Disclaimers - I disclaim!

A/N - It's 5:30 AM. About to die from exhaustion, but wanted to write this chapter first. DO YOU SEE WHAT I DO FOR YOU!?!?

Chapter 26 - Christmas Present

On Christmas morning Ginny floated her presents down the stairs from the girl's dormitory to the common room. She and some others had decided opening presents together would make the day a less depressing affair considering most of them were forced to be away from their families. Ginny's sat on the floor next to Colin, her presents landing in front of her.

"Happy Christmas," she murmured, still tired.

Everyone else repeated the line back at her, but the energy was subdued. "Just waiting on Harry, now," Dennis announced.

Ginny listened as the others predicted what they were getting, though she noticed no one seemed all that anxious to find out. She glanced down at her own pile and started making guesses. The one from her mom would be a hat, she was sure, but her dad's presents were always unpredictable. There was one from Hermione and Ron that she guessed was jewelry because it was small. Fred and George would probably just give her some stuff from their shop since they were cheap like that and most likely believed their inventions were at the top of everyone's lists. The gift from Bill and Fleur would be something Fleur picked out, meaning chances were that it was something like a hairbrush or a new skirt. Charlie...

Ginny's thoughts were interrupted by Harry loud clomping down his stairs. She greeted him with a bright smile as he sat down next to her with his giant pile of gifts. After everyone had exchanged a "Merry Christmas" with him, the unwrapping began. Ginny's predicts had been spot on. Her mom had knitted her a striped hat of burnt orange and dark green yarn. Ron and Hermione's gift was a necklace, the pendant being a silver lion with a gold snitch in its mouth. Fred and George just gave her a basket of different things from their shop, which Ginny had to admit was probably her most exciting gift. From Bill and Fleur she got a dress. Fleur had taken it upon herself to act as Ginny's older sister, insisting that Ginny needed some female influence after being raised with so many brothers. As much as Ginny might roll her eyes at that, she couldn't deny that the dress was gorgeous. Charlie sent her a dragon's claw. Valuable, but what was she going to do with it? And lastly, her dad had sent her a Defense Against the Dark Arts book. The note he put on it read - I've page-marked all the spells that have been the most useful on the field lately. It never hurts to be better prepared. Love, Dad.

Ginny noticed Harry had gotten the same book and a lump formed in her throat. Quickly she swallowed and distracted herself by putting on her new necklace and watching everyone else finish with their own presents. Once Harry was done, she thrust a package in front of him. Harry took it and handed her one as well. They grinned at each other. Ginny slowly unwrapped hers while she watched Harry do the same.

When Ginny saw what he had gotten her, she gave him a puzzled look. Harry looked pleased. "It's a special kind of bracelet," he explained, taking the bracelet from the box and putting it on her right wrist for her. "Now look." He held her hand. The white stones that were set into the silver links turned a sky blue.

"Is it a mood bracelet?" she asked. "Why do I need to be holding you hand?"

"You guessed it," he said. "But it doesn't detect your mood, it detects my mood. You have to be touching the person."

Ginny sat there dumb-founded for a second before asking, "What's this color mean?"

Harry pulled his hand away and produced a small book the size of her hand, then flipped through it. "It means I'm feeling peacefully neutral," he told her, smiling. "Seems about right."

Ginny laughed and hugged him. "Thanks, Harry," she gushed, feeling overwhelmed that he had gotten such a nice gift for her. When she noticed he hadn't finished unwrapping her gift to him, she pointed at it. "Open mine!"

Harry complied and just as he pulled away the last bit of wrapping, Ginny couldn't help reaching out and touching his arm. As Harry gazed down at his present, the stones on her bracelet turned a pale yellow, then a neon orange, then a purple, then the colors began changing rapidly until finally settling on a dark blue. Harry was flipping through the book she had given him. Ginny took her hand off him and looked up the colors she had seen. Pale yellow was curiosity, neon orange was excitement, purple was pride, and dark blue was melancholy. When she looked up, Harry was gazing at her fondly.

"Thanks, Ginny," he said earnestly. "This is amazing."

"I got Colin here," she motioned at Colin on her other side who was busy bickering with his brother, "to give me all of the pictures he had taken of you guys over the years. Then all I had to do was make them the right size and put them in a book. It was easy."

"I think this is one of the best presents I've ever gotten," he mumbled, seemingly in a trance as he stared down at a moving picture of himself seated between an arguing Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall.

Ginny let him zone out as she continued to look through her little book of color interpretations. There had to be hundreds of different colors representing hundreds of emotions. Apparently the more time the stones had contact with a certain person, the more acclimated it would get to their changing emotions and the more depth it would reveal, a larger variety of colors. Ginny ignored the impulse to go around the room touching everyone. They were all absorbed in their gifts, entertaining one another or enjoying them on their own like she and Harry. Ginny settled back into reading her book.

