Disclaimer: I own nothing...everything belongs to JK Rowling. Oh & there's a Gandhi quote in there.

"So before your wonderful mother brings out the dessert, I'd like to say a few words," Arthur said as he stood up.

Everyone turned their heads obediently in the direction of the head of the table. He shot a quick wink towards Ginny before beginning.

"Firstly, I want to say thank you to all of you for coming tonight and that I look forward to seeing you all dressed up tomorrow. Fred, if you could make your hair at least someway presentable, that would be good." Angelina patted Fred's cheek softly as everybody laughed.

"What I really wanted to say though, was how proud I am of my daughter. You've always gone after what you wanted, ever since you were a little girl. After all, to believe in something and not to live it, is dishonest." Ginny nodded at mention of the words he used to repeat to her whilst she was growing up.

"I hope this gives you everything you're looking for, Gin." As tears filled her eyes, Arthur lifted his glass and said clearly "To Ginny."

The table followed suit, before continuing on with their previous conversations. The evening passed quickly after that. Ginny answered several people's query of "Are you nervous?" with a tight smile and a shake of her head. Truth is, she wasn't nervous. She could stand at the alter in a white dress and utter some pretty words. She was, however, nervous about after. Marriage should be forever and Ginny was nervous that her heart wasn't in it forever. She had told herself that that certainty would come when a ring was on her fourth finger. Now she wasn't so sure.

After Ginny had retired to the small pale blue room that had been her childhood bedroom, she sat in the loveseat overlooking the garden. What was it that she was looking for? She wasn't sure she had asked herself that question too often, nor looked too closely at the answers. Was Harry what she truly wanted? He had been when she was younger, no doubt about it. But people changed. Ginny had given up on Harry and gotten to know a certain blonde Slytherin. He was rude, cynical and beautiful. Most of all though, he made her laugh. Somehow, at a point she had never quite been able to pin down, she had fallen in love with him. After he left, the war happened and nothing was the same again.

Perhaps that's why Harry loved her, she mused. Harry saw her as stable. In his mind, the war had not changed her. Maybe it didn't, but before the war Draco Malfoy had definitely changed her. She would sneak into his private dorm every night and they would discuss everything from classes and families to hopes and dreams. He was the one who told her that if her dreams didn't scare her, then that meant they weren't big enough. His words prompted her to apply, train and qualify as a Healer soon after finishing Hogwarts.

An owl's talon scraping at her bedroom window knocked her out of her reverie. She jumped to her feet before sliding open the window. The large black Eagle owl strolled in and extended his leg towards her. Clasped in his foot was a scroll. After feeding the owl a treat, Ginny sat back down. She'd recognised the owl immediately. Only one Wizarding family was ostentatious enough to own such beautiful creatures. Heart racing, she took a deep breath before unravelling the scroll and beginning to read.

Dear Ginny,

As I write this letter, you are less than 24 hours away from becoming a wife. Due to my own stupid decisions, I will not be the man waiting for you at the end of the aisle tomorrow. We have not been together since you were just 15 years old, and yet I have thought of you and our time together every day since. I wonder if you are still the force of nature that I once knew - I hope that you are.

I don't know what I hope to accomplish by writing to you. I suppose I finally feel able to give you an explanation, albeit 5 years too late. The way I behaved on that final night was inexcusable. I should have told you what was going on, you deserved the truth. You still do. As I'm sure you know now, Voldemort threatened the lives of my family if I did not murder Dumbledore. I failed in this mission and Snape took my place. Believe me when I say that I would have been successful in my mission had I not fallen in love with you. The only thought running through my mind up in the tower was that you were far too good to love a murderer. And so I lowered my wand. I realise that I am far from innocent in all of this, but I am not a murderer. I have you to thank for that.

Once that terrible night was over, I was too stubborn to write to you. I was angry at you for calling me a coward and I was angry at myself for not telling you everything. Weeks turned into months, months turned into years and I never wrote to you. I cannot apologise enough for everything I've done. I realise that sending this the night before your wedding is selfish and completely unfair to you. I fear that if I do not send this letter now, I probably never will.

A beautiful, fiery redhead once told me that you never forget your first love. She was right, of course, although she didn't tell me that I'd be irreversibly altered by my first love. You changed me, Gin. You taught me what it was to love another more than my own life. For that, and many other things, I will always be grateful.

I love you. Endlessly.

D

Swiping away her tears, she pocketed the scroll and grabbed a piece of parchment from her desk. She scrawled a quick note, pulled on her cloak and flew down the stairs.

She left the note on the kitchen table before apparating away.

Quick author's note: thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed so far. Next chapter should be up over the weekend.