A/N: Just incase you couldn't tell, this chapter is entirely flashbacks.


Chapter 10

"What were you hoping to gain by coming here, ferret?" Ronald Weasley glared at the young man before him.

His face was burning with anger at the near unanimous decision to allow Malfoy to stay in the company of the Weasley's since it was clear it wasn't safe for him to return to Voldemort. This decision was reached after Ginny's outburst, which had helped sway Molly, Bill, Charlie and surprisingly, or maybe not considering who had made the outburst, Harry over to those in support of keeping Malfoy safe. Only Ron and Moody were vehemently against the decision, though there were those who, despite agreeing to help him, were still loathe totrust a Malfoy. That is not to say that Malfoy was particularly happy about the result either. If given the choice between living under the protection of the muggle-loving, blood traitor Weasley's for Merlin only knew how long or returning to Lord Voldemort with his tail between his legs ready to accept whatever punishment awaited him, Draco wasn't so sure he wouldn't have picked the latter. Fortunately that decision had little to do with him.

"Well, I had been hoping you and Potter would be gone a little longer so as to give me a little time alone with your sister," Draco sneered as response to the Weasel King's question.

"You bastard!" Ron declared, advancing quickly on Malfoy, ready to deliver a suitable physical retaliation.

"Ron, stop!" Harry and Hermione cried simultaneously.

They moved to stop him but Ginny got there first, placing herself in front of Draco to act as a protective barrier. Ron's fist stopped just millimetres from his sister's face.

"Move out of the way, Gin," Ron demanded menacingly.

"What are you going to do, Weasel? Hit me? Go ahead, I bet your mudblood girlfriend packs a harder punch."

Ginny sent a glare at Draco over her shoulder, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" She asked with her back to him as she still faced Ron.

"And miss the sight of your perfect little arse? I think not."

"Draco," she warned, hearing both Ron and Harry growl.

"What?" He asked innocently. "You didn't mind when I complemented it the other night. When we were in my room. Alone."

"I mean it Ginny, get out of the way."

"Oh, just ignore him Ron, he's just trying to wind you up." Even though her voice held the conviction it deserved there was no denying the blush that had crept across Ginny's cheeks and ears.

"That's right, I wind you up but Ginny winds me up, often to the point of distraction." Draco commented lightly, his smirk hidden behind Ginny.

The aforementioned finally spun to face him with a glare at his smirk, even though her eyes showed amusement at his words. "If you don't shut up right now I might just let Ron have free reign on you."

"I thought we proved the other night that I'm not that way inclined," Draco continued, apparently not picking up on the warning in her tone.

Her hand flew out and cuffed him round the back of the head, "Quit it!"

Smirking Draco finally shut up. With a pointed glance in Ron and Harry's directions to ensure they were paying attention he allowed his eyes to roam freely and casually over Ginny's body, taking in every curve. Ginny didn't notice as she had turned back around and was trying to scold Ron for falling so easily for Draco's teasing. Ron and Harry definitely did, the former of who struggled not to reach out and punch the guy senseless while the latter took controlling breaths, mentally reminding himself that he no longer held a claim on Ginny and even if he did, Malfoy was just winding them up. Hermione watched them all in frustration, rolling her eyes at their behaviour.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

November passed and Christmas was soon upon them but that couldn't have been further from anyone's minds. Outside the war was raging steadily between Voldemort and his forces and the Wizarding World's most public defence; the Ministry of Magic's Auror and Strategical Combat Departments. Voldemort was winning, his power and control slowly gaining. The Ministry was all-but a distant memory of how the world once was, with the loss of such power, as fleeting and superficial as it was, was the steady decrease of hope amongst the Wizarding community. Many, faced with the choice of fighting and dying or joining Voldemort and living, no matter how much they detested him and what he stood for, chose to join him. The cowards' choice it may have been, but no one who chose otherwise could really blame them.

Those who went against Voldemort were either tortured to the point of insanity or killed. Those few who managed to escape were approached to join the Order. Steadily their numbers grew and by Christmas both sides knew. One way or another, the war would be over soon.

