Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I do however, or did, have a very serious case of writers block. What a butt that little bugger can be huh? He locked my plot bunnies away and killed my magic fingers, or at least seriously damaged them. But I'm back and so are my little plot bunnies!

Wow, this chapter took much longer than I anticipated to get out and I'm so sorry for the wait. Hopefully this will be worth it. I'll keep this short since I have a long note to put before the chapter.

Now, I got a review for my last chapter that upset me greatly. It was an anonymous review from someone named "Elle." I'd like to address what you said, Elle, but since it was anonymous I'll have to do it a little more publically then I'd have liked too.

So to Elle: In your review, one of the things you said was that they are wizards not Christians and that the books do no ever say they are Christians. Well, wizards are a race of people, not a religion. One has nothing to do with the other. Just because they are wizards does not mean they cannot be Christian. The truth is the truth no matter what eyes you look at it through. And just because the books do not say they are holds no relevance to the story. Do the books put Draco and Ginny together?

And for your other comment of, and I quote because I'd never say this, "Jesus isn't real and neither is God and the Bible is "bullshit"", I'm sorry. I'm sorry that don't believe in Him and I'm sorry your misinformed about how accurate the Bible is and I'll pray for you, for that's all I can do. It's up to God to change your heart. He is real, I know you don't think so but he is. Please, do not close you heart to something so good. I wish I knew you in person so I could really talk to you, because here is not the right place for this discussion seeing as I have many readers who want nothing more than to get to my story.

I'll leave you with this: God loves you whether you love him or not. He will always be there for you. He will never give up on you, even if you've given up on Him.

Now, I know that I might lose some readers because of my views, but to me that's okay. God means much more to me than this story does. In my story, the characters are Christian. If you don't agree with it, I'm sorry. You can either ignore it or stop reading. It's up to you.

Now, let's get back to the story! Who wants to see if Draco and Ron killed each other? Let us find out!

Without further ado:

Chapter 54

Draco POV

I knew the youngest of the Weasley boys did not like me. No, Ronald Weasley positively loathed me. And as I'd suspected for a very long while, he had no manners. To yell such profanity, to yell at all really, at the dinner table was not how I was raised. Mother would have had a heart attack if she'd sat through the same meal I just had. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but I had been having a great time. The Weasley's provided quite a bit of entertainment, especially the twins Ginny was so fond of. It wasn't until that rude comment was screamed over the din that my pleasant mood was punctured like a balloon.

Now, I knew Ginny and I would get no peace until the youngest of her brothers finally accepted our relationship or learned to shut his trap. Now, the sainted Harry Potter was going to be a problem too. He was just much more quite about his hatred, though it was still written all over his face. I'd deal with him later though if the need arose but for now I needed Ronald Weasley to stop trying to prod and anger me. It upset Ginny, and I couldn't have that.

So, here I was, standing in middle of the ramshackle little family room in the Weasley's cluttered home with an angry, red faced Ronald Weasley seething in front of me. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited, knowing it wouldn't take long for him to blow.

Just like predicted, less than a minute later he broke the silence. "Why are you here?" he spat at me, mimicking my stance of crossed arms.

"I would think that answer is pretty obvious," I drawled out. I could see his face get redder by the second at my words, if that was even possible. His face was nearing the same shade as his hair. I smirked.

"You know what I mean!" he nearly screamed. "Why did you have to choose my sister to play your little games with? Why did you have to choose her to fill with your lies? She goes on about how you love her and she loves you but we both know a Malfoy isn't capable of feeling love! You're a heartless bastard!" He screamed his accusations, believing there was no good in me.

I let out a loud sigh at his childish tantrum, watched as he glared at me. "Are you done?" I asked coldly, only intensifying his anger. He said nothing though. "Now, I'm not going to yell and scream at you, it will do no good to sink to your level." I paused, watching his eyes narrow and hand twitch towards his pocket where his wand was. I was surprised it wasn't already out by now.

"We'll address your accusations one at a time," I said casually, putting on a mask of calm as I sat down on one of the tattered armchairs, folding my hands in my lap in a businesslike manner. I motioned for him to sit too but he stood stubbornly. I nodded before continuing, trying my best to stay civil as I prepared to try and explain things that should not need to be explained. Ginny was mine and there was nothing to discuss. But, for this particular brother, there was.

