Chapter 12 – The Chosen One

“Ginny!”

“Mmmm?” A yawn. “Wha-?”

“Ginny, wake up!” Neville whispered urgently.

Ginny opened her eyes, confused.

“Neville? Where-?” And then it all came back. She was in Draco’s hospital bed. He was the warm, unmoving body at her side. It felt like her world had been sewn back together while she slept only to be ripped to shreds once more upon waking.

“Ginny, you have to move!” Neville whispered, clasping her hand and tugging gently. “Harry’s stirring, and your brother and Hermione are sitting right there!”

“Oh, Nev, what does it matter? Let them see me, I don’t care anymore,” Ginny replied, shaking her head slowly as she took in Draco’s pale skin and bloodless lips. He looked like one already dead.

“Please, Ginny. Do you really want Harry to find out this way? He’s just defeated the world’s greatest evil and saved us all, and he’s going to wake up to see his girlfriend in bed with a man he hates? That kind of thing’s not good for a man’s ego, Gin.”

Ginny nodded reluctantly and slid out of the bed. Standing with Neville between the two hospital beds she turned to look out the window and watched as the first sheen of sunlight warmed the frosty morning.

“Will he be okay?” she murmured, resting her head on Neville’s shoulder.

“He’s going to be fine, I think,” came a faint croak from behind them.

“Harry!” both Ginny and Neville exclaimed at the same time, waking Ron and Hermione in the process. Harry, awake and smiling weakly, was swarmed by his friends, all hugging him and crying over him. Ginny hung back.

“I’ll just go tell Madam Pomfrey you’re awake, then. And Mum and Dad – they’ll want to know,” she murmured, edging away from the bed while the others were distracted.

Ginny met her parents at the door and gave them the good news. Mrs. Weasley hugged Ginny before rushing in, dragging Arthur behind her. Ginny could hear her tear-filled shouts of “Oh, Harry!” as she left the hospital wing. She made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, noticing signs of the recent battle throughout the castle’s corridors: scorch marks on the stone walls, shredded paintings, piles of rubble, dark stains on the floor. Ginny shuddered as she thought of the bodies that must have already been removed.

“Dear girl, you’re safe!” the Fat Lady exclaimed as Ginny reached her portrait.

“I’m safe,” Ginny agreed dully. “Pink nail polish.”

“Goes so well with my complexion,” the Fat Lady murmured as she swung open.

Ignoring the shell-shocked, questioning faces of the other Gryffindors who had survived the night and were now congregated in the common room, Ginny wearily climbed the stairs to the girls’ dormitory and buried herself beneath her covers. She didn’t want to think about anything, and numbly sank into the oblivion of sleep.

-----

When Ginny woke up, the first thing she noticed was how dark the room was. She had slept the entire day away. She sighed.

“Finally,” spoke a voice from the side of her bed. Luna was perched on the wingback chair in the corner of the room, her knees drawn up to her chest. “I was wondering if you were planning on sleeping forever.”

“I wish I could,” Ginny replied. “How’s Harry? How’s . . . Draco? Is there any change?” Ginny tried not to let anxiety creep into her voice.

“Harry’s much better – he’s been asking about you, in fact. Neville told him you hadn’t slept at all, and were dead tired. But you know you have to talk to him, right?”

“Yes, I know. What about . . . ?”

“No change. I’m sorry, Ginny,” Luna said, her eyes downcast.

“Well, guess I should go check in, then,” Ginny replied with a falsely cheery note in her voice. She kept her chin up and mentally repeated “Gryffindors are brave” all the way down to the hospital wing in the hope that it would help. Despite this, her stomach still churned uncomfortably as she pushed open the door.

Harry was alone, sitting up in his bed and flipping through Quaffle, Bludger, Snitch when Ginny entered the Hospital wing; someone had drawn the curtain closed around Draco’s bed though, and Ginny could only see his dark outline through the thin, white fabric.

“Ginny,” Harry said, smiling brightly and laying the magazine aside.

“Hi, Harry,” Ginny replied. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, guess you were right. I made it through the war after all.”

Ginny squeezed his hand and smiled.

“Is everything okay, Gin?” Harry asked. “You disappeared so quickly after I woke up . . .”

“Oh, Harry, I don’t even know where to start,” Ginny said, tears forming in her eyes.

“What is it, Ginny?” Harry asked, his voice filled with alarm.

