Hey guys, I'm back after 5 years (I think)! I haven't written a lot since I was a teenager and I've decided to jump back into it. I'm very rusty and still trying to get my bearings back but I hope you like what I've attempted to write. I have a lot of good ideas, so I'm hoping to continue on keeping up with this story:)

Weasley's outburst left me in the hospital wing for three days with a concussion and a broken arm. When I woke up from my magic-induced slumber, I tried to sit up and ended up slumping back down in a fit of dizziness. Memories of how I received the injuries came back to me in a flash of swirling color, and Weasley's growl echoed in my head; "Did he get you like this?" Next came the punch in the face and the stomach-churning crunch of my skull hitting the wall, and the sudden flash of black as I lost consciousness. I had always thought of him as a mediocre wizard, but I guess his anger had amplified the strength of his spell enough to send me flying twenty feet. In a strange sort of way, I admired his spellwork.

Being conscious again was nice, but it also meant that I had to deal with the unpleasant situation I had gotten myself into. Now that Weasley knew I was the father of Ginny's baby, he was going to be out for blood. Potter's anger would match Ron's, or even exceed it. It was well-known through the Hogwarts grapevine that he still harboured feelings for her, which now made me an even worthier target for his fury. I wouldn't be surprised if the hotheads teamed up with the intent to break every bone in my body.

In the back of my head, I knew that the possible physical harm that could come to me from Potter and Weasel would be nothing compared to what consequences would come from my parents. It was only a matter of time before I would be forced to tell them - a Weasley giving birth to a blonde child with steel-gray eyes would be a dead giveaway of who the father was.

I was truly regretting telling Ginny that I would be there for her and the baby. I wanted to be - and it had been hard to say anything else when she had been staring at me desperately with her big, brown eyes - but I had to think of the possibilities. On that night out in the lake, I hadn't taken into account how dangerous an unplanned pregnancy could be.

It was common knowledge that the members my family were devoted servants of the Dark Lord, but most had no idea how instrumental the Malfoys were in his return. We were all pawns in his game; My father was still earning back the Dark Lord's trust after the fiasco in the Department of Mysteries, and I had been given a difficult task to complete. I was more scared for it the news to get out than to actually be a father. The Dark Lord would decimate my family in a second if he found out that I fathered the child of a blood traitor. If he didn't, he would torture us into oblivion and then let Greyback deal with the leftovers. Fatherhood didn't scare me, because I never expected to make it there. Based on my progress with the Dark Lord's task, it was unlikely that I would survive the year. My real fears stemmed from the very real possibility of watching my mother and father die a slow and painful death. Blood for blood.

After nights of tossing and turning, I came to a conclusion; I had to tell someone in my family about Ginny's condition, and that person wasn't going to be my father. My father was too weakened and vulnerable to resist the Dark Lord's legilimency. My secret would slip through the cracks and into Voldemort's mind, and that was something I wouldn't be able to risk. My mother, however, though frightened for me and my father, was much stronger. Narcissa's ability to maintain her composure in extremely trying circumstances was extraordinary, and her occlumency skills were even better. Although Lucius usually overshadowed my mother, she was an incredibly gifted witch with a mind that rivaled my father's. My mother had yet to crack under the Dark Lord's pressure.

I sent my mother a letter asking to meet with her in Hogsmeade. I didn't tell Ginny.

I tried to appear calm and collected while I waited until that Saturday to meet with my mother, but my nerves chiseled at the remaining bits of my sanity. It took every part of me to refrain from slamming my fist into Crabbe's face when he asked if my repetitive nail biting and finger-tapping was due to a deep-seated crush on Millicent Bullstrode. Instead, I made his hands swell up three times their original size. He left me alone after that.

I met with my mother on Levington Road, a hilly street that lead off behind The Hog's Head and into the mountains surrounding Hogwarts. It was chilly; September had bled into October, and spitting rain intermingled with the crisp air. I heard a pop, and my mother appeared under a lamppost wearing sweeping black robes.

"Draco, you're looking quite thin," she said, walking towards me with concern in her grey eyes. Her dragon hide boots clicked as she followed me across the cobblestone. She was right. I had been eating less and my already pointed face looked hollowed and pale. My cheekbones were more prominent, making me look older and sicker.

