to lurch uncomfortably. “I do, actually. I work with him.” I was trying to ignore the jealousy that had flared up inside of me when I thought of Chris’s wife, happily married and pregnant. But it was hard.
That’s the way it should be, I thought to myself. Not like this. Not all alone, carrying the child of the last person on earth you could ever be with. I felt my eyes start to water and I quickly looked away, blinking rapidly. Thankfully, Chris didn’t seem to notice.
“Really?” he responded. “Hmm...”
Right then, the bus slowed to a halt, and I realized it was my stop. I stood, grabbing my purse.
Chris looked up. “You get off here?”
I nodded.
“I’ll get out of your way.” He stood up and moved into the isle, giving me room to leave.
“Thanks,” I said.
“No problem,” he replied. “It was nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”
I smiled. “Maybe.” I walked to the front of the bus, where I stepped out the door and onto the sidewalk. My head felt even worse once I was moving around, but I tried not to think about it as I quickly made my way to the telephone booth. It was empty, but that was because I was late “ and that certainly didn’t make me feel any better.
Once I stepped into my office, I immediately saw a large stack of documents sitting on my desk. I sighed, looking at the clock. I was only twenty minutes late, and already far behind.
I crossed the room and sank into my chair, where I rested my elbows on my desk and held my head in my hands. I took a few shaky breaths, trying to make myself relax but failing miserably. Why did I have to get the headache from hell along with the usual morning sickness? It was nothing short of torture.
Yet as much as I tried to wish it away, I kept feeling worse and worse until finally, I knew that I couldn’t make it. I stood up, rushing out of my office and down the hallway, not even apologizing to the man I ran into on the way. I barely had enough time to shut the bathroom door before I bent over the toilet and threw up.
Already, my eyes were watering, and I sank to my knees, feeling weak and clammy. I was so distracted that I didn’t even notice when someone walked in and shut the door.
“Are you okay?” they asked, making me jump.
I looked up and saw Draco standing there, clearly torn about what he should do. But before I could answer, another surge of sickness swept over me and I got sick again.
I felt him walk up behind me and kneel down, but was too nauseated to do anything. Even as he tenderly pulled my hair back out of my face, I did nothing but close my eyes and fervently wish that I could be somewhere “ anywhere - else.
We sat there for a minute, during which I had already begun to feel a bit better. I turned around shakily and took a paper towel, which I used to wipe my mouth. Draco sat in front of me now, so I forced myself to look up at him, trying to forget about everything that had happened between us.
As I looked at him, I could tell that he’d changed somehow. His eyes were gray, yet dull, and the way he looked at me made me realize that even weeks later, he was still in pain. Feeling suddenly guilty, I looked away and muttered, “Thank you.”
Draco shrugged. Neither of us said anything, so he stood up and turned to leave, but hesitated at the door. “Are you sick?” he asked me, turning around again.
I stared at him. I knew that I had to tell him, and I knew that it would have to be soon. But there was such sadness in his features that I just could not bring myself to do it.
“Yeah,” I said, also standing up. “I think it’s the flu or something. I’ll be fine.”
He nodded, and we stood there looking at each other for a minute before he broke his gaze and left.
As I watched him go, I wondered when I’d have to tell him the news. Soon, I told myself. I thought I had plenty of time to wait until the time was right.
I was in for a rude awakening.
When I got home that evening, I was, thankfully, feeling much better. My headache had, for the most part, gone away, and I was even able to stomach a bowl of vegetable soup for dinner.
I had just taken the last bite of my meal when I heard a faint tapping at my window, and turned around to see a small brown owl hovering in front of it.
I got up and swung my window open, allowing it to fly past me and land, rather clumsily, on the table where I’d been sitting. It stood and looked at me expectantly, a small roll of parchment attached to its leg.
“Alright, alright,” I said, crossing the room and reaching out to untie the letter.
For a second, I thought the owl looked a bit familiar, but I couldn’t think where I may have seen it before. And once I gave it a large owl treat, it hooted softly in appreciation and quickly flew away, so my attention went to the parchment on my kitchen table.
Sinking down into my chair, I unrolled the parchment and read the fancy print, which was written in shimmering gold ink. Once I realized who it was from, I felt a jolt of shock and surprise. But as I read on, it quickly turned to anger, and once I was finished I noticed that I was gripping the letter very tightly.
I was so stunned that I just sat there for a minute, staring blankly at the glittering words in front of me. It wasn’t until my eyes had filled with tears, clouding my vision so that all I could see was a golden blur, that I snapped out of my trance.
