Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with the original series. Just this story and my characters. If you would like to use one of my characters, please ask me first. One of the scenes in this story was taken from Titanic, and I do not take credit for it. You'll know it when you come to it.

-

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

And you cannot fight the tears that ain't comin'

Or the moment of truth in your lies

-

"So what I was thinking is we should tell the Order our plans this Saturday when we go."

"Hermione, I don't think that's the best idea," Harry said.

"Why? Why not tell them? So we can be left to do everything on our own and figure out leads on our own and, and, fight on our own? Harry, be sensible! Yes, they might try to make us think of a different way, or make us not go at all at the end of the year, but something good will come of it. After all of the arguing, someone is going to calm things down and people will come to their senses and help us. Harry, we need all the help we can get."

"I like that, I agree with Mione," Ron added. Harry gave him a look that stated 'shut up,' and Ron sat back in his seat.

They were in the library speaking softly so that no one could overhear.

"You know they'll try to stop us!" Harry gritted out.

"But they won't, and we will make that clear to them," Hermione persisted. "We will make them see that we can't be budged, and who knows – we might even get one or two of them to go with us and help, Harry! We can't do this alone – we can't fight experienced wizards and witches and find and destroy horcruxes by ourselves!"

"Horcruxes?"

All three of them jerked in surprise and whirled around to face Ginny, their hearts beating in their chests.

"What are horcruxes? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, Gin," Ron said protectively, frightened of what would happen if his sister got involved in their plans. Ginny's features hardened.

"If you are planning what you'll be doing to defeat Voldemort, then I want to fight, as well!"

"You're too young, Ginny – " Hermione started, but was interrupted.

"I am NOT too young! If you recall, Hermione, I am not even a year younger than Ron! We are ten months apart! Also, remember that I have faced Voldemort before. He may have been his former self, and a memory, but I know what he's capable of and I know I can fight him. Have you seen my grades? They're almost matching yours." Hermione looked taken aback.

"Ginny, I…we're only trying to protect you." Ginny's response to this did not sound angry. It sounded almost emotionless, and soft.

"By protecting me, do you mean by keeping me locked up in a cage, ignorant and lonely, watching my best friends and brothers walk out the door to go fight in a war I could fight in as well? Knowing that you are all risking your lives to protect something that I would do anything to protect, too, and also that you could be dying and I wouldn't even know?"

"Ginny…" Hermione couldn't say anything to this.

"I'm just as good as any of you. I've fought death eaters before, in the Department of Mysteries/ Or have you forgotten?"

And then Harry opened his mouth. He was astonished that his sweet little Ginny, his sweet little sister-figure, wanted to fight alongside them, and he couldn't imagine her doing that.

"But…but Gin, you're…you're too sweet, why would you want to? You're too docile, too mellow…I don't want you to fight!"

Ginny's eyes flashed with anger, and Harry actually had the decency to look wary.

"That's right. I'm just poor, sweet, gentle Ginny who does what everyone says. I can't do anything right on my own." She turned and left them, but not before they noticed the wetness in her eyes.

"Oh way to go, Harry." Hermione got up and walked swiftly out of the library, heading to the Gryffindor common room

-

She ran. She had to get away from…she didn't know, but she had to somehow get away from it, but it wouldn't go away. It wouldn't leave her alone. That aching, pounding feeling that pulled her down, squeezed her chest, and blinded her with deep sadness was taking over, and she found herself at the top of the Astronomy tower, as she did so many lonely nights. She placed her hands on the stone railing to lean forward slightly, letting the wind catch her hair. The soft light from the sunset made her hair glow with reds, oranges, and gold, making it look like the sunset itself.

She sighed and closed her eyes, singing in a soft voice.

"And I don't want the world to see me…cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am…And you can't fight the tears that ain't comin,' or the moment of truth in your lies. When everything feels like the movies…yeah you bleed just to know you're alive…"

She didn't even hear the door open, and therefore, did not see Draco standing there, eyes slightly widened and his mouth open in awe.

'She's singing my song…'

She stopped. He was about to make himself known, when she started singing a different song, the sound of tears evident in her voice.

"Child of the wilderness, born into emptiness, learn to be lonely…learn to find your way in darkness. Who will be there for you…comfort and care for you? Learn to be lonely. Learn to be your one companion. Ever dreamed out in the world, there are arms to hold you? You've always known…your heart was on its own. So laugh in your loneliness…child of the wilderness…learn to be lonely…learn how to love life that is lived alone…" But she couldn't finish. Crying and still clutching the stone railing, she lifted herself up and climbed over it, swinging her legs over to rest on the outside ledge.

Draco's eyes bulged. He wanted to rush forward, but he knew that would scare her and cause her to fall. She was holding onto the railing when she leaned forward and closed her eyes, letting the wind catch her hair. She looked like a falling angel, except she wasn't falling. If he didn't do something soon, though, she might. He stepped forward tentatively, and when he was almost close enough to touch her, he spoke.

"Don't."

She whipped her head around, almost losing her grip on the stone parapet. When he said that to her, her heart gave a lurch, pounding ferociously.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! At least make some noise before you walk up behind someone like that!" she said with more fright in her voice than anger.

"No offense, Weasley – I'm not the one hanging off the astronomy tower. As to my silence, I didn't want to rush up to you and scare you even more."

"Go away, you're distracting me."

"I can't."

"What?" she asked, clearly surprised by his answer. "What do you mean, you can't? Of course you can. Just turn around and walk away, like everyone else has." At her soft words, his heart clenched.

"I'm involved, now. If you jump, I'm coming after you. I must say, though, I'm not looking forward to it. My broom is in my dorm, and I can't exactly summon it that quickly."

"Don't be stupid. The fall would kill you."

"It wouldn't kill me. It would hurt like hell, but I could cast a cushioning charm, no problem."

