A/N: Ok, so this is my first Draco/Ginny fic. I'd really appreciate reviews... Especially constructive reviews. But any reviews are welcome. If people like it, and give me some ideas, maybe I'll add more to it... Idk yet, let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own any of the Harry Potter Characters. If I did, I wouldn't have to write stories about them.
I also don't own the song at the bottom. It's Lake by Aqualung.

Every night for five years now, Draco thought sadly. He'd been coming to this same place by the lake for five years, ever since he had become a student at Hogwarts. He smiled sadly to himself. How many times in his first three years had points mysteriously disappeared, no one the wiser, when a teacher took off five or ten points here and there, for being caught out after curfew? How many times had he ignored warnings of teachers?

Too many times. Eventually all of the teachers had just given up. It wasn't like he was causing any trouble. Dumbledore's pet bird had made sure of that. But now, no one had even cared to check on him down here for almost a year.

He grimaced. Who was he trying to fool? No one had cared about him since… since… well, he couldn't remember when exactly 'since' was, but he knew it was a long time. Lately, it had only been getting worse. Lucius had been in a horrible mood since Voldemort's return. Partly due to his giving the Weasley girl Voldemort's old journal, and the subsequent torture he'd endured. Which of course, Lucius being Lucius, meant that Draco received the torture his father had endured three-fold.

He shuddered, the feeling of skin flaying of his back still fresh in his mind. That had been, without a doubt, the worst beating he had ever had, and that in a life full of daily beatings.

Draco smiled sardonically as his hands made their way to various scars covering his body. Natural habit. After Voldemort had taught his father the curse to reopen scars, Draco had been a little paranoid, always checking to make sure his scars were still scars any time he thought of Lucius.

Imagine that. Draco Malfoy, tormentor, bully, whatever name you wanted to put on it, paranoid. He almost laughed at the thought. If people only knew.

His every action at Hogwarts was reported directly to Lucius. People thought Crabbe and Goyle worked for him. What a laugh. They worked for his father, reporting every little detail of his daily life back to Lucius. Any act of kindness was reported, and duly punished. The passing up of any chance to insult and ridicule anyone of the other houses, reported, punished. Crabbe and Goyle weren't as dumb as they seemed. They played a lot of it. They couldn't let people know that they controlled Draco, not the other way around.

Draco debated in his mind, a debate he held often, and still couldn't decide on. Hogwarts, with Crabbe and Goyle monitoring his every move, making everyone hate him, and then reporting back to his father? Or at home with Lucius, getting beaten or worse daily… Hmmm…

He was lost deep in his little debate, when he heard the bushes moving, and the sound of crying. He jumped to his feet, wand at the ready.

"Who's there?" He called softly, his voice belying his rapid heartbeat.

"Oh… I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry," Came a soft female voice. "I-I d-d-didn't think…" Whoever's voice it was trailed off into the darkness. Draco uttered a quick 'Lumos' spell, and followed the now almost choking sobs.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached the owner of the voice.

Ginny Weasley was sitting in the little clearing, her knees pulled up to her chest, sobs racking her small body, her head resting on her arms.

"Weasley? What're you doing here?" He asked, walking towards her.

"S-s-s-stop!" She cried. "D-d-d-don't t-t-touch me!" She dragged herself backwards, trying to get out of the light, but it was too late.

Fury grew inside Draco as he seen her bruised cheek, her black eye, her split lip, and the bruises contrasting sharply against her pale, small wrist. He kneeled beside her slowly.

"Merlin, Weasley!" He exclaimed, lifting her face by her chin. "What happened?"

"P-p-please… I-I-I fell," She stuttered.

"No, you didn't," Draco said, his voice dangerous sounding. "Someone did this to you. Who was it?"

"N-n-no one," She said again.

He sighed softly to himself. He knew what she was going through. He knew what he had wanted to hear from someone. The words he had desperately been wishing for since he had started Hogwarts. "Weasley… Ginny, I know someone did this to you. You don't have to tell me who. But don't tell me you fell down the stairs."

He was shocked when he suddenly found Ginny's arms around his neck, with her sobbing on his shoulder.

