Cry

Author's Note: Hello reader. This is the revised version of my song fic, Cry. I got back into fan fiction writing and decided before I go any further with my writing, I would like to go back and rewrite all of my fan fictions as they were written when I was thirteen and now four years older, I feel that my writing has greatly improved. Some of my old stories... I absolutely hate, but I feel that these original pieces brought me to where I am today with my writing and thus, even if I hate them, I do owe them a certain amount of respect. Anyways, this version of Cry, I think, is amazing. I changed the storyline a bit and added a lot more details to it. Anyways, enjoy.
Ginny walked outside to a cloudy autumn day. She skipped across the lawn and made her way down to the Quidditch pitch. Her broom was hoisted up on her shoulder and her vibrant red hair was up in a quick ponytail. When she reached the field, she was startled to see someone else there.

I'll always remember
It was late afternoon

Draco Malfoy was also there practicing for his position as Seeker. He had been chasing the snitch, but stopped and began to look at the darkening sky. Ginny had come down to the pitch in order to practice a few Quidditch skills. She was the new Catcher for the Gryffindor team as Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet had graduated last year. Ginny watched him for a few minutes, but he did not seem to notice her.

It lasted forever
And ended too soon

Draco continued to stare up at the sky. It was going to rain any moment and he was waiting for it. His eyes sparkled as the first few drops fell. Ginny, on the other hand, was not planning on this. It was cloudy, but she had been told that it was not going to rain that day. Ginny looked at Draco. She had always disliked Draco's arrogant, pure-blood ways, but at the same time, found him mysteriously attractive. She, of course, never shared this with anybody as the school and her family would be in an uproar.

Ginny hopped onto her broom with every intention to tell Draco to get out of the rain. Unfortunately, the weather had a different idea. She was trying to regain her balance as her broom whipped in the wind. A streak of lightning illuminated the sky and Ginny noticed that Draco was crying. Her heart tightened up and she had a lump in her throat.

You were all by yourself
Staring up at a dark gray sky

Draco had always found refugee in flying and Quidditch. Lucius Malfoy, his father and top-ranking Death Eater, had been arrested and placed in Azkaban for his association with Lord Voldemort the past summer. While he had spent most of his life pulling pranks on Hermione "Mudblood" Granger and looking down on any who were not pure-blood, Draco now realized what his father really wanted him to do. He had been under the assumption that, with his dad as a top Death Eater, that Lucius could pull some strings and keep Draco from joining Voldemort. After Lucius' arrest, not only did the state of Malfoy Manor fall into disarray, but Voldemort had personally invited Draco to join his ranks.

It had been only one week ago that Draco felt the sting of being branded with the Dark Mark. His official initiation ceremony would be in under an hour and he was, on a broomstick, in the pouring rain. This is not what he wanted. He wanted to lead the life he had before, when Daddy still picked up all the responsibility and all he had to do was spend the money, hold onto his reputation, and flaunt his good looks and charm. Now, he was over his head and he did not know what to do. There was no turning back now. Voldemort would surely kill him.

I was changed

Ginny nudged her broom forward a bit. She did not want to startle Draco as she did not know how he would react; it could range from a hurtful insult to a terrible hex, neither of which she wanted to deal with at the moment.

"Draco?"

Draco shot backwards and looked at her. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He tried to talk, but his voice did not seem to want to work. Ginny moved closer.

In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)

Ginny and Draco continued to stare at each other. He had finally stopped trying to talk and she had gotten control of her feelings. Her enormous crush on him had gotten in the way as color rose to her cheeks, cementing the fact that he would now not talk to her. Draco had known of the Weasley girl's attraction to him, but never took it or her seriously. She was, after all, the spawn of a blood traitor family. As he saw the blush rise up her neck and onto her cheeks, he assumed the only reason she came to talk to him was to give him some lovesick speech. Not in the mood to listen to her, he shot back towards the ground with every intent of going back to the Slytherin common room, back to Hell. What Draco did not expect was for Ginny Weasley to follow him.

It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes

He jumped off his broom and Ginny did the same a few seconds later. Ginny, like most Weasleys, had a temper that matched her striking hair color – red hot. Too long had she been pushed aside as the Girl-Who-Had-A-Crush-On-Harry-Potter and she was not about to take any dirt from some stuffed-up Slytherin, especially a crying one.

"Draco. Wait!"

