A/N: Random capitalization was used for a reason (but the random title really has no reasoning behind it). The big question in this story is: who's really insane? That's up to you to decide.

Italics are used when people speak. I'm really not sure why I did this.

Operetta

They all tell him that she's insane; all the doctors at St. Mungo's do. They tell him that it's incurable and that he should just give up and let her stay there. They tell him that she'd be happier that way. He tells them, I don't care if she'll be happier; I care if I'll be happier. And they all give him pitying looks and shake their heads and talk about how selfish he is, though they know in their hearts that he's not. And they bring her out from the testing room and tell him again that she'd be better off here, and she looks at him, eyes full of fear, and he refuses. I think I know what's best for her, and she wants to stay with me. They don't believe him, though.

She wakes up that night screaming. He wakes up, too, rubbing his eyes and wondering what's wrong.

They're looking for me, she whispers; they know where I am, Draco.

No one's looking for you, Draco assures her, rolling his eyes. Go back to sleep. And he does, but she's awake the rest of the night, looking out the window and wondering.

Her family won't visit anymore; they used to try to, back at The Beginning, but they have never approved and they made her choose between them and Him. She chose Him. This makes them angry, but it also makes them afraid. He really isn't the best person for her to be around, they know, and they wonder if she'll ever be able to get better with Him there.

I'm still hoping that Malfoy'll bring his wife back, one of the doctors says. I just don't see how he can be so blind.

Maybe he likes her this way, the other replies. He knows that we can help her, but he wants her to stay like this. He wants to control her.

That's insane, the first returns. No one would think like that.

You don't know the Malfoys, apparently, the second one sighs. They're as insane as you can get.

You're mad, he tells her coldly the next morning. You stay up all night crying and you're absolutely mad, Ginny.

I am not, Ginny objects. Maybe you are, but I'm not.

Then why do you stay up all night? Draco asks in a deceptively rational tone. Why do you think that someone's looking for you?

Because someone is, she tells him, as though it's the most lucid thing in the world. You don't know because you don't care, but they are looking for me.

She doesn't miss her family. Well, maybe she misses them a bit sometimes, but, all in all, she's content. She is up all night, and the shadows outside the bedroom door do look an awful lot like tall, slick men in black, hooded robes coming to kill and rape and who-knows-what-else, but aside from that, she's happy. She knows-hopes-that the doctors mean well, but she doesn't want to leave. She doesn't want to be in the white room all alone again; she doesn't like to admit it, but Draco makes her feel safe. He tells her that he hates her and he tells her that she's insane, but she knows that They won't find her with him around. After all, he is one of Them, and she knows that They'll listen to him, even if the doctors won't.

She's easier to control when she's paranoid. He tries to keep her happy, but he does little things on purpose, like leaving the bedroom window open and leaving blood spots on the walls, to always keep her on edge. Constant vigilance, Mad-Eye Moody used to say; he wants her to live in a constant state of fear. If he takes her to St. Mungo's, he knows, they might be able to help her and it will make everything harder for him. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he needs her. He needs someone to talk to, to confide in, to-and he admits this grudgingly-love (though he would never tell her this; she would only hold it against him). If they take her away, he is alone. If they take her away, she won't be afraid anymore. He will.

You won't let them take me, will you? Ginny asks late the next night.

Of course not, Draco replies. They don't understand.

Draco? Do you love me?

No.

Why not?

Because I can't.

(the end)