Author's Note: This chapter is very lengthy, but I wanted to show Ginny's perspective in a lot of detail as her boyfriend tells her about the possible danger that they're in. And all great love stories have to have problems, right? So don't hate me too much by the end of the chapter...
Chapter 13: - Draco’s Visit
The dew covered Ginny and Hermione’s shoes as they walked through the grass one morning after breakfast. Hermione glanced upward, taking notice that the boys were already in the air. Ginny smiled. “It’s nice to have the privacy for awhile, don’t you think?”
“Goodness, yes,” said Hermione. “Now we can talk.” They giggled and walked on in silence for a few moments.
It was Ginny who spoke next. “I’m going to miss you after this year. Who am I going to talk to when you’re gone?” She felt saddened by the thought and tried to shake it from her head. Hermione had become a close friend over the years and Ginny was aching to divulge her secret. Ron’s discovery had been completely unplanned, but deep down Ginny was glad that he knew. However, what she wanted most was to sit Harry and Hermione down and tell them everything - clearing her conscience even more.
Hermione stopped and looked at Ginny with sincerity. “Oh, Gin, that’s sweet of you. I’ll miss you, too. I promise to send you loads of owls…and I’m sure we’ll get to see a lot of each other once you graduate. And maybe, well…you just never know about things - but I’m sure it’s all going to be just fine.”
Ginny knew what Hermione had wanted to say. Something along the lines of hoping she’d be part of the family someday. She truly hoped so. If Ron didn’t get his head out of his arse soon Ginny was going to hex him. However, her next thought was interrupted by a whizzing sound flying by her ear. Ginny looked over just in time to see what resembled a Golden Snitch diving into the grass followed by a large red head that promptly knocked her flat. “Mrumph!” The air escaped Ginny’s lungs.
“Oy! Ginny, I’m sorry - didn’t mean to send you to the ground.” Ginny heard Fred’s voice apologizing, but the stars circling her crown wouldn’t go away. She felt a hand helping her up.
“Nice job, Fred. Trying to kill our sister, are you?” George landed next to Fred and showed the same concern for Ginny.
She shook her head a bit and waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’m just a little winded. What in bloody hell was that thing?”
The twin’s eyes lit up and they began their familiar art of speaking in turn.
“Sneaky Snitches,” said Fred.
“Part of our merchandise,” said George.
“Still working the bugs out, mind you,” said Fred.
“Tends to think it’s a dog rather than a bird,” said George.
“If we don’t keep an eye on it, it heads straight for the ground to start digging itself a hole,” said Fred.
“It’s sure giving Harry a tough row. Quite amusing, to be honest.” George smiled with a little bit of triumph. Ginny did find the Snitch amusing. She could hear it scrounging around in the grass…probably trying to get to the dirt so it could begin to dig.
“Well anyway,” said George. “Best get back at it. We don’t have a lot of time to goof off – as we need to get back to Diagon Alley shortly.” He grabbed the Snitch and shot off into the air.
“Yeah,” said Fred. “Sorry again, Gin. See you later.” He took off after his brother.
Ginny and Hermione were still laughing at the twins as they continued their walk. They talked about everything from school, to their N.E.W.T.S., to where they’d like to live after leaving Hogwarts. It was good conversation. Ginny knew it was time to help her mum in the kitchen so they headed in that direction. By the time they’d reached the house Mrs. Weasley was preparing lunch.
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“Red Rover, Red Rover, send Harry on over…” everyone chanted while Harry went running toward the line. He was just about to throw himself into Ron’s arm as hard as he could when Ron suddenly let go of Ginny’s hand. Harry couldn’t stop himself soon enough and proceeded to sail several feet past where the others stood, taking Ginny down with him.
“Oy!” said Ginny. “That’s the second time today I’ve hit the dirt.” She was giggling as Harry tried to untangle himself from her.
“Ron!” Harry looked displeased. “You’re not supposed to let go, mate.”
Harry and Hermione had been teaching the Weasleys Muggle games all evening. They were breathless and laughing at Ron as he just couldn’t seem to grasp the fact that he was supposed to hang onto the line so that it couldn’t be broken. (“But I don’t want you to rip my arm off,” was his reasoning.)
They collapsed into the grass while Mrs. Weasley conjured up glasses of pumpkin juice to quench their thirst. It had been a wonderful day and it was hard to believe that the school year was fast approaching. Ginny couldn’t be happier about that, though.
“What shall we play now, you lot?” Mr. Weasley just couldn’t get enough of the non-wizard games and looked half afraid that their fun might have come to an end.
Harry chimed in with a suggestion. “How about dodge ball?”
“Oh, no Harry!” Hermione wailed in protest. “That can hurt.”
“But it’ll be fun, Hermione. Come on. You’ll play, won’t you?” He was ever so lightly twisting her arm and she reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Great! We need a ball.”
Ginny dusted off the grass stains from her knees and spoke up. “I’ll go grab the Quaffle. It’s up in my room.”
“Excellent!” said Harry over Hermione’s protests of “Noooo! That will hurt worse than a dodge ball.”
She knew he was anxious to get started so she headed off for her room. Ginny silently counted off the days until they returned to Hogwarts. She vaguely wondered if she’d run into Draco at Diagon Alley. Having seen him so many times in her dreams without worry, the thought had occurred to her that she needed to remain cool as could be to the boy. She realized how easily she might forget herself and run up to him in earnest.