"I know it's not really the best time for Christmas," Molly Weasley addressed the crowd of Order members with the use of a Sonorous charm to reach all thousand attendees. This number was barely a percentage of those willing to fight for their world but it was those members without a family to spend the day with, and it was something to see them all coming together. "But, with times as they are, and with our part of the fight approaching I thought we should try to have just one day of happiness. Without having to worry about anything. So enjoy today because soon it'll all be over."

There were no gifts shared as was customary on this day, nor was there a grand feast but the cheer was in such abundance even Voldemort himself would have found it difficult to stay immune to its contagiousness. Colin Creevey, a friend of Ginny's from Hogwarts, was present and insisted on taking as many photos as possible for the survivors to cherish once it was all over. Normally the over-excitable boy would have had difficulty getting people to cooperate but on this day no one seemed to mind. By the time he reached Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood the news of what he was doing had spread and they were more than eager to do as he wanted.

"Wait," Ginny said as they arranged themselves. "Someone's missing."

Harry looked around confused, "Who?"

Ginny ignored him though as she scanned the crowd for the telltale flash of platinum blonde. Seeing it she set off in its direction. As she went to retrieve a sullen Draco from the corner of the room knowing full well she would receive opposition once she got him back there, Colin took a few photos of the others. There was the typical group one of the trio, and one of Ron and Hermione together, then one of Harry and Ron. Neville and Luna posed for a couple of photos before Ginny reappeared with a very grudging Draco in tow. He earned the expected glare from Ron and Harry, and a squeak of nervousness from Neville but no one argued his being there.

The seven of them stood tall and proud; Harry and Ron placed their arms over each other's shoulders while Hermione nestled between them, taking Ron's free hand in her own. In front of them stood Luna, Ginny, Draco and Neville, grinning happily at the camera; even Draco had dropped his customary smirk for a real smile. He was stood a little too close to Ginny for Harry's liking, as though to show this he gave the blonde man a jealous glance before he, too, smiled for the camera.

After the photo was taken there were six final shots, single ones of Ginny with her arms around the neck of her companion in a friendly hug from the side. Luna first, then Ron, Hermione, Neville, then Harry and finally Draco. All the shots were the same except for the last. This one had Draco's hand cupped on her waist in a rather protective manner and Ginny's smile was just that tiniest bit brighter as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. Still perfectly innocent but easily misconstrued for something else, it was enough to shock a certain someone into action.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was later that evening that he did it. Not wanting to wait another moment, Harry Potter tracked down Ginny Weasley to find her, surprise surprise, in the company of Draco Malfoy.

"Hey, Gin, can I talk to you a minute?" Beneath his confident exterior nervousness lurked.

"Sure, I'll be right out, ok?"

Harry nodded and waited outside as Ginny followed a whispered conversation with Malfoy, closing the door behind her when she exited.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Not here," he answered, shooting a glance at the closed door to Draco's room. "Come for a walk with me?"

Ginny shrugged and followed him as he led her further into headquarters. Finally he reached a door and opened it, motioning for her to enter.

"Your room? Harry what are you up to?"

"Just sit," he instructed as he began pacing nervously.

"You know when we broke up? And I said it was to protect you so you wouldn't get hurt?"

Ginny nodded, frowning a little.

"Well I'd say it worked pretty well, wouldn't you? I mean, we're nearly at the end of this blasted war and you've remained unscathed."

Ginny nodded again, Is he going to take it back? She thought hopefully.

"Well then I want to ask you, right here and now," he stopped pacing and bent down on one knee. "If we get through this thing alive will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing in a perfect imitation of a fish in her shock.

"I know I don't have a ring or anything but we can sort all that out when it's over, right?"

Ginny nodded dumbly.

"Is that a yes? Ginny, say something!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So what did Scarhead want?" Draco asked not taking his eyes off the book Ginny had found for him.

"He…uh…he wanted to marry me."