Ginny stumbled through the much on the ground as she tried to catch up with Draco. He seemed to be able to walk without any difficulty on the dirt that was slowly turning into pudding. 'Must be his Malfoy training,' Ginny thought as her foot stuck into a particularly squishy part.

"No! Leave me alone!"

"No Draco, I will not leave you alone. What's wrong?"

Draco turned and looked at the fiery Gryffindor before him. Standing in the mud, with one foot stuck in the ground, her rain-drenched hair (now curly into a lion-like mane), her bright brown eyes flashing angrily and worriedly at him, Ginny Weasley never looked more beautiful to Draco Malfoy in all his years at Hogwarts.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

And with that, Draco jumped back on his broom and flew off, leaving Ginny all by herself.

The moment I saw you cry
The moment that I saw you cry

For the next couple of days, Draco avoided Ginny as much as possible. Ever since the scene at the Quidditch pitch, he could not get the blasted Weasley girl out of his head. His mind kept wandering back to what would have happened if he had only talked to her.

'No, Draco,' he thought to himself during History of Magic, 'you did the right thing. Can't be ruining my family's reputation and mine by being with a Weasely. What would Father think?'

Draco swallowed the vile that had begun to creep into his mouth. The distaste he had whenever he thought of his father had become more and more disgusting as the days passed. He had never disliked a person more, except for Harry Potter.

'Stupid, stuffed-up hero. What does he know anyways?'

It was late in September
And I've seen you before (and you were)

It was approximately two month after 'The Incident,' as Ginny lovingly referred to it as. Draco Malfoy had not even given her a passing glance or comment when he saw her in the hallways now.

'Not like he did to begin with. Sheesh Ginny! Get over him already.'

Often at night, she would belittle herself for taking any interest in Draco, knowing that it would lead to naught but heartbreak. Even so, Ginny found herself studying him during meals and thinking of various ways to kick up a conversation between them.

A chance came to her after Transfiguration class one day. She had volunteered to help McGonagall pack away the mice they had been practicing their Vanishing Spells on. When she exited the classroom and began to make her way to the Great Hall for lunch, she found Draco opening the door to the grounds.

"Hey there Draco."

Ginny had run down two flights of stairs in order to catch up with Draco and was slightly out of breath. Draco just sneered at her and continued on his way to the Quidditch pitch.

"Get away from me you stupid Weasel."

Ginny would have none of this and pushed him from behind causing him to stumble. After regaining his footing, Draco turned to face her, his wand at the ready. Ginny just stared at him, her eyes flashing.

"Draco. We need to talk."

"You aren't worthy to talk to me. You're as bad as the Mudbloods."

Draco thought this would cause her to do a number of things, among them hexing him, crying, or running off in a rage. Ginny did not live up to his expectations though, and instead, gave him a sad smile.

"Draco," she said calmly, moving closer to him. "Stop saying things like that. I know you're better than the others. Please. Just talk to me."

At this point, she had gone from a mostly-angry witch to a worried friend, even if she and Draco had no relationship.

You were always the cold one
But I was never that sure

Draco could not believe this. A Weasley, trying to help him, trying to understand him. A girl who he had constantly teased and poked fun at was attracted to him and was willing to listen.

'No one has ever listened to me before,' Draco thought as he turned away from Ginny.

He stared at the sky, as he often did when in a state of confusion. It was cloudy ('Like the day at the Quidditch pitch') and the stormy clouds were reflected in his silver eyes. His left arm had been stinging for the last three hours. The Dark Lord had been calling him, but being at Hogwarts and the desire to get as far away as possible from Voldemort had kept Draco from answering.

Ginny watched Draco, trying to read his reaction. After he had turned from her, he had begun to massage his left arm and his shoulders had tensed.

'The Dark Mark. Oh Merlin! I thought he was different.'

Ginny let a single tear fall before wiping it away and starting towards Hogwarts. She was startled into stopping when she heard Draco speak.

You were all by yourself
Staring at a dark gray sky

"You're right Ginny. I'm not like that."

"Draco?"

I was changed

Draco turned around, noting that Ginny had begun to walk away. This… rejection… stung more than the accusatory glare in her eyes.

"I'm not the awful person you think I am. I'm worst."

Draco's eyes had become cold, an icy gray as compared to the glowing silver they usually were. Ginny stared at him, long and hard.

"You want to really know what I am? Take a wild guess Weasley. I'm sure you know."