She ran into her bedroom and fumbled around in the corner where she left the Quaffle. Ginny heard a creak on the floorboard behind her and spun on her heel. She lost her grip on the Quaffle as she let out a gasp.
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Draco stood in the middle of his bedroom with his eyes closed. He tried to picture every detail Ginny had told him about The Burrow. He couldn’t help but be doubtful of his mother’s plan, but he agreed to try. The thought of splinching himself had definitely occurred to him. It wasn’t so bad when he knew exactly where it was he was going. In this case, he didn’t – and the whole idea just made him nervous.
He felt his feet lifting off of the ground and the world moved quickly. It took only a moment and he was gently resting his heels onto some soft grass. Opening his eyes, he looked around to take in the scenery.
Draco stood near the edge of some property within a long row of trees. A large odd shaped house lay right in the center of the lawn. It looked as though it had been pieced together, one room at a time…possibly to make room for a growing family. He assumed he’d come to the right place.
He heard laughter near the back of the house and, using the foliage for coverage, snaked along the tree line. A small crowd of people came into view, all red headed with the exception of two. Ginny lay on the ground panting as Harry lifted himself from her chest. Draco’s face immediately grew hot with anger and he took a breath to try and hold back his jealousy.
Draco watched Harry and Ginny as they lay in the grass and laughed with the rest of the group. He was no idiot. Draco could see how much the Weasleys welcomed Harry’s presence and the entire lot gave the impression of being such a happy family. He forced himself to look away as the scene was just too much for him. Had he not been trying to conceal himself he would’ve yelled out-loud to release his frustration.
After staring at the ground for a few moments he looked up in time to see Ginny getting to her feet and run off toward the house. This was his chance.
He focused hard on the house and imagined himself inside. A large clock suddenly appeared in front of his face and he could hear footsteps running up the crooked staircase to his left. Not wasting any time, Draco stepped quickly yet quietly in the direction of the noise. He heard scuffling inside one of the bedrooms and, assuming Ginny was within, stepped softly to avoid scaring her. Draco grasped the doorknob and gently opened the door to have the entire room within view.
She was bent over in the corner retrieving a very tattered quaffle. He couldn’t help but smile at her hair falling softly against her cheek and doing so made him subconsciously step toward her. A loose board under his foot creaked and Ginny turned to face him. She let out a gasp and the Quaffle went sailing straight in Draco’s direction.
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“Draco! Blast, did I hurt you?” Ginny saw blood trickling out of his nose and ran forward to assess the damage. She grabbed an old shirt from her wardrobe and dabbed it at the nostril spilling blood onto his upper lip. It was only then that she truly realized he was standing before her, having no idea how he’d gotten here or why.
Draco blinked a few times and reached out to touch her face. He was literally a bloody mess, but he was smiling at her. She continued to wipe the blood from his nose and suddenly thought of how this would look should someone walk in. Ginny stepped around him and shut her door. After taking a breath, she turned to face him again and they stared at each other in disbelief. Without a doubt, the dream travel gave them enough satisfaction to get through the summer, but something was always missing. Now she could fully appreciate him - body and soul - standing here in her room.
Her room! Ginny suddenly felt quite ashamed. She’d always secretly hoped for Draco to come and spend time with her at her home, but she wasn’t prepared for this unexpected visit. Common sense had painted a beautiful picture of Malfoy Manor in her head and Draco must find her house rather nauseating. She turned away from him as she felt her cheeks flush.
“What is it?” he said. When she looked up at him there was a look of concern on his face.
“Nothing.” She didn’t mean to mumble, but it came out that way. “I just…I really wasn’t prepared for you to see where I live.” She took a breath and stared at the floor.
Draco’s face turned slightly red with embarrassment before it turned to an apologetic gaze. “I know I’ve said some things in the past,” he said, “especially to your brothers. But I shouldn’t have. You know that doesn’t matter to me anymore, and we’re never going to move forward if we keep dwelling on the things in the past.”
She knew he was right. Ginny felt a little better, but her comfortable environment was suddenly quite awkward to her. She felt hesitant. Not to mention, she still didn’t know how he’d managed to get here. Didn’t he realize that he was putting himself in great danger? This upset her.
“What are you doing here?” her voice sounded so ungrateful and she hadn’t meant for it to.
Draco looked taken aback. Ginny could’ve banged her head against the door for sounding so rude. She was truly happy to see him, just flustered at the entire situation. Before she had time to correct her tone, Draco’s spat his next words.
“So silly of me, but I came here to see you. It was important. However, showing up in person – in broad daylight - wasn’t a good idea as I’m obviously intruding on your good time with Potter!”
The words were a slap in the face and she felt the pain from them immediately. Of course! Draco must’ve seen them playing in the grass. She knew he felt jealous at seeing her and Harry lying on the ground together in laughter. The combination of her ungrateful tone mixed with his resentment toward Harry must’ve released the anger within. She should have expected him to say something like that in return, yet her fiery temper wouldn’t let her back down.
“Oh, well next time send an owl first!” her retort was just as unkind as his previous one. “I’d hate for you to continue to bust up my good times.”
The Draco she knew disappeared and Malfoy resurfaced. His body stiffened and the familiar glare burned a hole right through her. He looked as though he was about to speak but closed his eyes, instead. Ginny was confused until she realized he was preparing to Disapparate.
