Nights

Chapter 1: Sudden Love

Disclaimer note: I do not own any Harry Potter characters. J.K. Rowling does.

Author's note: I've had this story in my head for a while now and am just now able to get working on it. I hope you like it. Please be kind in the reviews. Also, this is my take on what happened in the seventh book before the epilogue.

The sun sneaked a peak through the clouds and cast light over the Forbidden Forest, and decided to play on the grounds, spreading its warmth everywhere. The sun crawled up the wall of the tower, like a spider sneaking up on its prey and peaked in through the open window. It waited a few seconds, as if its mind was debating on which victim it wanted to kill. The sun came upon the girl right across from the window. The sun's beams pounced and succeeded, for her eyes suddenly opened then squeezed shut just as quickly. Damn the sun she thought. The red-headed girl of sixteen turned over on her side, facing the wall away from the sun. She tried to go back to sleep, but her mind was already working non-stop, thinking of the last couple of days. She knew she should be happy with Voldemort dead and gone, but couldn't help think about all the people that died during battle. Her mind reeled to the previous day, as images of her friends and family fighting the Death Eaters played in her mind.

Flashback

Squeezed in between her parents, Ginny sighed. She loved their company, but also needed a spare minute to think about the nights' events. She arose from the table; her mother looked up looking very grim.

"I'm going to lie down." She told them. Her mother nodded with tears in her eyes. Ginny understood why. Her mother had just lost a son. Ginny rushed out the Great Hall shoving past people not caring where she was going. She didn't want to be bothered. Seeing her mother cry was something that was well-known; however, this time, it was different. It made Ginny want to cry, but not until she was alone in the tower. Ginny kept running - not caring where she was going. It wasn't until she looked up when she realized she was in front of the Room of Requirement.

She was desperate to have peace and quiet, to lessen the pressure of everyone's presence. 'I need to be alone,' she thought. Suddenly, a door appeared and Ginny went through. She looked around. A leather couch stood alone in the back of the room. Next to either side of the couch were two end tables topped with tissue boxes. Ginny ran to the couch, curled up into a ball and sobbed.



The events of the night would be overwhelming for anyone. Ginny felt sorry for herself, sorry for her mother and especially sorry for George. George was Fred's twin. Every time he looks in the mirror from this moment on, he's going to think there's a part of him missing. Ginny reached for a Kleenex and realized that it was being handed to her. She looked up and held her breath for she was afraid she was going to scream.

"Hello Ginny," said the voice of Draco Malfoy.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny demanded. She wanted to be alone and being in the company of Malfoy was not what she had in mind.

"I saw you leave the Great Hall in a hurry and followed you to the Room of Requirement. I figured you wanted to be alone, considering what happened tonight, so I thought 'I need to be alone.' three times and the door opened." He paused for a moment waiting for a response.



When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"Look, I know you want to be alone, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that." he said.

"You can't let me be alone or you won't?" She asked.

"Both"

"Why? What in the hell do I mean to you? I'm just a traitor for liking other people who aren't pure blood." she demanded.

"I was afraid you would want to hurt yourself. After what happened tonight, with Fred…" He trailed off, noticing her eyes were glistening with fresh tears. They spilled out with the mention of Fred's name.



"That's the first time you called him Fred."

"Well, that was his name, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I guess I'm a little confused."

"About what?" Draco said as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Why are you in here? And why do you care about me all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of a sudden." He mumbled.

"I couldn't understand what you just said."

"I said it's not all of a sudden. Look, I've cared about you since I first met you. I pushed it to the back of my mind, since I knew it would never work out. I mean, our families don't quite get along. I've been mean to you all these years because it was a way for me to get over you." He sighed. This time waiting for a response.

"All these years and you never told me you liked me because you were a coward?" Ginny glared at him. He was stunned with her response.

"I wasted my time with Michael Corner and Dean Thomas. I could have been with you!" She gasped and put her hand in front of her mouth. She didn't mean to say that last part out loud. She blushed and looked away.



