I seem to remember telling you guys at the end of the last chapter that this one wouldn't take long to post. I swear I didn't mean to wait two more weeks! I actually had about half of it written two days after I posted the last chapter, but then everything got crazy and I didn't have time to finish it until today. Sorry about the wait!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this.

Chapter 9: Too Soon to Say Goodbye

Draco would never be able to remember exactly what had alerted him to the presence of danger that night; it might have been the way that the breeze eerily died off, the sound of twigs snapping in the woods behind them, or simply the acute sense that something was off.

Whatever it was, Draco lifted his head from Ginny and looked about, but the foot-high grass blocked his view.

"Draco, what –"

"Ssh," Draco hissed. His body still lying on top of Ginny's, he reached into his cloak and silently pulled out his wand. In the distance, he could hear voices, and with a pang of dread, he knew he recognized one of them. Ginny, too, seemed to have finally heard them, for her body tensed.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" one voice said faintly. Draco strained his ears to hear better, but as the voices got closer, this became unnecessary.

"We've gone over this before, Alvin," came the voice of Lucius Malfoy.

"Bu-but the Weasleys are very well liked at the Ministry. We could get into trouble if we do this."

"Do you think I still care about trouble with the Ministry?"

"But what if they're still up?"

Draco could practically hear his father's sneer, and he pressed himself closer to Ginny, hoping that they were out of sight.

"I couldn't care less if they were sleeping or not. He said that she was with the Weasley girl, so to the Weasley house we go. What – you're not regretting coming along, are you?"

"No – no, not at all. I'm just wondering what the Ministry is going to say when they find them all dead."

Underneath him, Draco could feel Ginny squirm uncomfortably, and he squeezed her shoulder in an attempt at comfort, though inside, his own stomach was clenching.

Lucius sighed, obviously frustrated. "Listen carefully, alright? They kidnapped my wife and have been blackmailing me for several months now; if I had told anybody about it, they'd kill her – that's what I'll tell the Ministry, and they'll eat it out of the palm of my hand. And as the story goes, the Weasleys contacted me and told me to come to their house if I wanted my wife back. I, being the loving and worried husband, came at once. When I got to the house, the Weasleys tried to kill me. It was a situation of kill or be killed, and the best wizard won. Who knows, I may even be able to tell them that they kidnapped my son as well, and my story will double in credibility."

"It sounds like a good plan…"

"Of course it is," snapped Lucius, and Draco noticed that the two Death Eaters were now out of the woods and getting closer and closer. Draco gripped his wand tighter, ready to curse his father if they were spotted, but to his relief, they weren't. Lucius and the other Death Eater walked right by without seeing the two bodies in the grass. They paused at the edge of the hill and looked down at the house.

"There aren't any lights on," the man called Alvin stated.

"Which means they are asleep…" Lucius said slowly. He sighed with pleasure, and Draco wondered how long they were going to stand there on the hill. Already his nerves were taking a beating, and if either Lucius or Alvin turned around, they might be able to spot Draco and Ginny.

"It will make it all the easier, though I still haven't decided how I'm going to kill them yet," said Lucius. "I suppose I can't Avada them all right off the bat, because then the Ministry might suspect something. And yet…I can't Crucio them either, because if I was battling them all at once, I wouldn't have time to. I've looked forward to killing them for so long, and now that I get the chance, I can't do it the way I want," he sighed. To his relief, Draco heard them start down the hill. "Oh well. I suppose to make it plausible, there must be a few sacrifices on my part as well. Perhaps I'll Stupefy a few of them first and then kill them…"

Their voices faded away, and for several minutes, Draco didn't move. He looked down at Ginny and saw that her eyes were wide, staring up at the sky in either fright or anger, he couldn't decide which. When he thought that it was safe, Draco slid off of Ginny and carefully sat up; he could only see the top of the house in the distance and wasn't able to see if his father was there yet, but he couldn't hear their voices anymore, so he thought it safe to talk.

"We have to get out of here," he said.

"No!" Ginny whispered furiously. "That's my house! They'll destroy it!"

"Better the house than you," Draco argued. "Didn't you hear what they said? They came here tonight to kill you! And your family, whichever of them was here!" Though he kept his voice as low as possible, Draco knew they were still in danger of being heard.

"But –"

"No, come on, Ginny," he said. And without waiting for another reply, he grabbed her wrist and concentrated on his room in Grimmauld Place. In another instant, both he and Ginny were there. Immediately Draco locked his door and placed a silencing charm on the room so that they wouldn't be heard.

"Why were they there?" Ginny demanded angrily. "They have no right to do that! They'll destroy the place!"

Draco sighed, relieved at their easy escape yet still shaken up at being so nearly caught. "I don't know what they were doing. My father said…he said something like – what did he say? 'He said that she was with the Weasley girl.' That must mean my mother –wait…"

He rounded on Ginny. "Who saw you and my mother today?"

"In Diagon Alley?"

"Yes."

"Nobody. She was disguised."

"Nobody recognized you?"

"How could they?" Ginny asked. "She looked nothing like your mother and we didn't –" She broke off with a gasp, her hand coming up to her mouth.

"What?" Draco asked, looking at Ginny's shocked face. "What is it?" But Ginny didn't answer. She just stood there, staring into space, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Ginny, for Merlin's sake, what the devil is it?"