“Draco, wait!” His eyes shot open and he took on a look of annoyance. She needed to speak fast.
“I didn’t mean that and you know I didn’t. It’s just that…you shouldn’t be here. And I don’t mean that in a way that I’m hiding anything from you…or that I don’t want to see you. You know I’m happy to see you.” His face softened somewhat so she took it as a sign to continue. “What if someone sees you? What if there was someone here that’s in the Order? Or, even worse, what if someone on You-Know-Who’s side saw you here? A spy or something.” Draco sighed, but she could tell that he wasn’t going to leave her. “Please tell me why you’ve come to see me. I know it was important for you to take such a risk, especially not even knowing where to find me.” She thought for a moment. “Wait a second - why did you come in person and not wait to tell me tonight?”
He was looking away from her, his arms crossed against his chest. The Malfoy crest was slightly visible under his right hand. She felt a sudden urge to giggle. It was quite the picture. The hand, she noted, was stained with blood from his nose. His hair hung loosely across his face, not pushed back in the way that he normally liked it. But he looked more amazing than she’d ever seen him. She’d insulted him and hurt his pride by being so close to Harry, then almost knocked him senseless with the Quaffle. Yet he was still here. When he glanced over at her, Ginny looked deep into his eyes and was able to hold his gaze. She knew he was struggling with the idea of staying angry with her, but if he could see what she held for him behind her eyes it would tell him everything he needed to know. How very much she wanted him at that moment.
Holding her gaze steady, she reached out and lightly touched his arm. He suddenly broke the distance between them as he pulled her into his chest. Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around his neck as he kissed her deeply. Words escaped her. She relished the warmth of his body as he encapsulated her. Draco’s hands found her face and slowly moved across her cheeks, his fingers brushing back the strands of her hair. Ginny’s body weakened as his touch became too much for her to bear. She thought the moment couldn’t get any better until Draco spoke again…
“If anything ever happened to you…” his voice cracked and it seemed to trail off into the distance. Draco continued to hold her with such urgency that she had to pull back and look at his face. She’d forgotten herself just seconds before and reality came rushing back. She still didn’t know why he had come.
Draco spoke again. “Ginny, my mother knows about you.” She pulled away, shocked, as a wave of fear washed over her. This was bad.
He must have read her expression for he suddenly became reassuring. “It’s alright. You don’t need to worry about Mother at all. But it’s…well it’s the reason she knows about you that brought me here.” Ginny was still unable to speak. She just stared at Draco with her mouth slightly open, her heart beating very fast. “The dream travel potion that I’ve been using this entire time…well, my mother uses it, too. She’s been talking to my father since he escaped from Azkaban. The main ingredient for it was stored in her bedroom. Not knowing this I had my house-elf get it for me despite her hesitation. I had absolutely no idea Mother would know - or that it would matter if she did, but she noticed that it was disappearing. She put two and two together and had the elf confirm it. She wasn’t upset about it, mind you. She was afraid.”
Draco stopped talking as though he was looking for the strength to go on. “Ginny, it was so important to me that we be together…I didn’t think about any possible consequences of the dream travel.”
Ginny suddenly found her voice, but it was small and tiny. “Draco, you’re scaring me. What consequences are we facing - am…am I facing?”
The color was draining from Draco’s face. “Something that I didn’t realize in the beginning was that the Dark Lord created this method of communication. He can monitor it. Ginny - he can see anyone who uses it.”
She felt her face go void of all expression and her knees went weak. Draco caught her as her body began to give way and he sat her gently on the bed. He sat down next to her and took her hand. She could hear Draco continuing to speak but all of the words sounded muffled in her head. Instinct told her she was in trouble. They were in trouble. If You-Know-Who knew that Draco was a traitor it would be far worse on him than for her. She was thinking fast as they needed to react and she had no idea how to go about doing so.
Ginny felt Draco shaking her shoulder. “Ginny? Did you hear what I said?” She came back to reality and looked him in the eyes. “I said that Mother doesn’t think we have anything to worry about. She thinks that had he seen us he would’ve done something about it by now. But I had to tell you. I didn’t want you to wonder why I disappeared from your dreams. We obviously can’t see each other at night anymore.”
Ginny blinked, but was unable to form the words.
Draco took her hand again. “Please say something. I know I’ve put you in danger and that-”
Her resolve came flying back and she interrupted him with force. “You’ve put yourself in greater danger. And that upsets me even more!”
She turned to look out the window at her friends and family. It was true that she loved them more than anything. But she was growing up. Her feelings became deeper…more mature. She continued to stare at the lawn as she spoke. “I love them all so much. Yet I had no idea what it would be like to care about someone so much…someone other than them.” Her voice cracked slightly. She was so afraid of losing him. “My feelings for you grow each and every day. The more time we spend together, the more we get to know each other – it’s just pulling me into this place where I always want to be. But I can’t be in that place if you’re gone, Draco. I’d just as soon live the rest of my life alone rather than be with you and have anything harm you or take you away from me.”
He held up his hand to stop her. She could tell that he didn’t want her to continue. “No,” said Ginny. “We can’t keep doing this, Draco. You were right in the beginning. And now I’m the one that can see it for what it is. I understand that to carry on in this way is just going to get one of us killed. And if that ‘one of us’ is you, I just can’t live with that.” There. She’d said it. She glanced across the room at her vanity and saw their reflection in the mirror. Every inch of her soul was hurting, but she swallowed hard to fight back the tears and stood up. After sliding the vanity drawer open, her hand closed down onto his silver prefects’ badge. “You’ll be having need of this soon,” she tried to smile as she handed him the badge but her bottom lip trembled too much.
