It had only been a few months ago that the final battle had come to an end. Still fresh in everyone's mind as it was; now was a time to rebuild and come to some form of normalcy once more. Although Voldemort had been defeated, there were still some of his most loyal Death Eaters who refused to let him down and took it upon themselves to carry out his plans. Lucius Malfoy was one of them; in fact, he was the leader of the rest of them.

At the end of the final battle when he realized how thankful he was that his life had been spared; he also realized how he felt embarrassed and made a fool of. Soon after, when the Malfoys returned to the manor, he immediately went back to his old ways, realizing that he could never live in a world in which he shared it with Mudbloods, Muggles, and blood traitors. This infuriated him more than anything and soon an evil so great filled him and he became feared by many.

He took pity on nobody, not even his own family because in his eyes everyone lived to serve him. Sure, he was thankful his wife and son were alive, but Lucius truly only cared about himself and how much power he could have over people. Now that Voldemort was dead and Lucius had been his right-hand man; he knew he could manipulate the remaining Death Eaters to work under him and they did.

Lucius was a lot more powerful than the remaining Death Eaters and had become even more powerful after learning first hand from the Dark Lord himself which gave him quite an advantage. Some Death Eaters were even calling Lucius the new Dark Lord and would rant about the streets saying how the Dark Lord has risen again. As much as the world seemed to have been getting back to normal, nobody was aware of the evilness that was to come; that dark days would soon be upon them again. Right now there had only been the occasional attack on some Muggles, but there was something in the air; something that made your hair stand up; a sense that something bad was coming.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hogwarts was finally open again to the students and the New Year was just getting ready to begin. It had only been since the end of last year that the battle was raging throughout the school and across its grounds; even the forbidden forest had its share of violence strewn across it. The darkness that seemed to hang around the school seemed to start lifting as it started being prepped for the arrival of students again. It was agreed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would return to Hogwarts to finish their seventh year as they weren't able to last year. Ginny would be in her Seventh year with them since she had just about completed her sixth year when the battle broke out. She was very advanced anyway in all her subjects so it was fitting that she just started off in her seventh year. She was thrilled at the idea of sharing classes with the trio and she was so glad that they had the opportunity to actually graduate from Hogwarts.

Some of the other seventh years from last year didn't come back like Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas or even Seamus Finnigan. They, like Ginny, had almost completed their seventh year before the battle broke out and they had received their graduation awards through owl. In fact, Ginny had heard from her father at the Ministry that there may not be many students at Hogwarts at all this year. Many parents still feared to send their children to the school, even though Voldemort had been defeated. Knowing there was still active Death Eaters out there made it hard for many parents to trust that the Wizarding School was the safest place to send their kids to......no matter how many protective wards were put up.

Ginny was anxious to get back to school, it had been very hard this summer at the Burrow. First, there were all the repairs that had to get done to their small home after the Death Eater attack they faced last year. Then there was the fact that they were dealing with the death of Fred. Percy didn't live at home anymore and Charlie and Bill had lives of their own, so it was just Ginny, Ron, George and her parents left at the Burrow. Things weren't the same at all, there was just sadness and Ginny knew that Fred wouldn't want them to stop living their lives after his death, especially George, but Ginny had a hard time accepting this.

Harry and Hermione had arrived at the Burrow a few days before they had to leave for Hogwarts and Ginny wasn't sure if it added to the sadness or lessened it. Hermione and Harry were dealing with things their own way also, even though Ginny lost her brother, there were so many other deaths that they all were trying to grieve. Ginny could tell her mother was trying so hard to bring the happiness back into their home, back to the days when the things you feared most was a verbal lashing from her mom or a prank from Fred and George gone bad. She had found herself lost in her mind most of the time. She would lay in bed all night long awake just thinking of the events over the past few months and how things would be in the future. She was always over thinking it seemed. Sometimes so much so that she would cry with frustration. It was like she didn't know how or what to feel anymore and a part of her just didn't care.

It was the last night before they would be heading back to Hogwarts and Ginny knew her mum wanted to have a big family dinner before everyone left. She was packing the last bit of her stuff for school trying to fit as much as she could into her suitcase. She was holding it closed with one hand and trying to zip it up with the other when Harry walked by her room and noticed her struggle.

"Here, let me help you with that," he said, holding the other side down as Ginny zipped it up the rest of the way.

"Thanks."

She grabbed the luggage off the bed and sat down on it, letting out a long sigh while running her fingers through her hair.

"What's wrong, Ginny?" Harry asked at the sound of her sighing.

"Oh nothing, just.....Seeing if I'm forgetting anything I guess," she said halfheartedly like she wasn't going to even try and make it seem like nothing was wrong.

She knew Harry would be able to tell something was on her mind. She and Harry were just friends now, the whole relationship thing wasn't working out because they saw each other too much like a brother and sister and thought it best they just remained friends. Ginny thought things would be awkward between them because of this, but it wasn't at all, which she was grateful for. If anything, they had probably become closer by just being friends.

"What's really wrong?" Harry asked with a small smile.

Ginny looked at him and rolled her eyes playfully. "Do you always have to see right through me?"

"Well, become a better liar, then maybe you could fool me," he laughed.

Ginny gave a small laugh and then her smile faded as she fell deeper in thought. It became silent for a few moments before she spoke.

"It feels so weird going back to Hogwarts after everything. I keep feeling guilty because a part of me is excited to get back to school, but the other part of me doesn't want to leave mom, dad, and George."

"Yeah, I know Gin..........I know." Harry sighed as he sat down next to her and gave her a one-armed hug.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and they both got lost in their thoughts for a few moments before Mrs. Weasley's voice rang through the house. "DINNER TIME EVERYONE!! LET'S GO, GET DOWN HERE NOW! "

"Maybe I won't feel so bad after all, leaving them behind," Ginny giggled as she looked over to see Harry covering his ears from her mom's screams.

By the time Ginny and Harry made it downstairs, everyone was all gathered around the kitchen table piling food onto their plates. Ginny took a seat next to Hermione and Harry took one next to Ron. She noticed Hermione and Ron exchange a loving look at each other across the table. She was so happy the two of them finally came out with their true feelings. She smiled to herself at this thought and then looked at Harry and gave him a small smile. She made a plate for herself, but only picked at it. Her mind was on the year ahead of her and how different things would be. She wondered if Hogwarts would still be the same school she came to know and love over the years. She wondered what new teachers would be there and thought about how Professor McGonagall was the new Headmistress of the school. She was quickly pulled from her thoughts when she heard her father speak up.

“So word at the Ministry is that not many Slytherins will be attending Hogwarts this year. Heard less than twenty, not counting any new students who get sorted into the house,” he said between bites. “I honestly think there won't be that many students in general going back this year. Many parents I've spoken to at the Ministry don't feel it's safe.”

“Well, I hate to say it, but half of those poor kids had Death Eaters as parents. It's no wonder there's only a handful attending this year, especially after all that's happened,” said Molly as she was frosting a cake she had made for dessert.

“I'm glad there's hardly any Slytherins this year, less crap we have to deal with from them, especially Malfoy,” Ron spoke then shoved a fork full of food into his mouth.

Ginny looked at her brother as he said this and then found herself getting lost in her thoughts again. She wasn't going to lie; having fewer Slytherins around this school year would be grand, but somehow didn't feel right. Yes, the fact that half of them had parents as Death Eaters and that they themselves were brought up to follow in their parents' footsteps was concerning for sure, but what about the ones who weren't from families bearing the Dark Mark? Slytherin has always been a good competitor when it came to Quidditch or winning house points. It was even the snide remarks and cunning ways that made them who they were. Ginny thought if she would actually miss that, was that so crazy to think?

She suddenly felt her thoughts start to turn to anger and flashbacks of the final battle filled her mind. Was she actually sitting here thinking about Slytherins and whether the school would be the same if they were there or not? After Fred was killed and so many others she loved? Why was she thinking so much? She wasn't sure what to think, she had become so quiet since the final battle. She had always found herself just swimming in a pool of thoughts and hardly ever shared any of them and when she did share any of her thoughts she wouldn't put it all out there.

She wasn't really sure why she didn't want to ever talk about what happened or what she was thinking. Perhaps she was just numb still from the aftermath of the war; she was good at putting her mask in place. Was she over grieving? She thought she was, she thought everything was ok now, but something was missing. There was no spark, no fire, she felt she had nothing to focus on, no purpose to go on. Then, as soon as she realized she was feeling down like this, she would push it all aside and be the strong one, for her parents, for her brothers, for her friends. She knew she would be ok.......well, she hoped that she would be eventually. She was so far gone in her thoughts at this point she didn't even realize her mother had cleared the table and was calling her name.

“GINNY!” Mrs. Weasley shouted.

“Huh? What?” Ginny responded, shaking all traces of thoughts from her head.

“I asked if you want some cake? It's your favorite, double chocolate fudge?” Molly said, trying to hand her a slice she already took the liberty of cutting for her.

“Oh, uh, no thanks, Mum, I think I'm just going to finish packing and get ready for bed,” she said then quickly got up from the table and headed upstairs.

Mrs. Weasley didn't pry further as to why her daughter was acting out of sorts, she knew she was struggling and coping with things her own way, she knew she was confused about how to feel. She saw how strong Ginny tried to be for the family, but Molly knew better and while she herself is dealing with things, she knew it was time to get things back to normal, for the sake of everyone's future and happiness. If there was one thing she could do to make sure Fred didn't die in vain it was to make sure this family's spirit didn't die out there on the battlefield with the rest of their loved ones. She gave her husband a small smile and started clearing the dessert dishes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny had just gotten out of the shower and wiped the mirror off of any fog clouding her view. She looked straight ahead at her reflection and just stared at herself. What happens now? She thought, how am I supposed to be feeling at this moment? She wished someone could just dictate to her how to feel, then maybe her thoughts wouldn't overwhelm her so much. She glanced down at her arms and legs and ran her fingers over the light scars that were scattered about. She thought back to those darker days when she needed some kind of release but didn't know how to find it. She would never think of herself as someone who would stoop to such a low point in her life where she caused herself bodily harm. It had been so long since she was in that mindset and was glad she was passed that period of her life.......well, she hoped she was. She didn't plan on ever going that far again. Now she was just stuck with the cocktail of thoughts and feelings always invading her mind. It was enough to drive her crazy and some days she thought it would.

After shaking her head clear of all thoughts and feelings, she changed into her pajamas and had finished gathering the rest of her things to pack and then climbed into bed. She clicked on her side lamp and went into her side drawer and pulled out a photo of her family away on vacation. Her eyes naturally went straight to Fred and there he was with George, laughing and acting like the goofball she remembered him as. Her eyes welled with tears as soon as she saw her brother so full of life. She then heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. She quickly wiped away any tears that may have escaped and tucked the picture under her pillow.

“Uh, come in,” she said, straightening out her blankets and wiping any tear residue off on her pajama pants.

“Hey Gin, mind if your favorite brother joins you for a late night chat?” asked George; popping his head in the doorway.

“Of course,” she said, giving him a small smile and patting the bed for him to sit down.

George immediately came over and gave an overdramatic plop down on her bed. “So tell me, sis, what's going on in that mind of yours?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, knowing exactly what he meant.

He gave her a knowing look. “Come on, Gin, spill the beans.”

“There's nothing to spill, George, honestly, just the normal thoughts about starting school is all.”

“Alright, I guess since you don't want to-”

“How do you do it?” she asked; suddenly cutting him off.

“Do what?” George asked also knowing what she meant.

“How do you go back to being George? How do you find yourself able to joke and laugh without him by your side?” Ginny asked hurriedly like the words were burning her mouth and she just had to get them out already.

She regretted asking this to her mourning brother, but she couldn't help the pile of thoughts overflowing her mind. She watched George turn away from her, making her notice where his missing ear was, which made her feel even worse for asking such a touchy question.

“You just do it, you have to, because if you don't then what? You just sit and think about it all day? No, I refuse to do that, Fred wouldn't want that. I miss him more than anything in the world, but I'm not going to let his death change me, I just can't let it. I have accepted that he's gone and now I need to continue living.” He spoke while shaking his head as if to avoid any other thoughts from entering his mind that may make him think otherwise.

Ginny hadn't realized some tears had escaped her eyes and were sliding down her face. She quickly started wiping them from her face before George turned back to look at her.

“If you ask me, Gin, I bet that bloody bloke purposely went first as an extreme prank so I can get stuck running the joke shop by myself. He always was lazy, that one.”

They both laughed for a few moments remembering their brother at his funniest moments. George wiped a stray tear from Ginny's face and gave her a quick hug. He got up and started walking out of the room. Just before he went to close the door, he turned back to her.

“It's time to stop overthinking, Gin, and start living again, that's what Fred would have wanted.”

She gave him a small smile and waited for the door to close all the way before she turned off her lamp, got under her covers and cried herself to sleep as thoughts started to flood her mind again.

“COME ON GINNY!!! HURRY UP NOW!” Mrs. Weasley's voice rang throughout the train station.

Ginny was practically dragging her bags rather than rolling her luggage or carrying anything. She was too busy with her thoughts at the moment to put any effort into carefully transporting her things. She noticed platform 9 3/4 was a lot less crowded than normal, in fact, to use the word crowd at all would be unfitting. Half the train carts weren't even open to students, she figured it must be because of how much smaller the group of students was attending Hogwarts this year. Where was everyone? She thought to herself was this really all the students that would be attending this year? There were only a few carts full of students most of which were returning students rather than first years. She expected the number of students attending this year would be a lot less but didn't expect this. She gave another careless tug on her luggage and quickened her pace when she heard Hermione addressing the train conductor.

“What do you mean assigned compartments?” She asked, sounding confused.

“Yes young lady, this year you're being assigned to certain compartments due to limited seating. There is no need to open the other train cars up with such a small group of students this year. There are just enough seats available on these few designated train carts so all students were randomly assigned to a compartment to avoid fighting or overfilling of each one,” He said with a big smile.

“Oh, I see.”

“Here is your ticket, Miss,” he said, handing over her ticket and then turned to the rest of them to hand them their tickets.

“This is such crap,” said Ron; pushing past them to get on the train.

“RONALD!!! GET OVER HERE AND GIVE YOUR PARENTS A HUG GOODBYE!” called Mrs. Weasley; meeting him half way.

They all said their goodbyes; Ginny had noticed her mom and dad holding onto her a little longer than necessary. She gave George a hug and he gave her a knowing look, she gave a small smile back knowing he was referring to their talk last night. She couldn't help but get annoyed at him for acting like nothing was wrong, but she knew he had his reasons and it was helping him cope, but it wasn't the same way for her, yeah, she was tired of the sadness that seemed to fall upon their entire family, but at the same time she didn't want to be told how to deal with things, sometimes she just wanted to be left to her thoughts hoping that she would come to a conclusion about how to move forward on her own. Did she though? She didn't know, she was becoming frustrated, she really didn't know how to feel after all, so she wasn't even sure if she knew what she was thinking was real or not or just......”Ugh” was all she could voice while she stepped onto the train.

“You ok Gin?” Harry asked, walking behind her onto the train

“Oh, uh, yeah, just these silly assigned seats, seems so juvenile,” she lied. She really didn't care where she sat she was going to get lost in her thoughts anyway, or a book hopefully if her mind would allow it.

“Yeah, I guess it is, but hopefully we get a compartment full of good company,” he said arriving at his compartment

“Yeah, hopefully; well, see you in a bit,” she said, dragging her carry-on bag behind her.

“Sweet, we get to sit together” Ginny heard Ron say to Harry as they both disappeared behind the compartment door. Hermione was fortunate enough to get a compartment with Luna Lovegood which Ginny was glad for, she knew Hermione needed a girlfriend to talk to about girl things and she knew she wasn't that much of a talker these past few months and she felt guilty about being such a distant friend to Hermione but she just couldn't help her feelings as of lately.

Finally arriving at her compartment at the very end she whipped open the door and dragged her bag carelessly inside behind her. When she turned around to see get a better look at who she would be sharing this long train ride with her stomach twisted into a knot when her eyes fell on Draco Malfoy. Her mind raced with so many thoughts and so many different emotions were starting to surface and she tried so hard to not let any of them show, but one thing she did know that was plain as day on her face was her look of surprise. She wasn't sure if he even noticed it or not, in fact, she didn't even know if he realized she was there at all as he didn't even spare a glance at her when she came in. Obviously, he knows she's there he heard her being so loud with her barbaric door opening and luggage handling. She couldn't help but smirk to herself as she thought about how she somewhat was hoping to get a compartment with someone she knew, she just didn't think that someone would be Malfoy.

She quickly shook all thoughts from her head and continued to turn to put her luggage on the top rack above her seat. Again she went full barbarian on her carry-on as she pushed with all her might, then her frustration coming to the surface when it got stuck on something and she had a hard time getting it up there. She could barely reach the top shelf to put it up, but eventually, after a few curse words under her breath, she managed to punch and push it enough to get it up there. As soon as she finished with that, the train started to pull away as she was standing and the initial rocking of the train starting up caused her to lose balance and start to tumble backwards. She quickly found her balance again and was so grateful for not falling right into Malfoy's lap, but she noticed she didn't find leverage on her own, she finally realized it was Malfoy's hand on her back that kept her from falling over on him.

“Watch it Weasley,” he said with a slight snarl and then quickly turned back to the window.

“Sorry,” she barely whispered and then quickly sat down and opened her book to cover the apparent red in her face. Of fucking course she almost fell right into Malfoy's lap, of course, she was stuck in this compartment with him for the whole damn train ride. Of course, her mind was racing and her emotions were overtaking her again. She chanced a glance at Malfoy over her book and quickly looked him over. Something was different, something was off. Well, of course, something was different; look at what happened a few short months ago. He wasn't in his normal pressed black suit, just some jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt and sweater. His hair was out of place and hung around his face rather than slicked back or plastered in place. He had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept in days and a blank look on his face, well from what Ginny could see from where she sat. She soon realized her quick glance turned into an all-out stare down and quickly brought the book back up over her face as he turned to see her staring at him.

Draco felt her studying him from head to toe; he knew she hadn't realized how long she had been staring. He couldn't help but take notice of the youngest Weasley either as soon as she walked in. She wasn't so young anymore, she had curves now, her chest filled out, and when she turned to put her luggage up he noticed her back-end had to. Her hair was like a raging fire, so vibrantly red and orange, hanging all around her face and lying on her shoulders and trailing down her back. It had more volume to it; more layers; not the straight hair he had noticed before.

His thoughts on the Weasley before him quickly disappeared and were replaced with where his mind always fell on...........his father. After the final battle and they returned home all of his father's anger and embarrassment he took out on Draco. It wasn't anything he wasn't use to before the final battle, but this time was ten times worse than any abuse his father put upon him, anything from the Cruciatus curse to physical abuse. His father was absolutely livid at Draco's choice to switch sides and especially right in front of the Dark Lord himself. Draco knew the only reason he agreed to rejoin his father was that he was a coward, he was too afraid to stand up to him, especially now that Lucius was getting just as powerful as Voldemort himself. He cringed a bit at the thought of being the offspring of a man such as Lucius. He was still expected to help his father carry out his plans to eliminate all Muggles, Mudbloods and blood traitors, but Draco knew he would never be a part of it.

He was surprised to be accepted back to Hogwarts by the Headmistress herself. He figured she wasn't blind to his situation, but he couldn't stand anyone having any pity on him, he deserved to be in this dark place in his life. He agreed to go back to Hogwarts to get away from his father and so he could start to clear his mind and make a plan for himself to be free of his father's wrath. He felt so worthless he thought the least he could do was accomplish the fact of graduating from school. His mother decided to pretend she didn't know what was going on and locked herself in her room most of the time or occupied herself with shopping. Lucius made it plain and clear to her that Draco was his for the taking and he had plans for him and she better not interfere. Narcissa was scared of Lucius and didn't dare question him on anything so Draco couldn't even rely on his mother to protect him or back him up, but he couldn't blame her, he was a young man now and it was time for him to start protecting himself, after all, he couldn't depend on anyone, he had nobody to talk to, to trust, he had to learn to just rely on himself and even that sometimes was a letdown.

He felt the youngest Weasley's eyes still on him and he quickly glanced at her, he noticed her look away as soon as their eyes met and she pulled her book back up to cover her face. He wondered what she was thinking; he knew she hated him and his family with a passion, especially now that his father was probably the world's biggest threat. His father was merciless; he's been killing innocent people and slowly wiping out all those who he didn't see fit to live in his world. He knew everyone thought Draco was his right-hand man, but he never participated in any of his father's plans of attack which is why he always found himself unconscious from pain from one of his father's abuse episodes. Then Draco realized why did he care what she was thinking at all? He didn't care, but he knew what everyone thought of him and became used to it.

Ginny kept holding the book in front of her face, she had been holding it there for about a half hour, turning a page every so often so it appeared she was reading, but she couldn't focus, her thoughts were all over the place and unfortunately on the blonde Slytherin that sat across from her. Not only did she almost fall on top of him, but then he caught her staring at him. To say she was feeling a bit awkward was the understatement of the year. She decided to try and actually read her book so she could try and shake off this uncomfortable feeling surrounding her and she soon dozed off with her book on her lap.

Ginny's eyes flew open at the sound of the compartment door sliding open and hearing the conductor stick his head in “Thirty minutes until we arrive at Hogwarts folks,” he said cheerfully then sliding the door closed and walked away.

Ginny took a quick glance over at Malfoy to see that he too looked as if he was just ripped from his nap by the conductor's announcement. She wondered if Malfoy had fallen asleep before she did and if she said anything stupid during her weird dreams she had or occasion nightmares that sometimes disturbed her slumber. She shook any other thoughts out of her head and stood up to grab her robe to throw on over her shirt and jeans and noticed Malfoy also made a move to grab his. They were facing away from each other and Ginny quickly took off her cardigan and threw her robes on over her T-shirt and then sat back down with her book over her face. She peeked over the top of her book to see Malfoy pulling off his pullover sweater revealing his T-shirt underneath. As he pulled his sweatshirt over his head, his shirt rolled up a bit revealing his midriff, which Ginny noticed was considerably toned and immediately got red in the face. Her eyes then noticed a very noticeable bruise on his ribs and caught herself staring once again at Malfoy.

“You know you really need to stop staring at me Weasley,” he said, pulling his shirt down and sliding on his robe.

Ginny was so fricken embarrassed at this point she was sure her face matched her hair color. She cleared her throat to try and find her voice, “Oh I-I uh......sorry,” she whispered and put her book back into place over her face sliding down a bit in her seat.

“And you can stop pretending to read this book,” he said, leaning forward and grabbing the book from her and tossing it on the seat beside her.

She didn't know what to think or what to say, she was just shocked that Malfoy grabbed her book from her and that he saw straight through her. She tried to regain herself and grabbed the book back off the seat and said the only thing she could think of, “I'm not pretending, I really am reading it," she said opening it up to a random page.

“Oh yeah? Then why is it upside down?” He nodded towards the book

She wasn't sure if she was growing angrier at this point or embarrassed all she knew was that she wanted this damn train to arrive already so she can get out of this awkward moment. She rolled her eyes and turned the book right side up. Her thoughts started to flood her mind again and she finally decided to put down her book and just let her mouth have free reign and immediately regretted it when the words came tumbling out, “So what happened?” She asked, gesturing to the bruise on his ribs.

He glared at her, why was she asking? To be nosy? To get info? To have a good laugh? Malfoy immediately got up from his seat and took a step toward her. Leaning over her he bent down until he was face to face with her, their faces only a few inches apart. Ginny felt the hairs on her neck stand up and goose bumps cover her body. She felt a huge lump in her throat and time seemed to have completely stopped as the words he spoke slapped her in the face with such venom and malice she thought she might break down and cry right there.

“Mind your own fucking business, Weasley!” He snarled at her then grabbed his bag down from above his seat also grabbing Ginny's luggage down and placing it on her seat before he ripped the compartment door open and was out of sight.

Ginny let out a long breath that she seemed to be holding in the whole ride followed by tears, why would she ask something so stupid, why was she getting upset over Malfoy, why was she always over thinking everything. She felt the train come to a stop and quickly dried the tears on her face and grabbed her luggage and made her way to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny walked down to the Great Hall and spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione walking ahead and she ran up to catch up with them. She was annoyed at this point because she'd been trying to spot them since she got off the damn train.

“Hey Ginny, we tried waiting for you at the train, but they started leading us up to the castle so we had to go,” Hermione said giving her an apologetic look.

“It's fine, don't worry about it, ” she mumbled back

“What's wrong Gin, was your ride that bad?” came Ron's voice, as he entwined his hand with Hermione's.

They reached the Great Hall at this point and took their seats at the table, Ginny sat next to Harry and across from Ron and Hermione. She gave a frustrated groan as she saw Malfoy take his seat across the room and was immediately reminded of the horrible train ride she had to endure. Not that it was horrible, really just awkward and embarrassing.

“Well, you tell me, I had to share a compartment with Malfoy and it was just us,” she growled.

“WHAT? Are you kidding, Gin? You should have come and got me and I would've traded places with you,” Ron said slamming his hands on the table. Only a few people around them took notice but went about their conversations.

“Yeah, right, Ron, so you both could have gotten into a huge argument and some stupid, petty fight, no thanks,” she said rolling her eyes. “Besides, he didn't do anything or say anything, it was just awkward, I practically tripped and fell into his lap.”

“HAHAHA, I'm sorry Ginny, I don't mean to laugh, it's just the image I have in my head is making it impossible.” came Harry's voice and then Ron and Hermione joined in.

It wasn't long before Ginny gave in as well and laughed about the whole thing. She decided not to say anything about how the ride ended, she wasn't sure she was over that embarrassing moment yet, or that it was any kind of info she wanted to share with the trio. She tried so hard not to glance up over at the Slytherin table, but she couldn't help it, it was like her eyes moved involuntarily up and fell directly on Malfoy. He just sat there, not talking to anyone; he just seemed lost in his thoughts. She looked at the Slytherin table and there were about 10 students sitting there, she couldn't believe how the Slytherin house seemed to completely diminish. Her eyes darted back to Malfoy to find his eyes locked with hers, she tried to look away but her eyes weren't moving. Why weren't they moving? “Stop staring at him you fool, you must look like a complete ass right now” her mind screamed to her. He looked annoyed, or was it hurt? She couldn't tell. She did know he was probably wondering why she was ogling him like a giddy school girl. Finally, she was able to snap her eyes from his when she heard the Headmistress start her speech.

“Good evening everyone, it is so nice to see Hogwarts full of life again. We have so much to discuss before the sorting ceremony begins. First, as you all may have noticed the school has a new Headmistress and that is me, Professor McGonagall. I have only the schools and the students' best interest at heart and am so pleased to see the school up and running again. We also have new staff this year, I myself will continue teaching Transfiguration but will have a fill in at my side and her name is Professor Talca,” said McGonagall, gesturing her hand out to where the new teacher stood up and gave a few nods and a small wave.

She was a lot younger then McGonagall almost looked like they could have been mom and daughter. She was tall with long light brown hair held together in a loose braid and she was very thin and wore a pair of thick square glasses. She sat down and McGonagall continued with her speech.

“Thank you, Professor Talca, we also have a new Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Warren”

The man didn't stand up, he just gave a small smile and waved hello to the crowd of students.

“Also, we are pleased to inform you that Professor Slughorn will be teaching potions again this year, please make all of our new Professors feel welcomed,” said McGonagall. She then went into all the normal rules of the school like curfew and areas that were off limits. Shortly after she finished her speech the sorting hat ceremony began. There were only about 30 or so first years that needed to be housed and the ceremony quickly ended. Ginny noticed only a small handful of first years had been sorted into Slytherin.

Before her mind could pull her into a pool of thoughts the feast appeared before and everyone dug in. She ate a bit but pushed most of it around to make it look like she ate more than she actually did. Students started clearing out of the Great Hall making their way to their dorms so Ginny decided it was time for her to do the same. She said her goodnights to Harry, Ron, and Hermione when Hermione spoke up.

“Hey, wait for me Ginny, think I'll head up with you,” she said, getting up and giving Ron and a quick peck on the cheek. She ran up to Ginny and started walking with her.

“I have something to tell you,” she beamed at Ginny

“Oh? What is it?”

“Well, when I was riding with Luna on the train, she basically came out and said she fancies Harry.”

“Really?” Ginny asked happily.

“YES! And she said she never said anything because you and him were together and even after you guys ended things. She felt weird about saying anything because she didn't want to ruin her friendship with you.”

“Oh gosh, please, I'm so thrilled to hear she likes Harry. I'll talk to her about it and tell her everything is fine, Harry and I thankfully aren't awkward when it comes to stuff like that. How cool would that be if Luna and Harry got together? Does Harry have any clue?”

“No, I don't think, but I will say he noticed her looking at him and he smiled back, so there's definitely an attraction.”

“Well, that's a start,” Ginny giggled.

They talked a bit more about Harry and Luna and then reached the common room and made their way up to get changed. Ginny climbed into bed and let her thoughts take her away. So far everything seemed to be the same, well everything looked the same anyway, although there were fewer students and a lot of different teachers, but other than that it was as if nothing had happened just a few short months ago, as if death hadn't covered the Hogwarts grounds last year. She thought of all the people in her life she lost in the battle, people she would never see again as long as she lived. Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her face. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw their faces; she saw them die all over again. She saw Lupin and Tonks and then there was always Fred. A man who only brought laughs and happiness to people was slain by the people who brought pain and suffering.

Ginny felt herself starting to get nauseous and jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She emptied the contents of her stomach and then rinsed out her mouth out. She looked into the mirror at herself, she was pale and sweaty. She had tear stains down her face. She felt so broken, so lost. She folded her hands and leaned her head down on them as she sobbed. Her knuckles turning white and her nails dug into her skin with how much pain she felt. After a few minutes, her body started to relax and she unclasped her hands. Her fingers were sore and she drew some blood from where her nails broke the skin and she quickly wiped it off and washed off her face. She headed back into her dorm and climbed back into bed when she glanced at the clock she realized she had been lost in her thoughts for over an hour or so. She sighed and pulled the blankets over her head as she once again, let her thoughts consume her and the tears to flow.

Draco woke up the next morning bright and early; after all he was used to getting up at the crack of dawn from his father storming in after one of his many vicious attacks on the innocent. He would barge into his bedroom to tell him all about it and share gruesome details that Draco could not stomach to listen to. He laid there in bed for a moment longer just thinking, just being. He was grateful McGonagall was nice enough to give him the private Head boy dorm since there was no Head boy or girl this year. He was one of the oldest Slytherins attending Hogwarts, in fact, he was the only Slytherin from his seventh year that returned. He knew some of the sixth years who were now seventh years with him, but still not having his friends attend school this year with him was different. Friends, is that what they really were? Probably not, just pawns like himself put in place, just puppets waiting to be maneuvered about.

He let his thoughts travel back to his private room, he was glad McGonagall could tell more about him than he needed to explain, not that he needed or wanted anyone's pity, but he knew the Headmistress was aware of his touchy situation and thought it best this way. He flung the blankets off himself and went to take a shower when he stepped out to dry off he took a glance over himself. He was met with so many bruises that were almost healed and so many scars from the many beatings he endured. He thought back to one evening when his father returned home from an attack that didn't go as planned and it was taken out on him. He remembered his father using the Cruciatus curse on him that night more than any other night because he didn't lift the curse for a good ten minutes at least that's what Draco figured until he lost consciousness from the pain. It was during that torturous episode that as he fell to his knees and thrashed around on the ground helpless that he cut his shoulder on the edge of a piece of furniture causing a large gash. The Cruciatus Curse, he knew it all too well, unfortunately, his father had found a way to tap into Draco's mind and perform the curse even when he wasn't even around. Sometimes he would be put under the curse in the middle of the night knowing it must be because one of his father's raids didn't go as planned or sometimes just because he wanted to keep him in check.

He ran his fingers over his scar then traced the length of his arm where his fingers traced a few smaller scars over his wrist. Never had he thought he would be adding to the collection of scars his father caused by his own hand. Sometimes it was just too much to deal with and Draco wasn't sure really why he was still alive, why didn't he just take his life already? He knew he was too afraid to go through with it, he was a coward in every way possible, it made him sick to even look at himself in the mirror and brought his fist up to it; shattering the mirror to pieces. He cursed under his breath when he saw his hand full of glass and blood and he quickly cleaned up and repaired the mirror with his wand and got dressed. He wrapped his hand up and headed down to his first class of Potions.

Walking into class he noticed he was the last one to arrive and took a seat in the back. Every eye turned to look at him, but he ignored it. He saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sitting diagonally from him. “That's right the little Weaslette is a seventh year now so she gets to hang with her precious trio every minute of the day now” he thought to himself. He rolled his eyes at this thought and pulled out his potions book for class.

“Ah Mr. Malfoy, glad you could make it this morning. Now class we are going to start with a simple potion for today to get our minds refreshed. Today we are making a sleeping draught potion, so let's get into pairs,” said Professor Slughorn as he wrote the instructions down on the board.

The class scrambled about, although there wasn't much of a class, maybe twenty if that altogether. Hermione of course was paired with Ron and Ginny made sure Luna and Harry were partners hoping that Harry would catch on to Luna's feelings for him. She snickered at the thought and shook her head. She went to go find another partner when Slughorn spoke.

“Ah, perfect, looks like you Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy are the only two left without a partner, please go ahead,” he said with a stupid smile on his face that Ginny wanted to slap right off of him.

She looked at the trio who gave her an apologetic look and she grabbed her things and stomped over to where Malfoy sat in the back of the room. Why was he all the way back here anyway? Everyone was up front, the class was half empty. She was annoyed to say the least. She slammed her books down on the desk and scraped the chair out and sat down.

“I see your barbaric handling of things is still in full swing,” Malfoy sneered at her.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but had to smirk at his sarcastic comment. She squinted to try and see the board from the back of the classroom. “Maybe we should move up I can hardly see the instructions.”

“Don't bother, I know this potion like the back of my hand, here,” he said writing down the instructions and handing it to her. “You do it since technically it's your first time doing it and I'll observe.” he said slouching back in his chair.

That was the most words she thought she ever heard Malfoy speak to her, he sounded annoyed, was it with her? Why did she care if it was? She noticed his bandaged hand and then took note of her staring at him again and quickly looked away before he caught her AGAIN. She started cutting up some ingredients for the potion.

“What happened to your hand?” she asked casually adding the ingredients to her potion.

“Why don't you keep your eyes on your potion, Weasley!” he spat.

Ginny felt a slight flush in her cheeks and then continued working on the potion. The potion had to sit for ten minutes and brew so she found herself in complete awkward silence with Malfoy sitting next her. Why was she always stuck in these situations? She looked over to Harry and Luna; they were laughing and enjoying each other's company. She smiled to herself, she then thought how this was the closest Malfoy and Harry have been next to each other since the battle last year so she could only imagine the tension that was between them. For a moment she was thankful it was her paired with Malfoy and not Harry. She couldn't suppress the giggle that came out at the thought.

Draco's eyes darted over to her giggling; it was such a cute giggle, so innocent so warming. He mentally slapped himself for thinking like that. “What's so amusing, Weasley?”

“Oh, just a thought I had,” she said checking on the potion and checking the temperature of it.

“Oh yes, I can only imagine what goes through that redheaded mind,” he drawled

“I was thinking as awkward as it is to be paired up with Draco Malfoy, how much more awkward it would be if you and Harry were paired together,” she giggled even more while explaining her thoughts to him.

Draco gave a half laugh and shook his head at the thought, “Yeah, pretty fuckin awkward I would think,” he said looking in Harry's direction. “Why aren't you partners with your precious Potter?”

“There is no precious Potter, thank you very much, we're just friends, and we're more like brother and sister than anything so.....yeah,” she said mixing the potion.

Draco got lost in his thoughts at this. This is probably the most he talked to someone since the war ended. He didn't like it or did he? He wouldn't allow himself to like anything, especially the Weasley in front of him. She hasn't slept it seemed, her eyes seemed a bit cold and empty, but her smile and her giggle were enough to make you forget about the look in her eyes. She was obviously masking emotions it seemed. Draco couldn't help but feel guilty at this, he had been part of such a disgraceful group of followers and now he was trapped it seemed, no way out except death of course which for Draco didn't seem that bad of an idea right now.

“Malfoy?"

He looked over to the redhead

“I asked if this was the right color,” she said, showing him a sample she took from the cauldron. “You ok?”

He just looked at her for a moment before he grabbed his books and stormed out of the classroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny's next class was charms which went by pretty smoothly, she noticed Malfoy didn't show up and when she arrived for lunch she noticed he wasn't there either. She wasn't sure why she was thinking so much about the blonde, perhaps it was just because they seemed to be partners or have more run-ins with one another more than she would like. She barely ate any food and decided to get a head start to her next class.

Hermione watched Ginny walk out of the Great Hall after barely touching her food, she turned to Ron, who was stuffing his face with a sandwich. “I wonder what's up with Ginny.”

“Not sure, why?” he said, swallowing his food.

“I know she's dealing with things her own way, but I'm worried she's holding too much in.”

“I'll try talking to her later tonight, maybe I can help.”

“Thanks, Ron,” she said, giving him a small kiss on the lips.

She was so happy to have Ron in her life, so grateful their feelings came to surface. Of course, she would have loved for it to happen sooner, but at that moment when they both thought death was moments away, it seemed to be a now or never thing. She smiled at her memory of that moment; Ron helped her get through a lot of her grieving and her for him also. Harry vented to her and Ron as well, but Ginny..........she didn't, she retreated into herself and stayed there. Hermione's heart ached for her friend, she knew Ginny had people she could talk to, but not someone she could seek comfort in. Of course, she could seek comfort in any of her friends, but Hermione knew Ginny wouldn't burden any of them with her feelings. She commended her friend for trying to be strong, but she worried it was too much for her now and after countless attempts to try and have her share her thoughts with her, she decided to stop trying and just offer a shoulder to lean on and a talk whenever she was ready or whenever needed.

“So, I think Luna and I are going to go to Hogsmeade this weekend together,” Harry said as he finished his food.

“Oh, that's great Harry,” Hermione said being pulled from her thoughts.

“Yeah, she's great, we have a lot in common and yeah, she's a bit different, but I kind of find it......ya know.”

“Gosh, mate, don't make me hurl now,” said Ron, wrapping Hermione up in a hug

“That's sweet Harry, don't listen to Ron, he's not a romantic after all,” Hermione teased lightly hitting Ron on the shoulder.

“Ha, yeah well I had to watch you two snog and what not all summer so the least you could do is listen to me,” Harry laughed and then got up. “We better start heading to class.”

They grabbed their things and started heading to their Defense against the Dark Arts class.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny walked into the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom and saw she was the first to arrive.

“Ah, Good Afternoon, you must be Miss Ginny Weasley?” said Professor Warren, coming out from his office.

“Oh, uh, yeah, how did you know,” Ginny asked curiously

He walked up to her with a mischievous smirk on his face and looked her over for a moment, “Well, there aren't many redheaded 7th years running around, now are there?”

Ginny looked at the floor when the man's eyes gave her a once over, “oh I guess not” she said taking a seat.

Draco was the next one to show up to class and sat in the back as usual. He saw Ginny look over to him like she wanted to ask what happened earlier, but she stopped when Professor Warren walked up to Draco.

“And you must be Draco Malfoy,” he spoke, holding his hand out to shake Draco's.

Draco just glared at him and gave a sarcastic response “In the flesh” while ignoring his professor's hand.

“Yes, yes indeed,” said Warren putting his hand down and walking back to the front of the class.

Draco couldn't place it, but Professor Warren looked familiar like he had seen him somewhere before, but he just couldn't figure out from where. He turned his eyes to Ginny, who gave him a “What the fuck” look. Apparently, she got the same feeling from him. The rest of the class started piling in and Hermione took a seat next to Ginny and Ron next to Harry. Draco was sitting behind Harry and Ron not that he cared he really didn't have a problem with Harry or his friends, he was just made to believe that he should. Although there was so much tension between them all that there was no way there couldn't be a problem.

“Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts” Professor Warren's voice rang throughout the classroom. He seemed a little too happy to be teaching. “Today we are going to be practicing just some simple disarming spells to ease us into the good stuff, I trust we are all familiar with the Expelliarmus spell?” seeing the nods from everyone he continued, “Great great well today we will try the Expelliarmus spell without reciting the incantation. You really need to dig deep and concentrate to be able to perform such magic, so let's all pair up and get started, Mr. Potter why don't you and I partner up so everyone is evened out.”

Harry got up and walked over to the Professor, he had a bit too much excitement in his eyes for Harry's liking. Harry took out his wand and got into a proper stance. The rest of the students did the same, Hermione and Ginny were partners and Luna and Ron. Draco was with some other seventh year Hufflepuff.

“Alright everyone ready, 3........2..........1”

Draco disarmed the Hufflepuff before the countdown even started; he had the unfortunate experience to be in a few encounters where wordless spells flew about. He watched the other groups, he saw Harry had no problem doing the same to the Professor, he smirked at this. They were just in a war a few months ago and these spells seemed so juvenile. After a few more attempts of Draco's Hufflepuff partner trying to disarm him, Draco just gave in and let him succeed so he can stand and watch the others. He walked over to get a better look. There was Ginny, no problem at all trying to disarm Granger, they laughed at each turn they took. He watched Luna getting the better of Ron, who was trying so desperately to succeed and started cursing up a storm at her quickness and ease of the spell. Then he saw I a spell shoot out of Professor Warren's wand hitting Harry dead in the chest; knocking him on his back with a harsh thud. The whole class stopped and stared wide-eyed at the Professor and Harry, who was regaining himself and wobbly getting up from the floor.

“What the hell was that, Professor?” asked Harry with a look of suspicion on his face.

“Whoops, looks like there was more power to that Expelliarmus spell than I thought,” he said smiling

“That was no Expelliarmus spell, that was an attacking spell,” Harry argued looking confused.

“Was it? Hmm, guess I'm a bit rusty myself, no matter, no matter, let's tie it up for today and we will try blocking spells tomorrow. Good work everyone” He said then quickly retreated into his office.

Harry just stood there looking confused and suspicious of the professor's actions. He saw Luna, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walk up to him.

“Are you alright mate?” said Ron

“Yeah I'm fine, that was weird.”

“I'd say, he's supposed to be a teacher so he shouldn't be rusty at all.” Hermione chimed in.

“That almost seemed like it was done on purpose," Ginny said following them out of the classroom.

Draco had to admit he was a bit shocked to see the spell his professor used on Potter, even though he enjoyed seeing Potter knocked on his ass, he knew there was something up with this guy. He grabbed his bag to leave when he heard his professor yell to him from the office

“Oh, Mr. Malfoy, Professor Slughorn said you abruptly left class earlier, so you'll be serving detention with me this evening at eight.” then turned and closed his office door again.

Draco rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, “Just fuckin peachy” and then stormed out of the classroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rest of the day went by uneventful, which Ginny was thankful for, until Professor Slughorn approached her after dinner and asked that she'd give her Potions partner their homework assignment. She really didn't want to see Malfoy again, but she'd be lying if she wasn't curious about his behavior this morning.

“I guess let me go give Malfoy our homework assignment,” Ginny sighed, getting up off the Gryffindor common room couch.

“He's serving detention I think with Warren tonight, heard Slughorn talking to Warren about it earlier at dinner,” said Ron, not looking up as he was too into his game of chess against Harry.

“Ugh lovely, if I never see Professor Warren again, it will be too soon,” Ginny said as she left the common room.

She made her way to Professor Warren's classroom; the halls were pretty empty now as students were all in their common rooms at this hour. She walked into the classroom at five minutes before 8 and saw that Malfoy wasn't there.

“Can I help you, Miss Weasley?” came Professor Warren's voice

“Oh, uh, yeah, I was looking for Malfoy, I had to give him a homework assignment from class this morning”

“I see, he hasn't arrived yet, please come, have a seat in my office and wait for him.”

“Oh, no, that's ok, I can just wait in the hall for him.”

“Nonsense,” he said, walking over to her and put his arm around her shoulders, "I insist I can use the company,” he said leading her into his office.

If she thought her ride on the train with Malfoy was uncomfortable, then it was nothing compared to the situation she was in now. Professor Warren already seemed like a weirdo and now here she was sitting across from him in his office........alone. She felt a lump form in her throat as he walked in front of her and leaned on his desk. He looked down at her, his face handsome, but his features menacing. He looked so sure of himself, which made Ginny that much more uncomfortable.

“How do you like your first day back, Ginny?”

“I-uh-It.....was fine,” she said looking down towards the floor.

“Good, glad to hear that, I bet you had to fight some guys off of you, eh?” he said with that huge smile he wore so confidently.

“Excuse me, sir? What do you mean?”

He bent down so that he was eye level with her and he placed a hand on her knee. Ginny felt her heart beat ten times faster and her face go completely red. The hairs on her neck were standing completely up and her entire body tensed. The lump in her throat seemed so big she thought she might choke on it.

“I mean, look at yourself Ginny, such a gorgeous young woman, and with a body like yours, I'm sure you have plenty of eyes on you,” he said sliding his hand a bit higher up her thigh.

Ginny heard the classroom door open and knew it must be Malfoy that came in; she never thought she would be so happy to have his presence near. She went to stand to get up, but Warren gently pushed her back down and opened his office door.

“Mr. Malfoy, I'll be right with you just having a meeting with Miss Weasley here”

Draco looked from his professor standing in the doorway of his office to Ginny sitting in the chair in front of his desk. As Professor Warren was closing his office door, he saw Ginny look up and lock eyes with him with a look of pure horror, it's like her eyes were screaming for him to save her, but why? What did Professor Warren have to talk to Ginny about? He figured she was just weirded out to be alone with the man, after all, he was a complete nutcase it seemed. He sat down and let his thoughts fill his mind on what could be going on behind that door.

When Ginny saw the office door close she knew all chances of being saved from this highly inappropriate situation had vanished. Professor Warren turned back to her and kneeled back down in front of her.

“Now where were we,” he said, placing both hands on her knees and sliding them up her thighs

“I....I...Uh....sh-should really give Malfoy his assignments” she stuttered, surprised she even was able to get that out.

“Mr. Malfoy can wait, you're worth my extra time,” he whispered in her ear and then slid one of his hands up her blouse.

Ginny grasped the handles of the chair in fear of how far he would take this. Her mind screamed at her “DO SOMETHING! WHY ARENT YOU FIGHTING BACK, HE HAS NO RIGHT TO TOUCH YOU!” but her body was frozen, she was feeling dizzy and completely nauseous. She felt his hand graze her bra and she let out a fearful gasp.

“Now Now, Miss Weasley, everything is ok, you're just going to relax and give me what I want,” he said with a sinister smirk sliding across his face.

Ginny's body started shaking, her mind was racing and she completely panicked and made a dash for the door. All she had to do was rip the door open enough for Malfoy to notice. As soon as she was out of her chair, her hand was almost on the handle of the door when she felt him grab a handful of her hair and yank her back with such force she fell into his desk causing a few figurines to fall off and shatter into pieces. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.

“Don't you come near me, you sicko” she spat at him, her hand trembling.

He quickly disarmed her and in one quick stride grabbed her around the neck and slammed her to the wall. Her eyes went wide with the site that fell before her. Right there on his arm that was around her neck was the Dark Mark, it was then that her mind registered that she was being attacked by an undercover Death Eater. That's when she screamed.

Draco was waiting for Professor Warren when he heard a huge crash and the shattering of glass coming from the office. His instincts made him stand up and he walked closer to the office not sure if he should go in. And then he heard a bang followed by Ginny's scream. He immediately went to the door to open it and found it locked.

“You listen to me, you little bitch and you listen good. If you speak of any of this to anyone I will slaughter your entire family, and leave you for last, do you hear me?” he whispered to her as his hand was covering her mouth.

She nodded with tears coming down her face.

“Good, now we will have to have another “meeting” soon to finish what we started, and Miss Weasley, do not go against me, you will lose, I promise you that. I have killed thousands and the only thing stopping me from snapping your neck right now is that I still have a need and a want from you, now get out,” he scowled as he released his hold on her and she fell to the floor not even noticing she wasn't even touching the ground to begin with.

She scrambled to get up as fast as she could, she ran to the door where Draco was knocking and calling for his Professor to open the door. She flung the door open and ran right into Malfoy. She locked eyes with him for a moment as he spoke: “Are you ok, what's going on?” She looked at the floor and ran as fast as she could from the classroom.

Draco turned to look at this professor, “What the hell was that all about?”

“Oh, nothing to concern yourself with, Miss Weasley is just having a hard time this year, you know, dealing with the aftermath of the war and all, she came to me for a chat.”

“You of all people? I doubt that, why did she scream then?” Draco drilled him, clasping his hand around his wand in his pocket.

Professor Warren, noticing this, looked at Draco with an amused look, “She knocked something off my desk and it startled her is all. Listen, why don't we pretend you served detention and turn in for the night.” he said, gesturing his hand to the door for Draco to leave.

Draco just shook his head in disbelief, he knew this guy was trouble the moment he saw him, “Yeah, I guess so,” he said through clenched teeth.

Draco eyed him up and down with such suspicion. He decided to try and catch up to Ginny and find out what happened. He ran out of the classroom and saw her running down the hall towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He ran after her and followed her inside; he heard her throwing up in one of the stalls.

“Weasley?”

Ginny was in pure shock right now, she wasn't sure what to think, how to act or who to go to; she couldn't go to anyone, could she? She heard Draco call for her and wasn't sure what to do. She sat on the floor of the stall and hugged her knees to her chest and started sobbing into them. She heard Draco walking over to the stall and gently pushed it opened. She didn't care how pathetic she looked in this moment she didn't care if he called her every name in the book, she just wanted to cry. Draco squatted down next to her.

“What happened, Weasley?”

“Pl.....Please....l...leave ....m...me......alone” she sobbed

“What did he do to you?” Draco demanded to know

She looked up at him, why was he asking, why did he follow her in here? Then her mind went back to Warrens Dark Mark and her eyes fell onto the one sticking out on Draco's forearm beneath his shirt. She panicked and stood up and pulled out her wand.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“Wow what? What's going on, Weasley?”

“DO YOU THINK IM STUPID MALFOY? WHAT ARE YOU TWO WORKING TOGETHER?” she screamed her tears flowing and her body shaking.

Suddenly, it was like a light switch had gone off in Draco's head. Professor Warren looked so familiar because he had seen him at the Manor before, during a death eater meeting with his father. A look of shock covered his face when he realized Ginny probably thought he was working side by side with the professor as he watched her eye the marking on his arm.

“Warren is a Death Eater?” he asked, although he had already come to this conclusion.

“OF COURSE HE FUCKIN IS, AND SO ARE YOU, THAT'S WHY YOU WERE THERE TONIGHT FOR SOME SUPPOSABLE DETENTION, SO THAT YOU CAN KEEP WATCH AS HE TRIED TO......TO..........” she trailed off and fell to her knees in a fit of uncontrollable sobs.

Draco didn't know how to act; he didn't know what to do. All he could think about was what the end of that sentence was. He walked over to Ginny cautiously and kneeled down beside her. He sat there for a few moments while she sobbed until he spoke.

“I had no idea he was a Death Eater, I knew he looked familiar, but I didn't know where from, I just now pieced it together.”

“How conveniently so,” Ginny said with such anger looking up at him, her hair was all over her face, her clothes were disheveled and her neck had a red mark around it. Her eyes were dripping with tears and the look on her face made Draco want to grab her and hug her.

“I'm NOT a death eater Weasley, whether you believe me or not,” he said turning to leave.

“WAIT!” Ginny yelled after him and he turned to look at her, “You can't say anything about what happened, please?” she whispered

Draco was filled with rage at this point; he strode over to her and kneeled back down next to her “ARE YOU FUCKIN CRAZY? OF COURSE YOU NEED TO SAY SOMETHING, THERE'S A GOD DAMN DEATH EATER TEACHING DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS, NOT TO MENTION THAT HE JUST ASSAULTED YOU!” he yelled at her.

“SHHH! NO please, you can't say anything, he threatened my family, please!” she looked at him pleadingly fresh tears streaming down her face.

He just stared at her, there was no way he could keep this a secret, he knew his father must have arranged this so that Warren could get close to Harry and well Ginny was just something extra for him to mess with while he carried out his plan. Draco's stomach twisted at the thought of this; of course, he wouldn't tell this to Ginny it would just make her more upset. He then thought about if his father found out it was him who blew Warrens cover, he thought about how severely he would be punished by the hands of his father if he ever found out. He was such a coward; he wasn't going to say anything for his own wellbeing over the girl before him who was just sexually assaulted.

“I'm not saying that I'm keeping this a secret, I'm saying you need to say something, what are you going to do tomorrow when you have class with him?”

“I don't know, I just need time to think.........” she trailed off.

He wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to walk away, but he felt bad leaving her here alone in the girls' bathroom crying after such a horrific event. Her voice brought his attention back to her.

“I'm sorry I called you a death eater, I just panicked, I was scared,” she whispered as she wiped away more tears and sat up hugging her knees to her chest and laying her head against the wall.

Draco took a seat next to her and sighed, “Well, technically I am, not by choice though, but let's just say my father and I disagree on many levels about things.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and then Draco stood up.

“Come on, I'll walk you to your common room.”

Ginny stood up and together they headed towards the Gryffindor common room. They stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady.

“Well, here is the homework assignment from Slughorn's class,” she said, handing Draco a piece of paper.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, taking it and putting it in his robe pocket

He looked at Ginny and he saw she was starting to cry again, “I'm glad you had a detention tonight if you weren't there then.......” she trailed off, shaking her head and then said the password to the fat lady and quickly walked into the common room.

Draco just stood there for a few more moments before heading back down to his room knowing that sleep was more than likely not happening tonight.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny walked through the portrait hole to find Harry, Ron and Hermione were still up. They all turned to look at her noticing her crying. They all jumped up in unison and ran up to her.

“Oh my gosh, Ginny, are you ok what happened?” said Hermione, looking her friend over like a frantic mother.

“Gin, what happened, did Malfoy do something to you?” said Ron angrily, taking out his wand as if he was going to be off in search of him to hex him.

“NO, NO, NO!!! STOP!!!” she shouted, making them all take a step back, “I'm fine guys honestly, I just.........I'm just overtired and emotional is all, I think I'll go up and take a shower and head to bed,” she said giving them a small smile.

They all gave a nod and she went upstairs to her dorm. She ran into the bathroom; locked the door and immediately undressed and got into the shower, she felt so dirty and needed to scrub herself clean. This was the worse first day back to school she could ever have imagined. She wasn't sure how to handle the situation, she felt trapped. She turned the water hotter and scrubbed harder, making her skin red. Her thoughts traveled to Draco, why did he follow her, why was he wanting to know what happened to her, why did he care so much. She was so grateful for him knocking on Professor Warren's door when he had his hands around her neck, if Draco wasn't there he would have raped her for certain and she could only imagine what else. She slumped to a ball in the shower and cried until the water ran cold.

Draco paced back and forth in his room for what seemed like hours after the incident with Ginny. He was livid at his father and how low he would stoop to end Harry. His father usually shared all his plans with Draco so he wondered why he didn't tell him there would be an undercover Death Eater teaching at Hogwarts. If Lucius didn't want him to know then that must have meant his father didn't trust him. Draco knew it was just a matter of time before he received a letter from his father about him being suspicious of Warren and how he basically defended Ginny. If not a letter then something much worse, Draco shuddered just at the thought of enduring the Cruciatus Curse. This whole thing would be a bit easier if Ginny was willing to rat the Professor out and he couldn't do it without his father finding out it was him. He thought about trying to convince Ginny to talk to someone about what happened and if not, then he thought of going to her brother. He can't believe he was actually considering doing this, but was it to cover his own ass? Or was it for Ginny's benefit? He couldn't tell, but he did know that he knew Ginny was in danger and the next time she was alone with Warren she would be broken in more ways than one, that much he knew. He threw himself on his bed and let his mind wander over the situation again before he finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny awoke the next morning feeling a little sore. She slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom and took a look in the mirror. Sure enough, she had a very noticeable bruise on her neck and then she looked and saw a bruise on her back from when she fell into Warren's desk. She used a concealment charm for the bruise on her neck and went back into the dorms to change. She was trying so hard to keep any thoughts at all out of her mind, she thought it best this way because she just couldn't handle it right now. She needed to put on her happy face or the trio would start asking questions. She knew if she had to she could vent to any of them, but she just couldn't bring herself to do that. She brushed her hair, grabbed her things and headed out of the portrait hole and down to breakfast. She was only walking for a few moments before she felt everyone's eyes on her as she passed. Eventually, Luna came walking up beside her.

“Hey, Ginny.”

“Oh hey, Luna.”

“You mind if we talk as we walk to breakfast?”

“No, of course not, what's up?”

“Hermione mentioned that you were ok about Harry and me-”

“Luna you don't have to have my permission to date Harry, of course you can. I'm so happy for you both, really, no tension or awkwardness I promise,” Ginny said, stopping in the hall and giving Luna a hug.

“Thanks Ginny, I-”

“Hey Weasley, I didn't know you were a whore, good to know,” said a Slytherin student walking past them and flicking a piece of Ginny's hair.

“What was that about?” Luna asked.

Ginny felt her face go completely red and she started trembling from head to toe; she felt dizzy and nauseous and was trying with all her might not to cry right then and there.

“Ginny? Are you alright?” came Luna's voice, but Ginny couldn't focus, it sounded like a muffled mess.

She looked around her again and there was everyone looking at her and whispering, pointing and laughing, guys coming up to her and tugging at her clothes teasingly and cracking jokes. She ran through the halls, leaving Luna behind and ran to the nearest girls' bathroom. She broke down into tears, how did everyone know about what happened? Why were they calling her a whore? Like she did something wrong? Who told everyone? The only people that knew were her and.......

Her tears suddenly became tears of anger as she ran from the girls' bathroom and down to the dungeons. She ran with such force and fierceness she didn't care to stop to listen to the inappropriate comments being thrown at her. She banged on the Slytherin common room portrait as hard as she could. An older Slytherin came out of the portrait hole and eyed Ginny up and down.

“Ah, Weasley, I see you make house calls as well,” he smirked at her.

“Fuck you!” she hissed.

“Oooo, feisty.”

“WHERE'S MALFOY!” she yelled, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the Slytherin's head.

“Damn, chill out, he's in the Head boy room down the hall,” he said, holding his hands up to show he surrendered.

She turned on her heel and stomped down the hall until she came to the Head boy dorm door and she pounded like she never pounded before. All the anger she felt she put into the knocks she slammed against the door. The door suddenly opened up and there stood Malfoy still in pajamas, hair a mess, he had dark circles under his eyes and he was pale and clammy.

“Weasley, What are you doing here?” he said rubbing his eyes.

She walked into his room and slammed the door shut behind her and turned to him with such anger apparent in her face. “YOU TOLD EVERYONE!!!! YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING ASSHOLE, YOU SELFISH INCONSIDERATE PRICK!”

“WOW, what the fuck are you talking about?” he said with a surprised look on his face.

“THE WHOLE SCHOOL HAS BEEN CALLING ME A WHORE ALL MORNING AND TEASING ME? THE ONLY OTHER PERSON THAT KNOWS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IS YOU!!! YOU!!! MALFOY!!!” she screamed poking him hard in the chest until he was backed up against the wall.

“LISTEN, WEASLEY, I DIDN'T FUCKING TELL ANYONE ANYTHING ALRIGHT? I CAME STRAIGHT TO MY ROOM LAST NIGHT AND I JUST NOW WOKE UP FROM YOUR ONCE AGAIN, BARBARIC ACTIONS!” he yelled back walking towards her.

She stopped to think for a second and a shiver came over her.

“If you didn't say anything then who did?” she started sobbing.

“Warren most likely, he's a Death Eater after all; this is why you need to say something.”

“NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT,” she said, shaking her head and wiping her tears.

“Why though? He threatened to kill your family I get that, believe me, I do. I know what it's like to be forced into doing something when your family's lives are on the line, but this is too much for you to do on your own. You need to get him out of Hogwarts, what if he's doing this to other students, and not just that-” he stopped; he wasn't sure if he wanted to go there with her.

“What? What is it?” she asked, looking at him.

Draco walked over to the couch in front of the fireplace in his room and Ginny followed him over. He let out a long sigh before continuing. “I know my father is behind this, I didn't know anything about it, I know it's because I can't be trusted because I'm against everything my father is doing. This is a plan for Warren to get close enough to Harry and........."

“Kill him,” Ginny finished in an almost inaudible whisper.

“Yeah, but you're just something extra along the way, a perk as he would see it,” Draco snarled at this comment, the hate for the man apparent in his voice.

“I need to get to potions,” she said abruptly and stormed from the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Potions went by smoothly; Draco being late due to the conversation he and Ginny had this morning. Charms class was as boring as ever and soon it was time for lunch. Ginny was sitting at the table trying to put something in her stomach when Ron, Harry and Hermione came walking over to her.

“Hey Gin, we need to talk,” Ron whispered, sitting down across from her.

“What's up, guys?”

“Luna told us what happened this morning,” Hermione said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

“Yeah, and people have been coming up to Harry and me saying some inappropriate things about you,” said Ron angrily. “What's going on, why is everyone saying these things?”

Ginny couldn't help the tears that surfaced in her eyes and covered her face with her hands. She fought the rest of the tears back and wiped her face free of any former ones. “Listen you guys; I'm not sure why everyone's saying these things. Someone probably started a rumor,” she said, trying to sound confident.

“Who would do such a thing?” Hermione asked sounding disgusted.

“I don't know, but whoever it is I'm going to kick the shit out of,” said Ron, looking around the great hall daring someone to look at Ginny the wrong way.

As Hermione tried to calm Ron down, Harry walked over to Ginny and sat down next to her, he gave her a small smile and a small hug and whispered in her ear. “Stop bottling everything up, Gin, we love you and we're here to help you in any way we can. Don't be afraid to tell us what's going on, ok?”

She looked at him teary-eyed and gave a small nod.

“Well, we have Defense against the Dark Arts next so I guess let's start heading that way,” said Hermione, leading the way.

Ginny was so nervous and scared for this next class. She was trembling and pale as ever. She thought she might actually need to stop and throw up from how nauseous she was. She was thinking about telling the trio about what happened, she was thinking about what she and Draco talked about this morning. Draco's father was behind all of this; it was so hard to even look at Draco without thinking about Lucius. Ginny knew Draco wasn't following in his father's footsteps, but still, it was hard to know that the one person who knew what she had endured was the one person she couldn't stand the most. Was it that she couldn't really stand him? Something was off with him, that much she knew, he was hiding something she felt. Or was he just hiding in general? Who was Draco Malfoy, she thought to herself. She was quickly pulled from her thoughts when she heard yelling.

“Hey, Potter, word on the street is your girlfriend is a whore, maybe you can share her some time and let us Slytherins get a turn, I'm sure she won't mind,” said a seventh year Slytherin walking passed Ginny and slapping her books on the floor.

There were about five seventh year Slytherins surrounding her and the trio, the scene that played out in the next few moments seemed to have been in slow motion. Harry jumped on top of the Slytherin who made the comment and Ron attacked another who was trying to attempt to get Harry off his friend. Another Slytherin was holding Hermione back so she couldn't help and another pinned Ginny against the wall.

“FUCK YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT,” Harry yelled as he wrestled with the other boy.

“GET OFF OF ME!” Ginny screamed, struggling to free herself from the other Slytherin's grasp. She kneed him in the balls and he bent over in pain. She went running over to help Hermione when another Slytherin grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. She whimpered in pain, tears falling freely from her face. The one Slytherin she kneed came over looking furious.

“YOU FUCKING LITTLE BITCH!” he yelled and backhanded her so hard she immediately tasted blood in her mouth.

“GINNY!” Ron yelled, trying to get up from under the Slytherin he was wrestling with.

Suddenly, everything happened so fast, the Slytherin that had just backhanded Ginny was roughly grabbed by the throat with such force and body slammed to the ground. He was slammed so hard you could hear his skull clearly crack open and then there was a fist flying through the air repeatedly hitting the Slytherin in the face until he was gasping for life. Draco stood up over the Slytherin, his hands dripping in blood, his breathing rapid, his eyes as cold as ice. He looked directly at the other Slytherin holding Ginny, who immediately released her and put his hands up to show he didn't mean any harm, but Draco had already grabbed him with both hands by his shirt and ran him into the stone wall. He repeatedly slammed the student against the wall until he lost consciousness and Draco threw him to the ground. The other three Slytherins went to make a run for it and Draco grabbed one of them by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the floor and started savagely beating him.

Draco suddenly felt two sets of arms on him; dragging him off the student. “MALFOY, MALFOY, STOP IT, STOP, GET OFF YOU'RE GONNA KILL THEM!” He heard Hermione screaming and turned to see it was Harry and Ron who dragged him off the Slytherin.

Harry and Ron just stared at him in shock, Draco looked at them and then the scene before him; there was blood everywhere. He looked at his hands and his clothes that were covered in it also. He then turned to Ginny, who was holding her face where she was slapped. She was crying and looking at him in complete disbelief as Hermione held her and was crying also. He felt disoriented, he had to get away and think for a second about what just happened and without saying anything he raced off down to his room.