“No,” I said out loud to myself, quickly standing up. “I’m not crying.”
And I almost convinced myself as I crumpled the letter and threw it into the trash, glaring fiercely. But a few more tears slipped out, much to my annoyance, and I brushed them away hastily.
That was when I heard a loud crack outside my front door, and I knew that I had a visitor. I closed my eyes, suddenly realizing that I should have expected someone to stop by.
When there was a soft knocking at the door, I turned and walked the short distance from my kitchen, dreading to see whom I would face. I took a deep breath as I grasped the handle, and swung the door open to reveal my brother.
“Fred?” I managed to say.
He looked at me, his look of confusion suddenly becoming deeply concerned. “Ginny,” he said seriously, “I think we need to talk.”
Fred held up a piece of parchment, and I knew that it must be the same thing I had just disposed of moments before. I was somewhat stunned to see that he had gotten one, yet not surprised at all. Some people were just tactless.
I looked at the ground. “Okay,” was all I replied, and I led my brother to my small sitting room. He sat across from me, looking more and more worried at each passing moment.
Fred sighed. “Mum was so worried about you,” he told me quietly. “I volunteered to come and figure out what was going on, because she was so distraught.” He paused, a small smile creeping onto his lips. “And, I’m your favorite brother, after all.”
I forced a smile, but dropped my gaze, saying nothing. None of this really shocked me, because I should have known my family would react this way. Especially since they found out the way they did.
The letter I had received had been an invitation “ a wedding invitation, for none other than Jonathon and, I assumed, the woman he’d left me for. But what bothered me the most wasn’t the fact that he would be happily married before I was, or that this was so soon after our break up. I just couldn’t believe that I had actually gotten an invitation in the first place. Thanks, Jonathon. Just rub it in. What had I ever seen in him?
So the fact that Fred was sitting in front of me, completely perplexed, didn’t really surprise me. But I was still less than enthusiastic about explaining the truth.
“Ginny?” Fred asked after a few minutes of silence.
I looked up at him and sighed. “We broke up about a month ago,” I admitted.
Shock flashed through his eyes, but he kept his voice even and calm. “What happened?”
I hung my head. “He met someone else,” I said simply.
“And it was just over? Just like that?”
“What the hell should I have done, stayed with him?” I snapped.
“I- no, Ginny, I didn’t mean-“
I held up my hand to stop him. “I’m sorry. I just... thought I was over this.”
Fred’s features softened. “You know you can always talk to me, Ginny. I wish you had come to me. Your family is always going to be there for you.”
Silently, I nodded.
“Are you alright?” he asked, and God, I can’t remember ever seeing him so worried; so serious. It scared me. Did I really look that bad?
I smiled. Or at least, I tried to. It came out as more of a grimace, and gave my brother no comfort whatsoever. “I’m fine,” I lied.
He looked at me dubiously. “You don’t look fine.” He reached forward and placed his hand on my knee. “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”
I stared into my brother’s eyes. I don’t have a favorite sibling, but Fred and I had always had a special bond of some sort. I’ve always been able to trust him completely, even if I didn’t tell him every aspect of my life. And right then, I knew that no matter what I told him, Fred would never judge me. But I was so sure I’d only end up disappointing him, and I couldn’t handle that.
“I don’t need to talk about anything,” I told him, but my voice cracked and he saw my eyes watering before I had a chance to look away. I stood up and walked to my window, fighting to maintain my composure as I thought of the secret I was keeping from everyone.
“Ginny,” I heard Fred say, and within seconds he had enveloped me in his arms. He held me like only a brother could; he made me feel safe and loved and warm even in the darkest of times.
At first, I fought back the tears, frustrated because it seemed like I’d been crying a lot lately. But the longer my brother held me the harder it became, until finally, I let myself cry, and his embrace only tightened when I had run out of tears.
“Its okay, Ginny. Everything will be fine,” he told me.
Oh God, if only he knew.
The Perfect Mistake by hearyoume
Chapter Notes: I know it’s been over a month since I last updated. Here’s the deal: A few nights ago, I’m staring at my computer screen, completely overwhelmed. This chapter was in shambles - bits and pieces written here and there but still in desperate need of revision - and school was starting in two days, and I’m already getting behind on Paying the Price, etc.
So this isn’t just because I’m lazy or that I don’t care about this story. I feel terrible for making you wait so long and can promise a much quicker update next time, but I hope you’ll understand that I am doing my best. This is a long chapter, so maybe it’ll be worth the wait (:
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this to their favorites! You guys are huge encouragements. Enjoy.