Chapter 27 - The Trial

January 2000 - Hogwarts

Once Harry leaves them alone in the Common Room, Ginny pulls Draco in for another kiss. She runs her fingers through his hair, which is damp on top, she guesses from the snow outside, and she presses her tongue into his mouth.

She has missed him so much, and she wants to get as close to him as possible. Draco seems to feel similarly. He places his hands on her back and pulls her tightly against him while entwining his tongue with hers.

Ginny had had a whole speech planned for when she saw him again. She'd tell him how sorry she was for slapping him as soon as she saw him after the battle, instead of hugging him. She'd tell him how much she loves him, and how glad she is that he's alive. But now that he was here, all she wanted to do was, well, this.

She figures she can just tell him all the things she'd planned to say while also reacquainting herself with his body. They'd always been better at communicating physically, than with words, anyway.

When Draco pulls away to catch his breath, he mutters, "So, I'm guessing you forgave me for locking you up?"

She kisses his smirk. "Shut up."

Ginny sees Draco's gaze snap to something over her shoulder and turns around quickly, worried someone from her family would be behind them. It was just a grey cat that had caught his eye. She turns back to Draco and takes his hand. "We should go somewhere else."

He nods understandingly and leads her out into the hall. They are quiet during the long walk through the castle. After several minutes, she realizes he's taking her down to the Slytherin dormitories. She'd spent so many nights thinking of him lying in bed down there while he sent her messages with the chess piece, and now she was going to be in there with him.

She links her arm in his and he looks at her and smiles, then kisses the top of her head. She thinks back to their last year at Hogwarts together while they walk toward the dungeons. When they saw each other in the halls, they'd exchange small smiles, or a wink, if they were feeling bold. But they could never walk together like this, it would have been too dangerous for both of them, but now, all that is done.

Well, almost done, Ginny amends. Her family despises him, so they probably shouldn't flaunt their relationship for a little while. Harry had told her this would be hard, and that everyone would hate them together, but she'd hoped her family would be a little more understanding.

She knew George would struggle, that was understandable, but no one else, besides Ron, was on her side. Why didn't they trust her judgement? They thought Draco had bewitched her somehow, which was just insulting to her intelligence. But Ron was working on them, and Harry too. With time, she knew it would improve.

Draco leads her into the Slytherin Common Room. Before she gets a chance to look around, he gathers her in his arms as soon as they're through the door. "I'm sure no one's staying in here," he says as he takes her chin in his hand and leans in for another kiss.

"Actually," she cuts in, before he captures her mouth again, "two people are. Kingsley and Nott."

"Theo?"

"Yeah. He was a spy."

"Wait, what?"

Ginny is about to explain when he interrupts her. "You can tell me later."

He leads her to a dark hall lined with doors, which she guesses are the dormitories, and pulls his wand out. He casts Hominem Revelio on the first door and as soon as he sees it's empty, he opens it and pulls her inside, slamming the door behind them. He presses her against the closed door and starts devouring her neck.

She leans her head back against the door and lets out a soft moan as her hands search for the fastening of his cloak. Once she has that removed, she starts working on the buttons on his shirt.

He returns to kissing her mouth and moves his hands to her shirt and after several moments, a lot of fumbling, and a tear or two, they've managed to shed their clothes.

"Merlin, you're so fucking beautiful," Draco mutters before pulling her back into a kiss; gripping her buttocks tightly.

She grinds into him, feeling him grow hard against her. He reaches between her legs and slips one finger inside of her before pulling back to smirk. "Ready for me, already?"

She rolls her eyes at his smug look. "I missed you, if you hadn't already noticed." She looks pointedly at his erection. "Seems like you missed me, too."

"Yeah, to put it lightly." He lifts her leg up and without further warning, thrusts into her. He bites her earlobe and whispers. "Foreplay later, okay?"

She responds by running her hands along his bare chest and placing open-mouth kisses there.

"I'll take that as a yes," he groans.

"Since when are you so chatty? Just shut up and get on with it."

"Fucking bossy as always," he says as he sinks himself deeper into her. He braces both of his hands on the door behind her and she links the leg he'd raised earlier over one of his arms. She leans her head against the door again as he pounds into her, relishing the feeling of having him here, with her, where he belongs.

Draco drops his head to her breasts and she lets out a moan when he takes one of her nipples into his mouth. "I love you," she sighs, "I don't know if I said that before, but I meant to."

He lifts his head and smiles at her, "Yeah, I got the message, about hundred times while I was gone."