"Why isn't your wand out? You never know where a member of the Order may be hiding, Draco," said my mother in a clipped voice. I took out my wand and held it ahead of me as we passed rows of shuttered shops until I dipped into an alleyway next to a gnarled apothecary garden and a seedy looking pawn shop. It had barely managed to stay open in the troubling times, making it easy to persuade the owner in letting me use the upstairs storage room to talk to my mother. Going home to tell her meant I would be in the vicinity of the Dark Lord and my father. It was too much of a risk.

She followed me wordlessly into the alleyway and past the threshold of the side door of the pawn shop. I wasn't surprised that my mother hadn't asked me where I was taking her and why as we climbed the dark and creaky staircase. When you lived a life like ours, you learned to not ask questions.

I opened the door at the top of the landing and ushered my mother in before I conjured a ball of light and sat down at the rickety table in the center of the musty room. My mother mirrored me as I began casting protective spells around the room.

"If you've taken me all this way to talk about something, it must be important," she said while flicking her wand and joining me in sitting down at the table. I clenched my teeth.

"I did something that could potentially get us killed. I don't know if there's a way out of it."

"Did someone at Hogwarts find out about your assignment for the Dark Lord? Draco, he'll kill us in our-" I cut off her rambling words.

"No, mother. I slept with Ginny Weasley. She's pregnant."

The blood drained out of Narcissa's face with more speed than a firebolt. For a second, she looked like as though she was about to faint and vomit at the same time; after a few seconds she managed to compose herself. The shock in her face was replaced with pure and unwavering fear.

"How did this happen? And with a Weasley?" she whispered, barely breathing.

"It was one night. I didn't expect for it to happen - neither of us did." My mother closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"How far along is she? If she's early enough it can still be taken care of." Her voice sounded closer to normal, but she was still visibly strained.

"Ginny's a little over 3 months along. It's too late to do anything about it now, and even if I tried to talk to her about it she wouldn't listen. She's keeping the baby. Her mother already knows."

"Is she delusional?" exclaimed Narcissa. "Does she really think that she and her child will survive the war? The moment the Dark Lord finds out that Ginny Weasley is carrying the child of a Malfoy her days are going to be numbered. If he doesn't kill her immediately he'll have her captured and used as leverage against the Order - has she considered this at all? Does she know how foolish she is being?" I shook my head.

"I don't think she realizes the amount of danger she's in - she knows the Order will protect her, but she doesn't realize that this pregnancy is a death sentence for me if the Dark Lord finds out." My mother looked as if though she was about to break through her stony facade and start sobbing - she was as aware as I was that my task for the Dark Lord was a suicide mission.

"As long as the Dark Lord remains powerful, no one can know that this child is a Malfoy. The Dark Lord is gaining more and more strength - he has more eyes within Hogwarts than you know. It won't be long until he is fully in control, and then everything will change. Your child may have a chance - the child is a pureblood, after all - but if the Dark Lord learns of your betrayal, he will make sure you pay for it. You cannot breathe a word of this to anyone. We have allies up north that may be able to provide refuge if we are unable to remain in the Dark Lord's good graces, but I truly hope it won't come to that. I may send a Patronus to Molly - even being within a mere thirty feet of that blood traitor makes me cringe, but we both have too much to lose if the wrong people find out who fathered Ginny's child," said my mother slowly. I could see that even in this distressing situation, her sharp mind was already formulating a plan of action. I was shocked that she would agree to meet with Molly Weasley.

"You would meet with Molly?" I asked in disbelief. "Even sending her a Patronus would be incredibly dangerous - " I was quickly cut off as my mother's eyes seared into mine.

"I will not allow this family to burn."

My mother stood up from her chair and fastened her cloak; in one swift motion, she was out the door and out of sight.

"...he has more eyes within Hogwarts than you know…"

I felt winded. The conversation had been incredibly short but made up for it in intensity, and I felt more panicked and exhausted than ever. It hadn't occurred to me what kind of danger Ginny could be facing from within the castle's walls - how could I have been so stupid to not think that classmates with dark ties would make Ginny their target? Most of the rumors about Ginny had faded by now, but a slip of the tongue by her friends or family could lead to disaster. My mother was right - the pregnant daughter of active Order members could easily be used to blackmail the Order for valuable information. If so, it was unlikely she would make it out alive.

The threat was too real. I didn't realize how much I cared about Ginny and our unborn child until now, with the possibility of harm coming to her looming over me. The idea of something happening to her made me break out into a cold sweat.

I only hoped that Ginny would listen to me when I told her about how vulnerable she truly was. The chance was slim; she was a Gryffindor. Convincing her of the danger she was in would be a battle of its own.