Tears crept their way into Ginny's eye. 'He is a Death Eater, he is the son of Lucius Malfoy, and he will never change.' She had been so wrong.

Draco continued, not allowing Ginny to speak. "You follow me out here, thinking you know everything about me and that with some kind words and a few hugs you can change me. Well you can't. Nothing you say or do is going to change anything. Just give up on it already."

Without another word, Ginny ran, terrified of the young man she saw before him. The loathing glint in his eyes had scared her, making her want to put as much distance between herself and Draco Malfoy as possible.

In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)

The next few months seemed to take forever to pass for Draco. He wanted to be left alone, but his friends were always by his side. The unintelligent chatter he had with Crabbe and Goyle had become redundant over the years, while Pancy's constant flirtations had grown to be irritating. No one in Slytherin house realized that their number one man was now wishing that things had been different. This, however, did not show on the outside. He still threw snide remarks at "The Trio" and was always one to show his "opinion" about Mudbloods and half-bloods. And after the school year, things would only get worse. He would return home to a distraught mother, an estate to take care of, a name to live up to, and the work Voldemort had for him.

It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes

Ginny, on the other hand, thought the days flew by too fast. One minute she was sleeping, the next in class, the next at dinner, and then finally she was getting ready for bed. She had given up hope on Draco, concluding that Ron had been right the whole time.

'He's just a slimy, selfish Slytherin and he'll never change.'

Nevertheless, as these thoughts formed in her mind, they were pushed aside by the nagging feeling that this was not entirely correct. Sure, Draco was always a jerk to her and her family. Granted, he was exceedingly arrogant. But there was a sadness now that permeated from him as he passed her in the corridors. His act was good, she would have been fooled had not been for the fact that she looked closer. None of his friends would note the slight lack in enthusiasm in his responses or his slight lack in interest of things he was very passionate about. Even his insults had begun to weaken.

Ginny needed to know the truth though. She had to know if Draco truly was a Death Eater or if it was all an act. Lessons and Quidditch obligations kept her busy though; the finals against Ravenclaw were coming up as well as quite a few tests in some of her subjects. After the match (Gryffindor won 210 – 50), Ginny made her decision to confront Draco.

The moment I saw you cry

It was about a week before Hogwarts let out when Ginny finally got the chance to speak to Draco again. She had been looking for the bathrooms after a Potions lesson and had gotten completely lost in the maze of dungeons. As she begun to open random doors to find the bathrooms, a blonde boy stumbled out of the one across from her. Ginny turned around and was face-to-face with a very disheveled, very tired looking Draco Malfoy.

Draco found one of the most unpopulated dungeon areas in Hogwarts and had chosen a random room to use as his own to transport back and forth from Death Eater meetings. He had taught himself the Port Key spell and could now travel freely to and from the school. Even so, he made sure not to do this often, as someone would eventually note his absence. On the day he bumped into Ginny, he had just come back from a personal meeting with Voldemort, who had not been happy at the lack of information Draco had brought him. As such, Draco was punished for an hour under the torment of the Cruciatus Curse. His nerve endings were shot and his body was groaning in protest against any movement. Looking up, he spotted Ginny Weasley.

They stared at each other a few moments before Draco's body started to crumble in pain. Ginny ran over and wrapped him up in her arms, not knowing what else to do. She began to stroke his hair and whisper calming nothings into his ear as her mother did to her when she was younger. Draco was touched by this simple display of tenderness. Never in his life had anyone comforted him. Tears prickled at his eyes and he held onto Ginny as tight as he could without causing himself more pain. He wanted to stay here, forever, wrapped up in the warmth and care of Ginny's arms. But at the same time, he was afraid of what might happen to her if the Dark Lord found out that he had an inkling of feelings towards her.

They stood there for a few minutes, Ginny continuing to stroke his hair while Draco got his emotions under control. Pulling away slightly, Draco looked into Ginny's eyes, seeing the compassion and kindness in her face. Unconsciously, they both leaned towards the other and for the briefest of moments, their lips touched. They both blinked at each other, a smile playing on Ginny's lips, as she leaned forward and kissed Draco. This was only the fourth or fifth time Ginny had been so close to a boy, her previous boyfriends were nothing more than a few flings, and shivers tingled down her spine. At first, it started out with slow, tentative kisses, but moved into a more passionate, more wanting, more needing kiss. Ginny finally broke apart and she nearly cried at the look of complete hopelessness in Draco's eyes. He was pleading, searching for someone to understand him, to accept him for who he was, to offer advice, to be there for a talk, to love him. She merely smiled and pulled him closer to her. Draco enveloped her in his arms, pressing her as close as he could get her, resting his head on hers. Never had he, Draco Malfoy, felt such completeness as being with Ginny Weasley.