He bends back down toward her chest, but she stops him. "You were getting my messages on the chess piece, then?"

"I -" He cuts off, then sighs and shakes his head. He looks pointedly down to where they are connected, then back up at her. "Do you really want to do this now?"

"Fine. You're right." She pulls his head back down, guiding him toward her other breast. "But don't think you've gotten out of this. Later, you can tell me where you were, why you left without a word, why you ignored my messages, and how you're going to make it up to me."

He starts to lift his head, but she cuts him off before he can say anything. "And no, this doesn't count."

"Now look who's chatty," he mumbles before nibbling her breast, then sucking hard, effectively shutting her up.

Her legs start to go weak and when he feels her slipping, he pulls her up by her buttocks, gripping them tightly as he moves his mouth to her neck. She tries to match her movements with his, but she doesn't have much leverage, so he's left doing all the work.

Ginny doesn't mind at all, and Draco doesn't seem to care, either. He mutters a string of barely comprehensible words, mixed with a bit of French, as he quickens his pace. "Fuck...beautiful...parfaite...all mine...très serré."

Her brain, on the other hand, isn't able to come up with anything to say besides his name and she mumbles it over and over again.

When she's close and feels that familiar heat building in her core, she digs her fingers into his hair and pushes him back down to her breasts. She smiles when she hears him say, "bossy," then moves one hand down between her legs and begins touching herself.

When she looks down and sees him feasting on her breasts, while looking up at her intensely with those piercing, grey eyes, she loses it and her body shudders as pleasure rolls through her.

She pulls him up by the chin and kisses him deeply as he thrusts into her a few more times before finally letting out a groan and collapsing against her. His legs seem to give way for a moment and he swears, but throws his palms up against the door behind her, catching them right before they fall.

Ginny lowers the leg that was still draped over his arm and drops her head against his shoulder as she laughs. "I've told you before, standing sex always seems like a good idea to start, but can be problematic."

He grabs her chin and kisses her, then bites her lower lip as he leans his head back. "I didn't hear you complaining."

Draco stays pressed against her for a few more moments, then once he's regained his strength, he pulls out of her and stands back, studying her. She feels his seed run down her leg and looks over at her robes on the floor. She needs to grab her wand to clean them off. She's about to bend down and get it when he pins her back against the wall by her shoulders and starts kissing her neck. "You can do that later. We're not done yet. We need to make up for the lack of foreplay earlier, then perhaps a round two, to make up for all that time we missed."

"Whose fault was that?" she snaps, but he ignores her and starts kissing her neck again.

"Or maybe you're just putting off that conversation when you tell me why you ignored my messages," she presses.

"Maybe," he says dismissively. Draco looks around the room and when he looks back at her, he's grinning. "You know what I've always wanted to do?" He cocks his head toward the other side of the room. "Fuck you against the window looking out into the lake."

Ginny crosses her arms. "Are you serious?"

Draco shrugs. "We've done it against a window before."

"I - yes - but is this something you really thought about?"

He gives her neck a small bite, then licks the spot, causing her to shudder. "I thought about fucking you in hundreds of different ways that last year."

"Very romantic," she says, trying not to give away how turned on she really is.

"If you wanted romance, you'd have stayed with Potter," he replies as he takes her hand and begins pulling her across the room. Ginny rolls her eyes. He's done this a few times, made assumptions about her and Harry's relationship based on nothing. They are usually true, but she doesn't like to admit it.

"Come on, we're moving over there." He pushes her toward the farthest window and gives her backside a small slap once she's turned around.

"Hey," she cries, turning to scowl at him over her shoulder.

He gives her a wicked grin, which makes her heart flutter. "You can pretend you don't like it all you want; we both know the truth."

He's on her the next second, pressing her against the cold glass and plunging his tongue into her mouth. He pulls away suddenly and she is surprised to find his expression serious.

"I missed you, more than I thought I would," he says it like it's some dark truth. Draco steps back and looks down at her body again. "Oddly, when I thought about your body, it wasn't the obvious parts I missed." He bends his head and places a soft kiss on each breast. "Though these are lovely," he adds with a smile.

He looks back up at her and his expression is still somber. "What I thought about most was this part," - he traces the dip of her waist with his finger - "and how perfectly my hand fits right here." He places his palm against her waist and pulls her close.

"I love you too, Ginny," he whispers it like it's some big secret. "I know I didn't tell you a hundred times on a chess piece, but it doesn't mean it's not true. Forgive me."