Draco held the badge in his hand only for a second before hurling it across her room just hours after doing the same with the barmillow bottle. “I won’t let you do this to us. I won’t let you leave me like this.” His chest heaved in and out and she could almost see how fast his heart was beating. She’d literally crushed him. “Ginny, we can run away. We can leave it all behind. It doesn’t have to be this way. I can’t be without you.” He reached out to touch her hair. “My life has turned so many corners the last few months – I could never find my way back, even if I wanted to. And I don’t want to. I need you with me. Please…please don’t do this.”
The tears streamed down Ginny’s cheeks and she shook her head in protest. All at once she heard a voice in the stairwell.
“Gin? Ginny, where are you?” Hermione’s voice echoed through the house as her footsteps made their way up the stairs. Ginny panicked.
“In the wardrobe,” she said to Draco. “Quickly!”
“Why?” he said. “What’s the point now? Nothing matters anymore, Ginny.”
“Draco, please!” Ginny was in no mood to let their secret be discovered now. She needed time to live in mourning over their relationship without answering to her friends.
“Ginny? What’s taking you so long?” Ginny looked at Draco pleadingly as she heard Hermione just down the hall. His jaw was stiff as he stepped into the wardrobe. A single tear ran silently down his left cheek. She wanted to reach out and hold him, kiss him…do things she swore she wouldn’t until she was much older, but she had to shut the door on him. It felt as though she was shutting him out of her life.
The wardrobe door latched none too soon as Hermione stepped into the room. “Gin, what are you-- Ginny! What’s happened to you?”
Ginny hadn’t thought about what a sight she must be until she saw Hermione’s reaction; her only concern having been to hide Draco. She was flustered…her cheeks were still streaked with tears and Draco’s nose had gotten blood on her face. Hermione ran forward and grabbed her shoulders.
“What’s happened? You’re an absolute mess. You’re bleeding…”
Ginny had to think fast. “Oh, it’s okay. I…I stumbled coming up the steps because I was in such a hurry. I bumped my nose pretty hard and it bled a bit.” Ginny tried to give a soft laugh but she knew how unnatural it must’ve sounded.
“But you’re crying,” said Hermione.
“Well it kind of stung,” said Ginny. She wiped away her tears. “I’m fine, Hermione. My eyes welled up so much after I bumped it, and I kept sneezing and seeing stars – not to mention getting blood everywhere. I was trying to get all cleaned up before Mum saw me. She thinks I’m a clumsy goose as it is.” Ginny cringed inwardly. It was a lie and Hermione knew it.
“Well,” Hermione relented, but Ginny could tell she wasn’t fully convinced. “If you’re sure you’re alright then…do you want me to stay with you for a bit while the others play? I can run the Quaffle down to them.”
“Actually yeah, I mean…why don’t you run the Quaffle on down. Just tell Mum that dinner wasn’t settling too well and I’ll be down shortly. Really, I’m fine. I just need to get myself cleaned up.” Ginny continued to clean her face of the mess.
Hermione picked the Quaffle up from where it lay and started toward the door. “Oh,” she said, “I almost forgot my sweater. It’s gotten a bit chilly out so I thought I’d grab it when I came in to check on you.” She spun on her heel and approached the wardrobe.
Ginny panicked, yet again. “I’ll grab it for you!” Perhaps she spoke a little too quickly for Hermione frowned and then raised an eyebrow.
“As if I want blood all over my sweater? No, I’ll get it.” And with that, she swung open the wardrobe doors.
Ginny had closed her eyes preparing for the sight that would unfold before them. When Hermione’s scream was absent Ginny opened one eye and saw that the wardrobe held only their clothing. Draco, she assumed, had Disapparated.
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Much to his dismay, Draco arrived in his bedroom moments later. His wish to miraculously disappear on his return trip home obviously hadn’t worked. The last vision he had was of Ginny closing the wardrobe door in his face. He hadn’t wanted to leave; there was still so much more to say, but Hermione’s protests at having Ginny get her sweater for her had ruined all prospect of saying anything else.
He was angry and devastated, all at the same time. His first instinct was to tell her she could have it her way! To let her wallow away in the choice that she’d made as he’d be fine without her. But deep down he knew that thought was only out of frustration. He couldn’t rid himself of the way in which she returned his kiss standing there in her room. Everything had moved to an entirely new level. His body hadn’t quite recovered from it and his stomach dropped at the thought of never feeling that sensation again. It was only during this moment that he could finally admit something to himself. He was in love with her. Nothing else truly mattered to him but having her love in return.
Draco knew that Ginny cared for him every bit as much yet she’d been scared when he made his confession about the dream travel. He knew that she only wanted him to be safe, but the thought didn’t give him much comfort. She was a strong willed person. He doubted that all of the persuasion in the world would change her mind.
He looked across the room. Hours earlier his secret had been discovered. The remains of the barmillow bottle lay in pieces on the floor around the head of his four-poster. His cloak that he’d worn to the Ministry lay in a heap by the wardrobe. Everything was as it had been before he’d seen Ginny. If he closed his eyes he could imagine the entire incident at The Burrow to be nothing but a bad dream. But he knew this wasn’t true. No amount of pretending would dismiss the fact that she had ended everything between them.