"Excuse me?" Draco looked up in astonishment.

"He asked me to marry him," she repeated more clearly.

"What did he say when you said no?"

"Nothing," she answered, still numb from the shock of it all. "Because I haven't given him an answer yet."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Today we go into battle," Harry addressed every member of the Order of the Phoenix, there were now some 20,000 people present compared to the 1,000 from just 3 days before at Christmas. "I'm not going to pretend it will be easy, it's going to be difficult as hell but we've been training for this and we can do it. Voldemort has held his grip of power over this world for too long. The Ministry have tried to stop him but their forces are weakening and it is time for us to step up. The plan is as follows…"

Ginny tuned out, there didn't seem much point in listening when she had been forbidden from fighting anyway, she was only there as a show of support for her family and friends. Anyone under 18, with the exception of the trio, was banned from partaking in the War as they lacked the "necessary skills" to fight the dark wizards. Ginny felt this was unfair since she had learnt everything that the Golden Trio had and was, even in her moping opinion, a much better witch than her brother was a wizard, sometimes better than Harry was, too. And yet they still would not let her fight.

With a bored sigh she let her eyes roam the large hall, magically adapted to fit everyone, in which they all stood. Everyone stared up at the large platform on which Harry stood with Hermione, Ron and the more prominent Order members, all listening to Harry's Sonorused voice as his words of wisdom spread across the Quidditch-World-Cup-fan sized gathering. Everyone but one person; Ginny watched as a platinum blonde head of hair swivelled on her left, revealing a face with two grey eyes that rolled when they caught her watching. She returned the playful smirk on his face before moving her head in a motion for him to follow her through the exit of the room.

"My, my," she heard his voice drawl after her. "I never thought I'd see the day when the Weaselette would skip the Golden Boy's war speech to spend time with the big bad Malfoy."

Resisting the grin that threatened to break out, Ginny took a deep, steadying breath before turning around. "A lot of people didn't expect the day, ferret, but you're the only other person in that room who wasn't lapping up that pompous prats words, thought you might like to get away."

"Pompous prat? Hardly nice words about your fiancé, are they?"

"Well what would you call it? He's got the whole room hanging on his every word and he loves every second of it. Seems rather pompous to me, and besides, he's not my fiancé."

Draco smirked, "Ah but he's always been like that, even in Hogwarts. All that fame they just kept throwing at him only made him worse, it's amazing he can fit through doorways with an ego that size."

Ginny giggled, "You're one to talk."

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Well that coming from the guy who takes great delights in being known as the Slytherin sex god."

Rather than looking offended, Draco showed amusement at her reference. "I'll have you know that is a name well earned."

"Really?" She cast her eyes over him slowly before realising what she was doing and looking down to hide the blush creeping over her.

Draco advanced on her, making her stumble backwards into the wall. He placed one hand flat on the wall above her shoulder, applying pressure to it as he leant, using his free hand to lift her chin. Her tint was lightening but her eyes were still cast downwards, "Look at me," he whispered into her ear. She was hesitating, he could tell, "Look at me," he urged again. Slowly her eyes lifted to meet his. "You're so beautiful when you blush," this only made her flush a deep crimson, of course, and she tried to lower her head once more but this time he held fast on her chin. "Don't fight me," he continued to whisper in her ear as he moved his hand from her chin to her cheek and trailed it slowly down her chin and collarbone.

"Wh…what are y-y-you d-doing?" she stammered out, her breathing heavy as her heart raced.

"Nothing," he whispered seductively between nibbles of her earlobe, his free hand continuing to trail down, giving her breast a tight squeeze, eliciting a gasp from her, as it carried on down resting at the hem of her skirt ponderingly. He kissed her softly before steadily increasing the pressure.

Ginny took a split second to decide what to do before responding to his kiss and his intensity increased so did the currents of pleasure that ran through her. She pulled him close to her and, pinned against the wall with his hands everywhere; up and down her torso, nudging her breasts under her bra, rubbing between her legs, her skin tingling at his very touch she was quite sure she had never felt anything like this before. Pleasure, desire, want, need, it all mingled together; surely it couldn't get any better than this?

