Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need of hell. -Emily Dickinson

"I think she's waking up."

Ginny groaned and raised her hands to her head, rubbing her forehead in pain. She blinked rapidly to become accustomed to the light before she looked around, thoroughly confused. Hermione and her mother were at her side while her brothers, father and Harry were standing around her bed, staring at her with concern.

"Where am I?" she asked hoarsely, coughing a little to clear her throat. "What's going on?"

Mrs. Weasley grabbed her daughter's hand tightly.

"Oh Ginny, are you feeling better?" she asked quickly, reaching out and feeling Ginny's forehead for a temperature. "Are you still in pain?"

Ginny frowned.

"Just a little, but where am I?"

"St. Mungos," Hermione whispered, watching Mrs. Weasley with apprehension. "It's Sunday and it's nine o'clock at night. You've been unconscious since yesterday afternoon."

"Are you okay now, Gin?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Ginny shrugged.

"A bit better… how did I get here, Dad?"

Her father pointed out the door.

"Dumbledore brought you here," he said. "We haven't been told what happened before."

"You don't think it has anything to do with those dead students they found?" Fred asked.

Ginny paled visibly and Hermione took her hand.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Before Ginny could answer, the door to the room opened and Dumbledore stepped in, McGonagall close behind him. He looked happy to see Ginny.

"Ah good, you're awake!" he exclaimed. "I hope you're feeling much better."

Ginny shrugged again.

"I've been better."

Dumbledore nodded knowingly and turned to Mr. Weasley.

"Is it alright if I speak to Ginny alone for a moment? I have to discuss what happened with her."

Mrs. Weasley stood up suddenly.

"Why should we leave? We have every right to know what happened to her," she said. "Why shouldn't we know?"

McGonagall held up her hand.

"Please, Molly. Ginny's involvement is much deeper than you know. I think it would be better if we talked to her first before you were informed," she said calmly. Bill frowned.

"What do you mean, 'deeper than we know'? Does this have something to do with those deaths?" he asked skeptically.

"Molly, please," Dumbledore said. "We just need to speak to her."

Ginny silently willed her family to leave the room, but they didn't. Instead they looked even more upset.

"No," Arthur said, frowning. "Albus, if this has something to do with those dead kids I need to know how my daughter is involved. You can't kick me out and you know that."

Dumbledore glanced over at Ginny before sighing.

"Yes, I know, Arthur… but all of you must be silent until I am done talking to Ginny. This will be hard enough without her family jumping at her throat," he said.

Fred and George frowned.

"Why would it be-"

They were silenced by a stern look from McGonagall. Dumbledore turned to Ginny, who had paled considerably despite the fact that she had taken her potions.

"Ginny, first of all-"

"Is he in trouble?" Ginny suddenly asked, confusing everyone except for those who knew about Draco. Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment before he nodded slowly.

"That's why I've come here, Ginny. We need you to tell us what happened this morning," he said. Ginny's face suddenly went completely red and she bit her lip.

"I can't," she muttered.

"What's going on? What are you talking about?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "Albus, tell me what's going on!"

Dumbledore turned to Mrs. Weasley.

"The fifteen students found dead were attacking Draco Malfoy in the Head Boy's room."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"He killed fifteen students…" Ron repeated, his eyes turning to Ginny with very deep concern. The others still didn't get it.

"What does this have to do with Ginny?" Mr. Weasley demanded.

McGonagall motioned to Ginny.

"Ginny was there when it happened."

Dumbledore turned to Ginny.

"You need to tell me what happened so I can tell the Ministry."

"He's at the Ministry!" Ginny yelped, sitting up completely in her bed. "He was only trying to protect me!"

"Wait a minute!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, looking confused. "What's going on?!"

"Ginny was with Malfoy all morning doing God knows what when they were ambushed by those students. Ginny must not have taken her blood replenishers, which is why she passed out."

"Ron!" Ginny yelled, glaring at him.

"WHAT?!"

There was a moment in which no one said a word as everyone stared at Ginny. She fidgeted for a moment before she looked down at her sheets, embarrassed and defeated.

