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It was December 2004 and Ginevra Weasley stood in the middle of what was once known as the Hogwarts Quidditch field. Her gray pants and shirt weren’t helping her get warm but who could afford a nice jacket and wool pants nowadays? As she looked around, she noted that the wood of the stands was black and rotted by time as the once colorful house draperies were in shreds.
Seven years had passed since the final battle between dark and light. The winner? Darkness had defeated the light and there was nothing that could be done. No hero to give them hope of any defeat of the Dark Lord, who killed anyone he pleased every day.
Ginny shivered at the memory of her brother’s death, Ron. She remembered Hermione had sent her an underground letter telling her how Ron was no longer with them because his name had been said in front of the Dark Lord. More tears came to her eyes as she remembered the fall of one of her closest friends, Harry Potter.
Harry had failed to defeat Voldemort and his followers. The only thing that Harry was able to save were the members of the Order. Before Voldemort killed Harry with an unknown curse, Harry had cursed the Dark Lord with a strong spell that made him forget the people involved in The Order of the Phoenix. Reason why Hermione, Remus, Tonks, Bill, and so many others including herself were still alive.
Voldemort’s Death Eaters had tried telling him about the people involved with the good side, but somehow Harry’s spell couldn’t be broken, and Voldemort didn’t believe his followers. Why should he, when he ruled the world? Shortly after his victory, he began to kill off witches, wizards and muggles that he wanted to kill for revenge. It wasn’t long before Peter Pettigrew advised to just pick some random wizard and have him killed. He seemed to like that because the next day the announcement was made. If your name was drawn out, then you were to be hunted down and killed.
Millions fled the country while others just got caught and were killed right on the spot. From the Order, Ron was the first one to be killed off. It made Hermione and Ginny go off into hiding at the place that was once Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They both knew no one went there, not even the members of the Dark.
Ginny looked around her and saw as the knee-deep snow made everything look as if Hogwarts was still open. She wanted to smile but couldn’t, for it hurt so much to smile when the world was crying and fearing. The wind blew a few strands of her copper hair in her face but she didn’t move them away. Looking up at the sky, a few snowflakes landed on her freckled nose and she opened her mouth to take some in.
Memories of her childhood flooded her mind and she remembered what fun it was to make snow angels in the snow. Looking down at the ground, she felt an urge to see if she could try to at least feel a strange warmth from the snow around her arms and legs. Looking around to see if she was still alone, she mentally thanked Merlin for her privacy and slowly laid down.
The fluffy snow took her in at once and she could feel herself sinking slowly into the white depths. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself back at the Burrow making snow angels and laughing as her brothers threw snowballs at each other. With her eyes still closed, she began to move her arms and legs sideways to make the wings and body of her snow angel.
She could hear the crunching of the snow as she moved her arms and legs, and she almost managed a smile when something hit her face, momentarily stunning her into stillness. She blinked her eyes furiously, blinking away the snowflakes on her eyes. She sat up and her hands went to her face where she felt the after burn of snow. She brushed snow off of her now reddened nose and got up in a hurry, searching for the attacker.
Her eyes were wide with fear, her heart beating a million beats a second. Had they found her? Was she going to die here in the snow? She looked carefully at the stands, her gaze rocketing over to the Quidditch stadium entrance, to the lockers entrance. She twirled around, her breath hitching in her chest. It started snowing as she shook her head, momentarily thinking that she had imagined it all. She turned around and started running towards the stadium entrance, towards the castle when she got hit in the back by another snowball. She stopped, her breathing harsh against the silence of the day. She closed her eyes and silently prayed to all the available gods to forgive her for all the sins she had committed. Ginny didn’t want to turn around. The fear of seeing her killer in the face was gnawing at her. If she was going to die, she wanted to die with no knowledge of who killed her.
"Turn around Weasley, it’s only me, or are you too scared to look at me?" drawled the snowball thrower, the voice making Ginny gasp, opening her eyes.
Ginny slowly turned around and almost fell backwards when she saw who it was.
"You’re dead!" she whispered, taking a step backwards, her eyes never leaving his face.
"Really? If I’m dead then why am I standing here talking to you?"
"B-b-but Lupin said you were never found and were probably dead..." Ginny stuttered, taking another step backwards, surveying the area again. You were never too sure who was out there.
"Haven’t you ever heard of running away or hiding, Weasley?" Draco said sarcastically, taking no notice of her wandering eyes.
"You ran away? But why? I mean, why would one of V-Voldemort’s most loyal followers run away when," she stopped, her expression changing into an angry, yet scared look. "Wait! Are you here because I was chosen to be killed? Is that why you’re here, Malfoy!?" she choked, backing up even more. No, she didn’t want to die here, especially at the hands of a Malfoy!
Malfoy stood still, staring at the redhead, not saying anything. Everything was quiet and Ginny could only hear the wind blowing through the snow and stands. No, this couldn’t be happening to her, not him.