Ginny raises a hand to his cheek and watches his eyes soften as he leans into her touch. They are still intense, but are swimming with tenderness and a bit of guilt now.

"I forgive you," she whispers. "But I should warn you, this is borderline romantic."

He turns his head and kisses her palm, then, seemingly finished with the sweet gestures, he moves his other hand to her waist and turns her around, roughly. "Well, we can't have that. Put your hands up on the glass."

"Look who's bossy now," she quips.

"And look who's chatty," he replies as he shoves two fingers inside of her. She falls forward onto her forearms as he moves his fingers expertly and when she catches his reflection in the glass, he's looking at her with a mixture of adoration and mischief. She can't help but smile.

Draco's moods change faster than the quickest racing broom. But she loves it. She loves never knowing what she's going to get. She loves the challenge of constantly trying to keep up. She loves him. And even if her family can't learn to accept him, she is never going to let him go.

After fulfilling Draco's fantasy of having sex against a window looking into the lake (though he was disappointed the giant squid never came to watch), Ginny and Draco took a long bath together in one of the empty bathrooms in the dormitory.

Now, they are lying in bed. She has her head on his chest and is tracing patterns along his bare stomach while he plays with her hair. She'd considered going up for breakfast, just so everyone could see her face and know she was alive, but untangling herself from Draco's limbs was the last thing she wanted to do.

Harry had seen that Draco was back and he'd probably guess where she was. He could cover for her.

"Was this your room?" she asks Draco.

"No. Mine was at the end of the hall. I assume Theo is staying in there." He shifts slightly so he can see her face. "Why don't you tell me about Theo being a spy now? Shacklebolt told me there was a third one the day of the battle, but shit, Theo? I had drinks with him every week and never suspected."

Ginny nods and smiles. "Then he must have been doing a good job."

She tells him the little she's learned about Theo Nott over the past few days. He passed information as best he could, but he wasn't as high up as Draco and Snape, so he rarely told the Order things they didn't already know. His greatest contribution was the fake killing curse.

He also helped them pass information, supplies, and even people to other countries. Voldemort had set up Death Eaters to track all Portkey travel. Theo managed to get assigned to that patrol duty and when he was working, a lot of the international records went missing.

Next, Draco asked about Kingsley and why he was staying in the Slytherin dorms.

"Oh, he's a Slytherin, didn't you know?"

Draco hums and considers it. "I didn't know, but now that you say it, I'm not surprised. That man is as conniving as they come," he adds a little bitterly.

"I - " Ginny hesitates before asking her next question. "You never told me what you asked him for when you first came to spy for us."

"No, I didn't," he says simply.

"Will you tell me now?"

Draco thinks about it. "No. Not now."

She sighs but knows better than to fight. "Tell me this. Did he offer you a pardon in exchange for your spy work?"

Draco nods and Ginny feels relief flow through her, but Draco looks upset. "What is it?"

He ignores her and pulls her head back down against his chest. He starts scratching the top of her back with his fingers. Ginny sighs. She doesn't know why he's still keeping secrets from her. The war is over; what could he possibly have to hide?

"Where were you the past few days?" She has no idea if he'll answer, or just try to silence her again. But she figures she may as well ask, since it's not like he's going to provide the information unprompted.

He is quiet for a long time, but he does, eventually, respond. "I had business to take care of. I went to the Manor, got the house elves started on removing any hint of the Dark Lord's presence, transferred some money around at Gringotts, and had a few meetings."

"Are you lying?"

Draco sighs. "I am not."

"But you're leaving something out," Ginny presses.

He sighs again. "Yes."

Ginny considers his words, then she sits up on the bed and pulls her legs against her chest as something occurs to her. "Gringotts, meetings, setting up the Manor...are you -" she cuts off, hoping she's wrong. "Are you not expecting to walk free, after your trial?"

Draco sits up and lays his head back against the bed. He's biting his lip and looking away from her, like he's trying to decide if he's going to tell her the truth or not. When he looks back at her, his expression is blank. "No, Ginny. I'm not expecting to walk free."

"But Draco - you've got a pardon, you just said. I know it's not official, since Kingsley wasn't the Minister for Magic when he granted it, but the Wizengamot will follow his lead. If he recommends they free you, they will."

Draco leans forward and places a soft kiss on her knee before resting his forehead against it. "I did terrible things, Ginny. I don't even know at this point how many people I killed. I lost track around thirty. How awful is that? I deserve to be punished for my crimes."

