Without further ado, I present to you my newest project... Empty Pages.

I'll keep it short and simple. Post-war, Draco and Harry have gone their separate ways. Harry's been blind – everyone saw how Malfoy looked at him back in school, even Ginny... Harry realizes that there were many words left unsaid and sets out on a mission to change that. But how much has Draco changed in nearly two years?

This will be a multi-chapter fic; if I had to guess I'd say ten to twelve chapters.

One final note before the disclaimer: I like to have a central theme to my characters' relationships, and with that usually comes a song that describes the story in a whole. The song for this fic is Bleed by Hot Chelle Rae. I recommend listening to it and recognizing the lyrics; they relate to this story quite well.

Disclaimer ... I do not own Harry Potter or any of these characters. They belong to the ingenious J.K. Rowling. This plot, however, does belong to me.

Warnings – implied Harry/Ginny

Empty Pages

Chapter One – Drowning in Ice Water

Written by Illumination

"It's because of him, isn't it?"

Harry looked up from his intertwined fingers upon his lap. "Who?"

The redhead fixed him with an incredulous stare. He didn't flinch like he had in the past. Perhaps he was growing used to it. It wasn't his choice that he and Ginny grow apart. In fact, he found himself quite saddened by the happenings of the past two weeks.

"Harry, you've been having dreams about him for the past month."

The brunette lowered his gaze, his face heating up. "I told you, it's nothing."

"Harry James Potter." At that, the teen did wince. Ginny's tone was not one to be tampered with. He felt like a child being scolded by his mother. "I'm not thick like my brothers. On the contrary, I'm not bloody blind like you must be." Harry knew better than to interrupt. She was on one of her rampages, and he figured it was best just to let her yell and work through it.

"If you honestly never saw it for the six years you went to Hogwarts then you're bloody daft, Harry. He pined after you. All he wanted was your attention."

"Ginny, who're you talking about–"

"I'm talking about Malfoy. Draco Malfo–"

"That git? Ginny, you're off your rocker if you think he wants anything to do with me..."

The ginger girl crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. "Harry, we might not be an item anymore but I like to think I know you pretty well. I know what love looks like because I've seen it in Hermione's eyes when she looks at Ron. And he reciprocated it. I'm pretty sure my gaze held the same measurement of affection." She uncrossed her arms. "That's how he looked at you."

Harry shut his eyes. This was an ongoing issue he'd been putting off for months. Yeah, if he hadn't denied Draco's friendly offer that very first day at Hogwarts, things might have been different. Maybe Draco wouldn't have been a Death Eater. Ginny had mentioned once that Harry could have 'saved' him. But it wasn't his responsibility to keep the blonde out of trouble. Draco could take care of himself.

But lately, the blonde had been in his dreams. At first, he hadn't thought anything of it. He'd had many dreams about Hogwarts; about the ones who died, and the ones who lived. He woke up screaming some nights. In cold sweats, feeling as if he was drowning in ice water. Crying, even. And Ginny had been right there; practically apparating from her bedroom across the hall to his side. For the first few nights, it didn't trouble him. He went about his daily activities as he usually would, perhaps even forgetting the details of the dream – only that Malfoy had inhabited them. It lingered long enough that it crossed his mind the next night when he lie down in his bed. He blamed that for the reoccurrence, but when the sixth night came along and Harry woke, those silvery eyes still in his vision, he knew something else was going on.

Bringing himself out of his reverie, he met Ginny's azure eyes. "... Malfoy hated me, Ginny. And we went our separate ways almost two years ago. I haven't seen him since."

"You don't hold me like you used to." Her expression was carefully controlled, yet he could see the sadness behind her gaze. He knew her too well to miss that. "You're different. I think I knew it from the beginning, that it would eventually be our downfall, but I didn't want to believe it. I guess I thought I could distract you from it, and maybe you'd forget about him..."

"Ginny, I don't feel that way about Malfoy–"

"Stop denying it, Harry!" Her hands were balled into fists, her voice rising to a high pitch. Harry shut his eyes. He already had a headache from their squabbling like an old married couple. "I know you liked him. At the very least, you were intrigued by him. You wanted to get to know him. You didn't want to be his enemy. He only bullied you and Hermione and Ron because he knew it would get your attention. He was only a prat so you would notice him. And you wanted to make a truce with him, but you waited too long. By the time you were gathering the courage to do it, he was already in over his head with the Death Eaters. He was too far gone, and you didn't know what to do. So you just let him go."

Harry lowered his head, his gaze distant and staring past the table in front of him. How could Ginny read him like an open book? Were his emotions really on his sleeve so much that it was that obvious? Was she the only one who'd seen it? Or had the whole school known? Shaking his head, he looked up at her. "Ginny, I'm sorry I was so bloody–"

"Thick?" She sighed, sitting down beside him on the couch. "Save it. I know you didn't mean it." She turned to look at him, meeting his eyes seriously. "I just want you to be happy, Harry. I was always your friend first, and lover second."

He winced. "Was it really always that obvious?"

She managed a small smile. "A bit. I noticed it around sixth year. The way he looked at you made me so jealous." She looked away. "But you didn't look at him that way, so I thought I had a chance."