"Relax Weasley, I’m not here to kill you. Voldemort and his fucking buddies don’t even know I’m alive. I’m here for personal reasons and it doesn’t include killing you. So don’t get your knickers in a twist," he finally spoke, flashing her his all too familiar grin.
Ginny’s pulse slowed down after what Malfoy said. If he wasn’t there to kill her, then what was he doing here? How had he managed to live so long without being seen from anyone? Her thoughts were soon broken when a snowball hit her on the chest and cold snow went down her shirt making her shiver. She dusted the snow off her worn-out jacket.
She glared at him before saying, "Why are you throwing snowballs at me!? I thought you were some Death Eater here trying to kill me. I thought," she paused and looked away, tears starting to fall slowly down her cheeks. It took her a minute before she looked back up with red puffy eyes and continued, "I thought I was going to die here at school."
"I came here to have fun, Weasley, not to cry around. Come on, get into the spirit of a good snowball fight." He grinned before bending down to gather up some snow.
Ginny stood there, gazing at him with her mouth agape. Here was the world being hell and he wanted to have a good snowball fight? With a quick shake of her head, she dodged the ball of snow that was thrown at her face again. She glared at him before scooping up some snow and changing its texture to a sphere. With no smile or any sign of having fun, Ginny threw the snowball at him and almost managed to smile when it hit the side of his blond head.
Draco straightened up and cried, "Hey! Watch the hair!" He threw another snowball at her, and it hit her on the leg. She felt the snow turn from cold to a small burning sensation, but she pushed it aside when she bent down again and began making small balls of snow to throw at him.
It wasn’t long before the sound of snow hitting wood and clothes was heard throughout the empty Quidditch field. The snow that had been undisturbed for weeks now had shoe prints, as well as bigger holes and other malformations. If one was to be looking at the school’s direction through the field from far away, they could have seen something fiercely red running around in circles.
Ginny soon grew tired and looked from behind the wooden plank that she was hiding behind. Where was he? It had been quiet for several minutes and she needed to hit him in order to win the game. He had only hit her fifteen times in this little game, and she had hit him fifteen as well. When he didn’t appear, she slowly started walking out into the middle of the field again. Maybe he left? She was about to call him when she caught someone running towards her. She wasn’t fast enough. Right when she was going to turn around, she got tackled down and she fell towards the snow-covered ground.
When Ginny opened her eyes again, she was looking into a pair of gray ones. It didn’t take her long to realize that he was on top of her, and they had somehow managed to sink a bit into the snow. She tried getting up, but his weight wasn’t letting her.
"Get off Malfoy!" she said in a demanding voice. Even though it was cold, at the moment she was feeling a bit... hot?
Malfoy examined her face before rolling his eyes and getting off of her. She blushed at the action he had done and decided to stay in the snow. The warmth she had felt while being under him had vanished and deep down she regretted telling him to get off. It wasn’t the temperature warmth she had felt, but something else.
Gazing up at him, she noticed how the snow fell on his blond hair and camouflaged itself on it. The way his once perfect complexion was now the home of scars. Her eyes traveled down to the rest of his body and observed how his body was still fit looking, but she could tell that one of his legs wasn’t how it was before. She’d noticed him limping a bit when they had been running around earlier. Was that a result from the war? A reminder of it?
As if reading her thoughts, Draco sat back down on the snow beside her and said, "War does this to you." He pointed at his leg and at the small scars that adorned the side of his face and left cheek. They weren’t big or really visible, it was only when you looked hard enough that you noticed them. "But you don’t seem to have them."
Ginny shook her head. "I have lots of scars, but you just can’t see them because not all of them are physical," she said, lifting her hand and touching the thin dent that was on his cheek.
He didn’t brush her hand away or say anything about it, but what he did say was something Ginny wasn’t expecting at the moment.
"To answer your question, I ran away because I needed to do something. You see, Weasley, after Dumbledore’s death," his voice and expression showed no sign of emotion as he talked, "He wasn’t happy because I hadn’t killed him, and Snape had done my task. He decided to punish me not only with Unforgivables, but by killing my mother."
Ginny lowered her hand and brought it to her mouth to keep her from gasping aloud. Draco didn’t look at her but said, "I liked your hand where it was..."
Looking down at her fingers, Ginny nodded before continuing what she had been doing before his telling of his mother’s death. She felt the same warmth she had felt before returning to her and she bit her lip to keep her from putting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
Closing his eyes, Draco moved his head against her hand before speaking again. "He tortured her until he killed her. He killed her right before my eyes with the Avada curse... He was laughing as he did it and when he looked at me, he said, ``Our weaknesses need to be destroyed to make us stronger." Little did he know that my weakness was nowhere near that place at the time." He looked at Ginny briefly before turning his attention back to the sky. "I just watched my mother fall to the ground. I got up and ran to her to hug her frail body, but when I reached her, he, Voldemort, hit me with Crucio and I blacked out."
