A/N: Here's your epilogue people, I hope you enjoy it, it's set in Ginny's sixth year and Draco's seventh and hopefully it'll answer more questions than it makes haha. If it doesn't, sorry, and feel free to ask me them in a review or PM.
Epilogue
Sixteen year old Ginny Weasley sat laughing as her friend Nuala danced about, waving her arms in the air and kicking her legs out. This wasn't unusual behaviour for one of Ginny's best friends, oh no, it was the affects of a back-fired spell cast by Ginny's other best friend Bonnie Prescott, which happened…well…often.
Growing up with friends like Bonnie and Nuala had almost made her immune to strange things; her friends were rather… eccentric. If it wasn't Bonnie screaming blue murder because Nuala had died all her clothes pink then it was Nuala hopping up and down due to a hex bonnie had affectionately cast on her. A week wouldn't go by where one of the two of them wasn't laying on a bed in the hospital wing claiming their best friend had made their head invisible or charmed their tongue so it would knot itself every time they tried to talk.
But Ginny, though she whined a lot, never grew sick of her best girlfriends. At least life was never boring with them around. And if life or friends became too much for Ginny it handle she always had Draco Malfoy to turn to. Draco Malfoy was a gift from the Gods and Ginny promised herself she'd never take him for granted. He was there for her always, never judging or hurting her. He gave without receiving, never demanding anything in return.
For nearly five years they'd spent almost every night together, in the library or by the lake. Ginny's friends eventually gave up asking her where she went in the late evening, why she never returned till hours after curfew or who she spent all that time with. The answers would always be the same 'I was outside, walking.', 'I lost track of time' and 'No one; I was alone'. Only Bonnie knew the truth, or suspected the truth at least. But if she really did know that Ginny spent nearly every night with Draco Malfoy she didn't show it, she remained quiet if people questioned Ginny and never questioned Ginny herself. Ever since the conversation they'd shared in the hospital Bonnie never brought the topic of 'Draco Malfoy' up unless Ginny did first and even then she didn't contribute much, never sharing her thoughts or opinions, but Ginny was still thankful to have someone to talk about him to.
Ginny couldn't call Draco her best friend because that seemed so much less than what he really was. There wasn't a word for it, a way to describe how special he was to her. When you've spent years apart from someone you deeply love only then can you really understand how important they are to your happiness. Ginny and Draco never spoke much of the years they'd spent apart, not because they couldn't bear to relive it but because they'd already talked about it and they was nothing else to say on the matter, why dwell on a painful past when they could focus on the happy present or the hope filled future?
The years since Ginny's first year had past in a blur of happy days. Her school years would be the ones she'd always remember has the best in her life.
Draco was currently in seventh year and revising hard for his NEWT exams, Ginny noticed how stressed he seemed at a night time when the 'hustle bustle' of the school day had died down and every student was in they bed dreaming happy things. Draco would be worrying, Ginny thought she understood why he was taking these tests so much more seriously than anyone else, his father was always writing to him, demanding had he succeed in all that he does, threatening him until Draco was too afraid to get even one question wrong. Ginny often felt guilty for spending time with him when it seemed he'd rather use it to revise further, but he assured her almost every night that he wanted to see her and that he needed the break, he insisted that his 'meetings' with her were the only thing keeping him sane. Ginny agreed that he needed more breaks, more fun, he needed to relax a little before the stress lines on his forehead became permanent.
"Stop it Ginny, it's fine, leave me be!" Draco moaned as Ginny tried to tuck in his shirt and straighten his tie.
"I just want you to look your best."
"Why! It's an exam not a photo shoot why on earth would I want to look good?!" he asked her incredulously.
Ginny huffed "Fine! Look like a tramp! See if I care."
"You're worrying about this more than I am." He stated and she raised her eyebrows in disbelieve. "Hurry up and get out, the others will be coming up soon and imagine what it would look like if they walked in now when you have your hands up half way up my shirt." He teased her.
Ginny removed her hands from the hem of his shirt stuck her tongue out. "They wouldn't think any differently about you than they already do; everyone knows you have a new girl every week."
