Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to J. K. Rowling.

Summary: Draco mourns the loss Ginny.

Author's notes: I am very happy with the way this chapter turned out. I only hope that you like it as well! "Goodbye My Lover" is by James Blunt.
******

Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.

Draco Malfoy stood at the front of a large church, next to Ginny Weasley’s casket. He stared down at his feet and he could feel everyone’s gaze on him. He wouldn’t look up and allow them to see his agony, he was stronger than that. He wanted to hold it all in and pretend it never happened. But it was a hard thing to do when his love, his life, lay closed in a tiny prison never to breathe again. He hadn’t wept since the night it happened. He had awoken after Harry’s spell back-fired to find Ginny lying next to him—dead. Nothing had ever hurt him as much as that. He had cradled her in his arms and begged for her to come back to him. He’d hoped and prayed for a spell to bring her back. But, no matter how hard he hoped and prayed, she would never come back to him.

“Ginny was a great friend,” Draco heard Hermione Granger saying from behind him. Everyone had been giving speeches about Ginny. Speeches about how she’d been a ‘great friend’ or a ‘good person’. It sickened Draco to hear these things. She had been so much more than just a ‘great friend’ or a ‘good person’. She had been everything. She’d meant everything to Draco and thinking about her in the past tense was beginning to tear his heart open and he could feel tears stinging at his eyes. But he had to hold them in. He wasn’t going to show weakness.

You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your head.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.


Draco clenched his fists as the tears streamed down his face. Somewhere in the distance he heard organ music—the signal to lift the casket and carry it to the graveyard. Draco lifted the casket along with Ron, George, Fred, Bill, and Harry. He nearly lost his grip as his tears began to flow faster. As he walked down the aisle he realized that this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Ginny should have been standing next to him in a beautiful white gown. They should have been married and in love. Instead Draco carried her lifeless body down the aisle and passed by sobbing friends and relatives of Ginny’s. He’d never witnessed anything so heart-breaking.

Draco and the rest of the ushers slowly made their way to the grave site and sat the casket down, above a hole in the ground. Draco stared at the hole. It seemed to be a bottomless pit, where Ginny would be lost for all of eternity. Draco then broke into a fit of sobs and had to seat himself so that he wouldn’t fall over. He didn’t know how long the funeral lasted. He didn’t even realize when everyone had gone and he was there, alone. Draco looked at Ginny’s casket, the cold winter wind biting his face, and he took a deep breath.

Draco slowly stood up and kneeled next to the casket. He ran his hands along the rich cherry wood of it and closed his eyes. He wanted nothing more than for Ginny to pop out of it and yell ‘surprise’. But it would never happen. He had been there for her death. He’d held her limp body in his arms. He cried over her. Nothing would ever bring her back.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I am a dreamer but when I wake,
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.


Draco grabbed a white lily from the pocket of his suede coat. The flower had always been one of Ginny’s favorites. Draco had once picked a dozen of them growing wild behind his manor for her birthday. Draco’s sobs increased—there would be no more birthdays. There would be no more kisses, no more hugs, no more cuddling by the fire, no more whispers of sweet nothings, no more hope for a future—nothing. He was alone and desolate now. And he would remain that way until the day he died and was able to see Ginny’s lovely face smiling at him once more. Just then Draco felt a light breeze by his ear and he could have sworn he’d heard Ginny’s voice. She’d said “Goodbye my love”.

Draco slowly rose to his feet. With one last look at Ginny’s casket Draco said, “Goodbye…my love,” And he turned around and began a long walk back to the church.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bear my soul in time,
When I'm kneeling at your feet.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.

Disclaimer: Not mine....

Summary: Draco learns to cope with his loss.

Author's notes: Hmmm...I hadn't planned on writing another chapter for this, but I heard this song and I couldn't help myself. I also felt that I needed for Draco to have some more closure with what had happened. You can't mourn forever. Cry is by James Blunt. (I love this man. His songs are so beautiful. If you haven't heard them, I suggest that you do. They're all very lovely.)
******

I have seen peace
I have seen pain
Resting on the shoulders of your name
Do you see the truth through all their lies?
Do you see the world through troubled eyes?
And if you want to talk about it anymore
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder
I'm a friend


A soft knock on his apartment door woke Draco from his pleasant slumber. He slowly untangled himself from his unwashed sheets and opened his dresser drawer for a shirt, only to find it empty. Draco sighed and grabbed his black silk robe from under a pile of dirty clothes. He ran his hand through his hair and glanced at the clocked on his bedside table. It was two O’clock in the afternoon. What day it was, Draco didn’t know. He’d been drinking and sleeping for weeks—maybe months. Draco lazily walked to his front door and, after unlocking it, opened it to find Harry Potter standing in the doorway.

“Oh, God,” Draco exclaimed and then slammed the door in Harry’s face. “Bugger off!” he yelled through the thin door.

“Draco,” Harry’s voice called. “You can’t hide forever! Let me in.”

“I said bugger off!” Draco yelled as he walked into his kitchen and began to make himself another shot of fire whiskey. Within seconds Harry was standing behind Draco with his arms crossed.