"Someone did recognize her," Ginny said slowly. "I didn't make anything of it until now. But your mum wanted a wand so before we left we stopped in at Ollivander's and got her one."

"You did what?" Draco bellowed, his face betraying his anger. "You didn't think you'd be recognized? Ollivander knows who everybody is! He's like Dumbledore; a simple disguise wouldn't have fooled him, and especially not if she was buying a wand."

"I'm sorry!" Ginny shouted at him. "I didn't think it was a big deal. He recognized her, but he said that he'd keep it a secret!"

"And you believed him?" Draco asked incredulously.

"I don't know!" said Ginny defensively. "I honestly didn't think much of it."

Draco sighed and closed his eyes, willing his temper away. It would do good if he blew up at Ginny. Instead, he said a bit more calmly, if tightly, "So she told him that she was running from my father?"

"No, she made it seem like she was still together with him, just like she didn't want anybody to know she was purchasing another wand."

Frustrated, Draco let the air out of his mouth slowly, turning in the room to gather his thoughts. So Mr. Ollivander was working with Lucius Malfoy now? Draco hadn't suspected that one; he hadn't even thought of the wand-maker as an evil or violent person. How had he been swayed to the dark side? And how long had he been there?

"So," Ginny said slowly, the confusion of the night still sinking in, "he's a Death Eater, then…"

"Seems like it," Draco muttered, turning back to face her. "Merlin's beard, Ginny, do you realize how much danger you were in? Had your family been at home and not here, you'd be dead. Or if you and I had stayed in there just a while longer…"

He trailed off at the horrified look on Ginny's face, and he immediately regretted his words. That was her home his father was now invading, and who knew what kind of damage was being done. Walking towards Ginny, he took her his arms and held her tightly, his own heart beating uncomfortably at the thought that he might have lost Ginny that night. And it was all his fault too, he realized. He remembered how at last year at school he had wanted Ginny to erase his memories for this very reason – then he'd have no association with Ginny and she would be in no danger from his father. When that plan hadn't worked, both Draco and Ginny had insisted that they'd find another way to stay safe from Lucius Malfoy. Draco realized guiltily that he hadn't done that, and that it had almost cost Ginny and her family their lives.

Adding to his guilt, he noticed that Ginny was trembling slightly and he berated himself for yelling at her earlier. He looked down at her, biting his lip, but her face was buried in his shoulder and she wouldn't meet his gaze. Draco grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, and he nearly cursed himself for the frightened look in her eyes.

"That's…that's my house…" she whispered. "They could be doing anything. Once he realizes that we're not there, that your mum isn't there, he'll…he'll…" she trailed off in a shaky sigh, closing her eyes to compose herself.

"It's alright," Draco said, holding her head against his shoulder comfortingly. "Most likely when he finds that there's nothing there, he'll just leave." Though Draco doubted that this was true, he didn't want to scare Ginny anymore. So he just continued to hold her, his arms placed firmly around her, waiting for her to calm down.

Eventually she did, and when Ginny looked up, Draco was relieved to see that her eyes had regained a bit of the fiery spark he loved.

"Wait a moment…" she said slowly, untangling herself from Draco's arms. She paced the room, her arms folded across her chest in concentration. "What did your father say? Something about you being at our house too?"

"I think so," Draco replied with a frown. "Why?"

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Ginny asked, looking at Draco in confusion. "Back at school right before graduation, remember?"

"I remember."

"He killed you down in the tunnel. Only you didn't die because you had on Oleaney's ring. But your father thinks you're dead."

Draco sat down on the bed, his mind putting together what Ginny was telling him. Ever since he had arrived at Grimmauld Place that summer, he knew that he couldn't leave the house for fear of being seen, and being seen was bad, Draco knew. Lucius thought that Draco had died in the tunnel, and being spotted would alert him to the truth. Yet now that Draco thought on it more, he realized something, and Ginny too seemed to be coming to the same conclusion.

"Dumbledore of course didn't tell anybody about you dying," she said slowly.

Draco stared at the floor, feeling bitter because he hadn't thought about this earlier. "And if I had actually died in that school," he said, "news would have been all over the place. Eventually I would have been reported missing and they would have found me sooner or later down in that tunnel. The truth would have come out."

"But it didn't, because you came back and you were seen at school."

"So why didn't my father, thinking that I was dead, tell someone that I was missing, that I didn't come home from school?"

Ginny bit her lip. "I don't know. Maybe…maybe he thought someone had been down in the tunnel with you and that whoever it was would come back and find out and that they'd report it, so he never bothered."

"It's possible," Draco said. "And so when nothing happened, when he got no owls saying that I didn't get on the train, saying that I hadn't been seen for a day or two, he got suspicious."

Ginny frowned and sat down next to Draco. "But how could he possibly know that you survived? He used Avada Kedavra and only Harry's survived it before."

"Maybe that's one reason why he's so keen to find me is to ask me about it. He would love to be able to give Voldemort a way to beat Avada…"

"Hold on," Ginny said. "What did you do with the ring anyway?"

"I gave it back to Oleaney," Draco replied, remembering back to his last day at Hogwarts. "You were gone when I did it."

"Oh…"

Draco rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of everything. "So my father knows that I'm not dead," he stated. "I suppose it doesn't make too much of a difference. I mean, I wasn't allowed out of here anyway for fear I'd be seen and he'd think me come back from the dead. Now I still can't go out, but because he'll see me and kill me or something."

