Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I do however now own a puppy in rather poor health. I couldn't turn the little thing away. Little? Did I mention the thing is 3 months old and ALL legs! He's got to have some great dane in him. Anyway, I digress.

Well, here you go. The unanimous cry from the reviewers was STORY! So, here it is. Let's get this ball rolling and see where it goes! Who's ready for another journey?

Without further ado…

Chapter 2

As the sun began to rise, ending the night of death and destruction, the two unlikely lovers rose from their protective nest of peace and parted ways into the world of death and destruction. Hogwarts was unrecognizable in the aftermath of the battle. Entire stair cases were torn apart, walls caved in, bodies littered the floor. Here and there someone shuffled by, collecting the bodies of the dead. It was a grizzly site. Nobody spared the two a second glance.

In a corridor unoccupied by the living, right off the Entrance Hall, the two said goodbye.

"Thank you," came the very unexpected words from Draco Malfoy. "At least if I have to spend the rest of my years in Azkaban, I'll have a happy thought to keep the dementors at bay."

"They can't do that!" Ginny cried softly, horror filling her. "You didn't even fight!"

"Nobody besides you knows that, little red," he pointed out softly, a hand reaching up to push hair back off her face. "And who will they believe? The word of many who hate my family, or the word of one, concocting a story so farfetched it seems like a lie?"

The horror turned to sorrow as her heart ached for the young Malfoy. A few hours before, it wouldn't have mattered to her one way or the other where he ended up after the war. She may have even been glad to see him end up in the horrific prison. But now, after seeing a side of him she hadn't known existed, seeing him venerable and scared, she couldn't stomach the idea.

"Besides," he continued after a deep sigh. "I don't expect you'd want to tell the whole world what just happened. I wouldn't ask it of you." He looked away, eyes fixing on a point in the distance. "Maybe this is what I deserve. I may not have fought tonight but you have no idea the horrors I've been forced to do. Maybe I belong in that place."

With that, not even giving the very stunned Ginny a chance to respond, he walked away and out of her life. It took her a moment to compose herself before she turned and headed for the Great Hall, where the swell of voices was loudest. What greeted her turned her stomach. All over the place were wounded and dead. Families were there, gathered around loved ones. The awful task of moving the bodies to another room was already underway.

After a long moment she spotted the sea of redheads huddled together. "Mum!" she cried, running towards her family, the boy now all but forgotten in her relief. Standing there she saw all eight worried faces of her family. "Dad!" tears of relief filling her eyes. They were okay, they were all okay.

"Ginny!" came the almost unanimous cry. Within an instant she was surrounded by family, all hugging and holing her tight.

"You were gone. I went to get you and you were gone," Mum said, tears streaming down her white face. "We couldn't find you. I thought for sure you were-" She couldn't finish her sentence.

A similar but much less boisterous reunion was taking place not far away. Draco had found his parents with little difficulty, relieved that they were both alive after the terror that had just taken place. Much to his surprise, they were in the Great Hall amongst the other survivors. Father was the only one in the entire place to be wearing the long, black robes that marked him as a Death Eater. And yet nobody moved to apprehend them. Instead, they were left be.

The following weeks and months were filled with trials for those caught during the battle or suspected of participating. Many were carted off to Azkaban, though the use of dementors was evidently no longer. That offered little relief for Draco, for he was always on edge, wondering when it would be their turn. Eventually the Malfoy family was given a punishment, paying a hefty fine.

It turned out that, during that final battle, his mother had saved the life of Potter, realizing it was her only chance to get to the castle and find Draco. Though it had been for reasons other than a desire to keep Potter alive, it was enough. When added onto that the fact that Father too stopped fighting before Voldemort fell and Draco himself was nowhere to be found the entire time, it was determined they were not to be sent away.

Father gladly paid the fine, withdrawing the money from the family vault that very same day. Their standing in society wouldn't be rectified as easily though. Once well thought of and in the innermost circles of society, the Malfoy family was now detested. Mother, who had looked forward to the end of the war when she could start putting on balls and dinner parties once more, was saddened to realize her invitations went unanswered.

Lucius Malfoy was stripped of all titles and privileges that had been bestowed upon him, leaving him once more just an almost common man. They still had their fortune and the Malfoy Manor, but that was all that was left to them. Despite all of the hardship and suffering, they were all grateful for their lives as they were in that moment. Unlike so many others they had once fought alongside, they were alive and free.