I wanted to hold you
I wanted to make it go away

Ginny and Draco became secret friends after that. Draco continued his act of the perfect, pure-blood Slytherin and Ginny continued to ignore him like the plague. But at night, when everyone was asleep, they would sneak out to see each other in the West Tower. Draco did not fully open up to Ginny during the last week, but she knew it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, before anything further could happen between them, it was the last day of Hogwarts and they were both to return home. Draco promised to keep in touch, but that the letters might be few and far between. Ginny shrugged it off, but inside, she was crushed. She had been expected so much more to happen, but was willing to wait it out.

Draco kept his word and wrote close to fifteen times over the summer. Ron had become suspicious of the letters Ginny had been receiving and demanded to know what was going on. Ginny just smiled and told him to stay out of her personal life. This, if anything, fueled Ron even more to figure the mystery out.

I wanted to know you
I wanted to make your everything, all right...

Summer was over and Ginny and Draco had returned to Hogwarts.

For Draco, this would be his last year attending Hogwarts and he was nervous of the end that was approaching. After Hogwarts, he would be initiated as a full-fledge Death Eater and would no longer have an excuse for absences from meetings. He prayed for someone to end the war against Voldemort, even if it was Harry Potter.

Ginny was ecstatic about returning. She would finally be able to see Draco again and she had a feeling that this year was going to be amazing. Something in the air just whispered of good news and happenings.

Draco and Ginny did not talk during the first two weeks back at Hogwarts. Both were readjusting to class schedules and getting up-to-date with old friends or, in Draco's case, learning the latest on the war front. So, when a barn owl plopped in front of Ginny on her third week back, she nearly spilled her breakfast in excitement. Ron noted this and attempted to grab the letter before her, but Ginny was too quick and had dashed out of the Great Hall before he could say anything.

The note had contained only two words:

W.T. 12.

Ginny smiled and set the letter on fire so no one would find out.

I'll always remember...
It was late afternoon...

At eleven thirty that night, Ginny snuck out of Gryffindor Tower to meet Draco. When she arrived a few minutes before midnight, Draco was already there. As soon as he saw her, he rushed over to Ginny and wrapped her up in his arms. Ginny just hugged him back and smiled. It felt so right to be here, in his arms. After their embrace, Draco and Ginny sat on the parapets and talked about the things they could not say in their letters over the summer. When Ginny asked about the Death Eater subject, Draco hinted around at what was going on, saying he had talked to Professor Snape and things were beginning to look up. Whether Draco knew it or not, Ginny was aware that this meant he had become a spy for Dumbledore. While she was worried about Draco's well-being, she was also glad he had found a way out of his old Death Eater, pure-blood fanatic ways.

It was close to two o'clock in the morning when they decided they should get to bed. Before Ginny could leave though, Draco pulled her into a romantic kiss, one hand running through her flaming red hair while the other wound its way around her waist. She returned the kiss with much enthusiasm and Draco pulled away softly with a chuckle.

"Ginny, I would be honored if you were to go steady with me."

Ginny blinked quite a few times before the words sunk in.

'He asked me out. Draco Malfoy asked me out!'

While he waited for an answer, Draco quirked an eyebrow at her and watched the emotions run through her eyes. First was surprise, then confusion, followed by realization, and finally the joy he had been looking for. Not having the ability to speak, Ginny simply nodded and kissed Draco as her response.

In places no one would find...
In places no one would find

Draco and Ginny hid their relationship from everyone at Hogwarts, knowing the ridicule and animosity others would feel towards them. A Gryffindor and Slytherin dating was unheard of, on top of the fact that she was a Weasley and he a Malfoy. They both longed to become public with their feelings towards each other, but it would have to wait until the times had changed, until Voldemort was defeated.

It was late in March when news reached Ginny's ears that the war was about to conclude. Draco had mentioned something the previous night that things were about to get very dangerous. Ginny said she would stay as safe as she could, knowing that Draco was concerned. In all actuality, she intended to demand to help with whatever she could so, when Harry approached her the following night, she was already ready with her answer.