Draco kissed her neck to distract her as his hands slipped between her legs, under her skirt and rubbed the bottom of her lacy knickers He smirked against her neck when he realised she was wearing a thong. She felt as he rubbed, moaning as he did, felt his own growing desire as he pushed against her. She did nothing to stop him as he began to slip his hand under her thong. She would, consumed by the intensity of the feelings she felt at that very minute, have let him take her right then and there despite the slight feelings of guilt at the back of her mind. Why though? She asked herself, he was the son of her family's enemy but he was her friend and it did feel right and it wasn't like she had agreed to marry Harry, they weren't even seeing each other.

Thoughts of guilt could not stop her though, especially as she felt his finger slip inside her and thrust upwards then down, upwards then down, only to be joined by a second finger soon after. Merlin, the things he was doing to her. Caught in the moment the only thing that made her pause long enough to realise where she was, who with and what they were doing was the sound of cheering in the very next room.

Harry!

Regretfully she pushed him away from her, holding his arm to make him cease the actions that, if continued, would only drive her back to him. "We can't…Harry…"

Draco's face darkened considerably. "He's not your boyfriend, Ginny, and you're not engaged, you're a free agent. There is no reason to feel guilty."

She nodded, "But I do. I don't expect you to understand but he expects me to say yes, my family expect me to say yes. The whole damn world expects me to say yes, hell, Draco, I should want to say yes."

"But you don't," he observed but posed it as more of a question than a statement.

"I don't…I don't feel that way about him any more. But you and I…it would never work, you know that. These last few months have been great, just spending time with you, getting to know the real you. And if everything wasn't like it is…" She choked back a sob but a lone tear escaped, which Draco hastily wiped from her cheek, leaving his palm on her cheek. "If everything wasn't like it is then maybe but it is and if we get through this war then it's my duty to marry him. I don't expect you to understand," she repeated, looking up at him sadly. "But it's my duty."

He just stared at her, a mixture of understanding and disbelief. "It was my duty to become a death eater," he said quietly. "Sometimes though it's better for us to be selfish rather than do what's expected."

And with that said he turned away from her and walked back towards the large hall. She called after him but he ignored her, slipping in unnoticed amongst the drones listening to Harry.

"Draco," she whispered once before she allowed the tears to shed, sliding to the floor in her misery.

- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -

What remained of the Ministry had done some work on reducing the Death Eater numbers but these were only lower members, dispensable skivvies the Dark Lord had sent to test their mettle. His most valued minions were spared such menial jobs, saved for this, the Final Battle. Not that it was particularly final, or much of a battle for that matter. A series of mini ones, perhaps, that had thus far spanned nine weeks, not that anyone really noticed. They had been fighting for so long and so much blood had been spilt that the days seemed never ending and the people were beginning to all blend into one; it was not terribly uncommon to find people of the same side fighting amongst themselves out of confusion.

Just as they had been over whether or not to trust him, the members of the Order of the Phoenix were divided over whether or not to let him fight. Without Ginny to offer support that he could be trusted to fight, and would be safe if he did so, the Order, under Harry's advisement, ruled that it was in everyone's best interests if Draco stayed out of the fighting. However, it was when he became aware of the running away of Ginny that Draco no longer accepted his prisoner status. Surprisingly calm, he took out the Order "guard" stationed at his room muggle-style before making his way undetected to the room in which his wand was being held and so it was that on the third day of the third week, Draco Malfoy entered the war. He kept his aim simple; find Ginny and be damned with anyone who stood in his way. This plan was working quite well, guilt over his attitude towards Ginny when she turned him down drove him wild. He had taken out nearly one thousand men in four days; none had been killed but certainly incapacitated for the Order to take care of. He knew she was here somewhere, fighting because she had been forbidden to and he was determined to find and protect her, even if he had to do it from a distance so she never knew. On his fifth day, though, Draco met his biggest challenge in his pursuit of the elusive Ginny Weasley – Lucius Malfoy. The whole world seemed to disappear as father and son battled it out with each other.

