He knows the first time he fights to get Ginny back that it will be the last.
Draco didn't think he'd ever go back to Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death, but the school was under the Dark Lord's control now.
Frankly, Draco wished he'd never had to come back.
The place was tainted with good and bad memories — both painful in their own way. He saw Ginny only during meals and Quidditch matches. Until the torturing started. The Death Eaters that ran the school let the students get comfortable before instituting the darker aspects of their rule.
It was a little like the Dueling Club all those years ago, but it was mandatory. Older students were told to practice dark spells on "bad" students — students who refused to bend to the will of the new administration.
Draco was always on one side of these weekly meetings. Ginny was always on the other. Once again, she was in a rogue little club, the resistance. She was in trouble a lot.
She was hurt a lot, and it pained him to watch.
If she would just pretend to fall in line, she would be a lot better off.
He tried to tell her as much one night in the Room of Lost Things.
"Why are you still loyal to him?" he asked of her, and she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.
"I will be behind him until the very end. I want a better future than this. Draco, this is the kind of world he wants. Is this really the kind of life you want? The kind of life you would give your life to win?"
Draco shook his head. "How could you love him after loving me? He tried to kill me!"
"You tried to kill Dumbledore!"
He turned away from her then in an attempt to control his anger.
"He doesn't love you like I do! He doesn't understand you like I do."
Ginny had stepped closer to him when she replied.
"He understands me better than anyone. He's been possessed by that monster too."
Draco turned back to face her. "But don't you see? He walks this path alone. He doesn't see you as an equal."
"He'll call on us when he needs us! And we'll be there! He just needs Hermione and Ron right now."
"You know it will be only him and the Dark Lord in the end, Ginny. He knows it, too." He grasped her hands pulling them to his chest. "Please, Ginny, give me another chance. We can make this work."
Ginny shook her head, not believing him on either account. She wrenched her hands away from his grasp and turned toward the door.
He watched her walk away, and it felt like he was watching her walk out of his life. Draco knew his dignity — his ego — wouldn't allow him to beg her again after this first time.
The first time the thought popped up in Ginny's mind, she hoped it would be the last.
Harry was back, and he'd finally asked to retire for the night. Hogwarts was in total ruin, her brother had died, but Voldemort was defeated. And Ginny had hoped he would want to unwind and process it all wrapped up in her arms.
She'd walked beside him up to Gryffindor tower. She'd stood by his side as he met with everyone who had fought next to him. She'd shaken hands and hugged strangers as he did, though she'd wanted to be grieving with her family. But politics was politics, and the Chosen One needed to show strength no matter how exhausted he was after bearing the weight of the Wizarding World on his shoulders all these years. And she, Ron, and Hermione had helped shoulder that burden as much as they could.
"Ginny," he said tiredly as they reached the common room, raking a blood-stained hand through his messy hair. "I just need to be alone right now."
She nodded, though a lump formed in her throat. She had watched him comfort what felt like everyone in Britain, but at the end of the night, he didn't want to comfort her or need her comfort in return.
Ginny knew she could never understand what he'd been through, but he'd sought her out before walking into that forest alone. He'd kissed her desperately. Like he knew it would be the last time, like he could suck the magic and life from her to give him strength — and she'd freely let him drink from her.
Logically, she understood that he needed some time alone to process. But she couldn't decide what hurt worse — that he didn't have any comfort to offer her or that he didn't need her.
For the first time, she couldn't help but wonder if Draco had been right. Did Harry really love or need her — or was he doomed to walk his life's path alone?