Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I do however own the wonderful salvation that Jesus gave me dying on the cross.

Happy Easter everyone! Have fun reading this chapter, my Easter gift to all of you.

I won't say much since I actually want to get this posted before it hits midnight and is no longer actually Easter. So happy reading!

Without further ado:

Chapter 47

Ginny POV

Mum and I continued to work over Draco well into the morning. It would be a Christmas morning to remember, that was for sure. Dad figured everything out as soon as he'd seen Draco lying on the bed in Shell Cottage. After everything I'd told him and my actions, it wasn't hard for him to connect the dots. Everyone else on the other hand was confused, worried and likely angry, or they would be. Thankfully, they were kind enough to hold their questions until I knew for sure we'd done all we could for Draco and he was resting fine.

While Mum and I tried to save Draco's life, Bill had gone back into the bedroom to see Fleur and tell her what was going on. Dad sent a patronus back to the Burrow to tell them of an unexpected arrival and that they would be a while. Everyone else was already over at the Burrow, waiting for us to return. We got a patronus back from George telling us to hurry since he wanted to open presents.

Finally, I stood back and looked down at the still, sleeping form of Draco. He was still in bad shape, but at least he was resting now. His eyes had yet to open but I knew that rest was what he needed. With time, care and plenty of love he would be fine.

Then came the questions.

"Ginny," Mum said as soon as we'd closed the door to the back room. "What is Draco Malfoy doing here?" She looked down at me sternly as I was led into the kitchen, sitting down at the table. Mum, Dad and Bill sat around me. Fleur was asleep again, woken up by the noise of Draco's arrival. She and her little girl were finally resting peacefully.

"Yeah, he's a no good Malfoy, a Death Eater. Why did you bring him to our home?" Bill asked with a sigh. His brow furrowed in concern, thinking about his wife and daughter being thrown into the presence of a Death Eater. Only Dad stayed silent, needing to ask no questions that would not be answered in time.

I took a deep breath, knowing this day would come. But, no matter how much I'd thought about it, no matter how many times I'd wished I could tell them, I wasn't prepared for this conversation. Oh how I wished Draco was awake to help me explain, or at least add his silent comfort. But, he was alive and nearby, that was enough for me. "It's a long story…" I started, looking down at the patterns in the wooden table. "A story that starts three years ago."

Everyone was silent as I gathered my wits about me and prepared to tell them the whole story. "It was early November my fifth year when it happened. I hadn't been able to sleep so I'd taken a walk outside by the lake. I stopped at a tree, staring out over the lake when he'd shown up. I don't know why I didn't leave, go back to the castle. Instead I sat down next to him."

I closed my eyes, remember that day as clearly as if it had happened only yesterday. So much had happened since then though. "He's not what I thought," I told them. "He's so much more. He had a heart deep down in that cold chest of his. It was freezing that night and I hadn't remembered a cloak. He gave me his." I stood and walked over to the cloak rack by the door. Pulling the warm, black cloak off the hook, I walked back to the table, the eyes of my family following me.

"He gave me this," I said, lying the cloak down on the table. They'd all seen it before, it was the only one I wore during the cold seasons. Only when it got too warm to bear, did I take it off. "He told me to keep it."

I continued to tell them my story, our story, well into the morning. It was nearly lunchtime by the time I was finished. Bill had accepted it easily, being the most understanding of my brothers. Dad had taken it all in stride, knowing how deep my love for Draco was. My mum wasn't happy about my choosing to be with him, but she too accepted it, seeing how much I loved him and he me.

More than once through my story were her eyes filled with tears. It all made sense to her now. This explained everything, all my odd behaviors in the past few years. Her compassion won her over and she'd accepted Draco with the quickness and ease I'd expected. It also helped that she'd seen firsthand my love for him in the back room as we fought to save his life.

The hard part would be the rest of my brothers. Ron would be the worst, I had expected this. Harry and Hermione had a right to know to, they would also be included. At almost half-past eleven, we apparated back to the Burrow. Dad and I went first, apparating into the kitchen. Bill followed, carrying Draco while Mum, Fleur and the new little baby popped in last.

There was an uproar in the Weasley household at the sight of Draco. He was still unconscious, not even knowing where he was. Bill had taken him up to my room, laying him in the middle of my childhood bed. A volley of questions followed us up, especially from a red-faced Ron. I ignored them best I could while I made sure Draco was settled in fine. Bill had kept them out of my room at least.