McGonagall appeared through the crowd that had formed and was appalled at the scene before her. She looked around and surveyed the situation understanding what more than likely happened.

“EVERYONE GET BACK TO YOUR COMMON ROOMS UNTIL TOLD OTHERWISE, CLASSES ARE CANCELLED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. FILCH, GO GET MADAME POMPFREY AND YOU FOUR MEET ME IN MY OFFICE NOW!” she said, turning on her heel and leaving the scene.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Professor McGonagall stared at the five students, she called to her office, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Draco. She wasn't sure where to begin exactly, but she gave it a shot.

“Mr. Malfoy, are you aware of the serious injury you inflicted upon your peers?”

“But, Professor, they deserved it, they-"

“Mr. Weasley, please remain quiet and only speak when I ask you to.” She looked at Ron with a piercing stare.

“Now, Mr. Malfoy, I understand you were standing up for another as well as Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, but in cases like these you seek out a staff member and we will address the matter, you don't resort to violence. Hasn't there been enough of that these past few months?” She paused before continuing.

“Miss Weasley, Miss Granger, you both may leave as you were victims in this altercation. As for you three boys, you will have detention for the next two weeks and Mr. Malfoy, you're lucky you're not expelled after the severity and force you used upon another student. I have spoken with Professor Warren and he thinks you deserve another chance and I must say if he didn't ask me personally to keep you in school you probably would have been on the train home today, so perhaps a thank you to him is in order,” she said fiercely.

“Of course,” Draco mumbled through clenched teeth, his blood boiling.

Draco was just about to ask the question that's been bugging him since he first laid eyes on Warren, when, to his surprise, Harry asked first. “Professor, may I ask where or how Professor Warren was found for the Defense against the Dark Arts position?”

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at such a question, but answered, “Well Mr. Potter, not that it is any of the students business where our staff is picked from.....BUT.....being that it's you lot asking......He was highly recommended by the Ministry as well as Professor Talca.”

Ginny and Draco looked at each other at this statement confusion apparent on both their faces. Even Harry had raised an eyebrow at this.

“Now I want you all to head to your dorms.” They all started to head towards the door. “Oh, and boys.” They turned to face their Headmistress. “Stay the bloody hell out of trouble.” They all gave a small nod and headed out the door. Draco took off towards his room and the trio and Ginny walked silently back to the common room.

“Guys, I'm going to go lay down, I'm really tired," Ginny said.

“Alright, Gin, I'll come get you for dinner later,” said Hermione giving her friend a small smile.

Ginny headed up to bed and immediately fell asleep, she was so emotionally exhausted and her mind just shut down and sleep overcame her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione still didn't know what happened with Ginny, she told McGonagall the same thing about someone starting a rumor but something still didn't fit.

Dinner went by pleasantly enough; everyone was too busy talking about the fight earlier to think about the rumor of Ginny going around. She was thankful for that, but she noticed Draco wasn't at dinner tonight and she knew he was probably thinking about how he acted earlier. But as incredible as it seemed, she felt protected at that moment like nobody could hurt her. The way Draco attacked those Slytherins was like a mother protecting their young. She couldn't help but form a small smile on her face at the thought of this.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That night in the common room, Ginny headed to bed early and Harry and Ron started a game of wizard's chess as Hermione read a book. She laid the book on her lap and looked at Harry and Ron thoughtfully.

“Do you guys think Ginny is hiding something from us?” she said.

“Pft, yeah, but she won't tell us, which I hate, I want her to be able to confide in us.......in me,” said Ron, getting up from his game and slumping into the couch next to Hermione.

“She will when she's ready,” said Harry, walking over to join them.

“Yeah, well, when will that be? She's doing worse here, than she was at home.”

“I don't know, Ron, but it's been two days and she's had a few horrible moments so she's probably just adjusting to everything, give her time,” Hermione said, lifting her book back up to read.

They sat there in silence for a few moments when there was a knock on the common room door. They all looked at each other. Who would be knocking on the Gryffindor common room door at this hour? Harry got up and walked over to the portrait hole and pushed the door open. A look of surprise washed over his face as he saw Draco Malfoy standing before him.

“Malfoy, what are you doing here?” he asked surprised.

“I need to talk to you..........its urgent,” he said, looking both ways down the hall to make sure nobody saw him standing outside of the Gryffindor common room.

There was a pause before Harry answered him. “Ok, come in,” he said leading the way back into the common room.

Ron and Hermione saw Draco walk in and they looked at each other confused.

“What's Malfoy doing here?” Ron asked, sounding less angry than Draco thought he would.

“He said he needs to talk to us........and that it's urgent,” Harry said, glaring at Draco.

They all sat down on the couches in front of the fire, awkwardness, and tension like no other filled the room.

“Listen, I know I'm the last person you guys want to see, but......” Draco trailed off, he thought about how angry Ginny would be with him for telling them what happened. He thought about what the consequences would be if he blew his father's precious plans, but he was ready to accept it, he didn't want to see anyone else get hurt.

“But what?” Hermione asked, eagerness in her voice.

Draco sighed.

“It's about Ginny, isn't it?” Hermione asked.

Draco looked up at her and then to Harry and he slowly nodded.

“WHAT ABOUT, GINNY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?” Ron shouted, trying to get up from the couch but Hermione held him back down.

“Ron, please, why would Malfoy do something to Ginny and then come tell us about it?” Hermione said rolling her eyes.

Ron just glared at Draco.

Draco shook his head in annoyance. “Anyway, listen, Potter, Professor Warren, he's a Death Eater.”

This caught all three of their attention as feelings and memories of the war just months ago clouded their minds. The mere thought of knowing there was a Death Eater teaching at Hogwarts. Harry stood up at this news. “What! Are you sure?”

“Positive, I had a feeling I knew him from somewhere and I finally figured it out the night Ginny was...........” he stopped himself; he wasn't sure how to say this.

“The night Ginny was what?” Ron asked, almost sounding scared of what was coming.

Draco ran his hand through his hair and regained his voice. “The night I had my detention, Ginny was.......she was sexually assaulted by Warren.”

“WHAT!” they all yelled in unison.

“THAT SICK FUCK IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS,” Ron yelled, making his way to leave in search of his professor.

“NO, WEASLEY, WAIT!” Draco jumped off the couch and tried holding him back.

“WAIT, FOR WHAT? WHY? ARE YOU WORKING WITH HIM MALFOY?”

“WHAT? SERIOUSLY, WEASLEY, JUST WAIT A DAMN SECOND FOR ME TO-"

“NO WAY, MALFOY, YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH THESE PAST FEW YEARS, DON'T YOU THINK, AND WHY DIDN'T GINNY TELL US, DID YOU FORCE HER NOT TO?”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GETTING AT, WEASLEY” Draco drawled with menace in his voice.

“GUYS, STOP IT! RON, SIT BACK DOWN NOW! “ Hermione yelled squeezing between the two of them.

“Hermione, are you sticking up for him? He's a Death Eater, he is probably working alongside this sicko,” Ron spat over Hermione's shoulder.

“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, WEASLEY? I TOLD YOU GUYS TO PREVENT MORE PEOPLE FROM GETTING HURT,” he yelled, stepping closer to Ron to get in his face, almost squishing Hermione between the two of them.

“OH, REALLY? THAT'S FUNNY SINCE THERE'S THREE STUDENTS BEATEN HALF TO DEATH IN THE HOSPITAL WING!” Ron shouted, getting even closer to Draco ready to attack.

“I'D BE GLAD TO MAKE IT FOUR INSTEAD, WEASLEY, IF YOU DON'T BACK OFF!”

“YOU WOULD JUST LOVE THAT WOULDN'T YOU, YOU THRIVE FOR BLOODSHED JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER!”

This was enough for Draco to snap and they started to go at it when they heard Ginny's voice ring out.

“STOP IT!!”

They all turned to look at Ginny; she had tears coming down her face. She had overheard the whole conversation. They all stood there not sure of what to say. She looked angry, infuriated with rage. Ron was the first to speak.

“Ginny, why didn't you tell us what Warren did?” he sounded close to tears.

In a few short strides, Ginny brought her hand up and slapped Draco so hard across his face with all her might.

“HOW DARE YOU! I BEGGED YOU NOT TO SAY ANYTHING AND YOU DID ANYWAY! HOW COULD YOU?” she screamed, slapping him repeatedly until he grabbed her hands and held them down.

“HOW COULD I NOT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENING. YOU CAN'T KEEP THIS A SECRET,” he yelled back, letting her arms go.

“Ginny, why does Malfoy know about this and we don't?” Harry asked, sounding hurt.

“It wasn't like that, Harry, he was there when it happened, he was trying to get to me when I screamed for help. If Draco wasn't there Warren would have.......finished the job, he didn't rape me if that's what you're all wondering, but he did touch me inappropriately. He pinned me against the wall by my throat threatening to kill me right then and there if I didn't agree that I wouldn't say anything..... that's when I saw his Dark Mark. He threatened to have my family killed if anyone found out,” she sobbed, sitting on the couch as Hermione wrapped her arms around her and couldn't help her own tears that escaped.

“Malfoy wanted to tell someone, but I asked him not to,” she choked out.

“I just didn't want anyone else to get hurt,” Draco whispered.

“Come on, Ginny, let's go upstairs and wash your face,” said Hermione, leading Ginny up to the girls' bathroom.

Harry, Ron, and Draco just all stood there for a moment. They all were on the same side now it seemed. Were they though? Draco didn't know what he was, he was a mess is what he was, he was no good to anyone, he just made things worse it seemed. He tried to do the right thing tonight and Ginny was mad with him and Ron accused him of being a part of the attack.

“Malfoy, why are you helping Ginny?” Harry asked suddenly.

Draco just stared at him for a moment. “I don't know, but I do know that I want to go over everything before my father finds out it was me that blew his Death Eater's cover. Once he finds out it's me I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks of surprise; did Draco Malfoy just risk his own well-being to help Ginny? Was Lucius that low that he would kill his own son? Many thoughts ran through Harry's head with everything happening so fast.

“Are you listening?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, go ahead,” Harry said, shaking all thoughts aside to make room for the important information Draco was about to give him.

Draco shared with them his father's plans and why Warren was at the school. He shared about how his father left him out of the plan involving Warren. He then went on to explain how his father had been leading the other Death Eaters and what kind of raids his father had planned and who the targets were. Any and all information he had, he gave to Harry and Ron, it was now or never.

“Malfoy, why are you telling us all of this?” Ron asked.

“Because, Weasley, the more you know, the more you have an advantage.”

“No, I mean, why are you helping us?”

Draco just gave him a sneer and looked away, he then stood up and started pacing the room. “I want to be free of my father. Do you know what it's like to live an entire life that's been planned out for you? To be forced into doing things you never could see yourself doing? I hate my father for what he made me become, and every day I think about the things I've done and the pain I've caused. I was a coward, I was weak, I still am, there's nothing left for me in this life so if I can do something halfway decent before my father kills me then so be it.”

Harry gave him an understanding nod and Ron did the same.

“What do we do about Warren?” Ron asked.

“I personally want him dead, but not sure if we'll be able to pull that off, so we might need to take the chance of telling McGonagall, but then if we do that then we need to worry about a threat to your parents-"

“Why is everyone yelling?” came a small voice from the boys' dorms.

The three of them turned to see a first year Gryffindor rubbing his eyes and yawning. Apparently, he woke up during the argument.

“Nothing you little-"

Harry cut Draco off quickly. “Don't worry about it, Michael, we're just talking,” he said, giving the young student a friendly smile. The kid nodded and ran back upstairs. “Honestly, Malfoy, really, to a first year?” Harry said sitting down.

Draco rolled his eyes. “They're an annoying bunch, is what they are,” Ron and Harry gave a small laugh at this then Draco continued, “I've got to get back down to my dorm and discussing this further in the common room is a bad idea, meet me at my dorm room during lunch tomorrow, its private and we can talk further there.” They both agreed and Draco started to head out.

“Oh, and Malfoy,” came Harry's voice and he turned around to look at him, “I'm glad you beat the shit out of those Slytherins.”

Draco smirked at this and started walking away looking back and simply saying, “Me too,” and then he disappeared through the portrait hole.

The next morning Ginny woke up and lay in bed for a good hour before she got up. She thought about everything that happened since she got on the train to Hogwarts. It was only her third day here and she had been through more emotional and physical trauma then one could take. She was angry at first about Draco telling the trio, but she actually felt a bit better now that they knew but she was scared for her family now. Not that anyone actually came forward and accused Warren of anything yet, but when it finally did come about she knew she would have to fear for her family's lives and her own. She quickly showered and got dressed and made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She sat down with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who all looked at her with sadness in their eyes.

“Guys, please don't do this, please act normal, because I'm just going to feel weird if you stare at me and treat me like a fragile child,” she said putting some food on her plate.

“Sorry, Ginny, I think we are all just still a bit surprised and well, we're worried about you, worried about how this is going to play out,” Hermione said taking Ron's hand in her own.

“I know, and I am too; hopefully when we meet Malfoy for lunch we can come up with a plan,” she said, taking a bite of toast.

“I haven't even seen him this morning yet,” Harry said, looking around the Great Hall in case he may have missed him.

“Well, being late seems to be his routine lately,” Ginny said, taking a sip of juice.

“Do you think we should send Mum and Dad a letter, Ginny, about what happened?” asked Ron sounding a bit nervous.

“NO! Definitely not, not yet anyway, this is the last thing they need to hear right now,” she said pleadingly.

He nodded at her and they finished breakfast. They all headed to Potions with Slughorn, where Draco still hadn't shown up. The first two days he was late for Potions and now he doesn't show up at all, he must not be on Slughorn's good side, Ginny joked to herself. They made their way to Charms with Flitwick next and still Draco didn't show up; Ginny was starting to get a bit worried, although why was she worried about Draco? It's not like she cared about him or anything, she couldn't stomach him.......right? She refused to let her thoughts take her into another world and turned to Harry. “Well, it's lunch time and he's still nowhere to be found, should we just assume and go to his dorm?”

“Yeah, I guess, let's head down there and see what's up.”

Walking down to the dungeons, all Ginny could think about was their Defense against the Dark Arts class that was in a little while. She had a sour stomach just thinking of seeing Warren's face again. She wanted to be as far away as possible from him when she got to class, but she knew he would maneuver his way over to her. The good thing though is she knew he wasn't stupid enough to try anything in a room full of students, at least she thought so anyway. They finally reached the Head boy's door and Harry gave a few knocks. ........No answer.

He looked at the rest of them and then gave another knock this time calling out, “MALFOY?”

“I'm going to kill him if he set us up as a part of some plan,” Ron said angrily

“Ron, please stop it, you're always over thinking everything,” Ginny spat

Harry pounded again on the door in another attempt to try and get Malfoy's attention, if he was even in his dorm.

Draco's eyes eased open, his vision blurry, his body sore and his head pounding. Where was he? He opened his eyes a bit more trying to better adjust his vision when he saw underneath his bed. Was he on the floor? He blinked a few more times before he realized that he was in his dorm room on the hardwood floor between the bed and the couch. He tried to move, but his body ached so badly, every joint was screaming in pain. His mind went back to last night, when his father pulled one of his mind games, and performed the Cruciatus curse on him. He had a feeling it was coming when he felt a light burning where his Dark Mark was and a slight headache, which was usually what happened right before his father invaded his mind. This was a bad episode, but definitely not the worst. He lost consciousness after a while and was just now coming around. What time was it? he thought to himself.

Then he heard three rapid knocks on the door, he lifted his head from the floor and wondered who would be at his door, he thought of his father or Warren for a moment. He sat up as his body rejected the movement, and fought through the pain. He winced at his throbbing head and his stiff back. Then he heard the knock again followed by his name. Wait, that's Potter, what is he doing here? Then his mind finally caught up and he glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was lunch time.

“FUCK,” he said to himself, realizing he missed two classes this morning.

He grabbed the couch and pulled himself up and stood on wobbly legs and made his way to the door. He was just about there when Harry pounded even louder this time.

“I guess he's not here,” Hermione whispered.

Then they heard the lock on the door click open and Draco opened the door.

“Hey, sorry I must have overslept,” he said, turning around and walking back into the dorm and sitting on the couch.

They all looked at him wide-eyed and walked in, closing the door behind them.

“What happened to you?” Ginny asked, walking over to him.

“What do you mean?”

“You have blood all over your face and shirt,” Harry said, walking over.

“Not to mention you look like the walking dead,” Ron added.

Draco touched his hand to his nose and saw he was bleeding; he forgot to do a mirror check before answering the door and didn't get a chance to clean himself up from the side effects of the Curse his father used on him. Before he could get up, Hermione came walking over with a wet towel.

“Here,” she said, handing it to him.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Lucius did this?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, but it's nothing I'm not used to, he's learned new tricks you see; now he can Crucio me whenever and wherever I am. Warren must've told him I stood up for Weaslette here and my father is trying to keep me in line I guess, or just torture me until I have enough balls to off myself,” he said, holding the rag to his nose.

“He can't get away with this, it's inhumane,” Ginny whispered.

Draco looked at her, he saw the cut on her lip from the fight yesterday and the light bruise that was around her neck. She stared back at him and then he spoke, “This needs to end today.”

“But how?” Hermione asked.

“The whole thing is more complicated than I thought after McGonagall said that Warren was highly recommended by the Ministry. It must mean Lucius is either using the Imperius curse to get his pawns in place or someone in the Ministry is an undercover Death Eater,” Harry explained.

“Yeah, I was thinking about that too, I also thought about Talca, do you think she's a Death Eater also?” Draco asked.

“I'm not sure, she seems fine to me, normal, but that doesn't really mean anything," said Hermione, taking the rag from Draco and re-rinsing it for him.

She walked back over to him and handed him the rag back, she stared at him for a moment. “Draco, why do you think Warren made McGonagall keep you in school if he thought you were a threat of blowing his cover?”

“Honestly, if I picked up anything from being my father's son, I think I'm officially out. I gave my father more than enough reason to suspect I'll never follow the Death Eater ways and after Warren relayed the message to him, he was certain. Now Warren is one of the top Death Eaters under my father; he wouldn't have Warren here at Hogwarts if he wasn't good at what he did,”Draco said, looking around at them.

“So what are you saying?” Ron asked, waiting in anticipation for the answer.

“I think Warren is planning an attack here at Hogwarts, he wants Harry dead and there are plenty of other targets here at the school. If I could find a way to lead Death Eaters into Hogwarts, then I'm positive Warren can too, unless he's doing this alone. He's cunning and he's fast and most of all he shows no mercy.”

“Would he be that stupid to start an all-out fight right here in front of all these people?” Ginny asked.

“I don't know,” Draco said, looking down at the bloody rag in his hands.

“Well, we have Defense against the Dark Arts next, and we all need to act as if none of us know, you got that, Ron?” Harry said, looking at his best mate. He knew Ron's temper was going to be an issue, especially when he saw Warren directly.

Ron hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright, he won't try anything in front of all of us there, Ginny,” Harry told her, wrapping her up in a hug.

She was so nervous, she was paler than ever and her stomach was in knots. Draco came back over from washing up and they all headed to Defense against the Dark Arts. Draco walked with Ginny a bit behind the trio and he chanced a side look at her. She happened to be doing the same thing and they locked eyes and she gave him a small smile.

“Uh, listen, I'm sorry I slapped you last night, I was just-"

“Nah, it's ok, I'm used to you acting like a barbarian these days anyway,” he joked and she gave a small laugh.

They walked in silence for a few more moments before Ginny spoke again. “Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey?” she said, noticing he was still a bit sore from the curse he endured.

“No,” he said, rather short, which Ginny took as an answer she wouldn't argue against.

They finally arrived at Warren's classroom and went inside. There were only a few students there so far so they all took their seats. Draco and Ginny took a seat in front of Harry and Ron and Hermione sat next to Luna across from them.

Ginny gave a nervous sigh and Ron leaned forward and whispered to her, “It's ok, Gin, we're right here,” and she nodded that she understood.

Professor Warren came out of his office as the rest of the students took their seats and he glanced around the room for a moment with a menacing smile etched upon his face. His eyes lingered on the group of students sitting in the back.

“Ah, there are my star pupils,” he said strolling over to them.

With that one sentence, the five of them knew he was aware that they all knew about him and what he did, and now he was toying with them to see who would break first, as if he found some sort of amusement in the situation. Draco always knew Warren was a twisted man but was appalled to witness it. He leaned over Ginny and Draco's desk and gave the widest smile he could muster up.

“You two must be very excited for class today,” he said with such sarcasm that Draco was sure Ron would be on top of the Professor any second. Warren strode back to the front of the class. “Alright, today we will be learning how to block spells, surely you are all familiar with some of these by now. After all, you need to learn to defend yourselves these days, you just never know who you can trust,” he said slowly, his eyes resting on Draco who was sneering back at him.

“Alright, everybody, get up and let's clear these desks out of the way,” he said, flicking his wand and pushing all the desks aside as the students walked to the center of the room.

Harry whispered to Draco as he walked past, “He's testing us.” Draco gave a small nod to show he agreed.

“I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting an uneasy feeling right now,” Hermione whispered to them.

“Let's split up into pairs, Miss Weasley, why don't we practice a duel together?” Warren said with a bright but malicious smile.

Ginny's body completely froze, she was sure she would vomit at any moment, her legs started to tremble and she went to take a step forward when Ron spoke.

“Professor, I'd love to have a go if that's alright?” Ron said, trying to hide the anger in his voice.

Professor Warren gave an evil smirk at this and glared from Ron to Ginny. “Of course, Mr. Weasley, I'd be honored,” he said with such malice, not taking his eyes off Ginny the whole time he spoke. “The rest of you pair up and practice the Protego spell,” he said a bit more angrily than he should have.

Harry immediately paired with Draco and Hermione with Ginny.

“He's pissed, he's up to something,” Draco said, throwing a spell at Harry, who blocked it with no problem.

“Keep alert. I wouldn't be surprised if he totally snapped at any minute,” Harry said, throwing a few spells Draco's way that he easily sidestepped or blocked with a spell.

Hermione was keeping a watchful eye on the duel between Ron and Warren, she saw Warren throw a curse at Ron, who yelled out the Protego protection spell, but Warren's spell flew right through the barrier and flew past Ron's arm just skimming it. She stared wide-eyed as she saw Ron fall to his knees and she ran over to him.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, PROFESSOR?” Ron yelled, holding his arm and seeing he had a bad burn.

“Oh, looks like you didn't use your protection charm in time,” he said like it was no big deal. “Guess you need more practice, Mr. Weasley,” he said walking back over to his position for another go.

“I watched Ron from over there, Professor, and he had his barrier up way before you shot a spell at him,” Hermione said harshly as Harry, Draco and Ginny rushed over to see if Ron was alright.

“Really, Miss Granger? Then how do you suppose my spells got through?” he said chuckling.

“I've only seen certain Dark Magic able to penetrate a Protego charm............Professor,” she said accusingly with much smugness.

The edges of Warren's smile twitched a bit at this and he started pacing the classroom. The other students felt the tension in the room grow and all huddled in the corner of the room away from the awkwardness of the situation.

“My my, Miss Granger, you really are a fucking know-it-all now, aren't you?”

“Don't be stupid, Warren, not in front of all these students.” Draco said.

Warren just laughed at this, he laughed for a good few moments and then a sinister smile stretched across his face. At this point, most of the students left the classroom scared by the altercations going down between their Professor and the others.

“Draco, Draco, Draco, you have no idea that you're on the losing side. You're a fool, even if I die the plans Lucius has for you and your new clan of friends here is far worse. You will beg for death, I promise you that,” Warren said as he pulled a dagger out from behind his back. He flipped it about like it was a normal thing, like tossing around a handball; he was completely laid back which made Draco feel much more uneasy.

Warren then stopped and looked at the group before him, “MORRIS!!!” he yelled over his shoulder and his office door opened and five other Death Eaters came walking out, everyone's wands were drawn at this point. Ron went to stand up from his kneeling position when Professor Warren spoke. “No, please Mr. Weasley, don't get up,” he drawled as he swiftly threw the dagger right into Ron's leg.

Ron screamed in pain and fell to the floor, and spells flew throughout the room. Harry flipped over a table and dragged Ron behind it as Draco ran to take cover behind a nearby wall. Hermione and Ginny went to make a run for the door when a Death Eater shot a spell at them. Hermione started dueling with the Death Eater and Ginny saw Warren smirk at her and she ripped the door open and ran into the hall.

“POTTER, WE NEED TO GET TO GINNY!” Draco yelled in-between spells.

He threw a binding charm at one of the Death Eaters who fell to the floor squirming and Harry threw a Stupify curse at another causing him to fall into a heap on the ground. Hermione was still battling with one, he had her pinned down on the floor and she was kicking and screaming to get away when Ron shot a forceful spell his way knocking him against the wall. The other two Death Eaters followed Warren into the hall after Ginny.

“Granger, stay here with Weasley,” Draco called over his shoulder as he and Harry quickly followed them into the hallway.

Ginny ran as fast as she could, she saw a spell fly just past her head and hit the stone wall in front of her causing a bunch of stone and debris to explode everywhere. She put her arms over her face to protect herself and then turned to see Warren was approaching her fast. She went to run down another nearby hall when he shot another spell, shattering a window above her and a nearby pillar to burst into pieces.

“GINNY!” she heard Harry yell for her.

She frantically looked around to find a different way to get away, but she was cornered. She pulled out her wand and threw a few spells towards Warren, he just laughed and sidestepped each one. Draco and Harry were almost to Ginny, but the other two Death Eaters were delaying them from getting to her. Warren quickly disarmed Ginny and grabbed her by her hair and threw her against the wall.

“I'm starting to think you're more trouble than you're worth, you filthy blood traitor.” He backhanded her and Ginny lost her balance from the force of the smack.

She was breathing so rapidly at this point, she was shaking from head to toe with fear, with rage. She wasn't going down without a fight and she turned back to him and punched him with every ounce of her being. She was pleased when she was met with the sight of blood running from his nose. But as pleased as she was to see him bleed she quickly shivered in fear when he smiled at her so sadistically and roughly grabbed her around the throat and started choking her. He slammed her head against the wall roughly and she was immediately disoriented, she was dizzy and her vision blurred. She felt him touch her thighs and grab at her clothes. She felt him prying her legs to open and he touched her breast and groped her. She was on the floor now, and he was on top of her, she knew what was coming. Her mind raced, her arms reaching and stretching out for anything to help her. She heard her name being called in the distance, and she tried to call out. Her hand connected with something on the floor and she immediately grabbed it and brought it up to Warren's chest. All she saw was blood after that, she felt it splatter on her face and drip all over her clothes. She felt the man on top of her fall limp and not move. She looked to her right to see what she could use and found it was a shard of glass from the window that broke that she had plunged into Warren's chest.

She started to panic; she tried pushing him off her. She heard screaming in the background. She heard a few spells fly by and more debris flying around. She heard footsteps running over to her and heard her name being screamed. She saw Harry and Draco run over to her. They had scrapes and cuts all over their faces and bodies, but they seemed unfazed by them. Harry and Draco quickly pulled Warren off her and she scrambled back into a ball against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. Tears streaming down her face, but no sound. Her eyes were wide with shock and there was nothing readable in them. Hermione and Ron reached the scene and Hermione let out a shocked gasp.

Draco was the first to get to Ginny; he kneeled down in front of her and looked her over. “Hey, it's ok, Ginny, look at me, it's ok now.”

Her body was trembling; she ran her hand over her face to wipe away any tears and ran her hand through her hair when she took notice of the blood all over her hands and clothes. She held both her hands out and was shaking. She looked up at Draco and he saw her face and hair was covered in Warren's blood. He looked down for a moment and then to Harry, who seemed to be in shock himself at the sight. Draco quickly took off his robe and started wiping the blood from Ginny's face and hands. Harry quickly regained himself and knelt down beside her and helped Draco try and wipe off as much blood as they could.

“Granger, get over here,” Draco demanded.

She ran over and put her arms around Ginny. “I'll help her clean up,” Hermione said, through her own tears. “Will you help Ron to the hospital wing? I'll bring Ginny there after,” she said, trying to keep herself from breaking down.

Harry and Draco nodded as Hermione helped Ginny up from the floor and lead her back to Gryffindor tower.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco and Harry sat with Ron in the hospital wing waiting for Hermione and Ginny to get there. They were also waiting for McGonagall to come back. When the Headmistress was made aware of the scene she immediately sprang into action and took care of one of the Death Eaters that Harry and Draco were having trouble getting past to get to Ginny. Harry and Draco told the Headmistress about everything that happened with Warren and then McGonagall immediately took off after to have a meeting with the Ministry and with the Order........Well, what was left of the Order.

She told Harry, Ron, and Draco not to leave the hospital wing until she came back to speak with them. She had the five Death Eaters that Warren had hiding out in his office sent off to Azkaban and Warren's body was sent off with the Ministry officials when they arrived at the scene. Harry, Ron, and Draco were asked if they would answer questions and McGonagall made it clear that she would be handling all questions and to stay away from her students.

Hermione and Ginny walked into the hospital wing and Hermione walked Ginny over to the bed next to Ron's. She turned to see that Madame Pomfrey already had Ron's leg bandaged and Harry and Draco's cuts and bruises taken care of. Madame Pomfrey immediately came running over to Ginny and started looking her over. She had bruises around her neck, on her face, and on her upper thighs. She had a split lip and a concussion. Madame Pomfrey healed her lip and bruises and then demanded she take a Dreamless sleep potion. Ginny didn't speak at all, she just took it and laid down. Nobody spoke, it was completely silent. What was there left to say? Draco was glad Warren didn't get the chance to go any further with Ginny; the thought of it angered him even more. McGonagall came walking into the hospital wing at that moment and they all just looked down at the floor, each lost in their own thoughts.

McGonagall surveyed the group before her and she couldn't help but feel her heart sink a bit. This was bringing up so many memories from the battle a few months ago and she never thought she would be standing before a group of young adults, who she had watched grow up throughout the years, looking so defeated. She cleared her throat before she spoke.

“Mr. Weasley, your parents have been informed of the situation and will be here in the morning.”

Ron gave a small nod.

“Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, I have a full investigation under way of how Professor Warren came to be highly recommended for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I think we have a pretty good idea. I am also doing the same for Professor Talca.”

Harry and Draco nodded at this news.

McGonagall walked over to the bed Ginny was asleep in and stared down at the sleeping girl and she gave a sad sigh. “I'm glad you're all alright, heaven knows we have had far more than enough bloodshed these past few months and we have lost so many........” She trailed off and sat down on the chair next to Ginny's bed and patted Ginny's arm. “The truth is you lot, and the Order, are the only kind of family I have left in this world and it looks like we may be right back in another war again., she said looking up at Draco with a sad look in her eyes.

Draco couldn't look at anyone in the room. It was his Father causing all of this, why was he even here with them? Did he think they were all going to be buddy-buddy now? He didn't need anyone honestly; he quickly got up and stormed from the hospital wing.

McGonagall let out another sigh at his departure and then stood up and turned to the trio. “With Warren gone now, I am hoping we can get things back to normal with the school year. Let's forget about those two weeks of detention, shall we? And be patient with Miss Weasley when she wakes up, she just went through a horrific ordeal.” McGonagall walked out of the hospital wing with what seemed like tears in her eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco threw open his dorm door and slammed it shut, he paced for a good few minutes just thinking. He was full of rage, so many emotions. He was furious with his father, the things he was doing to innocent people, and what he did to him. Then Draco thought about how he hated himself more for what he had become. A nobody, worthless, a coward, nothing more than a pawn waiting to be moved into position and when he couldn't do that right, then what was left for him? He threw whatever he could find across the room, he pounded his fists on the wall until there was a hole. He screamed in anger, in self-defeat, in frustration. He didn't deserve any sort of happiness, he deserved death and even that probably was too good for him. He went into his side table drawer and pulled out a pocket knife his father had given him and he walked into the bathroom. He looked in that damn mirror again, the one that always made him see how pathetic he truly was.

“Look at yourself. What are you doing?” he mumbled to himself holding the blade to his wrist over the bathroom sink.

He was struggling to think, struggling to decide if this was the right choice. Was this the right way to handle things? Of course, it wasn't, but what did it matter? He wasn't important anymore, not that he ever was. He failed in everything he ever attempted; he couldn't even cut his wrists without rethinking it.

“You're a fucking coward, you're a fucking coward, look at your pathetic self,” he whispered through his rapid breaths, trying to hold back the tears that he dared not shed.

He looked up into the mirror and saw his eyes glaze over and without a second thought pushed the blade against his skin and sliced it open, watching the blood drip into the sink and slowly make its way down the drain. He brought the blade to his throat and went to make a quick swipe when he stopped, he couldn't do it.

His hand was trembling. “Just do it, you'll be glad you did,” he mumbled. “Come on."

He brought the blade to his neck again and pushed it against his throat, he was shaking uncontrollably now and then he clenched his teeth and let out a frustrated scream and threw the knife across the bathroom. He dropped to his knees and rested his forehead on the cold floor, his rapid breathing slowing down.

“What do I do with myself?” he whispered, and laid there on the bathroom floor letting his mind take him away.

The next morning Mr. And Mrs. Weasley arrived at Hogwarts and immediately Mrs. Weasley wrapped both her children up in her arms. She cried when she saw Ginny's face, she saw how broken she was already. She held Ginny in her arms for what seemed like hours just whispering that everything would be ok in her ear. Ginny sobbed in her mother's arms, she forgot what it was like to let her emotions out and to have her mother hold her. She hadn't let any emotions out to her parents since the final battle, of course, a sob here and there, but to just release everything finally made her feel a bit lighter.

Later that day Mr. And Mrs. Weasley stayed for dinner and were speaking with McGonagall at the head table.

“Minerva, we know Hogwarts is safe, we wouldn't dream of pulling Ginny or Ron out, this matter was different. They need to be here, I think it's good they get out of the Burrow, especially Ginny,” Molly said after giving the Headmistress a friendly hug.

“Oh, thank you Molly, it is just sad to see more students leave after we have only just been open a few days. We are down to under a hundred students now,” she sighed shaking her head. “Albus would be so disappointed.”

“Nonsense Minerva, he would be glad that the school is opened again to the students and I'm sure things will blow over and the school will be full of life by next year again. There are just a few hiccups we need to work through.” Arthur said patting McGonagall on the hand.

McGonagall noticed Draco walking into dinner and watched him take a seat, she turned her gaze to Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. “I need to figure out what to do with Draco, Lucius is sure to strike at any time after his son's betrayal, there's only so much I can do to try and protect him until the holiday break comes, then who knows what will happen.”

Draco wasn't aware of how much his name was being thrown around between the Order members. After he stood against his father and Voldemort during the final battle it was clear he wanted out of the Death Eater role, but when he went back to his father's side out of fear, they still questioned where his loyalties lay. McGonagall backed Draco up and she knew Dumbledore would have also and she was surer now than ever that he could be trusted after he stood up for Ginny Weasley. They just needed a place to have him stay that was safe enough where Lucius would have trouble finding him. Lucius wanted Draco dead just as much as Harry because of his betrayal. It was more of a personal vendetta now. He would destroy anything in Draco's life that brought him any satisfaction or joy in any way. Lucius wanted his son to suffer before he ended his life.

Molly and Arthur looked at each other and exchanged an understanding look. “Minerva, no worries, Draco can stay with us during the holidays at the Burrow. We have more advanced wards up this time, so he would be well protected, I assure you.” Arthur said.

McGonagall couldn't help the small smirk that came to her face, “That would be a great idea, except making him agree to do that is another story. I suppose we will address is when the time comes.” she smiled at them.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said their goodbyes to everyone and headed back to the Burrow. Ginny and the trio walked back to Gryffindor tower and turned in for the night, hoping that the next day would be better than the previous few days.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Classes were cancelled again the next day as the one hall was being repaired from the attack the other day. There were some parents that were informed of what occurred and immediately withdrew their kids from the school saying it was too dangerous. The Great Hall during this morning's breakfast was the barest that Ginny had ever seen. She glanced at the Slytherin table and noticed about seven students altogether not counting Draco who wasn't there. She sighed and looked down at her food just pushing her eggs around.

“Ginny you need to try to eat something,” Hermione said in a caring tone.

“Yeah, I know Hermione!” she snapped.

Hermione looked taken aback and Ginny felt bad at the way she acted, “I'm sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean to snap. I've just got a lot on my mind, I know you're just looking out for me,” she said looking over at the Slytherin table again.

Harry put his arm around her and rubbed her back “It's ok Gin, we understand.”

Ginny's body tensed up and squirmed away from Harry's arm and slid down a bit away from him, “DON'T TOUCH ME!” she said loudly.

Harry looked like he had been kicked in the gut with the look of hurt that was planted on his face. Ginny immediately felt horrible about how she just acted. “I'm sorry, I just can't...............I'm going to take a walk,” she quickly said and took off out of the Great Hall.

“I should've known better," Harry said to himself.

“Oh Harry, don't beat yourself up over that, she's just really sensitive right now.” Hermione said

He gave a small nod and they finished their breakfast and then Hermione took off to the library while Harry and Ron went to pay Hagrid a visit.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny walked down the hallways of Hogwarts noticing how bare they were. She didn't know why, but she felt so annoyed, so lost, she didn't know what to do with herself. She felt like everyone was staring at her still, like they could see through her clothes; thinking she was some slut begging for attention. She felt dirty, she was showering twice a day because she couldn't get the dirty feeling off of her. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Warren's blood all over her and then she would have nightmares reliving the whole ordeal.

She was lost in her thoughts and turned a corner and slammed into a seventh yeah Slytherin. He glared at her and Ginny's body froze in place, “Watch where you're going, Weasley!” He spat. She just kept staring at him, scared that something bad was going to happen at any moment.

“Well?” he said, sounding annoyed.

She just continued to stare at him, her eyes wide. He rolled his eyes and pushed past her mumbling “Stupid bitch”.

Ginny ran down the hall and around a corner and stopped and leaned her head back against the wall. Her breathing was heavy, her heart racing, she was gasping for air. She started crying and slid down the wall into a ball just sobbing. She was sick of feeling scared, she felt like the walls were closing in on her, like at any moment someone was going to reach out and grab her. She felt so vulnerable; she didn't know how she would ever feel safe again.

“Ginny? Are you alright?”

Ginny looked up to see Luna standing in front of her. Ginny nodded, she wished Luna would go away. She didn't want to talk about what happened to her or what it was that was making her feel this way. She also didn't feel like lying either she just wanted to cry here without people asking her every few seconds if she was ok. No, of course she wasn't. She knew Luna didn't know any of this and felt bad for being so distant.

“Yeah, Luna, I got to go,” She said, getting up and walking quickly in any direction that was away from people.

She didn't know why she was walking down to the dungeons, something in her mind told her to go there. She didn't know why she was getting ready to knock on his door. She hadn't spoken to him since before Warren attacked her. Her mind went back to that day when Draco was wiping her face and hands off using his robes. The way he told her it was going to be ok, the day he took down those three Slytherins, she felt safe, and she felt protected. She knocked rapidly on his door and then again and again. He opened the door and was surprised to see her standing there. Her eyes filled with tears as she walked into his room without a word. He closed the door and turned to see her sitting on the couch in front of the fire he had just started. He walked over to her and sat down on a nearby chair. There was silence for a few moments.

“Where have you been? Why haven't you been to breakfast? Why haven't you spoken to any of us? Or to me?” she asked suddenly sounding hurt.

Draco was taken aback at the slew of questions she demanded answers to. He didn't know what to say.

“Why does it matter?”

She looked at him, a tear slid down her cheek, “I don't know.”

“Weasley, why are you here exactly?” he sighed with annoyance.

Ginny looked at him again, her expression turned to confusion, “Why are you being like this?”

“Like what?” He asked, although he knew what she meant.

“Like we all weren't just attacked by Death Eaters the other day,” she said with more anger.

“What do you want from me? What are you looking for? It was just another day right? It's over with, we did what we had to do and now things go back to normal,” he said making it seem so simple.

Ginny felt a fresh wave of tears come to her eyes, she felt abandoned suddenly. Why was Draco completely shutting her out? She knew they weren't friends or anything but she thought he would at least be civil to her and now he was just being mean.

“Well, it wasn't just another day for me, and right now....I don't know what normal feels like anymore,” she cried looking down towards the floor.

Draco felt horrible how he just acted towards her. The last time he was face to face with her was when he was cleaning her attacker's blood off of her face and hands. He realized then that Ginny wasn't just dealing with the assault against her, but that she had killed a man.

They sat there in silence for a few more moments, just hearing the crackling of the fire and the occasional pop of it. Ginny gave a few more sniffles and wiped a few more tears away and her breathing started to slow down.

“The bruise, it was from my father,” Draco whispered suddenly, looking into the fire.

“What?” Ginny asked, scooting a little closer to better hear him.

Draco turned to look at her, “On the train, the bruise on my ribs, it was from my father.”

Ginny gave a small nod to show her understanding, her eyes moved down to his hand where she once saw it bandaged. He followed her eyes to his hand. “That was from me hitting things that I shouldn't” he smirked at her and she gave a small smile back.

She then caught sight of a large cut on Draco's wrist. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering more to herself what happened, but wouldn't ask. He looked at her, he saw her eyeing him, and he mentally cursed at himself for wearing a T-shirt.

“It was me,” he barely whispered, “And this,” he added, bringing his fingers up to the small cut on his neck.

Ginny didn't have to ask him to elaborate; she knew exactly what he meant. She went over and kneeled down in front of him and their eyes locked. She slowly pulled up the sleeve of her shirt baring her forearm to him. He turned his gaze from her eyes to her pale arm where he saw very faint pink scars. He unknowingly realized he was tracing his fingers over them. Ginny felt an explosion of butterflies in her stomach as he gently touched her arm and her body was instantly covered in goosebumps. Draco sensed this and took his hand away and cleared his throat.

“Um, uh, I should get dressed and show my face for lunch I suppose,” he said quickly getting up.

Ginny stood up as well with a pink tint to her face.

“Yeah, so I guess I'll see you around,” she said walking towards the door

“Yeah, I guess so.”

She opened the door to leave and turned around to face him. She opened her mouth a few times to try and speak, but finally managed something to come out. “Draco?”

“Yeah,” he said, turning back to face her.

“Thank you”

“Thank you? For what?” he asked.

Ginny didn't know why her mouth was talking when she didn't tell it to; all she knew was that for some reason everything she seemed to be thinking was falling out of her mouth.

“I'm scared ok? That's why I'm here and I don't know why, but you make me feel safe. I came here because I keep thinking that at any moment I'm going to be attacked or something. I panicked and I know you probably hate me for telling you this right now, but I just don't know what else to do or say. I'm scared to be alone, I'm scared to walk through these halls without someone with me, I...........I......I'm sorry,” she said and then quickly turned and left.

Draco just stood there for a moment, letting the words sink in. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. An actual genuine smile and then as soon as it appeared it faded away. He couldn't let himself feel anything; there was no debating on this... it's how things needed to be.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next few weeks went by in what seemed like a blur. After that day that Ginny went to Draco and confessed her thoughts of feeling safe when he was around she kept her distance from him. She felt awkward and from the sneer and blank expression he wore around the school every day she could tell it annoyed him more than anything. She felt like such a baby, why would she have said that to him? Now she probably looked like she couldn't take care of herself. Ginny eventually was able to get into some kind of normal life again and her fears of walking around the castle had soon diminished. She was feeling like her mind was finally giving her a break from the waves of emotions and thoughts that constantly cluttered it.

One thing that wouldn't seem to ever leave Ginny's thoughts was Draco. She didn't know why she was so intrigued by him. She thought it was because of the poor position he was in. She felt herself always wanting to know more about him, to be able to peel the layers back that he hid under. She could tell when he had endured some type of punishment from his father. He wouldn't show up for breakfast or would not show up to class. One time she didn't see him for almost an entire day and contemplated if she should check on him. She decided not to, mostly because she was still trying to figure out why she was so concerned with what was happening to him. To her relief, she saw he had attended dinner that evening looking horrid. Her heart sank a bit at the sight of him.

Classes had presumed and a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher took over, which happened to be a good friend of Professor Lupin's. He reminded Ginny a lot of Lupin also; he was friendly and had a great way about him that actually got you excited to come to class. His name was Professor Croxley and he had a warm smile and you could tell he had his students' best interests at heart. Today in class they were learning about the Hauriendum spell. The spell allowed you to absorb the effects of certain dark magic. It levels out the full effect of the curse or spell into the two people. The Hauriendum spell was only meant to be between two people at a time and once you performed the spell on someone you couldn't perform it again on the same person, it had to be a different person who took the place of the absorber.

“Alright everyone, class is dismissed have a Happy Halloween and enjoy your Hogsmeade trip this weekend,” Professor Croxley called out to his students.

They all shuffled out of the classroom and started heading to Transfiguration, where Professor Talca stood at the head of the class greeting all the students as they came in. The investigation on Talca came back to be that reputable sources had put her forth for the teaching position. The case regarding Warren was still underway.

“Hello students, welcome, welcome, nice to see you all again,” Professor Talca said as they all took their seats.

Transfiguration was always interesting to Ginny. Trying to turn objects into something completely different she always found fascinating. Today they had learned how to transfigure pumpkins into baskets.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was soon time for dinner and Ginny entered the Great Hall and made her way over to the Gryffindor table. She did her routine eye sweep of the Slytherin table to see if a certain blond was present, which he was, looking lost in his thoughts.

“Hey guys,” Ginny said, taking a seat next to Hermione.

“Hey Gin,” Harry said. Ron just nodded; he was too busy going to town on a plate of food.

Ginny just giggled and shook her head at her brother. She turned to Hermione, who was writing down something.

“What's that Hermione?”

“Oh, Professor Flitwick asked me to go over a few things with Malfoy because he's missed a good handful of classes. So I'm just jotting down the spells and topics we need to cover,” she sighed.

Obviously, it wasn't ideal to have to share her evening with Malfoy in the library going over coursework. She was at least thankful there was less animosity between them all.

None of the trio ever mentioned Draco, they all just came to an understanding of what happened during the first week they returned and knew where Draco's loyalties lay. It was just simpler to go about their lives like nothing happened and not bring up the stuff Draco told them about his father's cruel punishments he put upon him.

“Oh,” was all Ginny said and then looked over to the Slytherin table again.

Her eyes were met with those icy gray ones. She couldn't help the small smile that formed on her face when she saw him. He just gave a smirk and looked away. Hermione took notice of this but didn't think anything of it.

“Well, I guess I should get going, I'll see you guys a bit later,” Hermione said planting a light kiss on Ron's stuffed cheek, rolling her eyes at his lack of manners.

Ginny gave a small laugh at the two of them and then watched Draco and Hermione meet at the entrance of the Great Hall and made their way to the library.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Alright, let's get this over with already,” Draco sighed, grabbing a chair and slouching down in it.

“Believe me, Malfoy, the last place I want to be on a Friday night is in the library tutoring you.”

He glared at her.

“I much rather just BE in the library minus you.” she added.

He looked up at her and she gave a small giggle and he stifled a laugh.

She took out a piece of paper and handed it to him, “Here, copy these notes.”

Draco took out his wand and waved it over the paper.

“What do you think you're doing?” Hermione demanded.

“Uh, copying the notes,” he said lazily.

“No, no, no, I don't think so, you need to write them, this way they sink into your brain.”

“You're kidding, right?” She looked at him with a stern look, “I guess you're not” he added.

They sat in silence for a few moments with just the sound of Draco's quill scratching against his paper.

“So how's Weaslette?” he asked, not looking up from his notes.

Hermione brought the book she was reading down from her face and gave a small smirk, “She's doing better,” she said simply and went back to her book shaking her head a bit with a smile on her face.

“Good, so Potter and Lovegood are an item now, huh?” he said still not looking up from his notes as he kept writing.

Hermione brought the book down again and looked at him as he kept jotting away, a mischievous smile forming on her face. “Yeah, it seems to be that way.”

“Hmm” was all he responded with.

Hermione sat up a bit straighter in her chair and leaned her elbows on the table.

“Why do you ask?”

“Ever heard of small talk Granger,” he said still not looking up.

“Yes,” she said slowly; her smile growing even bigger.

He finally looked up when he felt her eyes on him to see a sly smile on her face.

“What?” he said, sounding annoyed.

“Draco Malfoy, do you fancy Ginny?”

“What? Hell no,” he said, looking back down at his notes.

“Oh, that's too bad.”

He looked back up at her, “Why is that?”

“Because she fancies you,” she said, bringing the book back up over her face.

“What? Did she say that? When? What did she say?” He said, grabbing the book from her and tossing it on the table.

Draco was now completely focused on the next words that would come out of Hermione's mouth.

“No, she never said that, but you just confirmed that you fancy Ginny, why else would you be interested in what she said about you?” Hermione folded her arms with a look of triumph on her face.

Draco just looked at her in shock, “Ooo, Granger you're evil, you know that,” he sneered at her.

She laughed at him for a moment and then continued, “She may not have said that but her actions do.”

“Like what?'

“Like the way she always looks over at the Slytherin table to see if you're there. The way she smiles at you from across the room. See look, your smiling at what I just said,” Hermione said smiling brightly.

Draco quickly removed the unknown smile that crept across his features and put his mask back in place.

“Yeah, well, I have no interest in the Weaslette,” he said, trying to sound convincing but failing miserably.

He went back to copying his notes. Hermione was quiet for a few moments.

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” he asked, sounding angry and started to write faster.

Draco had to get out of there, he could never let himself feel anything for anyone...... it was better this way.

“What you're doing now, you retreat, you go right back to being cold and distant instead of actually just saying what's on your mind.”

He abruptly stood up, knocking the chair he was sitting in over making Hermione jump and he leaned over the table. He looked at her with such an icy stare and a put that sneer he wore so well on.

“THE ONLY THING I'M DOING RIGHT NOW IS WONDERING WHY THE FUCK I'M LETTING A FILTHY MUDBLOOD TEACH ME SILLY CHARMS!” he yelled at her and roughly grabbed his bags and stormed out of the library.

Hermione tried not to take his actions personally; she knew he was uncomfortable with the conversation. She sighed and gathered her things and made her way to the Gryffindor common room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day was the Hogsmeade trip, which Ginny was so thankful for. She loved coming to the small village, it really helped her clear her mind. She was also glad she would get a chance to visit George at the joke shop. They all walked into the joke shop and immediately were greeted by George's voice.

“Well, look who it is!” He said, sweeping Ginny up into a tight hug and put Ron in a headlock and ruffled his hair up.

“Hey George, how's mom and dad doing?” Ginny asked anxiously.

“Relax Gin, they are great, mom is excited to have you guys home for the holidays soon.”

Ginny gave a bright smile and gave George another hug.

They all chatted for a bit filling George in with all the latest gossip and whatnot. They told him about Professor Croxley and about recent visits with Hagrid. After they said their goodbyes, they headed to the three broomsticks for some butterbeer. The first snowfall of the season would be approaching soon and it was quite cold out this evening. Ginny and the trio walked into the small tavern building and saw it was completely empty with the exception of a person sitting solo here and there. They walked up to the counter and ordered their drinks. Ginny saw Draco sitting in the corner by himself reading a book. He looked tired and defeated.

“Hey, let's go sit with Draco,” Hermione said leading the way over to him before anyone could reject.

Harry and Ron exchanged looks as if wondering if Hermione had gone completely mental.

Hermione sat across from Draco with Harry and Ron and Ginny sat beside him.

“Hey Draco, mind if we join you?” Hermione said happily, ignoring the fact that he had yelled at her last night in the library.

“Well, you're already sitting so does it matter?” he drawled without looking up from his book.

“Draco, did you notice the man outside-"

“Brown hair? About 5'10, medium build, black robes? Yeah, I saw him” Draco said, cutting Harry off and putting the book down.

They exchanged looks and nodded.

“Huh? Did I miss something? What's going on Harry?” Ron asked confused, looking at Hermione and Ginny to make sure they were just as confused as he was.

“Well, we passed him earlier on our way to George's shop and then he was roaming up and down the street. Now I saw him again when we came in here and wondered if we should be concerned. Now, seeing that Draco's in here and this place is deserted and we just walked in, I'm definitely suspicious now.” Harry explained.

“Are you saying someone's following us?” Ron asked, looking around the tavern.

“What he's saying Weasley, is hold onto your knickers because we're in deep shit,” Draco said, standing up and pulling his wand out followed by the rest of them.

As if on cue, the side of the building was blown in. They all dropped to the floor and quickly turned the table they were sitting at on its side and piled up behind it. Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her quickly over to him as a curse missed her arm my mere inches.

She was breathing heavy and panted out a “Thanks”.

“And yes Granger, I really do fuckin mind if you sit by me,” Draco sarcastically said.

A Death Eater came walking into the tavern, their boots scraping the debris under their shoe around against the wood floor. He stopped and started lightly laughing a maniacal laugh.

“No need to hide Draco, the place is surrounded. But don't worry; you and your friends are going on a little trip,” the Death Eater said with much amusement in his voice.

Draco had a confused look on his face and whispered “A trip?” Then it finally made sense. “GET AWAY FROM THE TABLE!” he yelled, but it happened too quickly. He saw the light of the spell hit the table and soon he felt the familiar tug behind his navel and then they were all gone.

Suddenly, they all fell to the ground, feeling the cold marble floor beneath their bodies. Draco hated the feeling of traveling through Portkeys, it always made him nauseous. He put the feeling of nausea aside as he heard Ginny's voice.

“What happened?”

“They turned the table we were behind into a Portkey and brought us here,” Harry said, getting up from the floor and immediately pulled out his wand.

“Where is here?” Ginny said, looking around the room, noticing how massive the place was.

There was a grand staircase behind her covered in black marble. The marble covered the floor and even was on some of the pillars to the sides of her. The foyer alone was bigger than the Burrow; she couldn't help but be amazed at how stunning the mansion was.

“Malfoy Manor,” Draco answered, trying to swallow the lump that formed in his throat. He turned to the four people behind him with a look of urgency on his face. “You guys need to get the fuck out of here now,” he said, looking around to see where their captors were.

“You really think we're going to just walk out of here without you? And even if we did it's not going to be that simple,” Harry said, standing back to back with Draco.

They all had their wands drawn and formed a circle with their backs to each other. Draco started feeling the Dark Mark on his arm tingle and his head throbbing. He knew what was coming and he quickly put his hand to his head as the throbbing turned into a stabbing pain.

“Draco?” came Ginny's voice.

“AHHH” Draco winced in pain and fell to his knees.

“Draco!” Ginny yelled and started running over to him.

Ron grabbed her arm and held her back as he saw them become surrounded by Death Eaters. They all had their wands tightly gripped waiting for the first spell to fly, but nothing happened. Instead, they heard someone walking closer to them; they heard the clicking of their boots on the marble floor as they slowly stepped towards them. Draco's heart was pounding in his ears, he knew who was here and he would be lying if he said he wasn't a tad concerned about what was about to happen.

“Ah, Draco..........my son.” came Lucius' voice

Draco finally was able to stand back up and he stared across the room straight into his father's steely eyes. His blood was boiling, he knew they were in trouble, but he wasn't going down without a fight. He heard Harry whisper something to him, “Get ready to run” and Draco gave the smallest of nods to show he was on the same page.

“Warren warned you that betraying us would come at a high cost. I promise you Draco, you will beg for me to kill you and I will, but I'll make sure you suffer as much as possible before that day comes. Oh, and don't worry, your new friends will meet the same fate,” Lucius drawled pulling out his wand.

“We should have killed you along with Voldemort, you ungrateful bastard,” Harry spat at him.

Lucius only laughed at this, “Exactly Potter, that's just it, you should have but you didn't. You think having a kind heart gets you anywhere in this world?” He glared at the group before him with a malicious smirk, “Kill them” he said and it was like a firework going off suddenly.

Draco didn't know whose spells belonged to who, all he knew was his instincts told him to grab the redhead beside him and pull her to safety. They ran to the side of the staircase and crouched down to take cover from the battle. There were about ten Death Eaters not counting Lucius. Draco watched Harry dueling with two Death Eaters across the way and Hermione and Ron were taking cover behind a pillar. Draco turned to Ginny, who had a fierce look in her eyes as she watched her friends fighting. A Death Eater was walking past them to go after Harry when Draco shot a killing curse at him and he fell to the floor. He turned to Ginny and she had a terrified look on her face.

“We need to survive, you do what you have to, you understand?” he said, shaking her from her daze and she shook her head yes.

He ran out from behind the staircase and went for his father. They started throwing spells so fast at each other Ginny couldn't even tell what was happening. She ran out from behind the staircase and over to Harry to help him out. She threw a disarming spell at one of the Death Eaters causing him to turn to her and then Harry was able to finish him off. He immediately went back to dueling the other Death Eater and Ginny turned around to see two Death Eaters coming her way. She started running up the marble staircase and lost her balance as a spell flew right past her face. She fell against the banister and quickly rolled to the side as another spell blasted the side railing into pieces. She got to her feet and starting fighting the two Death Eaters throwing every spell she could think of at them.

The Death Eater Ron was fighting shot out a binding charm that wrapped around Ron's legs and pulled him to the floor. Ron tried to regain his balance on the way down, but couldn't and his head collided with the marble floor and everything went black.

“RON!” Hermione screamed and ran over to his side. She threw a Bombarda spell at the Death Eater and he flew across the room into the wall.

Ginny was cornered on the staircase, one Death Eater at the top and one at the bottom. She threw an Incendio spell at one and they were engulfed in flames. The man's screams ringing in her ears. The other Death Eater threw another curse at her that she barely dodged. She saw the opening in the staircase from where the railing broke and without thinking she jumped off the side of the stairs. She landed with a hard thud and felt the burning feeling run up both her legs, but she ignored it and kept running.

Lucius and Draco battled for what seemed like forever when Lucius shot a spell at Draco that he dodged, but hit the marble pillar behind him making it explode into a bunch of pieces. Draco jumped out of the way of the fallen debris, but a big piece fell on his leg and he yelled out in pain.

Across the way, Harry had taken down another Death Eater and was helping Hermione with another two. One Death Eater lost his wand and had Hermione in an arm lock when Harry Stupified him and he fell to the floor. While Harry's focus was on helping Hermione another Death Eater shot a spell at Harry making him fly into one of the nearby walls. Harry felt his shoulder pop out of place and he gave out a painful grunt. Hermione sent a forceful spell at the Death Eater, as he flew into the wall beside Harry but fell unconscious. Hermione ran over to Harry to see if he was ok.

“Harry, are you ok?”

“Yeah I'm fine, where are Ginny and Draco?” he winced at the pain in his shoulder.

Back over where Ginny was taking cover, she saw that Draco was pinned under a large piece of marble and Lucius had his wand pointed at Draco across the room. Ginny noticed Draco struggling to try and get out from under the slate on top of him. She saw he lost his wand which was just out of reach from him. She immediately sprung to her feet and started running to him as fast as she could. She flew past spells that whizzed by her, some just missing her ear by mere centimeters. She jumped over bodies that lay on the floor like they weren't even there just to get to him in time. She heard the Avada Kedavra spell leaving Lucius' mouth. She heard Harry and Hermione scream for her to stop, she heard Draco screaming no to her but she didn't care. She came to a skidding halt right in front of Draco and pointed her wand up over them. She felt the spell hit, her face was turned away; bracing for the impact as was Draco's. When she turned to look she saw her Protego charm was up just in time to block the curse.

She let out a burst of breath she didn't know she was holding in and turned to Draco and gave him a smile and he returned it. Harry and Hermione shared a look of relief and ran towards them.

“You did it Weasley,” Draco said finally freeing his leg from the rubble.

He then saw his father's face twist into a look of such hate and animosity. Lucius shot out a quick spell at Ginny's Protego barrier and then a sick smile formed on his face. Ginny's barrier slowly died down and her wand arm fell to her side. She slowly fell to her knees and her wand fell out of her hand.

Lucius gave a maniacal laugh and the remaining Death Eaters started apparating away. “I told you I'd make you suffer Draco,” and with that, he disappeared.

Draco was breathing heavy, he was confused. He slowly walked around to face Ginny, he saw her hunched over on her knees and her flaming hair covering her face. She held her left hand up to her right shoulder. Harry and Hermione ran to her side.

“Ginny? Are you alright?” Hermione was trying to look her over.

Ginny slowly lifted her head to reveal her tear stained face and moved her hand to uncover her shoulder where a black arrow sat plunged into it. Hermione let out a loud gasp and Draco was kneeling down in front of her now.

“SON OF A BITCH WEASLEY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU NEVER SHOULD'VE TRIED TO PROTECT ME,” he yelled, trying to hide the worry in his voice.

Ginny was trembling and wincing in pain; Hermione tried helping her stand. She tried to apparate to Hogsmeade, but she found she couldn't, there was something blocking her.

“I can't apparate out of here,” she said sounding panicked.

“Shit, it's the wards that are up around the Manor, it's much like Hogwarts. You can't apparate in or out of it.” Draco said, pacing back and forth trying to come up with an idea.

He ran to the front door and ripped it open. He ran outside and looked at the protective dome that closed them in. He was just now noticing the pain in his ankle from the fallen debris earlier. He didn't care though, he fought through it. He made an attempt to remove the ward. He shot every spell he could think of at it, but he was unsuccessful. He ran over to where the wards ended and tried to walk past it. He was immediately blasted backwards by the ward.

“FUCK” he yelled out in frustration and quickly made his way back inside the Manor. He ran back over to Ginny and the others and saw Hermione applying pressure to Ginny's wound. “Let's get her up to my room, I have some first aid stuff in my bathroom.” he said quickly deciding not to share the fact that they were all trapped in here.

Hermione nodded and tried to have Ginny walk with her, but she was too weak. Harry attempted to have her lean on him, but he couldn't with his shoulder. Draco picked Ginny up in his arms and started carrying her upstairs. Harry did a levitating spell to bring Ron's unconscious body upstairs as well. Ginny's head laid against Draco's chest, she looked up at him and then she felt herself fading. Draco looked down at her and saw her eyes glaze over and her head fall to the side. She was coming in and out of consciousness. He kicked his door open and brought her over to a leather couch in his room and sat her down. Harry levitated Ron onto another nearby couch and ran over to Ginny.

“We need to pull the arrow out,” Harry said frantically.

“No,” Hermione said coming back over with a bunch of towels and bandages. “Listen to me Harry, go fill up a bowl of water for me, and Draco, I'm going to need your help,” She said, her voice hard and focused.

“What do you mean “no” Granger?” Draco asked.

“This is dark magic, it's a black arrow and look at the tail on it,” she said pointing to the end of the arrow. “It's a red and black tail, which means the head of the arrow is deadly. The head spikes out causing extreme damage to the enemy. If I pull it back out, it's going to be like pulling out an open umbrella. It will be less painful and less damaging if I push it the rest of the way through,” she said with a frightened look on her face.

“Push it through? Have you lost your fuckin mind Granger, that will kill her?”

“No, it missed her lung and it's practically all the way through already. I just need to push it a bit more,” she said her voice shaking.

Harry came back with the water and set it down next to Hermione. The whole scene seemed to be going by so fast. Hermione's heart was racing, Harry looked completely lost, and Draco had a look of shock on his face.

“I need more room to do this, lay her on the floor over here,” Hermione said, walking over to a clearing in the room. Draco picked Ginny up and carried her over and laid her down on the floor. Hermione leaned down and pulled Ginny's limp body up into a sitting position. “Draco sit behind her and hold her up,” Hermione ordered.

The world at that moment seemed to stop, everything became muffled and blurry. The only thing Draco could see at this moment was the girl before him close to death. He thought about how he regretted holding back from being his true self. He thought about if Ginny and he could have ever been true friends or maybe even more. He had only just started warming up to the idea of it and she was already slipping away. This is why he was meant to be alone. He could never have any kind of friendship or relationship with anyone as long as his father was alive. He heard someone calling his name but he couldn't respond. He finally was pulled back to reality when he felt Harry grab him by the shirt.

"MALFOY, SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT AND HELP US, I CAN'T HOLD HER UP WITH MY SHOULDER LIKE THIS!" Harry yelled.

Draco stared at him and Hermione for a second before clearing his mind and leaning the redhead's body against him between his legs. Hermione snapped the tail of the arrow off and used some wet rags to clean some of the blood near the entrance wound. She grabbed the end of the arrow and was about to start pushing, her hands were shaking like crazy; she thought she was going to pass out. She was scared to death she might be wrong about something, or not be able to save her friend. She suddenly felt Harry grab her hand and she looked up at him. He gave her a small nod to show that it was going to be ok and she gave a small nod back. She turned and looked right into Draco's eyes.

“This is going to be really painful. She's going to scream, she's going to push away, she is going to try and fight us to stop from the amount of pain she's about to endure, but I need you to focus and make sure you hold her down, ok?” she said, firmly her eyes filling with tears.

