I Promise
She looked towards the ground, allowing the raindrops to shower over her head, soaking her and chilling her to the bone. Lightning flashed and then thunder echoed throughout the school. But she was not scared. Ginny Weasley stood in the rain, enjoying as the tears of her dead brother splashed onto her. The war was over, and so was the life of dear Fred Weasley. Raindrops slid down strands of her flaming red hair. She closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheek; it joined the raindrops on her hair as they fell onto the remains of the school courtyard.
She could remember the green grass and shady trees, the benches and the sunlight spilling on their heads as she and her friends talked about recent events during lunchtime. But the courtyard was nothing like that now. It was a graveyard. Bodies were scattered everywhere, mostly Death Eaters with silver masks and cloaks. But there were few of those wearing the uniform of Hogwarts. Ginny could just about imagine Fred and George walking towards her, interrupting her precious moment with her friends just so they could have her test out a new product. She would have shooed them away, wanting to spend some time from her overprotective siblings. Now, she would nod and do as she was told. But she could not. Only George was left, Fred was gone…her beloved brother had died in the war.
"You're not going to stand there all day, are you?" A voice came up behind her.
Ginny spun around and looked up. Fury swirled in her brown eyes as they landed on the person. She registered his looks: pale alabaster skin, a Dark Mark missing from his wrist, stone gray eyes and blond hair. It was obviously Draco Malfoy. He could be spotted a mile away. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed venomously.
Draco stepped away from the shades and joined her in the rain. "I came here to apologize."
Ginny ignored him and turned away, arms folded. Her vision fragmented before her as the tears came back. She blinked and one of them fell to the ground. "Yeah, right," she sniffed. "I bet 'sorry' can revive Fred. Isn't that right, Malfoy?"
"I'm not here to apologize about your brother." Draco snapped irritably. "I'm sorry I didn't fulfill my promise."
Ginny was about to retort. Then, she paused and slowly turned to face him, a look of confusion mixed with sadness upon her face. She tried to find the right words to say, but failed to do so. Instead, she raised an eyebrow at him, needing further explanation.
"You don't recall, do you?" He smirked. "Remember? It was twelve years ago in Diagon Alley. Our fathers were there too. We were lucky they didn't spot us talking. I was five years old, you were four. I promised you something."
Slowly, memories flooded back into Ginny's brain.
It had been a beautiful summer day. Four-year-old Ginny had woken up early from bed while her brothers snored like pigs. She tucked a strand of her shoulder-length red hair behind her ear and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She went downstairs. Seeing her father putting on his hat, she had asked him where he was going. "I'm off to Diagon Alley to buy books for Charlie." Arthur Weasley replied with a smile, scooping her off the ground. "Would you like to come along, dear?"
"Yes!" Ginny screamed in delight. "But you'll have to put me down, dad."
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she grabbed her father's hand and pulled him over to the fireplace. She saw him grab a handful of Floo Powder. The last thing she heard was "Diagon Alley!" and suddenly the Burrow disappeared, replaced by the surroundings of a shop. Arthur cleaned the powder off them with a spell. He slipped his wand back and turned to her.
"Follow me, Ginny. Make sure you don't get lost."
"Okay."
They were browsing a bookshelf when Arthur suddenly stopped in his tracks; Ginny stumbled a bit but caught hold of his hand in time. She looked up to see a tall man wearing a black cloak. He had long blond hair tied in a neat ponytail. The man looked scary, and Ginny backed away behind her father.
"Lucius," Arthur greeted stiffly.
"Arthur," the other man said in a low voice, almost like a hush whisper. The two men began mumbling stuff at each other, Ginny found it almost impossible to hear what they were saying. Suddenly, there was another voice – soft and innocent.
"Who's there?" the voice asked. Ginny poked her head out from her father's brown cloak, only to see a young boy standing beside the scary man. He looked quite like the man called 'Lucius'. He must be his son. The two shared the same blond hair. The boy's was shorter and a little messy. Their skin were pale and almost colorless were it not for the gray eyes. He was a little taller than she was, wearing an emerald turtleneck shirt with long grey pants. Ginny saw the relief in the boy's eyes as she stepped into his full view.
"Sorry," he smiled. "I thought there was a Bogart behind the man. I'm Draco, and you?"
"My name's Ginny." She said with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'd say the same."
"I hope you won't mind me asking if you have any friends." Draco asked, straightening himself.
