A/N: Again, this update took me longer than I wanted it! I promise to update more often. Promise. Promise. Promise. I feel horrible for taking forever again, but this is the new update. I have three pretty believable excuses though: my summer job takes up lot of time, I went through another little writer's block again, and I was busy thinking up plots for two other fanfics that I shall post at some point in near future (one is gonna be about Bella, the other is gonna be about Pansy). Also, having a life takes up lot of time . If you are still reading this painfully long, horribly written fanfic, thank you! I promies to be a better author and update way more often. Enough of this rant though, I just wanted to apologize hehe

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Fleur Weasley was laying in the standard wooden St. Mungo's bed, looking exhausted. After what turned out to be an 8-hour childbirth section, she had every right to feel tired. She gave birth to a baby girl who inherited her mother's startling beauty and her father's brown eyes. It was all nice and good, only if she was not so tired… and how much she wanted to sleep…

Fleur forced her eyes open. She could not sleep quite yet. She saw the inevitable coming in in the form of the long line of redheads that were slowly defeating the mediwizards that tried to stop them as they made it to her bed and Guinevere's crib.

"Ah, she is beautiful!" Mr. Weasley was the first one to exclaim, and Mrs. Weasley smacked him with her purse.

"Arthur, they need to rest, don't be so loud," she reminded him rather loudly herself.

"Not bad, bro," Ron commented as he looked into the crib to the grinning Bill.

"Yeah, could have been worse. Like Victoire…" George reprimanded him jokingly.

"I agree, brother dearest," Fred joined in. "She cannot talk yet."

"And thank goodness for that," Charlie quipped in.

"Ignore them, Bill," Percy said amused. "They are just jealous of your wife and daughter."

Bill received the compliments and remarks with a smile, whatever they were. He was glad that his wife and new daughter made it and all was good. Fleur, who was secretly wishing that these English idiots had a sense of propriety and would leave her to sleep, was smiling gratefully as well, but no speaking.

This gave her an ample opportunity to observe, and she remarked to herself that in her absence, for she was in the hospital for about two weeks before giving birth, that they seemed older, more grief-stricken. They put on a good show, but Ginny's sudden death left an incurable wound in their hearts and it tore them apart. Usually, if in this particular mood, Fleur would flee back to her own pain, and savor it, cry bitter tears over the dreadfulness of the situation. But today, she was simply too tired, and that gave her a new perspective. She saw their grief clearly, her vision not being clouded by her own sadness, and she realized that they would never be the same ever again. Not without Ginny. Suddenly, she wanted to see her sister-in-law to be there, sitting by her bedside, joking with her brothers and smiling at her new niece. Fleur did not understand any of it, except that it was all horribly wrong, why or how it got like that she did not know, nor she knew how to fix it, but she was sure that everything was wrong one way or another.

Eventually, the family dispersed, some of them back to work, others home to cook dinner and take care of the children, and so she was left alone with Bill. Her husband gave her a lopsided grin, leaned closer and kissed her.

"Sorry about that," he whispered, pulling away a little. "There was no way of stopping them."

"It's okay, Bill," Fleur muttered tiredly, closing her eyes. "I just want to sleep."

"Of course, love," he gave her one more soft kiss, and moved away. "I will be waiting right here."

"Okay, Bill," Fleur forced herself to say. "I will be fine if you go to work, you know."

"I will be here," Bill said somewhat stubbornly.

"Okay, Bill," Fleur said tiredly.

"Sweet dreams, love," he whispered softly, and Fleur, had she any energy left, would have scolded him for talking.

"Okay, Bill," Fleur whispered again.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Bill exclaimed, reaching inside his coat.

"Bill…" Fleur started to frown, expecting some after-labor gift from him that could really wait until after she slept for weeks.

"This came for you while you were in the hospital," he handed her an unceremonious package wrapped in brown paper without any tags.

Fleur took it in her hand, and knowing that the curiosity of her husband would not be satisfied until she opened it, she tore the brown paper off. On the bed fell out a silver rattle for the baby and folded note. Fleur smiled at him, showing him the rattle though she quickly concealed the parchment under her pillow:

"See? No curses or poisons."

"Do you know who it's from?"

"Yes," Fleur lied quickly, having a strong feeling about where it came from. "An old friend of mine sent it."

"Do I know them?"