"Ginny," He whispered her name so softly she barely heard it and turned around. He put his hands on either side of her face. Then he leaned in and brushed her lips softly with his. She breathed in, taking every moment of this. He knew she wanted the rest of the kiss and his mouth opened slipped his tongue in her mouth and let it explore. Ginny let him kiss her, for this is what she had dreamed about for a long time. She relaxed a bit and put her arms around his neck. His hands moved gently from her face to her shoulders pausing a moment, and then down to her waist. He pulled back reluctantly after the kiss.

"I've been dreaming about that since I can remember." He sighed and brought her closer to him.

"Why'd you stop then?" She asked still holding him in her arms.

Ginny squeezed him tighter, nesting her head beneath his. He breathed in and smelled her hair. 'Smells like vanilla' He thought.

"Ginny, as much as I like kissing you, you should get to bed before your mother realizes you're not there" Draco said.

Ginny pulled away from him and looked at his dark grey eyes.

"Since when did you care about being late?" She questioned.

"Since now." He replied.

"Can we meet again before we have to go back?" She asked him.

"You would be risking it. Your mother would keep a close eye on you now, after… after what happened. I think it would be best if we didn't see each other again. You're still underage and under your parents' ruling."

Ginny glared at him.



"Underage? I'll be underage for one year." Ginny protested.

"Darling, continue school and after Hogwarts, I'll be waiting for you. We'll meet again when you turn seventeen. I'll send you an owl with the arrangements. " His sweet, soft voice replied.

"Continue school? Do you really think they'll open Hogwarts after all of this?"

"Yes, I heard my parents talk about it. I can live out of Muggle London. I know my parents won't like me living there, but I already have an apartment lined up and don't want to lose my spot."

"But what if someone else wants to date me before I see you again?"

"Date other people, but please don't date Harry Potter again." He pleaded with a tone of concern in his voice.

"I couldn't even think of dating him now. But if he did ask me, why does it bother you?"

"It tore my heart to pieces seeing you with him last year. I really wanted to jinx him whenever I saw you with him. I had hoped you would notice me, but you were too busy with Potter. I know I was preoccupied with my task for You-Know-Who, but, well, when Potter spotted me in the bathroom crying, it wasn't because of my task. It was because I couldn't stand seeing you with him. Those were angry tears. I don't know if that makes any sense or not, but I just didn't want to see you like that. I also know that you weren't dating him at the moment, but I could see it going in that direction and it frustrated me the most." He paused hoping she would say something.

Ginny sat stunned with his reply. She didn't know that she had hurt him that bad. He wrapped his arms tighter 

around her waist, but not tight enough to hurt. She leaned back against his body. They sat in silence for several minutes. The moon rose higher in the sky but the two didn't move. For one moment, they wanted to have no worries.

"Ginny, you have to go. Your mother would be going to bed soon. I can hear people moving outside."

Ginny sighed, knowing he was right. Parents slept with their children in the school because they were leaving the next day. She turned her head and looked into his eyes. His lovely eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her long and hard as if he didn't want to let go. After the kiss, he stood up, and helped her off the couch. She gave him a hug and another kiss on the lips.

"You should go first, I'll wait a while then leave." He said.

"Okay." Was all she managed to say.

"Till we meet again, love." Was the last thing he said to her as she left the Room of Requirement.

End Flashback.

Ginny sighed as she rolled out of bed. Today was the day she would leave Hogwarts. She would also leave her love forever - or so it seemed. She sighed an unhappy sigh and got ready for the day.

Author's Note: Well that's the end of the first chapter. What do you think? I hope you liked it. Please read and review, I would love advice. Be kind when you criticize, I have feelings too.

A special thanks is needed. Thank you to the twins.(they are called twins in a story I did when I was younger) Ami L. Mendal I know her as Michelle for being a beta reader and a great friend through the years. I can't wait to meet you this year! I'd also like to thank InsideMyWorld or as I know her Juli-Ann. Thank you as well for being a beta reader for my stories all these years. I hope our friendship will continue to grow strong.