Once I was sure Draco was again resting peacefully, I found myself telling my story yet again. This time it wasn't just to a few people, this time it was to everyone. Bill sat beside Fleur, who held their new baby girl in her arms. Mum and Dad sat side-by-side on my right. A solemn Fred and George sat on my other side with their new American girlfriends, the two that had showed up at their shop weeks ago. Charlie sat across from me, his arms crossed in front of his chest but he gave off an air of willingness to accept. Percy had a you-better-have-a-good-explanation look on his face.

The worst were Ron, Harry and Hermione. They too sat around the table. None of them looked anywhere near eager to accept this new turn of events. Ron's face was beet red and he looked ready to go upstairs and toss Draco out the window. Hermione looked shocked and disbelieving, shaking her head so often that I was sure she'd get dizzy. Harry was the worst, not only could I see anger in his gaze, but hurt. It was with a heavy heart that I began to talk.

Ron interrupted within moments. "So that's where you got that cloak?" he asked accusingly. "From Draco bloody Malfoy?"

I shot a glare over at him. "Ronald, if you wish to hear what I have to say that you better shut your trap," I snapped, not wanting to deal with his prejudice right now. No matter what I told any of them, I was afraid them three would have a hard time seeing Draco as more than their school-days bully.

Dad laid a calming hand on Ron's shoulder before he could say another word. Once the crowd around the table finally settled down again, I continued. It went well after that, no major interruptions other than some huffs and puffs from Ron, until I got to the part about the necklace.

"He gave me this our first Christmas together," I said, reaching up and unclasping the dragon necklace from around my neck. Gently I handed it to Fred, who looked at it and passed it to George. Slowly the necklace made its way around the table and I continued. "It's been in the Malfoy family since the day of its making. It was crafted by the ancient jeweler Marconi," I told them.

"The Greek jeweler?" Mum asked in awe as she cradled the necklace in her hands. This was the only part I'd left out when I'd told the three of them earlier. All I'd said about the necklace was that he'd given it to me. I told them nothing of its origins or its meaning. I figured that would be better to be shared with everyone at once.

I nodded and watched as she passed the necklace gently to Fleur, who too looked upon it with awe. "I told you that Luna had given it to me, that it was a knockoff worth nothing. I'm sorry I had to lie. It's an insult to the necklace too." I took a deep breath as I prepared to say the hardest thing they would have to accept, a thing that made my heart soar when I thought of it.

Waiting till the necklace was safely back in my hands, I continued. "I was confused as to why he would give me such a family heirloom," I said as I clasped the chain back around my neck and let the necklace fall onto my shirt, in plain sight for all to see. "When I asked, he told me it was because one day he intended to make me a Malfoy." I held my head high, not ashamed as I steeled myself for the reaction of my family.

As expected, the table erupted in noise. The loudest voice was that of Ron. "Like hell he will!" he screamed over the noise.

Fred and George looked ready to kill as they shook their heads. "He'll not lay a hand on our little sister," they chorused in unison.

"You will not defile our family name like that," Percy stated with a pompous air, like that's all that needed to be said on the subject.

The only ones who had a good reaction were the two American girls that had unknowingly been thrust into a family meeting when they came with Fred and George for Christmas. They both let out soft sighs and exchanged smiles. "Oh how romantic," I saw one of them mouth to the other. I smiled, making note that I'd need to find out their names as soon as I could. It was nice to see the reaction of those who'd not grown up among the prejudice, someone who wasn't raised to hate the Malfoy family.

I closed my eyes, letting them vent. To my utter surprise, it was the voice of my normally quiet father that rang out loudest over the table. "Quiet!" he hollered over the noise. The noise died down instantly. The voice so rarely raised in anger meant business when it was. "You will let your sister speak without interruption or you will go to your rooms."

There were few murmurs of assent and a couple nods from around the table. Even Harry and Hermione nodded, looking down at their hands. It was amazing the control a parent had over even their grown children.

So I kept talking. While I talked, it was like walking down memory lane. Some of the memories were so vivid it was like it had only just happened. I didn't tell my family every little detail, like day to day life with Draco in his rooms at Hogwarts and all our little moments. That would only make them angry. But, I did tell them what they needed to know. I told them of his good deeds, like when he saved me from the Carrows, failing his apparition test so he wouldn't be able to go on the mission for Voldemort, becoming my source of information from that side of the war much to his own personal risk, taking the Dark Mark only so he could return to me.

I told them that we had a secret meeting spot and that that was where I had gone every Tuesday night for so long. All but Dad had looked surprised that I'd even been sneaking out. I told them of the day that Draco had stopped coming. They all remembered my reaction to that all too well, now they knew the reason behind it.

And finally I told them of showing up at our spot, only to find Draco unconscious on the floor. Leaning back in my chair, I said, "So I took him back to Shell Cottage and you all know the rest."