Chapter 13: - Draco’s Visit
The dew covered Ginny and Hermione’s shoes as they walked through the grass one morning after breakfast. Hermione glanced upward, taking notice that the boys were already in the air. Ginny smiled. “It’s nice to have the privacy for awhile, don’t you think?”
“Goodness, yes,” said Hermione. “Now we can talk.” They giggled and walked on in silence for a few moments.
It was Ginny who spoke next. “I’m going to miss you after this year. Who am I going to talk to when you’re gone?” She felt saddened by the thought and tried to shake it from her head. Hermione had become a close friend over the years and Ginny was aching to divulge her secret. Ron’s discovery had been completely unplanned, but deep down Ginny was glad that he knew. However, what she wanted most was to sit Harry and Hermione down and tell them everything - clearing her conscience even more.
Hermione stopped and looked at Ginny with sincerity. “Oh, Gin, that’s sweet of you. I’ll miss you, too. I promise to send you loads of owls…and I’m sure we’ll get to see a lot of each other once you graduate. And maybe, well…you just never know about things - but I’m sure it’s all going to be just fine.”
Ginny knew what Hermione had wanted to say. Something along the lines of hoping she’d be part of the family someday. She truly hoped so. If Ron didn’t get his head out of his arse soon Ginny was going to hex him. However, her next thought was interrupted by a whizzing sound flying by her ear. Ginny looked over just in time to see what resembled a Golden Snitch diving into the grass followed by a large red head that promptly knocked her flat. “Mrumph!” The air escaped Ginny’s lungs.
“Oy! Ginny, I’m sorry - didn’t mean to send you to the ground.” Ginny heard Fred’s voice apologizing, but the stars circling her crown wouldn’t go away. She felt a hand helping her up.
“Nice job, Fred. Trying to kill our sister, are you?” George landed next to Fred and showed the same concern for Ginny.
She shook her head a bit and waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’m just a little winded. What in bloody hell was that thing?”
The twin’s eyes lit up and they began their familiar art of speaking in turn.
“Sneaky Snitches,” said Fred.
“Part of our merchandise,” said George.
“Still working the bugs out, mind you,” said Fred.
“Tends to think it’s a dog rather than a bird,” said George.
“If we don’t keep an eye on it, it heads straight for the ground to start digging itself a hole,” said Fred.
“It’s sure giving Harry a tough row. Quite amusing, to be honest.” George smiled with a little bit of triumph. Ginny did find the Snitch amusing. She could hear it scrounging around in the grass…probably trying to get to the dirt so it could begin to dig.
“Well anyway,” said George. “Best get back at it. We don’t have a lot of time to goof off – as we need to get back to Diagon Alley shortly.” He grabbed the Snitch and shot off into the air.
“Yeah,” said Fred. “Sorry again, Gin. See you later.” He took off after his brother.
Ginny and Hermione were still laughing at the twins as they continued their walk. They talked about everything from school, to their N.E.W.T.S., to where they’d like to live after leaving Hogwarts. It was good conversation. Ginny knew it was time to help her mum in the kitchen so they headed in that direction. By the time they’d reached the house Mrs. Weasley was preparing lunch.
“Red Rover, Red Rover, send Harry on over…” everyone chanted while Harry went running toward the line. He was just about to throw himself into Ron’s arm as hard as he could when Ron suddenly let go of Ginny’s hand. Harry couldn’t stop himself soon enough and proceeded to sail several feet past where the others stood, taking Ginny down with him.
“Oy!” said Ginny. “That’s the second time today I’ve hit the dirt.” She was giggling as Harry tried to untangle himself from her.
“Ron!” Harry looked displeased. “You’re not supposed to let go, mate.”
Harry and Hermione had been teaching the Weasleys Muggle games all evening. They were breathless and laughing at Ron as he just couldn’t seem to grasp the fact that he was supposed to hang onto the line so that it couldn’t be broken. (“But I don’t want you to rip my arm off,” was his reasoning.)
They collapsed into the grass while Mrs. Weasley conjured up glasses of pumpkin juice to quench their thirst. It had been a wonderful day and it was hard to believe that the school year was fast approaching. Ginny couldn’t be happier about that, though.
“What shall we play now, you lot?” Mr. Weasley just couldn’t get enough of the non-wizard games and looked half afraid that their fun might have come to an end.
Harry chimed in with a suggestion. “How about dodge ball?”
“Oh, no Harry!” Hermione wailed in protest. “That can hurt.”
“But it’ll be fun, Hermione. Come on. You’ll play, won’t you?” He was ever so lightly twisting her arm and she reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Great! We need a ball.”
Ginny dusted off the grass stains from her knees and spoke up. “I’ll go grab the Quaffle. It’s up in my room.”
“Excellent!” said Harry over Hermione’s protests of “Noooo! That will hurt worse than a dodge ball.”
She knew he was anxious to get started so she headed off for her room. Ginny silently counted off the days until they returned to Hogwarts. She vaguely wondered if she’d run into Draco at Diagon Alley. Having seen him so many times in her dreams without worry, the thought had occurred to her that she needed to remain cool as could be to the boy. She realized how easily she might forget herself and run up to him in earnest.