In a typical situation Malfoy Senior would have killed the treacherous wretch before him but when it came down to it he was the boy's father, he couldn't kill him. At least not yet. First he would make him suffer like he never had before.

"Why haven't you done it yet, father? The Dark Lord will not be impressed to learn you have failed to kill the traitor." Draco taunted the aging man before him.

"The Dark Lord will understand that there are more important things."

"Like what?" Draco sneered as he narrowly avoided a blue spark past his cheek.

Lucius Malfoy, his lips curled into a grotesque smirk, opened his mouth, "Crucio." He declared, the spell hitting Draco square in the stomach.

The spell spread like strands of a spider web, the pain coursed through his body though the intensity on his stomach did not waver. Draco doubled over, clutching at his stomach as though it were about to rip open at any second. And then, as suddenly as it had come, it ceased. Daring to look at his father, Draco raised his eyes to meet the malicious sneer. It was the same sneer that Draco had, in years past, done his best to avoid. By simply avoiding his father or, on those occasions that required, abiding his rules unquestioningly Draco had kept the number of times he had seen that sneer down to less than 100, the use of the curse no more than 70; each time one had been employed though he was, quite understandably, terrified.

However, as Draco looked at the aging man before him he wondered why. Being a devoted supporter of maintaining pureblood lineage Lucius Malfoy had that imposing aura about him that made people quake in fear at the sound of his name but as Draco studied his father properly for the first time in his life he realised a few things. Mostly that the great and powerful Lucius Malfoy was not nearly as frightening as he would have people believe. In fact it seemed his years were catching up with him. Age, that one thing bar death a person cannot escape, seeped through him like poison. Arthritis ravaged his bones, old age was beginning to give the proud elder a squint that would steadily get worse and the old man was not as fast as he once had been. Add to that the years of abuse from his master and the bad leg, a result of crossing the Dark Lord one too many times, and Draco was almost certain he could defeat this man he called a father. And so he did what can only be described as an absolutely stupid thing and laughed in the older man's face.

"You find it amusing son?" Lucius drawled making Draco shake his head in disagreement for the words escaped him. "Then what is so funny you insolent little brat?"

Again Draco shook his head as he tried to catch his breath, which served to infuriate Lucius further. "Answer me," he growled, shooting another Crucio at his son.

This time, rather than show signs of suffering from the spell, Draco gritted his teeth and squared his shoulders. Slowly, despite the excruciating pain he was facing, Draco managed to raise himself so that he stood straight-backed to face his father. Lucius, taken by surprise, lowered his wand. This was all Draco needed to recover enough to get his own wand in position.

"You want to hear what's so funny? You really want to know?"

Lucius stared into Draco's eyes, his lip beginning to twist into a sneer again. "I believe that is what I asked you."

Amusement flickered across Draco's face. "What's funny is that you still believe you're going to win. You still think that Voldemort will be victor in this bloody war. He's not going to win, Lucius, and even if he did, how long do you think it'll be before he turns on his most trusted of followers?"

Lucius' eyes narrowed, "They've made you soft, Draco."

"Not soft," Draco argued confidently. "Aware."

"Of what?" Lucius questioned.

He was genuinely intrigued by his son's simple statement. Or rather, he was intrigued by Draco's general unwillingness to explain himself, there is nothing a Malfoy loves more than the sound of his own voice after all. Too busy questioning his son, Lucius failed to notice the quick glance Draco made from his face to his lowered wand arm. He did, however, notice the lack of response from his son.

"I do not expect to repeat myself boy," Lucius growled dangerously. Again Draco did not answer him but rather took a step towards the elder man. "Answer me!" He roared as his wand arm flew up. Faced with the tip of a very angry Lucius Malfoy's wand in his face Draco did something that to an outsider could only be considered a death wish; he smirked. "Answer me or you'll have more than a cruciatus to deal with."