Awkwardly, he patted her on the back. Crying wasn't allowed in Malfoy Manor. What did one do in a situation like that?

What would you want someone to do for you? Whispered a small voice in his mind.

It took a mere second for him to decide what to do. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, soothing softly into her hair.

"It's ok, Ginny. Everything's going to be ok," He mumbled quietly. "No matter what, everything will be ok in the end."

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, her crying, him comforting. But eventually, her tears calmed down, and she released her death grip on Draco's neck.

"I'm sorry, Malfoy. I… I don't know what happened," She muttered, clearly embarrassed as she smoothed out her robes, and attempted to scrub the redness off of her face with her hands.

Draco shifted nervously from foot to foot. "Um… It's… Nothin' to… I mean… Nothin' to be sorry about, Weasley," He finally managed. What had he been thinking? Comforting a Weasley? He wasn't even worthy to clean her shoes.

"What're you doing out here?" She asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Getting some fresh air. I usually come down here."

"Oh."

The same sardonic smile from before ghosted across his face. To hear something so complex, something so integrally a part of his life being reduced to 'oh'… well. So much for being important, Lucius, He thought sarcastically. Again, his hands rose of their own accord, grazing over the scar on the back of his neck, before he forced them back to his side.

"It's getting late, Gi- Weasley, you should probably head back," He said, catching himself just in time. Who was he to be calling her by her first name?

"I don't want to go back," She whispered quietly, staring out onto the lake. The wind caught her hair, moving it across her face gently. "I don't want to ever go back."

"I… I usually stay down here… most of the night… if you want… you can stay down here… You don't have to, or anything," He said hurriedly. "But I mean…"

"Thank you… Draco."

"Where were you this morning?" Goyle demanded as Draco walked into the Slytherin common room.

"Went for a walk. Surely that isn't against my father's rules yet," Draco replied sarcastically.

"Not yet, but keep it up, and it will be," Crabbe chuckled, seemingly coming from nowhere. "We have Potions soon. Don't miss it."

"Wouldn't dream of it, you lazy fat tub of lard." This last part was directed at the pair's backs as they sulked off.

He and Ginny had spent the entire night sitting by the lake. Neither of them had said much, until the sun started to peak over the water. Draco had said that they should probably be heading back before someone wondered where they were. Ginny had silently nodded, and the two had walked towards the grounds. Draco had parted ways with her at the entrance hall.

As he silently gathered his Potions work, Draco silently thanked whatever gods there were that Crabbe and Goyle hadn't seen him and Ginny together. The consequences would have been horrible.

Draco lay silently by the lake, resting on his side, with his head propped up in one hand. He had received a letter from his father earlier in the day. It had been short, and to the point, much like Lucius himself.

He felt his fist crumple the letter some more, a single tear pouring down his face. He quickly swiped it away, before opening the note again.

Draco,

I've heard that you've been becoming less and less the boy I wish you to be. We will have to determine a course of action when you come home for the holidays. The choice is, as always, up to you.

Lucius Malfoy

Of course. The bloody choice. Become a Death Eater, sell his soul, and murder innocent people for the rest of his life, or be beaten to a point of near-death. Maybe death itself, if he was lucky enough.

"Malfoy? Are you… are you down here?"

Draco turned his head, glancing behind him just in time to see Ginny appear out of the bushes.

"Hello, Weasley," He said softly. "How's it going?"

She sat down by his feet slowly, and Draco knew only too well the tell-tale signs that meant she probably had bruised ribs. Another black eye adorned her face.

"I'm… I'm doing ok," She whispered.

"Any time you want to tell me who the rat faced git whose doing this to you is, feel free," Draco said sarcastically. "I'm in the mood to take out a little frustration."

"You wouldn't do that," Ginny said quietly, drawing designs in the sand with a small stick.

"You'd be surprised. I don't agree with hitting girls. At all. Ever."

"He's one of yours."

Draco froze, stunned. "What do you mean?" He asked, his voice dangerous sounding.

"He's a Slytherin."

Draco took a moment to calm himself. When he finally spoke, his voice was much more calm and deadly. "Are you going to tell me who?"