"Is that so? I wonder who started these ridiculous rumours, they're threatening my virtue." Ginny snorted "Besides everyone also knows you're the only girl for me Gin." He gushed pulling her into his arms.
She rolled her eyes and pulled away from him. Anyone watching them might have thought they were star-crossed lovers, but that certainly wasn't the case, Ginny and Draco were simply friends, nothing more. Or at least that's what Ginny told herself.
Draco pouted and Ginny snorted again, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked briskly over to Draco's dormitory window, broom in hand "Good luck Draco!" she shouted to him before flying out the open window.
Draco touched his cheek where she'd kissed him and sighed. She'd never understand that he wanted to be more than just friends with her. And why ruin something as perfect as their friendship on the off chance that a relationship between them would work? Didn't she already consider him more of a brother than anything else? Of course she did and Draco couldn't stand rejection, especially from her.
Draco picked up his bag and headed downstairs, ready to face the exams that would hopefully be a piece of cake after how much time he'd spent preparing for them.
Ginny sat in the library reading a fascinating book on Hippogriffs. She was sitting at the table where she and Draco always at in the evening, before it got so late the Madame Pince demanded that they leave. It was two-seater table in the very far corner of the library hidden by a huge multi-storey bookcase. She didn't know what had possessed her to sit in Draco's sit but she had, maybe it was to see the library from his point of view? But of course it wouldn't be the same because Ginny couldn't be in two places at once therefore Ginny wasn't sitting opposite herself.
She looked down at her book that lay flat on the table and began to read again, but something caught her eye. A carving in the wood of the table, it looked worn down through years on people dumping books onto it but Ginny could just about make it out
DM (Heart) GW
Ginny smiled brightly when memories of her first year came back to her, so that's what Draco had been trying to hide when Ginny had seen him carving something into the old wood. Ginny chuckled softly.
After that Ginny couldn't get Draco from her mind, she was worried about him; she was hoping desperately that he would do alright during his first NEWT. She packed up early, intending to meet him when he came out of the Great Hall.
Ginny hummed her way down the corridor in a carefree manner, and it suddenly occurred to her… life was good! She had no problems no worries, she had her best friends and the beloved family and her Draco and life couldn't get much better than this.
The seventh years were just leaving the hall as Ginny arrived, she caught Draco's eye and averted her gaze to the doors, he nodded ever so slightly so she knew he understood.
Ginny skipped down the path that lead to the far end of the lake, it was always shaded and cold by that part of the lake and so no one ever usually came, meaning it was the perfect place for Ginny and Draco to meet.
Ginny glanced behind her and noticed that Draco was following. Ginny smiled at him and carried on walking swiftly.
As soon as Draco caught up to her she wrapped him in a hug "How was it? Was it absolutely awful? Were you really scared? How hard was it? Did you think you done well?" she on onslaught of questioned without giving him the chance to reply. He laughed and pulled out of their embrace.
"It was fine Ginny honestly, I wasn't a little scared, nervous but not scared, it wasn't hard at all and yes I think I did well. Any more questions?" he asked humour swimming in his eyes.
"Yes actually. How on earth did you manage to keep that carving hidden from me for so long?" she asked smirking at his puzzled expression. Then it dawned on him and his expression turned into that of embarrassment.
"Oh yes, you mean the one on the table inside the library?" she nodded "Well I didn't want you to find out like this, but I'm in love with your brother George Weasley." He said seriously with his own smirk playing his lips.
Ginny smacked his arm and burst out laughing, trust Draco to turn an embarrassing situation in his favour.
Ginny chatted to him about her new book she'd been reading and he told her about the questions he could remember from his exam. Ginny stopped dead in the middle of a conversation. "What is it?" he asked, concerned.
Ginny stood up and walked around the tree they'd been sitting behind, she could feel someone watching her, staring. And sure enough as the Ginny's eyes scanned the grounds of Hogwarts she found a boy around her age, seventh year maybe looking at her, she caught his eye and he looked away quickly.
Ginny walked back behind the tree and slide down it, landing on her bottom. Her face was screwed up as she thought about why on earth he would have been staring. "You ok?" Draco asked cautiously. It snapped Ginny out of her reverie and she nodded quickly "What happened, what's wrong?"