"But, Draco, you saved us. We wouldn't have managed this victory without you. You killed those people because Voldemort told you to. Those deaths are on his hands, not yours."

Draco shakes his head and keeps his face down. Ginny starts running her fingers through his hair. His actions from just before the final battle make more sense now. Why he didn't want to talk about their future, and why he said he was worried he wouldn't be able to give her what she wanted.

Draco never thought he'd come out of this war a free wizard, even if they did win. But Ginny wasn't going to let them lock him up. She'd talk to Harry. Ginny was already planning to speak up at Draco's trial, as his handler, but she was just a young girl in a lot of people's eyes. Harry, on the other hand, was their savior. If he spoke up for Draco, the Wizengamot would listen.

Ginny saved Draco from Voldemort, and she would save him from this, too. Then they'd finally get a chance to be free, and happy, and maybe he'd be able to relax and be with her fully. And that overwhelming sense of longing that was always looming between them (which she now understood was him wishing for a happy future he didn't think he could have) would finally be gone.

Hermione is eating breakfast at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall. Harry is leaning against her and has a hand resting on her leg. She can tell he's struggling to eat with just one hand, but he refuses to let go of her.

Several months ago, before Draco entered the picture, Ginny had told Hermione that sometimes Harry would fall into these really clingy moods. Hermione figures this is the type of thing Ginny was talking about. It drove Ginny mad, but Hermione doesn't mind.

Since they've been dating, Harry has told her more details from his childhood and each one is more horrifying than the last. His aunt and uncle were abusive, there was no other word to describe it. Hermione had always assumed they loved him, but were just overly harsh and critical of magic. It was so much worse than that.

They'd deprived him of love and affection for his entire childhood. It made her want to simultaneously cry, hex someone, and hug Harry every time she thought of it.

The first people to ever love Harry were Ron and her. And the first adult to love him was Molly. No wonder Harry had been so desperate not to mess up his friendship with Ron. And to make it all worse, he was further isolated during school because of his fame, and was being hunted by the darkest wizard of all time during his most formative years.

It was a wonder he'd made it through all that with his sanity in check and with such a large capacity for love and affection. So, if Harry wanted to be needy sometimes, and use Hermione as an anchor - a reminder that he wasn't alone - she thought that was completely reasonable.

She knew this current mood was probably prompted by the bad nightmare he'd had last night. He said he was stuck at King's Cross Station, all alone. He saw everyone else on the train, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't get on.

Hermione could tell he was embarrassed, just like she had been a few days before when she'd had a panic attack after waking up and finding him gone. But in all honesty, she was comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only one struggling. They could struggle together, and they both had a knack for knowing just what to do to help the other person calm down.

Hermione turns to Harry and whispers, "I love you."

He squeezes her leg and turns to kiss her cheek, whispering, "I love you, too," before turning back to his plate and taking another bite of toast.

Today is the first day of the Death Eater trials. She keeps being reminded of Severus, who she's still grieving for. It's even sadder to know that in the whole world, Hermione's the only one who's sad that he's dead.

She'd thought about his trial often before the final battle, especially near the end. She'd been looking forward to speaking up for him. She wanted to finally tell everyone all he'd done to help their side and how without his help, they never would have pulled off a victory.

But she won't have that chance today. She's considering writing it down, still. Just so she doesn't forget. Maybe one day, she'll send it to the Prophet. The world should know how brave he was.

The trial on most people's mind, today, is Draco's. Ginny told Hermione a few days ago that Draco didn't think his trial would go well. Ginny said he thinks the Wizengamot won't find his few months as a spy adequate enough to counteract all the evil he'd done.

Ginny had pleaded with Harry to speak up for Draco, and he'd agreed instantly. Ginny thinks Harry's doing it for her, but Hermione knows he would do it regardless.

After the trials are over, everyone (besides McGonagall and the other Professors, who are staying on to begin repairing the castle) will be leaving Hogwarts. The Weasleys will be going back to their respective homes, Kingsley is returning to his flat just blocks from the Ministry, and she, Ron, and Harry are going to Australia to get her parents. They'll be picking up the Portkey at the Ministry today.

They've invited Ginny, but she hasn't said with certainty if she's coming. She said she wants to, but will only go if Draco goes, and he refuses to give her a strong commitment, since he expects to be in Azkaban by the end of the day.

After breakfast, Hermione piles a plate with food and wraps it up. She tells Harry she's going to the Slytherin Common Room and invites him to come along, but his dislike for Draco seems to outweigh his neediness, and he lets go of her leg and whispers for her to be quick, before turning back to his conversation with Ron.

