Ginny sat down in transfiguration to see a tank full of snakes on Professor McGonagall's desk. She grinned. The lesson today, she remembered, was turning snakes into rope. Her friend sat down beside her and gasped.
"Eww! Snakes; I hate snakes."
"They're not all bad." Ginny said and despite her attempts not to, she made the connection of snake and Slytherin. Her thoughts strayed to a certain Slytherin and she was momentarily surprised when an ivory white snake was laid in her hands. It did not take Ginny long to transfigure her snake into quality rope and she soon became bored with it. Ignoring the shudder from her friend she wrapped the snake around her neck and sat there while it curled itself around her throat. She was just slipping off into a daydream when there was a knock on the door. In walked Draco Malfoy, giving Ginny an interesting look, he proceeded to Professor McGonagall's desk and said something Ginny could not hear. Ginny looked startled for a moment but then realized that the snake around her neck was probably the reason for Malfoy's peculiar expression. Suddenly McGonagall called her name. Ginny walked up to her desk, unwound the snake from her neck, and replaced it in the tank.
"The headmaster would like to see you in his office." McGonagall said.
"Okay." Ginny replied. She gathered her things and walked out the door. When Malfoy began to follow she turned and snapped at him.
"I know where Dumbledore's office is." She stated.
"Yes and I was told that we were both needed there." He replied coolly. That's odd, Ginny thought. What could possibly concern two people as different as Malfoy and I? He also looked slightly puzzled by the matter.
Out of the silence Malfoy spoke.
"You like snakes?" he asked
"Yes, I always have." Ginny replied. "My brother thinks it's a crime for a Gryffindor to like snakes. I think he's being ridiculous."
"So do I" Malfoy said with a hint of amusement and something else in his voice. Soon all traces of awkwardness were gone as idle chatter filled the air between them. But then as they move closer together to avoid passing through a ghost their hands brushed. Ginny thought she felt Malfoy's fingers twitch before he veered away and smacked his head off the corner of a picture frame, nearly knocking it off the wall. He rubbed his head and looked down at his feet. The awkwardness was back. They reached the gargoyle statue and Ginny mumbled the password. It jumped to the side and they climbed the staircase in silence. The full weight of what message could be waiting behind that door was making her nervous. Malfoy knocked on the door and was met by Dumbledore. With a foreboding sigh he asked them to sit down.
"I have some… unpleasant news for the both of you. This weekend three people were killed outside your brother's shop on Diagon Alley. Two of them were Fred and George. The other, Draco, was your mother."
"What!" Malfoy cried. "She wasn't supposed to be involved. But. Why?" he stuttered and mumbled to himself.
"It seems that four Death Eaters appeared in Diagon Alley looking for your mother. They said that under Lord Voldemort's orders, the Malfoy family was being punished. Fred and George heard the disturbance, went outside, and were caught up in the fight." Dumbledore looked from blank face to blank face as if to say well, what are you going to do? After several painfully silent minutes he spoke.
"Ginny, Ron has already left to be with your mother. I would like you to stay here, if you understand?" Ginny nodded numbly though she didn't understand at all. Why couldn't she go to grieve with her parents?
"You may go now." Dumbledore said and without a word Ginny and Malfoy got up and left the room. Once they were back in the hallway she couldn't hold it in any longer. She broke into tears. Ginny turned to Malfoy and beat his chest with her fists hysterically.
"Why? Why?" she sobbed. Then she felt his strong arms wrap around her and pull her close.
'Shh." He whispered. "It's going to be okay." His words were confident but Ginny heard his voice breaking. She looked up to see silent tears streaming down his pale cheeks. It was an oddly comforting sight. It told her that she was not alone. In so many ways Malfoy was just like her. He had felt the devastation of darkness, inside and out. He had nearly been swallowed up by it and even now just barely kept his head above the surface. But she knew that they could keep from being swept away, if only for a minute, if they had each other. A struggle is only half the fight if you're not fighting alone. Now she knew why Dumbledore wanted her to stay. If Malfoy was left to deal with his mother's death alone, he would turn down the only path he knew, darkness. Ginny knew it well and Dumbledore saw that while Ginny had her whole family, Malfoy had no one. She stared into his soft grey eyes. Hesitantly, he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She moved her head and caught his lips on hers. This gave him confidence and the kiss intensified. Their tears mixed and Ginny felt Malfoy's once shaking body calm against her. When their lips parted a thought came over her.
"Draco, is this wrong?" she asked.
"What?" he said, still holding her close as if nothing could pry him away.
"Us being together like this. Is it wrong?"
"How can fate be wrong?" he questioned. Usually Ginny hated when someone answered a question with a question. But as they began to kiss again, Ginny knew that it was the best answer in the world.