Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine (otherwise I would be rich)
Ginny Weasley could only stare at the coffin about to be lowered into the ground. It did not seem right that her brother was going in that dark hole. She kept waiting for him to pop out laughing, gleeful that yet another prank had been pulled off successfully. He never came out. Ginny was left staring at the place her brother used to be, surrounded by everyone crying, unable to rid herself of the awful ache inside.
She looked on in dismay as her mother crumpled into her father, as George looked away from his other half. There was nothing she could do. She was useless. Suddenly she felt a hand slip into her own and squeeze. After the empty feeling the sudden rush of anger towards the man holding her hand was dizzying. She refused to look up into Harry Potter's eyes, knowing she would only glare if she did.
"Ginny," Harry hesitantly spoke, unsure of how to broach his silent girlfriend's sorrow.
"Just don't," Her words were firm and she tugged her hand out of his after speaking. He looked down at their unclasped hands, unsure of what had separated them.
She could not resist blaming the man before her for Fred's death. The temptation was too great, too many what-ifs that would have been solved if it were not for Harry. If Harry had not stopped her from joining the battle, if she hadn't listened and joined anyways maybe she could have saved Fred. Instead she had hid in a room, safe and sound, while those around her fought for themselves and their loved ones. She felt a rising disgust for herself and everyone else.
She looked on as everyone gathered around the edge of Fred's grave, she quickly registered that she, too, was expected to be there. Stiffly making her way over she refused to make eye contact with anyone. She did not think she could stand the tears in everybody's eyes. She jerked her head down, forcing herself to look at the hole where her brother lay. Others crowded around her, desperate to see one last glance, say one last goodbye.
She needed to get away from everyone, it was suffocating. With her head down she briskly walked away from her family and Fred's new grave. When she was a sufficient distance from the noise being noticed she apparated. Barely glancing around at her location she sat down on the grass.
Fred had found the clearing a few years ago when he had tried apparating before his test. Ginny's mouth quirked at the memory; he had tried to apparate to an area twenty meters away and had ended up in the middle of nowhere. Ginny had been frantic when he had simply disappeared. Luckily he apparated back with no problem and had told her all about the beautiful clearing with no one in sight. When he finally had passed his apparition test he had taken her along and she would go whenever she needed alone time ever since. It had been their spot.
Breathing in the fresh air, she lay on her back and closed her eyes. She pushed every thought away, stubbornly refusing to contemplate the loss of her confidante. Closing her eyes, she leaned against a tree and hugged her legs to her chest. Sagging against the tree, she continued to repress the onslaught of despair for Fred and thoughts of hypothetical ways she could have saved him. Her eyes flew open and all thoughts fled when she heard a muttered curse. Standing completely still at the edge of the clearing was a tall man with platinum blond hair.
They stared at one another, unable to move. Ginny could not read his expression; it was disturbingly devoid of emotion. Distantly she realized that she must have a similar facade on her own face, she had promised herself that morning that she would not let herself break down. As she studied his face she saw him shift, his brow furrowed and he opened his mouth.
"What are you doing here Weasel?"
Ginny knew she should be mad at the insult but on the contrary she felt a little pleased to be treated normally.
"I have every right to be here ferret," she decided to treat him likewise, the old banter soothing her.
"You really don't. I believe the term private property means that it is, in fact, private," the permanent sneer was set on his face as he condemned her.
"If it is private then you're not allowed to be here either," Ginny shot back.
"Weasel, unlike your family that I'm sure would be excited to own a rat hole; the Malfoys own a wide array of property. That includes this."
Ginny was left to splutter as Draco marched over to the middle of the area and lay down, stretching out to take up as much room as conceivably possible. She debated leaving but could not seem to tear herself away; she was actually having fun talking to the difficult individual before her.
"Are you going to kick me out?" She finally ventured to ask.
"Are you going to leave?" He replied.
"No!" He raised an eyebrow at this. She had not meant to shout out her protest quite so loud.
"Then no, I won't kick you out."
"You won't?" Ginny could not bite back the surprise from her question.
"Jesus, no I will not. Is your red hair so outrageously loud that you can't hear over it?"
"Thank you," Ginny muttered grudgingly, hardly suppressing the retort about his sickly pale hair. Draco inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement before settling back into his former lethargic position. Ginny shuffled awkwardly and waited for him to say something. When it was made clear that he would not break the silence she pondered why, exactly, he wasn't forcing her to leave.
She was dying to have her curiosity satiated but she refused to be the first to speak. She instead perched slightly above the ground, every so often stealing glances at the man in front of her. When it became clear that he was not moving from his position-and would not look at her- she took to outright studying Draco Malfoy. After all, anything was better than focusing on the pressing sorrow for Fred just beneath the surface.
The last time Ginny had seen Draco was right after the battle, she had looked up from Fred's body and she had caught his eye. He seemed to mouth something before turning away. That had been a month ago. So much had changed since then; so much confusion, recovery, sadness, joy and anger had yet to be dealt with. Draco still maintained that blank look he had always possessed. Ginny frowned slightly as she noticed slight changes in the blankness. He now had deep bruises of sleep deprivation habituating the space beneath his eyes, his eyes themselves-if possible- were more shuttered, perhaps most apparent was the fragility. Where the former Draco Malfoy walked with a swagger and the assumption that he owned the world, this new man was hunched and looked as if he could be blown away by a single malicious comment.
Ginny's careful study was brought to an abrupt halt when Draco stirred and rose carefully from his spot on the spongy grass. Without sparing a glance in her direction, he made his way to the edge of the clearing where he first entered. Just as Ginny was sure he was going to ignore her presence entirely she heard his voice, "You can come back whenever you please. Nobody but me uses this clearing."
Ginny's eyes widened in shock at his kindness. She was momentarily incapable of uttering words, let alone sentences. By the time she had formulated a halfway intelligent reply he had disappeared entirely. Getting up, she brushed herself up and prepared to apparate back to the chaos of the Burrow. She looked around the clearing once, biting her lip slightly.
Ginny sighed inwardly; she supposed she would just have to come back again to thank him. She told herself firmly that that was the only reason. Nodding her head slightly she took a breath and with a pop she was gone. Had she stayed a second later she may have caught the flash of platinum hair in the beginning of the trees.