When she arrives in the dark, yet elegant Common Room, she sees Theo Nott reading by the fire. "Oh, hi," she says, a little awkwardly.

"Hey, Granger," he barely looks up from his book.

Hermione almost turns away, then realizes she has no idea where she's going. It will be easier if she can get Nott to point her in the right direction.

"I, um, your killing curse saved so many lives. I just - wanted to thank you."

He looks up from his book and nods at her. "You're welcome."

Nott is regarding her warily, like he expects her to follow up her apology with a tirade. She walks closer to him and gives him a small smile. "Are you nervous about today?"

He narrows his eyes at her and considers her question for a few moments. Eventually, he shrugs. "A little. I'm not as nervous as Draco. I never killed anyone, for one. But, that's not to say I wouldn't have. I wasn't ever asked to, thankfully." He rubs his forearm and looks over at the fireplace.

Hermione nods as an intense awkwardness settles between them. "Right, well, good luck today," she says, turning to look around the room. "Do you know which room they're in?"

Nott motions toward a dark hallway near the entrance. "First door down that hall."

Hermione gives him a final nod before turning toward the hall he'd indicated. She knocks on the first door and a moment later, Ginny answers. Hermione hands her the plate of food. "I figured you were still avoiding - uh - the crowd," she ends awkwardly. She wouldn't call the group of people in the Great Hall a crowd, but she hadn't wanted to say, "your family."

"Thank you," Ginny says, carrying the plate over to the nightstand next to the bed where Draco is sitting with his legs up and his elbows propped on his knees. He's staring blankly into a window that appears to look into the lake. How eerie, Hermione thinks to herself as she sees a grindylow swim by.

"Hi, Malfoy."

He snaps out of his reverie and nods back at her and she can see that he has deep bags under his eyes and looks weary. She guesses he probably didn't sleep last night. That makes sense.

Ginny is shifting her weight nervously and biting her lip. She looks like she wants to help him, since he's clearly upset, but has no idea what to do. "Hermione brought food," she motions toward the plate on the nightstand.

Draco turns to look at it, then focuses back on Hermione. "Right. Thank you, Granger."

"We're leaving in an hour," Hermione says. "I was just checking to see if you wanted to go over together, or alone, or..." she lets her voice trail off and takes a breath. Wow, she'll forever associate the Slytherin dungeons with extremely awkward conversations.

Ginny looks at Draco before responding, but he's gone back to staring into the lake. "We'll go with you. Uh, meet in the Entrance Hall?"

Hermione nods and crosses the room so she can give Ginny a hug. "He's going to be okay," she whispers in her friend's ear.

Ginny gives her a sad smile. When she pulls away, she mutters, "Try telling him that."

On her way back to the Great Hall, Hermione meets Ron and George in the Entrance Hall.

George sneers when he sees her closing the door to the dungeons. "Is Ginny down there with him?"

"Yeah," Ron answers for her. "In the same spot she's been all week," he adds, unhelpfully, Hermione thinks.

"He has changed, George," Hermione says insistently.

"Yeah, I've heard. With any luck, that murderer will be in Azkaban by the end of today and I don't have to worry about him with my sister, anymore." George turns and storms off.

"I thought you were working on him." Hermione says to Ron.

"I am! He's really stubborn. Give me longer than a week."

Hermione sighs. "Do you think he's right, about Malfoy losing his trial today? Malfoy does." She remembers how dejected he'd looked just now.

"I dunno. Does Kingsley's pardon mean nothing? You'd know better than me."

"Technically, he wasn't in a position to give a pardon, since he wasn't the Minister for Magic at the time. But once Malfoy's convicted, if he's convicted," she corrects, "Kingsley will be within his rights to pardon him. However, if that goes against what the Wizengamot wants, he probably won't, since he'll be up for election this year and will want to appease the masses as best he can. Kingsley can strongly suggest they go a certain way - and I'm sure he will - but, well, it's ultimately up to Wizengamot."

"Which is mostly made up of Order members."

"Right. Order members who know what Malfoy got up to while serving Voldemort a little more intimately than the average citizen."

Ron lets out a low whistle. "Shite. I'd be nervous too, if I were him."

"Yeah."

January 2000 - Ministry of Magic

Two hours later, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny are sitting on a bench outside the main courtroom at the Ministry. Harry is on one side of Hermione, with his arm wrapped around her and Ginny is sitting on her other side. Hermione currently has her hand linked with Ginny's.