"Ginny, that's not why we broke it off–"

"That's a contributing factor Harry, and you know it." She turned that cobalt gaze on him. "I don't want you to always wonder 'what if'. That's the worst feeling in the world." The way she said it made Harry think she'd been in the situation before. "To be honest, I think we're better as friends, Harry. You're like a part of the family. Snogging you is like snogging one of my many brothers." Harry couldn't help but smirk. Ginny reached out to touch his shoulder. "I may be letting you go but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. Sometimes we just have to do what's right for our friends. Like you with Ron and Hermione." Harry turned to look at her, brows furrowed a bit. "I know, Harry. I mean, of course you didn't like that they were together at first. That kind of ruined your friendship, didn't it?"

Harry shrugged, emerald eyes settling on the flickering flames. "Yeah, I guess I didn't enjoy it too much. Even though I knew Ron fancied Hermione before he knew it himself. But it's alright now. I'm just glad they're happy together."

Ginny nodded. "That's how I'll be, probably. I know I'll get over it. But I might be a bit put out for a while."

"Ron's gonna kill me."

"Don't worry, I'll tell him it's mutual." Harry smiled at the redhead, giving her a small nod.

"Thanks, Ginny."

The stars were ablaze in the indigo sky, the Milky Way laid across the heavens like a wispy blanket. The little white speckles twinkled, dotting the navy space. It was captivating, really. To most, the midnight sky would provide peace, and serenity. It was tranquil, and diverted your attention from reality if you gazed at it long enough. It was like a dose of cool placidity that washed over you like a chilled ocean wave.

But to Harry, the cool summer night only offered quiet. Isolation. Time to think.

Time to think about things that he had been putting off for so long, that he almost dreaded letting it creep into his mind again. He didn't want to dip into that void of uncertainness. But, seeing as he couldn't put it off any longer, he grudgingly allowed himself to muse over it.

Sure, he missed Malfoy. He missed everyone from Hogwarts, though. What was strange was, he actually missed the banter that occurred between them. He felt sort of incomplete without having someone to argue with; someone to make a mockery of, and vice versa. Although, he had never truly hated the blonde. It was more of an extreme dislike. The Malfoys were so proud, so arrogant, that it irritated him. They thought they were better than everyone else. He had also grown to loathe Malfoy because he'd tormented those close to him. But, if what Ginny was saying was true, then Malfoy had only done all of that to get his attention. That thought scared Harry. Would Draco really go through all that trouble just get himself noticed? Was it because Harry had been The Chosen One? Or was his goal always to get him on Voldemort's side?

Malfoy had always seemed cold and unfeeling. Stoic. But that had mostly been an act, Harry knew. The one day he'd found him crying in the bathroom proved that logic right, as well as the night Snape had murdered Dumbledore. He had never wanted to be a Death Eater. Perhaps he had tried to take pride in it, because it was a chance to save his family, but there was no way he would have killed Dumbledore. Harry wondered if Ginny was right. If Harry had become his friend and kept him from the dark side, what would have become of the world? Katie Bell never would have been cursed, Ron never poisoned. Dumbledore wouldn't have died at the hands of Snape, because Draco would have never been assigned the task of killing him. Maybe the Death Eaters never would have even gotten into the castle. Would Dumbledore still be alive? Snape might even still be alive, because Voldemort wouldn't have had a good reason to kill him. The Elder Wand wouldn't have been loyal to Draco. Harry pushed those thoughts out of his head. What was done was done. There was nothing he could do to go back and change it.

Ginny had said Draco looked at him like he... Had feelings for him. Like Ron and Hermione looked at each other. There was nothing all that strange about a male having feelings for another male... To Harry, the heart wanted what it wanted, and it made no difference if you were male or female. But Malfoy was just someone who was... Out of the question. An enemy for six long years. Someone who he'd always believed to hate him. Someone he'd always disliked. Feelings that rooted couldn't just change overnight.

Oh, was he about to prove himself wrong.

Another night, another dream of Malfoy. The unconscious fantasies were becoming more and more intimate, and this very night was the finishing touch. Harry knew he couldn't just blame this on his 'curious teenage mind' anymore. He was in too deep.

As he lay on his side, staring at the desk across the room through blurry eyes, he felt something had changed. He had no reason to detest Draco anymore. It had been so long since he'd seen him or even spoke to him... Harry began to wonder if he still looked the same. Was he still as lean? Where did he live now? Still at Malfoy Manor? Did he have a job? Harry had heard once that he'd wanted to be employed at the Ministry of Magic, somewhere in the Department of Law once he was done with his seven years at Hogwarts. Harry wondered if Draco would even be considered for that job anymore, after having been a Death Eater.

How would he even begin to contact Draco...? He knew where the Manor was... That was a start. Examining the heavens, Harry allowed a small smile to curve his lips. What could go wrong? If Draco didn't want to talk to him still, then that was his loss. There was nothing for Harry to lose, really. And perhaps it would put Ginny's stubborn mind to rest if Harry talked to the blonde.

Sitting up, he climbed back down through the window into his room. Removing his shirt and pants, he settled down in bed and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep.

And Ginny heard not a sound, all night.