At this point, Ginny had Draco’s head on her lap and her left hand was slowly going through his soft, not too long hair. Her right hand was on his chest, holding his right hand and she could feel the warmth grow stronger when he started caressing her hand with his thumb. She wanted to cry for his mother and for all the other victims that had died by Voldemort’s hands. For Harry and Ron...
Draco’s eyes were still closed, so he couldn’t see Ginny’s tear-filled eyes. She turned away and took notice of the castle that loomed over them like a giant in its land. When his voice reached her ears, she turned to face him again. And with dried tears she listened.
"When I woke up, I was inside a dungeon. Remembering what had happened I became intent on getting my revenge on Voldemort. I decided to stay and just see what I could do to pay him back. Over time he slowly began to trust me again, especially after killing Snape. One day he told me about this process that only strong wizards and witches could do. The process was the ability to change the past and future in a simple yet complicated way which involved lots of time. I learned how to start that powerful spell and how to keep it so that it could work. He said that without that process he wouldn’t be where he was now, and after saying that, he hit me with Crucio again.
"When I came to, I knew it was time for Voldemort to pay for what he had done. I decided to act the day Potter and the Order were going to attack, since he was busy preparing for the ambush and everything. The morning you attacked, I heard the yelling of curses, spells and threats, and when Granger commanded me to go to the lower levers to see if any threat was there. I snuck out and ran to the forbidden forest where I began to work on the incantation that would help me get revenge on that bastard."
As Draco was telling her the story, she remembered everything that had happened that morning. How Hermione had yelled out to her and the others, including Colin Creevey and Seamus Finnegan, to go down to the dungeons to see if there were any victims or Death Eaters waiting for an ambush. She felt the pain and fear she had felt that night and looked away when Draco neared his face to hers and whispered that it was okay to cry.
Pressing her flushed face into his chest, she started to sob and let really big fat tears roll out of her eyes. Why had that happened? Why hadn’t Harry defeated Voldemort? She felt as Draco began to rock her slowly in a silent lullaby and she closed her puffy eyes and imagined them in a world where Harry had succeeded and her brother was still alive, yelling at her for being in the arms of the Ferret.
It seemed like an eternity when Ginny lifted her face from his chest and stared up into his gray orbs. They weren’t cold or heartless. No, he wasn’t cold or heartless. He was a human just like her and even though back in school he seemed like an annoying prat, she felt that he had never been heartless. Just misunderstood, perhaps...
"You know, if you guys would have arrived a few hours earlier, the light would have won."
Ginny didn’t look away after he said that, but asked, "Why do you say that?" Her voice shook but she managed not to break it again.
She saw as Draco’s eyes broke away from hers and observed the darkening sky.
"Because Voldemort knew at what time you were going to attack. He knew where Potter was going to be standing and where everyone was going to go because of the time. He somehow knew that you guys were arriving at 5 in the morning, just before the sun rose. He was ready and that’s why you guys were defeated, because he knew." He didn’t look at her but his embrace on her tightened. "If you guys would have arrived even an hour before, Potter would have succeeded, and all those lives would have never been lost." He looked down at her and lifted his hand to place it under her chin. "Your brother would still be alive as well as Potter and your father and mother."
Ginny felt a lump rise in her throat at the memory that they were all dead. "But it’s too late now!" she said with anger and sadness bound in her voice. If only they would have known about this, then maybe, just maybe she could be hugging her brother and Hermione would be married to Harry.
"It’s never too late for anything." His gaze moved to look at a strand of red hair that had fallen in front of her face. Without moving her, he lifted his hand that wasn’t under her chin and tucked her loose strand of hair behind her ear. When he looked back into her eyes; he saw her crying.
She felt as the lump exploded and sent millions of tears down her cheeks again. Voldemort had cheated and poor Harry had fallen into a trap set by himself! She shook her head and managed to choke out, "It’s too late, Draco."
Draco smiled when she said his first name and leaned his face closer to hers and whispered, "It’s never too late, Ginny."
She closed her eyes and felt as his lips met hers. The warmth inside of her burst from her chest to run all through her body. Ginny felt as he deepened the kiss and as he ran his hands through her hair and caressed her crown. She couldn’t control her hands as they went through his hair and down his back to pull him closer. She felt the fire deep inside her get bigger and at that moment she smiled into the kiss, and she knew it was never too late.
Opening her eyes, she sat up straight and looked around. Everything was dark and quiet except for the breathing of Hermione, who was sleeping in the bed beside hers. Lifting a hand to her lips, Ginny touched them and felt a cry of pain in her chest when she concluded that it had all been a dream. She closed her eyes and tried to remember her 23-year-old self with a 24-year-old Draco. Frustrated, she clenched her hands into fists and punched her mattress.
