It was supposed to be one of the best days of his life. After all, hadn't he dreamed over and over again of all the great things he would accomplish once he graduated from Hogwarts?
Except, now that the day has finally come for him to leave the place, he could not bring himself to fully enjoy it. Instead of being able to look towards his bright future, he couldn't see anything past the grim one that had been thrust upon him.
He heard applause coming from all around him and concluded that the bushy know-it-all had finally finished her speech. He watched as she stepped off the stage to join her fellow Gryffindors, and a flash of dark red caught his eye.
Ginny Weasley stepped forward to embrace Granger, and from the way she was beaming and gesturing, she was probably complimenting her friend on the speech.
Draco felt a wave of bitterness wash over him as he saw her smile. She had no problem smiling and laughing as she paraded around with Loony and Potter, but when it came to him, it was like he didn't even exist anymore.
He wasn't going to lie. It hurt like hell to see her ignore him in the hallways and at dinner when he'd known that once upon a time, he'd been the center of her universe.
Across the room, a sudden movement caught his eye as he saw Harry bloody Potter reach over to Ginny and put his arm around her affectionately, and a red haze filled his vision when he saw Ginny pat the arm. His legs ached to just leap across the room to strangle his nemesis, because this sort of behavior called for primal action at its finest.
"Draco, are you okay?" his mother asked him quietly, and Draco slowly unclenched his fists and turned back forward.
"I'm fine," he told her in a hostile tone.
Or he would be once he found Harry Potter after the graduation ceremony and murdered him.
*
He found her alone after the graduation ceremony banquet was over. All during the feast, he watched as she chatted with the Mudblood like everything was fine. Then, after dessert, she'd stood up and excused herself from the table, no doubt to finish some last minute packing.
After excusing himself too, he'd tailed it out of the Great Hall after her. When he finally caught up with her, she was heading up towards Gryffindor tower. She looked behind her, saw him, and increased her pace.
"Running away from me, Ginevra?" he called out bitterly, increasing his strides so that he could catch up with her. She had ignored him for the past month after he'd spilled his secret to her. If she thought that running away from him would erase their history, she was sadly mistaken.
"Just leave me alone, Draco," she hissed, mounting the stairway. "I thought I made it clear that it was over between us."
That only angered him even more. She had abandoned him when he'd most desperately needed her, and now, she was running away again. Incensed, he lunged for her, bringing her down with him at the top of the stairway. "It's never over until I say it is," he growled, pinning her beneath him.
"Well, you're going to have to accept that for once, the world doesn't revolve around what you want," Ginny said, kicking him in the shins viciously.
He swore from the pain, but only increased his hold on her. "Maybe so, but you don't get to end it like that. I counted on you to understand, and you chose to run away."
"You told me you were a Death Eater! You told me what an honor it was! How did you think I would react?" Ginny said angrily.
Draco winced slightly; telling her about his initiation night was a decision that had ultimately cost him. "I thought you would want to know the truth for once. If I'd known that you would've run away, I wouldn't have told you anything at all."
"It doesn't matter, anyway. It's already too late," she told him, and he wanted to think that the tiny crack in her voice was due to regret and anguish.
"But it's not too late, Gin," he said almost desperately, knowing that he had to convince her of his plan. "We can still make it work. It won't be like before. I can protect you in ways that you didn't even know."
She scoffed. "Make it work? My entire family is part of the Order, and yours is only loyal to Voldemort. I don't think that would go over well with either side."
" But I have a plan," he reassured her, stroking her soft cheek with the pad of his thumb to calm her down. "All you have to do is marry me, Gin, and I'll take care of everything."
He looked deep into her amber eyes for signs of agreement and only saw the shock in them at his words.
"Draco, you can't be serious," she said after a pause, and he didn't blame her for doubting him. For the longest time in their relationship, he had always rebuffed her attempts to talk about their future. But no more, not when it was at such a crucial turning point in their relationship.
"I'm not lying. Don't you love me?" he bent down to inhale the sweet scent of her hair. "Don't you want us to be together?"