"Bill, please," Fleur felt her anger throbbing within her, slowly poking even through her exhaustion. "I want to sleep."

"Okay, okay," the Weasley cleared from the hospital room as fast as possible, fearing for his life because there was no way of telling what Fleur would and would not do when she spoke in that stern voice. And of course, he wanted to let her rest.

Once alone, Fleur gave the rattle to the child in the crib next to her bed, and took the parchment from under her pillow. It was a twice folded note with only three words written on it in black ink in familiar handwriting:

"I am safe."

A wave of happiness swept over Fleur. Ginny was safe. It all would be well!

The morning following Draco and Ginny's 'date', Ginny woke up earlier than usual. It might have been around five o'clock when she sat up in her bed as if startled by a nightmare. But it was no nightmare that woke her up this morning, though she had many reasons for scary dreams, and there was a soft smile on her face as she got up from her bed. Her dream, finally, brought the closure from her past that she needed so badly. She made her way to the bathroom and went through her typical morning routine before she returned to her bedroom and curled up in her window seat.

Ginny didn't use to remember her dreams. Just as any other witch or wizard, she did remember the nightmares, but she rarely remembered the good dreams when she was content. There is no need to remember the dreamed up life if her real life is amazing as it is, right? But tonight was different; Ginny's subconscious sent her a straightforward message. She dreamed that she was standing on an open plain, nothing around here. It felt as if she was running, but she stopped for she finally found a safe refuge. That was all.

She woke up with the feeling of safety and happiness, and the meaning of the dream was easy to translate. Life gave her a new chance, a chance she probably did not deserve given her past deeds, but a new shot at happiness and a new reason why to live. As she watched the sun rise higher and higher, the early sunrise heralding the beginning of the summer, Ginny finally found the strength to face her demons.

The fact that she tried to kill her husband was a strain on her conscience, something that went so strongly against her morals that she could barely justify it. It was a moment of temporary insanity that had been building up for years. It was not only because she was forgotten and overlooked. It was because she truly did hate Harry. All those times when he would go out with Ron and Hermione when they were just dating, and then all those times when he stayed at Ron and Hermione's playing with their children rather than trying to start a family with her. The crawling suspicions that he has been cheating on her with different women in his Ministry department. The frustration when he would not even try to see things as she saw them. The disillusionment that followed when she realized how unalike they were when it came to opinions on mostly everything. The ever-growing gap between them, and then the final blow that send her flying over the edge.

It was nothing connected with romance between the two of them, for romance was long dead in the house that Harry bought them. One might think that if Harry cheated on her, or caused her to miscarry or just be the root of something tragic between them, that might be reason for Ginny to be violent. But that would be assuming that Ginny's very being was centered on love and romance and that was far from the truth. While Ginevra was passionate, she was also pragmatic, a combination that caused her to pass many of Harry Potter's short comings in silence. She was betrayed, but not as a lover, but as a person which was much worse. If you love and lose, you still have yourself. But if someone, over many years, tries to erase everything that makes you 'you', you get fed up, and in Ginny's case, you stab them with a kitchen knife. The trifle that was to be the last blow was rather trivial. The couple was supposed to go shopping for a birthday present for one of Ron and Hermione's children, and Harry came home late and with a present he picked out himself. Looking back, Ginny wondered why that made her so angry, but back then she did not care. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. The final drop in the already over-flowing cup. It demonstrated clearly how much Harry did not care for her opinion, or anyone else's for that matter, and that only hurt, but it made her so mad with anger that she could see red. And that's when she stabbed him.

Ginny relived those moments again this morning, but her eyes stayed dry. It was all long gone, and she had a new purpose. She had lost hope, had been broken, but now there were things to live for again. Draco needed her; maybe even loved her and she wanted to see how it would go. Of course, she feared all relationships because her relationship with Harry was such a mistake, but she decided that since she was forced to live again, she might just give it her best shot. It was a new dawn of a new day. Literally.

When the time for breakfast approached, Ginny came down from her room, and being the early bird, she got a-hold of the paper first. Generally, she would not be interested in learning about her ex-husband's newest achievements, but keeping Pansy's words in mind; she picked it up and skimmed through it as she drank some pumpkin juice. There was nothing that was especially eye-catching, just some boring things about political developments within their relations to other countries, some new Muggle treaty, an escaped Peruvian Vipertooth, a new regulation concerning House elves and some minor break-throughs in searching for some Muggle disease cures. Ginny was more confused than before; what did Pansy mean?