"You see that boy over there?" she whispered pointing towards the back of the boy who'd been staring at her "He was staring at me." She sounded worried. Draco looked to where she was pointing and a low growl formed in his chest as he recognised him.
"You know him?" Ginny asked.
Draco nodded stiffly "Steven Holks." He spat out the name with more venom than Ginny thought possible. Draco looked away and tried to calm himself he was scaring Ginny. "Yes I know him, he's a Slytherin in my year and he…" Draco pursed his lips and looked away from Ginny's confused gaze, he sighed and continued "... he's interested in you."
"He's what?" Ginny asked her confusion growing.
"He likes you!" when Ginny still didn't seem any less confused Draco ran his head threw his hair and sighed again "He fancy's you Ginny." He told her grudgingly before going back to staring daggers at Steven Holks.
"Oh." Ginny responded in a small voice a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Do you like him?" Draco managed to get out through his gritted teeth.
"I don't know him." Ginny responded quietly wondering why Draco seemed so… Touchy? Irate? Snappy? Tense?
"Well you wouldn't like him even if you did know him; he's a horrible kid, evil in fact. I don't want you any where near him, understood?"
"You're not my father Draco, I'll go near anyone I want to go near!" she reply regretting it immediately. He clenched his fist so hard his knuckles went white and he was practically foaming at the mouth. Why was he so upset over this? He wasn't the one that was getting stared at! And suddenly, as though the answer had been sitting there right along, it clicked into place. First the teasing that morning, then the carving in the library and now he was angry at a boy because he fancied her. "Draco? You're not jealous are you?" she asked almost laughing.
"So what if I am!" he growled at her and Ginny's eyes widened in shock. "Sorry," he sighed "I shouldn't have spoke to you like that but the things he says about you in the common room is enough to make me want to rip him limp from limp, in fact Blaise has had to stop me from doing exactly that on many occasions." He admitted.
"Maybe I should thank this Blaise." Ginny muttered under her breath. "Don't get in trouble on my account Draco. I mean that I don't want you fighting with anyone!" she scolded him.
"If I can't act like your father then you can't act like my mother, so quit telling me what to do." He huffed. She crawled over and curled up on his lap.
"Stop stressing, you have enough to worry about without worrying about me too." She murmured into his chest. He sighed, winding his arms around her.
"I know that, but I just hate the idea of any boy but me loving you." He told her.
"But it wouldn't be the same kind of love, even if I did decided to go out with Steven Holks." Draco stiffened "Which I never will." She assured him.
"Even if it isn't the same type of love, it's still love right? I mean is there really a big difference between how I feel about you and how Steven Holks feels about you?" he asked, biting the inside of his cheek nervously.
"I would hope your love for me is a little stronger than a teenage crush Draco." she teased, not exactly the answer he'd had in mind, but it's a start.
"It most definitely is." He told her and she smiled up at him. Draco had the strangest urge to kiss her smiling lips, would she allow that? He wasn't sure; he wanted to be absolutely sure. "Lets go in I'm staving and dinner should be ready soon." He told her reluctantly, he didn't want to have to move her from his lap but knew he must.
The next morning Ginny woke up before anyone else and therefore could get washed in peace, without having to fight for a spot at the sink, one bathroom between six people was just crazy!
Once she was washed she checked the time before, not so gently, waking up her friends. After Ginny had helped Pricilla at the end of year feast their relationship had been friendly, not too friendly, but they were certainly civil towards each other and Ginny knew she could ask Pricilla if she needed a favour. It seemed that the years had humbled Pricilla some what and she no longer saw herself as a princess who deserved to be waited on hand and foot. Of course time couldn't work miracles and so Pricilla was still bossy, demanding and still thought of herself as better than a lot of people, but at least living with her was bearable now.
Everyone was up and dressed by quarter to eight. Ginny told her friends about Steven Holks, leaving out the part where Draco got so mad Ginny thought his head may explode. The girls were ecstatic with the news, Nuala was already planning the wedding and Bonnie was promising to look up baby names.
"Will you two please calm down?! I'm not marrying Steven Holks and I'm most certainly not having his children, because I'm not even going to go out with him."