"I can't, Draco. You don't understand."

Draco almost smiled at the use of his real name. Not many people used it. It was always Malfoy. Or at home, worse still, but, one tried not to think on that too much.

"Oh, quite the opposite. I think I understand a little too well," He said softly, his voice once again soft.

"I shouldn't have said that, Draco. You're probably the only person who understands."

His head shot up in surprise. Ginny was purposefully looking at the ground. "What do you mean by that?"

"I… my brothers, Fred and George… They thought they would play a funny joke on me last year. Gave me some Flu Powder that takes you somewhere completely different than where you want to go. I still don't know how the destination is decided. But I… I ended up… Well, in the Flu in your room… I left quickly… I don't think you or Lucius even heard me… but…"

"Don't, Ginny," He said softly. "Just don't."

"I'm sorry, Draco."

"I said, don't."

Twenty minutes went by. Finally, Ginny looked up, and sighed. "Why is life like this, Draco?"

"Like what?"

"I'm sitting here, talking to you about things I haven't even told my family. Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley are sitting together talking. Talking about how… how screwed up their lives are. Of all people I imagined sitting with, you were the last person on that list." She scoffed through her tears. "Who am I kidding, you weren't even on the list."

"Then why'd you come back tonight?"

"Because… you knew. I tried telling Ron, or Harry, or Hermione. They didn't believe me. You didn't… you didn't think I was lying. And… you were… you were nice to me. Not a lot of people are nice to me."

"I've noticed. You definitely haven't been the most popular person lately, have you?"

"Most definitely not," She said with a small grin.

"You'd be even less popular if people knew you were down here fraternizing with the enemy."

"Well, I don't have a lot of friends right now, so if enemy's the best I can get…"

Draco smiled at her joke. "I guess we've hit an all time low."

Draco smiled to himself as he lazily said the password to the Slytherin Common Room. Things weren't going half bad. He might actually have made a friend, as odd and foreign as the concept sounded to him. He and Ginny had sat together the whole night, not saying much, which was perfectly all right with him. Again, they had stayed by the lake until the first signs of morning, before heading back.

Startled, Draco found himself humming. He, Draco Malfoy, the terrible, humming. But he didn't stop.

"Hey, what's with all this sneakin' out at night?" Came Goyle's voice, along with a firm grip on his shoulder.

Draco turned slowly, his eyes flashing. "Are you touching me, Goyle? I don't think Father dearest gave you permission for that," He said coldly.

Goyle let go instantly, but a nervous smile came to his face. "Oh, really? Well, why don't you just ask him yourself, Malfoy? He's waitin' for you in your room."

Draco's heart nearly stopped. "What're you playing at, Goyle?"

"Not playin' at all, Malfoy. He's waitin' for you upstairs. Hurry along now, wouldn't want Daddy dearest to be kept waiting."

Draco mustered a cold smile. "Well, I shall tell him that you kept me waiting, and of course, I couldn't just walk away."

He turned sharply, and made his way up to his dormitory. He opened the door quietly, and closed it behind him silently.

Lucius was sitting on the bed, looking through a stack of papers. School papers, Draco could tell.

"You've been slacking off in your studies, Draco," Came his father's calm voice. "Your Transfiguration grade is at best, atrocious. Care to explain?"

Draco stood straight, his arms crossed behind his back, a pose he had quickly learnt as a child. "McGonagall's a Gryffindor, she hates Slytherins. Especially Malfoy Slytherins. Does it seem so far fetched that she'd try to fail me?" He said coldly.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me. Even here, I can make you pay for it. As for McGonagall, her sense of honor is far too strong to fail any student, unless that student is actually indeed failing. That's two strikes against you, Draco, do not make a third. Now. Mr. Goyle has been telling me that you've been acting very strangely. Inappropriately, in fact. Being… polite… to mudbloods and muggle-lovers. Reasons?"

"I see no point in it." Draco immediately regretted his words.

"You… see no… point in it? You're a Malfoy! That is every point!" His father roared.

Draco cringed slightly, but kept his stance as his father advanced on him, until Lucius was breathing down into his face.