"Likely do worse," Ginny spat. "Knowing him and what he's capable of. He's probably trashing my house right now." She wrung her hands together as a steely look came over her face. "Oh if I ever get my hands on him, I'll teach him a thing or two."

A fleeting image of Ginny triumphantly kicking his father in the side as he lay prostrate before her brought a weak laugh to Draco's lips, and he sighed as he looked at her. Her fierce look became a determined one, and she rose from the bed, once more back to pacing.

"If he's there tomorrow," she began, "I can't promise that I won't hurt him."

"There?" Draco asked, Ginny's meaning suddenly hitting him like a bomb. "You mean there as in your house?"

"Yeah."

"You're not going back there," Draco said, his eyebrows creased in a mixture of worry and anger.

"Oh yes I am," Ginny countered. "Me and my mum are going tomorrow, remember?" She looked at Draco challengingly, daring him to tell her not to go.

And Draco was certainly not afraid of her.

"There's no way in hell you're going back to that house," declared Draco hotly. "Who knows what he's done to the place and besides, he may be hiding there waiting for you to show up."

Ginny lifted her eyebrow in question. "Didn't you just say a few minutes ago that when he found nobody at my house, he'd leave?"

"That was – then and this…is…" Draco sputtered, caught off guard. Quite out of character, Ginny smirked at him.

"So no worries then," she said, her smirk melting into what she knew to be her most charming smile. "I can handle myself. And if your father is stupid enough to hang around waiting to be seen by someone, then he can't be as difficult to handle as we thought."

"Ginny, you don't know him," Draco said heavily, coming to stand before her. "He could easily kill your entire family without even blinking. It's too dangerous to go back."

"So what, then, I just go to Hogwarts with only half of my stuff packed up in a napkin or something?" Ginny asked incredulously. "I have to go back. People will start to wonder if I don't."

"Well tell them something, then."

"Tell them what?"

"I don't know, make up some excuse. Or better yet, tell them the truth."

Ginny looked at Draco disbelievingly. "Tell them that the two of us, who aren't supposed to like each other very much, snuck out tonight and went all by ourselves to my house, where we saw your father and some other gooney breaking in? Yeah, somehow I don't think that's a good idea." She folded her arms over her chest and frowned.

Draco sighed and pushed back his hair in frustration. "Then just tell them that you and only you went to get a head start on packing or something. I don't know. Be creative."

"Draco."

"What?"

"I don't know if you've noticed in the past months or not, but I am a rather lazy person," Ginny stated slowly. "If I told my mum that I went to get a head start on packing, she'd probably think me off my rocker. It won't work. Look," she said as she saw Draco's protest on his face, "it'll be fine. I'll be fine. My mum will be fine. And when my dad comes later tomorrow, he'll be fine. We'll be there one night and then I'll be back at Hogwarts." She looked at Draco softly, her eyes trying to reassure him though Draco knew that if she went back to her house, he wouldn't be able to rest easily at all.

"Please?" she asked, and as Draco looked deep into her eyes, those warm, brown eyes he loved to lose himself in, he could feel his resolve crumbling even as he formed another weak protest. But Ginny silenced him by placing her finger over his lips, and just feeling her skin against his caused a familiar rush of pleasure to flow through Draco. Even as Draco was contemplating whether to kiss Ginny or ignore her and tell her to forget about going to her house, she leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth, and Draco's latter idea flew out the window.

He tried to kiss her back, but Ginny moved her mouth downwards, placing another kiss on his jaw. Draco closed his eyes as Ginny kissed all the way down his neck to just under his ear, and with a groan, he pulled Ginny's body to his so fast that she let out a startled squeak.

Draco crashed his mouth down on top of Ginny's hard enough that she stumbled backward; and with her hands still clinging to Draco's shirt, she pulled him with her. At that moment, Draco couldn't concentrate on anything except the need to have Ginny's body as close to his as possible, and he pushed against her further, backing her up against his dresser. Ginny's body bent backwards slightly as Draco hungrily leaned in further. She matched the passion in Draco's kiss, and as she stirred against him, it was as if hot trails of fire coursed through Draco's blood.

Much sooner than Draco would have liked, Ginny slipped out from around Draco, leaving him confused and slightly disappointed.

A breathless Ginny, who, Draco was pleased to note, swayed a little on her feet broke out in a delighted grin and said, "So you'll let me go then?"

"What?" Draco asked dumbly; he frowned, and then her question suddenly made sense to him. A growl escaped his lips. "You are a tease…"

To both Draco's annoyance and amusement, Ginny's grin grew even bigger. "A girl's gotta do –"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever gets her boyfriend to agree with her, I know all about it," Draco drawled, though he felt a smile starting to wiggle free. Since when had Ginny become so manipulative? Delightfully so, but still…it wasn't something he saw from her too often. He enjoyed her method immensely, though.

Draco sighed, looking contemplatively at Ginny. He remembered how she used to tell him that she would be able to handle Lucius and that she could take care of herself. But now that a situation had arisen in which her skill might be tested, would Draco be able to let her go?

"I'll be alright," Ginny said softly, coming closer to Draco. "Honestly." She placed another soft, gentle kiss on Draco's mouth and let it hang there for a few seconds before she pulled back and looked up into his eyes.