"Ginny? Are you okay?" Hermione asked, slowly sitting up.
"Sorry Hermione, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just had a dream and yeah..." She blushed and thanked Merlin for the lack of light.
"Oh? Well, then it must have been either a good dream or bad one to have woken you up."
"Yeah, it was a good dream. I could feel the snow's coldness against my body, and I could feel and smell everything. I thought it was real because it didn’t seem like a dream. Everything was real Hermione. I touched the snow and felt the wind caressing my face. I smelt the rotting wood and everything..." Ginny touched her hand and then her nose, where Draco had thrown the snowball at her. It was so real!
"Alright Ginny, it sounds like it was a marvelous dream. Too bad life isn’t like your dream..."
Ginny stiffened and remembered that in the dream Harry was dead and the world was run over by Voldemort. She shook her head and said, "No, I’m glad life isn’t like it is in my dream. I was older in my dream, around 23 years old and," she paused and decided not to tell Hermione that her boyfriend had failed to save them all. "I saw how I look when I’m older. I mean, I like how I look now at 17 but I like myself even better at 23."
Even though it was dark, Ginny could tell Hermione was tired, but she soon pushed that thought off when the older witch spoke.
"I wonder if it was a Ventana del Futuro dream."
"What is that?" asked Ginny.
"It’s Spanish for Window of the Future. Those are dreams from scenes that happen in the future. They’re sometimes made when someone from the past wants something changed in the future. Only a strong witch or wizard can do that though. It takes a lot of time and something really bad to happen for it to work. The individual who made it tells the message to a person that is destined to change the past. Somehow that person gets it without knowing they’re receiving the message in a dream. Afterwards, it’s successful and the scene that a person dreams doesn’t happen because the future is changed. It’s quite complicated because it deals with time and that’s why only strong witches and wizards can do that." Hermione stopped to yawn and stretch a bit.
"Go on Hermione."
"The only thing is, no one knows when it’s a dream or Ventana del Futuro because not everyone knows about them." Hermione yawned again before laying back down.
"Come on Ginny, go back to sleep. It’s two in the morning and we have to get up at 4:30 to get ready for the attack."
Ginny’s eyes widened, and she remembered what Draco had said.
...You know if you guys would have arrived a few hours earlier, the light would have won...
She gaped, and it suddenly hit her. This hadn’t been a dream but a window to her future! Hermione said that the person received the message without knowing they were delivering it. She tried to remember what else he had said.
...One day he told me about this process that only strong wizards and witches could do. The process was the ability to change the past and future in a simple yet complicated way which involved lots of time. I learned how to start that powerful spell and how to keep it so that it could work. He said that without that process he wouldn’t be where he was now...
Of course! Voldemort had used the process of Ventana del Futuro and taught it to Draco! Then Draco had used what he knew to change the past so Voldemort wouldn’t be victorious! Afterwards, Draco delivered the message, and it was now in the hands of the person that needed to change the future.
"Hermione!" Ginny jumped out of her bed and jumped on Hermione’s bed, shaking the older witch.
"What!? Ginny, we need to get up early!" cried Hermione, annoyed.
"Hermione, that dream was one of those things you said! Because Draco told me the message that was supposed to be delivered!"
Hermione stared at Ginny with a confused expression and asked, "What do you mean, Draco? Since when do you call him by his first name?"
"Hermione! Harry loses to Voldemort and Ron dies as well as my mum and dad and lots of people. You and I are living at Hogwarts because we’re hiding and then I’m playing in the snow..." As Ginny told Hermione this, she grew excited with both fear and happiness. Could this mean that Draco actually wanted her to be happy in the future and that’s why this happened? If she did manage to save them all, did that mean she was going to be with Draco? "And then I woke up and here I am telling you this!" Ginny finished. Her heart was beating fast and all she wanted to do was go and save Draco and change the path of the future.
Hermione processed everything in her mind, and it seemed to have clicked because she too jumped out from her bed and said, "Oh Gods Ginny! Oh Gods! We have to tell Harry and we have to go now! We have to attack and victory is for sure! I can’t believe Harry loses if we wait until the planned attack!" Hermione had tears running down her face when she left the room to inform the others.
Ginny stared at the ceiling and thoughts ran through her head. "Your message was delivered, Draco. Everyone’s lives are saved, even yours."
In a matter of seconds, Ginny heard the sound of running, doors slamming, robes being put on, shouting and people talking. She smiled before breaking down on the bed. This was it; it was time to help save the world.
"Hurry Ginny! We’re leaving now! Hermione told me..."
Looking up at her brother, Ron, Ginny threw her arms around him and hugged him. She nodded against his neck before letting him go. "I’m going to put on my robes."
Ron hugged her before running out to meet with the others. Ginny smiled again and her heart leaped when she imagined hugging Draco and being able to kiss like they had done in that future window. She grabbed her wand and ran out towards the battlefield.