The two girls looked star struck "W-w-w-what!" spluttered Nuala.
"Ginny," Bonnie whined "He's really, really, good-looking."
"I don't care if he could give the Greek Gods a run for their money I'm not interested." She told them stubbornly "Besides I promised a friend that I wouldn't go out with him." she gave Bonnie a significant look and understanding light up her pretty face.
"Who? Coz who ever she is, she's only saying that because she's jealous!" Nuala practically yelled at her.
Ginny smiled at how partly accurate Nuala's assumption was "It's not a 'she'."
"Oh." Nuala reply stuck on how to reply to that. Ginny smirked at her reaction. Until she heard what Nuala had to say about her friend being a boy. "Well then it's obvious!" She announced "This friend of yours fancy's you, he's not jealous of you, he's jealous of Steven Holks." She said proudly.
Ginny swallowed her lump in her throat before replying, they made it too their house table and were now sitting down.
"Maybe he was a bit jealous but that doesn't mean he fancy's me! He's just really protective; we go way back."
Nuala raised an eyebrow "Yeah ok, you keep believing that if it make you happy, but I'm telling you, mark my words," Nuala pointed her spoon at Ginny whilst she talked with a serious expression on her face "That boy loves you, and I don't mean the brotherly love either, I mean he's in love with you."
"That's crazy talk Nuala, you don't understand, you can't possibly understand when you don't know the situation." Ginny told her desperately looking for a way to prove Nuala wrong; Draco wasn't in love with her, right? Ginny looked at Bonnie with pleading eyes but she just looked down at her breakfast.
"What ever you say Ginny."
Ginny picked up a spoonful of cereal but suddenly didn't feel like eating. If what Nuala said was true then Draco loved in a different way than she ever thought he would. Could she handle that? A little part of Ginny was telling her that she already knew it and that that was fine with her because maybe, just maybe she felt that way to. Ginny shook her head as if trying to rid her mind of those preposterous thoughts.
"Hey heads up Ginny, mails in!"
Ginny looked up as a few hundred owls of all shapes and colours came flying into her Great Hall. She was expecting a letter from her mother any day soon and she'd subscribed to Daily Prophet this year. With Voldemort and his Death Eaters still at large it was a good idea to know what was happening these days.
Ginny was puzzled when three owls landed next to, well actually on top of, her breakfast.
She untied Errol's letter first, knowing who it was from and then the daily Prophet from an important looking owl. They both flew off after Ginny had paid the second owl for her newspaper. The third owl, completely white, sat looking at her expectantly with its right leg raised. Ginny frowned and untied the expensive parchment, recognising the neat writing as being Draco's.
Her mothers letter contained the usual, how are you? Are you eating probably? Have you heard from your brothers?
She pulled Draco's letter under the table and unfolded it.
Ginny
Meet me on the astronomy tower at midnight tonight, there's something I want to show you. Dress warmly.
Draco
Ginny furrowed her brow. That was strange; Draco never wrote to her and they never meet at the astronomy tower. Suddenly Ginny felt scared, after speaking with her friends, even though Nuala didn't really know what she was talking about, it had still made her realise, maybe, just maybe she loved him a little more than a friend. The thought was daunting and Ginny shivered even though the atmosphere in the Great Hall was stifling hot.
She looked up from the letter, her eyes searching the length of the Slytherin table until she caught his eye. He smiled slightly and she returned it shakily. She couldn't look at him for too long and so turned her gaze back to her mail, unrolling her copy of the Daily Prophet. The eyes widened in horror.
Death Eaters strike again.
A young family of five were found dead in their family home. It's suspected that the deaths happened at around 2:00am, cause of death - various torturing curses and finally the Killing Curse. The ministry have confirmed that at least three Death Eaters were involved and Lucius Malfoy is currently undergoing a trail, the ministry is still on the look out for the other Death Eaters involved.
Bernard and Emma Brookwest and their three children, Sophia aged 7, Jonathan aged 3 and Hope aged 1 were brutally murdered whilst they slept, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is still trying to work out the reasons behind the murders, was it simply a killing spree? Or did Bernard or Emma hold information that was vital to the Death Eaters and when they refused to talk the Death Eaters simply killed them?
