Wrecked


Don't you ever say

I just walked away

I will always want you.

Miley Cyrus

Ginny was in flying down the halls. She was going so quickly indeed that she bumped into several first years, a professor and even Hagrid without turning back even once for an apology. Sure she had lost a few house points and maybe she had even caused one or two people to fall into decorations and furniture, but she needed to get to her destination ASAP. She had rage filling her veins and she needed to get to him before someone else got the brunt of her rage.

When she got to the large portrait of Merlin, the one that hid the Head Boy private dormitory, she held out her wand. "Let me in or I swear they'll never even recognize you."

Merlin put a hand on his hip. "Well that's certainly not a pleasant attitude to have with me when I've been nothing but kind to you. I know you know the password." With that, he swung open. "Really. Little girls thinking they run Hogwarts."

Ginny stepped in and looked around, unable to see Malfoy anywhere. He hadn't been in the Great Hall, he hadn't shown up to any of his classes, and now he wasn't in his room. Where the hell could he be?

She heard the portrait swing shut behind her just as she reached the bathroom door. She kicked it open as hard as she could, but he wasn't in there either. By the time she turned around, she saw him. He was coming out of his walk-in closet.

"You and I are going to have some words." She was absolutely livid. Her face revealed that information so clearly that it was almost impossible to see the heartbreak that was hiding behind her mask.

"When did you get in here? I didn't even hear you come in. I must be losing my hearing or something." Draco was so excited to see her, he chose to ignore the anger. He took a few steps toward her, hoping to give her a kiss.

Ginny poked him hard in the chest with the tip of her wand. "Let me rephrase. I am going to speak to you, and you are going to wish as hard as you possibly can that you can convince me not to murder you. I'm terribly close to it as it is. You're lucky I'm even in here giving you the chance to defend yourself."

He had no idea why she was so angry. His face fell, his mouth slightly open. She had never been so angry with him in the entirety of their relationship with one another. Sure they had argued before, but she looked angry enough to actually kill him.

"I got a funny little owl this morning. It came from my brother. You know, the one who works for the ministry?"

Draco felt the blood drain from his face. It was a well known fact that her brother Percy had become a bit of a go-between, transferring information. You-Know-Who had hardly been secretive about his actions, as he had no interest in hiding anymore. He could only imagine what kind of juicy gossip he had been able to share with the rest of the Ministry.

"Let me see your arm, Malfoy." She had decided to just cut to the chase. This game was over. She needed to know if it was true or not.

"Ginny, please. Ju-"

"Let me see your damned arm Draco Malfoy or I swear on every ounce of me that has ever loved you I will blow your brains out right now!"

Draco closed his eyes. She was terribly frightening when she was angry. He stood up and walked toward her. "Ginny, please just listen to me." He knew that if she would just listen to him, the entire thing would make perfect sense.

She reached out and grabbed his forearm as tightly as she could. He immediately screamed, falling to his knees. The pain ripped through him and made him shriek in agony. She ripped his sleeve from wrist to elbow, staring at the Dark Mark that was raw and new. Her fists clenched and before she could help herself, she was screaming, pointing at and destroying everything in his room she had ever given him. First the photo frame, then the vase. The candles, the teddy bears, and before she could get to the painting, he caught her wrists.

"Ginny, please." He tugged the wand out of her hands and quickly shoved it in his back pocket before she could retrieve it from him. "Listen for one minute. Please. I know you're angry but if you would just listen to me, I promise it'll all make sense."

Her anger quickly turned into something else. She was crying hysterically. It was an ugly cry. Her face was burning red, and her nose became a faucet.

Draco reached up with his destroyed sleeve and wiped her entire face. "I love you Ginny. This has been in my breeding since the moment I was born. I was raised to become a Death Eater. I am going to be second in command, and you can be right up there with me. You will never want for anything. You will have the finest jewelry, the finest clothing, the most beautiful children." He tipped her chin up with one finger, so she was looking into his eyes. "Let me love you."

Her anger was back. She wound up and before she knew what she was doing, she had punched him in the face as hard as she could manage. He fell to the ground, but that didn't stop her from pummeling him. His face, shoulders, stomach and arms were all victims of her assault, but he didn't dare hit her back. When he finally caught a hold of her wrists, he rolled them both over, the blood from his mouth dripping slowly into hers.

"Please… Please Ginny."

She pushed him off of her as hard as she could, and sat on the edge of his bed. "I refuse to be your parents, Malfoy." She hadn't called him by his last name in almost a year. "Your father beat you. Your mother let him. Your own words taught me that nobody ever showed you what love felt like until I came along and now all of the sudden you think I'm going to become a Death Eater bride? You are completely out of your ever loving gourd if you think I am going to be anything to you now!"

He didn't bother to wipe the blood from his face. He leaned against the wall and clutched his aching Mark. "You could never understand, Ginny."

"What couldn't I understand? I wanted nothing to do with you. Your charm and secretive kindness tricked me into loving you. I allowed you to touch me. I allowed you to kiss me and call me your girlfriend and this entire time instead of becoming the good person I was stupid enough to believe you had inside you, you were planning to turn me into some obedient little shit, like your mother!"