“Harry, I love you. I always will. But,” Ginny paused, trying to choose her words carefully. She didn’t want to hurt Harry; he didn’t deserve it. “But, Harry, I love you more like the way I love Charlie, or Ron . . .”

“Gin, what are you saying?”

“We’re family, Harry. No matter what happens, that’s what it is. We don’t have passion or romantic love between us because we’re too close. I will love you forever – so will everyone in the family because you are a part of it, but I don’t think it is more than that. I’m so sorry, Harry.” The tear that was threatening spilled down her cheek and Ginny hastily brushed it aside.

“You don’t want to marry me?” Harry asked, shock in his voice.

“Harry, I can’t! It wouldn’t be right!”

“Is there someone else?” Harry’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Ginny could feel herself reddening, but shook her head angrily. “Harry, that’s not the point! This is between you and me! I love you so much, I do, Harry. But I’m not in love with you, and I don’t believe you’re in love with me, either. Oh, Harry, being together means that both of us might miss out on real love, true love!”

“Why now, Ginny? What happened?”

“I – I guess I wasn’t sure. I mean, we’re supposed to be together, aren’t we? It seemed easier to just go with the flow, and I told myself – I almost had myself convinced – that what my Mum wants, and what Ron wants, what everybody wants, was what I wanted, too. And Harry” – Ginny’s voice dropped to just above a whisper – “I don’t want to lie to you. I – I did fall in love with someone else. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry!”

Harry didn’t respond, and Ginny took a few ragged breaths, trying to get her crying under control.

“Who is it?” Harry said quietly, not looking at Ginny.

“Does it really matter, Harry? If it makes you feel better, it’s not anyone who’s likely to ever love me back, or make me happy, or-” Here Ginny glanced up at Draco’s curtained-off bed and burst into tears again.

Harry suddenly started laughing, and Ginny looked at him, alarmed.

“Harry? Are you all right?”

“I know, I know,” he said, his voice cracking slightly even as his shoulders shook with laughter. “This isn’t supposed to be funny. It’s just that we’re quite a pair, you know? The war’s finally over, everyone’s off celebrating, and here we are crying like it’s the end of the world.”

“Does that mean you don’t hate me?”

“No, Ginny. I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. And you’re right – we don’t have a relationship like your brother and Hermione do. I see the way they look at each other and I wonder what’s wrong with me. Maybe it’s like you say, we’re not meant to be. It’s just . . . I always thought we’d all always be together. One great big family. Ron and Hermione, you and me, your parents, all your brothers . . . .”

“Harry, we always will be! That’s what I’m trying to say. You don’t need to be with me for that to happen! Gods, my Mum’s talking about adding a hand for you to the clock. That makes you family forever!”

Harry gave her a sad smile.

“Friends still?” Ginny asked hesitantly.

“Family,” Harry affirmed, squeezing Ginny’s hand. “I want you to be happy, Ginny, I really do. But fair warning – if this other bloke doesn’t treat you right, he’ll have me to answer to.”

“Thank you, Harry,” Ginny whispered, giving him a hug. Relief fluttered through her. “I guess I should let you rest, huh? I’ll come by and check on you in the morning, though.”

-----

Ginny managed to avoid her family for the rest of the evening, though she did come across Neville and Luna in the kitchens when she snuck in for a snack – she hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before and was starving. She explained to them that she had broken up with Harry while they ate roast beef sandwiches and sipped hot chocolate.

“It’s all going to work out, Ginny,” Luna said quietly, and Ginny nodded her head, wishing she could believe her.

Later, when all the castle was asleep, Ginny found herself still tossing and turning in her bed. That’s what you get for sleeping all day, I suppose, she thought. She couldn’t get Draco’s image out of her head.

Slipping out of bed and throwing her school robe around her, Ginny left Gryffindor Tower and made her way to the hospital wing. A candle burned in Madam Pomfrey’s office, but Ginny didn’t see her anywhere. Most of the beds were filled with sleeping students who had been injured in the battle, and Ginny paused for a moment to listen to the peaceful breathing that filled the room. Picking her way over to the far wall near the windows, Ginny saw that Harry had fallen asleep with his glasses on and his Quidditch magazine lying open in his lap.

“You’re going to be okay, Harry,” she whispered with a smile and carefully removed his glasses, placing them on the nightstand between his bed and Draco’s.