Harry led her to Dumbledore's office where the plan was to be explained and then executed. It was simple enough. Distract Voldemort and his Death Eaters long enough that Harry could kill him. Ginny watched as Harry's face blanched out when Dumbledore said this. She squeezed his hand to show her support of him, but he could only nod.

Draco was called with Professor Snape to a meeting with the Death Eaters the same night Ginny met with Dumbledore. Before they left, Snape told Draco that when they were to Apparate to the meeting point, to Apparate instead to Dumbledore's side. If Dumbledore and Harry were to fail, their lives would be ended as Voldemort would know of their deceit. Draco promised he would do so and then Apparated to the meeting point.

At eleven thirty sharp, hundreds of Death Eaters Apparated onto Hogwarts' grounds. They had since broken the protective spells surrounding Hogwarts and were thus able to initiate an attack. Waiting for them was the Ministry of Magic's Aurors, every professor at Hogwarts, any students who were able and willing to fight, Dumbledore, and Harry Potter. Voldemort was afraid that this would happen; he knew that there was a snitch in his ranks, but was prepared for the battle that would ensue. Searching the crowd defending Hogwarts, Voldemort's red eyes landed upon the figure of Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy. Severus Snape was the first casualty of the final battle.

As soon as Lord Voldemort spoke the Killing Curse, the battle began. Spells were being flung everywhere, people were falling all around, and pieces of Hogwarts would come crashing down from an awry spell. While the fighting continued, Harry made his way towards Voldemort. When the two finally met on the battlefield, almost everything else stopped. The only other movement that could be found were the small skirmishes on the outskirts of battle. A circle was formed around the two, Death Eaters on one side, Dumbledore and his army on the other. The first few minutes were intense. Harry and Voldemort began to exchange curses, spell, and hexes so fast that sometimes their movements during and between spells began blurred. Finally, after both were beaten down and tired, Harry was able to connect their wands like what happened in his fourth year. While the wands were connected, Harry channeled all of this thought and efforts into holding onto the wand and to sending the Killing Curse through the beam to Voldemort. The struggle between good and evil continued for twelve long minutes, every breath was held, every eye unblinking. Finally, the small bead representing the Killing Curse reached Voldemort's wand. In a flash of white light, his wand exploded and Voldemort fell lifeless to the ground. As soon as this happened Death Eaters everywhere began to Apparate away, or at least attempt to. While the battle had been raged on outside, Hermione Granger had sat in Dumbledore's office, working to rebuild Hogwarts' defenses. By the failure of the Death Eaters' Apparation attempts, it was clear that she was successful. Aurors and professors began to round up Death Eaters, while medics began to help those who were injured and to collect the bodies of the deceased.

Ronald Weasley stumbled blindly through the carnage of battle, trying to find Harry or his sister. He was surprised at how hard it was to find Harry; Harry had been shipped to one of the medical tents for severe burns and deep cuts. After making sure his best mate was alright, he went back outside to search for Ginny. He did not have to look far, though; she was only a few yards away, wrapped up in a passionate kiss with Draco. Ron nearly killed the blonde young man right there.

All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized

Draco had been nearer to the outskirts of the battle and could only catch flashes of light and wisps of smoke coming from the circle around Voldemort and Harry. He was much too busy trying to stay alive to pay much attention to anything else. Unlike those watching the battle between Harry and Voldemort, Draco was not aware that Harry's side had won until the Death Eater he was about to perform a curse on attempted to Apparate, but only just stood there dumbfounded. Draco laughed at the fool and placed a Full Body Bind spell on him. Draco was going to help round up some of the Death Eaters who were running towards the Forbidden Forest to escape, but was told to make towards the medical tents. During the fight, he had received a large gash from his right temple down his jaw line ending at the point in between his shoulder blades on his chest as well as several smaller cuts, bruises, and burns; the large gash would form a scar that would stay with him forever.

Ginny had been also fighting, but was able to have a breather when Harry and Voldemort had met up to battle. She was one of the many people forming the innermost circle around the pair while they dueled. After Harry was able to defeat Voldemort, she helped him to reach the medical tents; the poor man could barely stand and he seemed not to notice what was going on around him. She left Harry in the medical tents with Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall, hoping he would be all right. Ginny exited the tent and began to search the field for any hint of bleach blonde hair.