With Lucius' wand arm raised, he let his mid-section exposed; a fact Draco was quick to take advantage of. Before Lucius could even blink Draco's fist connected with Lucius' stomach making the old man stagger backwards a little whilst doubled over in pain. While he wasn't looking, Draco proceeded to smack the base of Lucius' neck causing him to topple forward. Lucius landed sprawled on the gravel-covered path, his wand rolled into the long grass to the side. Dazed and unarmed he was helpless when Draco charmed a rope to bind his arms and legs.

"You're a fool old man," Draco told his father. "You hold so fast to your pureblood beliefs. Do you really think that all this destruction he's causing is right?"

"Right? Compared to whom? Dumbledore and his band of idiots? They're no better than the Dark Lord, Draco. They claim their cause is the right one but they're just as sneaky and underhanded as we are, the only difference is they're killing us rather than the filth that spreads through the magical world."

"I am well aware of who kills who, however, you are wrong. They show a compassion greater than anything you ever showed, not that that is hard. You always told me compassion is weak, but compassion is what makes them strong, and lack of it…well look at yourself."

"Touching," Lucius remarked sarcastically. "Just warms me to the heart, really. Compassion is a weakness son and they'll use it against you every time."

"No," Draco said abruptly. "Compassion is what drives them to help, to help those they have no reason to trust. For all their foolishness and naivety they are more human than the Dark Lord and all you fools. They would never fake a pregnancy on a condemned woman to sway her son, then rape her in front of him, beat her and torture her then kill her and toss her aside as though she were nothing."

Draco paused, taking delight in the look of shock on his fathers face. "Yes, I know all about the pregnancy. How could you let them say that of your wife? Allow me to believe that of my own mother?"

Lucius' shock turned to a sneer once more. "What was said was true. Just because she was clever enough not to get pregnant doesn't mean she wasn't a whore. Narcissa did entertain male visitors, Draco, and not just from the Order of the bloody Phoenix, several Death Eaters have had their way with her at some point or another and she was very well compensated for it, too. Your mother, if you could call her that, was nothing more than a common whore, a prostitute for sale to the highest bidder."

"No," Draco whispered. "You're lying. You're lying."

"You don't sound too sure of that," Lucius observed, preying on his sons weakness.

"I may not have had much of a relationship with either of you but I would trust her integrity over anything that comes out of your mouth every time."

"Believe what you will. You're the one deluding yourself."

The anger that had been bubbling inside of him for longer than this fight reached boiling point for Draco, greater than anything he had ever experienced before. Resisting the urge to stoop to his father's level and kill the aged man before him, Draco forced himself to turn his back to the man to calm himself. Though he only had his back turned for a few seconds it was enough for the elder Malfoy to practice advanced magic to break his restraints and transfer his neglected wand to his hand. Before any onlooker could blink, had there been any, Lucius stood on his feet with his wand pointed at his son's heart.

"Drop your wand and turn around. Slowly."

Draco froze and stiffly turned around, "I am not leaving myself unarmed," he gritted out. When he faced his father he found himself being greeted with a smile. "What?" He asked, half out of suspicion and half from surprise.

"You may have disowned me son, but you cannot deny that my teachings have rubbed off on you and that no matter how hard you try, a part of me will always affect the way you live your life."

"A very small part," Draco muttered obstinately. "Not enough to affect me in the way you would like."

Lucius nodded sombrely before bowing to his son. "If that is the way you would have it…We end this now then."

Immediately the two men engaged in a battle more ferocious than before. From simple spells to the most dastardly curses, sparks flew everywhere and it seemed impossible to tell who they were coming from. For half an hour they duelled, the longer it dragged on the more Lucius appeared to suffer, he was wheezing, often gasping for breath, his limp was becoming more prominent and it was evident he was struggling to keep up with the younger man's agile attempts to wear him out. While Lucius tired though, Draco was suffering from the wealth of his fathers' dark arts knowledge, cuts littered his body and o more than one occasion he had found himself fighting off a particularly vicious curse, these too were taking their toll on the young man.