Sighing again, Draco felt his head nod. "Alright…"

Ginny's face broke out in a delighted smile and she hugged Draco tightly, her hands pressing his back close to her. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear before pulling away. "And you'll see. Everything will be alright. Just uh…" she hesitated, her eyes skittering away from Draco's.

"What is it?" he asked, hoping she might have changed her mind.

"Just…try and somehow convince my parents to stay here at Grimmauld after I'm back at school," Ginny said slowly. "Just in case, yeah?"

Draco nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll try. Don't worry about it. But you have to promise me one other thing," he said, once again serious. He pulled Ginny into his arms and looked down at her, and she up at him expectantly.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"When you get to school, you tell Dumbledore about Ollivander recognizing my mother with you in Diagon Alley, and you tell him about seeing Lucius and the other Death Eater looking at your house. He'll know what to do about it."

"But then won't everybody else know that we were there? At my house?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders, a smile playing on his face. "I doubt it. Strange –and slightly eerie– as it seems, Dumbledore seems to have taken an interest in our relationship. I think he'll try to keep quiet about how he found out about it."

Ginny smiled and stood a little taller; though she had grown some over the summer, Draco still towered over her. As Draco leaned down, Ginny's head tilted to the side, her mouth resting less than an inch from Draco's. "So this is goodbye then, isn't it?" she whispered. "It seems too soon to say goodbye. But…" she sighed, "we might not be able to see each other tomorrow, you know."

"I know," Draco admitted, his eyes darting down to Ginny's lips before back to her eyes. "So is this goodbye…yeah, I guess, for now at least. Until you come home for Christmas, that is…"

Draco's thought trailed off as Ginny pulled his head down, causing his lips to meet hers. He could feel her impatience and want for a heated kiss like earlier, but Draco insisted on starting slowly again, feeding her eagerness with anticipation. His hands caressing her face lightly as his lips worked against hers, Draco savored her taste and committed to memory the feel of her soft body so close to his.

That task completed, Draco unleashed himself, startling an exclamation out of Ginny as he suddenly gave into the desire that was awakening within him, and he pulled Ginny's body flush against his own, trapping her against the wall. His hands began a fevered descent from Ginny's neck to her waist, only to climb back up and bury themselves in her vibrant red hair as he pushed himself even closer to her. Their mouths worked in a frenzy, each trying to gain the upper hand; and then Draco felt Ginny surrender to him and lean her full weight against him. Draco could actually feel her knees shaking against his own, and he smiled against her, satisfied, as he always was with her. Though Draco never took things farther than kissing, he never felt unsatisfied with what Ginny was willing to give him.

However, tonight, Draco could feel his body start to respond to Ginny's and before he completely lost the self-control he already felt slipping from him, he pushed away from her, his hands on her shoulders. For a moment, Ginny and Draco just stared at each other intensely, and then Draco crushed her body against his in a fierce hug, burying his neck in her shoulder.

Draco held her for a long time before he gently released her. He could practically see the smile in her eyes, though he thought there was some sadness there too. His own face softened into a smile and he said, "Goodbye, then."

Taking a deep breath, Ginny returned his smile and kissed him lightly once more. "Bye," she replied, her voice soft but steady. Turning slowly, she walked to Draco's door and opened it. She turned and smiled one last time at Draco before closing the door behind her.


It was with a great deal of self-control that Ginny refrained from looking at Draco during lunch the next day. She had woken up and received a surprise when she learned that it was eleven 'o clock; she rarely ever slept that late. And considering how jumbled her thoughts had been the night before, she was shocked to find that she had slept soundly.

And so during lunch, as Ginny's stomach leapt and bounced at the thought of returning home and leaving Draco, she remained quiet, staring down at her plate. She knew Draco was a few seats down the table, and she knew that he still didn't want her going to her house knowing that Lucius Malfoy had just been there, but she was determined. If she couldn't even feel secure in her own house and couldn't manage the courage to inspect it to make sure it was safe, then she wouldn't last long in life, she knew.

Besides, returning home was not what tore Ginny's insides apart; it was the thought of going back to school by herself for the first time in her life. Since she was eleven years old, she had been the young one; she had known that there was always someone a year older than her lurking about. But now, she was the old one, the seventh year. She was also going to be alone, she knew. There would be no Hermione to talk to about girl things, no Ron or Harry to talk Quidditch with. Of course, she had a few friends and people she talked to – Colin, Luna, and a smattering of others. But nobody she was really close to. And most of all, there would be no Draco.

That was perhaps what frightened Ginny the most. What would happen to them when she returned to school? Would they stay together? Would they drift apart? Come back over the holidays and find that they had changed? Ginny didn't think that anything would be able to dampen what she felt for Draco, and she was fairly confident that he wouldn't just abandon her; he had looked painfully worried a time or two when they talked about Ginny returning to school. She knew things were hard for him, especially here. Besides his mother, Ginny was the only one he really talked to; he and Harry and Ron were still fighting, all of them stubbornly refusing to work together. She thought it was rather childish, but she didn't dare tell any of them that. She knew that sooner or later they'd come around to the fact that they wouldn't get anywhere with the Order unless they got along. It just seemed like it would be later rather than sooner.

When Ginny was nearly done with her sandwich, Molly Weasley stood from the table. "Are you about ready to leave, Ginny?"

"Yes," Ginny replied, swallowing her last bite. "I just have to get my bags."

Ginny risked a side-long look at Draco and saw that he was determinedly staring at the wall opposite him, his face practically set in stone.