It was silent for a moment, everyone soaking up what I'd said. Mum was cooking, having heard my explanation before and saying that everyone needed some lunch, since Christmas Breakfast had been canceled.

Finally, Charlie spoke up. "No matter what you say about him, no matter how many good things he's done, I still don't trust him. It's nothing you can fix, it's something he'll have to earn. But, I can see how you feel about him Gin." He stood and brought the full pot of tea to the table, pouring a cup before passing it around to the waiting table.

"Yeah, he'll have to earn our trust," Percy said as he sipped a full cup of tea.

"He won't be able to earn my trust," Ron muttered from his spot. Harry shook his head in agreement and Hermione frowned, obviously torn. "I think this whole thing is stupid. I think when he wakes we toss him out, let him crawl back to his father with his tail between his legs and never see him again."

Everyone around the table seemed to freeze as they waited to see what I'd say. I shook my head in disgust. "Are you so shallow that you still hate him?" I asked incredulously. I knew acceptance would be too much to ask for, but at least not hating him so much would have been nice. "He's a good man, a better man that you're being right now. He was willing to risk his life to help us, all of us, even you. And you have the gall to say that?"

Ron's face turned pink and crossed his arms over his chest, looking defiantly towards me. "You can't make me accept him. I won't agree to this, I'll never agree to this. I hope the stupid git dies up there," he said with a shrug.

I let out an angry gasp, standing suddenly and whipping my wand out. "Don't you dare wish that!" I screamed at him. "Don't you care that I love him? Don't you care that that 'git' means the world to me?"

Before he could respond Mum interjected, probably for the best. "Now kids, settle down. Ginny, put your wand way. Ron, apologize to your sister," she said sternly as she set the food on the table, her stew's mouthwatering aroma filling the kitchen.

Ron looked ready to blow, but muttered a barely audible apology and slumped back in his chair, seething. I put my wand back in my pocket, shaking my head at him. "I'm not hungry anymore, Mum," I said softly, needing to get away. Before she could say anything, I practically ran from the room, tears escaping from my eyes.

Draco POV

The blackness slowly faded as I woke from deep unconsciousness. The first thing I became aware of was pain, but it was much less than what I'd felt before. I didn't feel like I was dying anymore. My father had hurt me so beyond healing, or so I'd thought, that I knew death was near the night I'd escaped. How was I alive?

Struggling to open my eyes, I winced at the bright sunlight streaming in through a window on the wall to my right. As I became more awake, more aware of my surroundings, I was startled to see light pink walls, pink curtains on the window, and a faded quilt on the bed I was resting on. It was an obviously girly room. I knew immediately where I was, and I struggled to think of how it'd had happened and the implications. How was I in Ginny's room?

It was then I became aware of something else, the sound of yelling from some floor below me. For a moment I cringed, the sounds bringing back memories of my torture. The pain always followed the yelling. But I felt a smile come to my lips at the voice screeching downstairs: Ginny. Oh how sweet the sound.

I closed my eyes again, fighting from slipping back into the black void. I heard the thump of steps on the stairs, the sound waking me up a bit more. I wondered who was coming. Would it be Ginny or would it be one of her many family members? Would they even let Ginny see me? What had she told them?

I fought with unconsciousness again as I heard the door open, unable to open my eyes. I felt weight on the side of the bed, near my head, and heard the soft sound of crying. The heart wrenching sound was music to my ears. It was the sound of Ginny. I struggled to open my eyes. "Ginny," I said in a painful whisper.

"Draco?" I heard her beautiful voice whisper tearfully. "Draco!"

Finally, I forced my eyes open, winning my fight against unconsciousness. Her beautiful face gazed down at me, her bright red hair framing it. Freckles stood out in the bright light and her beautiful brown eyes were filled with tears. She looked the same as the last I saw her, but yet something was changed. There was wisdom, knowledge of the world, in her eyes. It was wisdom gained only by suffering though what life had to offer. Reaching up, I gently cupped her face. "Oh, Ginny." I felt a single tear slip down my cheek, a happy tear.

Climbing into the bed next to me, she slid down and lay her head on my chest, her hand twining in with mine. "I've missed you so much," she sobbed as she wrapped her other arm gently around me.

To feel her in my arms again, I wondered if I had died that night I'd collapsed in the cottage, the night I'd escaped, and that this was heaven. It was too good to be true. I put my other arm around her and held her tight. "Me too," I whispered in her ear. "Me too."

Did you like it? I hope you enjoyed this first real Draco/Ginny moment. Tell me what you think of it! I hope you liked it.

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