Narcissa was the next one who came down for breakfast, and she and Ginny were amiably chatting about some book they both read as Pansy joined them.

"Ready for Quidditch?" the dark-haired witch asked cheerfully, sitting down to eat a bowl of cereal and milk.

"Quidditch?" Narcissa's delicate eyebrows rose up.

"Yes," Pansy nodded, pausing to finish the spoon she just put in her mouth. "Oliver wants me to watch some Quidditch match in which he is playing and I am taking Ginny with us."

"Does Draco know about this?" Narcissa inquired, sipping her hot chocolate.

"Well…" Pansy paused again, but not because her mouth was full this time around.

"Know about what?" the one in question walked in, fastening his cloak, carrying his briefcase and grabbing his coffee mug.

"I invited Ginny to come and watch Quidditch with me this morning and she agreed," Pansy said slowly, taking great care to pick her words.

"Oh," Draco paused mid-stride. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah, maybe even better than what you did last night," Pansy replied defiantly. "Chances are that we won't bump into any of her relatives since none of them are professional Quidditch players and she needs to have some fun, not to mention interact with people that are not you."

"What if they recognize her?" Draco continued, not because he was too worried (Pansy did make some great points), but because his male ego was hurt because they did not think to consult him first.

"I will apparate us out or come up with an intricate lie," Pansy responded smoothly with a smug smile.

"Can you do it if there are aurors around?"

"Draco, this is a Quidditch match, not a Ministry visit," Pansy reminded him, giving him a look of disbelief.

"Fine, fine," Draco gave his consent sulkily. "But if they catch you and we all end up in Azkaban, it's your fault."

"That's completely fine with me," Pansy flashed him a grin. "You can even tell me 'I told you so' then."

"Whatever," Draco sulked some more. "I have to go to work. Bye."

Ginny was not sure why, but she held up her head, silently asking him to kiss her goodbye. Draco understood, gave her a soft kiss, and left the house with the taste of grapefruit that she was eating on his tongue.

"Oliver wanted me to be there by nine thirty," Pansy said casually once Draco was gone.

"Oh," Ginny acknowledged her words. "Who are they playing?"

"It's Puddlemere United against some team that goes by some weird name. Bees or bumblebees of Brimstone, something like that."

"Wimbourne Wasps?"

"Maybe," Pansy assented. "It was something like that."

"They are good," Ginny nodded. "It should be interesting."

"Yeah, sure…" Pansy concurred sarcastically. "That is, if you are into that kind of thing."

"If you hate Quidditch so much, why do you spend so much time watching it?" Ginny inquired conversationally.

"Because I date a Quidditch player," Pansy answered matter-of-factly, and Narcissa, who was listening in on the conversation, smirked in amusement.

"That's the only reason?" Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Pretty much," Pansy smirked. "Well, I gotta go change, so we can leave by nine fifteen."

"Right, I shall do the same."

The Quidditch game was quite enjoyable to Ginny, though Pansy remained indifferent throughout the game. The Puddlemere United won, as was expected by Pansy but not by Ginny, and the team rejoiced. Pansy and Ginny were both sucked into the festivities, and Ginny passed through all the introductions without anyone recognizing her. Many complimented her good looks, some flirted with her, but none of her old Hogwarts schoolmate recognized her as Ginny Weasley. To them, she was just Draco Malfoy's French cousin, a friend of the girlfriend of one of their team mates, hence no one important.

Ginny did not stay for the party, but she departed soon after the game ended. Pansy told her to apparate herself home and that she and Oliver needed to talk before she met them at the Zabini's. They had about an hour before they had to meet Blaise and Luna for lunch, and Ginny needed to get ready as well as to meet Draco who decided to leave work early that day and join them at the Zabini manor.

When Pansy and Ginny apparated him, Ginny found Draco sitting alone in his study finishing up some things he had not done at work. When he saw her, he looked up and gave her a puzzled smile:

"You are back already?"

"Disappointed?" Ginny teased him lightly coming closer. He growled, and pulled her into his lap, turning her to kiss her.

"Not at all, love," he reinforced with kisses. "But where is Pansy?"

"Somewhere with Oliver," Ginny answered, noting that Draco's expression darkened.