“You’re going to kill yourself if you keep drinking like this.” Harry said.

“That’s kind of the point,” Draco responded as he downed the drink and then filled another glass. The whiskey burned as it went down his throat but he knew that it would fill the empty space that was there—at least for the moment. Draco turned to face Harry and saw that there were three empty suitcases next to him. “Going somewhere?” Draco asked.

Harry smirked. “No, I’m not going anywhere—you are.”

“Am I?”

“You can’t stay here forever. This place…there’s too much of her here. She wouldn’t want you to live like this.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“I told Hermione you’d refuse. You’ve always been a stubborn git. Just get your bloody things. We need to be out of here by five.”

Draco put down his shot glass and took a step towards Harry. “I told you,” he spat, “that I’m not leaving.”

I have seen birth. I have seen death
Lived to see a lover's final breath
Do you see my guilt? Should I feel fright?
Is the fire of hesitation burning bright?
And if you want to talk about it once again

Draco followed as Harry grabbed the luggage and walked into Draco’s bedroom. Harry began grabbing every piece of clothing that he could find and put it in the bags. Draco sat on the corner of his bed and buried his head in his hands as Harry rummaged through his drawers. He jumped suddenly as he heard a crashing sound coming from his bed side table. Draco held his breath as he turned around to see Harry bent over a picture frame, now shattered. Draco rushed over and saw that it was a picture that Hermione had taken of him and Ginny about a week before the final battle. Rage and loss filled Draco’s body as he saw how torn the picture was now.

“Why did you do that?” Draco screamed at Harry. “How could you ruin this?” Draco collapsed into a sobbing heap next to his bed. “You can’t make me leave…when I’m here…I can still feel her. I can smell her and I can remember her touch. If I leave…I might forget.”

Harry sat himself next to Draco and sighed. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “It’s my fault she’s gone. If my spell hadn’t back-fired…I was stupid. I wasn’t being careful enough.”

Draco whipped the tears from his face and sat up. He turned to Harry with a look of shock on his face. This whole time he’d been blaming himself for what had happened. He blamed himself for ever letting Ginny fight in the battle. But she was hot-headed, like Draco himself. It shocked him to learn that Harry blamed himself, just like Draco did.

Draco cleared his throat and looked around the room. “How much do you think someone would pay for this dump?”
Harry looked at Draco, confusion all over his face. “But, you just said…”

“I know. But, I don’t need a place to remind me of Ginny. She’ll always be here…in spirit at least. I think that, maybe, I need to learn to let go a little.”

“They do say that time heals.”

“Well, they’re full of it. Time doesn’t heal…it’s what you do in that time that heals you. I could stay here, and drown in fire whiskey, or I could try to live a real life and enjoy it as much as I can. So, why don’t we finish this packing? I’ll try to control myself…”

Harry nodded and, together, the two men packed nearly the entire contents of Draco’s apartment, after using many shrinking spells of course, into the three suitcases. Harry exited the apartment first and began down the hallway to the stairs. Draco stopped in the middle of the doorway and turned around for one last look. There, where the sofa used to be, he could have sworn that he saw Ginny smiling and waving at him. She really would remain with him forever, he knew it. But, until the day that he got to see her again, he would wait. He would try to be the best person that he could be and live his life to the fullest. Why worry about what might have been, when you can think about what could be? Draco let out a long breath and slowly closed the door. And as he followed Harry down the hallway he could already feel himself changing. He’d come a long way since he and Ginny had been together. He’d grown up, and realized what life is really about. It’s about love and friendship. It’s about pain and heartache. It’s about…living. Draco walked down the three flights of steps and opened the door that led to the sunlight of a new day—the sunlight of a new beginning.


On you I depend. I'll cry on your shoulder
You’re a friend
You and I have been through many things
I'll hold on to your heart
I wouldn't cry for anything
But don't go tearing your life apart
I have seen fear. I have seen faith
Seen the look of anger on your face
And if you want to talk about what will be
Come and sit with me, and cry on my shoulder
I'm a friend
And if you want to talk about it anymore
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder
I'm a friend

Disclaimer: If it were mine HBP would have been a lot different...

Summary: Set sixty years after the last story.

Author's notes: I'm not too sure about this one. I like it, but I think that it might need something else. Well, I'm looking orward to your reviews! Enjoy! ("Never too far away" is by Mariah Carey)
******

You're with me
Til the bitter end
What we have transcends
This scary end's
Too painful to
Talk about
So I hold it in
Til my heart can mend
And be brave enough to love again

Draco Malfoy sat in a rocking chair on his front porch. Exactly sixty years had passed since the night that Ginny Weasley died. He still mourned her death. Draco rocked back and forth as he looked out into sunset. This was the kind of home that Ginny always wanted; painted white with blue shutters, a wrap-around porch, and two identical rocking chairs. Everything that Ginny had ever wanted was right here. Only one thing was missing—Ginny. Draco had spent his entire life trying to figure out how to live without her. And now, as he neared the end of it, he was trying to figure out how to die without her.
He’d spent his entire life alone. Well, not alone exactly. He got married when he was thirty years old, though he never truly loved his wife. They didn’t have any children and his wife had passed away ten years earlier. He tried to miss her desperately—the way he missed Ginny—but he couldn’t. He did miss her, but he never felt the utter feeling of loss whenever he thought about her. He just couldn’t let go of Ginny. He’d never be able to let go.