He couldn't hide the fear and worry in his face. He nodded. He looked over at Harry who looked at him. Harry looked like he was going to pass out too. His face was pale, his eyes were watery. Draco could tell how much the trio cared for Ginny. He turned back to Ginny when he heard Hermione rip Ginny's shirt. She ripped off the sleeve to her right arm and cut her bra strap to clear the area around the wound. Draco felt a huge lump in his throat form at how uncomfortable he felt at this moment. Not only did he have an unconscious Ginny lying between his legs bleeding all over him, but her bare shoulder quite visible as well.

“Ready?” Hermione asked, placing her hand on the arrow.

He nodded.

Hermione took a few deep breaths. She shook her hands to free them of the nerves. She was trying so hard not to fall apart right now.

Hermione grabbed the end of the arrow again and started to push as hard as she could to force it through Ginny flesh. Ginny's eyes flew open and let out a blood-curdling scream. Draco grabbed her arms to her side as she kicked and screamed in pain. Hermione's face was twisted with anger and disgust at the gesture she had to perform on her friend. Draco felt Ginny's hand clasp onto his wrist and dug her nails into him. He didn't care he knew she needed to latch onto something to help ease the pain she was going through. She turned her head into his chest and screamed and cried from the pain. Suddenly, all screaming came to a stop and Draco felt the grip on his wrist loosen. He looked at Ginny's face and saw she fell unconscious again from the pain.

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Hermione suddenly cried out, trying hard not to completely lose herself.

"YES YOU CAN HERMIONE, YOU HAVE TO FOR GINNY'S SAKE," Harry said.

"NO I CAN'T, I CAN'T DO IT!" she sobbed.

"GRANGER, YOU NEED TO PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER RIGHT THIS GOD DAMN MINUTE, OR YOUR FRIEND WILL BLEED TO DEATH!" Draco screamed at her.

She stared at him for a moment. Tears streamed down her face and she gave a sniffled nod. She took a few more deep breaths and grabbed the end of the arrow again. She pushed and pushed until she felt the head of the arrow breakthrough. She let out a long breath when she saw the arrowhead emerge.

“Got it,” Hermione said, pulling the arrow free from Ginny's shoulder. Hermione glanced at the arrow head, she held in her hand. Her heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight of it.

“What is it, Hermione?” Harry said, noticing the look on her face.

“Its poison,” she whispered.

Silence filled the room. Harry stood up and started pacing the room. Draco just stared at the unconscious girl in his hands. His face was covered in anger as he thought of his father who caused all of this. Hermione came out of her daze suddenly and went back to address Ginny's wound. She healed as much as she could and bandaged it up after she gave it a thorough cleaning. She conjured an arm sling up from one of the towels and put Ginny's right arm in it. Draco transformed one of his tank tops to Ginny's size and a pair of pajama pants for her which Hermione changed her into. They all stood there for a moment after finally getting Ginny stable. Now that all the adrenaline stopped flowing everything began to sink in. There was nothing but silence, nobody spoke a word. The situation was completely unreal.

Hermione looked herself over and her eyes went to the area where they pulled out the arrow. All she saw was blood, it was all over her hands and her clothes. She looked over to Draco, who was noticing the same thing she was; he was covered in more blood than her. He was drenched in Ginny's blood, some of it was on his face and even in his hair. Hermione's body started to shake and she fell to her knees and started sobbing. Harry embraced his friend and let her cry in his arms as he also shed tears for the redhead lying near death in the bed before him.

Draco ran into his bathroom that was connected to his bedroom and he threw up. He closed the bathroom door and started peeling the bloodstained clothes from his body. He splashed water on his face and looked up into the mirror. He was trembling from head to toe, both from anger and shock. As hard as he tried to hold them back, he couldn't help it and he broke down into tears.

About a half an hour later Draco emerged from the bathroom showered and changed. He saw Hermione sitting with Ron and Harry sitting in front of a fire that he took the liberty of starting.

He sat on a nearby couch with his hands on his knees. “My father trapped us in here. He made the wards unbreakable; even he can't take them down. The only other person I think could override a ward like this is McGonagall and like Hogwarts, we could have mail come and go so we should write a letter to her as soon as possible.” He explained not looking at them. He was ashamed that his father was behind all of this.

He got up and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from the desk near his bed. He glanced over at Ginny's pale body unconscious in his bed. Her flaming hair wasn't as vibrant; her lips more purple than pink. His heart sank at the sight of her. He quickly turned away back to Harry and Hermione before his emotions got the better of him. He scribbled down a letter to McGonagall explaining what happened at Hogsmeade. He explained about the battle that took place and the wards that were keeping them here. He explained about Ginny's condition and told her she was stable for now but needed an antidote to the poison. He left the room to go to the small Owlery the Manor had to send the letter.

Hermione stroked Ron's hair and looked at him as he slept. She healed his head and he had a concussion, but he was going to be ok. Her heart ached thinking about the news she had to share with him when he woke up. She also healed Harry's dislocated arm. She just wished there was more she could do for Ginny.

Harry looked over at her. “How long does Ginny have?” he asked, a lump forming in his throat.

Hermione looked at him, “I don't know. It could take a week, two weeks or it could take a few days. I guess it would depend on how fast it's spreading and where it entered. Luckily it didn't hit any main organs, so I'm hoping that gives us time to get her to Madame Pomfrey.”

Draco came walking back into the room. “Ok, it's sent.”

Hermione and Harry nodded.

Draco walked over to his closet and pulled out some clothes. He handed them to Harry and Hermione.

“Here, you can alter these to your liking. There is a guest room across the hall and one next to it., you can crash in there. There's a bathroom in each room so help yourselves. I'll see if there's anything to eat down in the kitchen.”

They both silently nodded. They were all still in a state of shock.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco walked into the kitchen of Malfoy Manor and went into the liquor cabinet. He poured himself a drink. It wasn't often he ever did this, but tonight was as good a night as any. He threw back a shot and then another. He wasn't sure how to feel right now, angry......sad? He threw his glass against the wall in frustration. He didn't notice how heavy his breathing had become and he leaned on the counter with his head back to try and calm himself.

"I see you've found something more than food," Hermione said in a small voice walking into the kitchen.

She sat down on a bar stool at the little island in the kitchen. She was showered and changed into the clothes Draco gave her. She eyed the liquor on the counter. Draco saw this and grabbed two cups and poured them both a drink. He slid it over to her. She looked down at it for a moment and then quickly grabbed it and threw it back.

"Oh, gosh, that burns."

"That's the best part," Draco chuckled and then drank his. He poured another two for them. "Here, the second one goes down easier."

She took the glass from him and reluctantly drank it. She closed her eyes in anticipation for the burn and was relieved to feel it wasn't near as bad as the first.

"Hmm, you weren't lying, so much better."

He sat down across from her, they sat in silence for a moment.

"Harry is talking to Ron about Ginny. He came around after I got out of the shower. I couldn't bring myself to tell him," Hermione's voice broke out in barely a whisper.

Draco was quiet. What was there to say? He poured them both another drink. They both downed them. Harry came walking into the kitchen and took a seat with them. Draco took this as a sign to grab another glass and poured three more drinks.

"I talked to Ron; I had to force him to stay in bed. He can barely keep his eyes open. He's pretty out of it still but I explained about Ginny and that she was stable for now. He finally lay back down; crazy git that one." Harry said throwing back his drink.

Hermione gave him a small smile and the three of them sat there in silence again. Draco filled Harry's glass again.

"Never thought I'd be throwing back drinks with Draco Malfoy at his house and in his clothes," Harry said suddenly.

They all burst out laughing at this statement. The sound of a laugh was hard to come by these past few weeks.

"Alright, well that's enough drinking for me for one night," Draco said.

"Yeah, I'm not even hungry anyway, I couldn't eat after........." Hermione trailed off.

"Come on, let's head back up to Ginny," Harry said, putting his arm around Hermione.

They walked back upstairs and Hermione checked on Ginny. She changed her bandage real quick and then joined Ron in the guest room across the hall. Harry took the guest room next to them and Draco slept on the couch in his room where Ginny was in his bed. His bedroom was a lot like the Head boy dorm room at Hogwarts. The only difference was that there were actually windows that let the outside light in rather than being surrounded by the dungeon walls. He sat in one of the armchairs where he could keep an eye on Ginny and opened up a book to read. He didn't get very far before his mind wandered and he fell asleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny slowly opened her eyes. All she saw was darkness. She blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. Above her, she saw a canopy to a bed and finally realized she was in bed. Not her bed though. She went to go sit up and was immediately met with excruciating pain. She looked over to her shoulder and saw it was bandaged and in a sling. She started to panic and tried to sit up again. She let out a slight gasp from the pain she was in. Draco immediately heard her and ran over to her side.

"Ginny, you're awake. No, stop moving, don't try to sit up," he said trying to calm her.

"Where am I? What happened to me?" She was practically crying from the pain and confusion she was experiencing.

"You were hit with an arrow and you're at Malfoy Manor," Draco told her.

Ginny's mind finally played catch up and the entire event from earlier played over in her head. Draco watched as her facial expressions changed from anger to worry to understanding. She finally looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Where is everyone?"

"They are ok, they're across the hall in a guest room," he said, grabbing some water off of his nightstand for her. "Here, drink this."

Ginny took the cup and almost dropped it when Draco quickly grabbed it. She felt so weak; she could barely sit herself up.

"Here, let me help you," Draco said, holding the glass for Ginny to drink from.

"Thanks," she said in a shaky voice and then laid back down.

"It was a poisonous arrow," Draco blurted out suddenly.

"What?" Ginny asked, confused.

He took a deep breath and repeated himself, "The arrow that hit you; its poisonous," he said running a hand through his hair.

Ginny looked at him with a thoughtful look on her face. She then had a small smirk on her face.

"You're always such a breath of fresh air to have around," she gave a small smile

He half laughed at her comment. "Sorry, just wanted to get that out of the way."

They were quiet for a few moments. "How long do I have?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

"We are waiting to hear back from McGonagall. I'm hoping Madame Pomfrey has some answers for us and that we can get out of here and get you some help."

"Draco?"

"Yeah"

"I'm in so much pain," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be right back, I have something that might help."

He disappeared from the room and returned shortly after with a glass and a bottle of Firewhisky. He poured her a glass and helped her drink it. She winced at the burn and then he helped her down another two glasses.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He sat next to her until her eyes grew heavy and she soon fell asleep. He walked over to the couch in front of the fire and threw himself down on it. He thought of how worried he was for Ginny. His heart ached to see her in such pain. He kept telling himself to stop thinking like that. He didn't know what it was about Ginny but she made him forget about his plan of not getting to close every time she was around him; which was exactly why he couldn't get too close to begin with. He shook his head of all thoughts and let sleep take him once again for the night.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning Draco woke up with a headache and the pain in his ankle seemed to finally get his attention. He knew it was probably just a bad sprain and some bruising, but the few drinks he had last night made it seem like nothing. He heard an annoying tapping at the window and cracked his eyes open to find the blaring sun on his face. He gave a light groan from the uncomfortable position he slept in on the couch all night. He sat up and saw his owl tapping to get in. He realized it was a response from McGonagall and immediately got up and limped over to the window and threw it open. He grabbed the letter from the owl and the owl flew off back to the Owlery. He opened the letter.

Dear Draco, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny,

I'm so sorry to hear about your unfortunate encounter with Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters. I am even sorrier to hear about Miss Weasley's condition. It pains me to tell you lot this, but The Ministry feels it would be safer for you to stay at Malfoy Manor. Having that ward up right now seems to be the safest place you can be. Why Lucius would put up a ward that he himself can't get back into is a mystery to me. Hogwarts is completely empty. After the Hogsmeade attack, the little bit of students left were pulled out by their families out of fear. Lucius' attacks are at an all-time high and they even tried to penetrate the Hogwarts wards. I have been fighting with the Ministry on this since I received your letter but am afraid I don't have the same reputation as Dumbledore did. I will work on removing the ward when the Ministry has approved it. I have informed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley of the situation and as well as Miss Granger's parents. As for Ginny's condition, Madame Pomfrey is working on an antidote. Sadly, neither we nor St. Mungo's hospital is equipped to handle such cases of Dark Magic so an antidote isn't readily available. It also pains me to say that the antidote will not be ready for at least two weeks. When it is I will send it unless I am able to get you all out of there beforehand. I had Madame Pomfrey send a couple of sleeping draughts for Miss Weasley and have included a healing charm incantation that perhaps Miss Granger can attempt to perform. I'm so sorry I can't do more at the moment, but I am trying all that I can. Someone at the Ministry is working for Lucius and it's making it hard for me to do more. Please send me daily updates on Miss Weasley's condition and I will send any news I have to you all.

Minerva McGonagall

Pure rage filled Draco by the time he was done reading the letter. He couldn't believe they were stuck here. He stormed across the hall and threw open the door to the guest room. Hermione and Ron shot up.

"THEY ARE KEEPING US HERE. EVEN AFTER THE ATTACK WE JUST WENT THROUGH. SOMEONE AT THE MINISTRY HAS AN UPPER HAND ON DECISION MAKING AND IS WORKING WITH MY FATHER. MCGONAGALL SAID SHE CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT NOW!" Draco yelled at them pacing back and forth with the letter in his hand.

"What, are you serious?" Hermione said, getting out of bed and grabbing the letter for Draco.

Harry walked in rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Let's just say that someone at the Ministry is making sure we stay put," Hermione answered.

"This is insane; they can't expect us to stay here. Especially with Ginny being ill now," Ron said with a look of worry washing over his face at the mention of his sister.

Draco looked at him for a moment and then to Hermione. "McGonagall said two weeks at least for an antidote. Can she wait that long?"

"I don't know, if I can keep her wound clean and try and heal it more than maybe I can buy her enough time until then. Most of her pain is from the wound so we should focus on keeping her comfortable for now." Hermione looked over the incantation of the healing charm.

"I thought you knew how to heal Granger?" Draco said sounding a bit annoyed.

"Only minor charms, Ron's head, and Harry's shoulder were a lot easier than healing an open wound like Ginny's. By the way, let me take a look at your ankle" she said, kneeling down next to him.

"I'm fine, just work on trying to heal Ginny," he said stepping back from her.

She stared at him for a moment and then turned to Harry and Ron. "Ron why don't you go check on Ginny and Harry go see what there is to eat downstairs. I'm going to heal Draco's ankle real quick"

Ron and Harry nodded and walked out of the room and she turned her focus back to Draco.

"I told you I'm fine, Granger," he drawled.

"Draco, shut up and sit down," she said, pushing him into a nearby chair.

She pulled up his pant leg and made a pained face at the site of his ankle. "Gosh, Draco, and you walked around on this?"

"Well, can't say I really felt much between the adrenaline and the drinking last night," he said watching her examine his ankle.

"Yeah, the drinking, let's just say I can't hold my liquor well. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow last night," she chuckled.

Draco gave her a smirk and then felt an instant relief as she healed his ankle.

"There, good as new," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," he said and then got up quickly and exited the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hermione checked on Ginny's wound and changed her bandages. She tried the incantation a few times but was unsuccessful. She was going to try and tackle it again after they had some breakfast. Ginny woke up while Hermione was changing her bandages and had a few sips of water. Hermione told her about the letter and then gave her a sleeping potion that Madame Pomfrey sent so that she can sleep through the pain. Draco came walking out of the bathroom to his room dressed and glanced over at Ginny. He saw her fast asleep, she looked so peaceful. Hermione gave him a small smile at seeing this.

"Let's see if Potter came up with some concoction for us to call food," he said as they both headed downstairs.

They arrived at the kitchen and sat at the middle island where Harry and Ron were. There was a full breakfast made and served for each of them.

"Shit Potter, you do a better job than the house elves" Draco teased sliding a plate over to himself.

"Haha, well when you have years of practice slaving over your aunt, uncle and cousin you tend to pick up a few things. It also helped that your kitchen is stocked with every food imaginable" he said taking a bite of eggs.

"Bloody hell, look at us, eating breakfast with a Malfoy, never thought I'd see the day," Ron said.

Draco looked over at him a seen a smirk on Ron's face. He was ready to respond with a nasty comeback but decided against it given their current living arrangements.

"I still don't understand, Lucius trapped us in here for what reason exactly? I mean I understand he wants to see us suffer through Ginny's pain, but why have Malfoy here? I guess to see us suffer through trying to live under the same roof together? To see who will kill Malfoy first?" Ron asked with a confused look.

Draco looked down at his plate, "Yeah, I guess that's why" he said.

Hermione looked over at him and so did Harry. They both knew Lucius wanted them to watch Ginny die in here. He knew Draco had a soft spot for her and he knew Draco would suffer through seeing her waste away in here. Draco got up and walked out of the kitchen as Harry and Hermione looked at Ron, who seemed to be oblivious to the way Draco responded to his theory. Hermione looked at Harry and rolled her eyes.

Over the next few days, Ginny did a lot of sleeping and would only get up to have some water or make an attempt to eat. By the third day Hermione finally got the incantation to work and performed it on Ginny's wound and soon she was able to take off the sling. When Ginny was resting the rest of them just kept to themselves. Harry and Ron played a few games of wizard's chess that Draco had in his room. Hermione read book after book from the Malfoy library. When Draco first showed her the library she was like a kid in a candy shop. Draco just sat deep in thought the whole time. He read also and even played Harry and Ron a few times in chess.

It was the evening of the fourth day and they were all laying sprawled out in Draco's bedroom in front of the fire. Hermione had a book in her hand but was just flipping through it. Harry and Ron sat playing chess but were more just pushing pieces around absent-mindedly. Draco was just sitting there looking into the fire.

"Hey, guys?"

They all turned at the sound of Ginny's voice. Hermione got up and walked over to her.

"Hey Ginny, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better now that this wound is almost healed," she said sitting up.

"You say that now, but I gave you the last of the sleeping potion from Madame Pomfrey so later you might not be saying the same thing." Hermione gave her a small smile.

"Ha, yeah; I need to get up and try and walk. My body is killing me from lying in this bed," she said, taking Hermione's hand and trying to stand up.

Hermione helped her walk over to the couch to sit down. Draco turned his attention from the fire to the redhead next to him. She was pale and looked so weak, he looked down at the floor when a feeling of guilt came over him.

"Thanks, Hermione."

Silence filled the room. It was completely quiet with just the sound of the fire crackling. Ginny looked around at them all. She couldn't stand how quiet it was. Every time she was awake for a little while it was always just a heavy silence that drove her insane.

"Can somebody say or do something" she suddenly said. "If this poison is going to kill me, I really don't want my last few days to be boring as hell." she joked.

They all looked at each other. They were a bit taken aback by the way she addressed such a grave and sensitive subject. Harry and Ron couldn't help the small laughs that slipped out and soon Draco and Hermione gave a small smirk also.

"Well, what do you suggest we do? It's not like you're up to par when it comes to activities," Ron joked.

A smile crept across Ginny's face. "No, but I do enjoy watching good entertainment."

"So then what do you suggest?" Draco asked her.

She turned to face him. She looked into his eyes and her smile grew wider. "Well, we are at Malfoy Manor, surely we can think of something."

Draco thought for a second and then an idea came to him. "Alright then, follow me," He said getting up abruptly. They all followed him; Ginny holding onto her brother for support.

They made their way down the grand staircase and Ron picked Ginny up and carried her down. They followed Draco down a long hall and came to a pair of large wooden doors. He turned both knobs and threw open both doors.

"Welcome to the Malfoy Ballroom" he said with a smirk on his face.

They all stood there in awe. The ballroom was gigantic. It had a grand chandelier in the middle that sparkled so brightly it almost blinded them when Draco turned on the lights. There was a stage at the far end and hundreds of tables all around them. There was a large polished wooden dance floor in the center under the chandelier. There was a gorgeous fireplace on the far side next to the dance floor with great big Victorian looking couches that were black and silver.

"It's beautiful," Ginny said, looking around the room.

"Yeah, it's even better when it's not filled with Death Eaters pretending to be civilized individuals." Draco said more to himself than anything. "Come on," he waved to them to follow him over to the large fireplace. He waved his wand and made up a fire and then flicked his wand again and had some ballroom music start to play.

"I know this music is a bore, but I'm not really familiar with anything else," Draco said taking a seat on one of the couches. Ginny sat down next him.

"It's perfect," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her. He loved to see her smile, to see her happy even if just for a moment. Then he thought, did he just say loved? He meant it was NICE....yes.....NICE to see her smile. Draco didn't know what love was. He never truly felt that kind of affection from anyone so how would he know if he could possibly ever love someone else, especially a Weasley.

"Someone dance," Ginny said with excitement.

"Alright, alright, I'll show you some proper ballroom dancing," Ron said, dragging Hermione onto the dance floor with him.

"How do you know what proper ballroom dancing is Weasley?" Draco teased him and then laughed along with the rest of them.

"Observe," Ron simply said to them and then roughly grabbed Hermione's hand.

"Ouch, you're crushing my fingers, Ron," she said, loosening his grip around her hand.

"Oh, sorry, ok here we go," He said and then tried to waltz with Hermione.

Harry, Draco and Ginny couldn't help but laugh at the scene before them. All you heard were shoes scuffing the floor and Hermione shouting out in pain every time Ron stepped on her feet. They argued over who was leading and who wasn't. They argued at where your hands should be and about who was stepping on whose feet.

"Honestly Ron, I actually danced at the Yule Ball in fourth year, while you pouted and sat down the whole time and you're going to tell me how to waltz?" Hermione snapped. "Harry, come show him how to properly waltz," she said, waving for Harry to come over.

"Uh, I'll pass thanks. I barely got through the first dance that night." he laughed

"Aw, come on Harry go dance," Ginny whined playfully.

"You guys are a bunch of prats, I'll show you the proper way. Get over here Granger" Draco said, walking onto the dance floor.

He put his hands in place and looked Hermione in the eyes. "If we mess up, just know it's your fault," he said with a smirk.

She gave a wide grin and rolled her eyes and then they started to waltz. It was probably one of the most flawless dances Ginny had ever seen. They glided perfectly around the room. No feet were stepped on, no arguing. It was clear Draco was leading as he turned and spun Hermione around and she laughed and moved with ease. Ginny watched Draco the entire time. She saw him glance her way as he gave Hermione another spin. They soon came to a stop and Draco and Hermione playfully gave a bow as Ginny and Harry clapped at their performance.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you this one Malfoy," Ron laughed.

"That's alright Ron, I still love you, even with your two left feet," Hermione said planting a kiss on his cheek.

They all sat there as their laughter started to die down. Silence filled the room again. Draco could still feel the smile on his face. Did he actually enjoy this time he was spending with his once sworn enemies? An even bigger smile spread across his face.

"If you guys think the Ballroom is nice then I should show you my favorite part of the Manor then. Want to see it?"

"YES!" they all answered in unison.

They followed him for a while through hall after hall. Then he took them down to the dungeon areas and the change in temperature made Ginny shiver. Harry and Ron looked at each other as they thought of the last time they were held captive down here.

"Relax guys, believe me, you'll thank me for this" Draco said, stopping in front of two big stone doors. He grabbed a few cloaks that were hanging up beside the door and gave them out to them.

"We're going outside? It's freezing out there," Hermione said, putting the cloak on.

"Trust me, it's worth it," Draco said and then opened the double doors and pushed them open.

They all walked in and were amazed at the sight before them.

"YOU HAVE A FUCKIN QUIDDITCH PITCH IN THIS PLACE?" Ron yelled with excitement running onto the field.

It was a huge Quidditch stadium. It was half underground and the roof opened up to the ground above.

"This is pretty amazing Draco" Harry started looking around.

"So you guys want to play some Quidditch? We will have to bend a few rules being that we only have four players" Draco said.

"Uh, make that three players, I can't even get a broom off the ground, let alone play a game on one," Hermione said taking a seat with Ginny in one of the nearby stands.

"Alright, then the three of us, let's see how well you girls do without the rest of your team," Draco said to Harry and Ron.

"Alright, Malfoy, you're on," Harry said confidently.

"You know you seem so sure of yourself Potter, let's make it interesting and we will all play seeker. First one to catch the snitch wins. Unless Ronda here is too chicken shit to play a position he hasn't before." Draco said, putting on his famous Malfoy sneer just to annoy Ron.

Harry tried keeping a straight face when he saw Ron get angry. Hermione and Ginny were giggling in the stands.

"Come on Ronda, take it out on the field," Harry said, dragging Ron with him to grab a broom.

Draco looked at Hermione and Ginny and shook his head; smiling to himself.

They all mounted their brooms and took off. Harry and Draco took off in the same direction while Ron seemed completely lost. They both knew to look for the snitch, but they seemed to just be enjoying the fact that they could feel the air hit their faces. Just the feeling of being on a broom again was something they both missed. Draco wished he could fly a bit higher, but he couldn't with the wards in place. He was at the highest he could get at this point. He was looking for the little golden ball when his eyes landed on Ginny's flaming hair in the stands below. He watched her laugh and follow the snitch from her seat. He knew she would probably beat them all, had she been able to participate. He thought next time she could show them all who's boss. Then he started thinking if there would be a next time. He was lost in his thoughts about Ginny when he suddenly saw a glint of gold pass her face. As he went to race after it, he saw Harry spotted it first and by the time he could attempt to go after it Harry had it in his hand. Harry flew up to Draco and tossed the snitch to him.

"Looks like I won this time," He said with a smirk.

Draco just smirked at him.

"I'm glad Luna isn't here, I'd hate to have a distraction in the stands while playing Quidditch," Harry said suddenly with an even wider smirk on his face and then flew off before Draco could try and deny that he was distracted by the redhead below.

He flew back down and met up with the rest of them. Ron looked outraged that he didn't catch the snitch. He looked at Ginny; her nose was red from the cold. She was starting to cough a lot.

"We should get you back inside," Draco said, putting his broom away.

Ginny nodded in agreement and Hermione helped her down from the stands.

They all went back up to Draco's room and sat in front of the fire. Ginny was wrapped up in a blanket sitting on the couch. It was starting to snow outside and Draco sat by the window watching it fall.

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night," Ron said through a yawn. "Thanks for showing us the pitch today Draco," he said, walking out of the room and across the hall.

"Looks like the Quidditch pitch landed you on a first name basis with Ron" Hermione teased.

Draco smirked at her. She checked on Ginny's bandages once more before also turning in for the night. Harry helped Ginny climb into bed and then went to turn in as well. Draco walked over to the couch and got comfortable and waited for sleep to take him. He lay there thinking about the girl sleeping in his bed. He was glad she had a few laughs today. He smiled to himself thinking back on the day they had and soon drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Draco? Draco?" Ginny whispered across the room.

Draco started stirring in his sleep. He thought he heard someone calling his name but sleep was pulling him back in. He then heard a loud thump and he shot straight up. He got up from the couch and saw the fire was still burning so he must not have been asleep very long. He looked over to check on Ginny and saw she was trying to climb out of bed. He ran over to her to help her.

"Hey, are you ok, why are you getting out of bed?"

"I tried calling for you, I didn't want to wake up everyone by screaming to get your attention," she sniffled out.

Draco then realized she had been crying. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes puffy.

"I can't sleep right now I need to sit up for a bit," she choked out.

"Ok, here, let me help you," he said helping her over to the couch.

He walked her over to the couch he had been sleeping on and sat her down. He noticed she was starting to cry more now. He leaned down in front of her to see her face.

"Ginny, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"

She shook her head no.

"Then what's going on? Do you want me to get Hermione?"

"No.......I'm just.......I'm scared........I'm scared I'm going to die." she sobbed.

"No, stop thinking like that you're going to be fine."

"NO, I'M NOT, LOOK AT ME; I CAN'T EVEN WALK ON MY OWN. I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. I'M GOING TO DIE, I KNOW IT. IT'S ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT WHEN IM LAYING IN THAT DAMN BED ALL DAY LONG. I CAN'T LIE IN THERE ANYMORE!" she cried.

"Ginny, calm down look at me, you're going to be fine I promise. We are going to get the antidote in time, I know it."

She looked at him and shook her head again, "No, you can't promise that you just can't. Today was so much fun. I thought about how I may never get another day like today. I thought of Fred...." she trailed off into another fit of sobs.

Draco wasn't sure what to say at this point. Was he making her a promise he couldn't keep? Was she right about what she was saying? He didn't even want to bear the thought of losing her.

"I'M GOING TO END UP LIKE FRED; I'M GOING TO THINK I HAVE TOMORROW TO LOOK FORWARD AND THEN JUST NOT WAKE UP! I HAVEN'T EVEN SAID GOODBYE TO MY PARENTS."

"GINNY STOP IT!" Draco grabbed her arms and gave her a forceful shake to try and snap her out of it.

She just hung her head, sobbing. She looked up into Draco's eyes and saw the worry he had for her in them. He looked back at her. He saw the flames from the fire dancing in her eyes and lighting up her hair, giving it that vibrancy he loved so much.

Ginny gave another sniffle and wiped away a few tears."I'm sorry, it's the only thing I can think about and I'm so scared. I don't-"

She was cut off suddenly when Draco's lips met hers. Her eyes went wide for a moment in disbelief and then closed. Ginny felt like fireworks were going off in her stomach. Her entire body was covered in goosebumps and the world completely stopped at this moment. She felt his hand entwine in her hair and push her closer to him and she willingly moved in. She immediately opened her mouth to give him better access to it and just as she was settling into the kiss he quickly pulled away as if her lips were acid. Draco stood up and just stared at her in disbelief, his eyes showing a look of shock at what just happened. He walked back from her like he was afraid of her and he ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Ginny was still staring at the spot where he stood. Her lips were still wet from where he kissed them. She was trying to understand what just happened; Draco Malfoy kissed her and she liked it.

Hermione came walking into the room and walked over to Ginny seeing the shocked look on her face.

"Ginny, what's going on? I heard yelling, is everything ok?"

Ginny was still stuck on the moment that just occurred.

"GINNY!" Hermione shouted, causing Ginny to jump.

"Oh, uh, yeah........yeah.....everything is fine," she said.

Draco ripped the bathroom door open suddenly and was heading out to leave the room. "Granger, stay with Weasley for a while," he demanded and then slammed his bedroom door closed behind him.

Hermione jumped at the loud bang and then turned to Ginny. "What happened? What's going on?"

Ginny didn't say anything. She was too busy trying to take in what just happened.

"GINNY?" Hermione shouted again; this time with worry in her voice.

"Draco kissed me," Ginny whispered suddenly touching her lips.

"WHAT?" Hermione shrieked sitting down next to her. Her worry quickly turned into excitement. "Then why is he upset?"

"I don't know. He pulled away so fast and looked at me like I was nuts."

Hermione knew why Draco pulled away. She knew he was in denial about his feelings for Ginny. She knew he cared for her, but he didn't want it to be known. Hermione sighed when Ron and Harry came walking in.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, nothing, Ginny just had a bad dream. Can you guys sit with her for a few moments? I'm going to go get her a drink." Hermione said then leaned over to whisper in Ginny's ear. "I'll go talk to him" Ginny nodded and gave her a small smile.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco stormed out of the Manor and into the back garden. The cold weather hit his face, which he didn't mind and the ground was covered in snow. He felt his bare feet in the snow and hoped it would help to cool him down. What was he thinking? Why would he kiss her? After everything he told himself not to do and he went ahead and did it. He wanted to just run upstairs and kiss her again, but he knew he couldn't. He thought back to the moment he crashed his lips against hers. He thought about how his heart did cartwheels when he felt she was more than willing to let him kiss her. Did this mean she had feelings for him too? "She's sick though, she probably didn't realize what she was doing," He thought to himself. He sat on a nearby stone bench and just let the snow fall on him. It wasn't long before he heard the snow crunching behind him and Hermione's voice reached his ears.

"Aren't you freezing out here?" she asked, wrapping a cloak tighter around herself.

He didn't say anything. He just looked down at the ground.

"Ginny told me what happened," she said suddenly

He whipped his head up to look at her. He was surprised Ginny shared that moment with her. He couldn't blame her, though she was probably confused. One second he was kissing her and then the next he stormed out of the room. He looked away again.

"It was stupid to do," he whispered

"Why?"

"Because Granger, it was," he said sounding annoyed.

She walked over to the bench and sat down next to him. She leaned over to try and get a better look at his face.

"You know Draco, you haven't even admitted to having feelings for Ginny yet and she has already been hurt."

He looked up at her with a shocked expression on his face. Then he grew angry. Of course, he knew she had been hurt and there wasn't even anything between them.

"SCREW YOU GRANGER; YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!" he yelled.

"Relax Draco, what I'm trying to say is; you're so worried about getting too close to Ginny because you're worried she'll get hurt. Well, she already has been, so why are you holding back? She is a target regardless of whether or not you pursue feelings for her. If your father is able to invade your mind like he does, then he's going to know, regardless if you act on them or not. He will always know you have a soft spot for Ginny. That's the point I'm trying to make."

He just stared at her. She was right, but he felt like he was putting her in more danger by acting on his feelings.

"I don't know if I can do that," he said quietly.

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder, "Think about it Draco" and then she got up and headed inside.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco finally made his way back upstairs and saw them all sitting by the fire in his room. They all turned to him when he entered. Ron got up and gave a huge yawn.

"Well, it's like four in the morning, so I'm going back to sleep," he said walking towards the door. Hermione and Harry were getting ready to follow suit.

Draco was thankful that the news of his kiss hadn't spread yet. He saw Ginny glaring at him from the couch. She looked pissed and a bit hurt. He couldn't deal with this right now and went to go make his way to the bathroom when she spoke suddenly.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked loudly across the room. Hermione winced at the question her friend just openly asked Draco in front of her overprotective brother and her ex-boyfriend.

Harry had a look of shock on his face and Ron's was covered in anger.

"YOU KISSED MY SISTER MALFOY!" he yelled, trying to walk over to him.

Hermione grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him and Harry out of the room and closed the door. She kept her hand on Ron's chest firmly to make sure he didn't go back in.

"Ron, stop it," she ordered. "They need to talk about this."

"I knew he fancied Ginny, but I didn't think he would actually act on it," Harry said still looking shocked.

"How come you guys know and I don't?" Ron said sounding angry.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron, the signs were all there you were just too thick to notice," she said.

They all stood outside the door in the hall listening to the argument that took place.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco turned to face Ginny; he looked a bit amused at her sudden rage.

"I can't deal with this right now," he said and started walking towards his bedroom door.

"NO! YOU'RE NOT JUST GOING TO IGNORE ME!" she yelled, standing up now and walking over to him.

Draco looked at the floor. This is the last thing he wanted to do.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked.

"I want you to tell me why," she said angrily, tears were now stinging her eyes.

"I did it as a distraction," he said simply.

"A DISTRACTION? NO, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT," she cried.

Draco was ready to snap. Her feelings were hurt, but he didn't feel he had a choice and he had to make her hate him. He felt this was the only way.

"WELL BELIEVE IT WEASLEY! I COULDN'T STAND YOUR CONSTANT BITCHING AND WHINING AND HAD TO SHUT YOU UP SOMEHOW!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

On the other side of the door, Hermione and Harry had a sad look on their faces.

"Why is he doing that?" Hermione said out loud to herself.

"Doing what?" Ron asked.

"Pushing Ginny away, he's doing it to try and protect her" Hermione explained.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny just stared at Draco in disbelief. She was crying now.

"Why can't you just admit the truth to me?" she said.

"YOU WANT THE TRUTH WEASLEY?" he said, walking over to his bedroom door and ripping it open making Harry, Ron, and Hermione jump back from the surprise of the door being opened.

"I WOULDN'T WANT YOU GUYS TO MISS OUT ON THIS," he yelled and then walked back over to Ginny. "THE TRUTH IS THAT THIS WHOLE THING IS FUCKED UP. PRETENDING WE'RE ALL FRIENDS NOW? ITS BULLSHIT THE WHOLE THING IS. YOU GUYS ARE STUCK HERE BECAUSE OF ME. I'M NOT MEANT TO LIVE, MY FATE IS DECIDED, AT THE END OF ALL OF THIS I'LL BE DEAD AND THAT'S FINE, I DESERVE IT. SO PRETENDING TO BE HAPPY OR PRETENDING TO FEEL ANYTHING FUCKIN ELSE BUT ANGER AND PAIN IS A JOKE. "

He was breathing heavy; his mind was racing and all over the place. All the emotions he had been feeling for years were filling his head. He looked like he was talking more to himself than anyone else. He looked at Ginny again and walked over to her until they were face to face. He stared into her eyes and saw her tear filled ones looking back.

He felt his emotions falling away from him like he couldn't control it or hold it back anymore. His mind felt like all it wanted was to scream and at any moment it might explode. He grabbed his hair in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. He felt tears of his own threatening to fall, but he wouldn't let them. The air around them all grew cold. The fire in the room suddenly extinguished and the windows were rattling. Everyone in the room seemed to notice this besides Draco. He was too busy trying not to completely lose it.

"WHY WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIFE TO SAVE ME OF ALL PEOPLE? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME DIE? I DON'T CARE IF IT'S THE COWARDS WAY OUT ANYMORE AT LEAST I WOULDN'T HAVE TO SPEND ANOTHER FUCKING MOMENT HERE WITH YOU" he screamed in her face. "AT LEAST I WOULDN'T HAVE TO LIVE WITH MYSELF AND KNOWING ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING I'VE BROUGHT TO SO MANY!"

He turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and saw they were all looking down. They all had a look of pity on their face for him. He grew angrier at this and the rattling windows sounded like at any moment they would shatter.

"DON'T DO THAT, DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE HOLD ANY PITY FOR ME. THE THINGS I'VE DONE, THE PEOPLE I HELPED BRING HARM TO. HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE POTTER, KNOWING I ONCE STOOD ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE PEOPLE WHO KILLED YOUR PARENTS! AND YOU WEASLEY!" he turned back to Ginny. "KNOWING I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR LETTING DEATH EATERS INTO HOGWARTS THAT LED TO YOUR BROTHER GETTING HURT, AND FRED!"

The sound of Ginny's slap against Draco's face filled the room. The trio in the hallway lowered their heads and looked away. Ginny let out a tearful gasp and let the tears fall freely down her face. She slumped to the floor in a ball crying.

"That's what I thought," he whispered with a sad face and walked out of the room past the trio. He stopped and looked at Hermione, who reluctantly looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Its better this way," he said, giving one last look at Ginny and retreated down the hall.

Hermione ran into the room and wrapped Ginny up in a hug. She tried to help her stand up, but Ginny was too weak from the anger she felt. She used all her energy to keep herself standing up and not fall over. She put everything she had into that slap she gave Draco and she immediately regretted it. She knew he didn't mean those things or did he? She didn't know what to think. Harry walked over and picked her up and sat her on the bed. Ron brought her over some tissues and gave her a kiss on the forehead and wrapped her up in a hug.

"It's ok Gin," he said as she cried in her brother's arms.

She was so grateful Ron didn't make any harsh comments or jump to any rash assumptions.

"Guys, you mind if I talk to Ginny for a moment?" Hermione asked.

They nodded and then left the room. Hermione slid onto the bed and faced Ginny.

"Do you know why Draco said those things?" she asked Ginny.

She shook her head no.

"He thinks he's protecting you. Don't take any of those things he said to heart. He was trying to hurt you on purpose." she said, rubbing her friends back.

Ginny looked up at her friend through her tears. "I really thought he kissed me because he wanted to." she choked out.

Hermione couldn't help the small smile that crept across her face and she shook her head. "He did Ginny, believe me, he did."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco threw open the doors to his father's study and stood over the desk he would always find his father sitting behind. He flung everything off of it and threw whatever he could grab around the room. He completely destroyed his father's study letting out all the anger he felt towards Lucius at that moment. He fell to his knees and hunched over resting his head on the hardwood floor. His anger soon turned to tears and he let out an angry growl. He hated feeling so vulnerable and letting his emotions get the better of him. He turned over and sat against the desk with his arms on his knees. He reached for a piece of glass nearby that shattered from a figurine he threw. He twirled it in his hand for a few moments and contemplated his next actions.

"You know that doesn't solve anything," he thought to himself. Did it matter though what he did? Not really, he was screwed in everything he did so it really didn't make a difference in his eyes. He absent-mindedly placed the glass over his wrist.

"Draco?" Harry's voice cut through the air.

Draco just glared at him and tossed the glass to the side of him. He ran his hands through his hair and just hung his head in total defeat. Harry walked over and sat on the floor with him. They sat in silence for a while.

"I broke up with Ginny after Dumbledore's death. I thought I was protecting her that way." Harry said suddenly. "But in the end, it didn't matter what I had tried to do she was still in danger. It was just inevitable. The whole world today is a target just some people more so than others."

"Yeah, but that's the thing Potter, I don't want her to be more of a target than she needs to be." Draco cut in.

"Why are you giving up? You're going to let your father win? All that anger and that hate you have for him. Take it and use it as fuel to bring him to an end. You're a good man Draco, I know you are. You're just finding it hard to believe that. "

Draco laughed at this comment. "A good man, please Potter; you and I both know that's total bullshit."

"It's not, it's the truth. You think Lucius is going to spare Ginny's life if you're dead.. if I'm dead? You think he will spare Ron or Hermione's life? Of course, he won't, so what is the difference? I tried pushing people away after I started losing people I loved but it turned out I needed them more than I thought. I wouldn't give Voldemort the satisfaction of not living my life and I sure the hell won't give Lucius it either. In the end, any friendship or love I had was the reason that kept me going and gave me something to fight for."

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Draco spoke. "That's just it though; I don't have anything worth fighting for"

Harry stood up and looked down at him. He let out a long sigh. "Yes you do and when it seems like you don't, then you fight for yourself." He then walked out of the study to leave Draco to ponder their conversation.

The next few days that went by were filled with silence. Ginny slept a lot more and was growing weaker by the day; she was barely eating anything. They received a letter from McGonagall saying the antidote was in its final stages of being ready which brought hope to all of them. Draco and Ginny hadn't spoken since their argument a few days ago. He still slept on the couch in his room, but during the day he wandered about the Manor to avoid Ginny. Harry, Ron, and Hermione just went back to doing their daily routine of book reading and playing wizard's chess. It was one afternoon that Draco came running into his room where they all were, holding a piece of paper.

"Granger, take a look at this. I found it in my father's office," he said, handing the paper to her.

She took the paper and looked it over. Her eyes grew wide and a smile formed on her face. "It's all about the wards around the Manor," she shrieked standing up from the couch she was lounging on. "It's a time-release spell that's on the ward." she stated.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked

"It means the ward will lift after two weeks," she said with excitement.

"We only have a few days left then," Harry said suddenly.

"But why two weeks of all time frames?" Ron asked.

"I think that's pretty obvious," she said in a sad voice turning her head to look at Ginny.

The excitement seemed to have died down and they all turned their focus on the redhead sleeping in the bed before them. She was getting worse and worse each day.

"I hope she can hold on until then," Ron whispered.

Hermione went over and hugged him. "She will Ron, she's strong," she gave him a small smile.

"Why don't you guys hit the Quidditch pitch for a bit and clear your minds. I'll stay with Granger and watch over Ginny." came Draco's voice suddenly not looking at any of them.

"Are you sure?" Ron asked Hermione more than Draco.

"Yeah, it's fine, go ahead," she said, giving Ron a quick kiss.

Harry and Ron left the room and Hermione wrote a quick note to McGonagall about the timer on the ward and then joined Draco on the couch, each of them had a book in their hand. They read in silence for a while with just the sound of the occasional turn of a page and the crackling fire. Ginny gave a few coughs in her sleep as they read and Hermione would peek her head over to make sure she was ok. Ginny started coughing again, this time harder. Hermione got up and walked over to her and Draco put his book down to glance over at Ginny.

Hermione reached the bed and saw Ginny was sweating out a fever. She quickly pulled the blankets off of her. Her body was sweaty and clammy.

"SHIT!" Hermione cursed loudly.

Draco instinctively jumped up and walked over to her.

"What's wrong?" He soon saw the condition Ginny was in and didn't require an answer.

"Draco, help me get her to the bathroom," Hermione said, trying to keep Ginny alert enough to try and walk a bit.

"Watch out I got her," Draco said and gently lifted her in his arms. Ginny could barely keep her eyes opened. She just let her head fall against his chest as he carried her to the bathroom. She started coughing roughly again and squirmed out of Draco's arms when they got to the bathroom and she threw herself over the toilet and threw up. She could barely hold herself up over the bowl. She had vomit in her hair and tears down her face. She didn't even know why she was crying.

"I'll be right back I'm going to grab some more towels," Hermione said and hurried out of the bathroom.

Ginny coughed again and soon another round of vomit spilled out of her. She was slumped over the bowl, resting her head on one of her arms.

"I didn't know I had that much in me to throw up," she said in a frail voice, letting a small smirk cross her lips and she closed her eyes.

Draco just realized he was kneeling beside her and had been rubbing her back as she vomited. He quickly pulled his hand away.

"No, please don't stop. I think it's helping," she breathed heavily.

Her eyes remained closed. She was too weak to keep them opened it seemed and apparently too weak to bring up their argument the other night. He just wanted to cradle her in his arms and tell her everything would be ok and that he loved her. He wanted to apologize to her for all the horrible things he ever did or said to her. He felt himself get a bit teary-eyed at how much he really did care and love Ginny. He didn't know what it was about her, but she drove him crazy and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her lips again. Ginny suddenly gave another round of coughing and vomiting.

"I'm glad you're here with me," she suddenly whispered; her eyes closed still and her head resting again on her arm. "You make me feel so safe." She took a deep breath and a small cough escaped her mouth. "I really like you," she said so low that Draco wasn't sure if she meant for him to hear that.

Did she just say that to me? He thought to himself. No, she's delirious right now, look at her. She has a high fever and barely knows what she's saying.

He simply responded "I like you too, Ginny," as she started dozing off into a light sleep.

Draco continued to rub her back.

Hermione ran back in with a few more towels and started filling the bathtub with cold water.

"Her body is on fire, I need to get her in the bath to cool her down. Just help me get her in the bath and I'll change her after into dry clothes," Hermione said, checking the temperature of the water. She turned the tap off.

Draco scooped Ginny up in his arms again and carried her over to the tub and gently placed her in. She immediately gasped out in shock.

"FUCK THIS IS FREEZING!"

"I know Ginny, but you need to cool down a bit you're burning up with fever," Hermione said, taking a wash rag and wringing it out over Ginny's head.

Ginny shivered and her body was starting to tremble at how cold the water was. "P.......Pl.......please get m.....me out of h....here." she chattered.

"I will, just a few more minutes, come on, let's get your hair cleaned up," Hermione said helping Ginny wash herself up.

After Draco helped her get Ginny out of the tub he left the bathroom so Hermione could help her change into some dry clothes. He grabbed himself a dry shirt after seeing he was soaked from where Ginny's wet clothes laid against him. He sat down in front of the fire waiting for the two girls to emerge from the bathroom.

Soon the bathroom door opened and he was glad to see Ginny only needed to lean on Hermione to be able to walk. Hermione helped her climb into bed and she immediately fell asleep. Hermione turned to face Draco and she let out an uneasy breath. Draco looked at her. She was soaking wet, her hair was a tangled mess and was sticking to her face. Her hands were trembling and she rubbed her face to try and rid any unpleasant thoughts that were clouding her head. Draco stood up and walked over to her.

"You ok Granger?"

She walked back into the bathroom and started cleaning up any vomit Ginny got on the floor and the toilet. She was trying to hold herself together. She was scrubbing the floor with such force.

Draco was watching her now. "Granger?" She didn't answer she just kept scrubbing.

"HERMIONE!" Draco shouted.

She stood up suddenly and faced him, tears were swelled up in her eyes. She walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug. Her entire body began to shake with sobs. Draco felt pretty awkward at this moment, but he knew she needed to cry. She was trying to be the strong one out of all of them and play peacekeeper between them. After a few moments, he awkwardly brought one of his arms up and hugged her back and let her have a good cry.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that evening Ginny woke up and was able to manage to get down some toast. She was thankful she could at least sit up in bed and have a conversation for a little bit. Hermione told her about the ward and Ginny seemed a bit more hopeful. The argument from the other night wasn't mentioned again and was kind of pushed to the back burner. They all became used to the routine of spending their days and evenings in Draco's room to watch over Ginny and then went to sleep and did it all over again the next day. Hermione was brushing Ginny's hair for her and Draco was letting Ron go through his wardrobe and make fun of his many suits.

"Jesus Draco, you think you have enough damn suits in here? Half of them look like the same exact one. I think I even saw some with tags on them still"

Draco gave a small laugh, "Yeah, well you can thank my parents for that. Apparently, it wasn't proper to wear the same suit twice," He said with a sneer on his face at the mention of his parents.

"Speaking of parents Draco, where is your mother?" Harry asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I've barely seen her since the battle. She is turning the other cheek when it comes to my father's activities, including his treatment of me," he answered and then got up and walked over to his closet where Ron was rummaging through it.

"That's horrible, I can't imagine my mother ignoring something like that," Hermione said now brushing her own hair.

"I'm used to it so it doesn't really matter," he said brushing the subject off. "You think all those suits are ridiculous Weasley, then check this shit out." he went into the closet and pulled out a large wooden box and clicked it open and unfolded the sides of the box. Inside were about a hundred different cufflinks. Some were gold, silver and even encrusted with diamonds.

"Are you serious?" Ron said in shock picking one up in his hand and staring in awe at it.

Draco just laughed and sat back down. Harry walked over to the box and looked over Ron's shoulder at it. He just smirked and shook his head.

"Wow Draco, look at you now, in jeans and a T-shirt when you have all this fancy attire" Harry teased.

Draco threw a pillow from the couch at him, knocking his glasses to the floor which broke. They all burst out laughing.

"Honestly you guys, really?" Hermione laughed, getting off the bed and walking over to Harry and repaired his glasses. "If I had a galleon for every time I had to fix these for you I'd have as many shoes as Draco does cuff links" she joked.

"Thanks," Harry said.

Draco glanced over at Ginny, who was very quiet. She was sitting with her legs over the bed and her head down. Her flaming hair was falling around her face and lying over her shoulders. He thought back to their fight the other day and about the conversation he and Harry had. He wasn't sure what to do now. The situation between him and Ginny seemed to have been forgotten about as she grew sicker. Not to Draco though, his feelings for her were a lot stronger now, especially after the kiss they shared. Now that he knew how close he was to losing her it seemed to be the only thing his mind could focus on. He must be thinking way too much because his head was starting to pound. He closed his eyes and opened them again from the throbbing. Then he felt the mark on his arm start to tingle. He jumped up from the couch abruptly, causing all of the others to look up at him with a confused look. Even Ginny lifted her head at Draco's behavior.

"What's wrong Draco?" Hermione asked.

He looked up at them all, his eyes were wide with the thought of having them all have to watch him go through this moment that he knew was coming. He tried to make a run to the door, but he hunched over from the pain in his head.

"Draco? Are you ok?" Hermione asked, taking a step closer to him.

He quickly backed up against the wall and held his hand out for her to stay away. She stopped and took a few steps back.

"S.....stay.....away," he forced out through clenched teeth.

They all knew what was happening, but they didn't expect it so suddenly. Draco hadn't gone through one of his father's punishments since they've been at the Manor. Draco held his head in his hands and soon fell to his knees in pain. The rest of them couldn't do anything but watch helplessly at the horrific scene before them. Draco tried so hard to not let the Cruciatus curse overtake him, but he couldn't fight it anymore and soon he was on all fours screaming out in pain. Ron held Hermione in his arms as she couldn't help the tears that rolled down her face at the sight before her. Ginny had her hand over her mouth to mask the gasps at having to witness Draco be tormented.

Draco tried standing up again and he lost his balance, falling into the dresser and knocking everything onto the floor. He growled and screamed; he couldn't take it, this was one of the worst ones he experienced. The room started shaking and the lights were flickering. That cold eerie feeling filled the room and the fire once again went out. The windows didn't shake this time, instead, they started icing over. They all seemed to notice this and it reminded them much of when the Dementors invaded the train in their third year. Draco's body was shaking uncontrollably; the veins in his head bulging, his face red and tears of pain ran down his face. He was on his knees again hunched over holding his head; his hands ran through his hair grabbing it as leverage. They didn't think his screams could get any louder, but the one he let out made Ginny jump off the bed and try to run over to him to try and console him. Before she could get to him, he screamed for her to stay away.

"NO! STAY AWAY!" he yelled, his teeth were clenched so tight he thought they might break.

He lifted his eyes to Ginny's to see her staring back at him. She saw his eyes turn from deep mercury to ice and she found herself locked onto him.

The iced windows carried over to the walls of the room and onto the floor. The whole room was becoming covered in ice. Harry ran over to Ginny and grabbed her arm to pull her back. The lights all popped and the windows burst into a million shards into the room. Harry covered Ginny in his arms and Ron and Hermione got down behind one of the couches. The howling winds and gusts of snow roared throughout the room. Things were flying around the room from the force of the wind. Harry turned to Draco, whose mind was giving into the pain and the effects of the curse.

"DRACO! YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS WHOLE PLACE DOWN IF YOU DON'T CONTROL YOUR MIND!" Harry yelled at him.

Draco looked at Harry and Harry was thrown backward against the wall. Hermione and Ron ran to his side to see if he was ok. Ginny stood up from where she was crouched down behind the couch. She took a few steps closer to Draco. He quickly scrambled backward to stay clear of her.

"N.....NO.....D...DON'T" he yelled to her trying with everything in him to control what was happening.

"GINNY, NO, GET AWAY!" Ron yelled, running over to grab her.

Ginny quickly closed the distance between her and Draco and kneeled down in front of him and grabbed his face in her hands. Her eyes stared into his.

"Draco, focus on me, listen to my voice," she said softly.

Draco searched her face. God, she was beautiful he thought; the feel of her hands on his face was enough to make him melt right then and there.

Ron stopped and watched as the rattling and rumbling of the Manor started to settle and the temperature change was returning to normal.

Draco soon felt his body suddenly relax and then he passed out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco was starting to wake up, he heard a noise every few moments that woke him. He wasn't sure what it was but just that it was making him curious to find out what it was. He opened his eyes and his vision was blurred for a moment. He went to reach up to rub his eyes and realized his body was on fire. He blinked a few more time for his eyes to adjust and take in his surroundings. He saw movement to his right and turned to see Hermione with her wand out. It looked like she was transfiguring some clothes. He slowly sat up in what he realized was a bed, but not his own. He winced at the pain in his body; every part of him ached. He saw he was in the guest room across the hall and soon he remembered what had happened.

"You're awake finally," Hermione said cheerfully walking over to him.

"Finally?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, you've been out since last night. It's almost dinner time," she said packing a bag.

"Damn," he saw the bag Hermione was packing. "What's that for?"

"Oh, the ward should lift by this time tomorrow, so I was just stealing some of the Manor's books. Surely you don't mind," she teased.

He gave a small smirk, "Of course not," He then heard that noise again that woke him up. Took him a moment to realize it was Ginny coughing. "How's Ginny?" he asked, looking worried.

Hermione looked at him with a sad face. She shook her head, "Not good, she's been vomiting and she's had some blood come up. She is having trouble breathing. I am making her some more clothes as she keeps having nose bleeds all over her other ones." She stopped and held a piece of the clothing she was transfiguring and leaned against the bed. She let out a sad sigh. "I hope she makes it until tomorrow evening. We are so close to getting out of here."

Draco threw the blankets off of him and stood up. He wobbled for a moment before finding his balance. "I want to see her," he stated firmly. Hermione nodded and lead him into the guest room next to theirs.

Draco walked into the room and searched the room for that red hair he was so familiar with. His eyes fell on her lying in bed. He walked over to her and he was a bit taken aback at how worse she got since he last saw her. His expression softened when he saw her turn her head a bit his way. She was shivering and she was sweating and clammy; her eyes were barely open.

"Hey.....y...you," she said in a small, frail voice that Draco had to strain to hear.

He smiled at her. He was amazed at the strength of the woman before him. "Hey yourself," he said back.

She gave a small smile and then fell into another fit of coughs. Hermione came walking over to her and got a towel to place over her mouth as she coughed. Draco took a few steps back to give Hermione some space. He saw the towel had blood on it and watched Hermione wipe Ginny's mouth free of any that was on it. Ginny then closed her eyes and fell asleep. Her breathing was shallow and Draco thought she might have stopped breathing for a moment, but was relieved when he saw her slightly stir in her sleep.

"Come on Draco let's go downstairs and get you something to eat," Hermione said, walking with him down to the kitchen.

Draco didn't say much, he was quiet for a while until they reached the kitchen. He took his usual seat at the small island where Harry and Ron were sitting.

"Hey look its sleeping beauty," Ron joked, "Doesn't look like the beauty kicked in yet, best get back to it then," he chuckled.

Draco gave a sarcastic laugh, "Funny Weasley, have you been working on that one since I've been out?"

Harry had an amused look on his face, "Thanks for that show last night." he laughed

"Anytime," he smirked."And sorry about .......yeah..." he trailed off.

"That's alright; it was just my body slamming again a solid wood wall." Harry joked pretending to hold his back in pain.

"That was some crazy shit last night," Ron said suddenly.

Draco just stared down at the counter. He didn't know what happened last night, he couldn't control himself. His mind went into another place during the attack.

"Well, as scary as it was Draco, it was pretty extraordinary. It shows how powerful you can be, but it seems that you can only tap into that part of your mind when your emotions and adrenaline is at a high point. If you learned to control that, you would have an amazing gift." Hermione explained handing him a plate of food.

"A gift? He could've killed us," Ron said, sounding shocked.

They all gave a small laugh and then it got quiet again. Draco didn't eat anything, he couldn't. His body was going through hell from last night. He thought about what Hermione said and he was concerned about the next time something like this happened. What if he would've killed someone by accident last night? What if he hurt Ginny? He couldn't stomach the thought of causing her physical harm. He sighed and pushed his food away.

"We have less than twenty four hours here, but Ginny doesn't look like she's going to make it until then," he quickly said.

They all looked at him and didn't say anything.

"McGonagall wrote back this afternoon," Hermione said, pulling a letter out of her pocket to show it to Draco. "She said she has a good idea of who is working with Lucius at the Ministry but she fears calling him out might cause more harm to us and even her. She literally has no control over the situation it seems. She did say as soon as the ward comes down to apparate to Hogsmeade and she will meet us there. Then Pomfrey will have the antidote waiting for us."

Draco gave a small nod handing the letter back to her.

"Ginny is going to make it. She has been fighting for almost two weeks now." Harry said.

"I hope your right Potter, plus I promised her she would be," he said with a sad face. They all gave him an empathetic look. "I would hate to look like a liar," he added with a smirk.

Hermione gave him a small smack on the arm and gave a small giggle followed by Harry and Ron.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day was going by so slow it seemed and everyone was on edge the whole day. Ginny just kept getting worse with each passing hour. She hadn't eaten and barely drank anything. Draco laid awake most of the night hearing her fits of coughing. He and the others stayed all night in her room so they could be there if anything. It was about an hour before the wards were set to come down and they were all sitting around the room just waiting. Ron had become very quiet all day and at one point had to excuse himself from the room. They all knew he was trying to keep a straight face and not break down over how close to death his little sister was. Hermione went and comforted him during that time and talked him and Harry into playing a game of chess while they waited. They all found it hard to do anything really, all they could think of was if Ginny was going to make it. There were a few times Hermione was afraid she had stopped breathing because her breathing was so shallow.

"Come on guys, play another round of chess, we only have a half hour left," Hermione called from the couch trying to get lost in her book.

"I can't anymore, my mind is only on Ginny." Ron walked over to Hermione and put his head in his hands.

She rubbed his back to reassure him she would make it, but she knew that they were empty words and so did he.

"It will make the time go faster, come on, Draco, play a game with Harry. I know Ginny likes to hear noise around her rather than the silence." Hermione gave them a small smile.

Draco walked over and joined Harry in a game of chess. He didn't feel like doing anything either but did it for Ginny. He glanced over at her to see her still form lying there; her chest barely rising and falling. He looked down at the chessboard and closed his eyes for a second. He opened them and looked at Harry for a second, his hair was a tousled mess and he was rubbing his eyes under his glasses. There was a look of sadness and worry on his face. Draco let out a slight sigh and he and Harry just sat there rather than playing. Ginny started coughing again and she tried sitting up. They all stood at once and Hermione ran to her side, followed by the others.

"Hey Ginny, are you ok?" Hermione said, leaning over to get a better look at her friend's face.

Ginny just kept coughing and coughing. She made to get out of the bed. "I'm going to be sick," she choked out.

Hermione grabbed her around the waist as Ginny slipped out of bed. Ginny was dead weight and fell to her knees on the floor. She fell into another fit of coughs and she started to cough up blood. There was a lot more than normal and Hermione's hands immediately started to shake with fear that this was the end.

"Come on Ginny, hang in there, we are so close to getting you that antidote," she said, grabbing a towel off the nightstand and coming over to wipe Ginny's mouth.

"Thank you," Ginny breathed out through coughing.

"You're welcome, we don't want you looking like death now when we get back," she gave her a small smile.

Ginny's breathing became strained and very short. She gasped after every word left her mouth. "No, I mean for taking care of me through this whole thing." She coughed again spitting out more blood. "For being my friend."

Hermione was taken aback for a moment and tears filled her eyes. "No Ginny, don't do this, please, don't start saying goodbye," Hermione cried.

Ginny turned away from her for a moment. Ron leaned down next to her."Gin, we are so close, you need to hang in there, just a bit more ok?" He pleaded with her; tears of his own swelling in his eyes.

Ginny gave a small nod. She went into another fit of coughing and this time she was barely catching her breath. She was gasping for air; her eyes went wide in fear and then her body went into a seizure-like state and she was bleeding from her nose and mouth.

"GINNY! GINNY! STAY WITH ME, LOOK AT ME GINNY" Hermione screamed at her trying to hold her body from shaking.

"HERMIONE, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Harry yelled

Hermione just shook her head and cried, "I-I don't know," she said.

"WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!"Harry yelled in a state of panic.

Draco was in a state of shock, this couldn't be happening right now. Not when they were so close to getting out of here. He felt his love for the redhead grow ten times at this moment.

Ginny let out this loud gasp for air. Her mouth was wide open trying to get any air in her. Her body stopped convulsing and fell completely limp on the floor. The veins on her arm were turning black and it continued all over her body; a sign that the final stages of the poison were taking effect. Hermione stood up and ran over to Ron sobbing. Ron couldn't hold his emotions in anymore and he fell to his knees helplessly as he watched his sister start to slip away. Harry had his hands on his head in disbelief. He slid down the wall into his own fit of sobs. As for Draco, he couldn't believe that this was the end after everything and after coming so close. His own tears stung his eyes. He racked his brain thinking of anything he could do to save Ginny's life, but nothing came to him. He would do anything to trade places with her right now. That should've been him instead of her. His eyes grew wide suddenly and an idea came to him. The Hauriendum spell, he could use it to absorb some of the poison from Ginny and maybe it will be enough to save her life and get her to Madame Pomfrey. He didn't care if it was just a shot in the dark; he was willing to risk his life for her. He pulled out his wand and kneeled down next to Ginny.

"What are you doing Draco?" Hermione asked through her fit of sobs. Harry and Ron looked up to see what his intentions were.

He turned to her with a look of sadness on his face. "If I don't make it, I just want to say, you guys were the closest thing I had to friends," he was breathing rapidly and he turned back to Ginny. He picked up her hand and held it in his and then pointed his wand at her.

Hermione's face finally registered what he was attempting, "DRACO, NO!"

"HAURIENDUM!" he yelled out before she could stop him.

A bright light slowly emerged from Draco's wand and wrapped itself around his and Ginny's hands. The light entwined around Ginny's body and then back up her hand that Draco was holding. He then felt it, he felt all the pain, all the suffering that Ginny had to endure. His nose was dripping blood, his skin was clammy and he felt his body drifting away. His vision blurred, his hearing was fuzzy. He fell to the floor and could see Hermione, Harry, and Ron running to his side. He was then met by complete darkness.

Draco opened his eyes and was met by white and he stood up and looked at his surroundings. Everywhere he turned he was met with a whiteness for miles; nothing else in sight. He looked down at himself and he was clean; no blood, no bruises, no scars from his own self-inflictions or his father's doing. He thought he should feel panicked, but he didn't, he felt peace and warmth, something he wasn't used to feeling. Was this heaven? He thought to himself.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Draco turned around and was taken aback by whom the voice came from.

"George? What are you doing here?" he asked sounding confused.

"No Draco, I'm Fred."

"What? But you're...dead," he said, panic now rising in his voice.

"Ah, nice to see that poison hasn't completely destroyed your brain," he joked.

"But if you're dead then...Am I dead?" he said, trying to understand the situation.

"You're in-between mate," he said, slapping him on the back.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you get to choose."

"Choose? Between living or dying? What do you think? Of course I want to live," Draco snarled, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Do you?" came another voice behind him.

Draco turned to see Lupin standing there.

"Professor?" Draco said, his voice trying to hide any emotion from it.

"Do you truly want to live Draco?" Lupin repeated.

"Yes," Draco answered through clenched teeth.

"Are you sure? Because this is what you've been contemplating for a while now. To live... to die; You just couldn't bring yourself to go through with it during your many attempts, but now here you are. Already half way there and all you have to do is decide," Lupin thoughtfully said.