"I was with Draco this morning," she mumbled.

"What?"

"I was with him this morning," she muttered.

"What did she say?"

"I was with Draco Malfoy this morning!"

"Oh my God!"

Her mother and father just stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Her brothers on the other hand all turned to Ron, who suddenly looked as if he wished he weren't there.

"You knew?!" Charlie growled.

"It's not his fault!" Ginny snapped, glaring at them. "So leave him alone. Draco and I are seeing each other so you better get used to it. As for what happened, they came barging into the bedroom. I was unarmed so Draco went out…" Her eyes suddenly became tearful. "He was only trying to protect me, Dumbledore."

"Oh my God," Mrs. Weasley whispered again as she continued to stare at her daughter. Dumbledore nodded.

"I'll be back soon," he said before leaving. McGonagall looked between Ginny and her family and frowned.

"Please be easy on her. She's already gone through enough," the professor said before leaving as well.

Hermione gave Ginny's hand a squeeze.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"You knew too!" Fred and George yelped.

Ginny wiped her eyes angrily.

"All three of them knew," she muttered.

There was a brief silence then Mr. Weasley finally spoke.

"Ginny… when?"

"September," she whispered. "Maybe even before then."

Fred and George looked repulsed.

"But… he's a-"

"Malfoy? A Slytherin?"

"A prick," Bill snapped, glaring at her. "Why the bloody hell would you allow yourself to be screwed over by that-"

"NO ONE SCREWED ME!" Ginny screamed. "Draco's never touched me nor will he ever do so! So piss off! All of you!"

Bill was about to say something when Mrs. Weasley suddenly pushed him to the door, looking terrified of her daughter.

"Let's leave Ginny alone. She's in a very fragile state and needs some rest."

"I agree," Ron muttered, heading for the exit. "Ow!"

Mrs. Weasley got a hold of Ron's ear and squeezed it tightly.

"Oh no you don't. You three have a lot of explaining to do," she growled, shooting looks over to Harry and Hermione, letting them know that they were in no way exempt from her wrath.

The moment they were all outside and Ginny's door was closed, every brother slapped Ron across the head and Fred and George even hit Harry in the arm.

"Ouch! What the hell?!" Ron yelped, rubbing the back of his head in pain.

"How long have you three known?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

Harry pointed to Ron and Hermione.

"I only found out the night Ginny was attacked," he said.

The whole family turned to two expectantly and both of them turned red with embarrassment. Ron glanced over at the door before he spoke.

"Well… I… I found out when…"

"Malfoy and Ginny were in the Prefect bathroom. Warrington attacked Ginny and Malfoy knocked him out. When we came in, it looked like… well it looked bad," Hermione finished, shooting a look over at Ron, who looked terrified that his brothers would hit him again. "I found out earlier in the year."

"Why didn't you-"

"Because they were happy!" Hermione snapped, feeling a bit angry that the family was so hard to accepting this. "Ginny's happy with Malfoy, no matter how messed up the relationship may seem! And he's protected her more times than I can say!"

"But he's-"

"We all know what he is! He's an egotistical, calculating, cold-hearted, murdering bastard, but he's the man your daughter is in love with," Hermione hissed, stunning them all. "So I suggest you all stop attacking him."

With that said, she went back into the room in a huff. Ginny looked up when Hermione came in and smiled.

"I heard what you said, Hermione," she said.

Hermione blushed.

"Well… its true isn't it?"

Ginny hesitated for a moment before nodding silently.

"That's nice to know."

Both girls turned to see Draco Malfoy standing in the corner, looking a little less than perfect. His hair was out of place and he had one black eye. There were four red scratches on his cheek where Ginny has struck him earlier.

"Draco," she gasped. "How-"

"I don't really have time to discuss how I'm here instead of at the Ministry… Granger," he added, giving her a clear hint that he wanted her gone. Hermione glanced between the two before she nodded silently and left.

"I'll stall for time," she told them before closing the door. Ginny turned to Draco.