Lucius shot one more curse at Draco causing him to sink to his knees in agony. Draco looked up at his father and saw the triumph in his eyes.

"You did well, Lucius, if I am to die then I willingly accept such a fate from you," Draco wisely admitted defeat.

The two men locked eyes, grey orbs staring into the other; one a hard, steel, the other a soft, molten pool.

"It didn't have to be this way," Lucius began gently before Draco cut him off.

"We both know there was no other way, so be done with it."

The care that had flickered across Lucius' face quickly vanished and he opened his mouth for the killing curse, maintaining eye contact with Draco who steadfastly held his gaze. The world went silent and then suddenly a deafening roar was heard, as the anticipated "Avada kedavra" was said. The body of Lucius Malfoy fell to a crumpled heap on the floor before him but all Draco could do was watch with a detached interest. That man had been his father only in name and besides, the vision that now stood where the old man once had was more a sight of concern than the dead man.

Bloody and exhausted, Ginny Weasley barely managed to step over the crumpled heap before staggering forward and collapsing into Draco's arms.

- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -

It is said the Final Battle lasted exactly one year. Whether this true or not is a subject of much debate. The most argued topic is when the individual classes as the start of the war, do they mean the day the Ministry accepted Voldemort had returned, do they believe it is, in fact, the day Voldemort returned that fateful day in the graveyard or do they mean the day everyone became aware of the problem? Then there is the issue of whether they class Voldemort's death the last day of the war, or the day that those last few Death Eaters who refused to give up were finally rounded up and locked away. In any case only those experts who have studied the issue from every angle can show the one year timeline that the Final Battle lasted for and yet, for the most part it is said that the Final Battle lasted exactly one year. For the members of the Order of the Phoenix though, the Final Battle began the day of Harry's speech and ended the day Harry finally killed Voldemort for good, a span of eight months, one week and four days.

During this time millions perished, muggles and magic, light and dark alike, thousands were injured and thousands more suffered psychological damage beyond repair. No one escaped the war unharmed and no one left unchanged. After she collapsed, Draco had apparated Ginny back to Order headquarters were she had been nursed back to health. She spent the better part of a week in a deep sleep while her internal injuries and surface wounds had been healed. When she awoke and felt strong enough she had made the medi-staff aware of any other ailments she suffered. She had been lucky to make it through relatively unscathed compared to others and banned from going out again. Draco, who had taken a little longer to sort out, still took her out though. The two worked as a rogue duo, returning every night so no one noticed. Both were still sore over the incident in the hallway but, in the face of all that was going on, put their problems aside to help win the war.

The defeat of Voldemort was a bittersweet victory. Yes, the great evil had been defeated but in the process the great saviour had also been seriously injured. Before he was killed, Voldemort had sent a curse of his own invention at Harry, a cross between the cruciatus and the avada kedavra. It started as pain spreading slowly through his body but, as time went on, began to eat away at him inside. His muscles were eroding, his organs degrading and it was, ever so slowly, killing him. Harry was returned to Order headquarters were, unable to heal him, medi-staff tried to make him as comfortable as possible. They gave him medicine so that he at least could not feel what was happening to him but aside from that there was little else they could do. After defeating the evilest wizard of his time, Harry Potter had mere hours to live. He refused to let anyone know this though. Aside from himself and the medi-staff who treated him the only people to know were his best friends Ron and Hermione and all were sworn to secrecy.

"Harry? Harry, are you awake?" Ginny's voice drifted to him softly arousing him from his half-conscious state.

"If you want me to be," he said groggily, reaching for his glasses so he could see the beautiful red-head's sheepish face.

"You were sleeping, I should leave."

"No, I wasn't. Stay, please, I would like you to," he reached for her hand and smiled when she took it.

She looked nervously at him, "I need to talk to you," she whispered after a moment too long of silence.

"Go ahead," he urged her.