Draco thought for a moment, did he want to go back? Did he want to live? Was there anything worth him going back for? He wouldn't have to endure the wrath of his father tormenting him. He wouldn't have to face himself every day and remember how worthless he really is. Everything would be so much easier to just go with death.

"I...I don't know," he answered truthfully looking up at Lupin and Fred.

"Answer something for me Draco," another voice rang out. Draco turned around and was face to face with Severus Snape. His eyes went wide.

"This isn't happening right now," Draco mumbled to himself running his fingers through his hair.

"Indeed it is," came Snape's familiar sarcastic voice. "Ask yourself; is there anything worth going back for?" Snape said, putting a hand on Draco's shoulder.

Draco looked at the man's hand on his shoulder. He felt so guilty knowing he stood on the same side as Voldemort. The same man who was responsible for the death of the man before Draco. For the two people standing behind him even. He couldn't help the tears that were forming in his eyes. He shook his head.

"No...No there's nothing," he whispered.

Snape gave a frown by his answer.

"Then how about someone?" a voice rang out over all of them. Draco's heart sank when he turned to see Dumbledore standing behind him. He was as magnificent looking as Draco remembered.

Draco dropped to his knees and rubbed his face and ran his hand through his hair again. Was he being punished by seeing the faces of the people he betrayed? The people, who were trying to help him, make him see there was always another way, even when he didn't see it. Dumbledore walked over to him and put a gentle hand on Draco's head.

"My boy you have a lot to think about. You still see yourself as this monster."

"AIN'T I?" Draco yelled out, tears falling down his face.

"You really believe that? Even after you saved Miss Weasley's life?" Dumbledore asked in a soft voice.

Draco completely forgot about Ginny and the poison. He was too distracted by his current surroundings.

"Ginny? She's alive? Is she ok?" he asked quickly.

"She is going to be just fine Draco." Lupin said in a reassuring voice.

Draco couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. He did it; he was able to save her. He wished he could see her, see her smile again.

"Ah, so there is someone worth going back for?" Dumbledore said with a bit of amusement.

Draco stood up and looked at the old man. He had that signature twinkle in his eyes.

"I don't know, sir, I don't know what to do. I can't even look at myself without feeling guilty. I don't deserve anything good."

They all looked at Draco with a sad face.

"Draco we are here to welcome you and to guide you. We don't see you any other way except as Draco. It is time for you to start thinking for yourself and making your own choices. Stop being afraid to live." Dumbledore said, walking over to the others.

"BUT I AM AFRAID!" Draco shouted suddenly. "I'M AFRAID TO FEEL ANYTHING, TO GET CLOSE AND THEN THEY DIE. SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND ME HAVE MET DEATH TOO SOON. I DESERVE THE TORMENTED LIFE I'M IN!" he cried out.

Nobody spoke for a moment, they just watched Draco. He looked at them all and he saw them all exchange a look and nod. Dumbledore then spoke.

"You're not ready yet Draco, you have so much more left in you." Dumbledore's voice started fading.

"WAIT!" Draco called out. The whiteness around him started to dim and it was turning to blackness once more. He looked frantically around and didn't see them anymore. He heard his name being called out.

"DRACO!"

He tried opening his eyes, but he just heard screaming and crying. His body was paralyzed it seemed. He heard his name called out again and people talking loudly. It all sounded muffled as if he were underwater. He tried again to open his eyes, all he could see was dark figures around him. He tried to call out, but he couldn't, he felt hands on his body and something being poured into his mouth. He then saw darkness closing in on him again and soon he was engulfed in nothing but blackness.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny woke up to the sound of voices around her. She felt something hot on her face and tried desperately to will her eyes opened. She cracked them open slightly and immediately regretted it as the sun beamed into her eyes and seemed to have burned her pupils. She lifted her hand over her face to cover the sun from hitting her.

"Let me get that for you dear," came a voice. The lady pulled a curtain around Ginny's bed to block the light.

"Thanks," she said in a hoarse voice.

Ginny finally managed to open her eyes and saw Madame Pomfrey standing over her bed. As soon as she saw her all the memories of what happened filled her mind. Her expression turned to panic and worry.

"I'll let the others know you're awake," Madame Pomfrey said, seeing the look on her face.

Ginny watched her walk out of the hospital wing and then shortly after a crowd of redheads came running towards her.

"GINNY! OH, MY BABY GIRL! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Mrs. Weasley cried, wrapping Ginny up in her arms.

Ginny let her mom and dad squeeze her as tight as they wanted, she didn't care. She was just so happy to have the chance to see them again. She remembered how not too long ago, she cried over not being able to say goodbye to her parents. Now here she was alive and being held by her mom and dad. She cried in her mom's arms and hugged her so tight as if she might float away if she let go.

"Alright, alright, move over so I can love on my little sis," George's voice erupted over all the crying.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley reluctantly let go and let George sit down next to her. He gave her a huge smile and she could see he was getting emotional which was not like George.

"I'm so glad I didn't lose you Gin. I'm so happy you're ok," he choked out.

Ginny wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze. She saw Ron, Harry and Hermione walking over to her. Hermione looked a wreck, but had a huge smile on her face. George helped Ginny get to her feet. She was still a bit wobbly from everything and then she gave a group hug to the trio.

"It's so good to see you're feeling better Ginny," Hermione said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I can't believe how much better I feel. I thought I was going to die, how long have I been out?"Ginny asked, wiping away tears of her own.

"You both have been out for almost two days now." Harry said.

"You both?" Ginny asked, confused and her eyes instinctively looked around the hospital room.

There in the corner of the hospital wing was Draco unconscious. She put her hands over her mouth and ran over to him.

"What happened to him?" she asked, new tears now falling down her face.

"He used the Hauriendum spell on you. He absorbed quite a bit of the poison from you during the spell. As soon as he performed it, the wards fell and we immediately apparated to Hogsmeade where McGonagall had a direct Portkey to Hogwarts waiting for us. Madame Pomfrey gave you both the antidote and well...here we are." Hermione explained.

"He saved your life," Harry chimed in.

Ginny turned to look at them all. She was in disbelief that Draco was more than willing to give his life to try and save her. Everyone in the hospital wing was looking at her with a small smile. She turned back to Draco and sat down on his bed next to him. He looked like he was dead, his skin was so much paler than normal. His hair didn't seem as blond as it always did and his face was completely relaxed. He looked so peaceful lying there.

"Is he going to be ok?" she asked suddenly.

Madame Pomfrey came walking over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "He is tougher than I thought, Miss Weasley. It is my hope that he pulls through."

Ginny gave her a small nod.

"Come on dear, let's go get you cleaned up and something to eat," Mrs. Weasley said, leading Ginny out of the hospital wing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny sat in the Great Hall once again finding herself pushing around her food and looking over to the empty Slytherin table. The school was empty and there were only some of the Professors and some Order members that were here. McGonagall was hopeful that maybe after the holiday break students would come back to the school. Right now it was just being used for Order meetings and a place for temporary shelter. McGonagall was in tears when she saw Ginny was ok and quite upset when she heard Draco still hadn't woken up. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was the new Minister of Magic was there as well. He was still with the Order but wasn't around a lot due to his new position at the Ministry. He was talking with McGonagall about the investigation that was going on. He was still trying to find out who at the Ministry was working with Lucius. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were talking to George about his shop and Arthur and Molly kept asking Ginny every few minutes if she was ok.

"Mom, please, I'm feeling fine. I'm just worried about Draco," she said honestly.

"Have you grown to care for the boy Ginny?" Her father asked with a slight smile.

"I...uh...well he did save my life and I just hope he makes it through this is all. Besides, we're friends...I think."

Molly and Arthur looked at each other and gave a small snicker; Ginny rolled her eyes. Things weren't like that with Draco. He made that clear back at the Manor. She was so confused by his actions, she didn't even know how she felt about him. She did know that she was scared to lose him. She also thought about that kiss they shared. She felt herself smiling and was pulled from her thoughts when her mom spoke again.

"Oh, by the way, everyone, in a few more days we are going to go back to the Burrow for Thanksgiving and stay there through the holidays. Now hopefully Draco will be feeling better by that time because we think its best he stays with us." Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully.

"There's no way Draco Malfoy would willingly stay at the Burrow with a bunch of Weasley's." Ron stated.

"Just you hush Ronald, your father and I will ask him and Professor McGonagall will speak with him about it. The wards around the Burrow are just as good as Hogwarts now so he would probably be safer there. Besides the Burrow would be the last place Lucius and the Death Eaters would look for Draco."

"If you say so Mom," Ron said, stuffing his face with food.

"Will Bill and Charlie be there Mom?" Ginny asked.

"I think so; it will be nice to have everyone together again. I'm afraid Percy will not be joining us though."

Ginny gave her mom a small frown but nodded that she understood. She then thought about how it would be if Draco actually agreed to stay with them at the Burrow. It would definitely make for an interesting holiday.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco felt like he was falling. He felt his head spinning and was waiting to hit the bottom of whatever it was he was falling to. His heart was pounding rapidly and he was breathing heavy. He finally stopped falling suddenly and then sat up abruptly. He looked around the room hastily in a state of panic. The room was spinning and he closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. The room started to slow down and come into view. Was he in the hospital wing? If so, then that meant he was at Hogwarts, which meant he was alive? He didn't know for sure, all he knew was that he needed to see Ginny right this moment. He needed something to pull him back to reality. He threw his legs over the bed and he pulled back the curtain on the side of his bed and saw he was definitely in the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey came running over to him.

"Mr. Malfoy please get back into bed, you're in no state to get up," she said trying to push him back down.

He looked at her, his eyes were wide with confusion and panic.

"Where are my clothes?" He quickly asked.

"Mr. Malfoy you need to r-"

"WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?" he screamed at her.

She jumped back at his rage and then pointed to the side cabinet next to him. He grabbed his clothes and pulled the curtains back to change quickly.

"Mr. Malfoy I know you're probably very confused right now, but you need to get some rest."

"I'm fine," he said, slipping his shirt on and pulling the curtain back open. "Where's Ginny?"

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure you can see Miss Weasley another-"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?" he yelled.

She took another step back; shaking her head, "I don't know, probably at dinner?" she answered with a bit of fear in her voice.

He quickly strode past her and gave a quick "Thanks" over his shoulder.

He didn't know what it was, but he needed to see Ginny. He needed to know she was ok regardless of what Dumbledore and the others said during his near death experience. He needed proof that he was successful in saving her. He didn't care how he looked; he didn't care if he looked like a complete nutcase, he just needed to lay eyes on her. He walked as fast as he could; looking down every hall for that mass of red hair he was so used to seeing in his mind. He was getting emotional just thinking about her. When he got to the Great Hall he saw it was empty and then quickly made his way to Gryffindor tower. He ran as fast as he could to get there as if he thought he might abruptly be told he was in a dream and he really was dead. He skidded around a corner and down the hall... there she was. She was standing outside of the portrait hole saying goodnight to her family with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He just stood there looking at her; he couldn't believe she was standing there. He gave an emotional laugh and had to hold back the tears that welled up in his eyes. Ginny must have felt him staring at her because she turned to look at him. Her eyes grew three times the size and the biggest smile crept across her face. The rest of them noticed Draco and were surprised to see him suddenly standing there.

"DRACO!" Hermione called happily.

Draco ran as fast as he could down the hall. Everyone was a bit taken aback at how fast he was approaching them. He had a determined look on his face and then stopped just a few feet away from them all. He was breathing hard and his eyes were locked on Ginny's the whole time. He didn't know what it was about her, but he needed to feel her, that she was real, and that she was here in this life with him. He closed the distance between them in a few strides and wrapped her in a hug. He held her so tightly he didn't want to let go. He felt her immediately lock her arms around him and sob into his chest. He buried his face in her shoulder and let his emotions come to surface. He felt Harry give him a small pat on the back. The rest of them thought they should give Draco and Ginny a moment alone. There were a few, "Nice to have you back" comments as the rest of them walked into the portrait hole. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled at each other at embrace between the two and then followed the rest of them into the common room. Draco broke away from Ginny and then grabbed her hand and led her to a side closet down the hall. He pulled her in and closed the door, then turned to face her.

"Draco, are you ok?" she asked sounding worried.

He just stared at her for a moment and ran his hands through his hair. He was fidgeting like crazy and then grabbed her face and crashed his lips against hers. She willingly let him in and kissed him back with such force and passion as he was to her. He slid his hands into her hair and grabbed it in his hands and pulled her closer to him. He pulled away suddenly and took a few steps back. He looked at her again. Her lips were red from the kiss they shared and her breathing became heavy. Her hair was a mess and she just stared at him.

"I thought I lost you," was all he could manage.

"I thought I lost you too." she cried.

"I'm scared Ginny, I'm so fucking scared." He said half crying, half panicking.

Ginny just watched him. What happened to him during the time he was unconscious? He was all over the place.

"You don't need to be scared Draco, I'm fine now and so are you," she said trying to walk over to him.

He put his hand out to stop her and then paced in a circle. He was fighting with himself on his feelings. He looked at her and he grabbed her face again and pressed his lips to hers. Again she welcomed his lips and tongue. She felt herself back up into a wall as he passionately explored her mouth with his. Ginny let out a soft moan and then he stopped. He leaned his forehead against hers and they were both breathing heavy.

"That's not what I mean Ginny, that's not what I'm scared about," he breathed out and then pushed himself off of her "I'm glad you're ok," he said and then quickly left the storage closet leaving Ginny once again completely confused.

Ginny walked back into the Gryffindor common room and everyone turned to look at her. She just walked past them and went up to the girls dorms. She threw herself on her bed and thought about what just happened in the storage closet. As much as she wanted to be annoyed and upset she couldn't help the butterflies that were invading her stomach. When Draco kissed her it's like her entire world filled with color again. There was just her and him and nothing else. She heard Hermione come into her room.

"Ginny, what's going on? Where's Draco?"

Ginny sat up on her bed. "I don't know," she said absent-mindedly.

"Ginny? Are you ok? What did Draco say?"

Ginny smiled again, thinking back to her encounter just a moment ago with the Slytherin.

"He kissed me again," she said, beaming while staring off into space.

"Wow, what?" Hermione shrieked sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Yeah, I know, wow is right."

"You're smiling though, I'm guessing you're happy about this?"

"I was and I am but he pulled away again. Then he kissed me again and then said he was scared and abruptly left," Ginny sighed.

"Oh." was all Hermione could say.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to talk to him, but I'll give him some time. He was acting panicked and confused; maybe he just wasn't thinking clearly and it was all a mistake."

"Yeah, maybe...and maybe not," Hermione added with a smirk.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day Draco woke up and saw he had slept in until around lunchtime. His body was still recovering from the events of the last few days. He lay in bed for a few minutes just thinking about all that's happened. He thought back to his dream with Dumbledore; well it wasn't a dream he was actually there. To know he was able to decide on whether to keep living or end it all was a lot for him to process. In the end, he wasn't even sure if he made the choice on his own to come back or if Dumbledore and the others decided for him. He was grateful to be back when he saw Ginny, but as soon as he laid eyes on her all the fear he had of losing her again came back. He felt horrible for confusing her; he knew she was probably more than fed up with him at this point. He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even want to see him again. He realized that he probably just blew any chances of something more happening between them. Then he kept getting that broken record going off in his head asking "Do you want something more?" He decided to push his thoughts aside and get dressed and head down to lunch.

Draco walked into the Great Hall and noticed it was quite different than the normal crowd. There was just some Staff there and the Weasley family and of course Harry and Hermione. He felt extremely out of place and thought about turning to leave when he heard his name.

"DRACO, SO GOOD TO SEE YOU UP AND ABOUT!" Mrs. Weasley squealed, running over to him and wrapping him up in a tight hug.

Draco felt his body being squished against hers and he felt so awkward at the gesture. He looked at the others over Molly's shoulder to see them snickering at the look on his face.

"Mr. Weasley and I wanted to thank you for saving Ginny's life," she said, pulling back and placing her hands on his shoulders.

Mr. Weasley held out his hand to shake Draco's which he accepted. "Draco, what you did... not many would do, so thank you," Arthur said shaking his hand.

Draco didn't think he could feel any more uncomfortable. They were making him out to be some kind of hero and that was something he definitely was not. He just gave a small nod.

Mrs. Weasley led him over to sit with her and Arthur and she started talking his ear off.

"Now Draco, we would just love for you to come and stay with us for the holidays, you are more than welcomed. We think it would be a great place for you to hide out for a while until the next plan of action takes place," she said quickly.

"Oh." was all Draco could get out. He saw Ginny look at him with a small smile. She knew how uncomfortable he felt right now.

"Just think about it, dear. It will be better than being alone for the holidays," Molly said with a bright smile.

Draco just gave a half smile and grabbed an apple, then headed out of the Great Hall.

"Nice going Mom, you scared the poor bloke away," George joked.

Mrs. Weasley shot him a look and the rest of them laughed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco walked down the halls as fast as he could away from the Great Hall. He wanted to get as far away as possible from the Weasley family. It's not that he had anything against them; he just didn't want to be seen as some hero suddenly just because he made the decision to save Ginny. He took a few bites of his apple and then threw the rest away. He was feeling nauseous from the swirl of emotions he had and the crowd of thoughts invading his mind.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

He turned around to see McGonagall standing down the hall.

"Mr. Malfoy I would like a word with you please."

He nodded and followed her to her office. When they arrived at her office, she sat down and gestured for Draco to have a seat in front of her desk. She looked at him for a few moments with her hands folded. She looked like she was choosing her words carefully before speaking.

"I'm glad to see you have made a full recovery Mr. Malfoy."

"Thanks," Draco said quietly.

"It was very courageous of you to put your life on the line for-"

"Please don't," he interrupted her.

"Excuse me? Please don't what? Mr. Malfoy?"

He let out an agitated sigh and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Tell me about how courageous and shit I am."

"Language, Mr. Malfoy." she looked at him sternly.

"Sorry Professor, but I'm not a hero and I'm not brave at all. The whole thing is a joke. If anything, I'm a fool and a coward," he said, looking away from her.

"Mr. Malfoy, why is it that you find it so hard to think of yourself as a good person?"

Draco half laughed at this, was she joking?

"Isn't it obvious? It's kind of hard to think you're a good person when your father is responsible for killing so many people. I don't think I can ever let go of the guilt inside me."

"Mr. Malfoy if I may? I think you need to remember that you and your father are separate people. His actions do not reflect on you. You get to make your own choices and you need to stop being afraid to live your life," she said looking at him with a small smile.

Draco gave a small smirk, "Yeah, that's what Dumbledore said to," he sighed.

"Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked with much interest leaning a little closer to him over her desk.

"Never mind," he said, slouching down in his chair.

McGonagall gave him a look as if he didn't need to explain. She leaned back with her arms folded. "Well, Dumbledore always was a wise man."

"Ha, yeah, that he was," Draco whispered.

"Have you given any thought to Mrs. Weasley's offer?" McGonagall asked changing the subject.

"There's no way I can stay with a house full of Weasleys."

"Why not? You stayed at Malfoy Manor with your sworn enemy for two weeks and survived."

"Yeah, barely."

"Mr. Malfoy I'm going to be a bit blunt here. I think it's time you stopped living in the past and stopped feeling sorry for yourself. Be thankful you're alive and embrace each day. If you feel so guilty knowing that good people died at the hands of your father or Lord Voldemort then perhaps you should at least take full advantage of the life you still have and still get to keep."

"I haven't had a fair chance at trying to live a life away from the wrath of my father." Draco shot back angrily.

"But you do now," McGonagall said firmly.

She stood from her desk and stared at Draco for a few moments. She gestured her hand that he was free to leave. He got up and walked towards the door and stopped when she spoke again. He kept his back to her.

"Mr. Malfoy, at least think about Mrs. Weasley's offer."

He gave a small nod and then headed out the door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was the evening before they were all heading back to the Burrow for the holidays. Thanksgiving was in a couple of days and Mrs. Weasley wanted them all there the day that Bill and Charlie showed up. Hermione was making her way down to the library to grab a few books to take with her over the holiday. She was so happy when McGonagall agreed to let her borrow what she wanted. She was rummaging through the many aisles of books looking for specific ones she had mentally made notes of reading in the future. She pulled a book out and saw Draco through the bookshelf looking at other books. She made her way around the bookshelf to him.

"Hey Draco," she said, sticking her books in her bag.

"Oh, hey Granger," he said, grabbing a book from a nearby shelf.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him curiously.

"Not sure really, just seeing if anything looks worth reading," he said, randomly taking a book here and there out from the shelf and studying it for a moment.

"So are you coming with us tomorrow?" she cautiously asked.

"I don't think so. I'm better off staying here I think," he said, taking a small stack of books and making his way to the corner of the library to sit down.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and then followed him to the corner and sat down across from him. She let out a light sigh and then put her bag down.

"You know I wanted to tell you how glad I am that you're alright," she said playing with a pulled thread on her sleeve.

"Thanks don't get all sappy on me now," he smirked.

She gave a slight laugh and then became serious again. "What's going on with you and Ginny?"

"What do you mean?" he said, pulling a book up over his face hoping she'll drop the subject.

"You know what I mean," she said, pulling down the book from his face.

Draco gave an annoyed sound. "Granger, its none of your business, now leave me be."

"It is my business when Ginny is being affected by your actions. She is completely confused. Why did you kiss her and then once again act like nothing happened?" Hermione said sounding upset with him.

She wanted to help Draco see life in a different way and wished he would act on his feelings for Ginny but she couldn't keep letting him toy with Ginny's emotions.

"I'm not trying to confuse her. It's just complicated, ok?" he said in a finalizing tone.

She gave him a cold stare and then swiftly got up and grabbed her bag to leave. Halfway towards the door, she heard Draco call out to her.

"I'm in love with her," he said, looking at the floor.

Hermione turned around and walked back over to him and sat down.

"You're in love with Ginny?" a mixture of shock and happiness on her face.

"Yes, but I don't want to be."

"What? Why?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. I don't know why I get like this. Maybe it's because I don't want to get too close and then lose her. Maybe she doesn't feel the same way. Maybe I'm afraid that she's going to get more hurt if we're together. Maybe I just feel like I don't deserve any kind of happiness." he said not realizing he was now standing and pacing back and forth.

"Draco...-"

"But then...Every time I see her I can't stop myself. Every time I see her I just want to hold her in my arms to know she's really there. Then I think that it could never be and that she deserves someone better. Then I end up talking myself out of going through with acting on my feelings," he sighed sitting back down. He was a bit embarrassed at how he just put his feelings out there right in front of Hermione.

"Wow Draco, you must really love her."

"I don't know, do I? Ugh, I can't take this anymore. I think it's just best to leave it be," he said in a frustrated growl running his hands through his hair.

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Draco left abruptly and she decided not to say anything more. She thought if she should tell Ginny what Draco had said about her, but she didn't want Draco to think he couldn't trust her. She sighed, then grabbed her bag and headed back to Gryffindor tower.

Ginny laid on her bed all evening thinking about Draco. She even skipped dinner because of the cocktail of emotions she was feeling. She couldn't help the few tears she was shedding over the whole situation between them. All she knew was that she had feelings for Draco... strong feelings. She was so confused by his behavior the past few days. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him yet. With her parents at Hogwarts, it was hard to get enough time away from them. When she did finally manage to get away from them, Draco was nowhere to be found. When she went to his dorm room and knocked, he wouldn't answer. Ginny wasn't sure if this was on purpose or he just wasn't there. She was starting to think that she'd done something wrong and he was upset with her. She heard Hermione come into the girls' dorm and take a seat on the bed across from her.

"Hi, Ginny, are you alright?" she asked, folding her legs to get more comfortable on the bed.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm just so damn frustrated," Ginny said, sitting up on the bed and wiping her tears. She ran her fingers through her wild red hair that was tousled about.

Hermione gave her a small smile. "I told your mom you were just tired and wanted to get some sleep. She was persistent about bringing you up some food, but I told her you were asleep already."

"Thanks," Ginny said.

Hermione studied her friend's face for a moment before deciding on her next words. She took in a deep breath and then gave a loud sigh that got Ginny's attention.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"Uh, Ginny... Are you in love with Draco?" Hermione cautiously asked her.

"WHAT?" Ginny shrieked with surprise at the question.

Hermione looked away from her for a moment and then continued, "You heard me, are you in love with Draco?"

"Why are you asking me that? Did he say something?" Ginny asked anxiously getting up from the bed.

"Uh, no... well, yeah but... I don't know," she stuttered unsure of what she should reveal to Ginny and what she shouldn't.

"You don't know?" Ginny asked, sounding agitated.

"I was just asking."

"This is insane; I need to talk to him. Especially now that we are leaving tomorrow and I haven't had a chance. Even if he isn't coming with us tomorrow, I need to at least say goodbye to him... right?" she turned to Hermione as if seeking approval.

Hermione smiled at her and then gave her a quick hug. "Go ahead, I'll cover for you, but don't take long, I don't know how long I can hold your mother off," she joked.

"Thanks, Hermione," she said and then grabbed a sweater and made her way down to the common room.

"Oh, hey, Ginny, you're awake, I'm glad to see you're getting plenty of rest," Mrs. Weasley called from the couch as she was crocheting.

"Oh, Mom, what are you doing in here? Thought you and Dad had your own room you were staying in," she said pulling on her sweater.

"Yes, dear, but I figured I'd get started on these Christmas sweaters for now. Plus, I wanted to make sure you were ok." She smiled at Ginny.

"I'm fine, Mom, I'm uh...just going to grab something to eat from the kitchen downstairs."

"In your pajamas?" she asked, looking over the top of her glasses.

"Mom, please, I have a sweater on," Ginny growled in frustration.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop pestering you. Go get yourself some food." Molly said going back to her crocheting.

"Thank you," Ginny sighed and then gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek and walked through the portrait hole.

Once Ginny was out of the portrait hole she rolled her eyes by how overprotective her mother could be and then made her way down to the dungeons. The closer she got to Draco's room the more nervous she became. She had a mixture of emotions going through her. She was a bit annoyed, but also worried about how he would react to seeing her, especially right before bedtime. She eventually came to his door and took a deep breath before gently knocking.

Nobody answered. She knocked again and still there was no answer.

She knocked a bit harder and her stomach did a flip when she heard the door unlocking and saw it open up. Draco was surprised to see her as she assumed he would be. He didn't say anything, he just looked at her standing there in her pajama pants and a tank top with a light buttoned down cardigan over it. She looked as beautiful as ever with her hair a mangled mess and her bedtime attire on. He was pulled from his thoughts when she spoke.

"Hey, can I come in and talk to you?" she asked nervously.

He felt his heart sink at the question. He was trying to leave things be between them and really thought it was a bad idea.

"Uh, actually I was sleeping, so maybe another time," he said and tried to close the door.

She put her hand up to the door to stop him from closing it and anger spread across her face. She forcefully pushed the door open and walked passed him inside.

"Sleeping huh? With the fire just freshly made? With an open book on the table? With your bed still made? Why are you lying to me?" she asked angrily turning to face him.

"Come in, I guess," he drawled closing the door behind him.

"What is going on with you, Draco? I thought we were friends?" she asked angrily.

"Saving you makes us friends?"

He regretted the words as soon as he said them. The hurt look on her face made him want to grab her and hug her. He felt horrible for the way things were turning out between them. He looked at her; she was contemplating something in her head he could tell. He saw all the thoughts and emotions running through her head and being carried over into her facial expressions.

"Are you in love with me?" she asked suddenly.

Of all the things Draco thought might come out of her mouth next, that was the last thing he ever would have thought. He was so caught off guard, it was plain as day on his face. He wasn't expecting such a personal question, but he could tell how fed up Ginny was with him.

"What? What are you talking about?" he tried his best efforts to play off his shocked expression.

Ginny had heard enough and swiftly walked up to him and crashed her lips against his. Draco's eyes went wide by the unexpected action but then gave into the kiss. Having her lips on his was everything and more. Ginny pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes. His eyes looked over her small face and he traced his thumb over her lips.

"Are you in love with me?" she asked again.

He was breathing heavy; he didn't like being put on the spot like this. Of course, he was madly in love with her, but he didn't want to admit that to her. She lifted her lips to his again and Draco was trying with all his might to keep his emotions in line, but the feel of her lips on his was driving him crazy.

He pushed her away a bit. "Ginny, please... don't make me..." He trailed off in a choked whisper.

"DON'T MAKE YOU WHAT? TELL ME YOUR TRUE FEELINGS!" she yelled in anger.

She advanced on him and he couldn't pull away, she was so addictive; he found himself giving in more and more easily every time she kissed him. The kiss this time had intensified. One of Draco's hands snaked through her hair and pressed her lips harder into his while the other hand was on the small of her back, keeping her close to him. Her arms were around his neck and one of her hands she ran through his hair. Ginny soon found herself pinned against a wall and felt their bodies pressed together. She broke the kiss and looked up at him. His eyes took her to another place; there was nothing else in the world that mattered at this moment but the man before her.

"Are you in love with me?" she whispered through her heavy breathing.

Draco rested his forehead against hers, trying to catch his breath. He felt the light breath of the words she breathed out and Draco started to nod.

"Yes.....yes...I'm in love with you," he said closing his eyes against her forehead.

A smile formed on Ginny's face and Draco opened his eyes to look at her fiery ones. "Good, because I'm in love with you too," she said and crashed her lips against his again.

Draco wasn't sure what happened after Ginny said that. All he knew was that Ginny just said she was in love with him and he felt an emotional wall fall down and put everything he had into that next kiss they shared. He was holding Ginny so tightly against his body and he suddenly felt Ginny wrap her legs around his waist. He, instinctively, began to grind against her as she was pinned against the wall. He trailed kisses down her neck and his hands seemed to have a mind of their own as he pulled off her sweater and tossed it aside. He gently kissed her shoulder, making Ginny let out a soft moan that only made him want her more. Before either of them knew it, all their clothes were on the floor and Ginny's legs were once again wrapped around Draco's waist. Draco looked at her for a moment. They were breathing rapidly and the fact that they were both completely naked and very much in a sexual position had just seemed to dawn on them. They stared at each for a few more moments before mentally coming to a decision that Draco was able to read in her eyes.

Draco pushed himself inside her and her nails immediately dug into his back as a small gasp escaped her mouth that Draco quieted with another kiss. He pushed into her again and this time she moaned in pleasure and then crashed her lips down to his again. Her hair hung around her face and fell over onto Draco's bare shoulders. The feeling of her fiery hair lying against him fueled him in an entirely new way. He increased his thrusts which by Ginny's reaction she was more than happy with. He felt her getting ready to climax, which made him ready to lose it. Soon Ginny threw her head back in ecstasy as she and Draco reached their peak.

He carried her over to his bed and placed her down on it. He climbed onto the bed with her and she came over to him and placed a deep kiss on his lips. She rested her head against him and a mane of red hair was spread across his chest as he held her in his arms. They both laid there just hearing each other's breathing start to slowly return to normal. Neither spoke. They were both in a state of shock at what just occurred between them. As the rush wore off, they found themselves lying cuddled together naked. Ginny pulled the blankets down and got under them. She then pulled them up over her head and hid under them suddenly. Draco looked over to the mound under the blankets that he knew to be Ginny's head.

"What are you doing?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

She didn't answer, so he crawled under the blankets with her and lifted the blankets over his head. He saw her curled there with her head in her hands.

"Are you ok, Ginny?"

"Yes," she said in a small voice.

Draco was starting to feel uncomfortable, he thought he’d done something wrong. She then pulled the blankets off her head and lay back on the pillow; Draco followed.

"Then what's the matter?" he asked, turning to face her.

A smirk crossed her lips and she looked at him. "I can't believe I just lost my virginity to Draco Malfoy."

Draco didn't know she was a virgin until he was inside her. He figured she wanted him to keep going when she had mentally given him the go ahead.

Draco smirked back at her. "Well, I can't believe I lost my virginity to Ginny Weasley," he said with a smile.

"What? You were a... I didn't think..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's hard to believe with this amazing body of mine," he joked and she laughed along with him.

"Oh gosh, I don't know which one sounds worse, the fact that a Weasley lost their virginity to a Malfoy or that a Malfoy lost it to a Weasley."

They both busted out laughing and when their laughter died away they lay there again in silence.

"Ginny?"

"Yeah," she said turning over to see him better.

"I don't know if I'm ready to be open with... this whole thing yet," he said nervously.

Ginny looked at him, she knew he wasn't ready to tell the world that he and Ginny were seeing each other or that they were both in love with the other. She knew Draco needed time to let his walls down.

"It's ok Draco, I understand," she said with a small smile.

He felt horrible about asking her to keep their relationship under wraps for now until HE was ready. There he goes being selfish again and only thinking of himself.

"Good luck though with that since everyone pretty much suspects it," she chuckled scooting closer to him and lying in his arms again.

The feel of their bare bodies against each other ignited their arousal and soon they found themselves lost in each other for the second time that night.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny still had the scent of Draco fresh in her mind. She loved the smell of his cologne, the smell of his hair and everything else about him. She smiled to herself at the thought of this and snuggled her face deeper into her pillow. She felt so warm and safe right now in her bed, she didn't want to wake up. She would have rather stayed in bed and thought more about Draco. Then she suddenly realized it wasn't her pillow at all she was sleeping on, it was Draco's chest. She quickly sat up and realized she was in Draco's bedroom. She saw the fire had been out for a while and she saw the first crack of dawn start to surface. She immediately started panicking.

"SHIT!" she yelled and jumped out of bed.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, sitting up abruptly, seeing her in a panic.

"I FELL ASLEEP HERE. I TOLD HERMIONE I WOULDN'T BE LONG LAST NIGHT. MY MOM IS GOING TO FREAK IF SHE FINDS OUT WHERE I WAS! OH MY GOD, WHERE'S MY SHIRT?" she yelled, looking around the room frantically for her clothes.

Draco slipped out of bed and pulled his pants on and then grabbed Ginny's panties that were under the bed and held them up.

"Don't forget these," he teased her dangling them in front of her.

"Draco, please, I'm serious," she said, grabbing her panties and slipping them on.

"Calm down, Ginny, it's still pretty early, the sun isn't even up yet. You could probably slip right into Gryffindor tower without anyone noticing," he said, handing her the sweater he only hours ago ripped off of her.

Ginny sighed and slowed her pace down. She slipped on her sweater and then looked up at Draco. He was wearing only pajama bottoms and had his chest exposed. He noticed her staring and then smirked at her.

"Don't you need to go, Ginny?" he said with an amused tone.

"Uh, yeah," she turned to leave and then turned back to him. "Draco, I really want you to come with us, please?" she pleaded with him taking a few steps closer.

He looked at her for a moment and saw the sadness in her eyes. He felt like she needed him there more than anything. In truth, he didn't want to be away from Ginny at all and he really didn't know if he would ever see her again if he didn't go.

"Maybe," he said and he grabbed her into a hug.

"Ok, well we're leaving around noon. I hope I'll see you in the entrance hall if not then......." she trailed off.

"I'll see you later, Ginny," he whispered in her ear and gave her a soft kiss before she hurried out of his room.

Ginny ran as fast as she could through the halls. She ran up to the portrait hole and slipped quietly inside. She practically jumped for joy when she saw the common room was empty. She let out a huge sigh and bent over to catch her breath.

"Ginny?" came Hermione's voice from the staircase to the girl's dorms.

Ginny jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice.

"Oh my god Hermione, you scared the crap out of me," she said, holding her hand to her chest.

"Are you just now getting in? Where were you? I waited forever and your mom is suspicious," Hermione whispered.

"I'm so sorry it was a complete accident, I fell asleep and -"

"Fell asleep?" Hermione interrupted. "Fell asleep where exactly, Ginny!" she demanded, sounding an awful lot like Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny let out a defeated sigh and then grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her upstairs to their dorm room since it was just them staying in there. They sat down on her bed and Hermione was staring at her waiting to explain.

"I talked to Draco and... he told me he was in love with me."

Hermione squealed with delight and gave Ginny a hug.

"Oh my gosh, it's about time he let it out, what did you say back?"

"I told him I was in love with him too, and then we kissed and stuff."

"And stuff?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ginny ran her hand through her hair and a red tint came to her cheeks. She stuffed her face into her pillow on the bed. "I lost my virginity to Draco Malfoy," she muffled out into the pillow.

"SHUT UP!" Hermione yelled, slapping her on the arm. "ARE YOU SERIOUS GINNY?"

Ginny just looked up at her and looked down again. "Twice," Ginny added, burying her face in her pillow again.

"GINNY WEASLEY!" she yelled out in disbelief.

"Shh, Hermione, please be quiet. This stays between us ok?" She gave Hermione a stern look.

"Of course, but still, I can't believe you left for a quick chat and came back no longer a virgin."

"WHO'S NO LONGER A VIRGIN?" Mrs. Weasley's voice came from the doorway.

Ginny and Hermione's eyes went wide and turned to look at her. Of course, her mom was up at the crack of dawn. Molly came over to the two girls and had her hands on her hips.

"Uh...um..." Ginny stuttered, trying to think of anything to tell her mom that would make her story seem believable. Hermione was just looking at the floor afraid of the conversation that was about to unfold.

"Well, young lady?"

"It's Hermione," was the only thing Ginny could think of to get her mom's attention off of her.

Hermione shot her head up to look at Ginny and her mouth went wide in shock.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Hermione for a moment; who was looking at the floor now. Then she turned on her heel and walked out of the room yelling, "RONALD WEASLEY!"

It wasn't long before they heard yelling downstairs.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Hermione, I panicked," Ginny explained.

"It's ok, Ginny, don't worry about it, it's not like it's a lie anyway." she smirked.

Ginny gave her a playful smack and they both giggled when Ron came upstairs throwing the door open.

"HERMIONE, WHY THE BLOODY HELL WOULD YOU TELL MY MOM WE'RE HAVING SEX?" His eyes then fell on Ginny and his face turned red. "Oh, uh, hey Gin," he said, scratching his head.

"I think I'll just go jump in the shower," Ginny laughed and walked into the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Noon was approaching and Ginny made her way down to the Entrance Hall with the rest of the Weasley clan. She dragged her suitcase in the barbaric manner that she used when boarding the Hogwarts Express. The Entrance hall was filled with staff and Order members all saying their goodbyes and wishing each other happy holidays. She overheard McGonagall talking to her parents about having a meeting at the Burrow with the Order over the holiday and how she would be sending out letters to families in hopes of getting students back after the break. Ginny felt bad for the Headmistress, she knew how much the school meant to her and was sad to see it so empty.

She walked up to Hermione and Harry and whispered into Hermione's ear. "Everything ok with Ron?" Hermione looked at her and gave a small nod and they both giggled.

"I hope Draco decided to come," Ginny said, looking around the crowd of people in the Entrance Hall in hopes of seeing him. She then saw Harry and Hermione look at her about the comment she just made.

"Uh, you know because who wants to be alone for the holidays?" she quickly added.

"Right," Harry said with a smirk.

Then she saw him walking over, he looked a wreck compared to when she had just seen him a few hours prior. She figured he must have endured one of his father's sessions. He gave her a small smile when he saw her staring at him. An instant smile danced across her face and she was just about to approach him when Mrs. Weasley's voice rang out.

"DRACO, SO GLAD TO SEE YOU DECIDED TO JOIN US," she said, grabbing him into a suffocating hug.

Ginny watched him wince in pain at the gesture. She knew his body was sore from the curse he had just experienced.

"Alright, Mom, you're squishing the poor guy," Ginny interrupted.

"It will be so nice to have you with us this holiday. You look a mess; are you feeling alright?" asked Mrs. Weasley, starting to overload him with questions and even went as far as putting a hand to his forehead to check for a temperature.

"MOM!" Ginny called, grabbing her mom by the arm and dragging her to the side. "Mom, please, you're overwhelming him with your.... Momness."

"Momness?" she asked, confused.

"An overabundance of motherly attention," Ginny explained.

"Nonsense, Ginny, I'm just being nice."

"Please Mom, just back off a bit."

"Alright, alright," her mom said, giving her a hug.

Ginny walked back over to Draco and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry about that."

"It's ok, she seems nice though," he said rubbing his ribs.

"Another attack?" she asked him already knowing the answer.

Draco nodded. "It wasn't that bad though, besides, I was still on a high from some earlier events," he winked at her.

Ginny rolled her eyes and then couldn't help the red tint that came to her cheeks. They smiled at each other for a moment when Hermione came walking over.

"Alright, you two lovebirds, it's time to start heading out," she teased.

It was Draco's cheeks that turned a light shade of red this time at being caught smiling at the youngest Weasley.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They arrived at Hogsmeade village where they made their way to a local Pub to use the Floo Network. They all stepped inside and called out "The Burrow" and those familiar green flames erupted around them taking them to their destination. Soon they all arrived and stepped out into the Weasley's living room. Draco stepped out last into the small room and studied his surroundings. He saw many crocheted blankets thrown over a couch and a nearby rocker and hundreds of family pictures covering the walls. He noticed the family's clock where it showed all of the Weasley members on it and where they were. He noticed Ginny's hand moved to "HOME" and he gave a small smile. He then noticed Fred's hand was set on "IN A BETTER PLACE", he frowned at this. He then thought back to his encounter with Fred in the spiritual world and his decision of whether to stay or come back. He couldn't help but think if it really was a "better place" for him to be in right now.

"Ginny, why don't you show Draco to his room," Mrs. Weasley said making her way into the kitchen.

"Ok, follow me... Draco," she said with a smirk on her face.

Draco shook his head with a smirk and followed her up the winding staircase. The floorboards creaked with every step he took; at one point he thought his foot might go through the floor. Ginny stopped by her room and put her stuff away real quick.

Draco walked in after her. "Oh, so I get to stay with you?" he joked.

"Nice try, ferret boy, come on," she laughed and went to the next room right beside hers and led him in.

"This is Percy's room; he's not coming for the holidays so....." she trailed off.

"Thanks," Draco said, walking into the small room and putting his stuff down.

He looked around the room and noticed it was extremely clean and very organized; there was a spot for everything. Ginny followed him into the room and he turned to face her. She snaked her arms around his neck.

"Sorry, it's no Malfoy Manor," she teased.

"Ha, I think it will do," he smiled and leaned down to kiss her when Harry came walking past the room.

"Your mom's coming," he quickly said as he passed not stopping to take in the scene.

Harry and Hermione pretty much knew Ginny and Draco have been waiting to confess their affection to each other. Ginny and Draco quickly broke apart and sure enough, Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway.

"Ah, perfect, I see you made it to your room. I'm going to make us some lunch and in the meantime Ginny, why don't you show Draco around," she said happily and then made her way back downstairs.

Ginny cleared her throat and called after her mom, "Uh, yeah, ok, Mom," and then let out a relieved sigh.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny took Draco all around the Burrow and showed him everything she thought of interest. She took him out to the yard and showed him where she and all her brothers would spend hours playing Quidditch. She took him to the edge of the forest and told him that past the ward there was a small clearing that she used to go to that had a small lake to swim in. On their way back to the Burrow for lunch, Ginny took him through her mom's garden and told him about all the different fruits and vegetables her mom was growing. Ginny did most of the talking and Draco just listened and took everything in. They made their way into the house and sat at the table for lunch.

"Charlie and Bill will be here shortly, I'm so excited to see my boys again." Mrs. Weasley said serving them all a pyramid of sandwiches. "Ginny, dear, you and Hermione will be my little helpers tomorrow with all the baking and cooking we need to get done for Thanksgiving," she added, taking a seat at the table.

"Yes, Mother," Ginny answered, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Draco, what does your family usually make for the holiday?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

They all stopped and looked at Draco, then Ginny shot her mom a look. Mrs. Weasley just gave a small sympathetic smile towards him.

Draco cleared his throat at the question directed towards him."Uh, well...we don't........we don't really celebrate the holidays," Draco answered.

There was silence for a moment and it became quite awkward.

"Excuse me, I think I'll go rest a bit, not feeling too well," Draco said suddenly and Mrs. Weasley gave a small smile and nodded that she understood.

Draco walked out of the kitchen and all heads turned to Molly.

"Wow, Mom, you're sure on a roll," George joked.

"I can't believe you said that, Mom, you know he's a very private person," Ginny said in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, dear, it was an honest question. Maybe I'll go talk to him," she said making her way to get up.

"NO," they all yelled in unison. She just looked at them and sat back down.

Ginny just shook her head at her mom and they continued lunch in light conversation.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that night Ginny made her way to Draco's bedroom and gave a small knock on the door. He didn't answer so she cracked the door open and peeked her head inside. Draco was lying on his bed with his hands folded behind his head. The room was dimly lit by a small lamp on the side table.

"Hey," she said in a small voice walking in and closing the door behind her.

"Hey."

"Listen, I'm sorry about my mom, she's a bit much sometimes."

"Nah, it's fine."

Ginny walked over and sat on the bed next to him. They sat in silence for a bit and Ginny turned to face him. He looked up at her and noticed how even in the poor lighting her fiery hair was as vibrant as ever. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and at the thoughts that teased his mind. Ginny must have been feeling a similar way because she closed the distance between them with her lips against his. He ran his fingers through her hair and brought her closer to him, her fiery hair falling onto his face made him intensify the kiss. She willingly allowed him into her mouth and she leaned down further until her chest was leaning against him. His other hand made its way around her back and up her shirt. The contact of his hand on her skin made Ginny let out a soft moan that drove Draco seconds away from ripping her clothes off and ravishing her senseless. Their eyes suddenly snapped open at her mother's loud announcement that rang through the house that dinner was ready. They broke apart and Ginny quickly sat up; her face was flushed and she was a bit taken aback at how easy it was for her to get lost in him. She stood up and headed for the door.

"Uh....well... I'll see you downstairs for dinner," she stuttered a bit.

"Uh, yeah, see you there," Draco said, sitting up from the bed.

Ginny gave him a small smile and quickly left his room and closed the door. Of course, as she was leaving his room Harry was making his way down to dinner. He saw her flushed face and a matted knot in her hair.

"Oh, hey, Harry," she said, not making eye contact with him.

He smirked at her and shook his head. "You know eventually your mom is going to catch on."

"Catch onto what?" Ginny asked, playing dumb.

"Really, Ginny? Well, if you want to make your protests more convincing, maybe you should brush your hair real quick," he laughed, grabbing the knot in her hair.

She blushed and felt the knot in her hair and gave a small gasp. "Ugh, really Draco?" she mumbled walking away into her room to brush it out.

"What is she on about?" Draco asked, walking out of his room making his way downstairs.

"Oh, just going on about how someone made a mess of her hair," Harry said, walking with him downstairs.

"Oh.....uh......wonder who," he said clearing his throat.

"You guys are ridiculous, you do realize I just saw you two about to lock lips earlier and you're still playing stupid?"

"I don't know what you saw, Potter," Draco snarled.

"Oh yeah? Hmm, ok," Harry said, walking past him, "By the way, that's a lovely scent of perfume you have on. I didn't know you and Ginny wore the same scent," he teased and then walked into the kitchen.

Draco grabbed his shirt and gave a quick sniff before turning around and going back upstairs to put some cologne on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco walked into the kitchen and was immediately greeted with handshakes and slaps on the back by Bill and Charlie thanking him for saving their sister. He just nodded and decided to accept the gratitude rather than fight them. Draco also noticed Fleur and Luna were at the table. He figured they must have arrived earlier when he was up in his room. Draco took a seat between George and Ginny.

"Nice of you to join us, Draco, I assure you being in a house full of Weasleys will drive you insane." Mr. Weasley joked as Molly hit him on the arm.

"How would you know you're at work all day," Molly shot back.

"I wonder why," Mr. Weasley whispered down the table.

Draco gave a small smirk at this and then filled his plate with food along with the rest of the Weasley clan. The rest of dinner went by rather smoothly; Charlie and Bill talked about work and Harry and Luna were deep in conversation. There was talk of Quidditch and the upcoming Christmas holiday. Soon Molly cleared the table and served dessert and settled into a seat herself next to Arthur.

"I need to discuss a pressing matter with you all," Arthur said suddenly making everyone turn their heads in his direction. He took Molly's hand in his and looked up at the rest of them. "Molly and I have been asked to assemble a group for an Order mission. Now we aren't sure when exactly, but there is some information that Kingsley Shacklebolt has asked us to look into. He wants to know that if needed we have Order members willing to go into the field." He looked down at the table. It hurt his heart to ask his family to put their lives on the line, but he and Molly have been a part of the Order for a long time to know how important it was. "Now nobody needs to answer now, but start thinking about-"

"You know that we're all in already, Mr. Weasley," Harry said suddenly.

They all nodded in agreement and Arthur gave a small smile. He turned his attention to Draco.

"How about you, Draco? The Order can use more members now that there aren't many of us left."

Draco looked at him for a moment and then he turned to look at Ginny, who was looking back at him. He turned back to Arthur. "Nothing would make me happier than to bring an end to my father," he said in a murderous tone.

Arthur gave him a firm nod.

"That's the spirit, mate," George joked, giving Draco a slap on the back.

"Alright, alright, enough of this matter for now; we can further discuss it after the holiday," Mrs. Weasley said, getting up and shooing them all out of the kitchen.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny lay in her bed that night thinking about the blond Slytherin in the next room. Ever since their intimate encounter; she had found herself thinking about him nonstop. All she wanted to do was have his lips against hers again or his hands on her body. She rubbed her face to try and get the images out of her head of his bare body and his piercing eyes that took her to another place. She turned to the clock and saw it was almost midnight. She slipped out of bed and walked to her door. She pulled it open and stuck her head out to see if anyone was around. She saw everyone seemed to have gone to bed and tiptoed as quietly as possible to Draco's room. She decided not to knock and gently opened the door and slipped into his room. She was met with blackness and couldn't see where she was walking.

"Draco?" she whispered.

She could hear his soft breathing and figured he was asleep. She started walking a bit closer to his bed and misjudged the distance and bumped into it and fell right on top of him.

"OOF, WHAT THE HELL?" he shouted.

Ginny quickly put her hand over his mouth to quiet him.

"SHH, it's me," she whispered removing her hand.

"What the hell are you doing in here Ginny, if your Mom comes in-?"

"Shh! It's ok, everyone's asleep."

Her eyes started adjusting to the darkness and she could see his mercury eyes staring at her.

"So what's wrong?" he asked lying back on his pillow.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you," she said, getting under the covers with him.

Draco noticed this and was surprised at how comfortable she seemed to be around him. A small smile came to his face at this thought. He was always used to making people feel the total opposite and it felt nice for a change. He felt her hair on his arm and then realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. It wasn't long before Ginny seemed to have noticed this also.

"Don't fall asleep again," Draco joked.

"Oh my gosh, imagine if," she laughed.

They lay there in silence for a few more moments. They were listening to the sound of each other's breathing; finding it somehow calming.

"I saw Fred," Draco said suddenly.

Ginny propped herself up on her arm and looked down at him. "What?"

"And Lupin and Snape... and Dumbledore," he added in a whisper.

"I don't understand... where?" she searched his eyes for answers.

"When I died," he whispered into the darkness.

Understanding filled Ginny's mind and she snuggled under his arm and laid her head on his chest. He shared with her what he remembered of the encounter and she just lay there in his arms listening. He told her how Fred looked and how he still had his sense of humor. She laughed at this and wiped away a stray tear.

"I'm glad you came back," she said quietly.

"Yeah, me too... me too."

"Well, I guess I better head back to my room," Ginny said slipping out of the bed.

She immediately missed the warmth of his body against hers and it took everything in her not to slide back into his arms. She wasn't sure if she should kiss him again or not; she didn't want to make it seem so casual. She still wasn't sure where she and Draco stood as far as relationship wise went and she didn't want to make him feel pressured to make it official. She turned to leave when she felt him grab her arm and spun her around to face him; their lips only a few inches apart.

"Goodnight, Ginny," he whispered and then gently brushed his lips against hers.

The next day went by rather fast and consisted mostly of all the girls in the kitchen prepping for the holiday the following day. Draco spent most of the day in his room, but joined the guys for a game of Quidditch, which he was glad for; if there was one thing Draco enjoyed it was being on a broom. That night, Ginny made another nightly visit into his bedroom and they just lay there and talked and he gave her another soft kiss goodnight. Draco kept going back to the night he and Ginny had sex and as much as he loved it, he wouldn't try and initiate it again unless Ginny wanted to. He felt he was skating on thin ice with their relationship, well if you could call it that. Neither of them had used the word love again since that night and he wasn't sure if he should or not. He knew he did love her and he hoped Ginny loved him too but did she still? He felt himself putting his walls up again and quickly decided to push all thoughts out of his head before he made things worse.

Draco woke up Thanksgiving morning extra early. He was sick of being in his room all day and decided to slip out into the yard to clear his mind. He sat on the steps of the back porch letting the cold weather hit his face. He heard the back door open and someone sat down next him.

"Looks like it's going to snow again," Luna said in a soft voice.

Draco just gave a light nod in agreement.

"I'm excited for the winter season to come, I find it to be one of the most beautiful times of the year, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

They sat there in silence for a while when Mrs. Weasley opened the back door and called to them.

"Ah, perfect, I could use some extra hands in the kitchen nice and early, come on, you two."

Luna gave a small laugh and led the way into the kitchen. They took seats at the table and Molly put all the ingredients for cookie baking down in front of them along with a recipe to follow.

"Now, follow this recipe to a T and I'll get this turkey in the oven. No magic, homemade cookies taste much better as stated, HOMEMADE," Mrs. Weasley said sternly.

"Mrs. Weasley I've never made cookies in my life, in fact, I don't think I've ever made anything for myself befor,." Draco said honestly.

"No worries, dear, there's a first time for everything, Luna can help you through it. Now go on, go on, get those hands dirty and start making some dough."

Luna read the recipe and Draco tried hard to follow along. About a half hour into it he found himself covered in flour and so was Luna, although not as bad as he was. They finally got their dough where it needed to be and were soon able to start forming cookies on a pan. Soon they were put in the oven and baked to perfection. They reloaded the tray with more cookies until they had a whole platter full.

"Alright, that's the last batch. Now do you two want some more work to do, if not I better wake the other troops up," Mrs. Weasley said covering the cookies for tonight's dessert feast.

"I rather enjoy baking," Luna said.

"Sure, it's better than sitting up in my room all day I suppose," Draco joked.

"Wonderful, let's get some potatoes peeled and cut then," Molly said, handing them a big bag of potatoes.

Luna peeled and Draco cut the potatoes. He had to be shown how to cut them to the right size to make them mashable later. He talked with Luna about her father and the Quibbler and what she did during the summer break. Soon the others started waking up one by one and stumbled into the kitchen. Ginny walked in and was surprised to see Draco sitting there deep in conversation with Luna and her mum; not to mention the fact that he was covered in flour and knee deep in potatoes.

"Well, well, look who got a jump start this morning," she teased taking a seat beside him.

He gave her a small smirk. "Yeah, well, it's the least I can do for your parents after letting me intrude on your holiday season."

She smiled at him and he gave her a genuine smile back. He didn't know why, but he had enjoyed his morning learning how to bake and make mashed potatoes.

After they were done with the potatoes, Draco made his way upstairs to get cleaned up. He got out of the shower and threw some fresh clothes on and then went to make his way back downstairs. He was walking past George's room when he noticed the door to Fred's room was opened. He hadn't seen the door open at all since he had been here and walked over to the bedroom. He took a step inside and was intrigued by the many odd objects that met his eyes. He didn't realize someone was in the closet and felt really awkward when he saw it was George emerging from it with a big box.

"Oh, uh, sorry," he said making a turn to leave.

"Nonsense, mate, get over here and give me a hand," George said.

Draco walked over and helped him carry the box over to Fred's bed.

"What's in here?" Draco asked curiously.

"It's a bunch of sentimental stuff me and Fred shared or did together. Every holiday now, we pull it out and look at all the pictures and reminisce on the days when Fred was still alive," he said in a sad voice.

"Oh," Draco felt extremely uncomfortable and didn't know what to say.

"I'm just joking, mate," he said, slapping Draco on the back. "This is Fred's secret prank stash; that dirty bloke. I'm just taking a small amount of ammo for tonight. Let's just say Bill and Charlie's visit might be cut short with how much this will piss them off."

Draco sighed a breath of relief and gave a small laugh at George's comment.

"Do you ever play pranks on Ginny?" Draco asked.

"Not anymore really, she hasn't been herself since the battle. She does seem to be in better spirits, though, even after all she's been through," said George, taking what he needed from the box and closing it up then sliding it under the bed.

"Yeah."

"Guess someone is a positive influence on her," he smirked and walked out of the room.

Draco sat there for a moment to take in what he said. Surely he wasn't talking about him. He would never think of himself as a positive influence on anybody, especially a Weasley. He walked out of Fred's room and closed the door, then headed downstairs, pushing all thoughts aside for now.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The day went by as pleasantly as it could possibly be. There was a game of Quidditch the boys played outside while the girls finished getting dinner ready and then they sat down to the biggest feast Draco had ever laid eyes on. He wasn't used to eating dinner like this and Mrs. Weasley's food tasted so much better than the ones the house elves served up in Malfoy Manor. Conversation over dinner was a mixed up mess, but great all the same. There would be five different conversations happening all around the table. Draco found himself having to yell to answer people or comment on something. After dinner, they had a rigorous game of charades going on in the living room which involved a lot of yelling the same guess out numerous times by Ron and a lot of laughing from the rest of them.

"Really, Ron? If it wasn't a Dementor the first five times you guessed, what makes you think it would be it the sixth time?" Bill howled with laughter.

After a few more rounds of charades, they all piled back in the kitchen for the slew of desserts Mrs. Weasley had been working on the past two days. Ginny took a seat next to Draco and began to tell him all about her mum's amazing double chocolate fudge cake that she couldn't get enough of. She served herself a piece and then Draco. Ron was stuffing his face with cookies and went on about how delicious they were.

"I'm glad you like them, Ronald, because Draco and Luna made them," Mrs. Weasley said proudly.

Ron stopped chewing for a moment and contemplated spitting it out, but after noticing they seemed to not be poisoned he began to stuff his face again.

"Never thought you'd be eating cookies baked by Draco Malfoy, huh?" asked Harry laughing at his best mate's facial expression. Everyone laughed and continued passing desserts back and forth.

Draco was sitting there just taking everything in. He couldn't believe that he once hated these people who were more than welcoming of him after all he had done, after everything his father did and still stands for. He felt Ginny grab his hand under the table and she laced her fingers with his. He looked at her for a moment and then took a bite of the cake she served him.

"It's good right?" she said, taking a bite herself.

"That's some good cake," he said in a serious tone.

They both laughed.

Ginny suddenly felt Draco tighten his grip around her hand and she quickly turned to face him. She saw him close his eyes tightly and bring his other hand up to his head. She knew what was coming. Draco stood up trying not to make a scene and make it to the back door to the yard. He wasn't sure how bad this attack would be and if his mind made him do anything like he did to his room at the Manor then outside was where he'd rather be. Despite Draco's best efforts to slip outside unnoticed, every head seemed to be on him at his abrupt departure from the table.

"Draco, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley called to him.

He felt his body giving in to the curse and found himself starting to convulse. He quickly ripped the back door opened and threw himself down the steps of the porch into a mass of snow. Ginny ran outside to follow him, followed by everyone else. Harry, Hermione, and Ron ran over to Ginny. Draco was on his knees and hunched over and he was running his hands into the snow and grabbing a fistful of it to help with the pain.

"Harry, we could use the Hauriendum spell if we need to, it should work on this type of dark magic," Hermione called to him.

"NO! DON'T, JUST LEAVE ME!" Draco yelled.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had seen enough Dark magic in their days to know what was happening to Draco. Molly put her hand over her mouth at this horrible sight she had to witness and Mr. Weasley held her while she cried for the poor boy before her. Everyone was just watching helplessly. Ginny ran over to Draco and kneeled down in front of him. He looked at her; she had tears running down her face.

"Draco, let us help you," she cried.

He just kept shaking his head no; he didn't want anyone to have to endure this pain. He scrambled back a bit more from her as another wave of pain shot through him. He screamed out in agony and then that familiar chill filled the air. The temperature outside seemed to have dropped immensely and Ginny shivered at the change. It was already freezing outside, but the coldness that came felt like a bunch of knives stabbing her skin. The wind started whipping at her face and a howling breeze ran around them. Snow was flying everywhere and Ginny almost couldn't see in front of her. She heard Hermione yell out.

"HARRY, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING BEFORE HE HURTS SOMEONE OR DESTROYS THE HOUSE!"

Harry was frantically thinking and then he pulled out his wand and started running over to Draco to perform the Hauriendum spell. Before he could reach him, he saw Ginny run to Draco first.

"GINNY, NO!" he screamed at her.

She got closer to Draco and pointed her wand at him. His eyes went wide at the realization of what she was trying to do. She was breathing heavy and she was trembling with fear at the pain she was about to experience, but before she could say the words her wand flew out of her hand. She turned around to see that Harry disarmed her. She glanced back at the porch where her family stood watching in horror. She saw the back porch was overlaid in ice and the back wall of the Burrow was freezing over. She turned back to Draco and jumped in surprise when she saw him standing right in front of her. She let out a small gasp and took a step back. Harry was fighting against the force of the wind to try and get to Draco as fast as he could, but he could barely keep his feet on the floor.

"GINNY, GET BACK NOW!" Mr. Weasley yelled at her.

She turned to her mum and dad and saw the worry and panic in their faces. She turned back to Draco, who was just staring at her. His eyes were a silvery ice and she went to grab his face in her hands as she did back at the Manor to try and calm him. Before her hands could reach his face, he quickly grabbed both of her wrists and held them tightly in his hands. She looked into his eyes and just knew that Draco was completely lost in his mind. He looked at her with his icy stare, almost like crystals. She saw the snow on the ground floating up and then it slowed down, almost to a complete stop as if time had frozen. She heard her name being screamed, but it sounded so much further away. She felt Draco's grip tighten around her wrists and she tried to pull away.

"DRACO, IT'S ME, IT'S GINNY, DON'T LET THIS CURSE CONTROL YOU, YOU NEED TO FIGHT THROUGH IT!" she cried out to him trying to pull with all her might out of his grasp. She didn't think the grip could tighten anymore, but it did and she cried out in pain and fell to her knees before him.

Harry was desperately dragging himself through the snow and ice that was flying past him. His face was getting cut up by all the jagged icy flakes that flew by. He heard Ginny scream out and tried to pick up his pace. He was almost there, but it was like Draco was keeping him away from him by some invisible force that was fighting against him. Ginny looked up at Draco again through fresh tears. She felt her wrists start to get cold and watched as Draco's hands began to ice over onto her hands and wrists. She let out a blood-curdling scream as she felt the ice running through her skin. Harry reached out his hand and grabbed Draco's ankle and yelled out the spell.

"HAURIENDUM!"

Harry's screams echoed throughout the air and before he knew it, his eyes fell closed and he knew no more.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny was sipping on a cup of tea the next day and was waiting for her mum and dad to join her. She looked over to the trio sitting across from her, Harry had a bunch of scrapes on his face but overall was ok from last night's events. She had sat with Draco almost all night and half of this morning waiting for him to wake up. Then Ron came and told her that their parents wanted to talk to them. She heard her mum and dad come in and take a seat.

"First of all I just want to say that I am absolutely appalled at what I witnessed last night. You all should have told us what was going on with Draco before he came to stay with us this way we would've been prepared," said Mr. Weasley.

"Secondly, why would you put yourself in danger like that, Ginny?" Molly spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Mum, but I thought I could help. I was able to last time back at the Manor but.......I don't know what happened this time..." she trailed off.

"When Draco wakes up we have a plan we want to put into place and we only hope he will agree to it," Arthur said putting his arm around Molly.

"What plan is that?" Harry asked.

"We will discuss it later, for now, I want you to get some more rest, Harry. Ginny, go check on Draco and we will meet back here a bit later. I have written a letter to McGonagall about the incident." Molly said, getting up and leading Harry to the living room to go rest.

Ginny ascended the stairs deep in thought. All she could think about was the look of Draco's eyes last night and how he wasn't even present. She was rubbing her wrists where he had grabbed her and made sure she wore a long sleeve shirt to hide the bruises he had caused on her. The last thing she wanted him to feel was guilty for hurting her. She knew he didn't mean it and so did everyone else, everyone knew Draco had no control over the curse that activated a part of his mind he couldn't control. She slowly opened his bedroom door and closed it behind her. She saw Draco just lying there deep in thought and staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, you're awake," she said in a small voice walking over and taking a seat on the bed.

He tried to sit up and Ginny helped him get into a sitting position. He looked horrible, she just wanted to kiss his face and comfort him.

"How long was I out this time?"

"Just since last night, it's about lunchtime now. Harry woke up sometime this morning, but he wasn't affected as much as you were from the curse," she explained.

"What do you mean?" he looked confused.

"Well, Harry used the Hauriendum spell on you," she cautiously said.

"WHAT!" he said angrily.

"We didn't have a choice, Draco, you were out of control and you..." She trailed off and was absent-mindedly rubbing her wrists.

Draco noticed this and reached down and grabbed her arm.