She ran into her bedroom and fumbled around in the corner where she left the Quaffle. Ginny heard a creak on the floorboard behind her and spun on her heel. She lost her grip on the Quaffle as she let out a gasp.
Draco stood in the middle of his bedroom with his eyes closed. He tried to picture every detail Ginny had told him about The Burrow. He couldn’t help but be doubtful of his mother’s plan, but he agreed to try. The thought of splinching himself had definitely occurred to him. It wasn’t so bad when he knew exactly where it was he was going. In this case, he didn’t – and the whole idea just made him nervous.
He felt his feet lifting off of the ground and the world moved quickly. It took only a moment and he was gently resting his heels onto some soft grass. Opening his eyes, he looked around to take in the scenery.
Draco stood near the edge of some property within a long row of trees. A large odd shaped house lay right in the center of the lawn. It looked as though it had been pieced together, one room at a time…possibly to make room for a growing family. He assumed he’d come to the right place.
He heard laughter near the back of the house and, using the foliage for coverage, snaked along the tree line. A small crowd of people came into view, all red headed with the exception of two. Ginny lay on the ground panting as Harry lifted himself from her chest. Draco’s face immediately grew hot with anger and he took a breath to try and hold back his jealousy.
Draco watched Harry and Ginny as they lay in the grass and laughed with the rest of the group. He was no idiot. Draco could see how much the Weasleys welcomed Harry’s presence and the entire lot gave the impression of being such a happy family. He forced himself to look away as the scene was just too much for him. Had he not been trying to conceal himself he would’ve yelled out-loud to release his frustration.
After staring at the ground for a few moments he looked up in time to see Ginny getting to her feet and run off toward the house. This was his chance.
He focused hard on the house and imagined himself inside. A large clock suddenly appeared in front of his face and he could hear footsteps running up the crooked staircase to his left. Not wasting any time, Draco stepped quickly yet quietly in the direction of the noise. He heard scuffling inside one of the bedrooms and, assuming Ginny was within, stepped softly to avoid scaring her. Draco grasped the doorknob and gently opened the door to have the entire room within view.
She was bent over in the corner retrieving a very tattered quaffle. He couldn’t help but smile at her hair falling softly against her cheek and doing so made him subconsciously step toward her. A loose board under his foot creaked and Ginny turned to face him. She let out a gasp and the Quaffle went sailing straight in Draco’s direction.
“Draco! Blast, did I hurt you?” Ginny saw blood trickling out of his nose and ran forward to assess the damage. She grabbed an old shirt from her wardrobe and dabbed it at the nostril spilling blood onto his upper lip. It was only then that she truly realized he was standing before her, having no idea how he’d gotten here or why.
Draco blinked a few times and reached out to touch her face. He was literally a bloody mess, but he was smiling at her. She continued to wipe the blood from his nose and suddenly thought of how this would look should someone walk in. Ginny stepped around him and shut her door. After taking a breath, she turned to face him again and they stared at each other in disbelief. Without a doubt, the dream travel gave them enough satisfaction to get through the summer, but something was always missing. Now she could fully appreciate him - body and soul - standing here in her room.
Her room! Ginny suddenly felt quite ashamed. She’d always secretly hoped for Draco to come and spend time with her at her home, but she wasn’t prepared for this unexpected visit. Common sense had painted a beautiful picture of Malfoy Manor in her head and Draco must find her house rather nauseating. She turned away from him as she felt her cheeks flush.
“What is it?” he said. When she looked up at him there was a look of concern on his face.
“Nothing.” She didn’t mean to mumble, but it came out that way. “I just…I really wasn’t prepared for you to see where I live.” She took a breath and stared at the floor.
Draco’s face turned slightly red with embarrassment before it turned to an apologetic gaze. “I know I’ve said some things in the past,” he said, “especially to your brothers. But I shouldn’t have. You know that doesn’t matter to me anymore, and we’re never going to move forward if we keep dwelling on the things in the past.”
She knew he was right. Ginny felt a little better, but her comfortable environment was suddenly quite awkward to her. She felt hesitant. Not to mention, she still didn’t know how he’d managed to get here. Didn’t he realize that he was putting himself in great danger? This upset her.
“What are you doing here?” her voice sounded so ungrateful and she hadn’t meant for it to.
Draco looked taken aback. Ginny could’ve banged her head against the door for sounding so rude. She was truly happy to see him, just flustered at the entire situation. Before she had time to correct her tone, Draco’s spat his next words.
“So silly of me, but I came here to see you. It was important. However, showing up in person – in broad daylight - wasn’t a good idea as I’m obviously intruding on your good time with Potter!”
The words were a slap in the face and she felt the pain from them immediately. Of course! Draco must’ve seen them playing in the grass. She knew he felt jealous at seeing her and Harry lying on the ground together in laughter. The combination of her ungrateful tone mixed with his resentment toward Harry must’ve released the anger within. She should have expected him to say something like that in return, yet her fiery temper wouldn’t let her back down.
“Oh, well next time send an owl first!” her retort was just as unkind as his previous one. “I’d hate for you to continue to bust up my good times.”
The Draco she knew disappeared and Malfoy resurfaced. His body stiffened and the familiar glare burned a hole right through her. He looked as though he was about to speak but closed his eyes, instead. Ginny was confused until she realized he was preparing to Disapparate.
“Draco, wait!” His eyes shot open and he took on a look of annoyance. She needed to speak fast.