She is glad the trials are closed this time. Harry has explained how the trials following the last war were open to the public, and how that made them a bit of a spectacle. Hermione hopes that with no reporters or an audience watching, the people in the courtroom will be less concerned about performing, and more focused on making sound decisions.

They know Draco's trial is going on right now. Kingsley told them this morning his trial would be third. Goyle and Lestrange have already been escorted out by guards. Their hands were bound and they were scowling, so Hermione assumes that meant they were on their way to Azkaban.

Ginny is staring hard at the closed door, waiting to be called inside. Hermione is thinking how eerie the silence in the hall is, when there is a bang and the doors fly open. Ginny jumps to her feet but stops when she sees Draco appear through the doors.

His hands are bound behind his back and a guard is pushing him forward roughly. Draco spots Ginny, then looks pointedly away from her. She runs to his side but the guard pushes her away, and she nearly falls to the ground, catching herself just in time.

Draco rounds on the guard and elbows him in the side. "You heard how many people I'd killed. Touch her again, and I'll add one more to the list."

The guard is doubled over in pain and clearly frightened. Then he seems to realize Draco is bound and unarmed and he pulls his wand out of his pocket and pokes Draco in the side with it. Draco cries out before biting his lip, but he's still regarding the guard with a murderous expression.

"What's the hold-up?" Kingsley's voice booms from the doorway. "You know what to do with him, Calhoun." The guard nods and continues to push Draco toward the lift, holding his wand out in warning.

Ginny turns to Kingsley. "What's going on? Why didn't you call us in?" Her voice is high and shaking and Hermione can tell she's struggling to hold back tears.

"He pled guilty. He didn't want a trial."

"But the pardon, you're telling me he didn't fight?" Ginny turns toward Draco, who is being pushed into the lift.

"Draco!" she yells for him but he's avoiding her gaze, hiding behind the bulk of the guard.

Kingsley places a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder and says in a low voice, "He used the pardon, just not on himself. I'm sorry, I have to go."

Kingsley turns back to the courtroom and Ginny runs in the opposite direction, toward the lift. The doors have already closed and she is mashing the buttons violently.

"No no no," she's muttering to herself. "This can't be right. What did you do, Draco?"

They are all at Ginny's side now and Ron places a hand on her arm. She turns to him and is shaking her head, gesturing toward the doors of the lift. "We have to go after them! Where are they taking him?"

"Azkaban, Ginny," Ron says softly. "We can't follow him there."

Ginny leans against the closed doors and slowly slides to the ground. Ron crouches down next to her and Hermione looks to Harry, but he looks just as confused as she is.

After a few moments, once they get Ginny to calm down, Hermione asks, "Did he not tell you anything, or give any indication who he would use his pardon on?"

Ginny pulls a small, blue envelope out of her pocket.

"What's that?" Ron asks.

"Draco gave this to me this morning and told me to open it later today. I insisted I'd be opening it with him." Her voice breaks and when she looks down at the envelope, a few tears fall onto its smooth surface. She takes a breath and slips it open and when she reaches inside, she pulls out a silver key. She frowns at the object. "I don't know what this goes to."

"I do," Harry says. They all look at him, surprised. "I have one just like it," he explains. "Look closer, there should be markings." They lean in and Hermione makes it out first. In tiny letters on the shaft is one word: Gringotts.

January 2000 - Gringotts

As Ginny rides in the cart to the depths of Gringotts, toward a vault that a goblin just told her belongs to her, she recalls her conversation with Draco from this morning.

She slept restlessly the night before, which made her groggy when it was time to wake up. She slowly lifted herself up in the bed and as soon as she saw Draco, it was clear he hadn't slept. He was watching her and gave her a small smile once he saw she was awake.

She was about to open her mouth to speak, to ask if he was doing okay, how he slept, and reassure him that everything would be fine, when he pulled her against his chest and whispered in her ear, "Let me talk first, okay? I know it will be hard for you to stay silent, but I think you can manage it."

She rolled her eyes but settled back against his chest anyway as he tightened his arms around her.

He waited a few moments before speaking, then kissed the side of her head and laid his cheek against hers.

"I love you so much. Words cannot adequately express the depth of my feelings. And I want to say you saved me, but that sounds so cliché. You did, though. Literally and figuratively."

Ginny pulled out of his grasp and turned around to face him. "I refuse to let you say goodbye to me. This is not the end."

He raised a hand to push a lock of hair behind her ear and rested his forehead against hers. "After this, you need to move on. Promise me."