"Perhaps you do not understand. You are a Malfoy, Draco. Malfoys do not associate with undesirables! Ever! You will ruin the family name!"

"Careful, now, Father. You wouldn't want to do something you'll regret," Draco said arrogantly. The Common Room was full of Slytherins, everyone would hear if his father did something. Only…

His eyes grew wide. The Common Room had been empty. A single glance at his father, and he knew that the other dormitories were also empty.

"Ah, I see you finally understand, Draco. Nobody's here. Nobody but me to hear your screaming. And you will scream. Oh yes," The older Malfoy said with an evil gleam in his eye. "You will scream."

Draco barely had time to turn towards the door, before the Cruciatus Curse hit him. Instantly, he fell, his back arching as pure agony raced through every fiber of his being. A second later, more pain coursed through him, and blood pooled around his still contorted body, as his father uttered the curse to open old scars.

After what seemed like eternity, the pain slowly faded. Small moans escaped the boy's lips, as his body continued to shake.

"I don't know why you make this so hard, Draco," Lucius said conversationally, as he stepped on his son's right wrist. He smiled satisfactorily as he heard a crushing sound, and Draco moaned again. "If you simply be who you are meant to be, we could end all of this. You could once again be my most cherished son."

Draco mumbled something that Lucius couldn't quite make out. He removed his foot, and leaned down towards his son.

"What's that, Draco? I couldn't hear you. You'll have to speak up."

Blood poured from Draco's pale lips, as he struggled to speak. "Never… cherished… son… always… embarrassment," He wheezed, a trail of crimson red running down his cheek.

Lucius scowled. "Fine. Have it your way, Draco. Crucio!" He said, almost lazily.

Draco screamed, the pain rushing through him more than he could bear. He screamed until he coughed on the blood rushing up from his throat, causing him to gag and choke.

Lucius watched this with contempt for a few moments, before murmuring, "Anapneo."

Draco coughed as the pain subsided once again, his throat still raw from his screaming.

"This is only a foreshadowing, Draco. If I get anymore unsatisfactory reports from Mr. Crabbe or Goyle, I shall be forced to act more harshly." He paused, straightening out his robes. "I'm going to talk to Professor Snape. You will remain here until I'm finished discussing some important matters with him. Perhaps I shall even cast a Blinding spell to hide those unsightly blemishes when I return. Wouldn't want anyone asking embarrassing questions, now would we? Would we, Draco?"

Another moan made its way past Draco's lips as he felt his scars closing over again. His throat protested even that small noise, and he coughed again, blood still finding its way into his mouth.

"I thought not. As a little added lesson, I think we shall leave you right here, just as you are. I shall only be gone for an hour or so. That's more than enough time for the pain to sink into your thick skull."

Draco barely registered his father leaving. He barely registered the door locking. He knew this was a game his father was playing. Draco knew Lucius wouldn't be back. He'd talk to Snape, and then go on his merry way back to Malfoy Bloody Manor.

He slowly forced his left hand into his robes, pulling out his wand. The pain was excruciating, pulling him ever closer to blessed unconsciousness. He managed to whisper, "Episky." He moaned again as the familiar feeling of icy hot running through his body, but the pain lessened. He had used the minor healing spell often enough to know it couldn't heal broken bones, or anything more than bruises, but it was better than nothing. Plus, it lessened the remnants of the Cruciatus curse.

He slowly tested his feet. He could walk… barely. But what was the point? He still had hours left of daylight. Not to mention he wouldn't let Ginny see him like this. He forced his feet to carry him to his bed. Sleep… not exactly what he wanted to do, but exactly what he needed.

Ginny was waiting for him when he finally made his way down to the lake. His walk was slow, and deliberate, his movements still pained. He had managed to heal most of his wounds with potions he had stolen from Snape, but the blasted man hadn't had any Skele-Grow. His right hand still hung uselessly at his side.

He sat down next to Ginny silently. He hadn't bothered to do his hair. Instead, it hung loosely off his face, blowing gently in the soft wind from the lake.

"I heard your father was here today," Ginny said quietly.