Little did she know that far off in the dungeons of Hogwarts, Draco was lying awake on a cement bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for her.
Seven years had passed since the final battle between dark and light. The winner? Darkness had defeated the light and there was nothing that could be done. No hero to give them hope of any defeat of the Dark Lord, who killed anyone he pleased every day.
Ginny shivered at the memory of her brother’s death, Ron. She remembered Hermione had sent her an underground letter telling her how Ron was no longer with them because his name had been said in front of the Dark Lord. More tears came to her eyes as she remembered the fall of one of her closest friends, Harry Potter.
Harry had failed to defeat Voldemort and his followers. The only thing that Harry was able to save were the members of the Order. Before Voldemort killed Harry with an unknown curse, Harry had cursed the Dark Lord with a strong spell that made him forget the people involved in The Order of the Phoenix. Reason why Hermione, Remus, Tonks, Bill, and so many others including herself were still alive.
Voldemort’s Death Eaters had tried telling him about the people involved with the good side, but somehow Harry’s spell couldn’t be broken, and Voldemort didn’t believe his followers. Why should he, when he ruled the world? Shortly after his victory, he began to kill off witches, wizards and muggles that he wanted to kill for revenge. It wasn’t long before Peter Pettigrew advised to just pick some random wizard and have him killed. He seemed to like that because the next day the announcement was made. If your name was drawn out, then you were to be hunted down and killed.
Millions fled the country while others just got caught and were killed right on the spot. From the Order, Ron was the first one to be killed off. It made Hermione and Ginny go off into hiding at the place that was once Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They both knew no one went there, not even the members of the Dark.
Ginny looked around her and saw as the knee-deep snow made everything look as if Hogwarts was still open. She wanted to smile but couldn’t, for it hurt so much to smile when the world was crying and fearing. The wind blew a few strands of her copper hair in her face but she didn’t move them away. Looking up at the sky, a few snowflakes landed on her freckled nose and she opened her mouth to take some in.
Memories of her childhood flooded her mind and she remembered what fun it was to make snow angels in the snow. Looking down at the ground, she felt an urge to see if she could try to at least feel a strange warmth from the snow around her arms and legs. Looking around to see if she was still alone, she mentally thanked Merlin for her privacy and slowly laid down.
The fluffy snow took her in at once and she could feel herself sinking slowly into the white depths. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself back at the Burrow making snow angels and laughing as her brothers threw snowballs at each other. With her eyes still closed, she began to move her arms and legs sideways to make the wings and body of her snow angel.
She could hear the crunching of the snow as she moved her arms and legs, and she almost managed a smile when something hit her face, momentarily stunning her into stillness. She blinked her eyes furiously, blinking away the snowflakes on her eyes. She sat up and her hands went to her face where she felt the after burn of snow. She brushed snow off of her now reddened nose and got up in a hurry, searching for the attacker.
Her eyes were wide with fear, her heart beating a million beats a second. Had they found her? Was she going to die here in the snow? She looked carefully at the stands, her gaze rocketing over to the Quidditch stadium entrance, to the lockers entrance. She twirled around, her breath hitching in her chest. It started snowing as she shook her head, momentarily thinking that she had imagined it all. She turned around and started running towards the stadium entrance, towards the castle when she got hit in the back by another snowball. She stopped, her breathing harsh against the silence of the day. She closed her eyes and silently prayed to all the available gods to forgive her for all the sins she had committed. Ginny didn’t want to turn around. The fear of seeing her killer in the face was gnawing at her. If she was going to die, she wanted to die with no knowledge of who killed her.
"Turn around Weasley, it’s only me, or are you too scared to look at me?" drawled the snowball thrower, the voice making Ginny gasp, opening her eyes.
Ginny slowly turned around and almost fell backwards when she saw who it was.
"You’re dead!" she whispered, taking a step backwards, her eyes never leaving his face.
"Really? If I’m dead then why am I standing here talking to you?"
"B-b-but Lupin said you were never found and were probably dead..." Ginny stuttered, taking another step backwards, surveying the area again. You were never too sure who was out there.
"Haven’t you ever heard of running away or hiding, Weasley?" Draco said sarcastically, taking no notice of her wandering eyes.
"You ran away? But why? I mean, why would one of V-Voldemort’s most loyal followers run away when," she stopped, her expression changing into an angry, yet scared look. "Wait! Are you here because I was chosen to be killed? Is that why you’re here, Malfoy!?" she choked, backing up even more. No, she didn’t want to die here, especially at the hands of a Malfoy!
Malfoy stood still, staring at the redhead, not saying anything. Everything was quiet and Ginny could only hear the wind blowing through the snow and stands. No, this couldn’t be happening to her, not him.
"Relax Weasley, I’m not here to kill you. Voldemort and his fucking buddies don’t even know I’m alive. I’m here for personal reasons and it doesn’t include killing you. So don’t get your knickers in a twist," he finally spoke, flashing her his all too familiar grin.