"Draco, no don't-"

He pulled her sleeves back and his eyes went wide when he was met with dark bruises on both of her wrists. They were purple and red and just a horrible sight for him to take in. He let out a shaky breath and he felt tears fill his eyes as memories of last night filled his head. He heard Ginny's screams ring through his mind and remembered how she struggled to get away from him. He never wanted to cause Ginny any kind of pain, especially physical pain. He ran his hands through his hair and started pacing around the room. He was desperately trying to control his emotions.

"Draco, it's fine, it was an accident. You wanted me to stay away, but I didn't listen," she pleaded with him to make him see it her way but she knew he wouldn't.

"I can't believe I did that to you. I need to leave, I can't be here, and the last thing I would ever want is to be responsible for anything like this," he said gesturing to her wrists.

Ginny walked over to him and grabbed his face. He wouldn't look at her and his body was shaking from the shock of what he had done.

"Draco, look at me, please," she said in a soft voice.

He looked at her and his eyes locked with her fiery ones that he loved so much. She rubbed her thumb over his cheek and she gave him a smile.

"It was an accident, I know you would never hurt me, but I want to help you and more so, I want you to let me help you."

He shook his head no but she firmly stopped him from saying no with her hands on his face. "Draco?"

He locked eyes with her again.

"I love you, please let me help you," she felt her own tears sliding down her face. She felt Draco's own tears sliding down onto her hands that were firmly placed on his cheeks.

She saw him thinking about her offer, but she knew he was letting the words "I love you" register in his head. She pulled him into a hug. He didn't hug her back; he just stood there in shock at the entire situation.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco was making his way downstairs to have a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about last night's events. After Ginny and he spoke earlier, he just wanted to be alone. He couldn't bear to be around everyone when he knew he was responsible for hurting Ginny and practically forcing Harry to risk his well-being so that things didn't get any worse last night. On the way down, he stopped in front of Ron's room where he knew Harry was staying and knocked on the door.

"COME IN!" he heard Ron call out.

He opened the door and saw Ron and Harry playing a game of chess. They were a bit surprised to see Draco at the door and turned their attention to him as he walked into the room.

"What's up, Draco?" Harry asked, getting up.

Draco saw how Harry had been affected by the curse and he didn't think he could feel any worse after seeing Ginny's wrists, but he was wrong.

"Uh, hey, I just wanted to.......um....say thanks........you know for....." He stumbled on his words. It wasn't every day he thanked his ex-rival.

"Don't mention it; I didn't really feel much for more than a few seconds before I was out. I'll tell you though, that what I did feel in those few seconds... was the most pain I think I've ever been through and I've been under the Cruciatus curse before."

"Well, you know my father, he always likes to go all out." Draco smirked. "Besides, you get used to it after a while."

"Do you really?" came Ron's voice.

"Hell no," Draco gave a small laugh followed by Harry and Ron.

"Well, I guess let's get downstairs and see what Mr. and Mrs. Weasley need to say," said Harry, leading the way out of the room.

They headed downstairs and met everyone in the kitchen. Almost the entire Weasley family was there and Draco noticed Ginny had an open seat next to her for him to sit in. He took a seat beside Bill instead and let Harry and Ron take the empty seats next to her. He saw her glance at him and then she looked away. He turned his attention to Mr. Weasley, who took a seat next to Molly.

"How are you feeling, Draco?" Molly asked with a bright smile.

"Uh, better, thanks," he said, keeping his head down. He felt so bad for hurting the youngest Weasley. He felt like everyone hated him even more now because of the harm he put them all in and inflicted upon Ginny.

"We're glad to hear that, Draco, but there is something we need to discuss," came Arthur's voice.

Everyone had their eyes on him.

"We think that the remainder of your stay here, Draco, that we should have a plan for when you have to suffer through one of these horrid punishments," he said with much seriousness.

"What kind of plan?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well......we think the Hauriendum spell is a perfect way to help you keep the effects of the curse at-"

"No, absolutely not," Draco said firmly interrupting Molly's pitch of the plan.

"But, Draco, this seems to be the only solution at the moment," Mr. Weasley argued.

"No, it's not happening, there's no way I'll agree to that. I would never want anyone of you to have to be put through something like that just for me. I'll be fine, there's got to be another way," he said getting angry.

"Well, there isn't right now and it's a perfect idea. You need to start learning how to control your powers when your mind goes to that unfamiliar place. Until then, this is how it needs to be," Hermione pitched in.

Draco looked at her for a moment and then looked back down at the table. He was shaking his head getting ready to throw another round of protests out when Arthur spoke again.

"Draco, you're right, nobody here should have to go through that, including you. You're a part of the Order and as a member now, you need to make decisions that are best for all of us. Not only are you capable of killing or seriously hurting someone during these attacks, but you're also setting off a very high level of magic which will draw Death Eaters right to the Burrow no matter how powerful our wards are. As much as you hate to accept it you're going to have to," he said with a sad face.

Draco looked over at Ginny and his eyes trailed down to her wrists and he studied the bruises on them for a moment. His stomach twisted in disgust at the idea of having to put the only people who have treated him like one of their own through something so horrifying. He felt horrible for hurting the redhead across from him and he didn't want to put any of them in any danger. He also couldn't bear the thought that his uncontrolled magic could lead Death Eaters right to their door. He couldn't live with himself if he knew he was responsible for the death of one of the people before him.

"Fine," he whispered.

"Ok then, well, everyone you have your orders going forward if we are faced with this situation again. Now, Harry, you won't be able to perform the spell again as you can only be the absorber once with this particular spell. I'm afraid it will have to be someone different each time until we come up with another solution," Arthur explained.

Everyone nodded and Arthur gestured to them all that the meeting was over and the room started clearing out. Draco just ran his fingers through his hair and held his head in his hands. This couldn't be happening; the whole Weasley family was willing to put themselves through torture just for him. He didn't deserve their help; he would've just suffered through each one. He would be lying though if he said he wasn't worried about hurting someone or worse. He looked up to glance at Ginny, but saw she had already left the kitchen, he knew she was trying to give him some space. He felt himself getting frustrated and made his way out of the kitchen and up to his room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next couple of weeks went by slowly; it consisted mostly of Draco keeping to himself in his room. He would only leave it to join the Weasleys for meals or take part in a game of Quidditch here and there. Charlie, Bill, and Fleur returned back to their homes for work and would be back around the Christmas holiday. Mrs. Weasley offered for Luna to stay the rest of the holiday with them at the Burrow and she agreed. Harry and Luna had finally locked lips one afternoon after she talked Harry into helping her build a snowman. Things between Draco and Ginny came to a standstill, there were still the smiles they shared when they locked eyes from across the room and then one evening Ginny planted a quick kiss on his lips when they were passing each other in the hallway. She didn't sneak into his room at night anymore because she wasn't sure where his mind was when it came to their relationship. The bruises on her wrists were completely healed now and Draco hadn't had an attack since Thanksgiving night.

Draco lay awake in his bed one morning lost in his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he called.

"Morning, Draco, mind giving me and the boys a hand with something?" Mr. Weasley asked popping his head into the room.

"Yeah, sure," Draco sounded surprised to be needed and was honestly thankful to have something to do than be in his room right now.

"Wonderful, grab a coat, I'll meet you on the back porch," Mr. Weasley said closing the door.

Draco grabbed a coat out of the closet and threw it on and then descended the staircase to the kitchen. He noticed it was quite early still as Mrs. Weasley was just making her morning tea.

"Morning, Draco, good luck with the boys, they are going tree hunting today," Mrs. Weasley said giving him a sympathetic smile.

Draco gave a small smirk and joined the guys out on the porch. He approached the group of men with a question, "So what exactly is tree hunting?"

They all looked at him, surprised.

"You do know what a Christmas tree is, don't you Draco?" Ron asked with a laugh.

"Of course I do, but why are we hunting for one?" he asked.

"To pick out a good tree, and then we cut it down and bring it back," Arthur explained as they made their way towards the snowy forest.

"But why not just use magic?" Draco asked.

"Now, what fun is that?" George answered.

"It's more than that, Draco. Using magic inside the ward is risky enough, so using magic outside of the ward is even riskier. The Ministry is monitoring all use of magic and with a rat in the bunch and an investigation in the works; using magic will lead the Death Eaters right to us." Arthur explained.

They walked to the very edge of the ward where the forest continued and Draco saw Arthur pull out a vial with a clear thick liquid in it.

"Ok, everyone take a small sip of this potion and we will be able to walk through the wards without having to take them down," Arthur explained taking a small sip from the vial and passing it to George.

"Wait, we're going outside of the wards?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Yes, we are, now go on, drink up and get your wands out," Arthur said.

They all exchanged an unsure look and then reluctantly sipped the potion from the small vial. Draco stepped past the ward and the air instantly felt so much different. He had his wand drawn and looked both ways before following the rest of them into the forest. They walked for a good twenty minutes with just the sound of crunching snow beneath their feet and the occasional small talk.

"There's a great lot of trees just a bit ahead that we always get ours at," Arthur said leading the way.

As much as Draco felt uneasy being exposed to the outside world without any protective wards around; he did enjoy the freedom. He listened to Mr. Weasley share old stories of when they would go tree hunting and gave a small smile when Arthur told them Ginny was always the decision maker when it came to picking out the perfect one.

Draco suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and an eerie feeling filled the air. He looked over to the others who seemed to have noticed the change as well. Draco tightened his grip on his wand and darted his eyes in every direction to make sure the area was secure. There was a deadly silence that washed over them and before Draco knew it, he grabbed the back of Ron's shirt and pulled him back with him against a tree as a spell missed Ron's chest by mere inches.

They all took cover behind some nearby trees. Draco and Ron looked over at Harry, George and Arthur and Harry made a hand gesture to them that he was going to take a peek at what threat they were up against. Harry slowly poked his head out and as soon as he did, he pulled back as another spell hit the snow beside him sending flakes everywhere. Harry looked across at them and held his hands up indicating six. Draco couldn't help the rapid pace of his heart picking up and he knew Ron's had to as they were both breathing heavily. Draco looked back over to Harry and Arthur gestured for them to split up and take the Death Eaters out. Draco and Ron nodded.

"Alright, Weasley, I'm going to make a run for that boulder over there and get a look at their positions."

Ron nodded to him.

Draco pushed himself off the tree and ran as fast as he could to the boulder. He saw there were three Death Eaters rather close to the boulder he had decided to hide behind, but he didn't have time to change his destination point and quickly skidded down behind the rock. He felt a curse hit the rock as he just made it there and then another spell flew over his head and then he saw a Death Eater fall dead beside him. He looked over to Ron, who was the one who cast the deadly spell and he nodded a quick thanks.

Draco kept track in his head of how many Death Eaters were left and then motioned for Ron to join him behind the rock. Ron went to make a run for it when a curse flew at him and he jumped back to dodge it and fell backward to the ground. Draco quickly ran out from behind his hiding spot and ran over to Ron and grabbed him roughly by his shirt to drag him to cover. A spell flew past Draco's face and Draco quickly sent a deadly curse at one of the Death Eaters and heard his body hit the ground, dead. At this point, Draco and Ron abandoned their hiding place and ran to meet up with the others.

Draco saw Harry dueling with a Death Eater and Arthur fighting off two of them. George had just taken down another and Ron was on Draco's heels. Draco wasn't sure where the other Death Eaters came from but he suddenly saw another five coming at them and he began to panic. He saw George get hit with a binding charm that he was desperately trying to free himself from and Ron, so close behind him at one point, who was hit with a spell that threw him into a nearby tree. Draco made to turn back to him, but couldn't with the steady stream of curses being thrown at him. He finally got behind a tree diagonally across from where Harry was crouched behind another.

"WHERE'S ARTHUR?" Draco yelled.

"HE'S UP AHEAD, WE NEED TO GET TO HIM," Harry called back.

They both exchanged a nod and made a run for it. So many spells were flying everywhere, it was hard to tell whose was whose. Draco suddenly felt the earth move beneath him as one of the Death Eaters sent out a shockwave curse. He lost his balance and fell to the ground as did Harry. He then heard a very loud deafening pitch that ran through his head, keeping them all on their knees from the pain radiating in their heads. He squinted through the pain to see Harry crouched down behind the tree holding his head in his hands in pain. He then tried to turn to find Arthur and his heart sank when he saw he was on the ground with at least five Death Eaters advancing on him.

"DAD!" he heard Ron yell out from behind him.

Anger ran through Draco's body, he couldn't let Mr. Weasley die.

"Well, take a look, boys, seems we have the Weasley father here. Guess you'll be meeting the same fate as your son," a Death Eater said with amusement, followed by a maniacal laugh, along with the others.

Draco felt himself slipping, he felt his heart speeding up and his breathing was heavy. He ran out from behind the tree and ran to Mr. Weasley as fast as he could. The other Death Eaters raised their wands to Draco, but they stopped when they noticed their legs were frozen in place. One of the Death Eaters started yelling in pain as the rest of their bodies covered completed with ice until they were completely engulfed. Harry and the others watched in horror at the scene before them and as Draco advanced on them their frozen bodies exploded into a million shards of ice. The Death Eater standing over Arthur with his wand drawn looked around him in fear and his face twisted in anger and he raised his wand to finish off Arthur. The deadly curse flew out of his wand and before it could hit him Draco jumped in front of him and put his hands up over his face to prepare for the impact of the curse. When nothing hit him, he looked up to see a huge wall of ice between him and the Death Eater. The ice wall then exploded and knocked the Death Eater out and he fell to the ground. He was scrambling to try and get up and take off when George made his way over and swiftly hit him with the Killing curse. The thought of Fred's death was clearly on his mind by his facial expression.

"Mr. Weasley, are you alright?" Harry came running over with Ron.

"Why are there Death Eaters so close to the wards?" Harry asked.

"I have no clue unless Draco's episode a few weeks ago tipped them off and they've been scouting the area. Probably waiting for another round of magic from him to pinpoint us," Arthur explained.

Arthur got to his feet and looked at Draco with a mixed expression of shock and gratefulness. "You saved my life, Draco, thank you," he said.

Draco gave a small nod. He didn't realize how hard he was breathing and how tight his fists were balled until he started to relax and felt his hands unclench. He let out a shaky breath and knelt down in the snow. Every time he unwillingly tapped into this part of his mind where these unfamiliar powers came from he was either not present or he was passed out afterward but this time was different. He was a bit freaked out at the feeling of it and wasn't sure how he felt about it. He just murdered four Death Eaters with a single curse, one he didn't even have control over........well at least he didn't think he did. He could feel his mind wanting to pull him in another direction, but he tried hard to stay focused on the here and now to get his mind straight.

"You ok, Draco?" Harry asked, giving him a pat on the back.

Draco nodded, trying to catch his breath. "All this for a fucking tree," he smirked.

They all gave a small laugh.

"Maybe we will use magic this year," Arthur joked. "After all, we already used a load of magic during that attack," he said leading the way to the lot of trees just up ahead.

They quickly used a simple spell to cut down the tree and levitated it back past the ward. Arthur said a quick spell that erased all of their footprints from the snow and then passed back into the wards.

Ginny was sitting at the table with Hermione, Luna and her Mom making sandwiches for when the boys returned. She was excited to see the tree they picked out but was a bit disappointed she couldn't tag along this year. Her parents thought it best she stayed inside the wards since everything she had been through this year and the possible threats that they knew lurked outside the wards. She gave out a light sigh and placed her completed sandwich on the tray with the others.

"Cheer up sweetie, I'm sure they have found a magnificent tree." Mrs. Weasley gave her a bright smile.

"I'm not so sure about that, remember Ron is with them," Hermione laughed.

They giggled and continued making lunch.

"They've been gone a while now," Mrs. Weasley stated with worry in her voice.

Luna got up from the table and walked over to the window and squinted at the small figures across the field that emerged.

"Looks like they just got back," she said with a smile.

They all ran outside to see the tree they had picked out, but their smiles turned to looks of horror as they noticed Ron was limping and they all looked a wreck. They all ran towards them, Ginny could hear her mum screaming for her father in fear that something horrible happened. They stopped in front of them and Arthur had his hands out to calm them down and reassure them everybody was alright.

"ARTHUR, ARTHUR WHAT HAPPENED? RON ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WHAT HAPPENED DAMMIT!" Molly yelled demanding answers with tears welling in her eyes.

"Molly calm down dear, everybody is ok, we ran into some Death Eaters, but they were taken care of." Arthur explained wrapping Molly up into a hug.

Ginny watched her father hold her mum to comfort her from the fear that filled them all. She watched as Hermione looked over Ron's entire body to see if he was truly ok before she buried her face in his neck and he wrapped her up in his arms. She saw Luna give Harry a hug, asking him if he was ok and they shared a smile. She turned her attention to Draco, he looked confused and distracted and she thought about how badly she wanted to be in his arms again. She felt tears forming in her eyes and quickly wiped them away.

"It's ok Gin, we're fine, honestly," said George wrapping his sister in a one armed hug.

"Arthur why were there Death Eaters so close to the wards?" Molly asked sounding panicked.

"Could be from the amount of magic used on Thanksgiving and they pinpointed it to around here. I think we are going to have to start going out daily and do perimeter checks to make sure our location isn't found." Arthur explained.

"We will discuss it further later, come on, let's get you boys in the house. Arthur are you sure you're alright, you look like you saw a ghost." Molly asked looking at her husband's pale face.

Arthur paused for a moment; realizing how close to death he was. How he almost wouldn't have made it back to his family. He looked at Draco.

"Draco saved my life. I would be dead if Draco hadn't put his life on the line. We may not understand those powers you possess Draco, but I know that today it saved my life and I am eternally grateful for it." Arthur said getting a bit choked up.

Draco wasn't sure what to say he just nodded to accept the thanks and then a moment later found his face buried in Mrs. Weasley's chest as she brought him into a rib crunching hug. Draco saw Ginny quickly turn around and make her way back to the house without the rest of them.

Ginny walked as fast as she could back into the house and ran up to the bathroom and closed and locked the door. She leaned against it and slid to the floor and began to cry. She couldn't take this any longer, she felt so stupid for confessing her love for Draco but he wasn't accepting of it. He told her he loved her too, and when they were together, she could feel it, but things were different now. Was he still in love with her? Maybe he thought he loved her, but now he didn't, maybe he just felt bad for her because she took a poisonous arrow for him; or because of the whole Warren situation? She began to sob harder and buried her face in her knees. After a few moments she pulled herself up and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and her face stained with tears. Her nose was all red and her hair a tangled mess. She gave a small jump when she heard a knock on the door.

"Ginny are you alright?" came Hermione's voice.

"Yeah I'm fine," Ginny lied, trying her best to steady her voice from all traces of emotion.

"Alright, well, we are sitting down for lunch so see you down there."

"Ok." Ginny called after her.

She ran her hands through her hair and then splashed some water on her face and waited a few moments for the puffiness in her eyes to subside then made her way down to lunch. She took a seat at the table and her mum slid a plate with a sandwich on it over to her. They were all discussing the attack that had just taken place, but Ginny was lost in her thoughts. She just sat there thinking and thinking and just fell deeper into her mind. Draco was watching her from across the table, he knew she was more than likely upset with him, but he wondered what was going through her mind right now. She was just staring at the plate in front of her not moving, not blinking just completely absent from the present. He looked away from her and mentally cursed himself for putting Ginny through anymore pain. He looked at her again after a few more minutes past and she was still staring blankly at her plate.

"I'M NOT HUNGRY!" Ginny shouted suddenly standing up and walking out of the kitchen.

Everyone turned to look at her due to her sudden outburst and watched her storm out of the room.

"Sheesh, guess she really wasn't hungry," Ron joked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco walked up to Ginny's room after lunch and gave a soft knock on her door. She didn't answer so he gave another small knock and opened the door a bit and stuck his head inside. He saw her lying on her bed facing the wall.

"Ginny?" he called to her.

She didn't answer. He let out a small sigh and then walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Ginny, please talk to me," he said in a small voice.

She sat up suddenly and flipped her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "Why should I? You don't talk to me," she stated angrily; her fists were clenched tightly.

Draco just looked down at the floor.

"I can't do this anymore Draco, just get out," she said with frustration walking back over to her bed and sitting down. She had her arms crossed and her face turned away from him so he wouldn't see the tears that threatened to fall.

Draco wasn't sure if he should leave or not. He wanted to say he was sorry, but she looked pretty angry. He knew she had every right to be.

"Ginny, I-"

"NO!" she yelled over him and stood once more until she was face to face with him. The fire in her eyes was as fierce as ever. Her hair so red that Draco thought she might erupt into flames right before him. "Get out......NOW!" she said, shoving him back towards the door.

He was a bit taken aback at her actions towards him but knew he deserved every bit of them. He quickly turned and left her room, retreating into his own for the rest of the day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next few days passed by quickly and Ginny had been in her room most of the time. She would go to meals but made it a point to avoid Draco completely. She felt bad for treating him how she did, but she didn't want to keep having her emotions toyed with. Draco looked miserable, but then again they both did. They all had decorated the tree one night and Ginny could feel Draco's eyes on her the entire time. Her heart was breaking knowing how he must be feeling, but she has to think about herself now. Bill, Fleur, and Charlie had arrived this evening for the Christmas holiday that was a week away so the house was more chaotic. Ginny knew the holidays were supposed to be fun and she was supposed to be happy, but she only felt sadness and anger. Her mum approached her and asked if she was ok and Ginny persuaded her enough to get her off of her back. The boys would go out every day and walked the perimeter of the wards to make sure no Death Eaters were in sight and most days there weren't. There was another occasion or so where they came across two or three Death Eaters about a half a mile or so from the wards that they would take care of.

Ginny was asleep in her bed one night and was tossing and turning from a nightmare she seemed to be having. In the nightmare, she was standing in a long dark hallway and a figure would be standing a few feet away from her. When the figure came closer she saw it was Warren and she ran as fast as she could away from him. She came to a dead end and had no place to run to. She soon felt his hands on her body, touching and groping her. She closed her eyes tightly, preparing for what was to come. When she felt nothing she opened her eyes and saw he was gone. She was crying in her nightmare and shaking in terror. She then turned around when she felt someone behind her and was face to face with Lucius Malfoy. She let out a terrifying scream as he reached for her. Again she felt her body being violated and soon she felt the most horrifying feeling of his intrusion into her and she jolted awake.

She darted her eyes around the darkroom to make sure it was just a bad dream and then felt bile rise in her throat. She made a run to the bathroom and emptied her stomach into the toilet. She stood up on shaky legs and looked into the mirror; she was pale and sweating. Her long fiery hair was stuck to her face and neck. Her whole body was trembling and her clammy skin was stained with tears. Her breathing was heavy and her heart was racing. She splashed cold water on her face and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she got images of the dream she just had. It was so vivid and seemed so real she kept looking around her to make sure nobody would suddenly pop up beside her. She was scared and wanted to scream for help even though nobody from her nightmare was actually here. She felt like she might pass out and her mind began to race. She ripped open the bathroom door and ran to the bedroom next to hers. She kept thinking about the only place she felt safe after Warren had attacked her and so that's where she went. She didn't bother to knock she just slipped into his room as quietly as her shaky body would allow her and she shut the door. She ran over to where he slept and felt her buckling legs give out and fell to her knees beside his bed.

"Draco, please wake up," she cried viciously shaking him as tears fell down her face.

He quickly jumped up from his bed and turned on a small lamp to see her better.

"Ginny, what's wrong, what happened?" he asked panicked as he looked down at the distraught redhead crying before him.

She didn't answer him she just latched onto him as if it was a matter of life and death. Her grip on him was so tight; he felt her nails digging into his back so hard it burned and her small body shaking uncontrollably in his arms. His heart hurt so much to see her so scared and upset. He went against everything his mind tried to fight him on and threw his arms around her and hugged her closer to him.

After a few moments, he felt Ginny's sobs start to quiet down and the firm grip she had on his shirt started to loosen. He pulled back a bit to get a better look at her face. He moved her chin up to look into her eyes. Ginny stared into those steely gray eyes she loved so much. They looked so much like Lucius' which made her stomach twist, but Draco's were different. When he looked at her, she immediately could feel his love and protection for her.

"Ginny are you ok?" he asked anxiously.

She gave a small nod. "I'm sorry, I had an awful nightmare.......it felt so............real" she sniffed.

He pulled her into his lap and he held her head close to his chest. Everything about this moment of having Ginny in his arms seemed so right.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her in a soft voice.

She didn't say anything for a few moments. Draco was surprised when she spoke. "Warren was in it........he tried to......" she started crying again and Draco held her tighter and gently rocked her in his arms.

"It's ok; you don't have to talk about it."

"But he didn't do it," she suddenly continued through her sobs, "Somebody else did.......I was able to feel everything like it was really happening............I can still feel him........" she trailed off.

"Who Ginny?" he asked cautiously.

"Your father," she whispered as a shiver ran through her body.

Ginny felt the rocking motion stop and she looked up at Draco. He just stared at her, his face shocked, his eyes ran over her entire face and he took in every feature of it. Hearing about Ginny's nightmare did something to him. He felt emotion welling in his heart and all he wanted was to be here for Ginny when she needed him. He wanted to hold her like this forever and protect her from threats like his father. He cupped Ginny's face in his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Ginny. I'm so sorry that I keep hurting you. I was so stupid I don't want to lose you. I never felt like I had any reason to still be alive, but every time I look at you I find a reason. I don't care if the reason is to just see you for one more day, or to get another chance to see your beautiful smile again," he choked out through his shaky voice that had filled with a mix of emotions.

Draco brought his lips to hers and gently brushed them against hers. She stared at him for a moment, taking in his words and the kiss he just placed on her lips and then she met his lips again. They explored each other's mouths for a good while before they finally broke apart. They were breathing heavy and Draco still had Ginny in his lap.

"Can I lay with you for a while?" she asked in a small voice. "I'm just not ready to be alone in my room right now"

"Of course," he said, getting under the covers and lifting his arm for her to nestle into against his chest.

She looked up at him again. Something about the man before her made her forget everything. She wasn't even thinking about the horrifying nightmare she just endured earlier, all she could think about was what Draco said to her. All she could think about was his lips on hers and how she wanted to taste them again. She brought her head up to catch his lips on hers once again before she dozed off to sleep in Draco's arms.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny woke up the next morning earlier than everyone else and quietly slipped out of Draco's room. She loved waking up next to Draco, especially in his arms. She watched him sleep for a few moments before she had left that morning. She got showered and dressed and started making her way downstairs. She kept thinking how Draco would act towards her when he woke up. Did he mean what he said at that moment last night or was it just because she was terrified of the nightmare she had and that was his only way to comfort her? She knew she shouldn't get her hopes up as she was tired of playing this game with him. Regardless, she couldn't help but smile when she thought about the way he kissed her last night. She walked into the kitchen and jumped when she had seen her mum, Hermione, and Luna already awake.

"Oh gosh, you guys scared me, I didn't think anyone else was up," she said taking a seat at the table.

"Morning dear." came her Mom's voice from over by the stove. Molly brought over a plate of eggs and toast for Ginny which she gladly started piling into her mouth.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling a bit more yourself today Ginny," Molly said giving her daughter a bright smile.

Ginny didn't realize how much she was smiling and if she wasn't then her eyes were. She saw Hermione and Luna share a smirk and Ginny just shook her head at them.

"By the way Ginny, where were you last night? I peeked in on you this morning on my way down when I saw your bed was empty," Mrs. Weasley said sitting down across the table from her.

Ginny's mind raced for a believable answer; she thought she slipped out of Draco's room early enough to avoid her Mom from noticing.

"She was staying in my room with Luna and me," Hermione said with a smile.

Ginny looked at Hermione and worded a silent thank you to her.

"Oh, lovely; a bit of a girls night then?" Mrs. Weasley said, happily getting back up and continued her cooking.

"Yeah, you could say that." Hermione smirked, looking at Ginny.

Hermione, Luna and Ginny exchanged a look and started to laugh.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Alright.... there, it's finally done, harder to get it just right with only using minimal magic," Hermione said putting her wand back in her pocket.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive Granger," Draco said, looking over the ice skating rink she just transfigured the snow into.

"Thanks," she said smugly with a smirk.

"Alright, let's see how many of you fall on your arses," George said, pushing Ron onto the ice and watched him fall hard on his side.

They all howled with laughter.

"George and Ronald please stop trying to kill each other," Mrs. Weasley said from her perched seat on the back porch holding a cup of tea.

"Kill each other? I didn't do anything." came Ron's voice.

Molly looked over to her husband sitting next to her and shared a loving smile with him. They watched their children out in the snow as if they were little kids. It warmed their hearts to see everyone together. Fleur had a bad cold and had stayed inside to get rest while Bill helped Hermione form the skating rink. Luna took Harry's hand and pulled him onto the ice and she laughed when she saw how awkward he looked trying to stay up. Draco threw a snowball hard at Harry and laughed triumphantly as he fell flat on his arse. They all joined him in laughing; even Luna couldn't suppress the giggle that came to her.

"Sorry Harry, come on let me help you up," she said through her laughing; holding out her hand.

They all attempted a fair shot at gliding across the ice, but the girls seemed to have mastered it more than any of the guys. There was a steady flow of foul language from each of the boys every time they fell and a round of laughter from the girls every time after. Draco walked off of the ice and over to Ginny and Hermione, who were watching with amusement as Ron tried getting up, but would keep falling down.

"You think he'll make it up by Christmas?" Ginny asked giggling.

"Let's hope so," Hermione laughed.

"ARE YOU GUYS JUST GOING TO STAND THERE AND CRACK JOKES OR CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A DAMN HAND HERE?" Ron yelled in frustration.

Hermione rolled her eyes and started walking over to him. "Alright Ron, calm down."

Draco tapped Ginny on her arm and pointed to a snowball he had in his hand and then pointed to Hermione and Ginny quietly nodded with a huge smile on her face. Draco ran up behind Hermione and swiftly grabbed the back of her shirt open and threw the snowball down.

"EEEEEEEK DRACO!" she shrieked loudly and desperately tried navigating the ball of snow out of her shirt. She slammed into Ron, who had just managed to get to his feet and fell right on top of him.

Laughter filled the field of snow, even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's laughs could be heard from the back porch. Ginny almost had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"MALFOY! YOU FOUL LOATHSOME EVIL LITTLE-" Hermione screamed, running after him, a look of anger and revenge planted on her face.

Draco took off running, the last time he heard those words from her, she decked him in the face. He tried running away from her and was laughing, but when he looked behind him and saw the speed of which she was running he gave in, knowing he didn't have a chance of outrunning her and prepared for the punishment she had for him. She gave him a swift push to the ground and got on her knees and just started picking up snowball after snowball and throwing them at his face. She even went as far as crushing one into his hair and messing it all up. Draco just laughed at her antics until she got it all out of her system.

"Geez Granger, ok ok," he pleaded through his laughs.

"You're such a jerk." she smirked to him getting up and reaching out her hand for him to take.

"I know," he said, getting to his feet and then pushed her down into a pile of snow and took off running again.

Draco ran over to Ginny and planned to use her as a shield against Hermione's next attack. He looked down at Ginny's face and noticed she had a look of horror on it. He followed her gaze to see what she was looking at and there across the field on the other side of the ward stood a Death Eater. Everyone stood in shock and Arthur came running over.

"Everyone, remain calm, they can't see us in here. To them it just looks like a field of snow," he said, but they all had their wands out and were ready to blow the Death Eater into oblivion. "Bill, Charlie, Harry, Ron and Draco you guys come with me." Arthur gestured for them to follow him to the far end of the ward.

"Wait, I can help too." Ginny came running over to her father.

"NO!" he said flatly ignoring the hurt look on her face.

Ginny was taken aback at her father's direct tone and felt her mum direct her back towards the house. Once back in the house, Ginny went off. "Why can't I be out there helping instead of stuck in the house all the time?" she demanded.

"Ginny, your father is just worried about all of us being safe. Let the men handle that when they are able and if we are needed, then so be it." Molly said making them all cups of hot cocoa.

Ginny rolled her eyes and plopped down into a seat at the table. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Don't take it to heart Ginny, I would have gotten the same "no" from Ron if I made to go with them." Hermione smiled at her.

"I guess," she mumbled.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A little later that day the guys returned with nothing too eventful to report. There was just a small group of Death Eaters of about three that they snuck up on and took care of. It was obvious they knew the area wasn't safe anymore and had planned on possibly relocating after the Holidays passed. They sent a letter to McGonagall about the Death Eaters being so close to their wards. The next few days before Christmas went by fairly quick and consisted mostly of the girls in the kitchen preparing the many desserts for Christmas day and the guys on perimeter watch. Ginny made a routine of sneaking into Draco's room at night and snuggling up in his arms. They would lay awake for hours just talking and would share a deep kiss every now and then. Ginny was just grateful that even though they still weren't open about their relationship that Draco was at least opening up more in general and interacting with her instead of retreating again like he normally did.

Christmas morning came and the day couldn't have been more perfect. Draco even received his very own official Weasley sweater with a big D on the front of it. There was an eruption of laughter when he put it on and flaunted about in it. Draco couldn't believe how lucky he was to be where he was at this moment; to be welcomed by this amazing family he was taught to hate all these years. He wished he was able to give Ginny a gift but he didn't have access to the Malfoy millions he was so used to having. There weren't many gifts at all exchanged since being outside of the wards was too dangerous so shopping was hard to do. Nevertheless, the day was perfect and soon dessert time came and Draco took his normal seat next to Ginny. She cut him a slice of the double chocolate fudge cake her mum always made for each holiday just for her and handed it to him.

"Listen, could you try not having an attack again. I think I might just keep eating my cake this time since I missed out on it for Thanksgiving," she joked nudging him with her arm.

He laughed, "I'll try my best." He took a bite and gave her a smirk when nothing happened.

She laughed and they continued eating their cake.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That night after everyone went to bed, Ginny made her routine visit to Draco's room. She quietly closed the door behind her and was surprised when she saw Draco was awake already. She made her way across the dark room and he helped her climb over him and crawl into the bed. She always liked lying between the wall and the embrace of his arms.

"Why are you still awake?" she whispered.

"Does it matter, you would have just woke me up anyway." he joked.

She smiled against his chest and muffled a small "sorry"

"Nah, it's ok, I'm just thinking is all," he said absent-mindedly playing with a piece of her hair that lay over his hand.

"Should I be worried?" she teased him.

They laid there for a few moments in silence.

"Sometimes it's hard to believe this is all real," Draco said in a soft voice.

Ginny propped herself up and looked down at him. She smiled sweetly at him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Look at me," she whispered. He looked up into her fiery eyes. "This is real," she said before pressing her lips down against his again.

The kiss was deep and filled with passion and Draco was surprised when she didn't break the kiss but kept intensifying it. He felt her adjust herself so that she was slightly lying on top of him not breaking the kiss the entire time. His hands worked their way around her, one in her hair and the other on her back. She had one hand on his chest and the other in his hair grabbing a handful of it. Draco felt her hand slide down to his waist and his grip on her hair tightened and he pulled her closer to him. Ginny broke the kiss suddenly and crawled out of the bed. She was just standing there looking at him, they both were breathing heavy. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he saw her starting to take her pajamas off until she was standing before him completely naked.

"Wow" was the only thing he could manage out of his mouth.

She gave a small laugh and then walked over to him. She grabbed his wand off the side table and put a silencing charm on the room.

"Your turn," she said with a smirk.

He slid his shirt off and then his pants and boxers. She climbed on top of him in a straddling position; she could feel his arousal against her. Their lips met once again and Draco's kisses moved down to her neck and then to her shoulder. Draco sat up to get a better grip of her body against him and she let out a soft moan when she felt his mouth on her breasts. She felt him growing beneath her and she longed to feel him inside of her. She suddenly felt him stop kissing her and she then felt his fingers dig into her back, causing her to give a small gasp. He laid his forehead against her chest, looking down from her face.

"Draco? Are you ok?" she asked, feeling his breathing becoming heavier.

He didn't say anything.

"Draco?"

She leaned down to get a better look at his face and saw his eyes were squeezed shut and a look of pain all over his face. She started to panic and she lifted his face to look at her.

"Draco, look at me, don't give in to the curse, focus on me," she said to him, her voice filled with fear but still soft and comforting.

He kept his eyes tightly shut and a growl of pain escaped his mouth. Ginny was sure her back was bleeding from his nails that dug into her skin.

"You....need to......go," he said with a shaky voice through clenched teeth.

"No, I'm not leaving you." she grabbed his face and kissed him deeply.

She opened her eyes to see him staring up at her and a mixture of fear and worry filled her as she saw those familiar mercury eyes turn to ice. They were like two crystals that blinded her when she stared directly into them. She kissed him again, this time more intense, she ran her fingers through his hair and pushed him closer to her. She felt coldness on her back as his hands moved down her body. The shiver that ran through her just excited her more and a moan escaped her lips. She watched Draco's face as he tried to keep his mind on her, but she could tell the pain was too much.

Draco tried to keep his mind in the present, every time Ginny would kiss him it kept pulling him back to reality. He tried to fight through the pain and he became worried he would end up hurting the woman entangled with his body. When he heard a moan escape her mouth he wasn't sure if it helped him focus on her more or lose himself further. She pushed him back onto his pillow and then she lowered herself onto him. His hands instinctively grabbed her waist and pulled her down further onto him. She threw her head back in pleasure causing her flaming hair to fall all around her. He felt her urging him to thrust into her more and harder and he complied, all traces of pain leaving his mind.

Ginny couldn't think about anything else at this moment besides the man beneath her. His icy touch erupted something inside of her causing her to completely lose herself in him. Everything became ten times more intense suddenly and she felt heat fill her body. Draco felt the temperature change in her body rise and he savagely spun her onto her back so that he was on top of her now. Every time he re-entered her, things got more heated and she snaked her arms around his neck and brought herself up into a sitting position with him still inside of her. Draco felt her lips fiercely kissing him and he gave out a groan when she bit his lip in pleasure. Her hands wrapped around his back as he thrust harder and faster. He looked into her eyes, which seemed to have turned into a deep black with fiery pupils that stared back into his icy crystallized ones. Her hands on his back became unbearably hot but fueled him all the same. Soon, a gasp of pleasure rang through the room as they both reached their peak and felt blissful release.

Ginny crashed her lips against his again and he gladly welcomed them. He felt himself returning to his normal state of mind and was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. He went to pull away a bit from the tangled mess they were in but Ginny's lips were fiercely on his again. He gave into the sweet taste of her lips on his and then felt her latch onto him tighter.

"Hey," he tried to speak between kisses that she kept forcing upon his lips. "Hey.....hold......on......a second....let me.....adjust myself," he said with a smile against her lips.

He tried to pull away again, but she deepened the kiss, her eyes staring into his as he looked at her a bit taken aback by her forceful behavior. He slowly stopped kissing her as he watched her eyes completely go black.

"Ginny?" He said, pulling away from the kiss.

He felt the temperature in her body rise to a fiery heat and felt her hands on his back starting to burn him. He suddenly threw her off of him and backed away from her grasp. She stared back at him with a shocked look on her face and her familiar fiery eyes he loved so much. He crawled over to her quickly and grabbed her face.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah, sorry I.....don't know what came over me," she gave him a small smile. He gave her a seductive smirk and then gave her a kiss on the forehead and gestured for her to come lay down with him.

He crawled under the blankets with her and had her snuggle up under his arms.

"That was......-"

"Amazing." Ginny finished for him.

They both laughed.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it."

"You blocked out your father's curse," she added suddenly.

He looked down into her eyes and gave a small smile. "Yeah....I guess I did."

"Ginny"

"Ginny, wake up," Draco whispered.

She stirred in her sleep and only snuggled closer to him. He smiled down at her and gave her a light shake.

"Ginny, it's getting late, you have to get back to your room," he said shaking her with a little more force.

She just groaned and kept sleeping. He bent down and started kissing her lips and she kissed him back. When she did, he pulled away and her eyes fluttered open.

"Thought that might wake you," he smirked at her.

She smiled back and then leaned over him to see the time.

"Crap, have you heard anyone up yet?" she said, lying back on her pillow and rubbing her eyes.

"Don't think so."

She rolled to her side and faced him and pressed her lips to his once more. Then there was a knock on the door. Ginny and Draco looked at each other and Ginny's eyes went wide with panic and quickly ducked under the covers. Draco threw a few pillows about to hide her better. He then heard another knock and the door opened.

"Good morning Draco, I didn't think you were awake yet," Mrs. Weasley said sweetly.

"Oh, Morning Mrs. Weasley," he said, trying to hide the surprise in his voice.

"I wanted to tell you there's a letter that came for you downstairs."

"Oh, thanks, I'll be right down."

"No problem, dear," she said with a smile and turned to leave.

Draco let out a relieved breath when Mrs. Weasley spoke again suddenly.

"Oh, and Ginny, when you've finished sneaking back into your room again, I'd love to have a chat with you."

Ginny felt her cheeks go red; "Yes, Mum," was all she said in a muffled voice under the pile of blankets and pillows.

Draco looked down at the small form next to him that he knew was Ginny and bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"Lovely, see you two in a bit," she said with a smile and left the room.

Ginny threw the blankets off of herself, "OH MY GOD DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?"

"You mean that your mother just caught you in bed with a Malfoy?" he laughed at her.

"Well, she doesn't know we had sex, we could have just been......."

"Having a girl's night?" he smirked.

She slapped his arm and then quickly got dressed and headed to the shower.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny made her way downstairs to breakfast and debated if she should wait for Draco to get out of the shower before she went into the kitchen. She figured if her mum was going to give her a lashing she would prefer it be in private, so she walked through the kitchen door. She saw Harry and Hermione sitting at the table eating breakfast and felt relieved, her mother wouldn't talk to her about Draco in front of them.

"Morning again Ginny, have a seat, I made some eggs for you." Mrs. Weasley said and slid a plate of food in front of her.

Ginny sat down next to Harry and grabbed the food. "Uh, thanks."

Draco came walking into the kitchen shortly after and sat down across from Ginny and they exchanged a nervous look. Mrs. Weasley gave him a plate of food with a bright smile on her face.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"You guys ok?" Harry asked, taking a sip of juice.

"Oh Harry dear, they are just a bit out of it ever since I found them in bed together this morning," Mrs. Weasley said casually, taking a seat at the head of the table.

Harry spit out his juice despite his best efforts to try and swallow it. Draco seemed to almost choke on a piece of his food and Hermione's mouth was hanging open. Ginny's face was beat red and she buried her face in her hands.

"Mum, really?" she moaned through her hands.

"What's the matter? Hermione and Harry already know so it's not news to them," she simply said.

"Uh, a bit of news to me," Harry piped.

"Oh shush Harry," Mrs. Weasley cut in.

"Mum, can I talk to you.......privately," Ginny asked with anger in her voice.

Mrs. Weasley stared at her for a moment; "Certainly," she said and followed Ginny out of the room.

Draco just sat there with Harry and Hermione at the table. Nobody said anything.

"Well, this is awkward," Harry finally said.

"I'd say," Draco responded grabbing himself a drink.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"MUM HOW COULD YOU EMBARRASS ME LIKE THAT?" Ginny yelled at her mother.

"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TONE WITH ME MISSY!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back.

Ginny closed her mouth and a look of anger came over her face. "MUM PLEASE STOP TREATING ME LIKE A CHILD, I'M AN ADULT AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"

"IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO TREAT YOU LIKE A CHILD THEN MAKE BETTER DECISIONS, DAMMIT GINNY YOU KNOW HOW MANY PROBLEMS THE POOR BOY HAS. WHY WOULD YOU GET INVOLVED!"

"AND SO DO I MUM!" Ginny screamed wildly staring at her mother.

Mrs. Weasley just stood there looking at her; she mentally cursed herself for being so insensitive about the situation. She took a deep breath to calm herself."You can't just go having sex with whomever you want Ginevra!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly with worry in her voice.

"With whomever I want? It's Draco, he's not just somebody.......I love him," she said fiercely feeling tears form in her eyes. She turned away from her mother.

They stood there in silence again for a few moments. She then heard her mum walk over to her and wrapped her arms around her. Her mum rested her chin on Ginny's shoulder. "And does he love you?" she asked in a soft voice.

Ginny thought about this question for a moment and then gave a slight nod. Her mum turned her around to face her and Molly wiped away a stray tear from her daughter's face.

"I love you so much Ginny, my children are my life, I can't stand to see any of you get hurt. You have been through so much already and I only want what's best for you."

Ginny gave a nod that she understood and let her mother pull her into a tight hug.

Just then Arthur came running downstairs. Molly turned to her husband, "Arthur, what's wrong?"

"Get everyone in the kitchen now, we need to have a meeting." his face was serious.

Molly pushed Ginny back towards the kitchen and then made her way upstairs to get everyone up. Ginny walked into the kitchen and sat back down next to Harry. Draco looked at her and she gave him a small smile. Arthur walked over to Draco and handed him the letter that came for him. They both had forgotten Molly's mention of the letter when they were upstairs.

"I have a feeling I know who this is from Draco, I'll explain after you've read it." Arthur gave him a firm look and Draco nodded.

Everyone was piled into the kitchen at this point and waited in silence as Draco read his letter. When he turned it over, he couldn't make out the seal so he continued opening it and started to read it aloud.

Draco,

I'm sorry if this seems rushed and makes little to no sense, but I have to hurry to get this letter out. I wanted to tell you I love you and I'm sorry I was never the mother you wanted or needed. I'm afraid that my life is in danger and I wanted to let you know how I truly felt in case we don't see each other again. Lucius is not the same man I once married and has threatened me in more ways than one. He is convinced I am helping you hide. I must go; I love you, my son.

With love, your mother

He didn't say anything; he wasn't sure how to feel.

"Why is she writing me suddenly?" he asked.

Arthur gave a heavy sigh and then took a seat beside Draco.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt sent me word this morning that he suspects Narcissa is being held against her will. They moved her to a small town that's not too far from here, but it's overrun by Death Eaters. He wants us to retrieve her; he believes she may have some valuable information about Lucius' whereabouts and future raids he has planned."

"My father wouldn't share that information with her."Draco flatly stated.

"Be that as it may, she will have information worth getting even if to just know a bit more than we do now. My worry though is that......" Arthur trailed off.

"That she's already dead," he continued, his voice filled with hate.

Ginny looked at him, she saw that Malfoy sneer he wore so well. The one she remembered from the train ride to Hogwarts that made her fall into a fit of sobs. The one he wore when he harassed her friends and family for all those years. She could only imagine what was going through his mind right now.

"I think we should arrange to leave tonight, the town is about an hour's walk from the forest outside the ward. We are going to need as many as possible for this mission as the town as I mentioned is overrun with Death Eaters. I am not familiar with any of the names Kingsley told me so I am also unaware of how skilled they are with magic. I do know though that they were well trained and by Warren, so they are ruthless men and won't hesitate to kill you, with magic or not." Arthur explained with the most serious tone.

Ginny felt a knot in her stomach, she wanted to be able to help out more, but now that she was actually being called upon she was nervous. The room fell silent and then Mr. Weasley spoke again. "Make sure you are all well rested for tonight." He said with a shaky voice and then quickly left the room.

The kitchen erupted into conversation over tonight's mission and Ginny watched as Draco left the kitchen and made his way upstairs. Ginny made to follow him but was stopped by her mum on the way.

"We aren't done talking about earlier," she gave Ginny a stern look.

Ginny let out a frustrated sigh, "Mum, please, not now, can we discuss this after the mission?" she pleaded with her mother.

"Very well, now you better be going to your room up there." she demanded.

"Yes, Mother," Ginny said, quickly running upstairs.

She walked passed her room and went to knock on Draco's door when she saw his door was opened. She stood in the doorway and saw him sitting on the bed.

"Hey," she said, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey," he said back, staring at the floor.

"Do you want to talk about the letter?" she asked him in a small voice.

"No, I don't," he said, sounding annoyed.

She frowned at his short tone towards her, but she understood and didn't take it to heart.

Draco sighed, "I'm sorry Ginny, I just don't know what to think. My mother suddenly sends me this letter saying everything I wish she would have said to me when we were together and now she may already be dead." his voice was filled with emotion.

Ginny laid her head on his shoulder and hesitantly took his hand in hers. She gave a small smile when she felt his fingers entwine with hers. She didn't say anything; she knew he wasn't looking for answers just to vent. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Draco spoke again.

"So how did things go with your mum?"

"Gosh, you know I really don't want to talk about that either," she gave a small laugh and he turned to face her with a smirk.

She looked up at him and he placed a light kiss on her forehead.

"Are you nervous about tonight?" she asked him.

"Again, don't really want to talk about that either."

They both laughed and she stood up and pulled him up off the bed. "Come on, let's go for a walk outside," she said with a smile leading the way downstairs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny and Draco walked around the inner edge of the ward chatting about their earlier Hogwarts years. Ginny was bundled up with a hat on and her fuzzy gloves and Draco the same. He loved how her nose was all red and how her vibrant hair looked against the field of white snow. He just stared at her as she told him a story of how she got a detention from a prank her brothers played on her.

"Needless to say I was pissed at my brothers for it," she finished with a bright smile.

"You're so beautiful," he said suddenly, not realizing he was saying what he was thinking.

"Oh, uh, thank you," she blushed, a look of surprise on her face from Draco's open affection for her.

They walked in silence after that. Ginny couldn't believe how Draco gave her butterflies every time he was next to her. She always found herself wanting more of him.

"My mother asked me if you loved me," she said suddenly and immediately regretted saying it.

"What did you tell her? He simply asked.

"Uh, I just nodded, I mean......I just wasn't sure if......." she stuttered for words and he stopped walking and turned to face her with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's nothing.......just forget it," she said starting to walk again.

"No, tell me," he said, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her back.

She let out a long sigh and then looked at him.

"I only nodded because I didn't want her to lecture me and ask me a million questions, but the truth is I'm not sure if you do." she felt her cheeks getting hot and she felt really uncomfortable.

"You're not sure if I love you?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

"I don't know Draco, things have been so weird between us and when you first said it, things were different."

"Different how?" He said, a bit of anger in his voice.

"I don't know, the fact that I was vulnerable at the time, the fact that you felt you owed me something for saving you or that I almost died. I just thought that maybe you might not feel the same way now that things are......you know....." she trailed off and then spoke again. "Please just drop it, I'm just over thinking like I normally do, sorry," she said starting to walk away from him.

He watched her walking away from him and he quickly ran to catch up with her. "Hey, wait up," he grabbed her hand and turned her to look at him. Her eyes were forming tears and he just smiled at her.

"The only thing that's different now Ginny is that I love you more. I'm just horrible at showing it," he laughed.

She gave a small laugh and a tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She felt stupid for crying in front of him, she felt weak. He wiped away another tear that escaped her eye and gave her a deep kiss.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Arthur had his arms around his wife as she let out a sigh. "Seems our daughter is love Arthur," she said, looking off into the distance, a slight smile on her face.

He kissed her forehead and hugged her a bit tighter. "Yes, it seems so," he said as he and Molly watched the young couple across the field from the kitchen window.

"Where did the time go, seems only yesterday I was changing her diapers." Molly sighed wiping a small tear from her face.

Arthur gave his wife a passionate kiss on the lips and held her again in his arms, watching Ginny and Draco share a kiss of their own.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Night time came and everyone was gathered in the kitchen, all with different emotions running through them. Ginny took a seat next to Draco and she felt him squeeze her hand under the table. She gave him a small smile and let out a shaky breath. Arthur waited for Fleur to take a seat and then he started.

"Alright everyone, listen carefully and don't forget a thing I say. After we pass the ward we will walk about a good hour out towards the small town. Now we may run into some trouble along the way; it's imperative that we take each Death Eater down quickly and quietly. When we get to the edge of the forest we will have an advantage point to overlook the town. It's from my understanding that there are less than twenty houses and shops there. Now again the town is overrun by Death Eaters, but we don't have to take them all down, we just need to find Narcissa and get her back safely. Kingsley told me she was being held in the basement of one of the shops so we will start there."

He took a deep breath and everyone was dead silent, waiting to hear what else the man had to say.

"Kingsley mentioned that he has seen Dark magic used by Lucius and the Death Eaters that he has never seen before. Most of them don't even use magic to kill, but rather inflict physical pain.........they are vicious people. So if and when you cross one of these men.......do not hesitate to kill them. Unfortunately, we are in dark times again these days and the world is a different place, it's either us or them....understood?" he asked, his tone serious.

They all nodded.

"Also, do not apparate anywhere; the Ministry is monitoring all traveling so we must come back the way we came. If for some reason we are followed out of town DO NOT lead them back to our wards. You need to take them down or lose them....understood?"

They all nodded again in unison.

"Good, let's head out then."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The all reached the edge of the ward and took a sip of the potion that made them able to walk through the ward walls without taking them down. They started trekking through the newly fallen snow and walked in silence. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, fear that they may lose one of their own tonight hung in the air. Draco watched Ginny walking beside him; she had fear in her eyes and all over her face.

"Hey," he whispered to her.

Startled by the broken silence; she turned to look at him.

"You ok?"

She just shrugged her shoulders and didn't say anything. He gave her a quick rub on the back and continued walking beside her.

They passed the lot with all the trees that the guys had gone hunting for and had about another twenty minute walk ahead of them. Everyone was shivering from the cold weather and Fleur was still battling a cold and tried her best to contain her coughing and sneezing.

"Sorry babe, I'd put a warming charm on you or even a silencing charm, but it's not wise to use magic right now," Bill said, putting an arm around Fleur.

"Zats ok, I-I- ACHOO" she sneezed despite her best efforts to hold it in.

They soon arrived at the edge of the forest and hid behind a few large boulders and trees looking down over the small town. There were a few Death Eaters on the street and a few houses had lights on.

"She may be in that shop over there; it's the only one with the lights on at this hour. The rest of the shops are closed by now." Arthur said, pointing to a small shop right in the center of town.

"How the hell are we going to make it over there without being noticed?" Charlie asked.

Arthur turned to Molly. "Molly dear, you stay here with Fleur, we can't afford to have her give away our position," he said turning to Fleur and giving her a small smile.

Molly and Fleur nodded that they understood.

Molly gave all her kids a big hug in case this was goodbye and she wiped a few tears from her face. Draco was surprised when she pulled him into a big hug as well. "Please keep her safe," she whispered to him. She pulled away from him with a small smile and he gave a nod.

The rest of them walked over to the edge of the hill and gave a quick look around.

"Alright, one at a time, when you get down the hill make a run to that alleyway over there." Arthur pointed to a small alley between two houses.

They all nodded.

Charlie went first, followed by Bill then George. They ran one by one over to the dark alleyway. Hermione went next and slipped halfway down, but quickly regained herself and made her way over followed by Ron.

"Alright Ginny, go ahead." Arthur gestured for her to go next.

She crept over to the side of the hill and started to make her way down. She was halfway there when a spell flew passed her face. She quickly turned her head and saw a Death Eater had spotted her and was standing two houses away from where the alley was. She panicked and quickly slid down the rest of the way. She was making her way over to the alleyway when a spell flew in front of her and made the ground explode in her face, causing her to stumble backward and put her hands over her face to shield herself. Arthur, Harry, Luna, and Draco were already down the hill at this point making their way over to her to help. Ginny quickly scrambled to her feet and took off in any direction where she could take cover.

Once everyone made it to the alleyway Draco looked across the way where he saw Ginny taking cover behind a small wall of a shop. He didn't want her to be by herself out here and searched for a way to make his way to her.

"We need to get to Ginny," Draco demanded.

"We will, but we can't lose our heads," Arthur told him firmly.

Ginny went to stick her head out a bit to see if she was clear and as soon as she did a spell hit the wall she was behind. She sat back quickly, her heart was racing and she tried to come up with a plan. She saw a small dumpster to her side and climbed on top of it. She was able to reach a small windowsill above her and hoisted herself up and then onto the roof of the small shop.

"That's my girl," Arthur whispered, watching Ginny scale the building.

Draco gave an impressed smirk.

"Alright, we need to take out this Death Eater to make our way out of this alley," Arthur said to them.

Suddenly, a spell hit the Death Eater and he erupted into flames. They all turned to see Ginny had shot a spell from her advantage point on the roof and gave them the signal that they were clear.

"She just caused a distraction for us to slip past," Hermione said with a smile.

Sure enough, almost every Death Eater came running out of that small shop they had their eyes on to see what the disturbance was. They all quickly made their way to the small shop. Ginny slid back down off the roof and jumped onto the dumpster and then attempted to make her way to the small shop also. She still needed to find a way across the wide-open street to get to the shop, but almost every Death Eater in town was outside now. She saw the group make it to the back door of the little shop and she locked eyes with Draco for a moment. She mentally nodded to him that it was ok and she was fine, but he didn't look convinced.

"Harry and George you guys need to try and get to Ginny while we look for Narcissa." Arthur ordered making his way into the back door of the shop.

"WE HAVE INTRUDERS, KILL ANYONE YOU CROSS, SHOW NO MERCY!" One of the Death Eaters voices rang out.

Ginny felt a shiver go through her body and quickly ran across an alleyway as a spell shot passed her just missing her back.

"THERE'S ONE DOWN HERE!" yelled a Death Eater; running down the dark alley followed by three others.

"Shit," Harry said, pointing his wand up "Get ready for a fight George"

"Way ahead of you mate," he said, gripping his wand tightly.

He shot out an explosive spell that hit the wall of the alley the Death Eaters were running down, causing a pile of rubble to fall in front of them; one of them being buried underneath the debris. All attention turned to the two of them and one of the Death Eaters yelled out.

"IT'S POTTER! KILL HIM AND ANYONE WITH HIM!"

Complete chaos broke out at this point and spells and curses flew from every direction.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rest of the group barged into the back room of the shop and four Death Eaters came running over and shot a slew of curses at them. Draco took down one off the bat with a killing curse and Hermione sent a knockout curse to another. Arthur sent a killing curse to one that shot a binding charm at Charlie and Bill took down the last one.

"Draco, get downstairs with Ron, Hermione, and Luna and see if Narcissa is there," Arthur yelled as he, Bill and Charlie made their way back out through the front door to help with the chaos that took place outside.

Draco made his way downstairs and was running through the hallway when he quickly skidded to a stop causing Hermione, Ron, and Luna to bump into each other.

"What the-"

"Shh," Draco quickly said, cutting Ron off.

A Death Eater came running down the hall to make their way upstairs when he jumped back in surprise when he came face to face with all four of them with their wands drawn. He backed up to try and surrender, but Draco shot an Ambustio curse at him, causing him to disintegrate into thin air. They all looked away as the horrid curse took effect and made it hard to watch. They all made their way to a small door at the end of the hall and Draco quickly ripped it open and ran inside followed by the others.

He looked around the room frantically and his eyes fell on a gated cell in the corner and a figure was balled up on the floor. He ran over to the cell and shook the door to try and get it to open. He quickly mumbled an unlocking spell and made his way inside.

"Draco, hurry up, there's more coming," Hermione called to him holding her wand tightly.

"Mother?" he called out.

He heard chains scrape against the floor and the figure stepped into the light.

"Draco?" she said softly; platinum blonde hair meeting Draco's eyes.

He let out a shaky breath and he was more emotional than he thought he would be when he saw the state she was in. She was bleeding and bruised and her dress was ripped and dirty. She looked so frail like at any moment she would collapse.

He quickly made his way to her and used a charm to unlock her shackles. She just stared at him, not believing her eyes. She grabbed him into a hug and started sobbing. He didn't hug her, he didn't say anything. Draco couldn't let himself feel anything right now; he had to get them out of there still, plus he wasn't even sure how to feel towards his mother after everything. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to follow him.

"We need to go now," Ron said

They all made their way to the door and ran down the hall and back upstairs. A few spells flew past them and Hermione shot one back that missed her target. Luna quickly shot another curse at the Death Eater and they flew through the front of the shop window. They made their way outside to the front of the shop and took in the chaotic scene before them. There were Death Eaters everywhere and they quickly ran for cover. Draco searched for Ginny between all the crossfire and soon found her wild red hair whipping through the air as she was trying to outrun a Death Eater that was on her heels. Harry was dueling with two other Death Eaters and George, Charlie and Bill were circled by a bunch more. Arthur was taking cover from three other Death Eaters who were on his back. The rest of them quickly jumped into battle while Draco made his mother wait in the alley.

Ginny ran as fast as she could through the small town trying to lose the Death Eater chasing her. She quickly turned a corner and waited for him to come running around and when he did she quickly hit him with a suffocation hex causing him to fall to his knees gasping for air. She quickly made her way back out to the center of town nearly colliding with Draco.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked her looking her over.

She quickly nodded and then pushed him back as a curse flew past them. He shot an Affligo spell at the Death Eater causing him to fly back into a wall. He saw Ginny making her way over to the group of Death Eaters swarming her brothers while he made his way to help Arthur. Ron was fighting another Death Eater that tried to sneak up on Harry and Luna and Hermione were back to back with three of their own enemies to take down. Luna went to make a move when one of the men grabbed her by the hair and threw her against a wall. Hermione shot a spell at him, but the other two men grabbed her and threw her to the ground.

Ginny made it over to her brothers and shot a Reducto spell at the group of Death Eaters surrounding them, causing a large group of them to fly back with a hard smack into the ground.

"Thanks, Gin," George said running over to help their father.

Charlie and Bill went after another three men who made to make a move to Ginny. She said a quick thanks and ran over to help Hermione and Luna. She saw Hermione on the floor with a Death Eater standing over her. Ginny felt a spell hit her in the back and she fell to the floor wrapped in a body bind charm. She desperately tried to free herself of the spell as she saw a Death Eater making his way over to her.

Hermione watched in horror as her friend was about to be killed and she looked over to Luna, who was being pinned against the wall by another Death Eater. She looked to anyone who could help Ginny, but they were all cornered by Death Eaters. Hermione went to bring her wand up quickly, but the man was faster and quickly disarmed her. Soon he was on top of her and she fought with all her might to push him off. She looked over to Ginny again, who was fighting to free herself of the binding charm.

Draco wasn't sure if Ginny was dead at this point or not, he couldn't make anything out with the number of curses flying his way. He saw the girls were in trouble and every time he tried to make a run over to them, he was cornered by a slew of curses.

Hermione's hands frantically felt the snow for her wand that hopefully may be lying nearby but found nothing. She screamed for help as she tried pushing the man off of her but he was too strong and she quickly searched the man's body for something of use. Her hand grazed a metal handle on his belt and an adrenaline like none other ran through her. She grabbed the dagger from its holder and without thinking swiped it across his throat. Blood spilled out onto her face and neck and she let out another scream and quickly scrambled to get up, grabbing her wand from the ground.

The rest of the group was finally making their way over to the girls. Hermione quickly ran over to the Death Eater standing over Ginny and savagely stabbed him in the back multiple times forgetting about the wand she pocketed and then turned to the other one that had Luna against the wall. She grabbed him off of her and threw him to the floor and plunged the dagger deep into his heart multiple times. Everyone was staring in shock at the rage coursing through her. She finally stopped stabbing him and staggered back against the wall and slid to the floor crying hysterically

"WE HAVE TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT, LETS GO," Arthur said, grabbing Ginny by the arm and leading the way.

Ron grabbed Hermione and the rest of them made their way up the hill. Draco had a firm grip on his mother's hand the entire way to make sure she wouldn't protest about following them. As they ran up the hill Molly and Fleur threw curses over their heads to keep the other Death Eaters off their backs. Once they reached the top of the hill they all ran as fast as they could through the woods. Arthur stopped abruptly and turned to them all.

"I know I said not to Apparate but we have no choice, there's too many of them for us to outrun. We need to take the chance."

They all nodded and with a flick of his wand they all heard a pop and were all jolted into the familiar surroundings of the Burrow's living room.

Once they all realized they were safe for the moment a silence fell over them and they all looked at one another to assess the damage. Hermione was shaking; she was covered from head to toe with blood from the men she just savagely killed.

"I......I.......mur......murdered......those men," she said in a shaky voice.

Molly walked over to her, "No you were saving my daughter's life," she firmly told her.

"NO......NO....I MURDERED THEM, I..........I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED....I... " she started becoming hysterical.

Molly suddenly reached up and gave her a firm slap across the face. The whole room was shocked by the sudden action. Hermione brought her hand up to her cheek and just stared at her.

"YOU LISTEN TO ME HERMIONE, YOU SAVED MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE, YOU DID WHAT YOU HAD TO DO. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? THE NEXT TIME YOU'RE OUT THERE DON'T YOU DARE HESITATE TO MURDER ONE OF THESE COLD HEARTED BASTARDS AFTER ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THEY HAVE PUT US ALL THROUGH! DO YOU HEAR ME?"She yelled fiercely.

Hermione gave a small nod with fresh tears sliding down her face.

"Good," Mrs. Weasley said, wrapping her up in a tight hug as she sobbed and the room remained silent.

"Ron and Luna, take Hermione upstairs to get cleaned up please," Molly said with a small teary smile.

They nodded and guided Hermione upstairs to the bathroom. The attention suddenly fell on Narcissa; she had a mixture of emotions all over her face.

"Narcissa, we're glad you're alright." Mr. Weasley said.

She didn't say anything she just looked around at all of them. Her eyes fell on Draco.

"Draco, we need to go," she said suddenly.