“I didn’t mean that and you know I didn’t. It’s just that…you shouldn’t be here. And I don’t mean that in a way that I’m hiding anything from you…or that I don’t want to see you. You know I’m happy to see you.” His face softened somewhat so she took it as a sign to continue. “What if someone sees you? What if there was someone here that’s in the Order? Or, even worse, what if someone on You-Know-Who’s side saw you here? A spy or something.” Draco sighed, but she could tell that he wasn’t going to leave her. “Please tell me why you’ve come to see me. I know it was important for you to take such a risk, especially not even knowing where to find me.” She thought for a moment. “Wait a second - why did you come in person and not wait to tell me tonight?”
He was looking away from her, his arms crossed against his chest. The Malfoy crest was slightly visible under his right hand. She felt a sudden urge to giggle. It was quite the picture. The hand, she noted, was stained with blood from his nose. His hair hung loosely across his face, not pushed back in the way that he normally liked it. But he looked more amazing than she’d ever seen him. She’d insulted him and hurt his pride by being so close to Harry, then almost knocked him senseless with the Quaffle. Yet he was still here. When he glanced over at her, Ginny looked deep into his eyes and was able to hold his gaze. She knew he was struggling with the idea of staying angry with her, but if he could see what she held for him behind her eyes it would tell him everything he needed to know. How very much she wanted him at that moment.
Holding her gaze steady, she reached out and lightly touched his arm. He suddenly broke the distance between them as he pulled her into his chest. Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around his neck as he kissed her deeply. Words escaped her. She relished the warmth of his body as he encapsulated her. Draco’s hands found her face and slowly moved across her cheeks, his fingers brushing back the strands of her hair. Ginny’s body weakened as his touch became too much for her to bear. She thought the moment couldn’t get any better until Draco spoke again…
“If anything ever happened to you…” his voice cracked and it seemed to trail off into the distance. Draco continued to hold her with such urgency that she had to pull back and look at his face. She’d forgotten herself just seconds before and reality came rushing back. She still didn’t know why he had come.
Draco spoke again. “Ginny, my mother knows about you.” She pulled away, shocked, as a wave of fear washed over her. This was bad.
He must have read her expression for he suddenly became reassuring. “It’s alright. You don’t need to worry about Mother at all. But it’s…well it’s the reason she knows about you that brought me here.” Ginny was still unable to speak. She just stared at Draco with her mouth slightly open, her heart beating very fast. “The dream travel potion that I’ve been using this entire time…well, my mother uses it, too. She’s been talking to my father since he escaped from Azkaban. The main ingredient for it was stored in her bedroom. Not knowing this I had my house-elf get it for me despite her hesitation. I had absolutely no idea Mother would know - or that it would matter if she did, but she noticed that it was disappearing. She put two and two together and had the elf confirm it. She wasn’t upset about it, mind you. She was afraid.”
Draco stopped talking as though he was looking for the strength to go on. “Ginny, it was so important to me that we be together…I didn’t think about any possible consequences of the dream travel.”
Ginny suddenly found her voice, but it was small and tiny. “Draco, you’re scaring me. What consequences are we facing - am…am I facing?”
The color was draining from Draco’s face. “Something that I didn’t realize in the beginning was that the Dark Lord created this method of communication. He can monitor it. Ginny - he can see anyone who uses it.”
She felt her face go void of all expression and her knees went weak. Draco caught her as her body began to give way and he sat her gently on the bed. He sat down next to her and took her hand. She could hear Draco continuing to speak but all of the words sounded muffled in her head. Instinct told her she was in trouble. They were in trouble. If You-Know-Who knew that Draco was a traitor it would be far worse on him than for her. She was thinking fast as they needed to react and she had no idea how to go about doing so.
Ginny felt Draco shaking her shoulder. “Ginny? Did you hear what I said?” She came back to reality and looked him in the eyes. “I said that Mother doesn’t think we have anything to worry about. She thinks that had he seen us he would’ve done something about it by now. But I had to tell you. I didn’t want you to wonder why I disappeared from your dreams. We obviously can’t see each other at night anymore.”
Ginny blinked, but was unable to form the words.
Draco took her hand again. “Please say something. I know I’ve put you in danger and that-”
Her resolve came flying back and she interrupted him with force. “You’ve put yourself in greater danger. And that upsets me even more!”
She turned to look out the window at her friends and family. It was true that she loved them more than anything. But she was growing up. Her feelings became deeper…more mature. She continued to stare at the lawn as she spoke. “I love them all so much. Yet I had no idea what it would be like to care about someone so much…someone other than them.” Her voice cracked slightly. She was so afraid of losing him. “My feelings for you grow each and every day. The more time we spend together, the more we get to know each other – it’s just pulling me into this place where I always want to be. But I can’t be in that place if you’re gone, Draco. I’d just as soon live the rest of my life alone rather than be with you and have anything harm you or take you away from me.”
He held up his hand to stop her. She could tell that he didn’t want her to continue. “No,” said Ginny. “We can’t keep doing this, Draco. You were right in the beginning. And now I’m the one that can see it for what it is. I understand that to carry on in this way is just going to get one of us killed. And if that ‘one of us’ is you, I just can’t live with that.” There. She’d said it. She glanced across the room at her vanity and saw their reflection in the mirror. Every inch of her soul was hurting, but she swallowed hard to fight back the tears and stood up. After sliding the vanity drawer open, her hand closed down onto his silver prefects’ badge. “You’ll be having need of this soon,” she tried to smile as she handed him the badge but her bottom lip trembled too much.