A place in time
Still belongs to us
Stays reserved in my mind
In the memories there is solace
Ohh, never too far away
I won't let time erase
One bit of yesterday
Cuz I have learned that
Nobody can take your place
Though we can never be
I'll keep you close to me

Draco sighed as the sun began to set behind the hills and he slowly got up from his chair and made his way inside the house. He walked to the kitchen and tidied it up a bit. The house was never messy, but he to do something to pass the time. All of his old friends were dead now. Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter had all died years earlier. He was alone in a house with five extra bedrooms—all empty. Draco decided that he was finished in the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. Draco looked at himself in the mirror. Time had really changed him. His face was wrinkled and old, and his hair was pure shade of white—or what was left of it was. Draco sighed once more, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and walked out of the bathroom.
Draco stopped in front of the stairs. Lately, he’d been having trouble walking up them. He was old, and his body didn’t always want to do this that it used to. Draco took a deep breath and began walking up the stairs.

When I remember
Glittering lights
Innocent eyes
Still preserved in my mind
In the memories I find solace

Draco was pretty confident that he was going to make it up the stairs. He was nearly halfway there already. Then, Draco lost his balance. He grabbed for the railing but it was too late—he was already falling backwards. Draco felt his bones breaking as he rolled down the stairs and came to a painful stop at the bottom. He tried to take a deep breath but felt a stabbing pain at his ribs. He was dizzy and he could see a small pool of blood forming on the floor next to him out of the corner of his eye. Draco knew right then that he was going to die. Worry and fear washed over him. He began questioning everything. Have I lived a good life? He asked himself. Have I been the best person that I can be? Draco could feel himself drifting away from his body. He tried to cling on but it was too late. His soul escaped him and he felt himself drifting upwards into a warm white light.


Ohh, never too far away
I won't let time erase
One bit of yesterday
And I have learned that
Nobody can take your place
Though we can never be
I'll keep you close to me



Draco found himself standing at the edge of a large pond overlooking the vastness of a valley that was spread out before him. Wildflowers were blooming all throughout the valley. Yellow, pink, purple, and white flowers were covering every inch of the place. The water was so calm that he almost believed it to be a mere painting. A light breeze swept by Draco, blowing his hair into his eyes. Wait a minute, Draco thought, I don’t remember having this much hair. Draco slowly stepped toward the water and looked at his reflection in it. He nearly yelled in shock. He was young again. He looked the same way he had when he was seventeen; White-blond hair, deep gray eyes, and smooth young skin. Draco shook his head and looked around him once more. His gaze soon fell upon three figures walking towards him. Draco’s heart rejoiced as he saw the faces of Hermione, Ron, and Harry. He hadn’t seen them in so long. But how did they get here? Where was here?
Draco ran towards his friends and halted in front of them. They were young again too. Draco smiled as a tear ran down his cheek.
“How did you get here?” He asked them. “Where is here?”
“You don’t know?” Hermione asked. “This, Draco, is Heaven.”


And I'll remember
A place in time
Still belongs to us
Stays reserved in my mind
In the memories there is solace



Draco’s jaw dropped. “Heaven,” he repeated. “You mean, I died?”

Harry laughed. “Well, yes,” he said, “That’s kind of how you get here.”

“This place, it’s…enchanting. There’s something so familiar about it.”

Ron smiled. “What do you find familiar about it?”

Draco thought for a moment. “It’s just a feeling I get,” he answered. “I can feel a presence here. I can feel…Ginny.”

Hermione smiled. “Draco, turn around.”

Draco looked at Hermione confusedly and slowly turned around. Draco gasped and his heart felt as though it had stopped beating; before him, looking more beautiful than ever, stood Ginny Weasley. Draco stared at her in awe. It had been sixty years, sixty long years, but he felt as though he was falling in love with her all over again. Draco could feel the tears pouring from his eyes as he stared at this beautiful memory. But it wasn’t a memory. It was real.

“Ginny…” Draco cried, “Oh, Ginny…my love.” Draco ran towards Ginny and scooped her up into his arms. He twirled her around and put her back on the ground. Draco smiled as he looked into her beautiful brown eyes and saw that see too was crying. Draco leaned down and kissed her with all of the passion he could muster.

He’d missed feeling this way. He’d missed feeling like someone cared about him. He’d missed Ginny. Draco pulled away from the kiss and reach out to hold Ginny’s hands.

Ginny smiled and looked Draco straight in the eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you.”




Ohh, never too far away
I won't let time erase
One bit of yesterday
Cuz I have learned that
Nobody can take your place
I know we can never be
I'll think of you and me
Always remember
Ohhh...
You're never too far