The curtain remained closed around Draco’s bed, and Ginny tentatively pulled it open and slipped inside. In the darkness surrounding her, she couldn’t see Draco, but she could hear the slow, shallow sound of his breathing. Using her hands to guide her, Ginny climbed into the bed beside him and laid her head on his bare chest.

“Goodnight, Draco,” she murmured, and it wasn’t long before she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

The loud, cheery voice of her mother woke her the next morning.

“Shit!” she exclaimed as she scrambled out of the bed. She could only imagine the row she would cause if her mum found her sleeping with random comatose men. Peaking out of the curtain, she saw Mrs. Weasley making her way across the room with a breakfast tray for Harry, who was still sleeping.

No getting out unseen, then. Well, here goes nothing.

Ginny boldly stepped through the curtains and greeted her mother.

“Ginny, what are you doing here so early?” Mrs. Weasley asked in surprise.

“Couldn’t sleep. I thought I’d come down and check on Harry. I was just looking at, er, Malfoy.” Ginny was saved further explanation by Harry waking up and engrossing her mother’s attention. The three chatted for a bit, and Ginny was glad to see that Harry seemed to be recovering both his health and his spirits.

“Well, what’s this?” Mrs. Weasley asked, looking over at Draco’s bed. “Why are Draco’s curtains closed?”

“Oh, that,” Harry laughed. “Ron did it – said I shouldn’t have to stare at the Ferret while I’m recovering.”

Mrs. Weasley shook her head disapprovingly. “You boys and your feuds,” she said. “Draco played a very large role in winning this war, Harry. Surely you can forgive old arguments? He deserves a little sunshine just as much as everyone else.” She pulled the curtains open with one of her trademark “Humphs!”

“Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley said, pausing suddenly, “what is your robe doing on Draco’s bed?” She turned around with the garment in her hand.

“Oh, I – I must have set it down when I was looking at him. Thanks, Mum,” Ginny replied, taking her robe and hastily putting it on. Both Mrs. Weasley and Harry gave her puzzled looks. “Well, I should really go get a shower before breakfast. See you later, Mum, Harry.” Ginny turned tail and scurried out of the room.

-----

Despite Ginny’s close call, she continued to sneak into the hospital wing each night to curl up next to Draco and sleep. She needed to be near him, to feel his warmth against her skin – it was the small bit of comfort in her life. Madam Pomfrey sustained his life, but was unable to counteract whatever dark spell the locket had cast on him. He had not moved once since he fell.

Harry, on the other hand, improved rapidly. The force of the magic Voldemort used against him had drained his energy and left him unconscious after the final battle, but with rest and the constant fussing of Mrs. Weasley, Harry soon felt good as new and was released from the hospital wing.

Hogwarts, too, returned to normal. The families who had arrived to care for injured children, the Aurors, the Order members, the Ministry officials – all of them finally left and classes resumed once more. The rest of January was punctuated by news of stray Death Eaters being tracked down and arrested. Wizengamot court proceedings became the regular material for the front page of the Daily Prophet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who could have returned to school, ended up being needed to testify frequently, and decided to continue their private tutoring with Lupin in order to remain in London.

Ginny wasn’t sorry to see them go. Ron didn’t take the news of her breakup with Harry very well. In fact, she began to think that breaking up with Harry had been easy in comparison to dealing with Ron’s reaction.

“How could you, Ginny? He’s perfect! He’s a hero! He’s-”

“Well if he’s so great, why don’t you date him, Ron, and leave me out of it!”

“Ginny!” Ron replied in a scandalized tone.

“Okay, that wasn’t fair,” Ginny conceded, “but Ron, this is my life and my decision! Harry is wonderful, probably better than I will ever deserve, but he isn’t right for me. I’m sorry this bothers you so much, but as my brother, I’d hope that you would at least try to understand and want me to do what makes me happy!”

But Ron was too thick for even this obvious guilt trip, and continued to alternate between badgering her to tell Harry she was “just joking,” and treating her like she had performed a Killing Curse on his fluffy pet bunny. After two days of it, Ginny was contemplating performing a Killing Curse on him. Or at least stuffing Canary Creams down his throat until he had a permanent squawk.

No, Ginny wasn’t sorry to see them go at all.

Exactly a month had passed since the final battle – a month of fake smiles, little appetite, and poorly done homework – when Ginny found out Draco would be leaving her, too. Madam Pomfrey, after tending to him for four weeks, had decided it was time to transfer him to St. Mungo’s, where he’d take up residence in the Permanent Spell Damage Ward. Ginny heard the news at dinner from Neville, who volunteered in the hospital wing.