Draco held the badge in his hand only for a second before hurling it across her room just hours after doing the same with the barmillow bottle. “I won’t let you do this to us. I won’t let you leave me like this.” His chest heaved in and out and she could almost see how fast his heart was beating. She’d literally crushed him. “Ginny, we can run away. We can leave it all behind. It doesn’t have to be this way. I can’t be without you.” He reached out to touch her hair. “My life has turned so many corners the last few months – I could never find my way back, even if I wanted to. And I don’t want to. I need you with me. Please…please don’t do this.”
The tears streamed down Ginny’s cheeks and she shook her head in protest. All at once she heard a voice in the stairwell.
“Gin? Ginny, where are you?” Hermione’s voice echoed through the house as her footsteps made their way up the stairs. Ginny panicked.
“In the wardrobe,” she said to Draco. “Quickly!”
“Why?” he said. “What’s the point now? Nothing matters anymore, Ginny.”
“Draco, please!” Ginny was in no mood to let their secret be discovered now. She needed time to live in mourning over their relationship without answering to her friends.
“Ginny? What’s taking you so long?” Ginny looked at Draco pleadingly as she heard Hermione just down the hall. His jaw was stiff as he stepped into the wardrobe. A single tear ran silently down his left cheek. She wanted to reach out and hold him, kiss him…do things she swore she wouldn’t until she was much older, but she had to shut the door on him. It felt as though she was shutting him out of her life.
The wardrobe door latched none too soon as Hermione stepped into the room. “Gin, what are you-- Ginny! What’s happened to you?”
Ginny hadn’t thought about what a sight she must be until she saw Hermione’s reaction; her only concern having been to hide Draco. She was flustered…her cheeks were still streaked with tears and Draco’s nose had gotten blood on her face. Hermione ran forward and grabbed her shoulders.
“What’s happened? You’re an absolute mess. You’re bleeding…”
Ginny had to think fast. “Oh, it’s okay. I…I stumbled coming up the steps because I was in such a hurry. I bumped my nose pretty hard and it bled a bit.” Ginny tried to give a soft laugh but she knew how unnatural it must’ve sounded.
“But you’re crying,” said Hermione.
“Well it kind of stung,” said Ginny. She wiped away her tears. “I’m fine, Hermione. My eyes welled up so much after I bumped it, and I kept sneezing and seeing stars – not to mention getting blood everywhere. I was trying to get all cleaned up before Mum saw me. She thinks I’m a clumsy goose as it is.” Ginny cringed inwardly. It was a lie and Hermione knew it.
“Well,” Hermione relented, but Ginny could tell she wasn’t fully convinced. “If you’re sure you’re alright then…do you want me to stay with you for a bit while the others play? I can run the Quaffle down to them.”
“Actually yeah, I mean…why don’t you run the Quaffle on down. Just tell Mum that dinner wasn’t settling too well and I’ll be down shortly. Really, I’m fine. I just need to get myself cleaned up.” Ginny continued to clean her face of the mess.
Hermione picked the Quaffle up from where it lay and started toward the door. “Oh,” she said, “I almost forgot my sweater. It’s gotten a bit chilly out so I thought I’d grab it when I came in to check on you.” She spun on her heel and approached the wardrobe.
Ginny panicked, yet again. “I’ll grab it for you!” Perhaps she spoke a little too quickly for Hermione frowned and then raised an eyebrow.
“As if I want blood all over my sweater? No, I’ll get it.” And with that, she swung open the wardrobe doors.
Ginny had closed her eyes preparing for the sight that would unfold before them. When Hermione’s scream was absent Ginny opened one eye and saw that the wardrobe held only their clothing. Draco, she assumed, had Disapparated.
Much to his dismay, Draco arrived in his bedroom moments later. His wish to miraculously disappear on his return trip home obviously hadn’t worked. The last vision he had was of Ginny closing the wardrobe door in his face. He hadn’t wanted to leave; there was still so much more to say, but Hermione’s protests at having Ginny get her sweater for her had ruined all prospect of saying anything else.
He was angry and devastated, all at the same time. His first instinct was to tell her she could have it her way! To let her wallow away in the choice that she’d made as he’d be fine without her. But deep down he knew that thought was only out of frustration. He couldn’t rid himself of the way in which she returned his kiss standing there in her room. Everything had moved to an entirely new level. His body hadn’t quite recovered from it and his stomach dropped at the thought of never feeling that sensation again. It was only during this moment that he could finally admit something to himself. He was in love with her. Nothing else truly mattered to him but having her love in return.
Draco knew that Ginny cared for him every bit as much yet she’d been scared when he made his confession about the dream travel. He knew that she only wanted him to be safe, but the thought didn’t give him much comfort. She was a strong willed person. He doubted that all of the persuasion in the world would change her mind.
He looked across the room. Hours earlier his secret had been discovered. The remains of the barmillow bottle lay in pieces on the floor around the head of his four-poster. His cloak that he’d worn to the Ministry lay in a heap by the wardrobe. Everything was as it had been before he’d seen Ginny. If he closed his eyes he could imagine the entire incident at The Burrow to be nothing but a bad dream. But he knew this wasn’t true. No amount of pretending would dismiss the fact that she had ended everything between them.
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