"Draco, what-"

"My father's going to come after you," Draco whispered quietly, eyes on the wall opposite him.

Ginny's insides froze and her mind shut down as those words of death echoed around the room. She could feel the blood drain from her body and knew she was starting to tremble.

"What?"

Draco looked over at her. He could see the bandages where he had hurt her and knew that no matter what he did or said, nothing was going to change what he had already done to her… what he was going to do to her…

"He's going to come after you…"

Ginny's heart broke in that moment. Everything he had ever wanted to say to her was summed up in the look he gave her just then. Every moment they had spent shattered into millions of pieces on the floor below them as she grasped the meaning of his words.

She sat there for a moment before she spoke.

"You killed those students…"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Draco stood there for a while, silent and foreboding, leaving Ginny with a feeling that something bad was happening even as he stood there.

"Because I'm tired…"

When Ginny didn't respond, Draco knew she knew what he meant.

He was tired of being attacked. He was tired of the persona. He was tired of being the Draco Malfoy and he was tired of living like this… He was tired of loving a ghost…

If those students were dead, Lucius would know that Draco was serious about this… that he wasn't backing down any longer…

Ginny took a deep breath and looked down at her hands.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked as her mind started shutting down from fear.

"Stay close to the Golden Trio," he said, even now hating the words that were coming out of his mouth. "You'll be safer with them."

"I've been safer with you."

"Don't," Draco growled from his spot in the corner. "Don't."

Ginny looked up.

"Draco-"

"I said don't!" he barked, glaring at her for a moment before he looked away again. "I need you to take care of Rayne," he murmured in a much calmer, more restrained voice. "The other four aren't going to be able to do that."

"Of course I'll take care of her…" Ginny murmured, silently begging for him to look at her. But he wouldn't. Instead, he moved towards the door. Ginny frowned. "Why did you come here?"

Draco stopped, his body tense and his hands curled into fists. He remained quiet for a moment before speaking.

"What did he say to you, before he cursed you?"

Ginny bit her lip as the memory of that night flooded her.

"He said that… that you'd let rather let someone be tortured than let them die," she whispered.

He was silent for a second before he took a deep breath.

"I hope you remember that," he whispered.

Ginny stared at him for a moment before she jumped out of her bed and went over to him. Having heard her, he turned around and before she knew it, she was up against the wall, his lips moving against hers almost desperately. That's when she started crying silently. She didn't want to cry in front of him… she didn't want to cry at all. She had spent so many tears over one young man… she didn't want to cry anymore…

Yet here she was, weeping into his kisses like a wife would if she knew she would never see her husband again.

Draco's arms wrapped around her, crushing her body to his as their mouths moved against each other, aggressive and fiery. Ginny ran her hands up and down his arms, wanting to memorize every muscle, before she ended up in his blonde hair, pulling his lips closer to hers. Their mouths battled to get as much out of this as possible, both very aware that this was the last time…

Draco kissed her harder as he tasted the salty tears that ran down her face. Tears he was responsible for… Those tears brought so many feelings crawling through his body that he could no longer think clearly. All he could hear was screaming from somewhere within his chest as he fought to retain some sense of the old Draco Malfoy… the Draco who would have never gotten himself caught… the Draco who would have never fallen in love with a Weasley…

His lips left hers, moving down her jaw and down her neck, his teeth grazing her burning skin as it went, longing for the taste of her. The scent of cinnamon and apples filled his nostrils as her hair fell around her neck, consuming him with more need…

At this point all Draco wanted to do was forget everything that had happened and disappear with her. All he wanted was to get lost in her. Get lost and never return. Never had he felt so much in so little time… never had he allowed himself to get so close that it ended up being the death of him… Yet here he was, dying with every moment he spent kissing her.

As he kissed her neck, his hands dove under her shirt, caressing her smooth skin. Ginny held him close, gasping as his hands ran over her body.

"Draco… please," she begged.

That one word snapped him back to the reality he had created for himself. Everything he had told himself not to be was in that one word. Everything she would want from him was everything he couldn't be…

"I'm not the hero, Weasley," he whispered into her skin. "I can't save you."