"Why?"

"Well," Ginny begun. "They love each other, no?"

"No," Draco grunted. "What would make you say that?"

"You know, the way he looks at her and all," Ginny explained. "It's clear that he cares about her a lot."

"If you say so," Draco nodded, but is disbelief was still evident.

"What's so weird about that?" Ginny inquired. "Is it unnatural for Pansy to be in love?"

"Nothing, nothing," Draco said quickly.

"It's Pansy, isn't it?" Ginny questioned softly. "You still love her, don't you? And so you are worried about her?"

"What?" Draco's facial expression of disbelief made a comeback. "Ginny-wha-no! Pansy and I are friends. We have always been friends. We never were more than friends, really! Why would you think something like that? That's just ridiculous."

"Sorry," Ginny apologized sheepishly. "Then what is it?"

"Ginny," Draco paused. "Pansy, like the flower she is named for, can grow anywhere, but she won't thrive. She has been hurt in the past, and I don't want to see her hurt again."

"What happened?"

"It is not for me to say, Ginny," Draco said, "It's in the past, and it's her personal life. It's not for me to disclose."

"Right. I understand."

"And love, never assume things like that about me ever again, okay?" he asked with a playful grin though his dark grey eyes were serious.

"Okay," Ginny grinned back at him and went to take a shower before they ventured to the lunch at the Zabini's.

When Ginny returned, showed and dressed in a light blue skirt and a black blouse for the luncheon, she overheard heated voice talking quietly in Draco's study. Coming closer, she recognized the voices as belonging to Draco and Pansy who were arguing in angry whispers.

"…you cannot lead him on like that!" Draco's voice said, irritated.

"I am not leading him on!"

"Then what do you call what you are doing to him?"

"A relationship," Pansy hissed. "Just because last time ended as it did doesn't mean that I shouldn't have another shot at happiness."

"'A shot at happiness'"? Draco questioned irately. "Well, answer me this Pansy, do you love him?"

There was a long pause.

"Just as I thought," Draco said, walking out of the study to see Ginny standing there. His face betrayed no surprise or anger to find her eavesdropping, but rather it brightened at the sight of her.

"Hello, darling," he greeted her, offering her his arm. "Ready?"

Blaise and Luna's new home pleased Ginny. She thought the small cottage more than suitable for the pair. It had a big yard, great for Luna's different animals that often pranced around the house. It was homely, disorganized and sunny, and Ginny fell in love with it at the first sight. She hoped to visit again, if just to talk and be around the tranquility that filled the place, a wish that Luna and Blaise easily accommodated for by giving her an open invitation.

The lunch was uneventful, as all they did was talk about now and then. No one shared their fears or hopes, but rather it was filled with nostalgia of the days long gone as well as appreciation for what they had. No one really liked the life of secrecy they were forced to lead, all ex-Slytherins apart from Luna and Ginny, and Luna was the only one whose name was not tainted in the room. Yet if her choice of friends became known, it would cost her more than her job. Such were the fears that went unshared, for no one wanted to spoil their time together. It was pleasant to at least pretend to forget about all the bad things for a little bit.

After their return, the trio found Narcissa alone, sitting on the terrace. The sun was setting, coloring the sky in different shades of red, but it was still quite warm outside. The birds were chirping, filling the silence with their songs, and heralding the arrival of summer.

"Hello Mother," Draco said in greeting.

Narcissa looked over them and smiled lazily before replying:

"I was just admiring the sunset before you came. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, Blaise and Luna are doing wonderful." Draco replied, stretching his arm and resting it lightly on Ginny's shoulders.

Pansy, almost as if to give them more space, moved away to lean on the grey stone wall that surrounded the veranda.

"Red sky adumbrates war," Pansy murmured the old saying to herself without much thought.

"No need for such words, Pansy," Narcissa remained her sternly, giving Ginny a wary look, thought the couple was too engrossed in each other to listen.

"I didn't mean to say that out loud," Pansy apologized quickly.

"So what did you do at the Zabini's?" Narcissa quickly filled in the gap in the conversation by discreetly calling Draco and Ginny over, conjuring two patio chairs for them.