Ginny’s pulse slowed down after what Malfoy said. If he wasn’t there to kill her, then what was he doing here? How had he managed to live so long without being seen from anyone? Her thoughts were soon broken when a snowball hit her on the chest and cold snow went down her shirt making her shiver. She dusted the snow off her worn-out jacket.
She glared at him before saying, "Why are you throwing snowballs at me!? I thought you were some Death Eater here trying to kill me. I thought," she paused and looked away, tears starting to fall slowly down her cheeks. It took her a minute before she looked back up with red puffy eyes and continued, "I thought I was going to die here at school."
"I came here to have fun, Weasley, not to cry around. Come on, get into the spirit of a good snowball fight." He grinned before bending down to gather up some snow.
Ginny stood there, gazing at him with her mouth agape. Here was the world being hell and he wanted to have a good snowball fight? With a quick shake of her head, she dodged the ball of snow that was thrown at her face again. She glared at him before scooping up some snow and changing its texture to a sphere. With no smile or any sign of having fun, Ginny threw the snowball at him and almost managed to smile when it hit the side of his blond head.
Draco straightened up and cried, "Hey! Watch the hair!" He threw another snowball at her, and it hit her on the leg. She felt the snow turn from cold to a small burning sensation, but she pushed it aside when she bent down again and began making small balls of snow to throw at him.
It wasn’t long before the sound of snow hitting wood and clothes was heard throughout the empty Quidditch field. The snow that had been undisturbed for weeks now had shoe prints, as well as bigger holes and other malformations. If one was to be looking at the school’s direction through the field from far away, they could have seen something fiercely red running around in circles.
Ginny soon grew tired and looked from behind the wooden plank that she was hiding behind. Where was he? It had been quiet for several minutes and she needed to hit him in order to win the game. He had only hit her fifteen times in this little game, and she had hit him fifteen as well. When he didn’t appear, she slowly started walking out into the middle of the field again. Maybe he left? She was about to call him when she caught someone running towards her. She wasn’t fast enough. Right when she was going to turn around, she got tackled down and she fell towards the snow-covered ground.
When Ginny opened her eyes again, she was looking into a pair of gray ones. It didn’t take her long to realize that he was on top of her, and they had somehow managed to sink a bit into the snow. She tried getting up, but his weight wasn’t letting her.
"Get off Malfoy!" she said in a demanding voice. Even though it was cold, at the moment she was feeling a bit... hot?
Malfoy examined her face before rolling his eyes and getting off of her. She blushed at the action he had done and decided to stay in the snow. The warmth she had felt while being under him had vanished and deep down she regretted telling him to get off. It wasn’t the temperature warmth she had felt, but something else.
Gazing up at him, she noticed how the snow fell on his blond hair and camouflaged itself on it. The way his once perfect complexion was now the home of scars. Her eyes traveled down to the rest of his body and observed how his body was still fit looking, but she could tell that one of his legs wasn’t how it was before. She’d noticed him limping a bit when they had been running around earlier. Was that a result from the war? A reminder of it?
As if reading her thoughts, Draco sat back down on the snow beside her and said, "War does this to you." He pointed at his leg and at the small scars that adorned the side of his face and left cheek. They weren’t big or really visible, it was only when you looked hard enough that you noticed them. "But you don’t seem to have them."
Ginny shook her head. "I have lots of scars, but you just can’t see them because not all of them are physical," she said, lifting her hand and touching the thin dent that was on his cheek.
He didn’t brush her hand away or say anything about it, but what he did say was something Ginny wasn’t expecting at the moment.
"To answer your question, I ran away because I needed to do something. You see, Weasley, after Dumbledore’s death," his voice and expression showed no sign of emotion as he talked, "He wasn’t happy because I hadn’t killed him, and Snape had done my task. He decided to punish me not only with Unforgivables, but by killing my mother."
Ginny lowered her hand and brought it to her mouth to keep her from gasping aloud. Draco didn’t look at her but said, "I liked your hand where it was..."
Looking down at her fingers, Ginny nodded before continuing what she had been doing before his telling of his mother’s death. She felt the same warmth she had felt before returning to her and she bit her lip to keep her from putting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
Closing his eyes, Draco moved his head against her hand before speaking again. "He tortured her until he killed her. He killed her right before my eyes with the Avada curse... He was laughing as he did it and when he looked at me, he said, ``Our weaknesses need to be destroyed to make us stronger." Little did he know that my weakness was nowhere near that place at the time." He looked at Ginny briefly before turning his attention back to the sky. "I just watched my mother fall to the ground. I got up and ran to her to hug her frail body, but when I reached her, he, Voldemort, hit me with Crucio and I blacked out."