"What? Go where?" he asked her.

"Back to the Manor."

"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?" he yelled with anger in his voice.

The rest of the room exchanged a confused look.

"May I have a word in private with my son?" she asked with frustration in her voice.

"Of course." Mrs. Weasley said leading them all into the kitchen.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Are you all alright?" Molly asked, looking at her family's bruised and bleeding faces.

"Yes, Molly dear, I think we are all ok, that was a close one," Arthur said looking at them all.

"Why does Narcissa want to go back to Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I don't know, dear, nobody is really sure where her mind is at this time." Molly simply answered.

They all sat down around the table overhearing the loud discussion in the next room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Draco, why are we here?" Narcissa asked in a demanding tone.

"What are you talking about Mother? We just rescued you and that's all you can say?" he said with frustration.

"I think we should go back to your father."

"WHAT! MOTHER, PLEASE TELL ME YOU AREN'T SERIOUS, HE WILL KILL US, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"

"I THINK HE WILL SPARE MY LIFE DRACO"

"AND MINE?" he screamed in anger.

"DO YOU THINK YOU EVEN DESERVE TO BE SPARED? AFTER HOW YOU BETRAYED YOUR OWN KIND? AND NOW I FIND YOU LIVING WITH A BUNCH OF BLOODTRAITORS!" she screamed.

They were both unaware that Arthur was holding half of his family back in the next room from sending a hex at Narcissa at her comment.

Draco just shook his head and he couldn't help a small laugh that came from him. "You're a piece of work Mother, you know that. I actually believed your letter when you sent it, but now.......now I know you just wanted us to save you. How exactly were you thinking of having your life spared, by turning me over to Father?"

She didn't say anything.

"So now we can't even let you go, because you'll go back to him and tell him where we are to save your own arse," he scowled at her with a disgusted sneer on his face.

"I'm just trying to survive Draco."

"AND SO AM I MOTHER! AND YOU'RE DELUSIONAL IF YOU REALLY THINK YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED!"

"I'M DELUSIONAL? WHAT ABOUT YOU, PRANCING AROUND WITH THESE PEOPLE THINKING THEY WILL EVER ACCEPT YOU, YOU'RE A FOOL. YOUR FATHER WILL TAKE US BACK, NOW LET'S GO!" she yelled grabbing his arm.

He ripped his arm away from her quickly.

"You would really have me killed to save yourself?" he looked at her with disgust.

"Oh, Draco, please, you and I both know your life has no value; not anymore anyway, now that you're a traitor," she simply said.

Draco felt like he was punched in the stomach, to hear his own mother say these things to him were unbelievable. He always knew she was selfish and turned the other cheek when it came to the way Lucius treated him, but to hear how she truly felt was appalling.

"You're a fuckin joke," he spat at her.

She swung her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. Before Draco could even turn his face back to her, Mrs. Weasley was between them; her wand pointed at Narcissa's heart with the rest of them standing behind her with all their wands drawn.

"YOU TOUCH THAT BOY AGAIN AND I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!" she bellowed with rage.

Narcissa just stared at her with hatred and then took a step back, prompting Mrs. Weasley to lower her wand. Mr. Weasley put his hands on Draco's shoulders and led him to the kitchen. He needed some air and stormed out the back door onto the porch.

Molly and Arthur led Narcissa to stay in Charlie's room where they put a charm on the room so she couldn't get out. They would wait until the morning to question her. They made their way back downstairs to their beat up family. Ginny was looking at Draco sitting on the porch through the kitchen window. Her heart ached for him right now; she couldn't stomach the way Narcissa spoke to him like he was nothing more than dirt. She felt her eyes fill with tears and quickly wiped them away. She felt her mum and dad come up behind her and she buried her face in her dad's chest.

"Alright guys, let's go get cleaned up and get some rest. Kingsley and McGonagall will be here in the morning to question Narcissa." Arthur said to them, rubbing Ginny's back as she let her tears silently slide down her face.

They all started clearing out of the kitchen and headed upstairs.

"I think Draco could use a kind word dear," Molly said to her daughter with a small smile.

Ginny pulled back from her father's embrace and gave a nod, then made her way out the back door.

She closed the door and just stood there watching him.

"Hey," she said with a small voice.

He didn't say anything but got up and took a few steps into the field of snow and hung his head. She felt fresh tears fall down her face at how bad she felt for him.

"Draco?" she called to him with more emotion in her voice.

He just stood there, he wasn't sure if he was more hurt or angry at his mother.

Ginny quickly walked up behind him and grabbed him into a hug resting her head on his back and snaking her hands around his waist.

"Please don't listen to her, please Draco, don't let her get to you," she cried into his back.

He turned to face her and his eyes went straight to a cut on her face.

"You're bleeding," he said, lifting his hand to her cheek.

She winced in pain when he lightly touched it. "Yeah, it's from earlier in town."

"Are you alright?" he asked her noticing a small bruise on the other side of her face.

"Draco, I'm fine.....but you're not," she said and then noticed a giant welt mark on his cheek from where his mother hit him.

"Yeah.....but I will be," he said with a half smile.

He put his arm around her and they walked back inside together.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco was making his way back from the bathroom in the middle of night when he heard crying. He walked closer towards the sound and saw there was a dim light coming from down in the living room. He descended the stairs quietly and saw it was Hermione. She was sitting on the couch with her legs folded and her head in her hands. He thought of turning to leave, but something made him walk over to her. He sat down and looked into the small fire she started.

"You ok?" he asked softly.

She wiped her face, but it was soon covered in fresh tear again. "I can't sl.....sleep, every time I.....close .....m....my eyes I.....see the b....blood," she cried harder at having to explain it.

He let out a light sigh.

"Taking a life is never easy, but you did what you needed to do to survive. Mrs. Weasley is right with what she told you earlier, you would be dead or sitting here crying over the death of one of your friends if you hadn't done what you did. Do you know what those men would have done to you if they had the chance? They deserved what they got even if you don't see that right now."

He turned to look at her and he felt bad for the girl. Her face was pale and her eyes puffy, he knew how strong Hermione tried to be and put herself off as, but he also knew she needed time to break down sometimes and release built up emotion.

"You're going to be fine Granger," he said with a smirk and gave her a small nudge with his shoulder.

She gave a small smile and wiped her tears away. "Thanks."

They sat in silence for a moment and then Draco spoke. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course," she said, looking at him.

He started pulling up his shirt and Hermione's cheeks instantly went pink. Draco noticed this and smirked at her.

"Relax Granger, I'm not seducing you, I want you to look at something," He said turning around to show her his back. "What does this look like to you?"

Hermione felt quite uncomfortable, but was intrigued by his question. She studied his back for a moment and then her eyes fell on two faint handprint marks on it.

"They look like handprints........why?"

"Yeah, but look closer."

Hermione leaned forward a bit and brought her hand up to the marks on his back. She saw him wince when she touched them. "They're......they're burns," she said, sounding surprised and confused at the same time.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." he said, pulling his shirt back down.

"How did you get those?"

He looked at her for a moment; he had contemplated all day of whether to bring it up to her. He didn't want to show Ginny because he knew she would be worried about how she hurt him. He knew Hermione would be the best one to share it with plus she needed something to distract her.

"I got these from Ginny," he said.

"WHAT?" Hermione said a bit louder than she meant. "How? When?" she looked curious to know more.

"Uh...last night.....uh, you know when....." he tried to get Hermione to understand without him having to say it.

"Last night?" she furrowed her brows trying to think and then realization hit her. "Oh," she said simply with understanding on her face now.

"Yeah, well without going into detail....." he looked at her with a smirk and she shook her head "When things got more.......intense....she was different." he said the last part as if it was news to him.

"Different how?" she asked, taking in every word he spoke.

"I don't know.......all I know is that she was burning up and got extremely hot."

"Like a fever?"

"No, like a fire.....As soon as I felt her hands starting to burn me, I pushed her back and she was fine again...." he trailed off into a whisper.

"Sounds like just really good sex." Hermione blurted out.

They both started laughing.

"Well, that goes without saying." he smirked

"Draco, do you think that maybe you're thinking too much into it? I mean many wizards and witches have a tendency to release some magic when they're riled up," she explained with a small smile.

"Yeah......maybe," he said unconvinced.

They sat there in silence again for a while.

"Thanks Draco," Hermione suddenly said.

"For?"

"For talking to me, having a different perspective on what I did does help." she said, looking at her fidgeting hands.

"Yeah, yeah, but I'm not going to start being like your shrink and shit now." he teased making her laugh.

"Well, I guess I'll try to get some sleep again." She said heading to the stairs. "Goodnight Draco," she called.

"Night....Hermione."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning Draco and Ginny made their way downstairs together and walked into the kitchen. They were surprised when they saw McGonagall and Kingsley there with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Draco's eyes fell on his mother who was sitting at the end of the table with a smug look on her face.

"Mr. Malfoy.......Miss Weasley, it's lovely to see you both again." McGonagall said with a smile.

"Hello, Professor." Ginny said, taking a seat at the table, Draco sitting down beside her.

"We were just getting ready to have a chat with Mrs. Malfoy here," Kingsley said.

They all turned their attention to Narcissa at the end of the table. Ginny looked at her and was surprised at how different she looked from last night. Her messy, dirty hair was now a bright platinum blonde pulled back and hung over one side of her shoulder in loose curls. Her ripped dress was mended, cleaned and pressed to perfection and her skin was free of any blemishes. She looked quite regal sitting there before them all. She didn't realize she had been staring at her when Narcissa turned to look at her. Their eyes met for a moment and Ginny quickly looked away. There was something about Narcissa that made her feel awkward and uncomfortable.

"Now Mrs. Malfoy, can you tell us how you became captured?" Kingsley asked.

"Certainly, I was staying at an old family home that's been in my family for generations. I didn't stay at the Manor much with everything my husband was a part of. Anyway, I had gone into town to grab a few things when I was attacked and then woke up in that cell."

"Why were you captured though?" Kingsley asked her.

"The day before I went into town I had seen Lucius and we had an altercation about Draco. He told me how he wasn't sure of his whereabouts after they were trapped at the Manor and he was convinced I knew where he was. After I told him to forget about Draco, he became quite upset and threatened me. After I was captured and realized Lucius was behind it I knew he was going to eventually kill me or try and use me as bait to lure Draco to me so he can get to him. I took it upon myself to write Draco the letter hoping he would come to save me." she stopped and looked at her son; his eyes held such hate for her.

"Mrs. Malfoy, if I may, why would you risk the chance of turning Draco over to Lucius in hopes that he will spare you when you could have just joined the Order? We would have protected you against him just like how we have put Draco into hiding." McGonagall spoke with a bit of hostility in her voice.

"I don't believe the Order has my best interests at heart," she answered simply with a smug look on her face.

"And you think your husband does?" McGonagall asked in disbelief.

"My husband loves me, he just likes things his way and I am happy to oblige," she said with confidence.

"Even if that means leading your own son straight to his death?" Molly snarled at her.

Narcissa's lips turned into a smirk like sneer. "Yes"

Ginny looked at Draco's face, he was looking at his mother with such malice. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Mrs. Malfoy, let's say, hypothetically, you succeeded in bringing Draco to Lucius and he killed him, but still decided not to spare your life? Then how would you feel knowing that your son could have lived instead of dying for nothing?" McGonagall asked with anger in her voice.

"Well, it wouldn't have been much of a loss honestly. Draco has always been.....a disappointment I would say, so I suppose I wouldn't feel any different. Draco is a young man now and I would expect him to have his mother's best interests at heart. He should be more than willing to give himself up to save my life."

Ginny let out a small gasp at the horrid words Narcissa spoke and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She felt tears threatening to fall, but contained them.

"I honestly can't believe what I'm hearing. You are a selfish woman Narcissa Malfoy and I hope you burn in hell for that evil heart you possess," Molly spat out at her with venom in every word.

"You think love is going to save you and your family? You think your few Order members are going to take Lucius down? You have no clue, Lucius has been recruiting and training new Death Eaters for months, he must have thousands of skilled and very advanced followers under him by now. You're on the wrong side dear, in the end when you watch your entire family being slaughtered, you will see and then you will understand." She turned her gaze to Ginny and spoke again. "When your daughter has been brutally raped, beaten and tortured until death takes her.......then you will see things in a different way. I want to be on the winning side in the end, no matter what the cost."

Ginny felt the tears slide down her face and she quickly got up and exited the kitchen. Molly made a move over to Narcissa when Arthur held her back.

"No Molly, go check on Ginny," he said softly to her.

She looked at her husband and made her way to leave the kitchen. When she passed Draco she softly grabbed his arm. "Let's go Draco dear, you don't need to listen to any more of this," she said with hate in her voice and dragged him with her out of the kitchen.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny ran up to her room and started sobbing. Thoughts of Warren and her nightmare the other night came flooding into her mind. She grabbed her hair in frustration to try and erase the memories of the horrid experience.

"Ginny dear, it's alright, come here," her mother said making it upstairs with Draco beside her. She tried to console her, wrapping her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Mum, I'm fine, I just need a minute," she said through her sniffles, wiping her face of any tears.

"I understand, go ahead to the bathroom and splash some cold water on your face," Molly said, watching Ginny make her way to the bathroom. She watched as Draco stopped her in the hallway to see if she was ok.

"Hey, I'm sorry she said those things," he said, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"It's fine Draco, she said much worse about you."

"I guess I'm in the lead then as far as points go?" he smirked.

She gave a small smile and then made her way to the bathroom. Mrs. Weasley gave a bright smile at the intimate moment between the two and then headed back downstairs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After McGonagall and Kingsley finished talking with Narcissa, they spoke with Arthur and Molly about keeping her at the Burrow for a few more days until they could safely move her to another place. They knew Lucius wouldn't spare her life no matter how different she thought. Narcissa reluctantly agreed to stay there after Kingsley talked some kind of sense into her. They still locked her in Charlie's room at night and then gave her some freedom to walk about the house freely so they could keep an eye on her. Kingsley and McGonagall put a charm on her that would keep her from apparating anywhere and they refused to get her a new wand during her time at the Burrow. Charlie, Bill, Fleur, and Luna headed home the day after the mission and the days went by slower, and with Narcissa staying with them it made things awkward and caused a lot of tension in the house. McGonagall had sent a letter to the Weasleys about another location they would be staying at and they would be leaving within the next day or two. Narcissa was planned to be let go since the new location the Weasleys and Draco would be staying at wasn't known to her; so even if she did tell Lucius they were at the Burrow they would be long gone by then.

Ginny was packing her suitcase with some clothes and sentimental things. She wished she could take everything with her, but it was impossible. She struggled to get her bag zipped closed when she suddenly felt someone push down on the luggage further. She turned to look at Draco and she gave him a half smile.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"You ok?" he asked her.

"NO!" she snapped sitting on the floor with her legs folded and her head in her hands. "I can't believe we are leaving, we have so many memories here. What about all of Fred's things, his room, what if we never get to come back here?" she was getting angry and got more frustrated when she felt tears slide down her face.

"I'm sorry Ginny," was all he could manage to say.

He went to go put his arm around her when she stood up abruptly and walked towards the window.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to take it out on you I just.....ugh..... I'm tired of living a life like this."

He walked over to her and turned her face to his. "It's going to be ok Ginny."

"Ha, yeah I doubt it; you saw what it's like out there. We are as good as dead just like your mother said. I'm tired of living in fear and on the run," she said folding her arms angrily.

"Don't think like that."

She looked up at him and then her eyes traveled back out the window and she squinted at something in the distance.

"There's Death Eaters out there," she said in a low voice.

He turned to look and as he did, he noticed Ginny grabbed her coat and was making her way downstairs.

"Hey, where are you going?" he said running after her.

"I'm going to take care of them," she said walking downstairs quickly.

"GINNY WAIT!" he said, grabbing his coat real quick.

She made her way into the kitchen and took a vial of liquid with her and quickly made her way outside. Draco ran down the steps two at a time and called over his shoulder to Harry and Ron to get Arthur and that there were Death Eaters outside the ward. Harry and Ron quickly jumped up and Harry followed Draco as Ron ran to get his parents. Draco and Harry ran outside and across the field to catch up with Ginny.

"GINNY WAIT!" Draco yelled to her and started walking quickly beside her to keep up. "Ginny, just wait a damn minute, let us take care of it."

"Why? I can take care of it, I'm perfectly capable of taking down a few Death Eaters." she said ignoring his suggestion.

"Yes, but you're angry and you're not thinking clearly," he said, grabbing her arm and turning her around.

"Since when do you know anything about thinking clearly?" she spat at him. He just glared at her.

She ripped her arm out of his grasp and looked at him wildly with those same black eyes she had the night he got the burns on his back. Her pupils turned to a fiery orange and her hair whipped around her like dancing flames. He took a step back from her and so did Harry and she turned and kept walking.

"Ok, you saw that right?" Harry asked Draco.

"Yeah," he said angrily going after her.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were calling out for Ginny to stop and wait for them while Ron, Hermione, and George made their way across the field to meet up with the rest of them.

Ginny threw back the liquid from the vial and then handed it to Draco. "Are you coming?"

He looked at her for a moment and then threw back the liquid and handed it to Harry who did the same thing. They made their way through the ward and ran into the nearby woods so they could sneak up on the Death Eaters. The others watched them from inside the ward. Molly had a worried look on her face as she watched her daughter disappearing into the woods.

"Ginny!" Draco was half yelling half whispering for her to slow down.

"Ginny...Hey.....just wait .....GINNY!" he grabbed her more roughly this time and dragged her behind a nearby tree where Harry met up with them.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just blindly run into a fight," he hissed at her.

"Like I don't know that, I'm not stupid," she hissed back.

"Then stop acting stupid," he said angrily through clenched teeth.

She looked at him with such anger and she ripped her arm out from his grip again.

"Ginny, I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but now is not the time to lose your head."

She turned away from him and tried to calm herself. She was breathing heavy and her hands were balled into fists.

"Whatever," she said and then continued her approach towards the Death Eaters in a more strategic way.

Draco went to follow her and stepped in something cold and wet. The snow all around where Ginny was standing had melted into a huge puddle. He knew something was different with Ginny but he wasn't exactly sure what. He hurried to catch up with her and Harry. They started slowing down their pace when they saw where the Death Eaters were standing a few feet away from the ward. Harry put his hand up to them to have them hold back and he quickly threw out a Confudus charm that hit one of the men and made them confused and disoriented. He started picking a fight with the other man and they soon got into a brawl. Draco and Harry took that opportunity to take them both down. They both saw a spell fly past them and hit a Death Eater that was trying to sneak up on them. They turned to Ginny, who had her wand out.

"Thanks, Gin." Harry called to her.

She gave him a sarcastic smug smile and then walked over to them. "See what would you do without me?" she laughed.

Draco shook his head with a smirk noticing her eyes had returned to their normal state.

"Alright, I think that's all of them around the perimeter," Harry said

"Good, then let's make our way back shall we?" Ginny said leading the way.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by a group of Death Eaters that apparated before them and all three of them were grabbed before they had time to react. They all struggled to free themselves, but there were two men who had a hold on Harry and then another two on Draco. Ginny tried to squirm as much as she could against the huge Death Eater that had her held tightly in his arms with a knife to her throat.

"I'd stop trying to escape if I were you or I'll kill the Weasley girl," said one of the Death Eaters.

Draco looked across the way at Ginny and his mind raced. She had tears in her eyes and fear all over her face. He watched as the blade was pressed further against her throat and she let out a whimper.

"We have been watching this area for a few weeks now. You see, every time some of our men come around this area they end up dead or go missing so we knew something was up. Sure enough after a lot of waiting and a few sacrifices by our dear friends you just killed, we finally got you. The greatest part is that it's the two people Lucius wants the most and I'll be the one to hand deliver them to him." said the Death Eater with a sadistic laugh.

"We could really use those powers of yours right now" Harry whispered through clenched teeth to Draco.

"I'm trying, I wish it was that simple," he mumbled back with anger in his voice.

"Alright, let's kill Potter first and then, since this guy," he said punching Draco in the face. "Seems to have a soft spot for the redhead he can watch us have some fun with her first before we kill them," he laughed menacingly as the other Death Eaters joined in.

Draco spit out a mouth full of blood and anger filled his body as he looked at Ginny when he heard her call his name out. His mind raced for some kind of an escape, but his eyes kept falling on the fiery redhead across from him. He suddenly had a crazy idea cross his mind.

"GINNY........LOOK AT ME" he called out to her. She locked eyes with him, tears streaming down her face. "THINK OF FRED!" he yelled to her.

"Why," she cried.

"JUST DO IT!" he yelled back.

"Aw, that's sweet, give her something to think about while we have our way with her." the Death Eater said in a sarcastic tone.

"THINK ABOUT HIS DEATH AND HOW THESE PEOPLE MURDERED HIM!" Draco screamed to her.

She was crying now and falling limp in the arms of the Death Eater that held her tightly against him, pressing the blade closer to her throat.

"I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT WARREN!" Draco yelled to her.

"What are you doing Draco?" Harry whispered to him.

"Trying something out, trust me on this," he whispered back.

Ginny's body went stiff at the mention of Warren's name. She had her eyes shut tightly as she felt her heart beating faster and faster at the anger rising in her.

"THINK ABOUT WHAT HE DID TO YOU, HOW HE TOUCHED YOU, AND HOW HE ALMOST RAPED YOU!" he screamed to her with emotions of his own filling his voice.

"This is fuckin priceless," the Death Eater between them laughed, followed by the rest of his clan.

Draco just looked at her and she lifted her face to look at him. Her face was drenched in tears and she was hysterical. She looked at him with a pained look on her face and then.......there it was....... those black eyes that he knew held so much danger in them; those fiery pupils that burned to even look into.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Draco?" Harry whispered to him.

"I don't think we have much of a choice."

Ginny closed her eyes and cried out from the pain she remembered of those terrible moments. She felt the heat in her body rising quickly and her breathing became rapid and heavy. Harry had finally caught on to what Draco was trying to do but was unsure of what his eyes were seeing.

"Should we push her further?" Harry mumbled to Draco.

"Go for it," he said with a look of hatred on his face for the men around him.

"GINNY...... THINK ABOUT LUPIN AND TONKS..... THINK ABOUT HOW THEY WERE TAKEN FROM THEIR SON........THINK ABOUT THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, THINK ABOUT TOM RIDDLES DIARY AND WHAT HE MADE YOU DO...........REMEMBER HOW THOSE THINGS MADE YOU FEEL!" Harry screamed to her.

Ginny let out a blood-curdling scream and the Death Eater holding her started to scream as his skin started burning against her body and he let her go and fell to his knees.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?" the main Death Eater yelled, walking over to Ginny. He brought his hand back and slapped Ginny across the face with such force she stumbled backward and dropped to a heap on the floor of snow.

"GINNY!" Draco screamed. He knew his plan of riling Ginny up had diminished when he saw her fall to the ground.

"NOW YOU TWO SHUT UP!" the Death Eater turned to them pulling out a knife and walking over to Harry.

Ginny tasted blood in her mouth, but she was unfazed by it. She couldn't feel the pain that ran through her face only the pain she held in her heart. She got to her knees and she stood up on shaky legs.

Draco and Harry's attention turned from the Death Eater about to murder them to Ginny. The Death Eater turned and saw her standing up again and he pulled out his wand.

"What did you stir up Draco?" Harry asked with a bit of fear in his voice.

Ginny just stared at the Death Eater, the veins in her face turning a black and gold color. Her hair whipped wildly around her and the snow on the ground had turned to steam. Draco was sure she would erupt into flames at any moment. The Death Eater took a step back at the site of her and held his wand up.

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER" he yelled out.

The Death Eaters holding Harry and Draco had let go and backed away and Harry and Draco quickly made a move and took them down. They turned to Ginny, who was still staring at the Death Eater.

"Enough of this shit," the Death Eater said and mouthed the words of the killing curse.

Before they left his mouth a shimmer of a flame passed through Ginny's body and a stream of fire suddenly wrapped around the man's body and then disappeared inside his mouth. He screamed in pain when he suddenly was engulfed in flames from the inside out.

Ginny turned to the rest of the Death Eaters and a wave of flames poured from her body and engulfed every man in sight. Draco and Harry stood wide-eyed watching with fear as Ginny became lost in anger. They saw a wave of fire headed right towards them and they tried to make a run for it. The flame was way too fast and powerful for them to outrun and Harry and Draco braced themselves for the flames to swallow them. Draco quickly grabbed Harry by the arm and stopped him from running. Harry turned to look at him and saw his eyes ice over and suddenly they were enclosed in a dome of ice. The flames hit the barrier and flowed around them fiercely. Draco felt the ice from his body fighting against the wild flames that desperately tried to melt through, but he kept freezing it over until suddenly the flames stopped.

The icy dome above them quickly melted and fell to a pool of water around them. Draco looked around and every Death Eater was singed and completely burnt to the point where they were unrecognizable. Some of the bodies were just piles of ashes and the smell of burnt flesh and death filled the air. Draco's eyes, then traveled over to Ginny and saw her on her knees in the snow and he quickly ran over to her with Harry beside him.

"GINNY! GINNY!" he screamed skidding to a halt in front of her.

"Draco?"She said in a frail voice and looked up at him. Her familiar fiery eyes met his mercury ones and she fell unconscious in his arms.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny lay in her bed with her eyes closed as she started to regain consciousness. Her head was pounding and her body was sore. Suddenly, memories of what happened flooded her mind and she jolted upright and looked around the room. She noticed it was night time and she was still in her clothes from earlier. She was extremely thirsty and she ran to the bathroom and started to splash water on her face and then soon had her mouth under the faucet taking in huge gulps of water at a time.

"Ginny?"

Ginny jumped from the abrupt voice that called out to her and saw Hermione standing in the hall outside the bathroom.

"Wh.......where's Dr....Draco?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

"He's downstairs, are you-"

Ginny quickly walked passed her and ran downstairs as fast as she could. She only remembered fire and huge flames surrounding Draco and Harry. She was so confused by what happened earlier and needed answers.

"DRACO!" she yelled, running down the stairs and missing the last few causing her to slip.

She pulled herself up from the floor and saw everyone in the living room looking at her. Draco quickly ran over to help her.

"Are you ok?"

"What happened? Are you ok? Is Harry ok? What happened to me? There were Death Eaters and then a fire and-"

"Ginny dear, calm down." Mrs. Weasley came over to her and led her over to the couch to sit down.

She saw them all looking at her like she did something wrong.

"What's going on, Mum?" she asked with worry in her voice as she started to panic.

"Well, Ginny, it seems as though......you are a very powerful witch," Molly started.

Ginny ran her hands through her hair and grabbed a big chunk of it. "I was hoping what I remembered from earlier wasn't real," she said in a small voice looking down at the floor.

"It's ok Ginny, you just-"

"I just need a minute," she said, cutting her father off and running back upstairs.

She made her way to the bathroom and almost collided with Narcissa.

"Oh, uh, sorry," she mumbled and started walking past her.

"That's some power you possess....Ginny," Narcissa spoke suddenly.

Ginny stopped and turned around to face her.

"I saw quite the show from my window earlier. Who knew you were such a......firecracker." she said with a wide sinister smile.

Ginny just stared at her, tears falling down her face. She quickly wiped them away.

"Aw dear, there's nothing to be upset about. Those powers are something you should embrace."

"Yeah, right, I almost killed Draco and Harry; I would never want to embrace something like that."

"Have you ever thought that maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing?"

"Excuse me?" Ginny took a step closer to her with an angry expression on her face.

"Draco and Harry are the two people Lucius want dead the most. Perhaps those two being dead would give your family a break from constantly having to watch your backs."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Ginny stepped closer to her and grabbed the railing of the nearby balcony over the stairwell.

"Just a suggestion; maybe something to think about? Looks like you're quite riled up." Narcissa said, nodding towards the railing Ginny was gripping.

Ginny looked down and gave a small gasp when she saw smoke around her hand. She quickly took her hand away and buried it in her shirt and ran to the bathroom. She slammed the door and turned on the water and threw her hand under the cold stream. Her heart was racing and she was becoming more panicked, which was making her lose more control. She was completely scared at this point and soon everything she seemed to touch was either melting or catching fire. She turned on the shower and threw herself inside of it. She then heard a knock on the door.

"Ginny?"

She heard Draco's voice through the door and she quickly reached over and locked it.

"NO, DON'T COME IN!" she screamed. She was afraid she would hurt someone.

He noticed smoke coming from under the door and he quickly grabbed his wand out and unlocked the door. He threw it open and saw Ginny curled up in a ball sitting in the corner of the shower letting the water hit her.

"What are you doing Ginny?" he asked her with worry in his voice.

"I....ca.....can't.....c....con.....control it." she sobbed.

He turned off the shower and then kneeled down over the tub. He took her hand and she quickly snatched it back.

"NO! I don't want to hurt you," she cried.

"You're not going to hurt me," he said, holding his hand out to her.

She looked at him and she slowly reached out and grabbed his hand.

"See," he smiled at her.

She gave a small smile and then threw herself in his arms and started sobbing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Draco calmed Ginny down, they made their way back downstairs to talk with the rest of the family. Molly and Arthur had told them that they would be leaving in the morning to be relocated.

"Your father and I also want to talk to you and Draco about something," Molly told them.

They looked at each other and then back to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Tomorrow when we arrive, we think we should start working with you both to try and control whatever kind of magic it is that you both seem to possess," Arthur explained.

"But how?" Ginny asked.

"Well McGonagall will be escorting us to where we will be staying and she has agreed to help with the process, so it's a start," Molly explained.

They both agreed and they soon all turned in for the night.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny was tossing and turning all night long. She kept thinking she might fall asleep and accidentally set the entire house on fire. She worked herself up so much at one point that she had to run to the bathroom and throw up. She turned over in her bed to look at the clock and saw it was four in the morning. She let out a sigh and thought about slipping into Draco's room, but she was too nervous about getting too close to anyone right now until she understood this unexplained power she had. She heard a creak out in the hall and sat up in her bed. She looked at the bottom of her door and it sounded like someone was standing outside her room. She slipped out of her bed and walked over to the door and put her ear against it but didn't hear anything.

"Draco?" she whispered.

She was suddenly flung back against the wall when her door was blown open. She scrambled to get up and quickly grabbed her wand and adjusted her eyes to take in the scene before her. Her eyes went wide and she let out a loud gasp when she saw a Death Eater standing in her doorway. She quickly shot a hex at him and then turned to look out the window. Fear filled her like never before when she saw that the Death Eaters somehow got through the wards and a large group of them were making their way into the Burrow.

Ginny ran out into the hallway and saw another shadow coming up the stairs. She went to make a run to wake the others when she felt someone grab her and cover her mouth, then pull her back into one of the rooms.

"Shh"

She realized it was Draco and she instinctively gripped his arm in fear of what was to come.

"We have to get to the others," she choked out.

"We're going to have to fight our way out of here." He whispered, seeing a group of Death Eaters reaching the landing of the stairs.

He felt her heart beat speed up against his arm as she latched onto him harder for protection.

"Hey, you need to focus, ok?" he looked into her eyes; even with all the fear in them, they looked beautiful.

She nodded and let out a shaky breath.

One of the Death Eaters was walking passed their door when Draco hit him with a killing curse. As soon as the man hit the floor chaos broke out. Ginny and Draco ran out of the room and down the hall to her parent's room who were already up and armed with their wands drawn.

"DRACO, GO GET NARCISSA!" Arthur yelled to him.

Draco nodded and ran to Charlie's room where he knew his mother was locked in.

Spells and curses hit the walls and busted holes in the house and one spell started a fire that spread quickly, filling the house with smoke.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and George joined Ginny and the others outside her parent's room.

"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THE HOUSE COLLAPSES!" Arthur yelled to them.

They all moved together to make their way downstairs, but were soon split up when they were faced with more Death Eaters coming at them. Harry grabbed Ginny and pulled her out of the way of a curse and Ron and George were dueling with three Death Eaters on the staircase trying to clear the way for them to get downstairs.

"STAY CLOSE TO ME GINNY!" Harry yelled to her as parts of the house started caving in around them.

Harry and Ginny went to make their way to help Ron and George when the floor under them gave in and they fell through to the floor below.

"GINNY! HARRY!" Hermione yelled out to them running over to the hole in the floor and looking down at them.

She was relieved to see they were both still alive and she made her way to help Ron and George. One of the men kicked Ron in the chest, causing him to fall backwards off the steps onto his back. Harry picked himself up off the floor below and shot a curse at the man advancing on Ron. He then grabbed Ginny's hand and dragged her with him towards the back door.

Draco blew the door to Charlie's room down and ran inside where he found his mother with an object in her hand ready to attack. Draco just looked at her; he knew he couldn't leave her behind no matter how horrible the things were that she said to him.

"Let's go," he demanded and grabbed her wrist.

He dragged her behind him throughout the house throwing spells left and right to fight his way through. He saw Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just making it downstairs and he hurried to catch up with them. The flames throughout the house were roaring and the smoke was starting to fill his lungs. He heard his mother coughing and gasping for air.

They finally had made it to the top of the staircase and went to make their way down when the whole stairwell collapsed under them. They fell to the floor with a pile of broken wood on top of them. Draco quickly kicked the debris aside and helped his mother up erasing all feelings of pain from his mind. He knew he was hurt, but his mind told him to keep going. He tried to make out where the back door was but the smoke was too thick. He heard screaming outside and followed the noise hoping it was the right direction.

He suddenly heard a curse being thrown and he instinctively jumped in front of his mother to shield her. He closed his eyes, anticipating the blow and was surprised when he opened them to see a shield of ice in front of them. There were three arrows that pierced the ice but didn't make it all the way through. Draco let out a shaky breath when he saw the point of one of the arrows mere inches from his face. He turned to his mother whose eyes were wide with shock at the powers her son had just used. He ignored her look of surprise and gave her a hateful look as if to say she didn't deserve his protection and then he roughly tugged her wrist to follow him.

Ginny watched as flames engulfed the only home she ever knew. Tears ran down her face as she saw a part of the house completely cave in where she knew Fred's room had been. She turned her attention to her parents who came running from the house and saw Draco wasn't with them. She saw Death Eaters coming out of the house behind them and quickly shot a curse at them before they could attack her parents.

"MUM.....DAD! WHERE'S DRACO?" she yelled to them.

"HE WAS RIGHT BEHIND US!" Mrs. Weasley shouted over the roaring flames.

Ginny frantically looked around to make sure he didn't make his way outside and then went to run back into the house. Arthur quickly grabbed her arm and held her back.

"NO GINNY IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" he yelled at her.

"BUT DRACO'S IN THERE!"

"I'll go." Harry said suddenly.

They all turned to him and before any of them could object he ran back inside.

Draco was dragging his mother throughout the house trying to find the way out through the dark smoke.

"Draco, use your powers on the fire." Narcissa demanded.

"I can't," he snapped.

"What do you mean you can't? You just used them against that attack?"

"It doesn't work like that, Mother," he said through clenched teeth.

"Then how does it work, what good are they then? And even more so, what good are you then?" she snarled.

Draco felt his blood boiling at her words, but kept his focus on finding a way out and gripped her wrist tighter and dragged her along.

"DRACO!"

Draco heard his name being called and immediately ran in the direction of it.

"OVER HERE!" Draco yelled back.

Suddenly, a wooden beam came falling down and Draco pushed his mother out of the way and he fell to the floor. He felt hot liquid pour from his head where he knew the beam hit him. The room was spinning and everything became muffled and blurry. He tried to drag himself to his feet, but his leg was pinned under debris and the beam that had fallen. He tried looking and feeling around for his wand, but he couldn't see anything. Narcissa stood up and saw Draco was hurt, but she also saw the flames growing and smoke thickening. She felt Harry push past her and ran over to Draco.

"NARCISSA, HELP ME LIFT THIS OFF OF HIM!" he yelled to her, grabbing one side of the beam.

She looked at Harry and then to the roaring flames around her then turned and ran to the exit.

"NO! WAIT!" he screamed out to her.

Harry tried as hard as he could to pull the beam off of Draco; he could barely see anything and could hardly get any air into his lungs.

"DRACO, HEY DON'T PASS OUT, YOU NEED TO HELP ME" he yelled out to the Slytherin as he shook him to stay conscious. Draco winced in pain as his head throbbed and bled freely. His head started to slump and Harry quickly shook him again. "NO NO NO, STAY AWAKE, COME ON HELP ME" but Draco was useless.

Harry's mind raced for something of use and he took out his wand and tried to think of a useful spell to lift the beam off of Draco's leg. He thought of the Wingardium Leviosa spell but doubt it would work on something this heavy. He took his chances and grabbed Draco's shirt with one hand and flicked his wand with the other.

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" he yelled and the beam lifted a tinge and Harry took that chance to pull Draco out from under it right before it crashed to the floor again.

He pocketed Draco's wand and then quickly shook Draco to try and help him lift him up. He threw Draco's arm around his neck and grabbed him around the waist and dragged him to the exit. As soon as they reached the back door, he felt hands grab him and pull him further out into the early morning air. He looked up and saw Kingsley and Arthur standing over him while the rest of them came running over. Ginny ran to Draco's side and saw the blood flowing from his head as she called out to him. Tears ran down her face and then she cracked a small smile when she saw him open his eyes a bit. When he saw she was safe he then fell unconscious once again. Molly performed a few healing charms on Draco to get the bleeding to stop and then conjured a stretcher and laid him on it. She had an empty expression on her face; they all did.

"McGonagall and I came as soon as we got an alert that the wards were invaded. We were hoping to have you all out of here by now." Kingsley explained.

Harry was panting for air still and Hermione was performing an oxygen charm on him. He turned his gaze to the blonde woman a few feet away from him. He glared at her with such anger and shook his head in disbelief.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," he said suddenly to her.

She sneered at him and then looked away and walked off.

They all watched as the Burrow was completely engulfed in flames and soon came crashing to the ground. Ginny wasn't the only one who had tears streaming down her face; almost all of them felt the pain of losing the only home they knew. It was a place where so many memories were made and now they had nothing; just the clothes on their backs.

McGonagall walked over to Molly and placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew how hard this must have been for all of them. She looked around at all of them covered in dirt and soot from the fire and some with cuts and bruises.

"Molly and Arthur, let's get you all somewhere safe," she said in a soft caring voice.

Molly silently nodded and they all heard that familiar pop as they apparated away from the burning pile of wood that they once called home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They appeared in a snowy field, the snow wasn't as thick as it was back at the Burrow. It was a light layer that covered the grass and the sun was just breaking through into the clearing before them. Ginny felt extremely dizzy and ran over to a nearby tree and emptied her stomach onto the snow. She started sobbing and held her face in her hands. Molly ran over to her and put her arms around her.

"I hate apparating." she choked out.

Her mother gave her a small smile and helped her up to stand up.

"We will have to travel the rest on foot, it's safer this way," Kingsley said to them all.

They all nodded and started to follow Kingsley and McGonagall.

"This is a Muggle area, but the house is secluded in the middle of a field, there are a few acres of land around it. We are more south now than the Burrow and I think being in a Muggle area will be the best option right now. Hogwarts, unfortunately, is being watched carefully by Death Eaters and seems the obvious choice, so this is better." McGonagall explained.

"How did you find this place?" Hermione asked as they walked across the snow-covered field.

"Well, Miss Granger, this house has actually been in my family for a long time. It was my Great Grandmothers and even before then; it's quite magnificent." McGonagall said with a smile.

They walked for about a half hour when they stopped for a break. McGonagall and Kingsley were talking about their next plan of action and Hermione, Ron and George were with Harry. Ginny walked over to Draco and she just watched him. She stroked his head and was surprised when he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Draco?" she whispered with a smile.

"Hey."

"Are you ok?" she said with emotion filling her voice.

"My head is a lot better, thanks to whoever did that."

"My mum." she smiled at him.

He went to sit up, but winced in pain and grabbed his side.

"Your staircase gave out on me," he said suddenly to her.

"Huh?"

"At the Burrow, I fell through your stairwell," he said again and then lifted his shirt to reveal his side.

Ginny gasped in surprise. There was a piece of wood that pierced a light layer of skin on his side.

"It looks worse than it feels honestly." he said.

"I didn't even notice, I was too worried about your head wound, it was bleeding like crazy," she said, taking out her wand and healing his side to the best of her ability.

He looked across the way at his mother; she didn't make eye contact with him but just walked further away.

"She left you to die Draco," Ginny said suddenly with anger in her voice. "Harry went back for you, he saved your life. As soon as you guys got out, the whole house came down," she said with tears forming in her eyes.

He turned to look at her and he looked over to the trio and he shook his head. His own mother left him to die and his supposable rival saved his life.

"Alright everyone, let's get going again," Arthur said.

Draco got to his feet and Ginny let him use her to lean on as they walked.

"You know you could have just stayed on the damn stretcher." she joked.

"Why? You know you love me hanging all over you like this." he teased.

"Oh yes, it just turns me on like you wouldn't believe. How I love getting blood all over my only clothes and having you use me as a crutch because you're too damn stubborn to enjoy the trip on a stretcher," she said sarcastically.

They walked for about another half hour and Draco soon let go of Ginny and pushed through the pain in his side to walk on his own, although he didn't mind using her as a crutch. They came to the top of a small hill and there was a house in the distance that they all stared at.

"That's it?" Ron asked shocked.

"Yep, that's the one," McGonagall said brightly.

"Wow," Ginny said.

In the distance, they saw this big Colonial style house with a huge wrap around porch. On the side of the house was a lake and a dock with a small boat tied to it. They soon neared the house and McGonagall opened the front door and led them inside. The inside was a bit outdated, but was still quite beautiful. There was a grand staircase that led up to a wrap around balcony where all the rooms were. To the left was a dining area and to the right a living room area. The kitchen was a bit smaller but the dining room made up for that and then it led into another den area. Through the kitchen window, you could see the lake and the back porch which had a seat swing on it and some wicker furniture.

"This house is quite lovely Minerva, thank you kindly for allowing us to stay here," Molly said giving her a hug.

"No need to thank me, I hope you all can get a break from the terror that lurks outside these days. Kingsley and Arthur, would you help me put up the wards? The rest of you please make yourselves at home. There are plenty of rooms for all of you." McGonagall said with a smile.

Ginny helped Draco upstairs and picked herself a room all the way in the corner and Draco took the one next to hers. Once everyone was showered and patched up Ginny worked on transfiguring some clothes to fit her that McGonagall gave them. Draco walked into Ginny's room and plopped down on her bed and sighed.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, continuing to work on making her clothes the right size.

"Here, you can help me make these fit, seems transfiguration isn't my thing," he said playfully throwing a shirt on her head.

"I'm sorry, do I look like a maid?" she teased. "JUST... don't answer that," she said, throwing the shirt back at him with a smirk on her face. "Come here, I'll show you," she said, patting the spot next to her so he can have a look at how she did it.

She showed him numerous times and there were quite a few fails, but eventually, Draco succeeded in turning a woman's blouse into a guys T-shirt.

"Ha, who would've thought a woman's blouse would look so good on me," he said trying it on.

Ginny giggled and then rolled her eyes. There was a knock at the door and Ginny looked up to see Harry and Ron standing in the doorway with clothes of their own needing alterations. She looked at Draco and they laughed.

She shook her head, "Take a seat," she laughed and then restarted her lesson.

They sat on the floor and worked in silence for a while when Draco finally spoke up. "Uh....thanks for saving my life.. Harry," he mumbled saying his name in the lowest voice he could muster.

"Oh wow, a first name, he must really mean it," Ginny laughed and then Draco pushed her over out of her folded leg position.

"No problem," he said with a laugh at Ginny's earlier comment. His smile turned to a frown suddenly. He looked at Draco, "Your mother left me there with you even when I yelled out to her, she just.....left you." he said in almost a whisper as if he still couldn't believe it.

Draco absent-mindedly played with the article of clothing in his hand. He had to just accept the fact that his own mother would risk his life to save herself.

"I saved her too you know, made sure she got out ok, and she still... didn't care," he sighed as he threw the clothing aside.

Ginny reached over to him and rubbed his back. "Sorry Draco." she smiled at him.

"Eh, fuck it, let's finish these clothes," he said getting back to work.

Ginny and Harry exchanged a sad look and continued their work.

"Uh, guys, I actually wanted to run something by you... see what you all think," Ron said suddenly, his face turning a bit red.

They all looked at each other at his words and then their attention fell on Ron.

"Yeah, of course, go ahead," Harry said.

"Alright, well, I was thinking... with everything that's been going on lately... I think I want to... ask Hermione to... marry me." he said, his face turning redder with every word.

They all looked at each other again and then Ginny let out a shriek of delight and threw her arms around her brother.

"That's awesome mate," Harry said, giving him a slap on the back.

Ginny pulled away with a bright smile on her face. "Oh my gosh Ron, I'm so happy for you," she said with tears coming down her face.

"Well, she didn't say yes, yet," he laughed.

"Believe me she's going to say yes," Harry laughed.

"Congrats man," Draco said, shaking Ron's hand.

He couldn't believe how much this news made him happy, he was smiling when he looked at Ginny whose face was lit up. You would have never known that her home just burned to the ground only hours ago. He didn't think he could fall any more in love with the redhead, but at this moment he was mesmerized by her.

"So when are you going to ask her?" Ginny asked with excitement.

"Well, it's New Year's Eve, so I thought tonight when the New Year rolls in."

"That's perfect," she said with an even brighter smile. "Have you told Mum and Dad yet?"

"Yeah, they reacted the same way you guys did." Ron laughed.

Ginny threw her hands around Ron again and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that day, after Kingsley left, McGonagall called a meeting in the dining room to discuss future plans. She would be staying with them for a few days until they settled in. Mrs. Weasley brought in a tray a tea and biscuits for them and then took a seat next to her husband.

"Thank you, Molly, now I know we planned on Narcissa not being here, but unfortunately we had to change plans," McGonagall said eyeing Narcissa from down the table. "But it is with my hope that she can stay here until we can get her someplace else that's just as safe."

Arthur and Molly looked at each other and then came to a silent agreement.

"Minerva, as much as we don't see eye to eye on things, Arthur and I have agreed to let her stay here... for now. But if she starts any trouble again, I'll knock her on her arse," Molly said fiercely more to Narcissa than to McGonagall.

Narcissa lifted an eyebrow at this and gave a sneer.

"Very well, Narcissa I trust you can keep your differences aside until then?" McGonagall asked with a bit of amusement in her voice.

"I suppose so," she said stiffly.

"Wonderful, now to other matters, Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy tomorrow we will begin working on trying to control those powers of yours. Kingsley is going to put a temporary ward up during that time to keep any amount of magic that comes about to be kept off the radar," she said with a smile at them and they both nodded. "Also, we are planning on another mission; this one though will not be for everyone. Kingsley has selected only some of you to go and it will be a lengthy one, perhaps a couple of months."

"What's the mission?" Arthur asked curiously.

"I'm not clear on all the details, but I do know there are a few Death Eater camps Kingsley wants to be monitored and taken down. He wants to collect as much info as he can until we find out Lucius' whereabouts. Kingsley will be back in a few days to discuss the details and with him, he will bring any other recruits he wants on the mission."

They all nodded

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After they all finished with Dinner Ginny and Hermione helped Mrs. Weasley clear the table and do the dishes. Luna showed up right before dinner and surprised Harry by telling him she would be staying with them for a while. Ginny was helping her mum dry some dishes when she noticed Draco making his way down to the dock where Narcissa was standing.

"So sad how that woman puts herself before her own son." Molly said suddenly noticing Draco approaching the woman.

"Why would Draco even want to speak to her after everything she's said to him?" Hermione asked with annoyance.

"I don't think he wants to talk to her, I think maybe he's trying to come to grips with how things are between them." Ginny spoke up.

"Well, whatever the reason, that boy is just going to get hurt again. Narcissa is a selfish and conniving woman, it's a pity really." Molly said, roughly putting the dishes in the cabinet.

Ginny turned to look at her mother and noticed she was crying and she gave her a hug.

"Are you alright Mum?"

"Yes, dear, I'm just thinking about the Burrow and all we've lost. I wish I had some of Fred's things still." she cried wiping her tears away. Hermione and Ginny got teary-eyed themselves and Mrs. Weasley put her arms around both of them and gave them a tight squeeze. "Everything will be ok though, we all need to stay hopeful that we will come out ok after all of this, you hear me ladies?" she said looking to each of them. They nodded and she gave them another squeeze.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco made his way down to the dock where he saw his mother. He wasn't sure why he was walking over to her, but he felt like he needed answers somehow. He only wished he knew what questions he needed answers to exactly. He gave a sigh and then leaned over the side of the deck railing where his mother was looking out onto the lake. The lake looked completely black at this hour with just the moonlight shining across it and a small light on the deck. They stood there in silence for a while with just the sound of the water splashing against the dock and crickets chirping.

"The New Year will be rolling in soon," Draco said casually.

She didn't say anything she just continued to stare at the lake. Draco went to speak again when she cut him off.

"Are you in love with the Weasley girl?"

He was taken aback at the sudden question. He thought about this for a moment and then spoke.

"I'll answer you if you answer my question," he said in a firm tone.

"Very well," she said, looking down at her hands.

"Why do you hate me?" he quietly asked, looking at her.

She turned to look at him with a surprised expression on her face.

"I don't," she whispered and then looked back over the lake.

"You don't? Gee, that's funny Mother since you left me for dead just hours earlier," he spat at her with such anger and hate in every word. "What about wanting to turn me over to Father just to save your own arse? If you don't hate me then you have a twisted and sick way of showing it."

"YOU THINK ITS BEEN EASY FOR ME?" she bellowed at him making him step back in surprise at her sudden outrage. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR FATHER TOOK OUT HIS ANGER BEFORE YOU?" her eyes were piercing into his at these words.

She turned away from him again; she didn't dare show any emotion.

"WOULDN'T THAT GIVE YOU MORE OF A REASON TO STOP HIM?" Draco yelled; his anger rising.

They stood there in silence again. He saw his mother trying to hold back tears.

"When I married your father... I was in love with him but soon found out after we married that he was all about himself and all that Dark Arts crap." she looked over at him with a small smile on her face.

Draco just stood there; he never heard anything about his parents' past before he was born unless it had to do with the Dark Lord. As much as he hated his mother something kept him there... listening to her every word.

"I never wanted children, especially not after what I knew Lucius was all about, but... your father wanted a baby... a boy... a son.... an heir to carry on the Malfoy name that he was so proud of. I was bound to him and I wanted to make sure I kept him happy for my own sake and so I soon became pregnant." she smiled at this which Draco was surprised to see on her face.

"When I found out I was pregnant my mindset changed... I was actually excited to start a family... I hoped once the baby was born Lucius would see things differently. I thought maybe this isn't so bad," she said softly wiping away tears.

Draco saw her bring a hand up to her belly as she told him the story, he almost thought he may smile as she was doing it.

"I finally came around to the thought of being a mother and for the first time in a while, I was happy... until..." her expression turned sad and dark. Draco wasn't sure if he wanted to know the rest of it, but something in him made him ask.

"Until what?" he whispered.

She looked up at him, tears fell from her eyes and she quickly looked away. "Until... we learned the baby was a girl." she whispered.

Draco's whole body froze, his stomach twisted and a lump formed in his throat. He became dizzy and thought he might pass out at any moment.

"As soon as your father found out he forced me to get rid of it... he wouldn't even let me carry out the pregnancy to try and give her a different home." she cried.

Draco let out a shaky breath and felt his eyes fill with tears. For some reason, his legs stopped working and he fell to his knees and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

She just shook her head as tears fell from her face. "Soon after, I was pregnant with you, but I forced myself to not get attached... I just couldn't... not after......" she trailed off and then continued."There was nothing I could do to help you. I knew how much power your father had over me and whenever I went against him I was severely punished. It was easier for me to distance myself from the whole thing and it has made me a cold-hearted and selfish woman." she finished; her expression hardening once more.

"I... I... I need to go," Draco said through his tears; trying to hide the emotion in his voice.

He stood and started walking away when Narcissa called out to him.

"So do you?" she asked suddenly.

He stopped walking and turned back around to face her. "The answer is yes... I love Ginny," he said through his rapid breathing wiping the tears that fell.

Narcissa nodded.

He turned and started walking back up to the house; his anger grew with every step as he thought about what his mother just said. His heart was racing and all he wanted to do was scream right now. He threw the back door open and made his way inside.

"Draco? Are you ok?" Ginny said running over to him. She saw the emotion in his face and how he was clearly distraught. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked frantically.

"I need a minute... please," he said, balling his fists and then grabbing his hair in frustration.

Ginny stepped back from him and soon Mrs. Weasley came over and pulled Ginny further away.

"Draco dear, are you alright?" Molly asked him.

He looked up at them and his eyes turned to ice. Ginny immediately pulled herself from her mother's grasp and walked over to Draco and grabbed his hand.

"Hey, calm down, come with me," she whispered to him and then led him upstairs. She gave her mother a nod that she would be fine and Molly gave a silent ok.

Ginny led him into his bedroom and sat down with him. She felt his hands turning cold and she grabbed them both between hers.

"Draco?"

He didn't answer her; he felt her hands warming his cold ones. He looked up at her; she had that fiery look in her eyes, but loving at the same time. She saw his eyes turn back to those silver orbs she so often got lost in and she cupped his face in her hands.

"Hey, that's better," she smiled at him.

She was surprised when he suddenly grabbed her into a hug. He buried his face into her shoulder and just took in her scent. He needed her to bring him to a steady place in his mind like she always somehow did. He held her for a few moments until he finally spoke.

"My mother just told me I use to have a sister."

Ginny pulled back from him suddenly and looked at him with a shocked expression, "WHAT?"

Draco went on to tell her what his mother told him and she couldn't help her own tears that fell. She hugged him tightly against her chest and stroked his hair until his breathing became normal again. They were quiet and just enjoyed being held by the other.

"The New Year will be here in a few minutes, let's go watch your brother's proposal," Draco said suddenly.

"Oh, are you sure you want to?"

"Yeah, I could use something positive right now," he said, holding his hand out for her to take.

"Are you saying I'm not positive?" she teased him.

"Eh," he teased, making a "sort of" movement with his hand.

She slapped him playfully and then pulled him into a tight hug before they made their way downstairs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Alright everyone, there's less than a minute left so get ready." Mrs. Weasley said, pushing everyone into the living room.

Draco was sitting next to Ginny and they were laughing at how many times Ron wiped his sweaty palms on his pants as the countdown went on. Soon the New Year arrived and Hermione had a confused look on her face as Ron brought her to the middle of the room to stand and then got on one knee and asked her to marry him. She had one hand over her mouth in disbelief and tears filled her eyes and she gave a tearful nod and then let out a screeching yes before she threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.

Everyone erupted into applause and whistles and then there were congratulations and Happy New Years that went around followed by kisses being shared by all the couples. Ginny smiled when she saw Harry and Luna share a kiss and then her mum and dad. She giggled when she saw McGonagall place a kiss on George's cheek. She would have loved to give Draco a kiss, but she knew he wasn't comfortable showing affection in front of everyone.

"Happy New Years Ginny," he said to her over the crowd of people around them sharing hugs and whatnot.

She smiled at him, "Happy New Year Draco," she said with that beautiful smile that made Draco fall deeper and deeper in love with her.

Before she knew it, she felt Draco snake his arms around her waist and pull her into a deep kiss that she gladly accepted and put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. There was another eruption of wolf whistles and cheering when the two locked lips and George came over and broke them apart.

"Alright, you two, get a room," he teased pushing passed them.

They both laughed and then turned a light shade of red.

Draco woke up the next morning with the sun beating on his face. He turned his head to the side where Ginny laid with him during the night and then snuck off to her room a few hours ago. He smiled to himself with how lucky he felt to have her in his life. His mind went back to the conversation with his mother last night. He wasn't sure how to feel towards her, he did, though, understand a bit more why she is the way she is but it still doesn't make it right. He thought about talking to her again, but he couldn't get past the information she shared with him last night. He then thought of his father and how much more angry he was at him. He didn't think he could have any more hate for a person but he did. He then thought about his kiss with Ginny last night in front of her family; he just kept thinking of how much love he had for her at that moment and he didn't care who was around to see at that time, he had to have his lips on her. There was a knock at his door and before he could answer Ginny popped her head in.

"Morning," she said brightly.

"You know I could have been changing," he said sitting up.

"Oh, is that so, then I guess I would have gotten a good show," she said seductively and then sat down next to him getting ready to kiss him.

"Guys, maybe you could save your shag session for later, McGonagall wants you both downstairs for practice," Hermione said walking past Draco's bedroom.

Ginny gave Draco a quick kiss and then ran off to get dressed. Hermione stood in the doorway with her arms folded with a smile on her face.

"What?" Draco asked, throwing his blankets off and getting up.

"Nothing... it's just nice to see you two together."

"You mean it's nice to see your in-depth therapeutic conversations with me paid off and you can add matchmaker to your resume?" he teased.

She laughed.

"Just get dressed," she said, rolling her eyes and walking away.

"WHY? IS MY PERFECT PHYSIQUE MAKING YOU ALL HOT AND BOTHERED?" he called out to her with a smirk on his face.

He laughed to himself when he heard her call from downstairs "YOU WISH!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco walked out of the bathroom and went to make his way downstairs when he saw Narcissa making her way downstairs also. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Mother," he said flatly.

"Morning Draco," she said with a tense expression.

They walked downstairs together in silence; it was awkward for both of them. Draco wasn't sure if he should be mad at his mother or take pity on her or neither. He noticed her whole persona had changed since their conversation last night; almost as if she had this weight lifted off of her and it was replaced with guilt.

"I thought I'd watch you practice today if that's alright?" she said suddenly when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

He was a bit shocked at her statement and turned to look at her. "Uh... yeah" was all he could manage and then made his way outside to the back porch.

He walked outside and saw everyone leaning over the porch ready to watch him and Ginny practice. He joined Ginny in the middle of the field and saw she had a nervous look on her face.

"Nervous?" he asked.

She let out a shaky breath, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Alright Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley, I'm putting a sort of ward like dome over you both. This will keep any advanced magic that comes about off the radar from the Ministry." McGonagall explained.

They nodded.

"Also, once you both are in there... I'm afraid if any of your powers become too uncontrollable.. I can't take down the ward until it's controlled. Kingsley has made it clear that this is how it needs to be. If that type of magic gets out there's no telling how dangerous it could be... so know that it can get dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Also, although neither of you can get out of the ward, any one of us can enter it; so if we are able to help if something goes wrong then we will. We will also be able to communicate with each other as well. Do you both understand?"

Draco and Ginny looked at each other. Ginny let out a nervous breath and then nodded. Draco seemed nervous about it himself; he was worried he would end up hurting Ginny while they were in here. He was also nervous about how much power Ginny truly possessed and swallowed the lump that seemed to form in his throat. He nodded also and let out a long breath, then took his wand out.

"Alright then, here it goes," McGonagall said, flicking her wand and saying a few different incantations.

A sparkling stream came from her wand and flew high above their heads and then sprinkled down into a dome shape around the two of them. Ginny walked over to the side of the dome and put her hand up to it. It felt almost like glass, but with some kind of force field around it that made her hand tingle. She pulled her hand back quickly and looked at McGonagall through the dome. McGonagall gave her a small smile and then her eyes fell on her parents watching from the porch. She turned back to Draco and rejoined him at the center.

"Now I think you both know that your power comes from anger, if not anger then... adrenaline. Also, I think it comes to surface when your protective instincts kick in. There are many things you both could use to stir up that part of your mind. However, probably one of the most useful methods to unlock that part of your mind is pain. Pain will be the most effective way to see the true potential of how far you could push yourselves and see how much power you both possess. So... when you're ready." McGonagall finished with a smile; gesturing with her hand for them to begin.

They stood there looking at each other.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I'm not sure where to start," Ginny said.

"Trying to stir up enough emotion to activate that part of your mind has to come from deep within. You may recall from our dear Professor Lupin that when producing a Patronus you need to think of a happy memory. Now with this sort of magic... it seems to be the opposite. Since this sort of power you both possess seems to come from an adrenaline rush, it's perhaps best to think of a not so fond memory. Something that angers you, or even one of the darkest hours in your life," she said with a small smile.

Ginny nodded and then let out another breath, "Ok, ok come on... think." she mumbled to herself.

Draco was thinking and he had many memories that he thought of but he wasn't feeling a change. He went to the thoughts of his conversation last night with his mother. He thought about how he could have had a sister. How different things would have been maybe; how different his mother might have been towards him. Then he felt anger at his father for forcing her to make such a horrible decision. He started breathing heavy and his heart started racing and he soon felt his mind turning over. They all watched as the grass beneath him started to freeze over.

"You're doing it," Ginny said a little too happily.

His eyes shot up to her and he was pulled back to reality. He just looked at her and regained control of his breathing.

"Interesting." McGonagall whispered to herself. "That was good Mr. Malfoy... now Miss Weasley why don't you give it a go," she said.

Ginny tried thinking, but her mind didn't want to go back to those dark days. She didn't want to think of Fred or Warren so she tried thinking back to another darker time in her life. Her mind took her to a memory when she stood in her bathroom at the Burrow over the sink. She remembered the feeling of the blade gliding across her soft pale skin. She remembered the stinging pain it caused and how she just wanted to fade away at that point in her life. She came back to reality when she felt wetness on her face and realized a tear had fallen from her eye.

She wiped it away and then looked at Draco, "Sorry I'm trying." she said in a small voice.

"It's ok, you don't have to be sorry," he said to her with a smile.

"Alright, well let's try something else then,"McGonagall said.

"Why don't you just use the Cruciatus curse on us?" Ginny said suddenly.

They all turned to her with a shocked look on their face at the drastic suggestion from the redhead.

"NO WAY!" Ron yelled.

"Miss Weasley that's quite an extreme suggestion," McGonagall said in a serious tone.

Ginny turned to Draco, who had a surprised look on his face and she walked closer to him. "Draco, I want to understand these powers, I'm scared what I'll do to someone I really care about if I don't know how to control them." she pleaded with him to make him see her point.

He studied her face and took in her words, his mouth hung open with a bit of shock at her actually considering such a thing. She touched his arm and gave him a light shake.

"Draco?" she called to him.

"I... uh... I don't know," he tried finding his words.

"Mr. Malfoy if you and Miss Weasley are serious about this... it may not be such a crazy idea. The curse can be lifted if it becomes too much." McGonagall explained.

Ginny looked at Draco with a slight smile and nodded. He looked at her and then reluctantly agreed. Ginny let out another shaky breath and started getting nervous, she was afraid of what might happen once her powers were released. She shook her hands free of any nerves.

"Alright, go ahead, I'll go first," Ginny said.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley watched in fear at the scene that was about to take place before them. Narcissa got up from her seat on the porch to see exactly what was to come.

"Wait, who's casting the spell?" Draco asked, looking at them all.

"There's no way I can use an unforgivable curse on my sister." Ron stated.

The rest of the Weasleys declined also.

"To use the Cruciatus curse you have to mean it, so it needs to come from a dark place. Even if you try to think of a bad memory you can cast it." McGonagall explained.

"Can you do it then Professor?" Ginny asked.

McGonagall looked taken aback. "I... I'm afraid I couldn't possibly do it either."

Everyone's eyes fell on Narcissa and her eyes went wide. She quickly shook her head no and looked away from them.

"I'll do it," Draco said suddenly.

They all turned to him. He was surprised when he saw Ginny give him a small smile and say a silent thank you to him. He lifted his wand and pointed it to her. He was breathing heavy and so was she. Her eyes locked with his and his hand was shaking. He was about to mouth the spell when he dropped his hand to his side and paced around in frustration and ran his hand through his hair.

"There has to be another way!" he yelled in anger.

Hermione felt tears swell in her eyes at the action he was practically being forced to do and felt Ron hold her close to him.

"Draco you can do it... please." Ginny pleaded.

He felt his anger rising and he yelled it, "Crucio!"

The spell hit her, but she just stumbled a bit.

"You have to mean it Draco." McGonagall reminded him.

He turned angrier and he kept pacing and pulling on his hair in frustration.

"Crucio!" he yelled again.

This time Ginny stumbled a bit more, but still nothing.

"UGH!" he yelled in frustration and then felt his blood start to boil and he took his shot again. "CRUCIO!"

The spell hit her and she dropped to her knees and let out a blood-curdling scream that filled the air. He quickly lifted it and ran to her side.

"GINNY, GINNY I'M SO SORRY, ARE YOU OK?" he said grabbing her arms.

She was slumped over, her hair flung about over her face. She looked up at him with clenched teeth and those black eyes. He scrambled backward from her as she stood up. She was breathing heavy.

"DRACO, DO IT AGAIN!" McGonagall yelled to him.

"NO!" he yelled.

"YOU HAVE TO!"

He looked at her and he saw her eyes were starting to change back and so he took his chance again, "CRUCIO!"

Again, Ginny fell harder this time to her knees and screamed and twitched in pain. Draco went to lift it when McGonagall called out to him not to yet. Ginny's screams pierced through the air and brought tears to her family and friends having to watch the horrid scene. Her eyes changed to a dark black and those orange, fiery orbs came to surface. Draco backed up from her preparing himself for what was to come.