Slowly, Ginny rose from the table and went up to her room to get her things. Since there wasn't enough room in the suitcase she had brought from home, she had shrunk the school things she'd bought and stuck them on top of her clothes. Grabbing her bag with a sigh, trying to quell the nerves that started rising within her, Ginny left her room and walked downstairs.

"Ready?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a smile; her own bags were already packed and sitting by the front door.

"Yeah," said Ginny. She saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ewan all standing around. But as she stumbled over the goodbyes she couldn't even remember a few seconds later, her mind was only on one person. Her eyes traveled over the hallway, hoping to catch some glimpse of him, and then she saw him, gazing around the corner. Just the sight of him seemed to calm the jitters in her stomach, and she risked a smile at him before turning around.

"Are we Apparating?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, it's easier than bringing all this stuff through Floo," said Mrs. Weasley. "Grab my arm now, dear. We really should think about having you take lessons for this…"

Ginny, her suitcase in one hand and her mother's arm in her other, shut her eyes and took a deep breath as they Apparated out of Grimmauld Place and back to her home. What awaited for her, she didn't know. Would her house even still be there? Had Lucius Malfoy been so enraged that he had blown it up or burnt it down? Would he be hiding in a closet somewhere, ready to jump out and murder them on the spot?

All of these questions and many more traveled through Ginny at an alarming rate, but before she could even think that maybe Draco had been right about not returning to the house, she and her mother were standing in their kitchen.

"Ah, home sweet home," said Mrs. Weasley. "We really were gone too long, I think. I didn't like having to do that."

"Yeah…" mumbled Ginny, her eyes darting everywhere, looking for anything out of the normal. But so far, everything seemed as it should be. She glanced at their family clock and noticed with a bit of relief that nobody's hand was pointing to mortal peril. Surely that was a good sign…wasn't it? Even so, Ginny was cautious. Her mother had already taken her own bags up to her bedroom and was starting to unpack. But Ginny, her wand out and ready, searched her entire downstairs carefully before going up the stairs.

She left her mother in her parents room, deciding to search there later. On the way up to her own room, she checked each of the closets, bathrooms, and her brothers' rooms, forgoing her own and walking all the way up the staircase to Ron's bedroom. The only thing that moved up there was the ghoul in the attic, which banged on the pipes in greeting.

Sighing, her heart rate starting to return to normal when she realized that just maybe the house was empty, Ginny walked into her bedroom and nearly screamed when she saw what was lying on her bedroom floor.

It was one of the garden gnomes, and it was dead. There were small pools of dark red blood on the floor around the gnome, which had deep gashes all over its body; it looked as if someone had taken a knife and started to hack away at it.

Ginny could feel nausea rise in her stomach, but she swallowed it down and took a deep breath, noticing with anger that the blood had stained her floor. "Damn you, Lucius Malfoy," she said quietly, staring forlornly at the mess. She looked over to the window and saw that it was open, the summer wind blowing in her curtain. She was positive that the window had been shut when she'd left earlier that summer. Besides, there was no way a gnome would have done this to himself.

With a few quick waves of her wand, the blood and gnome disappeared, but even still, Ginny avoided walking over that part of the floor. Just knowing what had lain there gave her the shivers, and she couldn't bring herself to step on it.

Instead, Ginny shut her window and did a thorough search of the rest of her room. Nothing else out of the ordinary turned up, for which Ginny was grateful for, but she couldn't help the anger she felt at Lucius Malfoy. How dare he come into her home, her own bedroom, and do this.

And yet, even as Ginny vented her frustration by unpacking her suitcase with more force than necessary, she realized that a dead garden gnome was probably a better welcome-home gift than she might have received. In fact, Lucius Malfoy might even have considered it gracious of him. While Ginny certainly didn't want to come home and find a Death Eater waiting for her, she couldn't help but imagine how wonderful it would be to curse that Malfoy good and hard right now, show him a thing or two about decency.

Ginny knew, though, that this wouldn't be the end. He would probably be back, and when he did come next, the house might not be empty. Her father was coming later that evening after work, and he and her mother were staying here. Her parents could very well be home when Lucius came the next time, and Ginny didn't even want to imagine what Lucius would do to them.

She had already asked Draco to try and convince her parents to stay at Grimmauld Place, but how well would that work? Surely it would seem odd –if not downright suspicious– if Draco was so adamant that they stay; it wasn't even his house to invite them to. So perhaps, theorized Ginny, I should mention it. Tell them that it's easier to just stay put there and not travel back and forth all the time.

She didn't know whether it would work or not, but she prayed for all of their sakes that it would.


The next day, she said goodbye to her parents with a forced smile on her face. It felt strange to be the only one getting on the train, no Ron or Harry along for the ride. She could tell her parents were feeling the abnormality of it all as well, for their faces, though smiling, were tight.

Ginny had casually mentioned to her parents last night at dinner that it might be easier for the two of them if they remained at Grimmauld Place for the time being, but to her displeasure, her parents hadn't given any answer; in fact, they had seemed rather keen to stay at their own house. Without appearing suspicious, Ginny couldn't have pushed the subject any further. Her hope now lay with Draco and what he might be able to do for them.