"You would risk your life for someone you don't even know?"

"Would you?" Ginny looked away, knowing she would.

"What if I don't want to be saved?" she asked quietly.

"Everyone wants to be saved, Weasley. Now come on." He reached out a hand to her, and she looked at him.

"Don't come any closer, Malfoy, or I'll jump."

"You're not going to, so come on. Take my hand."

"Don't presume you know what I will and will not do! You don't know me!"

"If you were going to, you would have jumped already. Have you ever been to Glouchester?" he suddenly said.

"What?"

"It's where I was born. Somewhere near the manor was a cave that dropped about thirty feet. I decided I wanted to go spalunking – spalunking is cave diving –"

"I know what spalunking is!"

"Sorry…you just look like a girl who…doesn't do those kinds of things. Anyway, I didn't secure myself well, and I fell. Let me tell you…a fall like that, like the one to the roof of the Great Hall down there, hits you like a train running over you. So I'm hoping that you'll cut me a break here, and come back over the parapet."

Ginny looked back at the stone roof below her, which was so far away now that her head cleared a bit. She slowly turned around, now actually scared of falling to her death. She took hold of his hand and he took her elbow with his other hand, pulling her over. She lost her footing, but he had a gentle but iron grip on her, so she didn't fall.

He didn't want to let go of her, almost afraid that she would disappear, but he had to. It was then when he noticed blood on his shirt, and looked confused until he saw the cuts she had made. The underside of her lower left arm was covered in little slits and cuts, some deeper than others, but none were deep enough to have been an attempt at suicide, nor did they look like she had tried, he noticed.

"I…I'm sorry, for getting blood on your shirt." Her tears were constant, now, one after the other, falling down her pretty face.

"That's what you're sorry for?" He looked at her incredulously, and she looked away sheepishly. He took her small hand in his and with his wand, cleared the blood. He could not heal the wounds, as they were self-inflicted, but they had already closed themselves because they were shallow.

"I know what you must be thinking," she said softly. "Poor little Ginny Weasley. She has the world's most loving family and a seemingly wonderful life. Sweet little Ginny – what could she possibly know of pain and misery?"

"No, no that's not what I'm thinking." She glanced at him through the corners of her eyes, surprised that that's not what was going through his mind, and curious as to what he would say next. "I'm thinking what could have possibly happened to Ginny Weasley for her to be so unhappy with her life that made her think she had no way out."

A gentle gust of wind blew her hair off her shoulder and her bangs away from her eyes as she tried to look into his to figure out what happened to the stuck up, arrogant, malicious boy she knew from her first few years at Hogwarts.

"What's happened to you?" It was his turn to be confused.

"Huh?"

"Why are you being like this? Why not insult me about what just happened?"

"You're not the only one in this world who feels the same way you do," was all he needed to say for Ginny to realize what she had said.

"I didn't mean it that way…I just…I'm used to…"

"I don't like to let people know that I'm not actually an evil bastard." A small half-smile appeared on her face, which, to him, was worth the little bit of pride he lost when he told her that.

"It's not fair that we have to be so different to the people we know…"

Draco looked out at the lake

"My friends know, but I don't let them in as much as I would like to." He looked back at her. "Why am I talking about this with you?"

"I don't know."

There was a comfortable silence that passed between them, and then Ginny spoke.

"My parents, my brothers…even Harry and Hermione…I can't reveal anything to them. They would throw a fit, then lock me up in St. Mungo's with a therapist. They wouldn't understand because they've never felt dep…" She did not know why, but she couldn't finish the word. "That song…Iris…it describes me so much. I feel like it was written about me, just for me." She gave a little chuckle. "That's foolish of me…to tell you how a song makes me feel."

Draco glanced at her.

'Not at all…" 'She's almost exactly like the person in my song…and like me. Why is such a beautiful, smart girl with a wonderful family and friends so depressed?'

"What caused it?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Why did you become so distant and sad?" The question seemed so childlike, but she really wanted to know. It took Draco a little while to answer, but he eventually did.

"Lucius is the main reason. Then there are other reasons here and there. He would beat me when I was young, and then my mother when she tried to stop him. Now that I am older, he uses the cruciatus curse on me and my mother has learned to not interfere. I don't blame her." He glanced at Ginny again and was confused when he saw tears in her eyes.

"He…he used the cruciatus? On his own child?" she whispered, covering her mouth with her hands. She was horrified, and felt awful. Two tears fell from her eyes. Now she understood; he didn't even have to explain anything else. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be."

"I shouldn't be like this…I…you're life is so much worse than mine."

"Never, ever say that. To each person, their bad situations are just as awful to themselves as other people's are to them. Mine may be worse to me, but I'm sure yours is just as bad to you. Also, depression is a chemical imbalance. Even if nothing is truly wrong with your life, you still feel it."

"You're so understanding…why are you being so sweet, Dra…um…sorry."

"It's alright. You can call me Draco." She smiled. "And to answer your question, I don't feel the need to hide right now."

"Somehow, neither do I," she answered.

And for the first time in the many years she knew him, she saw Draco smile.

"You don't have to be lonely," he said, talking about the second song she sang earlier.

She looked away, letting a tear escape.

"Life can be lived…life can be loved alone," she replied, quoting the last line of the second song she was singing.

"No, it can't, and you know that. Everyone needs someone, and if I'm the one you need, so be it. You might be the person…someone else needs, too. I'm the only person you know, even if you don't know me well, who understands what you're going through. You're not alone, Ginny."

She broke out in silent sobs and he took her into his arms after resting his chin on her head, offering comfort. Ginny, being lonely for as long as she could remember, took it gratefully.

-

I'm working on a few stories at the same time, but I will try to get it out soon. Thanks for sticking with me.