"Yeah, he stopped to check on my school work." The sarcastic words came before Draco could even register them.

"I'm sorry, Draco."

"It's nothing," He said irritably, kicking a stick on the ground.

"It's Zabini."

Ginny's random sentence shocked him for a moment. "Zabini what?" He asked, thankful at least that she'd gotten off the topic of him.

"It's Blaise… he's… He's the one who's been doing this," She said quietly.

"What?" Draco's voice was cold and angry, as he turned to face Hogwarts. "I'll kill him."

"No, Draco, you can't!" Ginny cried. "You can't!"

"Give me one good reason."

"I can give you plenty…" She struggled for a moment, clearly thinking. "You… your wrist's broke. You can't go beating people up with a broken wrist!"

Draco turned his sardonic smile back towards her. "Some Skele-Grow will take care of that in the morning. Any other brilliant reasons?"

"He… everyone will know…" She whispered after a minute.

"And that's a bad thing? Look at what he's doing to you, Weasley!" Draco near-shouted.

"Oh, really? And what about your father, are you going to let everybody know about him?" She shot back.

Draco froze. "It's different," He said angrily.

"Well, of course it is! How could I forget! You're Draco Malfoy, everything's different for you!" Ginny cried, tears streaming down her face.

Draco spun around, his eyes glinting dangerously as the moonlight glanced off the silvery orbs. "Different? I'd say it's different! I'm the son of a bloody Death Eater! I tell the world about my father, me, my mother, everyone I've ever cared about is dead! Dead before I even leave Dumbledore's office! And not a quick easy death," He said suddenly, his voice going eerily calm. "It'll take days. It would make what my father did today look like child's play. The Cruciatus Curse doesn't even begin to cover what they'd do. By the time they were done, I would beg for death."

Silent tears continued to make their way down Ginny's face. "So… there's nothing you can do?"

Draco reached over, and gently wiped her tears away with his left hand. "There's nothing that can be done for me. This is my life, and I'll continue to live it until someone finally kills me. But I can help you, Ginny. I can change your life."

"So I can go back to my pseudo-happy existence… and you can go back to your own private hell?"

"Exactly."

Draco received the surprise of a life-time when Ginny threw her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. But it wasn't a bad surprise. He hugged her back the best he could, before allowing his good hand to soothe back her hair.

"It isn't fair, Draco," Ginny whispered, her voice sounding muffled against his dark robes.

"Welcome to life, Ginny. It's never fair."

They simply stood, silently, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Ginny pulled back, and stared up at him.

"Things will go back to normal, won't they?" She asked. At his slight nod, she bowed her head. "I'll go back to pretending I'm happy. You'll go back to pretending you're the world's largest git. And we'll both be completely miserable. You'll tease and torment me all day, even though we both know you won't mean it. And yet, things will go back to being 'normal'."

"That's life, Ginny. I'll take care of Blaise. And then, things will go back to being normal. You'll stop coming down here. We'll probably never have another civilized conversation in our lifetimes. At least, not until Voldemort is dead and gone."

Ginny looked straight into his eyes. "You promise me that as soon as it's safe, we can be friends. Promise me, Draco."

"I promise, Ginny. But if anyone were to find out about this… Neither of us would live much longer."

"I understand, Draco. I don't like it," She said, her voice cracking. "But I understand."

Draco watched, his face set in stone, as Ginny turned, and walked back towards Hogwarts, her back quivering with unshed tears.

Some day, Lucius, He thought, Some day I will put an end to this, and your Dark Lord. I will make you pay for all of this.

Outside the water's black,
This one we won't throw back.
A lifetime is too long,
A lifetime is too long
Let's say no more about it.

Listen to me,
I can only say this once.
Are you listening?
See these empty hands,
Know that it was all for you.
Til see you again,
Down by the lake.

Sleeping beauty stirs,
The whole world could be hers.
But after all these years,
After all these years
I'll say no more about it.

Listen to me,
I can only say this once.
Are you listening?
See these empty hands,
Know that it was all for you,
Til I see you again..
Yes, I'll see you again..
When I see you again,
Down by the lake...