Lucius Malfoy has been interrogated but the Ministry are refusing to give in any information they may have received from him. It is thought that Mr Malfoy will be spending quite a long time in Azkaban but the high court is yet to reach its verdict.
The funeral will be held in two weeks at Godric's Hallow, it's an open funeral meaning anyone is welcome to go and pay their respects to the poor family that lost their lives.
Ginny read the short article through two times just to make sure she'd really gotten the facts right. Lucius Malfoy? Lucius Malfoy as in Draco's dad, as In Draco's dad who'd separated them all those years ago? He was an evil man and Ginny should be glad that he would soon be in Azkaban where he couldn't wreck anymore lives. But how could she be happy about this? He was Draco's father regardless of how many bad things he'd done in his life. Surely, if his dad was on trial for murder Draco would be miserable or at least a little upset, but quite the contrary, he looked positively joyful as Ginny watched him laugh and joke with his Slytherin friends. He was happy about this? Well, Ginny was sure Lucius had made life difficult for Draco, not only difficult but painful a lot of the time too. Maybe he was truly happy about this turn of events.
Draco had read the newspaper even though he'd known what it would say. He sighed once before covering his face in a mask of indifference. But inside he was screaming… 'How dare my Father let himself get caught!' 'This was it! The Dark Lord would not forgive him his mistake a second time. He'd over looked the Department of Mysteries saga, but there was no way he'd forgive my father a second time' 'The fool!'
Draco looked at the black and white moving picture of his father, well aware that most the Slytherin student body were staring at him. What? Did they expect him to burst out in tears? Or maybe they were expecting him to pull on Death Eater mask and kill them all. He'd tried laughing it off with his friends, but the accusing eyes were becoming too much. With one more resounding sigh he heaved himself up the bench and stormed from the Great Hall, a few hundred pair's eyes following him.
He ran from the main doors of the castle, past the lake to the shaded part behind the trees. He sunk to his knees, his hands pulling at his hair in frustration "ARGH!!" the birds rose from the trees at the loud sound, flying off into the distance just like Draco wished he could… pure freedom.
But instead he was trapped, trapped in his own skin with too many expectations to fulfil, to many worries and tasks to deal with and now his father had made things a hundred times worse for him, he would pay for his fathers mistake.
He could just imagine the Dark Lord and his many ways of torturing people. Most, he could deal with, he'd been raised to deal with such things, he'd almost became immune to most forms of torture, but the Dementors, Draco shuddered at the thought, those he couldn't deal with, not for very long at least. Because the memories the Dementors dragged up were worse than any form of punishment the Dark Lord could concoct inside his small twisted mind. There was nothing worse than having to relive those first few weeks, the emptiness, the loneliness. Those first few weeks away from his Ginny, he had only been eight years old and yet he'd had to deal with the worst pain he'd ever endured, even now when his life was in constant danger of abruptly ending, nothing could compare to how that had felt. To have had something you'd loved more than anything else snatched away from you. That was what Draco never wished to feel again, something he wouldn't even wish upon his worst enemy, not even Potter… Maybe Voldemort.
As though Voldemort had heard his thoughts Draco forearm cried out in pain, the feeling of flesh bubbling as it burned. But when Draco pulled back his sleeve to look upon the ugly Mark of a Death Eater he saw that his skin wasn't actually burning. His master was calling for him. But he wouldn't go. What was the point? Turn up, get tortured and then killed? Oh No, Draco had plans this evening and nothing was swaying him from them. Voldemort could kill him some other time, if he was going to die than he was making damn sure that he had no regrets.
&
Ginny sighed and tossed aside another outfit in her hunt for the perfect one. "Just wear your Blue robes Ginny!" Bonnie yelled "Ouch! Nuala!"
"Sorry! Was that your toe?"
Bonnie growled and moved away from Nuala who had her headphones on trying to learn 'Step-by-step ballroom dancing' she'd already nearly sprained her ankle but down right refused to give up.
"I'm serious Ginny! Were the blue robes, they've got the whole 'I know I look good in these, but guess what? I'm not even trying' thing going on." Then she changed her voice to a whisper "I know Draco will love them."