Ginny had been looking the other way when Draco spotted her outside the medical tents. Without another thought to his health, he ran towards her, picked her up, and began to twirl her around in a hug. Ginny laughed at his antics and, when he put her down, she turned around and kissed him deeply. Both were so happy to see each other alive and, for the most part, well. Ginny entangled her hands in his soft blonde hair while he pressed her closer to him. Neither noticed the stares they were receiving from the various people around them or Ginny's angry brother approaching them with his wand drawn.

When Ron reached Draco and Ginny, he ripped the two apart and placed himself between the two.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Ron yelled, angrily waving his wand at Draco.

Draco put on his past smirk and answered, "I think I'm making out with your sister."

Draco just laughed at Ron while Ginny rolled her eyes. She pushed herself from behind her brother and situated herself between Ron, who looked murderous, and Draco, who found the whole thing comical. Ginny cleared her throat to get Ron's attention, but before she could speak, he had already continued on.

"And what do you think is so bloody funny? Do you think I find it enjoyable to see my baby sister being forced to kiss a monster like you."

Draco stopped at this and took out his wand; while he was up for a good laugh, he was not going to being taking anything from Potter's weasel. Ginny grabbed both their wands and glared at them.

"Do I have a say in the matter?! I mean, I am dating Draco…"

"You're what?!"

"Shut up Ron. As I was saying, I'm dating Draco and as such, I can make out with him as much as I want. Now, if you have a problem with this Ron, I'm afraid there's not much you can do about it except learn to deal."

Draco, in a very childish manner, stuck his tongue out at Ron who gave him the middle finger in response. Ginny then turned to Draco, who instantly sobered up.

"And as for you. You need to learn to deal with Ron because I will not put up with your crap while we're dating. If you date me, you have to get along with my family, no matter how much you might dislike them. Just act polite."

It was Ron turn to make a victorious face at Draco, who settled for glaring at him. To cement the deal of them not arguing, Ginny forced them to shake hands. Neither of the young men were happy, but were willing to deal with it for the sake of Ginny's happiness.

That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry

After the final battle, Ron and Draco had gotten in a few fights, unknown to Ginny, who would have killed them both. While the boys did not get along with each other, they did form a sort of agreement that enabled Draco to date Ginny without Ron trying to hex him. As well as Ron finding out about their relationship, Ginny informed Hermione and Harry. While both of them were a bit skeptical in the beginning, they eventually warmed up to the idea when they saw how nicely Draco treated Ginny.

Draco had a few problems, besides the ones with Ron, because of his house. Many of the Slytherin students were pulled from school by their parents the days following the battle. Therefore, Draco was left with only those who either had no contact with Voldemort or had supported him, but did not join his ranks. Life was not nearly as hard as he thought it would be, all things considered. He no longer had Pansy hounding him all day or Crabbe and Goyle tripping over themselves. He did run into some hostility, but he quickly took care of things. Things had home had also begun to look up. Upon hearing of the defeat of Voldemort, Lucius had committed suicide in order to avoid fate of a Dementor's Kiss. Narcissa had gone nearly insane when her husband had been placed in Azkaban, but soon grew use to it and began to get things back together. The financial aspect of the Malfoy estate was settled and Draco became the sole owner of everything under the Malfoy name.

It was the beginning of June and it was the last day of Hogwarts as well as Draco's graduation. Instead of getting ready down in the Slytherin dungeons, Draco was pacing around in a circle in front of the lake. It was a beautiful summer day with a gentle breeze, there were a few wispy clouds in the sky, and the Whomping Willow was attempting to butcher a few birds singing joyfully around it. Draco had not spoken to Ginny all day except a few words to meet him down at the lake. She finally arrived, about fifteen minutes later, with a worried expression on her face.

"Something bothering you?"

She began to rub his back, but he stepped away. Looking her in the eye, he kneeled onto one knee. Ginny's hands went to her mouth and she gasped. He pulled out a tiny black velvet box and opened it. Inside was a simple, yet elegant diamond ring. The band was platinum and the pale pink diamond was a cut. On each side of the large diamond, there was a small pear-shaped white diamond. She looked at Draco and then the ring.

"I really don't know what to say. I had this really good speech planned out, but now that it comes down to it, the only thing I can say is: Will you marry me?"

Ginny jumped forward and he caught her. They kissed for a few moments and then he slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. She looked at him and he was crying. But not tears of fear, sadness, or anger. His first tears of true joy.