As Ginny stood in the crowded hallway of the Hogwarts Express, she shook her mind from those musing and instead focused on what exactly she should do now that there wasn't anybody for her to sit with. She sighed. Is this what this entire year is going to be like? Nobody to sit or talk or laugh with? This is my seventh year, for crying out loud! I should be having a grand time. But no… she thought irritably as she scraped her trunk through the hallway, trying not to step on anybody's feet. I have to be here by myself without a really good friend to talk to. And no Draco.

Sighing again, Ginny realized that the only thing these thoughts were going to bring her was depression, and she knew it was far too early in the year for her to be that sad. No, she'd just suck it up, trudge along, and count down the days until Christmas. I'm Ginny Weasley, after all, she thought determinedly, and I'll be damned if I let myself ruin what's supposed to be the best year of my life.

Ginny finally stopped in front of a compartment and peered in the window, but it was full of people, so she moved on. It seemed as if most of the compartments were filled already, and she cursed herself for standing around so long. Now she'd never get one all to herself, which was what she wanted.

Reaching a compartment that had its window drawn shut, Ginny knocked. No answer came, and feeling hopeful, Ginny opened the door only to come face to face with a group of four or five Slytherin boys.

"Oh – I'm…sorry, didn't see you," mumbled Ginny, her face turning scarlet. She was just about to back out and shut the door when two of the boys sitting in the back of the compartment caught her eye. She knew them in an instant, realized that she'd probably recognize them in the dark. One of the boys had stringy brown hair and a greasy face that might have been handsome if it were washed more often, and the other boy had black hair so curly that it was hard to tell the actual length of it.

Neither of the boys moved; they simply stared back at her, cross looks on both of their faces. Then the brown-haired boy's eyes narrowed slightly and his lips curled into the tiniest of smirks, so calm and cool that Ginny shivered in spite of herself.

She hurriedly slammed the door, breathing heavily. Oh yes, she remembered those two boys. How could she forget the fear she'd felt when they'd held her to that couch, the look in their eyes as they'd realized how helpless she was? Even though she had escaped that situation after having knocked one of them out and giving the other a severe back eye, she had felt their eyes watching her for weeks after the incident. She had pushed them to the back of their mind several times, but their presence was always there.

Groaning, Ginny moved across the hall and peered into the compartment; to her relief, she saw only Luna Lovegood sitting inside, and Ginny knocked before opening the door.

"This place taken?" Ginny asked.

Luna looked up and smiled mistily. "Oh no, you can come in."

"Thanks," Ginny said gratefully. "Stupid me took too long getting on the train and now nearly everywhere else is full."

"Good thing I was here, then," Luna replied. "I kept the compartment nice and empty for you. Nobody really ever wants to sit with me."

Ginny gave a weak smile, feeling her heart go out to the nice, if somewhat odd, girl. It really was unfair the way people treated her just because she was slightly different. Wasn't everybody different, in a way?

"Well I sit with you," Ginny said, trying to lighten the mood. "Am I nobody, then?"

Luna seemed to think on this for a moment before saying slowly, "No. You are somebody."

"Well good then. I'd hate to think I've spent my whole life thinking I'm Ginny Weasley only to find out now that I'm a nobody." Ginny grinned when she saw Luna crack a smile.

"Yes, that would be a terrible thing. If you're nobody, you should at least figure it out early on in life. That way the shock isn't so bad later on."

Ginny continued to smile and shook her head in wonder. "So how was your summer, then?"

"Not too bad. My father and I went to Australia. They have the most wonderful creatures there," Luna said, a far-off look in her eye. "Lots of good times too. What about you? What did you do?"

"Oh, not much," Ginny replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I was lazy and slept a lot. The good old summer stuff. Hey," she said in an attempt to change the subject, "do you know who the Head Boy and Girl are this year?"

"I haven't a clue," said Luna. "Though I hope it's someone from Ravenclaw."

"I suppose so," Ginny murmured. "Well, any idea who the new Defense teacher is?"

"No, but I hope it's someone better than last year. Professor Juriac just seemed so out of it all the time, like his mind was never on the lesson."

You have no idea, Ginny thought wryly.

"I suggested to him once that he might have gotten some dordleduffs in his ear, because those things just love to live in there, but he just chuckled at me and said he'd look into it." Luna shook her head with a sigh. "Anyway, I just hope the new teacher is someone normal. It seems the Defense position is always taken by someone really strange."

Ginny nodded her head, biting back a laugh at Luna's statement. But Luna was pulling out a magazine from her trunk and Ginny, seeing that the girl wanted to read, reached into her own trunk and pulled out a piece of parchment, some ink, and a quill. She recalled the letter she'd received from Reina Juriac earlier that summer, and also felt a stab of guilt that she had not yet replied. So she began to write.

Dear Reina,

I'm sorry I haven't written back yet. I've just been really busy over the summer.

I hope the renovation of your old house is going well. Tell your brother hello for me.

You were right about quite a few things in your last letter. Draco and I are doing fine. I'm on the train back to Hogwarts right now, and I'll confess that I'm a bit nervous about going back to school without him. It'll be weird not having him there.

Narcissa Malfoy is doing fine too. And I think you'll be happy to know that she and I have come to terms with each other. She knows that Draco and I are together, and surprising as it is, she's okay with it! I know, a big shocker, isn't it? I was surprised too. But what's really interesting is that she seems happy about it. Given how the two of us got along last year, I didn't think it'd ever be like this. But she seems different now, much calmer and nicer. She's even being kind to my family. Though, none of them know about Draco and me. I don't know when we'll tell them, but I think they'd all explode if I told them now. They need more time to just get used to the idea that Draco's on our side.