At this point, Ginny had Draco’s head on her lap and her left hand was slowly going through his soft, not too long hair. Her right hand was on his chest, holding his right hand and she could feel the warmth grow stronger when he started caressing her hand with his thumb. She wanted to cry for his mother and for all the other victims that had died by Voldemort’s hands. For Harry and Ron...
Draco’s eyes were still closed, so he couldn’t see Ginny’s tear-filled eyes. She turned away and took notice of the castle that loomed over them like a giant in its land. When his voice reached her ears, she turned to face him again. And with dried tears she listened.
"When I woke up, I was inside a dungeon. Remembering what had happened I became intent on getting my revenge on Voldemort. I decided to stay and just see what I could do to pay him back. Over time he slowly began to trust me again, especially after killing Snape. One day he told me about this process that only strong wizards and witches could do. The process was the ability to change the past and future in a simple yet complicated way which involved lots of time. I learned how to start that powerful spell and how to keep it so that it could work. He said that without that process he wouldn’t be where he was now, and after saying that, he hit me with Crucio again.
"When I came to, I knew it was time for Voldemort to pay for what he had done. I decided to act the day Potter and the Order were going to attack, since he was busy preparing for the ambush and everything. The morning you attacked, I heard the yelling of curses, spells and threats, and when Granger commanded me to go to the lower levers to see if any threat was there. I snuck out and ran to the forbidden forest where I began to work on the incantation that would help me get revenge on that bastard."
As Draco was telling her the story, she remembered everything that had happened that morning. How Hermione had yelled out to her and the others, including Colin Creevey and Seamus Finnegan, to go down to the dungeons to see if there were any victims or Death Eaters waiting for an ambush. She felt the pain and fear she had felt that night and looked away when Draco neared his face to hers and whispered that it was okay to cry.
Pressing her flushed face into his chest, she started to sob and let really big fat tears roll out of her eyes. Why had that happened? Why hadn’t Harry defeated Voldemort? She felt as Draco began to rock her slowly in a silent lullaby and she closed her puffy eyes and imagined them in a world where Harry had succeeded and her brother was still alive, yelling at her for being in the arms of the Ferret.
It seemed like an eternity when Ginny lifted her face from his chest and stared up into his gray orbs. They weren’t cold or heartless. No, he wasn’t cold or heartless. He was a human just like her and even though back in school he seemed like an annoying prat, she felt that he had never been heartless. Just misunderstood, perhaps...
"You know, if you guys would have arrived a few hours earlier, the light would have won."
Ginny didn’t look away after he said that, but asked, "Why do you say that?" Her voice shook but she managed not to break it again.
She saw as Draco’s eyes broke away from hers and observed the darkening sky.
"Because Voldemort knew at what time you were going to attack. He knew where Potter was going to be standing and where everyone was going to go because of the time. He somehow knew that you guys were arriving at 5 in the morning, just before the sun rose. He was ready and that’s why you guys were defeated, because he knew." He didn’t look at her but his embrace on her tightened. "If you guys would have arrived even an hour before, Potter would have succeeded, and all those lives would have never been lost." He looked down at her and lifted his hand to place it under her chin. "Your brother would still be alive as well as Potter and your father and mother."
Ginny felt a lump rise in her throat at the memory that they were all dead. "But it’s too late now!" she said with anger and sadness bound in her voice. If only they would have known about this, then maybe, just maybe she could be hugging her brother and Hermione would be married to Harry.
"It’s never too late for anything." His gaze moved to look at a strand of red hair that had fallen in front of her face. Without moving her, he lifted his hand that wasn’t under her chin and tucked her loose strand of hair behind her ear. When he looked back into her eyes; he saw her crying.
She felt as the lump exploded and sent millions of tears down her cheeks again. Voldemort had cheated and poor Harry had fallen into a trap set by himself! She shook her head and managed to choke out, "It’s too late, Draco."
Draco smiled when she said his first name and leaned his face closer to hers and whispered, "It’s never too late, Ginny."
She closed her eyes and felt as his lips met hers. The warmth inside of her burst from her chest to run all through her body. Ginny felt as he deepened the kiss and as he ran his hands through her hair and caressed her crown. She couldn’t control her hands as they went through his hair and down his back to pull him closer. She felt the fire deep inside her get bigger and at that moment she smiled into the kiss, and she knew it was never too late.
Opening her eyes, she sat up straight and looked around. Everything was dark and quiet except for the breathing of Hermione, who was sleeping in the bed beside hers. Lifting a hand to her lips, Ginny touched them and felt a cry of pain in her chest when she concluded that it had all been a dream. She closed her eyes and tried to remember her 23-year-old self with a 24-year-old Draco. Frustrated, she clenched her hands into fists and punched her mattress.
"Ginny? Are you okay?" Hermione asked, slowly sitting up.
"Sorry Hermione, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just had a dream and yeah..." She blushed and thanked Merlin for the lack of light.
"Oh? Well, then it must have been either a good dream or bad one to have woken you up."