"Not at all," she lifted an eyebrow. This boy must be around five years old. But his manners were completely off the charts. She was only four, and she had received a few praises from her parents' friends. Though, speaking about 'friends', she continued. "I don't have any, I'm afraid."
"Me too," The boy sighed. "I've been kept in my house since I was born and I don't mix much with the outside world. Father and Mother would train me on my etiquettes and I'd have to be a total gentleman whenever guests come. Don't get it wrong though, the guests are just Father's business associates, nobody my age."
Ginny blinked. The boy who called himself 'Draco' could have come straight out of a Muggle story, something they like to call 'robots'. He possessed vocabularies beyond anyone else's expectations. That certainly came as a shock, especially when the words were coming out of a five-year-old boy. She did not even know what the words 'etiquettes' and 'associates' were.
"Can we be friends, Ginny?" He asked when she remained silent. Ginny smiled in delight.
"Yes, but…" she looked at their fathers. "I don't think they get along very well."
"It's okay." Draco looked at her through his widely hopeful eyes. He reached out a hand. "I promise we'll be friends."
"You'll need to take a Wizard's Oath." Ginny giggled.
"All right," he cleared his throat. "By something, something and something, I promise to Ginny that I shall be her friend forever and always, now entrust something, something to me and make this oath…um…well…something."
Ginny had taken it seriously and shook his hand. Their fathers had finished snapping at each other. "Draco," Lucius said, looking down at his son. "Let's go." Draco nodded and took his father's hand. He turned back to Ginny and mouthed the words: "I promise."
I promise…
I promise…
"I promise." Draco's voice brought her back into reality. "Or maybe, I promised."
Ginny blinked the tears away. It was touching for Draco Malfoy to remember a moment like that even after all these years. She herself had forgotten it, and had expected him to do so as well. But no, he remembered. He remembered his promise towards a Weasley. Twelve years had gone by, and Ginny could not imagine how long the promise had haunted him. They had met in Ginny's first year, which was his second year, and it was obvious they were nowhere close to the word 'friend'. They never got along.
"You promised to by friend." She said a hush voice. She wiped her tears. They were not forming in her eyes because of Fred anymore. Suddenly, she had all focused on the seventeen-year-old standing before her eyes. "After all these years, you still remember."
"A promise is a promise," he smiled. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep it."
"Oh never mind," Ginny laughed, and for the first time in her entire sixth year had she laughed out of pure happiness. "I've forgotten it anyway. It doesn't matter."
"So, there you have it." Draco sighed. "I've apologized. For all I care, you can kill me or throw me in Azkaban right now." When he saw her standing there, giving no reaction, he turned his back towards her and walked out of the rain and back into the shade. "If you're not going to do anything, then, I'll be going."
He had just stepped into the shade when he heard puddles splashing and a cold, wet hand touching his arm. He jumped a little and turned around. Ginny Weasley stood there, soaked wet.
"It's not too late to fulfill your promise, you know." Ginny gave him a reassuring smile. "I can still accept that."
She reached out her hand, just like he had reached out his hand to her twelve years ago. He looked down at it, the rainwater dripping onto the ground from his hair. He looked up at her. She seemed to look a wee bit disappointed, as though he had refused. He reached out his hand…and placed it beneath her chin, tilting her face in an awkward angle as though he was examining her. Draco paused, then, with half-closed eyes, leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulled away almost immediately. However, Ginny did not seem surprised.
"Don't you feel awkward or something?" Draco asked her amusedly. "I thought that happened to girls who get kissed."
"Honestly," she snapped. "Sometimes you're thick. You think I can't read what you were thinking when you were looking at my hand? Well, get real…I can." She laughed again. "No, I'm just kidding. I was surprised. But I guess hiding your true emotions do have their advantages." There was a moment of silence. "So, I'll take that as a yes, then?"
Draco snorted and took a step closer towards her. "What do you think, silly?" He smiled.
"You want something more than just a friendship."
"Oh, wow. You can read me." He whispered and silenced her mouth with his own before she could snap back. It was a nice, gentle, comforting – and apparently, wet - kiss. After everything that had happened, Ginny needed it. When they broke apart, they smiled at each other. The sky was clearing and the sunlight was spilling bit by bit onto the courtyard. They looked at the massive destruction the war had caused. Draco held her hand in his.
"You know," Draco said, eyes drifting to the far distant. "When this world falls apart, I think I'd like you be there with me."
Ginny rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Strange," she whispered. "I thought so too."