Well, I hope you come back to England soon. It'll be even weirder for me if I have to go to Hogsmede and know that you're not there. But if you stay in America, I completely understand.

Ginny

Satisfied, Ginny waved the letter in the air for a moment so that the ink would dry; it was also a good way to rid her hand of the tension that had built up during the writing process.

Just as Ginny was returning her letter and supplies to her trunk, she heard the trolley woman calling in the hallway for anybody who wanted treats. Luna's head popped up from behind her magazine and she stood, fumbling in her pocket for some change. She slid open the compartment door and Ginny could see Luna pick up a bag of cockroach clusters and pay for them.

Ginny shuddered slightly at the odd candy choice, but didn't say anything. However, just as Luna was coming back into the compartment, the door across from them opened and the two Slytherin boys came out. They stared into the girls' compartment for a moment, Ginny meeting their eyes. Ginny heard the trolley woman ask if they wanted anything, but they shook their heads. As the woman turned, she saw the black-haired boy snatch up a licorice wand.

Wrinkling her nose, Luna slammed the compartment door shut, and the two boys were blocked from site.

"Ugh, those two…" Luna muttered, opening her package of cockroach clusters.

"Who are they?" Ginny asked casually, hoping she didn't look or sound as curious as she felt; ever since that night last year, she had wondered about the two of them, but she hadn't dared to ask anybody.

"I don't know them myself," replied Luna. "They're fifth – oh no wait, I guess their sixth years now. Anyway, I've heard some of the Ravenclaw girls a year younger than us talk about them before; they're always saying how those two are always making trouble in their classes and harassing them."

"Huh," was all Ginny could manage to reply.

"I'm glad that we're not in their year," Luna said.

"Yeah…"

"Boys like that make me nervous. That's why I always wear my beetle shell bracelet," said Luna, holding up her wrist; Ginny saw a bracelet made out of what looked like black beetle shells on it, and she forced herself not to wrinkle her nose. "It's supposed to ward off boys like that."

"Hmm," was again all Ginny could manage to say. Her mind kept replaying the way that brown-haired boy had looked at her, and she desperately wanted to know their names. But since Luna was now going on about the different wards that existed that would repel people you didn't like, Ginny thought it might seem too suspicious if she brought up the subject again.

However, Ginny vowed that as soon as possible, she would find out more about the two of them.

A few hours later, after the train had arrived at Hogwarts, Ginny was sitting at the Gryffindor table, trying her best not to appear melancholy. Every time she glanced around the table and saw that so many familiar faces were gone, her throat tightened uncomfortably.

And especially when Ginny looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a certain silvery-blonde head of hair missing, the sadness hit her. But she did her best to smile as several people she knew came up and said hello. During the sorting, which she usually enjoyed, she couldn't concentrate; her mind was everywhere. What was Draco doing right now? Was he thinking about her? Was he missing her? Was he sad that she was gone? Happy? Ginny sighed. So many questions, yet there seemed to be absolutely no answer.

After the sorting ceremony was over, Dumbledore stood for his usual start-of-year speech. Ginny tried to pay attention, but Draco's voice seemed to jump inside her head. When you get to school, tell Dumbledore about Ollivander recognizing my mother with you in Diagon Alley. She frowned, wondering when she'd get the opportunity to tell him. Would there be a chance tonight? Ginny doubted it, not with it being the first night back at the castle. Well, perhaps she'd try for tomorrow, maybe before classes started. She didn't want to wait too long, for who knew what kind of trouble was brewing.

Ginny's thoughts were interrupted as she caught the last of Dumbledore's sentence.

"…will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year," Dumbledore said with a smile.

As polite applause broke out, Ginny cursed herself. Great, she thought. I missed hearing who the new teacher is. Just great. Clapping as well, she watched as the man stood up the staff table to acknowledge the applause before sitting down again. From what Ginny could tell, the man was only a few years older than her father. He was average-looking and nothing seemed too out of the ordinary or over the top, and so Ginny sat back with a relaxed sigh. Perhaps this year won't be quite as abnormal as last year, then, she thought.


That night, back in Grimmauld Place, Draco found it hard to fall asleep. Just the thought that Ginny was no longer under the same roof as him, that she was miles and miles away, was almost too painful to think about. When he thought back to a year ago, it surprised him to learn how far he'd come. He wondered when exactly he had started to depend on other people so much; it used to be just him, just Draco Malfoy, and what bothered him was that he used to be okay with that. But now…now things were different. There were people he had confided in, people he trusted, people who knew more about him now. There was his mother, whom he had gotten back; Draco had always thought that she didn't care about him one bit, and yet she had given up seventeen years of free will because she loved him. There was also Dumbledore, whom Draco had confided a great deal in. Sure, the old man was mysterious and downright odd at times, but Draco could see that underneath that exterior, the man was truly powerful.

And then there was Ginny, and for the life of him, Draco couldn't figure out what exactly it was that drew him to her. His father had taught Draco that the Weasleys were the epitome of wizard scum and should be avoided and degraded at all times no matter the cost. For quite a long time, Draco had believed that too and had even been proud of his father for sticking to the dignities of pure blood.