"Yeah, it was a good dream. I could feel the snow's coldness against my body, and I could feel and smell everything. I thought it was real because it didn’t seem like a dream. Everything was real Hermione. I touched the snow and felt the wind caressing my face. I smelt the rotting wood and everything..." Ginny touched her hand and then her nose, where Draco had thrown the snowball at her. It was so real!
"Alright Ginny, it sounds like it was a marvelous dream. Too bad life isn’t like your dream..."
Ginny stiffened and remembered that in the dream Harry was dead and the world was run over by Voldemort. She shook her head and said, "No, I’m glad life isn’t like it is in my dream. I was older in my dream, around 23 years old and," she paused and decided not to tell Hermione that her boyfriend had failed to save them all. "I saw how I look when I’m older. I mean, I like how I look now at 17 but I like myself even better at 23."
Even though it was dark, Ginny could tell Hermione was tired, but she soon pushed that thought off when the older witch spoke.
"I wonder if it was a Ventana del Futuro dream."
"What is that?" asked Ginny.
"It’s Spanish for Window of the Future. Those are dreams from scenes that happen in the future. They’re sometimes made when someone from the past wants something changed in the future. Only a strong witch or wizard can do that though. It takes a lot of time and something really bad to happen for it to work. The individual who made it tells the message to a person that is destined to change the past. Somehow that person gets it without knowing they’re receiving the message in a dream. Afterwards, it’s successful and the scene that a person dreams doesn’t happen because the future is changed. It’s quite complicated because it deals with time and that’s why only strong witches and wizards can do that." Hermione stopped to yawn and stretch a bit.
"Go on Hermione."
"The only thing is, no one knows when it’s a dream or Ventana del Futuro because not everyone knows about them." Hermione yawned again before laying back down.
"Come on Ginny, go back to sleep. It’s two in the morning and we have to get up at 4:30 to get ready for the attack."
Ginny’s eyes widened, and she remembered what Draco had said.
...You know if you guys would have arrived a few hours earlier, the light would have won...
She gaped, and it suddenly hit her. This hadn’t been a dream but a window to her future! Hermione said that the person received the message without knowing they were delivering it. She tried to remember what else he had said.
...One day he told me about this process that only strong wizards and witches could do. The process was the ability to change the past and future in a simple yet complicated way which involved lots of time. I learned how to start that powerful spell and how to keep it so that it could work. He said that without that process he wouldn’t be where he was now...
Of course! Voldemort had used the process of Ventana del Futuro and taught it to Draco! Then Draco had used what he knew to change the past so Voldemort wouldn’t be victorious! Afterwards, Draco delivered the message, and it was now in the hands of the person that needed to change the future.
"Hermione!" Ginny jumped out of her bed and jumped on Hermione’s bed, shaking the older witch.
"What!? Ginny, we need to get up early!" cried Hermione, annoyed.
"Hermione, that dream was one of those things you said! Because Draco told me the message that was supposed to be delivered!"
Hermione stared at Ginny with a confused expression and asked, "What do you mean, Draco? Since when do you call him by his first name?"
"Hermione! Harry loses to Voldemort and Ron dies as well as my mum and dad and lots of people. You and I are living at Hogwarts because we’re hiding and then I’m playing in the snow..." As Ginny told Hermione this, she grew excited with both fear and happiness. Could this mean that Draco actually wanted her to be happy in the future and that’s why this happened? If she did manage to save them all, did that mean she was going to be with Draco? "And then I woke up and here I am telling you this!" Ginny finished. Her heart was beating fast and all she wanted to do was go and save Draco and change the path of the future.
Hermione processed everything in her mind, and it seemed to have clicked because she too jumped out from her bed and said, "Oh Gods Ginny! Oh Gods! We have to tell Harry and we have to go now! We have to attack and victory is for sure! I can’t believe Harry loses if we wait until the planned attack!" Hermione had tears running down her face when she left the room to inform the others.
Ginny stared at the ceiling and thoughts ran through her head. "Your message was delivered, Draco. Everyone’s lives are saved, even yours."
In a matter of seconds, Ginny heard the sound of running, doors slamming, robes being put on, shouting and people talking. She smiled before breaking down on the bed. This was it; it was time to help save the world.
"Hurry Ginny! We’re leaving now! Hermione told me..."
Looking up at her brother, Ron, Ginny threw her arms around him and hugged him. She nodded against his neck before letting him go. "I’m going to put on my robes."
Ron hugged her before running out to meet with the others. Ginny smiled again and her heart leaped when she imagined hugging Draco and being able to kiss like they had done in that future window. She grabbed her wand and ran out towards the battlefield.
Little did she know that far off in the dungeons of Hogwarts, Draco was lying awake on a cement bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for her.
Author notes: I hope you enjoyed it. :) Thank you for reading it!
The End.
EnchantedBelle is the author of 2 other stories.
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