Slowly, the commotion died down as people drifted off to get ready for the mid-day Christmas feast. When almost everyone had cleared out, she figured she ought to do the same and closed her book. Levitating her presents, she started for her dormitory. "See you at lunch, Harry?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder. Harry looked up from his book and nodded vaguely before bowing his head again.

Ginny put her gifts away, showered, and was just finishing getting dressed when there was a knock on the door. A second later Katie Bell rushed into the room, looking rushed. "What?" Ginny asked, putting her hair brush down.

"You'd better come downstairs," was all she said. Ginny barely had time to grab her wand before Katie was pulling her out of the room. When they got to the common room, the few students who were there turned to look at her expectantly. "We keep trying to go down to lunch, but he's insisting we let him in or bring you to him."

Ginny judged by their facial expressions exactly who they meant. "Draco?" she asked stupidly.

Katie nodded, a worried look on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course!" she replied, heading for the portrait hole. What could be so urgent? The second the portrait swung open, a set of hands was pulling her out. In the next second, she was being half-dragged down the corridor by Draco. "What's going on?" she cried, stumbling as she tried to keep up. He didn't respond. "Draco, what?" Still not a word. Ginny noticed the white stones on her bracelet had become a stormy grey. They flew down a flight of stairs. When they got to an empty corridor, Draco threw open a classroom door and Ginny nearly toppled into the room. He very quickly and quietly closed the door behind them and began casting a silencing spell on the room.

"Draco, I don't-" But her words were cut off by his lips on hers. His kisses were urgent, his arms embracing her tightly.

When he finally let her breath, she was speechlessly, gaping up at him. His eyes were wild, boring into hers. "I'm leaving," he rasped, not letting go of her. Ginny just stared at him, mouth hanging open. "Ginny say something," he ordered, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I-" she sputtered. "I- What!?"

"I have to go home," he replied. "I have to. Now."

"No," she protested. "No you don't. You don't have to do anything. Even if your mom-"

"Ginny!" he growled, cutting her off. "My mom... I think something might happen if I don't obey..."

"It's not your fault!" Ginny argued. "It's not your responsibility. Your parents got themselves into that situation! Don't go! You can't go! What's going to happen? What do they want with you? Are you going to come back? What if-"

"Ginny!" he interrupted again. "I don't have time. I wanted to say good bye."

"No!" she yelled, squirming out of his arms. "They know you stayed because you didn't want to go to Him. They're going to punish you! You can't go!"

"I have to!" he snapped. "I can't make you understand. I don't have the time. Snape is waiting..."

"Fuck Snape!" Ginny spat. "Draco please..." Her voice was suddenly urgent. Tears of anger, panic, frustration, fear, and sadness were welling up in her eyes. "They could... kill you." The tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"I'll be fine," he assured her, his face softening, reaching towards her.

Ginny slapped his hands away fiercely. "Don't lie!" she sobbed. "You know as well as I do that things won't be fine."

Draco bowed his head. "Please..." he murmured. "Please let me say good bye."

Ginny was gasping in air, trying to suppress the crying. "How am I supposed to say good bye to you?" she managed to ask, glaring at him through the tears.

Draco stepped close to her and pulled her into his arms. "Like this," he whispered, leaning down and kissing her. Ginny wanted to continue her protests, but felt herself kissing back. Her heart sank as she realized she had lost. Their kisses were desperate. She felt the fear of never kissing him again fueling her need to continue the kiss as long as possible. When they finally broke apart, he held her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes intently. "I'll do whatever I have to," he said. "I'll come back."

"Promise me," she said. "Promise me that you will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even it means getting the Mark and joining his side." Draco just stared, reading her expression, silent. "Please promise me," she pleaded, reaching up and taking his hands in hers.

"I can't-"

"If that is the only way," she said. "If they are going to kill you if you don't do it, promise me you'll do it. I need you to come back to me."

"You won't want me," he argued.

Ginny stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his. "I will," she insisted. "I'm in love with you."

Draco's face crumpled with pain. "Okay," he muttered. "I promise. I love you."

"Thank you," she breathed, kissing him tenderly for a long moment before stepping back.

Draco fumbled in his robes and then took out small wrapped package. When he handed it to her, she had to fight back the tears again. "I have yours..." she said. "But it's in my room..."

He shook his head. "I have to go now," he stated evenly. Ginny took the gift and followed him out of the room. The next moments passed in a blur. Draco traced the lines of her face affectionately, gave her one last kiss, and then disappeared down the corridor. She blinked and then he was gone. Looking down at her bracelet, she saw it fade from stormy grey back to white.

Slowly, as if in a dream, she trudged back towards Gryffindor tower, eyes on the box in her hands. When she walked into the common room, she heard Harry's voice. "Are you okay? I heard Malfoy was here acting nutty. What did he need?"

Ginny lifted her tear-stained face and answered, "He was just giving me my Christmas present."