"DRACO, INTENSIFY THE CURSE!" McGonagall called to him.

"NO, I CAN'T!" he yelled with emotion filling his voice at having to inflict such pain upon the woman he loved.

"YOU MUST!" McGonagall called back with her own emotions surfacing.

Draco yelled the curse again on top of the one he never lifted and his heart broke to pieces at the painful screams that Ginny released. She was on all fours trying to fight off the curse when she suddenly threw her head back and gave out a bone chilling scream. She suddenly became engulfed in flames and a shockwave of heat flew passed Draco knocking him to the floor. They all stood in complete shock; not believing what they were seeing.

Ginny's screams stopped and she stood up and locked eyes with Draco. Her hair was a mass of flames that whipped fiercely around her and she so elegantly had flames down her arms and legs just lightly burning off of her. The veins in her skin darkening and turning to that black and gold that Draco remembered seeing that day in the forest. He was at this point scared for his life. The rest of them outside the dome took out their wands ready for any action they may need to take.

"DRACO GET BACK!" Harry yelled to him, remembering full well what Ginny was capable of.

Ginny took a step towards Draco not blinking or breaking eye contact with him at any point. Every time her foot touched the floor a stream of fire would burst out. She brought up one of her hands and opened her palm up to reveal a ball of fire. At this point, Draco just started running to the furthest end of the dome he could. She threw it towards him and he jumped out of the way just in time. He was on the ground now and quickly scrambled to his feet.

She suddenly shot out a stream of fire that wrapped around his leg and she pulled him to the ground again and started dragging him towards her.

"DRACO!" Hermione screamed.

Narcissa had her hands over her mouth and watched as her son fought for his life.

"GINNY WAIT, GINNY IT'S ME! STOP... GINNY!" Draco screamed to her as she stood over him.

She reached down and grabbed him by the shirt and he quickly pushed her back away from him. She turned angrier and she threw out her arms causing two waves on either side of Draco to close in on him and before he knew it he was encased in flames.

"NO!" Hermione screamed out.

Narcissa let out a gasp and stared in shock.

The flames around him started to stiffen and soon started to crack and then suddenly the flames busted apart and Draco emerged from them. His eyes were iced over and a look of anger covered his face. Ginny advanced on him again and this time a trail of ice quickly swept around her and tried to confine her until she was completely frozen over. Ginny's flames raged through the ice and it turned to water and fell to the ground. She made to run at Draco when he flung his arm out forming a jagged wall with sharp icicles protruding outward. Ginny blasted the wall to pieces and then hit him so hard he flew into the dome wall. She was before him before he could get to his feet and grabbed him around the throat; the heat from her hand warming the icy feel of his skin. He grabbed her wrist that was around his throat and she noticed her hand was icing over.

The dome Draco was pinned against started icing over also until it reached the top of the dome. Ginny grabbed him with the other hand and threw him to the ground and she let out a wave of heat that hit the dome wall and started cracking it. Draco reached up suddenly and placed his hand on her face. She just stared at him, a look of surprise overtaking her and understanding. He then heard the dome start to crumble and he grabbed her to him and a shield of ice was over them. Pieces of the dome that were falling started breaking the ice barrier and Ginny quickly let out a stream of heat against the shield of ice over them. As she used a fiery barrier between them mixed with Draco's freezing one, the shield stayed intact until the dome had fallen completely.

Everyone outside the dome stood in shock and awe at what just happened. They weren't sure if their friends were dead or alive after the ward had fallen like that. There were tears and a few screams from Hermione and Mrs. Weasley. They watched as the shield around Draco and Ginny started to crack and crumble to pieces and there inside was Draco and Ginny very much alive.

Draco looked down at Ginny, who he was holding close to his chest. She looked up at him with those beautiful, loving eyes that warmed his heart so much.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

She nodded against his chest and then they heard the rest of them run over to them. Mrs. Weasley had her arms around the both of them crying that she was so scared that they were dead.

"That was bloody brilliant." Ron said

"No, it wasn't, it was scary to see you both like that." Hermione argued, wiping her tear-stained face.

"I thought it was quite extraordinary." came Luna's voice.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! GIVE THEM SOME SPACE!" Arthur called out.

They all backed up and Molly released her grip on them and gave Ginny a kiss on the forehead.

"Mr. Malfoy... Miss Weasley... that was incredible, good first day definitely. We will try more practice again tomorrow." McGonagall said brightly.

Draco and Ginny just looked at each other and let out an exhausted breath and then shared a small smile. Ginny suddenly grabbed her head in pain and started feeling really dizzy.

"Come on dear, let's get you inside," Molly said helping her stand up, but Ginny couldn't get her legs to work.

Draco stood on shaky legs to attempt to carry Ginny inside, but could barely keep himself up.

"I got it, come here Gin," Ron said, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her up to her bedroom.

Harry walked over to Draco with a smirk, "I'd rather not carry you." he joked.

Draco just shook his head. "Don't worry, I think I got It," he said, getting up and making his way to the house. "Although I know how much you love having me draped over your body lately."

"Is it me who loves it or you really?"

"Touché Potter... touché"

They both shared a small laugh.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco woke up a few hours later, after practice that morning. He was exhausted from earlier and he didn't even have the Cruciatus curse put on him. His mind immediately went to Ginny and he jumped out of bed and made his way to her room. He saw her door was opened and her bed was unmade but she wasn't there. He walked over to the bathroom and heard her throwing up. He gently knocked on the door.

"Ginny? Are you ok?" he called through the door.

"Come in," she said in a small weak voice.

He opened the door and saw her sitting on the floor against the wall near the toilet. She was all pale and clammy and her hair was a mess. He walked into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and wet it with cold water. He knelt down in front of her and patted her forehead with it.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He smiled at her, "No problem, seems only yesterday I watched you throwing your guts up back at the Manor." he teased.

She looked at him with a small smirk, "You're a jerk."

He chuckled and then sat down against the wall beside her. "I'm sorry I did that to you earlier I-"

"Draco stop, you're not going to beat yourself up over that. I asked you to do it and I'm glad you did... maybe not during or now with all the vomiting, but I'm glad in the end." she gave him a small smile.

Draco stood up and held out his hand for Ginny to take. He pulled her up and she looked into his eyes, their lips were only inches apart.

"You need to brush your teeth," he whispered to her.

She gave him a hard playful slap and he placed a kiss on her cheek and left the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco couldn't fall asleep that night, he kept thinking about practice earlier, but also about things with his mother. Ginny didn't make her routine nightly stop because she was still feeling out of it from earlier. He let out a sigh and threw the blankets off himself and made his way downstairs. Halfway down, he realized the living room light was on and someone was up. He approached the dimly lit room when he saw Mrs. Weasley knitting.

"Evening Draco, I'm guessing you can't sleep either," she said with a smile not looking away from her knit work.

"Something like that," he mumbled.

"Come," she nodded her head for him to sit with her.

He sat down and just watched her knitting; she was fast and really good at it.

"My mother taught me," she said, noticing Draco watch her. "She said it helped her think and kept her mind functioning."

"And does it?"

"Eh, sometimes, but for me, I find it mostly relaxing, especially when I'm working on a gift for someone; makes it more exciting," she said with a bright smile.

"Hmm."

They sat in the quiet for a while just listening to the fire and the sound of Mrs. Weasley's knitting needles clicking together.

"Mrs. Weasley... can I ask you something?" he asked as he watched the fire.

"Of course, dear," she said, continuing her knitting.

"Was there ever a time when... when you hated being... a mother?" he asked hesitantly.

Mrs. Weasley stopped knitting and looked over at him. She gave him a small smile and then put her knitting aside. "Come on, let's go make some tea," she said leading the way into the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley fixed them both a hot cup of tea and Draco proceeded to tell her about the conversation he had with his mother the night before. He was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Mrs. Weasley and found he was telling her more about how he felt towards his parents than he ever thought he would. She just listened the entire time and nodded to show she understood what he meant.

"I'm just not sure where to go from this point, I mean I have this hate for her because of how she's been towards me, but... but when I really start thinking about what she went through... I just kind of find that maybe we aren't so different after all?" he said the last part as more of a question than what he actually meant, he wasn't even sure if what he was saying made sense.

"I think you may be right, but people change and you changed for the better... well, we are still working on some things," she joked patting his arm with a small laugh. "But perhaps think about where you were before things started getting a bit brighter for you. I think fear plays a big factor, especially when it comes to making yourself vulnerable to another person. "

"So do you think she can change?"

"Yes, but... she has to want it, you can't change someone who doesn't want it. You can't change someone who doesn't know wrong from right. Narcissa is a cold, cold woman and she has been like that for a long time Draco. I'm afraid Lucius ruined her from day one, especially after that horrid situation you shared with me. If you're wondering if you should try and mend things with your mother and forgive her; then I'm afraid only you can really decide that, but just keep in mind Draco, you don't want to have any regrets either. You can only really gain from the situation now so just think about that, ok?" she said with a smile and patted his hand.

He took in every word she said and nodded.

"Alright, well let's try and get some kind of sleep before dawn comes," Molly said collecting their cups and placing them in the sink.

Draco got up and started heading out of the kitchen.

"Draco, dear," she called out to him.

He turned around to face her.

"The answer is No... There has never been a time when I hated being a mother to my children. They are my life, without them..." she trailed off.

"Thanks for the tea," he said with a small smile and then headed back upstairs to try and fit a few hours of sleep in before he had to be up for practice in the morning.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"DRACO, DRACO, DRACO!" Ginny screamed, jumping roughly onto his bed the next morning.

He peeked his eyes open and saw her leaning over him with this huge smile on her face. He let out a groan.

"GET UP!" she yelled.

"Must you yell?" he drawled, covering his face with the blankets.

"McGonagall is letting us go out," she said happily.

He took the blankets off of his head, "Go out? Where?"

"To the town... to the stores..." she said with excitement rising in her voice.

"Like out out? Like outside of the wards around other people out?" he asked sitting up.

"YES, LIKE SHOPPING AND STOPPING FOR LUNCH OUT!" she smiled at him.

A huge smile spread across his face and he ripped the blankets off of him and got out of bed.

It wasn't long before everyone was downstairs dressed and eager to learn the reasoning behind this sudden outing. McGonagall came walking over to them dressed in casual attire which was a new look for all of them to see the Professor in.

"Professor, you look like a... like a...."

"Like a Muggle Mr. Weasley?" she said to Ron.

"Yeah."

"Precisely, I thought we could all use a normal day for a change and put practice off until later."

"But isn't it dangerous?" Ginny asked.

"Kingsley and I feel confident that since this area hasn't had any Death Eater attacks yet that a few hours out on the town won't be much of a threat. They aren't even any camps anywhere near here," she said confidently.

They all exchanged looks and then smiled.

"Unless you all rather stay cooped up in the house?"

They all ran passed her and made their way out the front door. McGonagall, Molly, and Arthur laughed at the eagerness of them all wanting a break from being confined to one place.

"HOLD UP A MOMENT!" she called out to them. "We need to go over a few rules first." she looked at them all. "First, no magic, this is a Muggle area and they are hardly aware of the war that's even happening because this area has been untouched. So make sure you play the part of a good Muggle, understood?"

They all nodded, they didn't care what act they had to put on, they just wanted to feel fresh air again on their faces and see a change of scenery.

"How are we getting to town exactly?" Hermione asked.

"The bus of course" McGonagall answered simply.

"Like as in the knight bus?" Harry asked.

"As in a Muggle bus; there's a bus stop just up the road from the edge of the property. We will have to make sure we make it on time, so let's hurry." McGonagall said leading the way.

They all headed out towards the bus stop up the road, the change in energy among them all was quite noticeable. Ginny started giggling to herself as she walked beside Draco and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking how the famous Draco and Narcissa Malfoy will be riding on a bus full of Muggles." she laughed a bit louder.

They both turned when they heard Narcissa give a small giggle and then saw her bite her lip from showing any amusement in the Weaslette's comment. Draco just smirked and shook his head, then turned back to Ginny.

"Well, if you think that's a sight I wonder what it would look like to see half the bus filled with a slew of gingers," he said flicking a piece of her hair.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They all soon arrived at the bus stop and McGonagall stepped inside and handed the man enough bus fare for all of them. There wasn't room for them all to sit together so they were scattered about and half of them had to stand up.

"There are some weird looking folks on here," George said looking around.

Hermione and Harry snickered at this, it was easy for them to blend in; they lived a Muggle life so it was nothing new to them.

The bus started moving and everyone standing staggered back a bit. Narcissa tripped over someone behind her and Draco quickly caught her before she fell and helped her up. She smiled at him and then a man sitting down next to where she stood spoke. "You can come sit in the best seat on the bus," he said, patting his lap with a drunken grin.

Draco instinctively made a move towards him when Narcissa put her arm out to stop him and then turned to the man with a smile.

"That's quite alright; I'm fine where I am," she said, looking at Draco with a smirk.

Ginny popped her head between them suddenly, "Someone just pinched my arse," she whispered with her mouth open half shocked and half laughing.

"Someone just pinched mine too." Ron added.

Ginny and Draco busted out laughing and Narcissa put her hand to her mouth to suppress her own snickers.

They soon arrived at the bus stop and piled out of the crowded vehicle thankful to be rid of the people on it. They all took a quick look at their surroundings.

"Alright, now here's some money," McGonagall said, handing them all a small wad of bills. "We'll all meet back at that small diner over there at about noonish or so, understood?" They all nodded. "Lovely, now remember... please behave, NO MAGIC!" she looked at them all.

"Uh, Professor, where did you get Muggle money from?" Ron asked.

"Mr. Weasley, let's just say I have many connections... now off you go," she said shooing them off with her hands.

They all took off in small groups heading in opposite directions. Ron, Hermione, and George took off towards a bookstore Hermione wanted to check out and Harry and Luna headed to a small antique shop.

"So where to?" Ginny asked Draco, walking with him down the street.

"Honestly, I don't care I'm just happy to be out of the house."

"So weird huh?"

"I think the people are weirder than anything," he smirked.

"How about that place." Ginny pointed to with a smirk.

Draco followed her pointed finger and a giant smile fell across his face. "Perfect."

They then made their way across the street into the Suits for Every Occasion shop. They walked through the door and a small bell went off to acknowledge their arrival.

"Wow," Ginny laughed, looking around at the hundreds of suits on display.

"I think I just died and went to heaven," Draco said making his way over to a rack.

"You look like a kid in a candy shop." Ginny teased.

"Yeah, well too bad there's no reason for suit-wearing nowadays. Besides, I think I like jeans and a T-shirt better." he smiled at her.

"Good day, welcome to Suits for every occasion, can I help you folks with anything?" came an older man's voice from the front of the store.

"Actually, yes, we would like you to pull a few suits for him to try on," Ginny said brightly.

"What are you doing?" Draco said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"We don't have to buy anything, let's just have a little fun," she said, picking up a suit from the rack and showing him to see if he liked it.

"Alright and no, that's hideous, look at the seams on this thing... poorly made. Now, this is a suit," he said, grabbing a black suit from another nearby rack.

Ginny rolled her eyes playfully and then took a seat by the changing rooms to wait for Draco to try a suit on. After almost fifteen minutes later she heard him call from the fitting room. "Alright, you ready?"

"YES! FINALLY!" she called back.

He opened the door and walked out in the perfect suit. It looked just like the many suits he wore to Hogwarts, but this was probably one of the best one's Ginny had ever seen him in. He looked like the old Draco Malfoy, she used to know and not love so much. She just kept staring at him and found herself surprisingly turned on by this.

"How does it look?" he asked her, taking a look in the mirror.

"All I can say is WOW, it's like it was made for you. You look just like the famous Draco Malfoy we all know and hate," she teased him with a giggle.

"Hmm," he said smugly.

He saw her through the mirror looking at him and she was biting her lip. He smirked and then turned to her and put on his famous Malfoy sneer.

"What's the matter Weaslette, have you never seen a man in a suit before. I would imagine not with the rags your family wears." he drawled.

An even bigger smirk slid across her face, "Actually, I was just thinking how ridiculous it looks to see a ferret wearing a suit."

He walked up to her with his Malfoy mask perfectly in place and leaned over the chair she was sitting in and placed his hands on each handle beside her. She backed up into the chair as far as she could and their faces were only inches apart. She would be lying if she said he wasn't the least bit intimidating. She felt the hair on the back of neck stand up and a wave of goosebumps came over her. Her mind went back to the day on the train when she had shared a compartment with him.

"The only thing that looks ridiculous is that red mop you call hair," he said in a demeaning tone.

"Fuck you Malfoy," she said angrily with that fiery stare Draco loved so much.

"I bet you would just love that, wouldn't you Weasley?" he eyed her up and down as the words left his mouth.

Ginny turned her head to make sure the shopkeeper was still up at the front of the store. Once she saw he was still up behind the counter, she briskly grabbed Draco's hand and dragged him to the dressing room.

"You better make this quick," she whispered; closing the door and locking it.

She turned to look at him and before she knew it, their lips crashed together and he roughly pushed her against the wall. He savagely grabbed her shirt off and they heard a small rip.

"Careful, I have to wear these after," she whispered to him.

He smirked against her lips and quickly started taking off his suit and threw it to the floor, forgetting how good it looked on him. Ginny quickly propped herself up around his waist and soon he was inside her. Their lips and tongues fought to gain entrance into the others mouth and soon it was Draco's that took control and had her giving into the pleasure. Soon the speed of which they were rocking picked up and Draco felt Ginny's nails dig into his back and her body began to squirm as she neared her climax. She felt Draco's release and it pushed her over the edge and she let out a loud moan that Draco quickly quieted with his lips.

"How's the suit coming along?" the old man suddenly said outside the door giving a light knock.

Ginny was breathing heavy and Draco covered her mouth with his hand.

"Uh... it's a bit snug, maybe a bigger size?" He lied to get the man away from the door.

"Certainly, sir, I'll be right back."

He took his hand away from Ginny's mouth and she laid her head onto his chest and they started laughing. They quickly got dressed and made sure nobody was around when they walked out of the dressing room. The old man soon came over with a bigger size for Draco.

"Here you are, Sir," he said, holding the suit out for Draco.

"Oh, uh, you know what, turns out it's not really for me," he said, grabbing Ginny by the hand and quickly making their way out of the shop; both laughing the entire way.

McGonagall, Arthur, Molly, and Narcissa were sitting at the small diner around noonish waiting for the others to meet them. Molly had spotted a craft store across the way and knew she could've used some more yarn.

"I might as well go run across the street and grab some things while we wait for the kids," she said getting up.

"Oh, um... Molly, would you mind if I joined you?" Narcissa asked suddenly.

Molly looked at Arthur and McGonagall with a surprised expression. "Oh, of course, please do."

Narcissa gave her a small smile and made her way with Molly across the street. They walked in silence for a bit when Narcissa finally spoke.

"I... I just wanted to apologize for my behavior, I am grateful for all the Order is doing for me... and for Draco. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with," she said sounding ashamed.

Molly was shocked at the words coming out of the blonde woman's mouth beside her.

"I could deal with you, Mrs. Malfoy, but the way you treat your son... I won't stand by and watch that. As blind as you may be to it, Draco is a wonderful young man. He has saved not only my daughter's life but my husband's as well, you should be proud of him," she said, not helping the anger that rose in her voice.

Narcissa nodded.

"You're right, after the final battle I was so grateful that my family was still alive. I wanted Draco to be safe and in those moments I didn't care about going against the Dark Lord... I just wanted Draco to be ok..." she trailed off.

"So why not now?"

Narcissa shook her head. "I don't know... when Lucius couldn't get past his darkness and took his anger out on us, I just accepted that this was how my life would be... and now here we are in a world just as dangerous as when Voldemort was alive. I took the coward's way out and put distance between myself and the problem in fear of my life. I never thought Draco would go to the Order and be the man he is today. I guess I underestimated him and never gave him a chance," she said, wiping a stray tear that slid down her face.

"Narcissa... I know you're not a stupid woman, but surely you know that Lucius will kill you the next time he sees you. It doesn't matter what you do he's an evil man and he will take pity on nobody, not even his own son," Molly said in a pleading tone to make her see things differently.

"I know, Molly, I don't know how to make up for all the wrong I've done and the hurtful things I said to my son... I don't think he'll ever forgive me."

"Just be Narcissa, not Narcissa Malfoy. You can only go forward from here... so baby steps," Molly smiled at her.

She nodded and then made their way into the craft store.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"There you lot are, where have you been? Its twelve-thirty, we said noon," Mrs. Weasley scolded the group of young adults piling into the diner.

"First off, blame Hermione, we left her at the bookstore and went to a few other stores and then went back to the bookstore and she was still undecided about which book she wanted," Ron complained.

"And you two?" she looked to Draco and Ginny.

"Uh, we went to a candy shop, and then met up with Harry and Luna at the antique shop," Ginny explained.

"Oh, and we went to the suit shop," Draco added with a bright smile, causing Ginny to stomp on his foot.

"Well, come on sit down, let's grab some lunch; let's see how good this Muggle food is," Mrs. Weasley said more to herself than anyone else.

Their lunch soon arrived and their conversation was as loud as it was back at the Burrow in the kitchen. They got a few stares from nearby customers, but they didn't seem to notice. Later the waitress came over with their check.

"Here ya go, folks," she said, placing the bill down on the table. "Are you all heading to fair tonight?"

"The fair? What's that?" Ron asked.

"A fair... you know with rides and stuff... a carnival?" the waitress looked at him.

After Ron felt Hermione kick him under the table he quickly recovered. "Oh... uh, yeah of course," he said, giving Hermione a nasty look and rubbing his leg.

"Well anyway, you all should go, it will be great fun, almost the whole town will be there," she smiled and then walked away.

"So can we go?" Ginny asked.

"Go where?" Molly asked.

"To the fair."

McGonagall, Arthur, and Molly looked at each other.

"What do you think, Minerva? Is it safe enough? That's a long time outside of the wards... and with not being able to use magic," Arthur said.

"Yes, it is... but... this area is so far from any Death Eater attacks. I think we will be ok."

"Think? We need to be certain," Molly added.

"Well, are we certain about anything these days?" Arthur said and then leaned in closer to the two women and whispered. "I think this will be good for them and us. We don't want to live in fear and we don't know how many more days like this we have left."

McGonagall gave a bright smile and then turned to them all. "Alright, we can go."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What time do we need to meet again?" Ginny asked from the fitting room.

"We have about another half hour," Hermione called laying her head on Ron's lap on the couch they waited patiently on.

"Ok, here's another one!" Ginny called, flinging a shirt over the door and Draco grabbed it from her.

"How many shirts have you tried on now? This has got to be the tenth one and you only liked one of them so far," he said, hanging the shirt up on the rack behind him.

"Oh my god, Draco, you of all people shouldn't even be talking," Ginny called out to him.

"Ginny, wasn't that the same shirt as the other one you tried on just in a different color?" Harry asked from another nearby chair.

"Exactly, it was a different color, it might've looked different, Harry," she said sounding annoyed.

"Harry, leave her be, it takes time to pick out the right clothes," Luna said, trying on a bright orange sweater with a huge flower sewed on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Luna," Ginny called out to her.

"How is everything going over here?" The shopkeeper came over and said.

"Everything's fine, here put these away," Draco said, handing her a pile of clothes.

"Excuse me, sir? Do I look like a maid?" the woman asked in a shocked tone.

"Uh, you work here, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"You folks must not be from around here," she stated.

"What does that mean, lady?" Draco sneered at her.

"Well, just the way you're acting tells a lot about the kind of person you are," the lady said smugly.

"Why don't you do something useful and fuck off," Draco said through clenched teeth.

"HERMIONE, PLEASE!" Ginny called out pleadingly.

"I'M ON IT!" she called back and got up from the couch and walked over to Draco and the woman.

"Please forgive his rudeness, he's not used to being around people," she smiled at the woman and Draco gave Hermione an angry look.

The rest of them laughed.

"Yeah, we usually keep him caged," Ron added.

"I WANT YOU LOT OUT OF MY SHOP... NOW!" the woman yelled angrily.

"DRACO!" Ginny called, walking out of the fitting room dressed in her normal clothes. "Can I not leave you on your own for more than five minutes?" She looked at him angrily.

"I didn't do anything, this woman is lazy and doesn't know how to do her job," he said taking the last shirt Ginny had tried on in her hand and throwing it at the lady.

"OK, TIME TO GO!" Hermione said, pushing Draco towards the door.

"Sorry about that," Ginny whispered to the woman as they made their way out of the store.

Once they got out onto the street Ginny went up to Draco. "REALLY? I COULDN'T EVEN BUY MY SHIRT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE A DICK!" she yelled at him.

The rest of them were laughing and Ginny glared at them all. "DON'T YOU CONDONE HIS BEHAVIOR!"

Draco smirked at her and then pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Come on, Ginny, you can just transfigure a pair of Ron's panties into a nice blouse," he teased, giving her a hard squeeze.

They all laughed and Ginny just rolled her eyes and then gave a small laugh also.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They met up with the others at the front gate to the carnival. Night time came and the weather was chilly, but still felt nice. It was a lot warmer in the area they were staying in now than at the Burrow. There hadn't been any snow since the first day they had arrived. Ginny's eyes went wide with awe at the scene before her. All the lights from the rides were lit up and seemed to have filled the night sky with such color; it was something quite amazing to Ginny. She had never seen anything like it before; she felt a wave of excitement erupt inside her like a giddy child. Draco watched the look on her face as she took in the crowd of people making their way past the ticket booth and as she listened to the different chitter chatter of the people around her. Conversation among the Muggles was so different compared to the serious ones she had become used to lately. Everyone was so carefree it seemed; not even aware of the threats that lurked outside of their small town.

"Here you go, dear," said the woman in the ticket booth, putting a paper bracelet around her wrist and then on Draco's.

They all made their way into the carnival and took in each ride. The Ferris wheel was the first thing that caught Ginny's eyes and then the screams of the people on other rides caught everyone's attention.

"People pay to be scared out of their minds and flipped about?" Draco asked, taking in the scene.

"Oh wow, look at that one." Ginny pointed to a giant boat that was swinging back and forth until it was completely upside down.

"Uh, being that it's your first time at a carnival, maybe we should start small, like that Tilt-A-Whirl ride over there." Hermione pointed across the way.

They got in line and soon piled into the ride. Draco, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were only able to fit in one together and the rest of them split up onto the others. McGonagall, Molly, Arthur, and Narcissa just watched from the side. The ride started off and it was nothing spectacular really. Draco then felt the ride give a quick, sharp turn causing him to grab the railing tighter. The ride soon picked up and every time it spun, he felt Ginny's hair hitting his face as it flew about. He looked at her and she had this giant smile on her face and he felt so peaceful at this moment just watching her. He was so lucky to be here with her, every time he thought there was no way he could love her any more than he already did, he soon found out he was wrong. The ride slowly stopped and then they all got out.

"That was... interesting... was hoping for more of a rush," Ron said.

"Ok, let's go, Ron, over to that one." Ginny pointed to the boat ride called Pharaoh's Fury.

"Uh," he stuttered.

"Come on," Ginny said, dragging him, followed by the rest of them.

They soon boarded the huge boat and sat all together. Draco didn't think he would feel nervous but when they put the bars over their shoulders, he'd be lying if he said some nerves didn't kick in. Ron was just about freaking out and the ride hadn't even started yet.

"Calm down, mate, you look like you're about to cry," Harry laughed.

They laughed at him and Ginny reached over and grabbed Draco's hand. "Nervous, Malfoy?" she teased.

"You wish, Weasley," he smirked at her.

The ride slowly started swinging back and forth; each time going a bit higher.

"I don't think they know what they all got themselves into." Arthur laughed watching the ride making its way higher and higher. Molly, McGonagall, and Narcissa shared a laugh along with him as the boat neared the top.

"HOLY SHIT!" Ron yelled as he was almost upside down.

"STOP BEING A BABY, RON!" Ginny called from the row behind him.

The ride went completely upside down now and then stopped like that for a few seconds.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Draco mumbled out, causing Ginny to giggle at him.

The ride finally went back around and over again and then finally came to a standstill. Ron practically ran off the ride as if it might start up again before he could get out of his seat.

"Gosh, Ronald, I think your mouth is the only one I heard from down here," Mrs. Weasley said hugging her son.

"That was pretty cool... after it was over that is," Draco laughed.

"Then you should go on that one," Ginny said, pointing to a ride called The Zipper. "Unless you're too scared?" she provoked him.

"Why did you have to say that, you know now I'm going to go on it because you said that," he said with a nervous look on his face.

"I know," she laughed.

"Then you're going on it with me."

"I wish, but I'm not afraid to admit I'm a chicken. Besides my stomach is not agreeing with me right now, I'm trying not to hurl," she said rubbing her stomach.

"Alright, well who's going on with me?"

"We will," Luna said with Harry next to her.

"Well, we need one more it's only two to a seat," Draco said pointing to the ride.

Ron threw his hands up to indicate he was definitely not going on. Draco then had a huge smirk glide across his face and he walked over to Narcissa.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Draco?" she looked at him curiously.

"Let's break the tension here and how about you come on that ride with me?" he smirked at her.

"You want me to go on that thing?" she pointed to the ride in front of them with a surprised look.

"Come on, I mean I think you owe it to me," he said sarcastically.

She felt Molly push her forward to go ahead. Narcissa looked at her son and everyone watching her to see her reaction. She soon let a grin form on her lips and she held out her hand for Draco to escort her to the ride. They climbed into the cage and buckled up and then a man came over to make sure their cage was properly closed.

"Scared, Mother?" he teased her.

"Just a tad... Son." she said sarcastically.

Draco laughed at how tense she was.

"I guarantee you scream before I do," she said to him in a confident tone.

"We'll see," he laughed.

The ride started and the caged seat they sat in seemed to be the one that rocked the most as it flipped over and over and soon they were being thrown around so much they couldn't even make out what was top and what was bottom. Neither of them screamed, but a few curse words from Draco and few light squeals from Narcissa was enough for them to call a tie at the end of the ride. They both got out of the ride and everyone laughed at Draco and Narcissa's hair. Her perfect braided hair was falling out and hanging all over the place as Draco's was sticking up in all different directions.

They rode a few more rides and tried a few weird foods they never had before and then played a few games. Draco tried winning Ginny a big bear, but in the end, it was she who won it for him. George won about five goldfish that Mrs. Weasley yelled at him for when he didn't stop at just winning one. They all headed to the last ride of the night, which is what Ginny was looking forward to the most... the Ferris wheel.

"Finally, I just couldn't ride those other rides, not after how my stomach turned after the boat one." Ginny smiled, taking Draco's hand as he helped her into the seat of the ride.

They sat and were being lifted higher and higher as they loaded more people onto the ride. Soon they were all the way at the top overlooking the whole town.

"I can't believe your mum went on that ride with you," Ginny laughed suddenly.

"Ha, I know, surprised me that she agreed," he said with a smile.

"I hope she's coming around," she said, taking Draco's hand in hers.

He looked down at their hands entwined. God, how did he get so lucky, he thought. "Me too," he smiled at her.

"This day has been... amazing," she said with a huge smile looking at Draco.

"Yeah, it definitely has been," he said, smiling back at her. He went to lean over to kiss her and quickly grabbed the railing as the seat they were sitting in started to swing a bit. "Whoa."

They both laughed and then she met him the rest of the way and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her so gently but each one was filled with such passion and love. He stared into her bright honey eyes that held so much fire in them.

"I love you, Ginny," he whispered against her lips.

She kissed him again before she whispered back, "I love you too, Draco."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

By the time they all got home that night, it was a little after nine and they all fought over the bathrooms to shower first, even though there were three of them. Luna knocked on the bathroom door and was greeted with the sounds of Ginny throwing up.

"Ginny, you alright?" she called through the door.

After a few moments, Ginny opened the door. "Oh, hey, Luna, sorry, remind me never to eat carnival food again," she said, squeezing some toothpaste on her toothbrush and brushing her teeth.

Luna giggled. "Maybe you have food poisoning."

"Gosh, I hope not," Ginny said, spitting out a glob of toothpaste.

"Or maybe you're pregnant," Luna joked before she walked away.

"Ha, very funny." Ginny laughed rinsing her mouth out. Her smile started to fade and Luna's words ran through her head again. She saw the color drain out of her face and she quickly shook her head. "No, definitely not, there's no way," she mumbled to herself; wiping her mouth off on a towel and left the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning Ginny woke up with little to no rest. Her mind was on one thing and one thing only at this point and she couldn't possibly talk to Draco about it. She didn't even go to his bedroom last night like she normally did. They were supposed to be practicing again this morning, but she planned on playing sick to try and get out of it until she had some answers. She started counting on her fingers to think back to her last period, but she couldn't remember with everything going on. She let out a frustrated groan and then made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was surprised to find everyone up already.

"Morning, Ginny, why aren't you dressed yet, you have practice in a few," Mrs. Weasley said, putting a plate of sausage and eggs down in front of her.

"Uh, I don't think I'm up to practice today... I'm just not feeling well," she said, pushing the food around on her plate with her fork.

Mrs. Weasley immediately walked over to her and felt her head and cheeks.

"Mum, please, I'm just not up to it today," she said, pushing her mum's hands away and getting up from the table. "I'm going to lay back down," she said, quickly making her way upstairs.

It wasn't long before she heard Draco running up behind her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I told you, I'm not feeling good," she said, making her way into her room and sitting on the bed.

"Yeah, but I know you, Ginny Weasley, you wouldn't let that stop you from practice. You have been wanting to-"

"I SAID I DON'T FEEL UP TO IT!" she yelled.

He frowned at her sudden outburst and then walked up to her and knelt down in front of her. "Ginny, what's wrong?" he looked at her with worry in his eyes.

She was so confused right now, she wasn't going to bring something up if it didn't need to be. She let out a sigh and looked at him. "Nothing is wrong... honestly, I just didn't sleep well last night and I'm not feeling well."

He nodded, although, Ginny could tell he knew she was lying. He seemed a bit hurt by her behavior towards him and that she wouldn't confide in him. He quickly got up and left the room. As soon as he was out of the bedroom, she threw herself back onto her pillow and let out a frustrated growl.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny spent the whole first half of the day in her room and couldn't stand looking at the ceiling any longer. She threw on some clothes and made her way downstairs. She walked out to the dock where she saw Draco sitting and she took a seat beside him. He didn't say anything to her, he just glanced at her and she gave him a small smile.

"Are you mad?" she asked suddenly.

"No... I mean, I guess not, I thought... I don't know; that you could share things with me," he said sounding frustrated.

"Why don't you believe me? Is it that hard to believe I'm not feeling well?" she asked defensively.

He turned to her with a stern look. "No, it's not, Ginny, but you're a fighter, you know how important it is to practice and understand these powers. You wouldn't have sat out this practice because you're feeling under the weather," he said the last part in a mocking tone. "What's wrong?"

She quickly got up and started walking away.

"Ginny, wait," he said, getting up and grabbing her arm.

"No, come on, let's practice then," she said angrily.

"That's not what I meant, I... I... uh..." He closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself.

Ginny watched him struggling for words.

"I just meant-" he grabbed his head and fell to his knees suddenly.

"DRACO?" Ginny yelled to him. She saw his eyes turn over to that icy look; she had never seen his mind turn over so quickly and panic and fear started setting in. "I'LL BE RIGHT BACK, LET ME GET SOME HELP!" she called running to the house.

She screamed for the others to get outside and she stopped running midfield when she started slipping and then fell backward. She turned to see a trail of ice that ran from Draco all the way to her and she quickly scrambled to try and get up. When she got to her feet, she saw a wall of ice circling around her getting ready to trap her inside with him. She ran as fast as she could to the porch before both sides of the wall met. She saw everyone running out of the house towards her.

"GINNY! GET OUT OF THERE!" Her mother screamed in fear.

Ginny used every last breath in her to keep up the speed. She turned to look back as she ran and she saw him making his way to her. She was almost there and just as she was about to make it out, the walls met and she almost ran right into it.

"NO!" she yelled, banging on the wall of ice.

She heard the others throwing spells at the wall to try and get through to her. She turned to see Draco standing before her suddenly. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way out and she went to make a run for it when Draco grabbed her hair. She immediately felt it frosting over and she quickly threw herself backward into him, causing them both to fall to the ground. She rolled off him and tried to make a run for it when he grabbed her foot and she dropped to her hands and knees. As much as she hated to hurt Draco, she brought her foot back and kicked him in the face causing him to release her ankle. She ran for her life towards the wall and suddenly she felt that heat fill her body and before she knew it, she was holding a ball of fire in her hand. She just stared in awe at it; something was different; she was seeing it and feeling it and aware of what was happening, but more than anything... she had control over it. She couldn't help smiling to herself and then quickly threw it at the wall of ice causing a big enough hole in it for her to escape. She ran through and collided with Harry, who quickly pulled her aside to safety.

"SOMEONE NEEDS TO USE THE HAURIENDUM SPELL ON HIM," Hermione yelled out.

"I'LL DO IT!"

They all turned to see Narcissa walking towards them.

"Miss Granger... may I?" she asked, gesturing to Hermione's wand.

They all looked at each other and Hermione nodded and handed her wand to Narcissa. She walked into the circle of ice that Draco's powers had formed and saw him looking at her. His face was covered in blood from the kick Ginny had given him. Her wand hand shook in fear as she approached him, his eyes completely iced over and a look of evil on his face. He threw out a bunch of sharp icicles that Narcissa quickly blocked. She had to get close enough to touch him in order to use the spell. She took her chance and ran up to him and went to grab his arm when he roughly grabbed her by the throat. He was pinning her to the ground and she felt ice forming on her neck. She frantically searched the ground for the wand she dropped and finally felt the very tip of it. She stretched her fingers as much as she could and she started scooting it closer into her grasp. She let out a muffled scream through the ice and then brought the wand up swiftly and yelled the spell out.

"HAURENDIUM!"

Draco quickly scrambled backward off her and everything started spinning around him. He tried to stand, but he fell again. Everything became blurred and he saw through his clouded vision his mother breathing heavily; her eyes tightly shut as the pain of the curse ran through her body. He saw the others running towards them and then everything went black.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey you."

Draco was starting to come around from the attack he had earlier when he heard the soothing voice call out to him. He knew that voice, but it sounded different, there was comfort behind it. He blinked a few times and then realized he was on the couch in the living room. He turned his head to the chair next to him and saw Narcissa sitting in it. He just looked at her and then sat up holding his head.

"How are you feeling?" she gently asked.

"Fine I guess... how long was I out?" he asked, noticing it was still daylight out.

"Only about an hour."

He looked at her again; she was so different from the woman he had known for so long. She gave him a small smile and then got up and sat beside him on the couch.

"I didn't mean to..." Draco started; indicating the bruise that had formed on her neck from where he grabbed her.

"I know," she said softly.

"Uh... thanks for... ya know."

She smiled at him and gave a small nod. He could see she was fighting to keep any emotion from coming out. She lifted her hand to his face and hovered over his cheek for a moment before she hesitantly caressed it. She ran her hand through his hair moving a piece that had fallen in his face and gave him a tearful smile.

"I'm glad you're alright, Draco," she whispered and then quickly got up and left the room.

Draco touched the spot on his face where his mother's hand had been. He couldn't remember the last time his mother showed him any kind of affection. He was just about to get lost in his thoughts when Ginny walked in.

"Oh good, you're up," she said, taking a seat next to him.

"Oh, look who wants to talk now," he teased.

"I'm sorry about earlier ok, although, you did try to kill me earlier so I guess we're even," she smirked.

"Yeah... I guess," he said, looking away from her.

"Hey, I wasn't hurt, and I got a good kick to your face in," she laughed, touching the cut on his head that her mother healed earlier. "So don't beat yourself up over it," she said touching his hand.

He took his hand away from hers and got up from the couch in frustration. "That's not the point, Ginny. Maybe not this time, but what about the next? I don't know how much more I can put up with this."

She didn't say anything; she just looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments. She suddenly got up and grabbed his hand and starting leading him to the backyard. "Come with me... I want to show you something."

He let her lead him to the back porch and she stopped. She went and took a seat on the porch swing and patted the spot next to her for him to join her. He didn't argue but was more intrigued at what it is she wanted to show him.

"Ok, so what is it you want to show me?" he asked looking around.

"This," she simply said.

She lifted her left hand and held out her palm and then she took her other hand and covered it. She left it there for a few moments and then she uncovered her palm to reveal a small ball of fire just gently burning slightly above her palm. Draco quickly got up from the swing and took a few steps back. He looked at Ginny and saw her smiling at the flame she created. He looked at her eyes and they were normal, they were those fiery brown honey ones he loved so much rather than the black orbs that normally came about. When he saw she was fine and smiling and above all, in control, he smiled too and sat back down next to her.

"Ginny... that's amazing," he said, looking at the flames in awe.

"I know, I figured it out earlier during the attack. It just suddenly came about. I was thinking that I needed a way to escape ... to live... and then it was there and now I just think about being in need of it and it seems to be working... well, at least I think that's what has been helping me control it," she explained.

"Can you do anything else?"

"Not yet, this is the only thing I can actually conjure up without exploding into a killing machine," she sighed.

"It's definitely a start though," he said brightly.

"Put it out," she said suddenly moving her hand closer to him.

"What?"

"The flame... put it out," she said, nodding to her palm.

"I... I don't know how."

"Just try," she said, nodding for him to go for it.

He brought his hands up slowly to her palm and he placed both of them on each side of the small ball of fire that burned freely. He stared at the flames and he wasn't feeling anything different. He moved his hands closer to the fire and his hands started to burn. He winced and then quickly took his hands away.

"Why did you stop?" Ginny asked.

"What do you mean, why? Because it fucking burns, that's why," he said in frustration.

"Exactly... put it out, make it stop burning you." She stared into his eyes and he nodded.

Draco brought his hands up again to each side of the flame and he let out a shaky breath. He moved his hands closer and again, he started feeling it scalding his hands. He took his hands away again and then closed his eyes to refocus. He opened them again and in a swift motion, he put his hands close to the flame and then it started to flicker. He closed in more on the flame with his hands and then he saw the bottom of the fire start to turn to ice and he looked at Ginny with a surprised smile on his face. He moved his hands up the rest of the way until the flames were frozen in place. Ginny took her hand away from under the now icy flames and it just hovered there for a moment before it fell to the floor and broke to pieces.

"You did it," she smiled brightly at him.

"I did it... I DID IT!" he shouted, grabbing her into a hug. "Let's do it again," he said with excitement.

Ginny laughed at his eagerness."We have to wait to get the all clear to practice from McGonagall, after the attack earlier; she is hoping no use of magic was picked up at the Ministry," Ginny explained.

"Oh... alright then. Now what?"

"DRACO... GINNY! CAN YOU BOTH COME IN HERE PLEASE?" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen.

"Well, that answers that," Ginny laughed, making her way inside followed by Draco.

They both made their way inside and were surprised to see everyone gathered in the kitchen, but also Kingsley was there as well as Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas.

"Ginny... Draco, you both, of course, know Neville and Dean from school." McGonagall gestured towards the two boys.

"Oh... of course," Ginny said, giving Neville a quick hug.

"It's nice to see you again, Ginny," Dean said, grabbing her into a tight hug.

Draco watched him hug her and how he so freely just put his hand on the small of her back. He wanted nothing more than to punch his face in. Draco took a seat with a sneer on his face and then his attention went to Kingsley when he started to speak.

"As you all know, there is a mission coming up I need some of you for. Dean and Neville here are members of the Order as well and I think they will be valuable to this particular mission. I need everyone this time, but just the men; Molly you and the girls are better off here. I myself won't be going as I have to be at the Ministry and Arthur I'll need you with me this time. Bill and Charlie will also be going and I have Bill as the leader on this project. Any questions so far?"

"What exactly will we be doing, sir?" Harry asked.

"There are a few higher ranked Death Eater camps about. They have what I believe to be valuable information to where Lucius will be. We have been back to Malfoy Manor numerous times and it remains empty. So the mission is to visit these camps, collect each camp leader's memories so I can go through them. I have about three camps so far I'm sure about and after you have infiltrated those camps, you boys can come home. I'm sure there will be others afterward, but its best to start there. Also, Warren has a brother that is one of Lucius' right hand men, his name is Phillip Warren and he is just as dangerous as Lucius. You have been fortunate to not have faced such dark times around these parts yet, but I am positive it will come I'm afraid as the Death Eaters are moving more south it seems," Kingsley finished.

Kingsley noticed Molly getting a bit emotional. "Molly and Arthur... I can only imagine how hard it is to see your family out risking their lives and I am truly sorry that I need to ask for their help," he said grabbing her hand.

She wiped away a tear and patted his arm. "I know Kingsley, we knew what we signed up for and everyone here knows how important the Order is and what it stands for. As hard as it is we know what must be done," she sniffled.

"When are we leaving?" Harry asked.

"A little less than a week from now; that will give you all enough time to prepare and for me to finalize camp locations," Kingsley said.

"Sir?" Ron spoke up. They all turned to him as Ron took Hermione's hand and looked at her. "Hermione and I would like to be married before I leave if that's alright."

A giant smile stretched across his face. "Well, I guess we have a wedding to plan then."

Later that day around dinner time, Bill and Charlie arrived and the house was filled with conversation. The men were talking about the upcoming mission as the women were discussing Hermione and Ron's wedding day. They knew it wouldn't be anything too big with their limited use of magic and with them being in hiding. The weather was chilly, but mostly sunny and they planned to have the ceremony out near the lake. Molly had immediately started fitting Hermione for her dress and transfiguring clothes and yarn to a lace material that would soon make a beautiful wedding gown. After dinner things had settled down and everyone had spread about the house doing their own thing. Dean and Neville were also staying with them until they left for the mission, which was a bit awkward for Ginny since she had dated Dean back in school. She was sitting on the back porch steps just listening to the sounds of the night and thinking about her situation when she heard the screen door open. She heard someone take a seat beside her and she was surprised to hear it was Dean.

"Hey, Ginny, mind if I join you?"

"Oh... uh, sure," she said, looking behind her to see if anyone else was around.

"So how have you been? Kingsley told us a bit about your new found powers... and Malfoy's," he said the last part with a bit of a snarl.

"Oh, yeah... crazy huh?" she said, looking at a loose thread she was playing with on her sweater.

"I think it's crazier that Malfoy is with the Order to be honest, and now Narcissa too... kind of a joke, don't you think?" he said with amusement.

Ginny turned to him with an angry look on her face. "He saved my life and my father's," she snapped.

"Oh... sorry, didn't mean to upset you... it's just weird is all."

"It's fine... I know you're still used to the Draco from school, but things are different now; he's proven himself over and over," Ginny said, thinking of the blond Slytherin and where he was off to right now.

"Draco? So what are you guys friends or something?" he asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

She turned and looked at him. "Excuse me, Dean; I'm not really feeling too good. I'll see you in the morning," she gave him a short smile and then got up and headed inside.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny couldn't sleep that night and it was nearing midnight. She was thinking about how Draco would be leaving her in a few days and the very thought just made her want to break down in tears. She got out of bed and walked over to his room and gently opened the door. He was sound asleep and she decided she didn't want to wake him so she turned and left. She went to go make her way downstairs when she saw a dim light coming from McGonagall's room across the way. Ginny let out a long breath and made her way over to her door and gently knocked.

"Come in," McGonagall called softly.

Ginny walked in and saw her sitting in an armchair reading a book beside a fire. McGonagall lowered her book and took off her glasses, she looked surprised to see Ginny standing there.

"Miss Weasley? How can I help you at this hour?"

"Evening, Professor... uh... sorry for disturbing you. I was just wondering... do you know when we might be heading into town again?" she asked, hoping to be able to grab a Muggle pregnancy test.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the question. "I'm not sure, Miss Weasley, after Mr. Malfoy's attack earlier and the release of magic, I don't think it's wise to be outside the wards just yet. Can I ask why this question couldn't wait until the morning?" she asked curiously.

"Oh... I guess I... just had such a great time yesterday that I couldn't wait to know when we could go back." she lied.

"I see," McGonagall answered not believing her for a second.

"Uh, Professor? Exactly what types of spells are ok to use inside the wards?" Ginny asked, playing with her hands and looking at the floor.

"Miss Weasley, I thought we had been over this already. Basic magic is ok to use within the wards without it showing up at the Ministry."

"And what about like... personal spells... you know for like personal use?" she asked feeling her nerves starting to kick in.

"Well, that depends, personal can mean many different things. So, Miss Weasley, I have to ask what sort of personal magic are you hoping to use?" McGonagall asked firmly, watching Ginny fidget with her fingers and the hem of her top.

"Like a... pregnancy test spell?" Ginny asked not looking at her.

"Oh... um... I see," McGonagall was caught off guard by what Ginny just told her.

"Professor, please don't say anything to anyone yet... I just need to find out if I am or not and then I'll tell my parents if it's positive," Ginny pleaded with her.

McGonagall just stared at her for a moment. "I... I..." she stuttered for words.

"Please? Is it safe to use it?" Ginny asked.

McGonagall looked at her again and then nodded.

Ginny let out a shaky breath. "Ok."

"Is that why you sat out on practice?" McGonagall asked suddenly.

Ginny nodded and then so did McGonagall to show she understood why.

"I will keep quiet, Miss Weasley, for now... but you need to let me know the outcome and if it is so... then you must tell your parents or I will," she said sternly.

Ginny just nodded and then felt her eyes fill with tears.

McGonagall got up and walked over to her and put her hands on her shoulders. "Ginny... have you talked to Draco about this yet?"

Ginny quickly shook her head. "No way, there's no way I would even bring it up to him if I wasn't positive," she said wiping away her tears.

McGonagall nodded and then gave Ginny a gentle hug.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco ripped the blankets off from over his head and angrily jumped out of bed. Again came the insistent knocking on the door that he so desperately tried to ignore. He even yelled for them to go away, but yet the knocking continued. He ripped open the door to find Neville standing there with that goofy smile on his face.

"Morning, Draco."

"Longbottom... did you not hear me?"

"Oh no, sorry."

"Of course not, not over all that oaf like knocking," he drawled, walking back over to his bed and throwing himself back down on it. "What do you want?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"McGonagall wanted me to tell you that practice was canceled today."

"What? Again? Why?" he asked angrily.

"I don't know, you're gonna have to take it up with her," he said walking away.

Draco got up, showered and dressed, then made his way downstairs. He saw McGonagall standing in the kitchen talking with Charlie when he approached her.

"Professor, may I have a word please?" he asked with annoyance.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy."

"Why are we canceling practice again? It's bad enough yesterday we didn't practice and now today again? I thought it was crucial to try and understand this?"

"You're absolutely right, Mr. Malfoy, but I think Ginny and you could practice some minor things for now like you did yesterday and we will do something more in depth tomorrow." She quickly dismissed him and went back to her conversation with Charlie.

Draco was beyond frustrated at this point and went off in search of Ginny.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I can't believe you're getting married," Ginny said, playing around with Hermione's hair to find a good hairstyle for the wedding.

"Gosh, I know... it seems so surreal," Hermione said with a small smile.

"Are you ok?" Ginny asked, watching Hermione's facial expression turn to one that was deep in thought.

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror and saw Ginny looking back at her through it. She gave another smile and then it faded again.

"Do you want to get married?" Ginny asked her suddenly.

"Oh yes, of course I do, it's not that at all. It's just that... I would have liked to wait a little longer... you know because we are still young and now... I don't know... I think I'm just over thinking it." She gave a nervous smile.

"Then why don't you wait?" Ginny asked in a soft voice.

Hermione looked at her again. "Because Ron is leaving and if something happens to him... well, I don't want to regret anything. I know why Ron asked me so soon and I want this. I think I'm more stuck on the idea of what the world nowadays forces us to do and how it influences the decisions we make." She had tears in her eyes and then a smile stretched across her face. "I love Ron and I want to be his wife and if he dies out there... well then I'm glad we were able to at least do this. I have no doubt in my mind that this is what I want, but I haven't even said "I do" yet and I'm thinking that I could end up being a widow." She cried wiping her tears away.

Ginny wrapped her friend into a hug and then sat down beside her.

"The world is so dark these days... I don't want to give up on having a life because of it though. If we do that then... what's the point in even living?" Hermione said looking at Ginny.

Ginny looked at her with a sad expression and then took in her words. She thought about how she could potentially be pregnant with Draco's child and the thought of it scared her to death. They were both so young and to have a baby in the middle of all of this madness was even scarier. She didn't even want to think about how Draco would even handle the news of something like this or her parents. She felt herself becoming upset and quickly got up.

"Uh, I'll be back in a bit," she said, leaving the room quickly as Hermione nodded.

She walked from the room and headed towards the bathroom. She had to perform the spell to find out; she couldn't keep putting it off. She was so scared of the outcome that she found herself in tears every time she went to perform the spell and then backed out of it. How could she be so stupid? What did she think would happen? Was she even thinking at all at the time? She hated herself for being so irresponsible; for going against everything she was ever brought up to believe in and do to avoid situations like this and yet here she was. She was about to make her way into the bathroom when she heard Dean call out to her. She closed her eyes in frustration and then turned around to look at him.

"Hey, Dean, what's up?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

She let out a slight sigh. "Sure."

"Well, I know things with you and Harry kind of... fell through and I was wondering if maybe you were interested in... I don't know... giving it another go with us.?"

Ginny's eyes went wide, was he really asking her this? She saw Draco walking up the stairs and coming towards them.

"Uh, you know what, can we talk about this later?" she quickly said with a small smile.

"What's wrong, it's not like you're seeing anyone right now so why not? Maybe have a little fun before I leave?" he said playfully with a smirk stepping closer to her.

She quickly brought her hands up and put distance between them and gave him another smile. "You know Dean, I really can't talk right now. I'll catch you later, ok," she said, walking away towards Draco before he could catch wind of their conversation.

"Hey, I need to talk to you," Draco said, watching Ginny walk up to him. He saw she had just come from a conversation with Dean. "What was that about?"

"It's nothing. What did you need to talk about?"

"McGonagall canceled practice again, did you know about this?" he said sounding aggravated.

"Oh... uh no, I didn't know, that sucks." Ginny lied; she knew McGonagall canceled practice for her until she performed the spell.

She wasn't sure if it was safe to produce her powers at such a high level if she was indeed pregnant, but McGonagall assured her that it would be safe to practice minor things as they had on the porch yesterday.

"Yeah, it does, so maybe we should work on something small for now," he said looking at her. She didn't say anything but rather looked as if she was staring off into space. "Ginny?" he called to her.

"Oh, yeah, that sounds good. I'll meet you downstairs on the porch in a few."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just, uh... I just have a lot on my mind is all." She gave him a small smile and then walked away into the bathroom.

Ginny went into the bathroom and locked the door. She pulled out her wand and got ready to perform the spell when someone knocked on the door.

"Are you serious?" she mumbled to herself. "WHO IS IT?" she shouted.

"It's Hermione; I was just wondering if you were alright, you left quite abruptly before."

"I'm fine," she answered.

She heard Ron walk up to Hermione outside the door. "Is Ginny in there?" he asked, knocking on the door. "GINNY?"

"YES I'M IN HERE, WHAT IS IT?!" she yelled angrily.

"Mum wants you."

Ginny let out a frustrated growl and put her wand away, there was no way she could do this right now with everyone up and about. She would just wait until tonight when everyone was asleep and then perform the spell. She ripped the door open and shook her head before stomping her way downstairs. She ignored the fact that her mum wanted her and met Draco out on the back porch, plopping into the swinging seat where he waited for her. She put her face in her hands and ran her fingers through her hair.

He looked at her. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah... I just can't seem to use the bathroom without a damn audience waiting outside of it."

He gave a small laugh. "So, since we can only practice something minor what do you suggest we do?"

"Let's head down to the lake," she said, getting up and leading the way.

He followed her and they both took a seat at the edge of the grass where the entrance to the lake was. He was surprised when Ginny moved her hand in one swift motion and conjured a bright flame in her hand. He smirked at her and then she was even more surprised when she saw him lift a finger up to the flames and instantly turn it to ice. She smiled as she held the frozen flames in her hand. She then stared at it for a few moments and it suddenly melted and spilled through her hand onto the grass.

"Let's see how good you really are," he said and then stood up.

He held out his hand and pulled her to her feet, then he walked a bit away from her. She raised an eyebrow at him to see where he was going with this. She then watched as he conjured up a ball of ice.

"I see you've been practicing without me?" Ginny teased.

He smirked at her and then he threw the ball of ice to her. She quickly melted it before it could hit her.

"Nice," Draco said, sounding impressed.

"THINK FAST!" Ginny yelled suddenly and threw a ball of fire at him.

He swiftly brought his hands up and put it out as if he was blowing out the flame of a candle.

"You're lucky that didn't hit me. Some warning would have been nice," he stated, sounding surprised by her sudden action.

She laughed at him. "Well, you put it out, didn't you?"

"Not the point," he mumbled.

They both looked at each other for a moment and then a smirk came to his face and Ginny had one to match. As if they were reading each other's minds, they both started throwing their powers at each other. Draco threw out icicles and balls of ice at Ginny that she swiftly moved her arms about to melt down. After everyone she melted, she threw out flames that Draco also put out with ease. They both moved so fast and just kept throwing blow after blow. They did this for about a good ten minutes and soon they were both breathing heavily. Draco was just about to throw another ball of ice her way when he heard her voice ring out.

"DO YOU SEE A FUTURE WITH ME?" she suddenly shouted to him.

He looked at her with confusion on his face and then lowered his hands.

"What?" he asked; gaining control of his breathing again and then walking closer to her.

Ginny wasn't sure why she just asked him that, but she couldn't keep pretending that everything was perfect between them, especially in the situation she was in right now.

"I asked... if you see a future with me?" she said sounding regretful that she brought it up.

"What... Why are you asking me that and now of all times?" He sounded a bit annoyed but also confused.

"I'm sorry, I just... I need some answers."

He just stared at her. "Alright, fine like what?" he snapped.

"I don't know... I mean, I love you and you love me, but do you love me enough to see some kind of future together?" she asked nervously.

"I honestly haven't thought about stuff like that. I know I love you, but it's kind of hard to think about things down the road when I know death is waiting for me out there."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Ginny shouted to him with anger in her voice.

"What do you want me to say, Ginny?"

"Why are you being like this?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know... so negative and cold towards me?" she said with a hurt expression on her face.

"I'm not... I'm being realistic and you should be also."

Ginny was livid at this point by the way Draco was acting and she turned on her heel and started walking away. After a few steps, she turned back around and looked at him. "Are you doing this because you're leaving in a few days?" He didn't say anything. "You are, aren't you?"

He just continued to stare at her and then he looked away with a guilty expression. She closed the distance between them and gave him a hard shove, which made him stumble backward a few steps.

"IT'S NOT FAIR WHAT YOU DO TO ME!" she yelled with anger in her voice. "EVERY TIME THINGS GET COMPLICATED YOU PUSH ME AWAY AND I'M SICK OF IT. YOU LOVE ME BUT WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE EVERYDAY IN FEAR THAT YOU WON'T SEE TOMORROW? THERE'S NOT EVEN A POINT IN LIVING THEN. AM I JUST SUPPOSED TO KEEP PLAYING THIS ON AND OFF GAME WITH YOU? I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I'M IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH YOUR FEELINGS!" she screamed at him; her fiery eyes burning into his.

"It's not like that, Ginny... I don't know what you want me to say. I love you though, I know I do," he said in a defeated tone.

"I'm sorry Draco, but... that's just not enough anymore. You can't just say I love you and only want to play the boyfriend part when it's convenient. I want to be with you no matter what we're facing. I want to do it together, but you... you do the opposite... you totally close off and I get this cold side of you and it hurts. You think you're doing me a favor by shutting me out, but you're not; if anything it makes it worse. I thought we were past all this uncertainty when it came to our feelings, but I guess not," she said sadly and then turned to leave.

"Ginny... I-"

"Just... don't," she cut him off and made her way back up to the house.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was after dinner that night and Ginny was just finishing helping her mother with the dishes when she saw Dean walking up to them. Her mother gave a bright smile to Dean and then looked at Ginny, who had an annoyed look on her face. She wanted to tell Dean she was with Draco, but she knew Draco didn't want it out there for everyone to know. Especially after their argument earlier, she wasn't even sure where they stood. She also didn't want to hurt Dean's feelings because he was a really good guy but she had no interest in him romantically anymore.

"Hey, Ginny... Mrs. Weasley. Uh, Ginny, can we talk for a minute?"

"Uh, actually, I was just about to head upstairs to shower so..."

"Ok, I'll walk with you upstairs," he said with a charming smile.

"Great," she mumbled and rolled her eyes so just her mum could see which caused Mrs. Weasley to give a small snicker.

They started making their way upstairs and they stopped when they got to the top landing.

"So I was wondering if you gave any more thought to my offer earlier?" he looked at her with a playful but seductive look.

She gave a small laugh and then shook her head. "Um... listen Dean, as... flattering... um, as that sounds...I don't think I'm looking for anything like that right now," she said, feeling completely awkward that Dean was suggesting they snog or shag for fun.

She felt a lump form in her throat when she saw Draco walking out of his room and was heading downstairs. He stopped before he descended the steps and looked at Dean with that Malfoy sneer.

"Oh, hey... Malfoy," Dean said with hate in his voice.

"Thomas," Draco drawled and then his eyes fell on Ginny and she gave him a pleading look to help her out of this awkward situation.

She felt her heart sink when he kept walking downstairs. She suddenly felt Dean reach up and brush a piece of her hair behind her ear and her whole body tensed up.

"Come on, remember how much fun we use to have," he said with a handsome smile.

Draco came to a stop on the stairs at the comment he overheard and looked back over his shoulder to see Dean trying to take Ginny's hand and touch her hair. His blood was boiling at this point and he turned around and marched back upstairs.

"Really, Dean, thanks for the offer, but I'm-"

She suddenly saw Draco grab Dean by the back of his shirt and drag him away from her throwing him to the floor.

"FUCK OFF, THOMAS!" he said with anger in his voice.

"DRACO!" Ginny yelled at him.

Dean quickly got to his feet and gave Draco a hard shove."WHAT THE HELL MATE? WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?" he yelled, his fists balled and ready to fly.

The yelling caused everyone to open their bedroom doors and watch the scene before them.

"YOU KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF OF HER!" Draco bellowed at him.

"WHAT BUSINESS IS IT TO YOU?" he yelled back.

Draco grabbed him by the shirt and viciously slammed him into the wall and brought his fist up to punch him when he felt Bill and Charlie grab him off and tried to hold him back. Ginny put her hand over her mouth at how Draco just flipped out on Dean and Harry and Ron walked over to her to make sure she was alright.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY'S PROBLEM? I KNEW HE WAS NO GOOD... A JOKE IS WHAT YOU ARE!" Dean yelled with malice at him.

Draco swiftly ripped his arm from Bill's grip and swung his fist out at Dean's face, making him drop to the floor holding his jaw that was now bleeding.

"DRACO, NO! STOP!" Bill yelled out to him, grabbing his arm again and holding him back.

Arthur jumped in front of Draco and put his hand on Draco's shoulder.

"That's enough, Draco," he said softly, looking into the young blond's eyes.

Draco was breathing heavy with rage and then he ripped his limbs free of Bill and Charlie's hold and stormed off downstairs.

Ginny quickly ran after him as Arthur and Bill helped Dean up from the floor. Draco stormed out of the house and made his way down to the dock where he usually went to collect his thoughts. He was so angry at just watching someone else's hands touching Ginny; he didn't care how nice of a guy Dean was.

"DRACO! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO DEAN?" she yelled, running up behind him.

"A THANK YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE!" he hissed at her.

"A THANK YOU? FOR WHAT? FOR PUNCHING MY FRIEND IN THE FACE?" she screamed in rage.

"TO STOP HIM FROM PUTTING HIS HANDS ALL OVER YOU!" He screamed back at her.

"HE DOESN'T EVEN THINK I'M WITH ANYONE! AND HE WAS JUST PLAYING AROUND. HE WOULD NEVER INTENTIONALLY HURT ME IN THAT WAY!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL HIM YOU WERE IN A RELATIONSHIP?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE CLEARER ON WHAT IT IS YOU WANT. WHY DON'T YOU JUST MAKE A FUCKIN SCHEDULE OF THE DAYS YOU FEEL LIKE BEING A MAN AND THE DAYS YOU FEEL LIKE BEING A COWARD?"

His expression turned from anger to hurt and Ginny immediately regretted the words. He started walking away from her and she quickly walked up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Draco, wait, I'm sorry I-"

"DON'T!" he yelled at her, ripping his arm away. Her eyes fell on his dangerous ones as he glared at her with what seemed like hatred.

"Draco..." she looked at him with tearful eyes knowing how much those words must have hurt him.

He just lightly shook his head and then turned and walked away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like an hour just lost in his thoughts. Luna knocked on his door to see if he wanted dessert but he refused. He was about to turn his lamp off and turn in for the night when there was a knock at the door. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Who is it?"

"Mr. Malfoy may I have a word with you?" came McGonagall's voice.

He quickly got off the bed and opened the door for the Headmistress.

"Professor... uh... come in," he said with some surprise in his voice.

She gave him a small smile and entered the room.