She looked back at him with unsure and torn eyes. In them, he saw the indecision and the longing. With a jolt of uncurbed elation, he realized that their separation must've hurt her as much as it had hurt him, and with that confirmation, he dipped his head down and kissed her.
She tasted even better than he'd remembered, and it was as if time had dulled his senses. It felt like the first time he'd kissed her in the darkness of that closet. He'd been surprised that it'd been her, but after that, it was like hunting her had become an obsession. Now, after their break-up a month ago, he felt like he never wanted to stop kissing Ginny Weasley.
With a moan, she rolled out from under him so that she was on top, and he tugged the back of her head down. She kissed him like never before, her legs straddling his waist. It was fierce and hard, and it felt like she was trying to memorize the shape of his lips.
Then, at the same time, they both broke away from each other, and he pulled her down so that her head was resting against his chest.
"I'll give you everything your heart's ever desired," he promised her, feeling relief wash over him at their reaffirmation of their feelings for each other. "And you'll love Malfoy Manor. I already have everything set up and—"
"Draco," she interrupted him quietly and sat up so that she was looking him the eyes. "I think you misunderstood. I'm sorry, but I can't marry you."
He snapped his mouth shut and looked at her, eyes hard. His mind could barely comprehend what she'd just said, let alone respond to it, and he could feel his blood slowly coming to a boil.
"What do you mean you can't marry me?" he sat up too, and raked a hand through his white-blond hair, gazing at her crisply. "Were you lying when you told me you loved me, then?"
"I do love you," she told him, and he felt his heart soar. "But I love my family, too. I love my parents and my brothers, and I have a duty to them."
"Everybody in your family is a traitor to our kind," he hissed, feeling his heart plunge to the ground. "Siding with them will only get you killed."
Her face hardened, and she pushed away from him. "I could say the same about you. What will happen to you when the day comes that Harry—"
"Harry!" he exploded in an uncharacteristic show of loss of control. "It's always about bloody Potter! Haven't you ever considered a day when Potter might lose to the Dark Lord?"
"If that day comes, at least I'll have remained loyal to my family," she retorted, face turning flushed with anger.
"Loyalty," he spat disgustedly. "What loyalty? Stupid, fucking Gryffindors. Always thinking with their hearts instead of their brains."
"If that's the case, then it must be quite a loss for you to realize that you've just spent the past six months associating with one," she said coldly, pushing herself up to her feet so that she could look down at him. "Goodbye, Malfoy. I hope you rot."
She twirled on the points of her feet and walked back down the corridor.
"You do realize that if I ever see you again, it'll be my duty to kill you," he warned her, standing up too.
She paused in her step, turning around half-way so that her red hair caught the light.
"I know."
It was said coldly, but he thought he could detect bitter sadness in there too.
Then, she turned back again and stepped out the door, walking right out of his life forever.
*
"Wait."
She turned to look at him expectantly in the eye, as if waiting for something. He paused where he stood, looking at her indiscernibly. She was waiting for him to say something.
He didn't.
Instead, he hit her with a stunning spell and then moved to get to her before her head hit the floor. He caught her gently and picked up her entire body, turning around and reversing their direction. It would be awhile before her family came looking for her, but he still had to be quick. If he could get them to Hogsmeade, he'd be able to use the Apparition point.
As he'd watched her walk away, he'd been hit with the sudden realization that this was truly the last time. The next time he saw her would either be out on the battlefield or at her funeral. She had not known it, but he knew that the Weasleys were set to die in a month.
But she didn't have to.
Tomorrow, he'd approach the Dark Lord and ask for permission to marry her. He'd tell his master that she would give him many sons and that it would dishearten the Order to see a Weasley become the consort of a Malfoy. Then, if she wanted, they could work on something. Maybe even try to save her damn Weasel family that she loved so much. It wouldn't matter to him, as long as she was safe and guarded inside the ancient walls of Malfoy Manor.
He knew she would be angry with him at first, but he'd make her love him again, make her see that this was the only way.
Draco pushed open the doors and headed for the gates.
One day, she'd thank him for saving her life.