"Well, it's about your proposal." Immediately Harry's face darkened, anticipating a 'no' response so she hurried to continue. "I couldn't give you an answer before because the whole war had me so mixed up but I can now. This whole time I've been worried about opening up that part of myself I shut off after the chamber but I realised something these past eight months worrying about you. You already opened it up and if you can open that part of me up then there is no one else as perfect for me, is there? And I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, as your wife, so yes, Harry, yes, I will marry you."

Harry's face lit up though traces of guilt hid in his sparkling emerald eyes. "That's fantastic, Gin, fantast – ah!"

"Harry? Harry, are you ok? Harry, answer me!"

"Miss," the medic on duty urged her. "Miss, you must move, we have to transport him to St. Mungo's. There is nothing more we can do for him here."

"Nothing more you can do…?" Ginny trailed off softly as more medics rushed into the room, pushing her aside in their haste to get Harry out of the room.

Everything else happened in a daze for poor Ginny but three hours later she found herself in a St. Mungo's waiting room while a doctor explained that her fiancé was being eaten from the inside and there was nothing anyone could do. More pain relief spells had been cast but that was all anyone could do for him. And did she understand that? He asked her, it all sounded like something out of a bad daytime soap opera but yes, she understood. She nodded up at him numbly. Could she see him? Her and the other members of the Weasley family, obviously, being his fiancée did not make her special enough to be allowed separate visits. No, they would all stick together just like they always had and if she wanted some private time alone then tough, she would have to wait.

She followed her family to his room, not really taking much in. Her family were gracious enough to allow her to go in first. On her way in though she bumped into a pale-skinned, platinum blonde. He smiled at her, not a pitying smile like everyone else was giving, a genuine It'll all be okay, I'm here if you need me smile. Did she know this man? She got the sense that she should know him but the name wouldn't come to her and later, when she realised who she thought it was, she scolded herself for being so absurd. After all, the only reason Draco Malfoy would visit his sworn enemy Harry Potter was to make sure he was actually finished off but Harry was positively chipper considering the fact that he could die in the next couple of hours.

This whole thing was too surreal. She felt disjointed from her body, like an outsider looking in. She was numb on the inside and had no idea what she was meant to be doing so she simply sat and waited for her cues. She hadn't been in the room ten minutes when a Ministry cleric entered.

"Ready, Gin?" Harry asked, the first time he'd acknowledged her since she'd come in.

'Ready for what?' she thought but put on a bright grin and nodded, "Of course."

"Great, let's get started then." The Ministry cleric said in a bright, perky voice.

Ginny was halfway through reciting her vows when she realised she was in the process of marrying Harry. Now? Surely she should have realised that? She came to the end of her repetition before she'd even finished her thoughts. 'Too late to turn back now, the hyper thing's talking again'.

"With these vows you have entered into a contract that can be terminated only through death. Harry and Ginevra Potter, you are now man and wife."

The room of Weasley's erupted into choruses of cheers as Harry pulled on Ginny's hand to bring her down to meet his lips.

"I love you, Ginny," he whispered in her ear.

She looked at him in complete shock but managed a sincere smile for him, "I love you, too, Harry."

Fifteen minutes later Harry Potter slipped peacefully into unconsciousness, a further two minutes and he had departed this world with his wife at his side and his surrogate family surrounding him. The Dark Lord was dead, but so too was the saviour of the Wizarding world.


A/N: I sincerely apologise for the delay in getting this up, I know 8 months is a long time to wait for a chapter but I was settling into uni, then I had complete writers block with the scene between Lucius and Draco. I was really trying to make it flow and seem realistic, I'm still not convinced but I can't put it off any longer. For the record this chapter is finally getting finished at 3.35 in the morning after watching High School Musical a few too many times, damn DVDs and my laziness to get up and change the disc!

Anyway, I hope I've done the chapter justice and it was worth the wait. If I still have any readers left (and I hope I do) then please, let me know what you think and if you're a new reader I still want to hear your opinion. Not much left now and I promise the wait won't be as long next time.

Rae
xx