“But it’s not permanent, right?” Ginny asked, looking at Neville for reassurance.

“Well, Ginny . . . it’s been a month, you know, and Madam Pomfrey’s tried everything she could think of. At St. Mungo’s, Malfoy will be treated by more experienced mediwitches. I’m sure they’ll figure out something.” Neville found himself offering words of comfort he didn’t really believe in – his parents were in that ward, after all. A month in a coma from dark magic was not something one usually recovered from, but he couldn’t tell Ginny that – not with her looking at him with such fear in her eyes.

“Right,” Ginny responded slowly. “That makes sense. It’s for the best, then, I suppose.”

Ginny allowed herself to be soothed by Neville’s explanation, but deep down, she knew what happened to witches and wizards in the Permanent Spell Damage Ward. It was a place for the hopeless, a place where people were forgotten by the rest of the world.

-----

“I promise I won’t forget about you,” Ginny whispered much later that night as she silently slipped into the hospital bed beside Draco. “I won’t be able to visit until term is over, but I can come every day this summer. I’m going to be working at Fred and George’s shop, and that’s right near St. Mungo’s. I’ll miss you so much though. I know how stupid that sounds, and I know you can’t hear me, but Draco, I love you. I will forever – for as long as I live. And for as long as I live, I’m going to stay with you. You’re it for me, you know.”

Ginny had made a habit of talking to Draco before she fell asleep each night. She would whisper to him about her day, tell him anything that came into her head, still clinging to the hope that maybe he would hear her voice and come back. And she had to admit, her relationship with comatose-Draco, while not as exciting or as passionate, was far less complicated than her relationship with conscious-Draco.

Sighing, Ginny reclined her head against Draco’s shoulder and slowly sunk into a troubled sleep.

“Pbbbbbt! Fffft! Fffft!”

Crookshanks has a hairball. Ewww.

Ginny sat up suddenly. She had been dreaming about Hermione’s cat for some odd reason, but something had awoken her. A gasping sound behind her made her whirl around.

“Draco?” she asked hesitantly.

“Gods, woman! You nearly suffocated me with that mop of hair of yours!” came a raspy voice from beside her.

“Draco?”

“Ginny.”

“You’re awake! You’re alive! Draco!” And Ginny fell upon him, raining kisses down upon every inch of his face. She was crying and laughing at the same time, and bordering very close upon complete hysteria.

“Ginny . . . can’t breathe,” Draco croaked, grasping her shoulders lightly.

“Oh gods, sorry!” Ginny replied, sitting up and blushing. “I thought you’d never wake up.”

“Never wake up? How long has it been then?”

“A month now. You were being transferred to St. Mungo’s in the morning.”

“A month?” Draco repeated with an unreadable expression on his face. He struggled into a sitting position. “But then why- what are you doing here?”

Ginny studied her hands, interlaced in her lap, intently. “I’ve been sneaking down here to sleep with you at night. I- I wanted to be near you.”

“Ginny,” Draco said, reaching out to touch her chin lightly, “look at me. About that night . . . about the kiss-“

“No!” Ginny interrupted. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare push me away again! Look, I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. It was complicated for me, though! I’ve loved Harry for as long as I can remember – I loved him before I even met him, for Merlin’s sake! And you, it was what, a week? A week with you and my whole life changes! Of course I didn’t trust it, of course I was confused! You expect me to be sure of everything all at once, but I’m not perfect! I made a mistake. Harry kissed me, and I swear to you, I was pulling away, I was going to tell him, but you picked that moment to walk in and see us. You never gave me a chance to explain, no! Instead you just pushed me away. Yes, I went back to Harry. You gave me no choice! I wanted to be with you. One word from you, one look, and I would have come running back, begging you to forgive me. Well, I’ve had it, now! I know you damn well love me, Draco Malfoy, and I’m not letting you go again! You’re stuck with me!”

“You’re right, Ginny. I didn’t give you a chance to explain. What was there to explain? I won’t be your dirty little secret, Ginny! And I won’t play second-best to Potter!”

“You are not my secret. I’ll tell everyone – I don’t care anymore. And as far as Harry goes, I broke up with him as soon he regained consciousness after the final battle.”