"I refuse," Ginny said. She tried to pull away from him, but he moved his hands to the back of her neck to keep her in place. "If you're convicted - which you won't be - I'm going to wait for you to get out."

Draco sighed. "No, Ginny. You won't. You'll move on, find some other idiot wizard who doesn't deserve you, figure out how to be happy with him, and carry on with your life."

Ginny finally managed to break free from him and leaned back so she could see him properly. "I refuse to believe you're not getting released today."

Draco shook his head and his eyes were pained. His voice was desperate when he spoke. "Please, promise me. If you don't think I'm getting locked up, then what's the harm in making the promise?"

"Fine," she sneered. "I promise."

Ginny sighs as the cart stops. Damn Slytherin, she thinks. He'd forced her to make that promise before giving her all the information. After everything they'd been through, why didn't he trust her enough to tell her the truth? What had he been hiding this whole time?

She follows her friends out of the cart and watches the goblin open the vault with the key she'd given him in the lobby. The room inside is overflowing with treasure.

If the circumstances were different, Ginny would be overjoyed. After growing up poor, she knows how much stress endless piles of money can relieve from a person's life. But now, she doesn't care that all this gold apparently belongs to her. All she wants right now is an explanation. She rushes inside and looks around.

She spots an envelope on an antique dresser at the end of the vault. On top of the thick envelope is Draco's black queen. The last message she'd sent him is still visible in white letters: I love you. Come back.

Ginny moves the queen to the side and picks up the envelope, nearly tearing it as she opens it. There are several pages in Draco's neat writing. She wonders if in this letter, he's finally going to tell her all of his secrets. She takes a deep breath, then begins to read.

Ginny,

First off, I should have had the courage to say everything in this letter to you in person, but I didn't. I've never claimed to be brave, like you and your friends, and this is further proof. But the main reason I didn't tell you was because you would have tried to change my mind and you are the one person in the entire world who probably could have managed it.

Months ago, the Dark Lord ordered me to kill my father. By then, he'd already turned me into a killer, and made me numb, but even in that dissociated state, I knew, instantly, I couldn't do it. Not just that, I wouldn't do it. I rebelled, finally, even though it was several years too late.

I crouched next to my father and whispered in his ear, "I love you. And I'm going to save you."

He was horrified. It was clear he'd already accepted his death, and he didn't want me to do anything to risk my own life. The whole reason the Dark Lord had punished my father to death in the first place, was because he'd been attempting to protect me.

I shot him with the fake killing curse, and the Dark Lord bought it. I sent a house elf to "clean up" his body, but what they really did was apparate him out of the house to a Muggle hotel room I had rented for the night. While my father slept, I searched for a safe place to hide him. I bought a Muggle flat with cash (the one we used to meet at), but I knew I couldn't keep him hidden indefinitely. I needed him out of the country and to do that undetected, I needed help.

That's when Granger found me. If she hadn't reached out to me, I would have probably tried to get in contact with the Order and offered my services as a spy. I needed the contacts the Order had with the black markets to get my father out of the country safely.

You've asked what deal I made with Shacklebolt, that was it. He'd hide my father and get him to a safe house in France. In exchange, I would spy for the Order until the Dark Lord or Potter were killed, and also, fight for your side in the Final Battle.

Shacklebolt told me it was standard practice to offer pardons to spies, and guaranteed that after the war, I wouldn't have to serve time for the crimes I'd committed as a Death Eater. At that moment, I realized I was a desperado. Do you remember that term? In chess, it's a piece that is going to be captured anyway, so it may as well sacrifice itself at the highest cost.

I never expected to survive the war, especially not once I turned into a double agent, so I forced Shacklebolt to make a second deal. Regardless of whether I lived or died, I would earn a pardon for my services, and it would be used on my father. He hesitated, of course. My father's crimes were more numerous than my own, but I could tell your side was desperate. He needed me, and we both knew it, so he agreed.

I was completely committed to saving my father. It felt right, in a way very few things from those days did. He'd sacrificed himself for me and I wanted to do the same for him. The first person I'd ever saved was you, in the Forbidden Forest, from a snake bite. After I got a taste for it, I wanted to do it again. I sort of understand why Potter likes it so much (but don't tell him I said so).

Then you came along and nearly ruined all my plans. You loved me, impossibly, and kept talking about a future where we would leave England, travel the world, and never have to think about the war again. But for that to happen, I'd have to use the pardon for myself, and let my father come back and face his own trial. I knew he would go to Azkaban, likely for the rest of his life.