With the approaching autumn, a letter arrived by owl for Draco, bearing the familiar crest of Hogwarts.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

In light of the happenings of the previous school year, the seventh year students that had been unable to finish due to the war are invited back to finish their schooling. Though it is not mandatory, it is highly recommended you finish your education. For those not wishing to go through the classes, N.E.W.T.S. will be available to be taken by everyone, regardless of return, at the end of the second term.

We hope to see you September 1st.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

The letter surprised him. Though news of the Hogwarts rebuilding efforts was in all the papers he hadn't expected it to be finished so quickly. Magic or no, it was still a massive undertaking. There was even report that there would be a monument built on the grounds in honor of those who lost their lives that night. It was unexpected they would be open for the autumn term.

Draco, having not even attended the school at all the previous year, decided to take the offer given and return. And, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd run across a certain little redhead wandering the halls.

~!~!~

"What do you mean you want us to go back to school?" Ron whined loudly to his new wife as she held the letter out to him, drawing a giggle from Ginny as she popped a piece of bacon into her mouth.

"It's important we finish, Ronald," Hermione said, patient despite Ron's petulant wail. She was good for him, that much had always been obvious. They'd wasted no time getting married after the war ended, having been married within two months. It was a good ray of sunshine for everyone, proof that despite the losses, life moved on.

They'd not had the ability to get a house quiet yet and Mum and Dad had been more than happy to allow them to move into the Burrow, having converted the attic, once the ghoul was removed, into a nice little apartment. Harry had taken up residence in Ron's old room, having been invited to stay as long as he wanted by the Mum and Dad.

"But we're married," he pointed out, as if she could have forgotten. "I refuse to go back to sleeping in a dorm room with four other boys, no offence Harry, and unable to even get to my wife," he said, color heightening in his cheeks as he spoke, earning matching grins from Mum and Dad and a chuckle from Harry.

Hermione let out a small sigh, shaking her head. "There's a letter about that too," she said, holding it out. "They're making special accommodations for our year, seeing as we're all adults and the two of us weren't the only to get married this summer. We won't be in the dorms."

Surprised, Ginny plucked the letter from her brother's hands and scanned it. An entire new dormitory basically would be created. Each returning student, 8th years essentially, would be put into newly created apartments. It looked as if they'd taken an entire wing of unused classrooms and converted it into something much more useful.

"Lucky," she said with a sigh, handing the letter back.

"What about you, Harry dear?" Mum asked, spooning more eggs onto his plate as she spoke. She'd been trying to fatten him up all summer, insisting he was much too skinny. "Will you go back?"

The green eyes flicked over to me before he answered, a small smile forming on his lips. "Yeah, I think it's a good idea," he said with a nod.

Ginny held back a groan, wishing he would leave it be. Whereas before that final battle she'd been waited with baited breath for his return, that night had changed her. Draco Malfoy had changed her. She'd not told anyone about that night, unable to bring herself to share that memory. But it had affected her nonetheless for all her silence. Where once she would have jumped at the chance when Harry asked her to be with him, now she simply wished he'd stop asking.

Now, whenever he looked at her with those deep, green eyes, she'd find herself wishing they were steely gray instead. She'd been unable to get the thought of the other boy of her head. Her infatuation of Harry had finally passed. Harry though, didn't seem to quiet grasp that though. He thought she just needed a bit more time. Little did he know time would fix nothing? She felt bad, but she could not change her heart. She could not fall in love with him.

It would seem her seventh year at Hogwarts was destined to be interesting, that was for certain. Though the years before had never lacked for action, this one would be different on a whole new level. For once there wouldn't be the evil threat of Voldemort looming over them, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be any more adventures. Hogwarts itself was a never ending escapade.

As Ginny packed up her things and purchased supplies for the coming year, she couldn't help but wonder if Draco Malfoy felt the pull to go back, to finish his schooling. And if he did, would he even remember that night they shared, hidden from death and destruction and falling into one another's arms? Only time would answer that question. The wait for September 1st was agonizing.

Okay, okay, I know it's short. Trust me, it'll get longer, a whole lot longer. It's hard to get going at first and writing 3rd person is killing me. Don't judge too harshly if it switches to 1st randomly down the line. I'll try for now, but I make no commitment.

Anyway, tell me what you think! You happy it'll be a story? What do you think is going to happen when Draco and Ginny see each other once again?

And so, always remember, a happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!