The trio took its time recounting the afternoon, and then the conversation turned to the Quidditch match that Pansy and Ginny saw in the morning, which draw almost no interest from Narcissa but quite some from Draco. By then the sun finally did set, leaving them talking in shady twilight. The shadows elongated, giving everything a more mysterious twist, and speaking of mystery, the family was interrupted by the sounds of the gravel being gritted by the wheels of an approaching coach and the sound that the wards that guarded the house were making as they were going crazy, trying to implore the attention of the masters to the unexpected visit.

Draco immediately jumped up, quickly followed by Pansy who grabbed Ginny's hand, and used her wand to Disillusion Ginny pulling her inside at the same time. Draco and Narcissa quickly followed with their wands out. Once inside, they split, Pansy using a series of hidden doors and spells that Ginny knew nothing of to open a small room behind one of the shelves in the library.

"Do you have your wand?" Pansy finally whispered quickly, and Ginny nodded. Her wand was out too, she was not defenseless.

"Alright, stay here, we'll take care of it." Pansy said, ushering Ginny inside the secret room.

"Who is it? Couldn't it be Blaise or something…?"

"I don't know, Ginevra," Pansy answered in whisper, performing the charms all over again to hide the room. "There is an invisibility cloak inside. Put it on. Don't make a sound. I must go; Narcissa and Draco may need my help."

Ginny was left alone in the hidden room as Pansy made her way to the foyer. Seeing as the whole process did not take more than a minute, she made in time to see Narcissa and Draco standing on each side of the door, eyeing it circumspectly, with Crabbe, the main servant, lurking behind them with a rather big walking stick in his hand. It might have been his wand, but Pansy felt that it was neither the time nor the place to give it much thought, and she too went to join them.

Walking down the stairs, she was too late. Someone pounded at the door, as it with a cane or a walking stick, the sound of wood hitting wood battered their eardrums. Draco looked form Narcissa to Pansy to get the latter's approval, and to check with the former that Ginny was safely hidden away, and then he waved his wand in a sequence of intricate circles and the door opened. It revealed a cloaked man of stately figure who was leaning heavily on his cane, and clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand. He was wearing a hat under the hood of his cloak that securely concealed his face from the on-lookers, the cloak, obviously of expensive material was held under his chin by a silver broche, falling down almost to his ankles covering most of the dragon hide boots that were on his feet. He stood there for a second, as if searching for someone, and then when his eyes stopped at the pale face of Mrs. Malfoy, he spoke in a raspy voice:

"The time has come, Narcissa."

A/N: Thanks for reading. So I kind of love cliff hangers, sorry. Though if it makes you feel better, this cliff hanger made me post this chapter because I quite like this new plot twist though I have no idea where I am going with it. We shall see.

I am thinking of changing the title of the fic to "Chaos" or "Everything Falls Apart" and/or maybe something else. I definitely do not like "The Kitchen Knife" since it's not really about it anyway. Feel free to post suggestions if you have any, but just so you know if you get an update alert saying that some weird fic that you've never heard of have been updated, it's probably this one.

Now onto the reviews:

Dristi- No, I didn't forget the story. As I said though, I was dreadfully busy, but I am mostly back now. Sorry that this update took forever. I like Pansy's personality too, she is one of my favorite characters when she is portrayed as a strong woman and Draco's friend rather than a clingy girlfriend (DIE Pansy/Draco DIE!!). Because of your review, I added the snip-bit about Fleur, liked it? Anyways, there is gonna be more Weasley interaction in the upcoming chapters. Thanks for the review, and excuse my overly long response hehe

ShortySC22- Thanks for the review! Here is more, though it took me forever.

Dracoginnylover24- I am open to suggestions so feel free to ask for more of certain characters or whatever (I will try to please my readers, but can't promise anything). Yeah, I, too, had fun writing it. Go D/G!! Thanks for the review.

Miss devil's kiss- Yup, more Weasley interaction coming up in next few chapters. It's kind of hard to interact with them right now because they think that she is dead lolz. Thanks for the review!

LauraZabini- Yeah, maybe. Can't really tell you what they think without spoiling the plot, can I? But we shall see in the next few chapters... Thanks for the review!

PinkMusicalCherry- Yup, I didn't abandon this fic. I love it too much hehe. Thanks for the review.

Rashel Quinn- Thanks for the review! I just added another little plot twist (didn't plan it before, it just kind happened). I am glad that you like my plot though I was just hinting on it so far. We are going to get into some really twisty-plotty stuff in the next chapter or two.