Ginny hid in the shadows of an alcove of the seventh floor, waiting to ambush her target before he made his way to the Common Room.

It had been nearly two weeks since the incident involving Lucius and the following aftermath. On the brighter side of things, Lucius Malfoy had been sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss and was no longer a threat to society and Kingsley had kept his word of sworn secrecy to Hermione about Draco's condition from being made common knowledge among the wizarding world.

The not so bright side was how her best friends were coping with everything since that fateful day. Draco had retreated back into his mindset from sixth year, distant and quiet, with his eyes downcast most of the time. Even Hermione, whom Ginny was certain was the living patron saint of forgiveness and understanding, was struggling. She tried to get Draco to talk to her, tell her what was going through his mind but he would shut her out, saying that he was fine. Ginny had the presence of mind to stay out of their affairs, but after waking up last night to find a sniffling Hermione sitting alone in the Common Room staring blankly into the dying fire, she'd be damned if she didn't do something.

Once her intended target passed her spot, Ginny broke from her cover and grabbed Draco by the hood of his cloak, and hauled him into the nearest empty classroom she came across. As gently as she could in her annoyed state, Ginny shoved him into the middle of the room, locking the door behind her.

"What the hell, Ginny?"

With a scowl that would have done her mum proud, Ginny pointed to the closest empty chair. "Sit down, shut up, and pay attention."

Draco had the good sense to listen to the fired up redhead.

"What the hell are you playing at?!" she yelled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hermione, you dumbass!"

"I haven't done anything," he said.

"Exactly, you've done nothing but push her away everytime she tries to talk to you about what happened. You know her better than anyone now. Communication is key. She needs you to talk to her."

He released a defeated sigh, sinking back into his chair. "I know. It's just, the one thing I feared most almost happened. I never wanted her to be in harm's way because of me ever again."

"The word you should focus on here is 'almost.' It almost happened but it didn't and that's what matters most," she argued. Shaking her head, Ginny pulled a chair over and sat in front of Draco. "Look, I know your dad was a first class asshole but he's no longer a part of the equation. All of that, everything, including him, is in the past but you're still so focused on it that you're missing out on what's in front of you right now.

"I see the way you look at her and she at you. You both need each other right now. You found the one that makes you happiest in life, Draco, something that others may search their whole lives for and never find. Are you really going to risk losing that? Losing her?"

"No," he said solemnly.

"Then pull that stubborn head of yours from your ass and do something about it. I already lost one brother," Ginny said quietly. "I don't want to lose another."

Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, Draco stood up and hugged her. "Do you know where she went?" he asked, pulling back from Ginny.

"Where else does Hermione go whenever she has a problem?"

"Library," they said in unison.

"Thank you, Ginny."

"No problem."

Draco wasted no time and hurried off to the library, searching up and down the countless, towering aisles until he finally found her in the furthest corner, her nose buried in a book.

He took a deep breath. "Hermione?"

She jumped and looked up, surprised to see him and talking. "Draco. Hi."

"Could we go somewhere and talk, please?" Draco asked, holding out a hopeful hand to her.

"Sure. Want to go walk around the lake? It's nice out," she offered, taking his hand.

His heart gave a tiny jump at the simple contact, linking his fingers through hers. "I'd like that."

They remained silent on their trek outside, both hesitant to speak before Draco finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I'm so sorry for shutting you out. I've been distant this entire time when I should have come to you. And I've been a jerk for not considering what you went through as well. I'm sorry if I hurt you in that way."

Hermione gave him a small half smile. "I'll admit, it did hurt. We've always worked through issues together, even if it's stupid, small things. It felt as if, well, as if you didn't trust me anymore."

"I do trust you, with my life," he quickly reassured her. "It was myself I couldn't trust. You were almost hurt my hands and the mere thought of that sickens me."

"That wasn't your fault," she said, staring into his eyes. "None of this was ever on you."

"I know that in my heart, but up here?" he said, pointing to his temple. "It's a lot harder to convince."

"Believe me, I'm familiar with that myself," Hermione said, looking down at her feet before meeting his eyes again. "What you went through is something no one should ever experience, especially alone. I absolutely hated seeing you like that. I only wanted to help you."

Draco stood straight and placed his hand over his heart, his eyes boring into hers. "I promise from this day onward, I will always come to you no matter how big or small the problem is. I swear it."

"That's all I ask. I'm in this with you, for better or for worse," she said, placing her hand against his cheek.

He nodded, leaning into her touch. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course I do."

The tension in his shoulders melted away as relief flooded throughout his body. "So you still like me, then?" Draco asked with a tiny smile.

She pretended to debate it for a second. "I guess so. You are pretty cute."

Snickering, Draco leaned down and kissed her softly before resting his forehead against hers. "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you, too."

They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the lake making up for the lost time they squandered over the last week until they were forced to sneak back into the castle, barely avoiding Filch, who was patrolling the grounds with Mrs. Norris.

When they returned to Gryffindor tower, the Common Room was still occupied by most of the sixth and seventh years scattered about the room, either doing homework or enjoying loud rounds of Exploding Snap. As they were heading over to sit by the fire, Ginny was coming down the stairs and caught sight of them together, bringing a smile to her face.

"Never thought I'd say this, but it's good to see you two fawning over each other again," Ginny said. "You can thank me by naming your first born after me, by the way."

Draco huffed an amused laugh as he pulled Hermione onto his lap. "Uh, no."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "One Ginny in this family is enough. How does godmother sound?"

"Oh, the chance to corrupt your kids? I accept," she joked, smirking. "But seriously, it's good to see you two together again, like it should be."

Hermione smiled, leaning into Draco. "Thanks, Gin."

"Yeah, thank you, Ginny," Draco said, gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna leave now before you start snogging and I lose my dinner," she smiled. "Night."

"Night," they replied.

Draco turned to Hermione with a small smile and started playing with the lock of hair that fell from her messy bun. "The night is still young, is there anything you want to do?"

"Nope," she replied, snuggling into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. "This right here is more than enough."

Smiling wider, he rested his head atop hers as he pulled her closer. "As you wish, love."