“You dumped Potter right after he saved the whole wizarding world, when he was still recovering from battling Voldemort? That’s harsh, Gin.” A small smirk was forming at the corners of Draco’s mouth.

“I’m not proud of my timing,” Ginny replied with a huff. “But I couldn’t lie to him. I had to tell him I was in love with somebody else.”

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment.

“I never asked for you to come into my life,” he said finally. “After that day in the bathroom, it was like I couldn’t get your voice out of my head. Ironic that my conscience would be a Weasley. And when I opened my eyes and saw you in that dungeon, my first thought was that you were an angel. Sure, I was slightly delusional from lack of food, but there you go. You looked like salvation, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted it. I was afraid at first to let you touch me. Afraid you’d burn right into my skin like a brand, a kind of Dark Mark. But gods, how I wanted to kiss you. I knew, from that moment I did kiss you that I loved you.”

He took Ginny’s hand in his.

“I’ve spent a lot of time trying to forget about you. After I saw you with Potter, I thought I hated you. I avoided you, ignored you all summer, but I couldn’t make the you in my head go away.

“You went back to school and I thought finally I’d be able to forget about you. I just couldn’t do it, though. Everything reminded me of you. When Potter mentioned that Halloween dance, I thought I’d sneak in and see you one last time. I thought I could get some closure, put you behind me for good. But holding you in my arms again, kissing you – it was too much. I almost . . . I almost told you who it was. I had this feeling you knew already. I was going to confess, tell you I loved you more than life itself, beg you to come back to me – in short, make a total fool of myself. Thank you for saving me from that. You calling me by Potter’s name made me realize, more than anything else, that I was deluding myself, and wasting my time. You had made your choice, and even if I thought you were a damned hypocrite, taking the easy way out, there was nothing I could do about it.” He smirked.

“But I certainly could still hurt you, couldn’t I? You barged in that night I killed my father, and you were finally ready to save me. You were going to convince me that it wasn’t my fault, that I was a good man deep down – all that rubbish. I couldn’t let you do it, do you understand? I couldn’t let you get to me again, not after I’d convinced myself I didn’t need you! I’m not proud of hurting you that way, but I was trying to save myself. I heard you leave the house and after you didn’t come back, I got worried. Gods, Ginny,” – his voice sounded slightly choked – “I thought you were dead when I saw you on that park bench. I thought I had killed you. Just the thought of being in this world . . . without you in it-” He paused, and Ginny noticed the wet gleam in his eyes. She reached her hand out to stroke his cheek, but he caught it with his own and pushed it away.

“What else is there to say? I thought the necklace would kill me. I allowed myself the indulgence of one last kiss . . . .”

“And that’s it, then?” Ginny demanded.

“I don’t need your pity, Ginny.”

Ginny wanted to slap him. The fear of sending him back into his coma was the only thing that restrained her.

“I don’t pity you, Draco. I love you. I love you, you bloody, fucking moron! How many times do I have to tell you? What do I have to do to make you realize it?! Why are you such a-”

Ginny didn’t have the chance to call Draco whatever nasty name she had been thinking because at that moment he pulled her to him in a hard, searing kiss. Ginny felt herself melting against him as she returned the kiss with all the fire within her, trying desperately to convey how much she madly, deeply loved him.

“You know you’re bloody impossible, right?” Draco asked, finally breaking the kiss. “And incredibly stubborn.”

It was Ginny’s turn to smirk at him.

“Ginny,” Draco continued, becoming serious, “if you choose this, I won’t let you go easily again. That’s a mistake I’ll only make once. You’ll be mine now.”

“And you’ll be mine,” Ginny replied with a smile.

“And you’re not allowed to go within ten feet of that ponce, Potter.”

“We’ll see. Any other demands?”

Draco was silent for a moment, and then a smile spread across his face.

“After we’re married, I’ll need to be shagged twice daily, perhaps more on the weekends.”

Ginny promptly pulled the pillow out from under him and hit him over the head with it.

“What? Not enough? All right, three times daily. You drive a hard bargain, witch.”

“Why don’t we negotiate the terms of our relationship tomorrow?” she asked, smiling.

-----

Later that night . . . .

“Woman! You’re hogging the covers!”

“You know, Draco, you were a lot easier to sleep with when you were unconscious,” came the groggy reply.

“Was that a threat?”

“No, that wasn’t a threat. . . yet.”

Silence.

“I love you, Ginny.”

“I love you, too, Draco.”