"Listen, I know what you're going to say and yeah, maybe I did overreact a bit and I know we are going to have to learn to work together during the mission, but I didn't like the way he was talking or touching Ginny and I thought I should step in," he said quickly to spare himself a lecture.

"Ok, Mr. Malfoy, I understand," she simply said.

He just looked at her. "Wait.. that's it? You understand? What about the whole speech I should get?"

"As noble as it is for you to admit that you indeed overreacted to the situation, that is not the reason I am here."

"Oh... then why?" he looked confused.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm here because I think you could use some advice," she looked at him sternly.

He knew she was talking about him and Ginny, how she knew he didn't even try to figure out.

He sat on the bed and let out a defeated sigh. "Yeah, well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some."

She gave him a tight smile and then took a seat beside him. "Think about where you were just a few short months ago."

"I'd rather not," he said sarcastically.

"Well, I want you to. Now you think about how you wished so often for death to take you. Then think of how you went back and forth between wanting to live and wanting to die. If you had the opportunity to decide whether to continue living or die right here, right now, without any pain... which would you choose?" she said studying his expression.

"Ok... I'm going to be honest, Professor... this is a bit weird," he said, feeling uncomfortable at how much of a sensitive subject she was touching on.

"Just answer it," she said firmly.

"I would want to live of course," he said quickly.

"Exactly, Mr. Malfoy, but if I asked you this same question before you stepped on that train a few months ago, would you have given me the same answer?"

Draco stared at the floor and he thought about. How he endured such pain from his father and thought so little of himself. He thought about how much he wanted death to take him, but he was too much of a coward to take his own life and put an end to his suffering.

He turned his gaze back to McGonagall. "I would've picked death," he whispered, sounding surprised by the drastic difference in answers.

"Exactly my point, Mr. Malfoy, now why don't I leave you here to think about what could have possibly changed your mind? When you do finally figure it out, if you haven't already, I would hope that you would think it wise to never forget that reasoning." She gave him a friendly smile and then gently patted his hand and left the room.

He knew she was talking about Ginny and he knew she was right. If he had never had detention that night or followed her afterward to make sure she was alright or even shared that awkward train ride to Hogwarts with the redhead, he would never have fallen in love with her. He knew Ginny saved him in more ways than one and why he was still so unsure to jump in with both feet was a mystery to him. He constantly felt like he was in this wonderful dream that he would one day be woken from and she would be gone. When he looked into her eyes, he saw a future, he saw love, and he saw hope, but why couldn't he believe what he was seeing and experiencing. He thought about where he would be right now if he hadn't pursued things with Ginny as far as he had. He knew he would either be dead or sitting in his bathroom with a razor to his wrist.

He didn't even think he would make it this far with Ginny and it made him think about how much further they could get. Ever since he was welcomed into the Weasley's home and by the trio, his life had finally made some sense and he would actually have moments of feeling happy. His mind went to the day on the Ferris wheel with Ginny and how much love he had for her at that moment and how much he still does now. The thoughts were beginning to overwhelm him and he turned the light off and lay back in his bed hoping that tomorrow things would be clearer to him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny quietly made her way into the bathroom that night after everyone seemed to be in bed. She was so nervous about performing the spell that she was literally shaking. She was overwhelmed with nausea and she was as pale as ever. She looked at herself in the mirror and let out a shaky breath and then took out her wand. She pointed it to her stomach and muttered the spell and then had to endure the most nerve-wracking five minutes of her life. She was hoping to not see a golden glow around her stomach, which would indicate a positive, whereas no change in appearance would be a negative. She kept her eyes closed the entire time as tears freely spilled down her face. She just kept thinking how perfect everything had been that day at the fair and how now everything was falling apart. She thought about the awful argument she and Draco had earlier and couldn't even imagine telling him if she was pregnant.

She peeked her eyes open at about two minutes after and saw no change and a spark of hope erupted in her stomach and she closed her eyes again to wait the rest of the time out.

"Come on, come on, only three minutes left," she mumbled to herself.

She started thinking about how Draco would be leaving in just a couple of days and how she would handle it. She knew she wanted to make up with him before he left; she could never live with herself knowing something happened to him and they had parted on bad terms. She then thought about how much she missed her lips on his. She'd last kissed him up on the Ferris wheel where he told her he loved her and she held on to that moment and she smiled to herself.

She then realized it had been another three minutes and she slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her stomach. She covered her mouth with her hand as a shocked gasp escaped her and her legs buckled, making her drop to her knees. She looked down again at the golden light that radiated from her stomach and she completely lost it. She broke down into a hysterical mess and was soon hunched over her knees with her forehead against the cold tile floor.

"No, no, no, no, no... this can't be happening," she whispered through her sobs.

She hugged her hands around her stomach and another wave of tears just kept spilling from her eyes. She made her way over to the toilet and threw up from how upset she was getting. She managed to pull herself up into a standing position and just stared at herself in the mirror. She looked almost as white as a ghost with wet streaks all down her cheeks and her hair was stuck to her clammy skin. She turned the water on and rinsed out her mouth and then splashed a few handfuls on her face then dabbed it dry with a towel. She soon realized it didn't matter how many times she washed her face off, the tears weren't going to stop anytime soon.

She waited for the golden glow around her stomach to fade then walked out of the bathroom and made her way to her bedroom as she tried to stifle her sobs. She stopped in front of Draco's bedroom and for whatever reason that made her do it, she opened his door and slipped inside closing the door as quietly as possible behind her. She saw him stir in his sleep and soon she knew he was aware of her presence.

She walked over to his bed, and as if nothing had happened earlier and like there was never an argument, she took his outstretched hand as he helped her climb over him into the bed and slipped under the covers. She just buried her face in his chest and sobbed uncontrollably as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and just held her. She felt him kiss her forehead and her body shook with emotion. She was so scared about what was to come and she had so many concerns about bringing a baby into a world like the one they lived in now and not to mention the fact of how young she was. As much as she was scared and worried, being in Draco's arms made her feel safe and that everything was going to be ok. She held onto this feeling as she cried herself to sleep.

Ginny woke up the next morning to the sound of Draco's breathing in her ear; she kept her eyes closed and just enjoyed hearing him sleep next to her. She felt him starting to wake up and gave a small smile when she felt him grab her closer to him. She loved waking up in his arms, not that she had many opportunities to do so, but when she did, she always found herself never wanting to leave them. She soon felt his lips on hers and her smile grew wider against his kisses.

"I guess that really is the only way to wake you up... well with a smile at least." he laughed.

She finally opened her eyes to see his face over hers. He smiled upon seeing her eyes flutter open and meet his and he took in how beautiful she looked right now. Her long fiery hair was spread all across her pillow and over her shoulders. He leaned down and gave her a long passionate kiss before he got out of the bed.

"You should get up to, we really should practice more today... I'd like to do something more intense this time and really see what we could do." He said throwing a shirt on.

Ginny suddenly shot up at this comment and she remembered the events of last night. She had hoped it was a dream, but she knew it wasn't and she quickly jumped out his bed. She felt her emotions getting ready to overflow and she started walking towards the door. She felt Draco gently grab her arm and turn her to him.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he said, studying her face.

She looked into his mercury eyes, the ones that she so often got lost in; but this time as she stared into them she could only think about the child she now carried and she just needed to get away from him right now. She knew she had to tell Draco, but she hadn't even come to terms with the results yet and she knew Draco would completely freak out over it. She made to turn and walk away when he turned her back to him again.

"Ginny? I asked what was wrong?" he looked at her, this time with worry in his eyes.

She mentally cursed at herself when she felt tears swell up in her eyes and she knew Draco would definitely know something was up. She desperately searched her mind for an excuse for her sudden emotions.

"I'm sorry... it's just that... today is Fred's birthday," she said with a tear escaping her eye and she felt him ease his grip on her arm and she took that chance to quickly leave the room.

She knew Draco had no clue what was wrong, even last night when she came to him crying she knew he thought it was because of the fight they had. She had to tell him and soon, she just needed to get her mind straight before she did.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Draco got dressed, he started making his was way down to the kitchen and saw George sitting in the living room working on some new prank it seemed. He walked over to him and watched him for a moment.

"Hey George, Happy Birthday mate," he said happily.

George just looked at him and gave a small laugh. "Ha, what are you up to Draco?" he said, continuing to work on some mechanical device that Draco knew would soon cause mayhem to one of them in the house.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked sounding confused.

George looked at him again. "Well, for one, it's not my birthday."

"What? But Ginny said it was Fred and your birthday today," he said, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Oh, wonder why she told you that... unless she's back to her pranking days and she has something up her sleeve. Maybe she planned on having you wish me a happy birthday when it really isn't to throw me off or maybe....."George went on and on as Draco tried to understand why Ginny would tell him it was their birthday when it really wasn't.

He ignored George's ongoing possibilities of what Ginny could be up to and went to go look for her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Come in."

Ginny opened the door to McGonagall's room and sheepishly stepped inside.

"Morning, Miss Weasley, I was just on my way down. What can I do for you?" she said without looking at her as she bustled about the room.

"Um... I performed the spell," she said quietly.

McGonagall stopped in her tracks and turned her attention to the youngest Weasley. Her face became a mixture of seriousness and nervousness. "Oh... and?" she asked in a soft voice.

Ginny looked down at the floor, she felt ashamed that she let this happen. She then gave a small nod.

McGonagall let out a long sigh and then walked over to Ginny and embraced her into a gentle hug. She placed her hands on her shoulders and looked into the young girl's eyes where saw fear and uncertainty.

"It's going to be ok Ginny, but you need to tell Draco and before you tell Draco you need to tell your parents," she said gently.

"Draco is going to hate me, he can't even call me his girlfriend yet and now I'm having his baby," Ginny said more to herself than anything.

"I think we can both agree that Mr. Malfoy's reaction will be... priceless," she smirked causing Ginny to give a small smile.

"He's waiting for me to practice and he wants to do more. What should I do?"

"Well, I think I can get Mr. Malfoy's mind off of practice for a bit. Kingsley gave the all clear for us to go into town again to get some things for the wedding tomorrow." McGonagall said.

Ginny let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks."

"But Miss Weasley... when we get back... you need to talk to your parents or I will. Understand?"

Ginny nodded.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They soon arrived at the small familiar town and Mrs. Weasley took Hermione and Luna off to some Accessories and more store and Mr. Weasley and the guys went to a local pub to grab lunch. Ginny was walking with Draco through the little town just window shopping and enjoying the beautiful day.

"Why did you lie to me?" Draco asked suddenly.

Ginny froze, she wasn't sure what he meant, was he referring to her being pregnant? She decided to play dumb. "Lie about what?"

"That it was Fred's birthday? I wished George a happy birthday and he looked at me like I had three heads. Not to mention now he thinks we are planning some kind of prank."

Ginny let out a relieved breath. "Oh, sorry, I think I'm just emotional that you're going to be leaving."

"Then why didn't you just say that this morning?"

"I don't know, because we had a huge argument yesterday and I didn't want to start up anything I guess." she lied and he just gave a slight nod. She watched his face become a bit more serious. "You know... you don't have to go," she said softly.

He stopped walking and looked at her in surprise. "What? Of course I do, you know I have to. There's no way I would back out of this, the more we find out about where my father is the sooner we could work towards a plan to take him down and end this."

She nodded. "What if I asked you to stay?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her with a bit of confusion. "Ginny, what's going on? As much as I would love to stay you know I can't. We both know how important this is."

"I know, I'm just... scared that I'll never see you again."

He gently took her hand and rubbed his thumb over it. "Don't worry about me... I'll be fine." he gave her a soft smile.

She just smiled back and started walking again. Ginny had noticed a small shop filled with baby stuff across the street that had cute little outfits in the window with stuffed animals displayed all around. She smiled to herself at how cute the tiny clothes were and absent-mindedly placed a hand on her stomach. She quickly moved it away and then thought about how she was going to break the news to Draco. It took everything in her to not completely break down and cry, her emotions were all over the place to begin with and now being pregnant wasn't helping. McGonagall was right... she needed to tell her parents, she had to tell someone, but she knew she wasn't ready to tell Draco yet. Her facial expression must have turned to one of sadness because Draco stopped walking again and looked at her.

"Are you ok?"

"Uh, I think I want to head home actually. I'm just an emotional mess today I guess... you know with everything going on," she said not looking at him.

"Ok," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders, then they made their way to meet up with the others.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that afternoon after they arrived back from town, Ginny found herself pacing back and forth in her bedroom. She was becoming flustered at the thought of telling her parents and she thought that if she felt like this with just trying to tell her parents then how would she feel when it came time to tell Draco. She sat on her bed for a moment and ran her fingers through her hair. "Mum... Dad... I'm pregnant. Hey Mum... Dad, I have some news. Mum... Dad, you guys are going to be grandparents." she rehearsed possible ways to tell them and then threw herself back on her bed in frustration as her mind went to Draco again. Dean and Draco had avoided each other since the fight they had and she thought about how the whole thing could've been avoided if she could just tell Dean she was with Draco. It frustrated her beyond anything that Draco couldn't be open about his relationship with her. She rubbed her eyes and then stood up and headed to her parents' room.

She saw their bedroom door opened and she watched her mum putting clothes away and her Dad was talking to her about work. Ginny just stood in the doorway watching them for a few moments and soon felt those damn emotions getting the best of her again. She let out a long sigh and then knocked on the open door.

"Oh hey, Gin-bug come in," Arthur said turning to her.

That was it, at hearing her father call her by one of her nicknames made her that much more emotional. She felt so guilty and ashamed that she would be burdening everyone because of her own poor choices. She closed the door behind her and she started crying which made Arthur and Molly stop what they were doing and turn their attention to their daughter.

"Ginny dear, what's the matter, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley said leading Ginny over to sit on the bed.

"I... n-need... to tell y-you guys'.... s-something." she sobbed.

They looked at each other. "What is it, Ginny? Are you hurt?" Mrs. Weasley asked with more worry in her voice.

Ginny jumped up from the bed and frantically started pacing their bedroom; shaking her hands violently to stop her nerves from making her tremble so much. "You guys are going to hate me and be so disappointed but I need to tell someone because I don't know how to act or what to think. I'm scared and I don't know what to do; I feel my mind is just going to explode and -"

"Ginny, calm down," Arthur said, grabbing her shoulders gently to calm her.

She looked into her father's eyes and tears spilled down her face. She buried her face into her father's chest and started sobbing and Molly came running over.

"Ginny what's wrong your scaring us?" she said, looking as if she might cry herself with how distraught her daughter was.

Ginny suddenly muffled out the words. "I'm pregnant."

"WHAT!" they both yelled together.

Arthur pulled Ginny away from his chest to look at her face. He stared at her and she couldn't meet his gaze.

"Please tell me your joking Ginny and that this is some kind of obscene prank." Molly pleaded with her.

Ginny slowly shook her head no.

"Ginny... are you sure you're pregnant?" Her father asked.

She nodded as more tears streamed down her face."I know you guys hate me for being so stupid and I'm so sorry. I don't know how I could've been so irresponsible and-"

"Ginny, look at me," her father said firmly.

She slowly brought her tear-filled eyes up to his.

"Your mother and I could never hate you. Yes, we are shocked and disappointed at this sudden news, but we love you very much and that will never change... ok?"

She nodded through her tears and then threw her arms around her father and cried. She felt her mother's hand on her back and she turned to look at her. Molly's expression was a mixture of shock, anger, and comfort.

"How long have you known Ginny?" she asked her daughter.

"Just since last night, but I have been suspicious since the night of the fair."

"Who knows?" Her mum asked.

"Just McGonagall, she didn't tell you's because she wanted to give me the chance to."

"Draco doesn't know yet?" Arthur asked a bit surprised.

Ginny shook her head. "I'm terrified of telling him... what's going to happen to us now? To me? To my life? Have I ruined everything?" she asked them.

"Ginny everything will work itself out, you need to believe that. Your mother and I will talk to McGonagall about sending over a MediWizard to examine you and we can make sure you and... the baby are ok." Arthur said the last part looking at his young daughter and had just seemed to take in the news that she was having a baby.

Ginny nodded.

"You need to talk to Draco dear." her mother said in a soft voice.

They all just suddenly found themselves standing there. Ginny knew that they were unsure of how to react and she understood why, but she was more grateful that they didn't completely blow up at her. Her parents gave her another hug and she left the room and when she was out of sight Molly broke down into tears in her husband's arms.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that evening the house was filled with talk about the wedding tomorrow and Mrs. Weasley was finishing some final touches on Hermione's dress. Ginny had spent a good part of the early evening finally helping Hermione decide on a hairstyle. Ginny felt a lot better after talking with her parents and she knew they wanted to talk to her more about it, but it was hard when nobody else knew of her pregnancy. She had planned on telling Draco tonight after dinner and as dinner neared and they all sat down to eat, she felt her nerves starting to kick in. Kingsley had made a surprise visit right after they had sat down for dinner, saying he had some news to share with them.

"Sorry to intrude Molly and Arthur but there have been some developments that I need to address," he said taking a seat at the table.

"Nonsense Kingsley you're always welcome," Molly said with a bright smile.

"Well, I'm going to come right out with it then... we think there might be a Death Eater camp set up right outside of town here. Now I was hoping to bring a few volunteers with me tonight to take it down before they have a chance to scout the area or cause any harm to the Muggle people," he said looking around the table. "I was hoping we could do this as soon as possible, I don't think it's any of the higher ranking Death Eaters so it should be a breeze I'm hoping."

Ginny's heart sank, she knew Draco would offer to go and help. The thought of him going out there and risking his life without him knowing she was pregnant was eating away at her and she suddenly felt panicked. She couldn't keep putting it off and she just had to tell him already.

"So Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Harry and Draco, you guys good to go on this?" Kingsley asked standing up.

"Yeah of course," Harry said also getting up.

"Ok, I'll meet you all outside in five minutes," Kingsley said.

"NO!" Ginny shouted suddenly standing up. She turned to Draco and looked at him. "I need to talk to you."

Molly and Arthur exchanged a look and McGonagall looked over to them.

Draco looked at her like she was crazy. "Ok, we can talk when I get back... calm down," he smirked at her making his way over to Kingsley.

Ginny felt her heart racing and she wasn't sure why, but she felt she needed to tell him before he left. She was surprised by her own actions when she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"No, please I need to talk to you now." she pleaded with him.

He looked taken aback by how she was acting. "Ginny it needs to wait this is more important right now," he said, pulling his arm from her grip and continued walking.

"Miss Weasley, if everything goes well we shouldn't be gone too long," Kingsley said reassuringly.

She turned her gaze to her parents and Molly gave her a small smile. She looked over to McGonagall, who had a sad look on her face and then she looked at Draco. She watched as they all gathered to get ready to head out and her heart was pounding and her emotions began to surface. She felt herself turning hot and she knew her powers were starting to take over. The chitter chatter around her made her head feel like it would explode at any moment and before Draco could reach the door to leave she released the words that she had been dreading to tell him.

"DRACO, I'M PREGNANT!" she yelled out to him.

Silence filled the room and everyone's eyes were on her and then on Draco. There were a few gasps and looks of shock on everyone's face. Mrs. Weasley had her hand up over her mouth in worry of how Draco would respond. Draco turned around to face her and noticed by the tears running down her face that she wasn't kidding.

"What?" he whispered, walking closer to her.

She was trembling from head to toe as he looked down into her eyes. She could see the instant fear and emotion on his face. "I... I'm pregnant."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times to try and speak and then quickly exited the room. As he walked away, Ginny let out a huge breath she had been holding in and fell into a fit of sobs. She felt her mother put her arms around her and then she saw the mixture of emotions on all of her brother's faces. She felt nausea hitting her and she quickly ran to the bathroom; Mrs. Weasley followed her to make sure she was alright. The room remained quiet and then McGonagall stood up and spoke.

"Mr. Thomas, I would like you to please take Mr. Malfoy's place and accompany Kingsley tonight."

Dean nodded and then got up and joined the group by the door. Kingsley nodded and then led the group outside. McGonagall couldn't help the smirk that came to her face as Harry, Bill and Charlie left the house with their mouths still opened in shock. McGonagall turned her gaze to Narcissa, who was also wearing a shocked expression on her face.

"Looks like you're going to be a grandma."

Narcissa looked at her suddenly with a tearful smile and then turned to look out the window where she saw Draco sitting down by the lake. "Looks like it," she whispered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco threw himself to the ground near the lake and ran his hand through his hair. He was breathing heavy and his heart was racing as he took in the news Ginny shared with him. A baby? He thought to himself. He was not father material... there's just no way... he wasn't ready for this. He wasn't sure how to react or what to do now. He was so scared about losing Ginny this entire time and still was so uncertain about their relationship and now he was going to be a father. He desperately pushed back the tears that stung his eyes. He got up and walked over to the nearby dock and looked at the moon laying on the still water. He grabbed the railing of the dock tightly in frustration.

"Draco?"

He turned to see his mother standing there; she had her own tears that threatened to fall. She walked over to him and stopped until she was only about a foot from him. He looked at her and his jaw trembled from the overwhelming emotion that filled him and then he felt the hot tears spill over and down his face. He couldn't look at her like this; he must look like a fool he thought.

"What do I do mother?" he sobbed.

She reached out and grabbed him into a tight hug; resting his head on her chest. "It's ok Draco, everything is going to be ok," she whispered to him through her own tears as she stroked his hair.

"I messed up so much already.... and now... this... I'm a failure in every way... how can I even hope to be a good father." he cried in his mother's arms.

Narcissa turned his face to hers. "You're not a failure Draco... you never were... you were just... lost. You are exactly where you need to be right now... here with Ginny and the Order... and you will be fine. I know you will because you love her and you would do anything to protect her." she said softly wiping his tears away. "I'm sorry Draco... I'm sorry that I was never there for you... I love you... my son," she said pulling him tighter into another hug.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Ginny broke the news to everyone downstairs, she stayed up in her room for the rest of the evening. She wasn't sure of how everyone's reactions would be and she didn't feel like facing them all tonight. She wanted to see how the mission went tonight to make sure everyone was safe, so she had just sat at the top of the steps and listened. Kingsley and the others had made it back safely and took care of the small group of Death Eaters outside of town. Kingsley said they shouldn't be worried about future camps anytime soon nearby and that it was just a passing group rather than a permanent setup camp. They were lower-ranking Death Eaters just like Kingsley thought they would be and didn't put up much of a fight.

Ginny changed into her pajamas and then sat on her bed and started brushing her hair. Draco still hadn't come to talk to her and she wasn't going to approach him yet again about the news. She knew he needed time to process things and that he didn't like showing his emotions so she figured it best to let him deal with the news in his own way. She was relieved that the news was out about her pregnancy and now that it was she was just now realizing that she was going to be a mother. She was anxious about seeing the MediWizard and finding out if everything was ok with her and the baby. She was also waiting to hear back from McGonagall about whether or not using her powers was harmful to the baby. She was snapped from her thoughts when she heard a light knock on the door.

"Come in," she said in a sad tone.

She jumped up out of bed in surprise when she saw it was Draco and that nervous feeling she thought she had finally gotten rid of was back. Her stomach twisted into a knot as she watched him walk into the room and close the door. He didn't say anything, he just had his head down and he looked a wreck. He lifted his eyes to hers and she saw his eyes were red and she knew he must have been crying, which made her want to just grab him and hold him.

She watched as he slowly walked over to her until they were only inches apart; she could feel his breath gently hit her face and she was sure he could hear how fast and loud her heart was beating. She felt immobilized by her nerves and her entire body tensed up when he cupped her face. Before she knew it, he had his lips against hers and her body melted in his arms it seemed. She grabbed his face and kissed him back and it felt so nice to feel his touch right now and have his lips on hers.

Draco dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his forehead on her stomach and hugged her to him. She felt his body start to shake with emotion and she knew he was soon in tears again. She slid down onto her knees to meet his face and grabbed him to her.

"Ginny... I'm scared... I'm really fuckin scared... I don't know what to do or how to be what you're expecting." he cried not looking at her.

She lifted his face to look at hers. "Draco I'm scared too... but what scares me even more... is having to do this without you. I don't know what I'm doing either, but I need you more than ever right now. Please don't fall apart of me." she was crying too at this point.

"I don't think I can be a good father," he said shaking his head.

Ginny brushed his hair back out of his face. "You can and you will be Draco... I know it and as far as what I'm expecting from you... I'm only expecting you to give me a hundred percent of you. I need all of you right now and we have to work as a team; no more back and forth and pushing me away... please?"

He nodded and then she kissed him again and they held each other for a while, letting the rest of their emotions out. Ginny could only think about how right it felt to be in Draco's arms right now and to have his support. She knew it was going to be a rough road ahead and that Draco would still question how to act. Despite that though, she knew he would be there when she needed him because he was always right there whenever she was in any kind of trouble.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning Mrs. Weasley woke them all up bright and early because there was much to do today. She had gone to wake Ginny up when she saw Draco and her asleep together in bed. She smiled to herself when she saw them cuddled so closely together fast asleep. She cleared her throat to try and wake them and they didn't move. She walked over to the side of the bed and put a simple spell on the alarm clock which made it ring out. Both of their eyes snapped open and they sat up seeing Mrs. Weasley with an amused smirk on her face. Draco tried to turn off the alarm, but it wouldn't stop ringing and Ginny let out a frustrated growl and covered her head with a pillow.

"UGH, SHUT THAT THING OFF!"

"I'm trying" Draco mumbled and Molly was standing in the doorway laughing at them.

Draco finally grabbed the alarm clock and threw it against the wall, making it break into a bunch of pieces.

"Hey... my clock" Ginny said, popping her head up from under the pillow.

"Well, you wanted me to shut it off," Draco said, falling back onto his pillow.

"You two need to get up," Molly said suddenly.

"Really Mum? It's so early and I barely got any sleep." Ginny groaned.

"Yes, really... and you both better get used to it now since you'll be doing it in nine months anyway... and go make sure Ron and Hermione are up also," she said walking away from the room.

"MORE OF A REASON FOR US TO GET AS MUCH REST AS WE CAN NOW!" Ginny shouted after her.

Draco turned to look at her and he gave her a small smile. He wasn't sure why, but he felt somewhat at peace at this moment... he felt different. The love he had for the woman beside him and the child she carried seemed to have grown even more. He was still so scared about being completely responsible for someone else's life... but somehow every time he looked at Ginny it gave him hope that everything would be ok. She smiled back at him and then hopped out of the bed.

"I guess I'll go wake the bride to be... why don't you go wake your new best buds up." she teased him walking out of the bedroom.

Ginny made her way to Hermione's room where Luna was also staying and quietly walked inside. She saw her form lying under the covers fast asleep and she did a light running jump onto the bed and began to shake her awake.

"TIME TO GET UP HERMIONE, IT'S SOMEONE'S WEDDING DAY!" she shouted and then gave a small laugh.

"Are pregnant women suppose to be jumping on beds like that." came a muffled voice from under the blankets that Ginny knew didn't belong to Hermione.

She pulled the blankets back and looked surprised when she saw Harry's head pop out.

"Harry? What are you doing in Hermione's bed?" Ginny asked and then her eyes grew wide when she realized somebody else was lying next to him in the bed. "Oh my god Harry, please tell me that's not Hermione under there," Ginny said with shock in her voice.

"WHAT? NO!" he said, turning the blankets down to show Luna's face.

"Hey Ginny," she said with a giggle.

Ginny let out a relieved sigh and then looked at both of them. "Where's Hermione?"

"Well, if I'm in here then......" Harry said letting Ginny figure the rest out.

A giant smirk spread across her face suddenly and she started to laugh.

"What?" Harry asked, smiling also.

"I just sent Draco to go wake you and Ron up." she laughed followed by Harry and Luna. "Well Mum wants you both up and please wait for me to leave as I'm sure you're both naked under these blankets." she teased and then quickly left the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Weasley... Potter... you guys need to get up." Draco said opening the bedroom door after nobody responded to his knocking.

They still didn't answer and he walked over to the bed and kicked it lightly. "HEY, WAKE UP!" he said a bit louder this time.

Ron popped his head up from under the blankets and looked at Draco. "What the hell do you want?"

"Your mother wants you-" He stopped mid-sentence when he realized the other bed was empty and there was clearly another person lying next to Ron under the covers. "Ok, please tell me Potter isn't under those covers with you?"

"SCREW YOU MALFOY!" Ron said, throwing a pillow at him.

He heard Hermione's laugh under the blankets at the thought of Harry and Ron in bed together.

"Oh... so Granger is under there?" he teased, and then dramatically breathed out a sigh of relief.

"SOD OFF MALFOY!" Ron yelled, throwing another pillow at him.

Hermione giggled again and then popped her head out from under the covers when Ginny appeared in the doorway. She was laughing when she saw Draco's discovery and told them how she thought Harry and Hermione were in bed together. They laughed at the thought but laughed even harder when Draco told them how he thought Harry and Ron were getting it on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rest of the day seemed to have gone by in a blur with how much there was to do before the ceremony started. Hagrid, Fleur, Seamus Finnigan, Kingsley and a few other people Ginny didn't really know that well were coming to the wedding. The house was filled with everyone running around doing last minute things. Nobody spoke about Ginny's pregnancy the whole day, mostly because there was just so much going on that there was no time to stop and talk. Every time Mrs. Weasley found someone taking a break she would lecture them about the many things left to be done and then point them to where they were needed next.

The weather turned out to be beautiful and was probably one of the warmest days they have had all winter. The setup of the ceremony turned out to look a lot better than any of them thought it would. There were chairs lined up on both sides of the aisle and a large tent with a few tables set up inside. It reminded Ginny a lot of Bill and Fleur's wedding just not as big and minus a lot of the bells and whistles.

It was only a few minutes before the ceremony would begin and Draco was making his way to Hermione's room to let her know. He softly knocked and heard a faint "Come in" from her.

"Hey, Mrs. Weasley said ten minutes before-" he stopped and saw her looking at herself in the mirror. "Wow," he said, taking in her dress and how different she looked.

"That bad, huh?" she gave a sad smile.

"You look... beautiful Hermione," he said walking over to her.

"Thanks," she blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself," she said, gesturing to his suit Ginny helped him transfigure out of a bathrobe and some sheets.

"Ha, I always look good in any suit... .ask Ginny, she'll tell you," he smirked, thinking back to his and Ginny's visit to the suit shop not too long ago.

Hermione gave a small laugh and a defeated nod to show she agreed and then she looked down and her smile faded.

"Draco?" she said, fighting back tears.

"Yeah," he said, noticing the change of tone in her voice.

She looked up at him. "Promise you'll bring him back to me." she cried out, letting the tears slide down her face.

Draco smiled at her and then he grabbed a tissue off of her dresser and gently wiped her face of the tears. "I promise," he said softly.

Hermione gave him a small smile and then took the tissue from Draco and quickly patted her face dry and made sure she didn't make any of her makeup run. Draco grabbed her bouquet off of the chair in her room and handed it to her.

"Ready?" he said, holding out his arm for her.

She let out a nervous breath and nodded, then took his arm.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Draco was just staring at her and watched as her flaming hair gently blew every so often as a gentle breeze came through. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant loose bun that made a bunch of strands fall all around her face. Ginny was standing beside Hermione, holding her bouquet as she and Ron said their "I do's". Everyone cheered for the now married couple and there were plenty of tears all around, Draco even noticed his mother get a bit teary-eyed and she slapped him on the arm when he teased her.

After the ceremony, the sun began to set and the after party was in full swing and it wasn't long before the Firewhisky was consumed and started claiming its victims. It seemed the only sober ones left were, of course, Ginny, then McGonagall, Narcissa, and Molly. It was well into the night and the party was still going strong, even though almost all of the guests had left. McGonagall and Mr. Weasley were able to get some Muggle music to play and Ginny watched her brother dance with his new wife. She was so happy for the both of them but her heart was filled with sadness at the thought of Ron having to leave her in just another day and soon she thought about how Draco would be leaving her too. She decided to push all thoughts of that aside for the rest of the night and just have a good time.

"Hey, come dance with me," she said, getting up and grabbing Draco's hand.

"Me?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, you," she laughed.

"Eh, I don't know."

"Come on... please?" she begged, batting her eyelashes at him.

He smirked and then reached over to his glass of Firewhisky. "I'm gonna need this then," he said, throwing the drink back.

Ginny pulled his arm again and led him to the dance floor where she found Luna pulling Harry in every direction.

"Alright, here we are let's see what you got." Ginny laughed at him.

Draco swayed for a moment and then laughed at her and he grabbed her hand and started spinning her. After about the fourth spin, she stopped him. "Are you just going to spin me the whole time?" she giggled.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Draco!" she whined.

"Ok, ok, observe." he slurred his words a bit and then wiggled his body from left to right and then soon bopped his head from side to side which didn't go along with the beat of the song at all in any way.

Ginny burst out laughing and so did Molly and Narcissa and soon Draco started cracking up also. Dean came staggering over and threw his arm over Draco's shoulders and gave Ginny this huge smile.

"Hey Draco come on we're gonna go swimming," he said dragging him along.

"Oh sweet," he said abandoning Ginny and following them all down to the lake.

"NO YOUR NOT BOYS! THAT WATER IS ICE COLD! YOU'LL GET HYPOTHERMIA!" Mrs. Weasley yelled after them.

"I say let them learn the hard way," Narcissa smirked.

Molly looked at her. "The hell with it, they want to drink and act stupid then let them go crazy," she said, sitting back in her chair and watching them all line up at the edge of the lake.

Ginny shook her head and watched as Draco pushed Dean in and he screamed like a girl. She was laughing hysterically at this and then after Ron and Harry also attempted to go in, they all soon backed out.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE LETS TAKE THIS PARTY INSIDE ITS FREEZING AND ITS GETTING LATE!" Molly yelled at them. They all raced each other to the back porch to see who could make it back inside first. "Fricken kids, it's literally like running after a flock of children... grown adults they are and yet..." Molly trailed off, walking after them into the house.

"I think they'll be paying for it in the morning," McGonagall smirked.

They all laughed.

After another hour or so of Hermione racing everyone up and down the stairs, of Luna playing a fake piano in mid-air and of George and Bill trying to look for George's missing ear, Molly had sent them all to their rooms saying that enough was enough. Ginny had helped Draco to his room and she had to practically throw him onto his bed with how much dead weight he was leaning on her. She tried to help him change, but he kept thinking she was initiating a shag session.

"You are totally wasted." she laughed at him.

"Shush Gincy" he slurred and tapped her nose with his pointer finger.

"And for the millionth time it's Ginny, not Gincy." she giggled.

She suddenly felt his lips on hers and she kissed him back and then pulled away. "You reek of alcohol," she said, trying to push him back.

"NO! You do... you and that stuff... the thing you do... you know the rock outside..." he trailed off and started laughing.

Ginny was dying from laughter. "Oh really, is that so?"

She sat on the bed next to him and then before she knew it, he was on top of her and kissing her all over. Ginny thought about pushing him off again, but she figured if she couldn't join in on the drinking tonight she might as well get something out of it. Soon they were both naked and tangled together; Draco's intense kisses were driving Ginny insane, making her want him more and more every time his lips met her bare skin. He suddenly lost his balance and fell off of her and onto the hard floor and once again, Ginny found herself laughing so hard that she was almost in tears.

Ginny woke up the next morning with a giant smile on her face as she thought about last night's events and laughed to herself. She looked over and saw Draco wasn't in bed and then looked over onto the floor to see if he had fallen off the bed again. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw he wasn't there either and then got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. The sound of someone throwing up rang out from the bathroom across the way and she walked over to the door and gave a knock.

"Draco?"

"DOWNSTAIRS!" Ron yelled out before another round of vomit spilled into the toilet.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh at her poor brother's condition and then made her way downstairs. She looked around for Draco and didn't see him, but instead heard another round of hurling coming from the downstairs bathroom. She knocked on the door. "Draco?"

"Come in," he gasped out.

She opened the door and found him slumped over the toilet bowl spitting the rest of the remnants of bile from his mouth.

"I have to say... its rather nice waking up to someone else vomiting for a change." she smirked at him.

"Yeah, I bet... and you're enjoying every minute of this aren't you?" he said as another round of vomit came up.

She laughed at him, "I'll leave you to it then." she teased and closed the door.

She made her way to the kitchen to find her mother making breakfast and she had a frustrated look on her face. Mrs. Weasley was slamming things and mumbling things under her breath as she bustled about the kitchen.

Ginny leaned over to McGonagall, who was sitting across from her and whispered. "What's wrong with Mum?"

McGonagall tried to hide the smile that came to her face and shook her head to show that she wasn't about to bring the subject up right now.

"Oh... that bad, huh?" Ginny smirked. "Hey Mum, what's wrong?" she said, ignoring the protesting looks her Professor was giving her.

"WHAT'S WRONG? I'LL TELL YOU!" she yelled suddenly, making Ginny wish she had listened to the Headmistress and kept quiet. "I WOKE UP TO A COMPLETE AND UTTER PUKE FEST THIS MORNING AND NOT TO MENTION I CAME DOWN TO THE KITCHEN TORN APART. APPARENTLY THERE WAS A SECOND PARTY AFTER I WENT TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT!" she screamed the last part up towards the ceiling which Ginny knew it was towards the group of people that were all passed out upstairs and who were barfing their brains out.

"I FOUND NEVILLE ASLEEP ON THE TABLE THIS MORNING AND BILL AT THE TOP LANDING OF THE STAIRS. I WENT TO USE THE BATHROOM AND HERMIONE WAS FOR SOME REASON OR ANOTHER IN THE DAMN BATHTUB ASLEEP AND FULLY DRESSED, AND AS FOR LUNA AND HARRY... I CAN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT THE SCENE I WALKED IN ON." she continued to go off on a rant and soon she went back to mumbling to herself and her occasional slamming of things.

Ginny turned back to McGonagall and snickered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ginny made her way out to the back porch later that afternoon and saw Draco asleep in the chair swing that they so often sat on together. She giggled at the horrible sunglasses he must have tried to transfigure out of a comb and some other material Ginny couldn't make out.

"Stop laughing so loudly" he groaned, lifting his head to look at her.

"Why are you wearing those, the sun isn't even on your face?"

"No... but looking out at it is making me want to hurl." he said, laying his head back again onto the chair.

"Here, let me fix them to actually look somewhat like sunglasses." she laughed, taking them off of his face and performing a simple charm to make them take the shape of sunglasses. She handed them back to him.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Well, guess what?" she said happily.

"No, just tell me." he groaned again.

"McGonagall said I could practice my powers and do a lot more. She said it's not going to harm the baby because, well... they are a part of me, I guess you could say a natural ability or some stuff like that. She said I could release as much as I want and both me and the baby will be fine so... we should practice before you have to leave in the morning." she said happily.

He lifted his head to look at her and she smiled at him when she saw how funny the sunglasses looked on him. He laid his head back again and he sighed.

"You don't want to practice do you?" she asked with a smirk.

"Please remind me to never drink again." he let out another groan of discomfort.

"Well, at least you're a happy drunk, by the way, where is that rock you were talking about?" she teased him pretending to look around for it.

"Rock? What rock?" he asked, confused.

"Never mind," she giggled.

She continued to laugh at him and then McGonagall came walking out and went over to the middle of the field. She took out her wand and preformed the same ward like dome that Draco and Ginny had practiced in the first time.

"Mr. Malfoy you need to pull yourself together... it's time for practice. You're going to be leaving on a long mission in the morning and it would be nice if you were a little more prepared. That goes for all of you lot too." She indicated to the rest of them piling out of the house that she forced to come watch.

Draco sighed and then pulled himself up off the swinging chair, he was so sluggish and just a complete mess. Everyone else was feeling the same way as they all took a seat on the steps or in some chairs scattered about rather than standing. Draco pulled off the glasses his mind had thanked him for wearing and threw them aside, instantly regretting the removal of them. He gave a long yawn and slowly made his way to the middle of the dome that McGonagall created and pulled out his wand. McGonagall just shook her head at all of them and then joined the rest of them near the porch.

"Mr. Malfoy... Miss Weasley, I trust I don't have to mention the fact that you both can't be as... physically intense as some of your past practices since circumstances are much different now." She said meaning Ginny's pregnancy.

Ginny nodded and Draco gave another yawn and lazily nodded as well. McGonagall looked at Draco for a moment and was a bit annoyed at how he wasn't taking practice more seriously and then she pulled out her wand. "Mr. Malfoy one of the things I think you both will notice is how your powers seem to surface when you feel a sense to protect the other, which I find quite interesting. Don't you think?"

"Yep." he said, swaying back and forth, as if he was bored.

"AFFLIGO!" McGonagall yelled out sending a blasting spell right at Ginny.

The spell didn't even make it to Ginny as it was frozen in mid air and it hovered in front of her for a moment before it fell to the ground. Her eyes went wide and she looked first at Draco, who had stopped it and then at McGonagall in surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT PROFESSOR?" Draco yelled, sounding furious.

Everyone on the porch seemed to forget about their throbbing headaches and nausea at the sudden gesture McGonagall had just done.

"That, Mr. Malfoy, is exactly my point. Now that I have all of your attention, let's begin." she said ignoring Draco's glaring. "You see, your powers work on instinct, especially when it comes to protecting the other BUT what we need to work on is control. You're both able to conjure your powers up it seems but you need to learn to build off of it. The tricky part about that... is trying to keep your mind in the here and now. The first sign that you're about to lose control is the change in the appearance of your eyes... if they turn over... well, let's just say it can and more often than not, will turn deadly. This is what you both need to avoid and that is why we need to practice... understand?" She said with such a serious tone that all eyes were glued to her.

"WHAT IF THAT SPELL HIT HER?" Draco yelled.

"It wouldn't have... Miss Weasley would've stopped it." She said, nodding towards Ginny, who was holding a ball of fire in her hand.

She didn't even realize she had conjured up her powers in defense of the spell. She was taking in McGonagall's words and was finally making sense of the point she was trying to make. She quickly distinguished the flame by closing her hand and then looked at McGonagall again.

"Professor how do we use our powers without harming our friends and family? I think that's one of the things I'm most scared of." Ginny asked looking at the ground.

"Well, Miss Weasley that's why we are going to work on control. My biggest worry is if and when your mind turns to that destructive mode... how to bring you back. It just so happened to be that you both tend to bring the other back to reality, but if you're not around... then what? So we have a lot to work on, so let's start."

Ginny nodded and Draco looked at her, he studied her for a moment to make sure she was alright and then nodded also.

"Great... Mr. Thomas... please join Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy inside the ward." she said not looking away from Draco and Ginny the whole time.

"What? Are you sure?" he asked, sounding nervous.

She finally turned to look at him. "Mr. Thomas, did I stutter?" she said firmly.

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat and then gave Ron a punch in the arm from the snickers he and Harry were giving him. He reluctantly entered the ward and took out his wand.

"A bit tense Thomas?" Draco smirked.

"I'm not going to even say anything insulting in fear of my life." he said with a nervous laugh.

Everyone on the porch was desperately trying to hold in their laughter at the look on Dean's face.

"Minerva, are you using that poor boy as bait?" Molly called, walking out of the house with Arthur and Narcissa to watch them practice.

"BAIT!" Dean yelled, making a run to leave the dome and then collided into the tingling wall of it. "HEY!"

"Oh, I forgot to mention Mr. Thomas... once you enter this type of ward you can't get out until I take it down." McGonagall said with a bit of amusement.

Laughter erupted all around at the facial expression that stretched across his face.

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY! WHAT IF THEY KILL ME?"

"Calm down Mr. Thomas, I just want you to demonstrate a few examples. And they won't kill you... I hope." she mumbled the last part then took a few steps back.

"WAIT WHAT WAS THAT? PROFESSOR COME BACK!" he yelled, banging on the ward wall.

"Mr. Thomas stop panicking, nothing has even happened yet; get a grip." McGonagall stated.

Dean let out a nervous sigh and then turned around and faced Draco and Ginny. "Fine, but I won't hesitate to defend myself." he said pulling out his wand.

"Not much of a defense." Ron mumbled to Harry and they both laughed.

Draco and Ginny were just staring at Dean with a huge smile on both of their faces.

"Geez Dean, you're making us out to be some kind of monstrous demons." Ginny giggled.

"Oh, Mr. Thomas," McGonagall called to him waving her hand for him to meet her by the wall of the ward.

He approached her and she whispered something to him. He looked at her with uncertainty and nodded, then walked back over to the center.

Draco and Ginny exchanged a curious look and the three of them stood there silently for a few moments. Ginny was just about to speak when Dean yelled a quick spell at Draco. The spell seemed to have completely melted before it could reach him as Ginny instinctively sent out a clear wall of heat in front of Draco to protect him.

Dean couldn't help the smirk that came to his face at the use of magic before his eyes. McGonagall looked pleased at how the two were so protective over the other and thought it was time to get a bit more intense.

"Mr. Thomas... don't hold back this time... go a bit harder... they can handle it."

"Yeah, it's how they handle it that's concerning." he mumbled under his breath.

He lifted his wand again and threw out two quick curses at the blond, which Draco quickly froze and made them explode into tiny bits of ice.

"Ok, let's step things up a bit here." McGonagall said, gesturing for Harry, Ron, Charlie and Bill to enter the ward.

They all entered it and then McGonagall gave a look to Narcissa and then nodded to go ahead with something. Narcissa walked over to the edge of the ward and took out her wand, which she had earned back the day she performed the Hauriendum spell on Draco.

"Before today's practice Arthur, Molly, Narcissa and I have discussed a different way to go about things. Harry, Ron, Dean, Bill and Charlie I want you all to try and attack Ginny... at the same time." McGonagall said ignoring the disapproving looks on their faces and then continued. "And Mr. Malfoy as for you." she stopped and then gestured for Narcissa to perform a spell they must have previously discussed. "The force field you find yourself in is going to be... let's just say a bit tough to get out of. You won't be able to use any spells through it. Even with using your powers it will be tough to get out of but I am confident that eventually you will break free of it. Narcissa is performing the spell as she is rather gifted when it comes to these sorts of Charms."

Draco watched as a clear purplish light came from his mother's wand and formed a circle around him. He attempted to touch it, but it burned his hand and he quickly pulled it back.

"How will I be able to get to Ginny then if she needs help?" He asked sounding worried.

"You won't be able to... we need to see how you both can handle yourselves."

"No, let me out of here," he said, sounding annoyed and disapproving of putting Ginny in danger like that.

Ginny had a nervous look on her face and she was a bit concerned if she would be able to defend herself against them all.

Arthur and Molly walked over to McGonagall and whispered to her. "Minerva, are you sure this is safe for Ginny and the baby? What if she gets hurt?" Arthur asked.

She looked at the both of them; she could see the worry and fear clear in their eyes. She gave a small smirk.

"Have you have ever seen a mother lioness protect their young? I'm confident that Ginny will tap into that motherly instinct and when she does... it will be the others needing protection." she said, turning her attention back to the center of the field where Harry, Ron, Dean, Bill and Charlie were surrounding Ginny but still kept a fair amount of distance between them and her.

They all lifted their wands up and pointed them at Ginny.

"On three... one... two...three!" McGonagall called out.

All five of them shot a spell out at the same time directly at Ginny and Draco watched helplessly from afar as he saw the spells fly right at her. There was a bright light as they all hit a barrier that formed around Ginny. She had her hands out that were clearly emitting flames from them and forming the heated fortress that protected her. Draco gave a relieved breath when he saw she had defended herself.

"Do it again while her shield is up, take it down; I don't want any of you to hold back. She needs to learn how to tap deeper without losing control." McGonagall stated firmly.

They all raised their wands again and threw more curses her way. They all collided with the shield surrounding her and then Harry threw a watering charm at her that seemed to simply turn to steam as it collided with the barrier. Ginny started feeling herself turn over, but she wasn't entirely sure why; all she knew was she was being attacked and she was stuck in this fiery dome without a way past the attacks and she was starting to panic. She suddenly pushed out her hands, sending the heated barrier blasting out towards them knocking them all to the ground. She was on her knees now and breathing heavy, but still had a slight smile on her face from how impressed she was with what she could do. She locked eyes with Draco across the way who seemed to have a similar look on his face making her smile a little bigger.

Dean quickly got to his feet and threw a binding charm at her and she felt it hit her and her body was suddenly held tightly together by a translucent rope. He then proceeded to throw another curse at her while she was bound and it suddenly slowed down right before it hit her. She slowly lifted her head and looked past the curse hovering in front of her face right at Dean. He felt a lump form in his throat as her eyes turned to that eerie black. He watched as the translucent rope around her burned away slowly like a fiery snake until it reached the ground. She stood up without looking away from him the entire time and then those fiery flames erupted from her, covering her entire body in fire. Her hair whipped around like dancing flames and she took a quick step forward sending a trail of fire all the way to where Dean was.

"She lost control." McGonagall muttered to herself.

"WHAT DO WE DO?" Molly yelled to her.

"Just wait, if we shut it down every time she loses control then neither of them will ever learn to control it." she stated.

Draco was desperately trying everything he could to free himself of the charm his mother put over him. He threw whatever powers he could muster up and even switched to his wand and still nothing was taking it down.

"LET ME OUT... NOW!" he yelled to them as he watched Ginny turn over to that destructive side.

Dean was running as fast as he could from the trail of flames heading his way. Bill, Charlie, Harry and Ron backed away from her a bit as her powers came full swing and Harry tried to send another binding charm her way. The flame finally caught up with Dean and wrapped around him, making him fall to the ground with a hard thud. As Harry cast his spell, Ginny sent out another trail of flames to each of them wrapping them all in a fiery bind. Ron yelled out for her to stop, but she didn't, she just let the binds on them grow tighter and tighter.

Draco watched in horror as they all were mere moments away from Ginny killing them and his mind raced for some other way to get out of here. He took a few deep breaths and then without thinking he placed his hands on the burning walls of the ward that scalded him earlier. He let out a painful scream as he felt his skin burning and then he felt a cooling sensation and watched as the burning finally stopped and the charmed ward was completely frozen. He took his hands away and blew a hole in the side of it with his wand and climbed out from it and ran as fast as he could towards Ginny.

"MINERVA, THIS HAS TO STOP... NOW!" Molly screamed in fear.

"NO... NOT YET!" she yelled back receiving an angry look from Molly.

"G-GINNY... ST-STOP IT!" Bill choked out through the fiery bind wrapped around his neck.

Draco threw out an icy wave that cut through the flaming binds holding them all and they all were released and fell to the floor. Some of them gasped for air and Charlie had fallen unconscious. Ginny turned her attention to Draco, who ran over to her and they locked eyes.

"GINNY! DON'T DO THIS, ITS OK, YOU'RE SAFE NOW!" he yelled to her.

She lifted her hand to throw a ball of fire his way when he suddenly brought his hands up causing a huge wave of ice to plunge up from the ground behind her. Then the wave dipped down and split into two thinner trails latching onto her wrists and hands so that she couldn't move. Another piece of ice gently wrapped around her legs and held her there firmly in place. Draco could tell she was going to melt them all at any moment and he took his chance to get closer to her. He grabbed her face in his hands and looked at her.

"Ginny... it's me, it's ok... come back to me... please." he softly pleaded with her.

She stared at him for what seemed like forever and she started looking around her. She saw her brother unconscious on the floor and the rest of her friends on the ground in pain and then like a blown out match the flames diminished into her and she looked into Draco's eyes again. He released her from the binds as her eyes took their normal form and he gently grabbed her shoulders and looked at her. She looked scared and panicked at the thought of almost killing her friends and family and then she suddenly felt wetness on her face. She reached her hand up to find her nose bleeding and then a wave of dizziness hit her, the last thing she remembered was the sound of Draco's voice calling out her name as she collapsed into his arms.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"MOLLY, I ASSURE YOU SHE IS FINE, I KNOW YOU'RE WORRIED BUT IT'S JUST A SIDE EFFECT OF HER POWERS. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY SHE NEEDS TO LEARN CONTROL!"

"I DON'T WANT HER PRACTICING ANYMORE TO THAT INTENSITY, AT LEAST NOT UNTIL THE BABY IS BORN. IT'S JUST TOO DANGEROUS!"

"YOU'RE WRONG MOLLY, WHAT IF SHE LOSES CONTROL AGAIN? IF SHE EVER TAPPED INTO THAT POWER DURING THE WRONG MOMENT, THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE NOT ONLY DEADLY BUT LIFE CHANGING, SHE NEEDS TO LEARN NOW!"

Ginny opened her eyes and was met by a blurry room; all she could see in the distance was a crowd of people standing around. She heard people yelling and she tried to blink to get a better look when the form of her mother and McGonagall came into view.

"Mum?" she croaked out.

"GINNY! Are you alright sweetheart?" she asked, running to her daughter's side in the living room.

"I'm fine... is Charlie-"

"Charlie is fine dear, as is everyone else."

"My powers... I lost control... I'm sorry." she whispered.

McGonagall came walking over to her and gave a small smile. "That's ok Ginny, we will try again some other time."

"NO!" Molly yelled with anger.

"Mum, stop, it's ok, I'm fine, really." Ginny said.

"No Ginny, it's too dangerous." Molly said almost in tears. She knew Ginny needed to practice but she was so concerned about the well-being of not just her daughter but now her grandchild.

"Molly, why don't we discuss this further a bit later?" McGonagall said softly gently patting Molly's hand.

Molly gave a small nod. "Dinner is just about ready dear, are you ok to go wash up before we eat?"

Ginny nodded and then slid off the couch and slowly made her way upstairs. She was on her way to the bathroom when she saw Draco's bedroom door open and saw him going through his drawers. She walked over and Draco caught a glimpse of her fiery hair in the corner of his eye and turned to look at her.

"Hey, you're up." he smiled, walking over to her. "Are you ok?" he asked, brushing her hair behind her ear and studying her face.

"Yes... are you?"

"Of course," he said, then placed a light kiss on her lips. "I was just gathering some last minute things for tomorrow." he sighed and then sat down on the bed.

Ginny joined him and took in all the supplies and clothes he had laid out to take with him. She frowned at seeing how much there was which reminded her of how long he would be gone.

"What if I lose control again with my powers and you're not here to snap me out of it?" she asked suddenly, as if it was a stray thought that accidentally escaped.

He looked at her for a moment, he wasn't really sure what to say; he didn't want to lie and say everything would be fine because he honestly wasn't sure what to make of it. He knew how close she came to killing the others, but he didn't want to scare her with his concerns, although he knew she was well aware of it.

"I think... that you need to keep working with McGonagall. I think you'll learn to control it, I know you will." he smiled at her.

"DINNER!" came Mrs. Weasley's voice from downstairs.

Draco got up and held his hand out for her. She was thinking about what he said and then she smiled and took his hand as they made their way downstairs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That night Ginny was getting ready to make her usual visit into Draco's room when she heard her door open. She was surprised to see it was Draco and she scooted over for him to climb into bed with her.

"I thought I'd come to you this time." he whispered to her.

"Good, now I don't have to leave the warmth of my bed." she softly giggled.

"Yeah, but I had to, now you have to warm me up." he teased snaking his arms around her and nuzzling into the crook of her neck making her laugh out loud.

"Stop it, you're going to make me wake everyone up." she laughed.

He nuzzled her neck again and she started to laugh and he quickly quieted her giggles with his lips. Soon his lips trailed down the side of her face and then to her neck. That ticklish feeling she felt was turning to a tingling sensation and she felt her body cover in goose bumps, it was a feeling she had come to love. He went to slip her top off and she was helping him and he started laughing at her midway through.

"What's so funny?" she whispered.

"Your nose... you look like a pig." he laughed, as her shirt was halfway up her face pushing her nose upwards.

She started laughing with him and then finally pulled it off the rest of the way.

"There... much better." he said, giving her a small kiss on the nose.

She smiled at him and then grabbed his face and pulled his lips to hers. She felt his hands tracing her body and she felt his kisses start to intensify as he worked his way back down her neck and to the top of her breast. She let out a soft moan as he did this and felt his hand slide lower to her thigh. Every time he pressed his lips to her skin it was like it sent off tiny shockwaves of pleasure. His kisses soon reached between her breasts and then down to her stomach where she felt him suddenly stop and instead lay his head on it.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly, lifting her head to look at him.

He kept his forehead on her stomach for a few more moments before he gently slid one of his hands over it and looked a bit surprised. "Yeah, I just... can't believe..."

"I know," she said, gently rubbing his back. She knew Draco was still absorbing the news about her being pregnant... they both were.

He looked at her and then back to her stomach. He leaned down and gently placed a kiss right beside her belly button. Ginny soon felt him getting back to his trail of kisses and it wasn't long before they were entwined in each other's arms making love.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning was when Kingsley showed up to collect the guys for the mission they were headed out on. There were a lot of emotions flowing about and everyone was kind of quiet, not wanting to state the obvious that the guys would be gone for such a long time.

"I wish you were going to be here for when the MediWizard shows up later." Ginny said, walking with Draco downstairs to meet Kingsley and the others in the backyard.

"Yeah, me too." Draco said, giving her a half smile.

They reached the back porch and met the others in the field. Mrs. Weasley was already in tears as she hugged all her sons' goodbye and wished them luck. Luna gave Harry a slew of goodbye kisses and a bone crunching hug, wiping away a loose tear of her own. Fleur and Bill had a full make out session as their way of saying goodbye which made Ginny giggle. Hermione was a complete wreck at having to say goodbye to her new husband and she was finding it hard to let go of him.

"I'm going to be fine Hermione... I promise." Ron whispered to her.

She nodded and then wrapped him up in another hug, letting her tears stream down her face.

Everyone was exchanging goodbyes and Ginny made her way over to Harry with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Harry... be careful ok?" she said, giving him a hug.

"I will be." he said.

She went to walk away when she turned back suddenly. "Harry, can you-"

"Of course... not that he'll need it," he joked knowing she was asking him to watch out for Draco.

She gave him a tearful smile and then he wrapped her into another hug.

A few people down Draco approached Hermione. "You know every time we seem to talk lately you're crying." he teased, handing her a hanky.

She gave a small laugh.

"Well, listen Grang-uh, I mean Weasley."

"Or Hermione?" she said, wiping her tears with the hanky he handed her.

"Fine... listen... Hermione, I think it's fair since you asked me to watch out for Rhonda that I can ask you to keep Ginny safe." he said more serious than Hermione thought he would sound.

She smiled brightly at him. "Of course Draco."

He nodded and then he threw one arm around her shoulders wrapping her up into a hug.

"Well, I guess it's just me and you who get to say goodbye now." Ginny said walking over to him.

"Yeah, it would seem so." he said, looking at her.

The morning sun beaming off her hair was driving him nuts and he mentally took a picture of how beautiful she looked at this moment and then... he thought about how much he would miss her.

They stood there for a few moments just looking at each other and then he grabbed her into a tight hug. He felt her body shake with sobs and how her hands seemed to have clung to him for dear life not wanting him to leave her.

"I don't know if I can handle this without you." she sobbed into his chest.

"Hey... hey look at me." he said, lifting her tear stained face to his. "You're going to be fine and so am I. You believe that, right?"

She nodded.

"Good, I love you... and I'll see you soon ok?" he said kissing her.

She nodded through her tears and then she felt the warmth of his body leave hers as he joined the rest of them. They watched them all walk away and soon past the wards until they were out of sight not knowing when they would see them again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Come in," Ginny mumbled against her pillow.

Hermione walked in to see her friend's eyes still puffy from the guys' departure this morning. She walked over and took a seat beside her.

"Hey, the MediWizard is going to be here any minute and your mum wants you downstairs." she said softly.

She nodded and then sat up and gave a sigh. "He's only been gone a few hours and I can't stand it, and to know he'll be gone for a couple of months? I wish I didn't have to go through this whole thing without him." she said in a sad voice.

"I'm sorry Ginny. You know, maybe you just have to change your way of thinking; maybe instead of thinking how long he'll be gone just think about the day he comes back?"

Ginny just looked at her.

"I know, it's easier said than done. Maybe I should take my own advice before giving it to you?" Hermione laughed.

Ginny gave a small smile and then her and Hermione made their way downstairs.

"Oh Ginny dear... great just in time. The MediWizard has just arrived; she's in the living room waiting for you." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile.

Ginny was nervous about meeting the MediWizard; she didn't know what to expect and to have a stranger touching her like that was something she was quite uncomfortable with. She walked into the living room and a bright smile came to her face when she saw it was Madame Pomfrey.

"Miss Weasley... so good to see you." she said in a cheerful voice.

Ginny was so relieved to have her of all people here to examine her that she wrapped the lady in a hug.

"I'm guessing you're glad to see me?" she laughed and Ginny nodded with a smile. "Minerva asked me to come since Hogwarts is closed and I'm not much use over there right now. She said this was more of a delicate situation and when she said your name I knew you'd appreciate it." Madame Pomfrey explained.

"Thank you so much and thank you Professor... I was so nervous." she said taking a seat on the couch.

McGonagall gave her a bright smile. "You're welcome Miss Weasley."

"Alright, so let's get to it. I'll save all the not so comfortable stuff for the bedroom, but let's take a listen to that baby." she said brightly taking out her wand. "I'm going to do a simple spell that will project the baby's heartbeat and give me a general idea of how far along you are. So shirt up, let's see that tummy."

Ginny lifted her shirt to reveal her stomach and she just looked at everyone standing around her watching. Arthur held Molly in his hands as she watched Ginny being examined, she knew her mum and dad had accepted the news of her being pregnant by now and were more than pleased to be grandparents. She just kept thinking how she wished Draco was here to experience this with her. Madame Pomfrey said a few words under her breath and then a golden stream emerged from her wand and wrapped around Ginny's stomach. It wasn't long before the light around her turned into a crystallized form of a picture of what was in her stomach... and then she heard it.

"Ah, there it is." said Madame Pomfrey as the sound of a heartbeat started filling the room.

"Whoa." was all Ginny could say as she watched the crystallized picture of what was her baby.

She brought her hand up to the picture and gently touched it with her hand, letting her fingers glide through it and then watched as the crystals formed back together.

"That's amazing." Hermione said in awe, her eyes turning watery at the sound filling the room.

"They sound nice and strong... very healthy." Madame Pomfrey said.

Ginny smiled, she was so happy to hear that her baby was healthy after everything.

"Wait, they?" Hermione asked looking at Ginny, who just noticed the word choice Pomfrey used.

"Yes... triplets." she said with a smile.

"WHAT!" they all yelled at the same time.

"I'm joking... relax." Madame Pomfrey laughed.

"Ha, not funny. I don't even know how I'll handle one baby, never mind three." Ginny said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh.., there is a "they", I was just joking about triplets, you really are having twins." she said with a smile.

"Ok, let's not scare the poor girl; we had a good laugh, seriously now." McGonagall said a bit more sternly.

"Minerva, I'm not joking... listen." she said more seriously.

Ginny listened closer and sure enough, there was a second heartbeat and it was almost exactly in rhythm with the other.

Her eyes grew wide and she looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Please tell me you made a mistake." she pleaded with the woman.

Madame Pomfrey gave her a small smile. "I'm afraid not, dear."

Ginny tried to take in and register what she was hearing, but for some reason her mind refused to let her feel anything at this time and she just had a blank look on her face. Ginny looked at her parents and saw her mum had tears in her eyes and she walked over to sit with her.

"It will be ok sweetheart, you have plenty of help and support around you." her mother said reassuringly.

She just nodded to her, she just felt so numb at the moment. All she knew was that Draco was missing out on everything and boy would he sure get a surprising bit of news when he returned. The thought of telling him gave her a headache and she pushed the thoughts aside for now until the end of the examination.

"Alright, it looks like you're about five or six weeks along so probably conceived around November I'd say." Madame Pomfrey said.

Ginny looked at her parents who had a confused look on their face. Mrs. Weasley obviously didn't know about Ginny losing her virginity at Hogwarts that night in Draco's room. Just her luck that she would get pregnant the first time she had sex, she mentally cursed herself.

"I've been pregnant that long and didn't know?"Ginny asked surprised.

"It's pretty normal actually, especially with all the stress you lot have gone through. I would say a due date around mid August." she said brightly.

Ginny just nodded, she just wanted to get the rest of the visit over so she could take a minute and process things. Madame Pomfrey was ready to do the physical part of the examination and they made their way up to Ginny's bedroom. It was quite awkward having Madame Pomfrey examining her, but she assumed it was better than having a stranger down there. Madame Pomfrey made small talk with her the entire time, so it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be which she was quite thankful for. Afterwards, they made their way back downstairs to rejoin the others.

"Everything looks fine and she and the babies are very healthy. I know it's a bit of a shocker to you, dear, but the less stress you put on yourself the better it will be for you and the babies." she smiled. "I'll be back in about a month or so to check up on you."

Ginny nodded and then they all said their goodbyes.

"I need some time alone right now." Ginny quickly said, before anyone could comment or say anything about the new developments.

She turned on her heel and ran up the stairs and crawled into her bed just thinking of how different her life would be now. Having two babies made her want to just break down into tears at the thought, but they never came. She wished she was happy at the thought of being a mother and maybe under different circumstances or at a different point in her life she would be. She had to stop thinking right now because she wasn't sure how to feel. Her mind went to the blond Slytherin that she wished could be here to hold her right now.