The words hurt, but he knew better than to open his mouth.

"I have spent my entire life in a happy home. My parents love each other. No, they aren't rich and I never had anything first hand, but that didn't matter to us because we had a family to nurture. I don't care about the finest clothes or jewels and if you had ever spent even one second listening to what I had to say, you would know that."

Draco let his head hit the glass window. He took a deep breath and looked her up and down.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Her breathing was rough, her heart rate higher than it had ever been in her life.

"I was scared."

After a few moments of silence, Ginny felt her body fill with rage once more. "You were scared? You expect me to-"

"For once you are going to shut your damned mouth and let me talk, Ginevra Weasley or I will put a full body bind on you and make you listen!"

She crossed her arms and shook her head.
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Draco had requested that his father bring him home for a few days. They had a few things to discuss, and he needed to do it soon. He had quickly discovered, however, that there was nothing he could say that would be a surprise. As soon as he had gotten home, he was bombarded with questions about his love life.

"You couldn't possibly think that your little relationship would remain a secret, son. I know all about your little interludes with the Weasley girl."

Draco had suddenly felt his entire body go cold.

"It is no worry, however. Once you become the protégé of the Dark Lord, he will allow you to have anything you have ever dreamed of."

Draco had intended to tell him that he wanted to move after he had graduated Hogwarts. He wanted to take off and move to Paris, leaving his whole world behind and that Lucius could be the protégé of the Dark Lord, but his father had other plans for him.

"Our Lord knows all about the little Weasley girl. He remembers her from the Chamber and he has wanted her dead for a long time. I spoke with him about her, young boy. I spoke with him and he has agreed to allow you to keep her."

He pictured a little family. Two little boys, both blonde, and one red haired daughter. They would live in a lovely manor with a huge yard his wife could use to raise animals and grow crops. She loved her life with her family, and he fantasized about bringing bits and pieces of that life along with them. It was a beautiful picture, but after this conversation, he was positive it would never be.

Draco looked down at his bare arm, and in that instant he knew exactly what he had to do.

"And if I… If I don't end up keeping her. If we break up or if we don't end up getting married… Would she still be safe?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "If you want her, there is no reason we can't persuade her to stay." He was referring to the Imperius. Draco knew his own mother had spent the majority of their marriage as a slave to her husband's wishes. He had no urge to have a wife who was virtually an extension of himself. He wanted a woman to be with him by choice.

"But if I get bored. Will she be allowed to live if I get bored of her and break us up? I'm still young, father, and there are still plenty of other witches out there for me to sample." The words tasted awful in his mouth, but he needed to be convincing.

Lucius nodded. "You will have complete control over her fate, my boy. All you have to do is promise to dedicate your life to our cause and she will be yours. One hundred percent."
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Draco shook his head, coming back to reality. Ginny was staring at him, demanding the explanation which he had promised to give her, with venom in her eyes. It was at that moment that he knew he couldn't tell her. No matter what he said, she wouldn't really hear him. She wouldn't believe him. The best way to keep her safe would be to keep her in the dark.

"I am a Death Eater. This has been my destiny and I am ready to fulfil it. If you are not willing to come along with me for the ride, that's fine. I just need you to know that this is what I have to do. I will not go to Dumbledore. I will not run away. I will face up to my fate and do whatever is expected of me. I want you to be a member of my life but if you can't be, I will completely understand." He swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew what he wanted her to say, but he also knew it would never happen.

Ginny stood up and brushed the front of her robes. She took earrings he had purchased for her and threw it at his feet. Next came the hair combs, and finally came the promise ring he had given to her for their six month anniversary. That one hurt the most.

"If I come across you in battle, Malfoy, I will have absolutely no problem killing you. Stay away from me for the rest of the school year and don't you dare think about coming near my family."

At the sound of the portrait creaking open and shut, Draco walked over to the painting he had saved. Ginny had painted it for him by hand. It was of the two of them on their first date. She had taken him ice skating in Hogsmeade. He had fallen, over and over. Finally, after two hours, they had been able to successfully skate across the rink holding hands. The painting was of that very moment. Half of her red hair was hidden under a white hat. Both of them were grinning, looking at one another. It was the first moment he had ever realized that he was capable of feeling something for another human being, and he loved what that felt like. He loved what this painting represented.

Draco felt his eyes start to water, but instead of allowing himself to cry, he took her wand out of his back pocket and pointed it at the painting. In less than a second, the entire painting was up in flames. As it dissolved into ashes before his eyes, he felt his heart crack in two. He had done what he needed to do for her, in order to keep her safe. Everything he had sacrificed had been worth it, but now he knew that she would spend the rest of her life hating him. A part of him wished he could keep her locked away, all to himself but he knew that even if he could, she would never be happy with him again.

He took his owl out of its cage. "Bring this to Ginny Weasley please. It belongs to her." He slid her promise ring over the tip of the wand, ensuring that it was securely in place. He wanted her to have the ring. He was sure she would just throw it away, but it would make him feel better to believe that she wore it always.

He closed his eyes, and allowed one tear to fall.

She'll be safe. That's all that matters. She will be safe.