Ginny's mouth fell open and her eyes bulged, that had been the first time Bonnie had ever mentioned Draco, ever!
"Close your mouth Ginny you'll catch flies!" Bonnie shouted before leaping onto her bed, occupying herself by charming Nuala's headphones to say 'Now, flap your wings and shout 'I'm a turkey!'
Ginny shook her head in utter confusion before slipping into the blue robes. Well, she could hardly have argued after what Bonnie had said.
"I'll see you both later!" Ginny shouted so Nuala could hear her through the odd commands.
"I want all the juicy details when you get back and I mean that!" Bonnie shouted while Nuala pulled off her headphones and frowned at them.
Ginny gulped hoping and praying there wouldn't be any juicy details.
But is that really what you're hoping?
Yes!
Don't lie to yourself!
Am not lying!
Are too!
Am not!
Ok, shut up! You are me! How can you not agree with me?! Anyway I don't care, I know I don't want any 'juicy details' and that's final!
What ever you say…
Ginny stood outside the common room hardly believing she'd just had an argument with herself! 'Maybe I'm going crazy, it's not like I hadn't expected it, growing up with those two' She thought to herself, picking up pace, whilst staying in the shadows. She was used to sneaking around after curfew and would say she was most definitely a pro at it by now, but she still got caught now and again and Draco understood that if she didn't show up than she'd been caught.
She reached the bottom of the astronomy tower no problem and now it was only the strange feeling of nervousness that she was battling that stopped her from running up the winding steps. Why did she have a feeling that this time she saw Draco it would be different?
She decided to throw caution to the winds and ascend the steps despite this 'feeling'. What on earth could she be afraid of? This was Draco, for crying out loud! She was always so comfortable around him probably more comfortable around him than anyone else!
She was being silly and she knew it, soon she'd reached the top of the steps and walked forward to get a better view. She gasped, shooting stars! And lots of them. She never seen the sky so full of twinkling light, it made her head spin simply looking at them, flying through the navy blue sky, shooting in all directions without a care in the world! The sky was the limit for those stars and they took full advantage of it. The whole night sky was so bright it didn't seem like night at all, Ginny had never seen anything as breathtaking in her life.
"Enjoying it?" a silky sooth voice whispered from behind her. Ginny jumped at the shock but calmed down when she realised who it was and she didn't turn around, not wanting to miss a second of the spectacular scene in front of her. She sighed in awe again and nodded her red head. Draco smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close against his chest. He laid his head on her shoulder and watched the stars with her. Ginny bit her lip, torn between not wanting to feel uncomfortable with their positions and wanting to enjoy the stars. And, if she was being entirely truthful with herself she quite liked having Draco this close to her.
She could feel how warm his body was through the thin material of her robes and she felt safe and secure wrapped in his arms. He was breathing calmly into her ear and she listened, matching her breathing to his. She rested her hands on top of his which were still clasped together around her waist. She felt a pleasurable shiver up her spine when she touched him and didn't regret going that night. It was perfect, she felt truly calm like she was at one with nature… with Draco. They were breathing equally and, with it being so dark, it was hard to see were Ginny started and Draco ended through the robes and limps. Ginny had never felt happy then when she was with Draco and that night was no exception.
Ginny closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the night breeze and Draco pressed up against her. Draco's breath moved down to her neck as he kissed it lightly, Ginny's eyes shot open, Draco carried on up to her jaw and Ginny was didn't know whether she should do what was probably best and stop him or do would she wanted and let him continue. "Draco… what are you doing?" she whispered.
"Keeping my promise." He whispered softly in her ear. Understanding dawned on her and she reached her arm out behind her, wrapping it around Draco's neck before he spun her around in his arms.
He looked down into her beautiful brown eyes and felt nothing but love for that girl, the one who'd stuck with him through all the years and the one he knew would stick with him for many more to come, his childhood sweetheart, his best friend and maybe is lover.
He waited one more, long second, smiled slightly before pressing his lips against hers.
A/N: Well that's the end –sob– it was sort of a happy ending right? I mean sure Draco's a Death Eater but Ginny got her first kiss. Pretty please review! It won't talk long and I reply to all of them.
Saphira00 – Here your jealous Draco!