I put off the decision, figuring I wouldn't survive the war anyway. I was almost relieved when the Dark Lord found out about me. Finally, I would be killed, and wouldn't have to choose between you and my father. Then you came and saved me, and you know the rest.

You asked where I went after the battle. I went to France. I brought my father back home and soon found out that he's very ill. If sent to Azkaban, he wouldn't survive a month.

I met with Shacklebolt again and tried to make a new deal. I offered money, since I'm sure he sorely needs it to start rebuilding. I begged him for two pardons and he could have anything in return. Every scrap of gold in our vaults, the Manor, whatever he desired. But that man is too clever.

He didn't take the deal. He will be up for election soon, and he knows he can't be known as the person who went soft on the Death Eaters if he wants to win. My father and I were both very high up and are too well-known. One pardon was all I got, to use on whoever I wished, and my money would buy whoever went to Azkaban a reduced sentence: fifteen years, instead of the thirty to fifty years we deserved.

Then I had my choice: fifteen years of my life, to save the remainder of my father's. I know you don't agree with what I decided. "He's an old man," you're thinking. "He did terrible things." Maybe, you even think he deserves death. He agrees with you, but this is my decision to make.

He's all I have, my last family. And I want to be responsible for saving a life, instead taking one, for once. You can condemn my decision all you want, but we both know that if you were in my position, you would have chosen the same.

I know at this point you're thinking, "Fifteen years. That's not so bad. I can wait. We can write, I'll visit every weekend…I'm young, and we'll have plenty of time later." Well, stop that line of thinking right now. You're not waiting for me.

You can write every day for my entire sentence, and I won't read a single line. You can visit, and I'll refuse you every time. Remember the promise you made to me this morning? You said if I went to Azkaban, you'd move on.

Look around, Ginny. All of this gold is yours. Use it, please. And don't think for a second about trying to give it back. Take it as a thank you for loving a broken, messed up wizard like me, and for showing me that beauty still exists, even in the darkest times.

Go see the world. Go to every exotic place I showed you in my mind, and more. Find a bloke more worthy of you than me (which, I hate to admit, is probably all of them) and open yourself to him as boldly and bravely as you did to me. You are the most extraordinary person I've ever known, Ginny, and you deserve the world. I want you to take it.

A few years ago, at Hogwarts, I fell in love with you over countless games of chess. I told you many times you were a pawn in the war (which I know now was an understatement). But regardless, to me, you were the king, the queen, the rooks, the bishops, the knights, and every pawn on the board. You are everything to me and I will spend every moment of every day thinking of you. But please, I beg you, after you read this, don't think of me.

Remember when I told you loving you was torture? I meant it, but I'd do it all again. I love you, I love you, I love you. And if you love me back, you'll grant my last request of you, and let me go.

Yours, always,

Draco

Ginny lets the pages fall to the ground after she reads the last line. She looks around her and sees the black queen, then she picks it up and throws it hard at a nearby pile of gold. It bounces off with an unsatisfying clink. She wanted the pile to explode, to match the turmoil of emotions flowing through her.

"What happened? Who did he pardon?" Hermione's voice comes at her as if from a great distance.

"Lucius," Ginny whispers.

"Wait. What?"

Ginny motions toward the pages of the letter at her feet. "Just read it - I can't-" She cuts off and crouches to the ground, wrapping her arms around herself.

Ron scoops her up and pulls her into a tight embrace. She starts to cry and soon, her body is overcome with violent sobs. Ron tightens his grip on her. "He's gone, Ron. He's gone."

"I know - I know," he mutters soothingly. "It hurts now. But you'll get through this."

Draco's words from the last night before the battle come back to Ginny and hit her like a dagger in the heart. She can picture the sorrow and longing in his tear-stained grey eyes when he said it and can almost feel his hands on her face.

"One day soon, you're going to find out that I can't give you what you want. Just know that I'm sorry, and that you deserve the world, and it kills me that I won't be able to give it to you."

Now, it finally makes sense, the longing, the secrets, his certainty that he'd end up in Azkaban. He'd been faced with an impossible choice, and he hadn't chosen her, but she couldn't even blame him for it. She wants to hex someone, yell, do something, but there's nothing to do. She buries her head into Ron's chest and cries harder, wondering if she'll ever be able to stop.

A/N: I know, sad. I tagged this story with a happy ending, and I intend to deliver, bear with me here. Just three chapters to go! Thanks as always to my beta, Lancashire Witch.

The next chapter will be posted Thur, Apr-15.