Prompt #479 – Emulsion – Hidden Truth – slashluv18 – Harry Potter

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Title: Hidden Truth
Fandom: Harry Potter
Prompts: #479 – Emulsion
Warnings: None
Pairings: Dean/Ginny
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 777
Summary: Ginny has something she needs to tell Draco.

Ginny glared at the blond. "It's my career!"

Draco crossed his arms. "We always talked about having a family quickly after we were married. We talked about wanting at least three kids and starting almost right away. What changed?"

Ginny flipped her red hair over her shoulder and slanted her eyes away from her husband. "Why should I put my career on hold when I'm at the top of my game? I will not turn into my mother. Having a family can wait."

Draco shook his head. "You will have to take break while you're pregnant of course, but Quidditch teams allow maternity leave. You would be allowed back with no problem, and I'm sure the Harpies would be welcoming."

"I'm not ready to be a mother."

Draco looked up at the ceiling as if it would offer the answers he sorely needed. "I can't understand why you're making such a big deal out of it all of the sudden."

Like all married women, she said the most common saying married women say when they're angry with their husbands. "Well, if you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you." And with a huff of disgust, Ginny stomped out of the room and went to her private room, knowing Draco wouldn't follow her.

There was silence between the two of them for days. Ginny knew she was being unfair, but she couldn't help it. She feared when Draco found out the truth, he would leave her. Instead, she was making herself so unlovable that he had another valid reason for walking away from her and never looking back.

One day, tired of avoiding Draco, she went to her best friend for advice. "What do I do, Hermione?"

Hermione's soft brown eyes were filled with sympathy and compassion. "You already know the answer, Ginny. You need to tell him the truth."

Ginny face the wall that had some emulsion paint on it. "He'll be heartbroken."

"I know, but you're heartbroken too, and you'll need each other to get through this."

"It isn't fair. I have six brothers. How did this happen to me?"

Hermione took Ginny's hand, offering the little comfort that she was able to. "Fate has a cruel sense of humor."

"Now. Go home to your husband. Stop trying to start arguments with him and tell him the truth."

Ginny knew Hermione was right. With a sigh full of suffering, she nodded and went to the fireplace to Floo home.

Ginny stepped out of the fireplace into the sitting room and wasn't surprised to see Draco waiting for her. "Had fun with Granger?"

"You really can't call her Granger anymore. She's married to Harry."

Draco's eyes flashed. "She'll always be Granger to me."

"Draco, I'm sorry."

"Are you ready to tell me why you've been so irrational lately about starting a family?"

She swallowed, holding back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "It's because we can't start a family, at least not in a way that's considered normal."

Draco stood up and strode over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a loose embrace. "What do you mean?"

"I went to get a checkup at St. Mungo's because I knew we'd be trying to have a baby soon. Despite my very fertile mother, I'm... I'm barren. I can't get pregnant, and no potion has yet been invented that can fix me." She closed her eyes and clutched Draco's shirt. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I know how much you want to be a dad, how much you want to prove that you're nothing like your father. I knew how disappointed you'd be." She kissed his chest through his shirt and hung onto him as if he was her lifeline.

Draco kissed her forehead. "I am nothing like my father. Lucius Malfoy would have lost his temper if my mother told him she wasn't able to have children." He tilted her chin up so her eyes would look into his. "I'm disappointed, but there are still ways to have a family. And we'll find a way that works for us."

"It's okay to show your disappointment."

Draco allowed a tear to stream down his cheek, and Ginny kissed it, taking in the salty taste of the droplet. "We'll get through this together," he promised, his voice rough to her ears as he did his best to hold in his emotion, knowing Ginny needed him to be strong.

"Together," Ginny said, even as the weight of the truth seemed to fall onto her shoulders. She wasn't as sure as Draco that they'd be able to get through this.