However, once Lucius Malfoy had begun controlling more of Draco and preparing him for becoming a Death Eater, Draco had started to wonder. Was his father really correct in his assumptions? Were the Weasley's really that bad of people? They were always smiling and seemed happy, so what was really all that wrong with them?

Those thoughts had crossed Draco's mind back at school, and he had mentally punished himself for thinking such things. And when in his seventh year Ginny had started hanging around him more, more of those thoughts had occurred, and Draco found it harder to push them away. What was more, he hadn't wanted to push them away; because in Ginny, he had found a person who didn't care so much about his background and was willing to give him a fresh start.

Was that why Draco was so inexplicably attracted to her? Sure, the girl was beautiful, but the world was a sea of beautiful people. So what made her so special? Draco could honestly say that he wasn't attracted to her money, for her family had little of it. The only explanation Draco could come up with was that it was something inside her that seemed to draw him in. But what that something was, Draco didn't know.

He sighed and rolled over in bed. Draco had turned off the lights long ago in an attempt to fall asleep, but so far, it hadn't worked. His mind kept wandering all over the place, mainly around Ginny. He remembered that afternoon, when she and her mother had left Grimmauld Place. At the moment that they had disappeared, a state of panic had come over him. All sorts of disastrous thoughts had come to mind. Maybe her house would be crawling with Death Eaters, and as soon as they'd Apparated there, they would be surrounded and killed. Or maybe one or two were hiding inside, just waiting for a Weasley to show up. But then maybe the Death Eaters wouldn't have wanted to risk detection, so they would have placed curses on the house, ready to destroy anybody who tried to enter.

And with those thoughts in his mind, Draco had suddenly thought of something. He remembered back to his last school year, to the moment when he had learned that his mother was under the Imperius Curse. He recalled throwing a glass ball against the wall in frustration and discovering her letter sealed inside. And then he remembered exactly what that glass ball did, and that if he was holding it and said someone's name, he'd be able to see them.

Draco had then dashed up to his room and dug through a drawer to find that glass ball; he had almost forgotten about it, and indeed, had rarely used it. It was no bigger than Draco's fist and so he had no trouble finding it stuck in between some socks. As soon as he grabbed it, he had said Ginny's name, and at once he saw her. She had been creeping through her house, wand drawn and body tense. Draco's heart had seemed to hammer in his throat every time she threw open a closet door, and then it had seemed to fall at an alarming rate back down to his chest when he saw that every room was empty.

However, when she had gone into her own room and Draco had seen the dead gnome on the floor, he had thought momentarily that Lucius would come springing out from under Ginny's bed any minute and kill her. But he had been wrong, again, for nothing else had happened. Ginny, looking slightly shaken, had made the gnome disappear and proceeded to unpack; and Draco, feeling his anger at his father rise, had set the ball down.

Lying there in bed, just thinking back to the startled expression on Ginny's face when she'd walked into her room, Draco felt his temper pulsating again. The very idea that a Death Eater had been in Ginny's bedroom made Draco's blood boil. If he ever got his hands on his father, he'd repay him for every hurt he'd caused throughout the years.

Yet the fact was that Draco had absolutely no clue where his father was. If he did know, then he would be sorely tempted to just bugger Dumbledore's rule and march out of Grimmauld Place to wherever Lucius was hiding and hex him. Oh yes, Draco thought grimly, if only I could find out where that bastard is hiding, then I'd –

Draco sat up so hard that he heard the bones in his neck crack in protest. Two things crossed Draco's mind just then – one: elation at the idea that had just occurred to him, and two: the knowledge that he was an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.

His heart quickening in excitement, Draco got out of bed and crossed his room to the dresser, upon which he had set the glass ball he'd used earlier. Not wasting anymore time, Draco picked up the ball and said, "Lucius Malfoy."

Draco watched, eager and breathless, waiting for something to happen. However, instead of the soft light that was supposed to appear in the ball and brighten to reveal an image of his father, the ball started vibrating, causing Draco to frown. The vibrations grew harder and a grayish color seemed to creep over the ball like fog, the grey turning darker and darker until it was pitch black. In his hands, the ball grew cold as ice, and Draco had to drop it because it was painful to hold.

Instead of breaking when the ball hit the floor, it simply thudded and continued to vibrate for a moment, creating a dull buzzing sound. And then, all at once, it stopped. It was so sudden of a change that Draco blinked in confusion. He bent down to his knees and peered at it, but nothing happened; it was as if the ball had died. It was just laying there, black as anything Draco had ever seen.

Cautiously he reached out a hand and touched it, and found it to be cold still, though not painfully so anymore. As he picked it up, Draco actually found that the ball was slowly warming back up to room temperature. Frowning a bit, still unsure about what had just happened, Draco said cautiously, "Lucius Malfoy."

Nothing happened. No bright light, no image, not even another vibration. Frowning harder, Draco said, "Ginny Weasley." Again, nothing.

Draco, now thoroughly perplexed, set the ball back in his dresser drawer, pushing it all the way to the back and covering it with every sock he could find, just to be safe.

Then Draco crawled back into bed, still unable to sleep, but now with something else to think about.

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A/N: So…not quite a cliffhanger like the last chapter, but like Draco, maybe now you guys have some new stuff to think about. Oh, and those two Slytherin guys Ginny saw on the train? I hope you all remember them. If not, the incident I was referencing to was in Chapter 19 of This Is Who You Are.

Well, I can't think of anything else to comment on. I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you review!

Lauren