Ginny's wide eyes met his as the meaning of his words sunk in fully. She reached up and touched his face.

"I know," she murmured, closing her eyes when he kissed her again. More tears fell down her cheeks as her heart continued to shatter…

Draco pulled her close for a moment, kissing her fervently before he pulled away and leaned into her neck, taking deep breaths as he cleared his mind.

Something within him told him to tell her the truth… to tell her that he cared about her… even loved her… but that wasn't a possibility any more. The time for those words had come and gone and now all that was left were meaningless words.

"Damn it, Weasley," he growled into her skin before pulling away and disapparating.

Hermione quickly walked over to where Harry and Ron were standing, staring at Ron's family who were still speaking amongst themselves about the new development. She took a hold of Ron's arm and shook him a little.

"You wouldn't believe who's here," she hissed, glancing behind her frequently to make sure that the Weasleys didn't decide to go into Ginny's room. Ron automatically knew.

"He escaped?" he whispered and Hermione nodded quickly, looking extremely nervous.

"I don't know how he got in, but he was in a hurry to speak to Ginny," she told the two.

Harry looked alarmed.

"You left her in there with him?!"

"Shh!" Hermione hissed, shooting him a look before taking a deep breath. "He wouldn't hurt her, Harry. You know that."

"But he's still dangerous," Harry snapped. "He did kill those students, Hermione." Hermione puffed up.

"Look Harry-"

"Why would he come?"

The two stared at Ron as if he'd just grown three more eyes.

"What?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged.

"Why would he come to see her? You'd think he'd know that this would be the first place people would look if he went missing," he said, eyes on Ginny's door. Hermione frowned, looking beyond Ron and Harry.

"Of course he knows that. I think the entire wizarding world knows that," she whispered, pointing behind them. The two turned around and moved quickly out of the way when the Minister of Magic along with Dumbledore and at least thirty other people, including a couple of people carrying cameras, came marching down the hall towards the Weasleys.

"What's going on, Albus?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Draco Malfoy escaped from the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore said, though Hermione could have sworn she saw a glint of amusement in his eyes. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened.

"Surely you don't think he's stupid enough to come here?!"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Just the opposite, Molly. I think coming here is possibly the smartest thing he could ever do, now if you will," he said before opening the door. Ginny looked up from her place at the wall, her eyes red and puffy and tearstains glowing from her cheeks. She stood straighter when she saw her parents standing behind Dumbledore.

"He just left," she whispered shakily, lifting her head in a dignified fashion. "Can I go home now?"

A/N:Oh well, now that they've got that all out in the open...

nextbestthing: No, I wouldn't do anything to her! I'm not that evil! :-)

MeggyandHaku: I love intense! It's the best way to write a story. If you ever write one of these stories, make sure that every chapter after at least the fifth chapter is intense. That way you can keep people going, 'What the hell?! WHY?!" That's what I say and if the author's saying that, then you know something's either very right or very wrong. Then you should just stop reading. But don't stop reading. Please... pretty please?

PhoenixTalons: It was my favorite chapter, I must say. As for the evil cliffhanger, I hope I didn't do that here. For this chapter, it wasn't really supposed to be cliffhangerish... just you know... a sort of ending to one reality.

tamara72: I loved that to, but I must tell you that for the next few chapters, you're not going to see Luna anymore.

hpfreaklol: I'll do my best.

snowfire81: She's in love with Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy wants her dead and she was Harry Potter's former girlfriend. Her life's going to suck.

mrsronweasley2113: I'm glad you liked that chapter. I hope you like this chapter as well.

I hope you guys are really enjoying this. I like writing this story, but I also like listening to what you guys really think about it. Also because I just like responding to you and I can't respond if all you write is, "luv it, update please!"

Some of you probably think I'm picking on you, and maybe I am (I don't like to beat around the bush if you havn't noticed). But I really just want to know what you really think instead of the proverbial "That was great/that sucked!"

So please, READ then REVIEW! And really review! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!

THANK YOU!