"We begin with your first so casually screamed at the dinner table, upsetting your sister. While not really an accusation it is best to start there," I said in a calm, businesslike manner. "You screamed, and I quote, 'Don't touch my sister, you bastard.'" I looked at him, challenging him to say something. He stood stubbornly, his lips pressed tightly together and face red as his hair.

"Now, I know that Ginny has already told all of you our story. I'm sure she also explained that necklace you have not seen her without in two years. That necklace was my first promise to her, a promise that one day I'd marry her," I stated, not losing my businesslike manner as the boy in front of be exploded.

"Like hell you will!" he screamed, finally breaking his silent streak. His wand was out in a flash and pointed strait at my face. "I'll kill you first!"

I didn't even blink. I learned long ago to control my reactions. At the time it had been more for sake of my survival, but it came in handy in other situations too, like this. "As I am currently wandless, I would only ask you put yours away," I told him in a bored tone. Oh, I knew he could hurt me, he may be stupid but he wasn't incompetent. I wouldn't let him get to me though.

I met his eyes, my gaze icy, and he held them. For a while, it was like time was frozen as we stared each other down. Neither of us moved and his wand remained at my face, his stance as defiant as ever. After a few minutes, he looked away and lowered his wand, though he did not put it away nor loosen his grip. It would do.

"Now, on the subject of touching your sister, I understand that this is a hard idea for you to come to terms with. This is something you will have to get used to. She is my betrothed and I will not refrain holding her hand, kissing her, holding her, accidently brushing against her, playfully nudging her, or any other numerous things I'm sure you would scream about," I told him flatly. He would have to get used to it.

Though his anger obviously flared, he stayed silent. Finally there was an improvement. "Now, onto everything else you said. None of what Ginny and I have together is a 'little game,' none of it is a lie," I told him honestly, hoping he would see the sincerity in someone he'd only ever hated. "It is no more a game than what is obviously between you and Granger."

I paused again to give him a chance to speak if he wished but he kept his mouth shut.

Now came the hard part. I took a deep breath and started to speak again. "You say a Malfoy isn't capable of feeling love, that I'm a heartless bastard." The hardest of what I was going to do was something that needed to be done to convince him. I would have to bare my heart to a boy I'd hated my entire life. "Everything I've done was because of love," I told him and the entire Weasley clan and their friends that were surely on the other side of that wall listening.

"Plotting the death of Dumbledore?" he questioned harshly, hitting one of the few spots I was most ashamed of.

"I did it to save my mother," I said honestly. "You-Know-Who wanted to punish us for my father's mistake at the ministry that night that you all showed up. You see, torturing him to the brink of death wasn't enough and torturing my mother and I would do nothing to make my father feel remorse." I shook my head, memories of it all flooding back.

"I was my father's prized jewel, the Malfoy heir," I said, picking my story back up. "He held no love for me just what I meant, the continuation of his bloodline. You were partly right when you say a Malfoy cannot feel love, at least my father couldn't. Using me, threating my life, was what got to my father. With me dead, his line would end. He would end. So You-Know-Who used the one threat that got to my father most, he threatened the life of me and my mother if I didn't do is bidding."

"I didn't want to die, and I couldn't sit idly by and watch my mother be killed. I cared not what my father wished. You-Know-Who charged me with the task of killing Dumbledore knowing full well I couldn't do it. He wanted to see me suffer, and he knew I would to keep my mother safe. I couldn't let her be killed." As I finished talking, my mask completely gone for once in front of someone other than Ginny, I leaned back in the chair.

"You mother's as cracked as her sister," Ron muttered, though his tone did not hold the hostile note as before. "Why save her?"

"She's my mother," I said simply. "Wouldn't you do the same?" He shifted uncomfortably on his feet as he sat his wand down on the arm of the nearest chair. "And while I agree that my Aunt Bellatrix needs to be put down like the dog she is, my mother is not like that. She is much more like her other sister, Andromeda, the aunt I've never known. She just made the mistake of marrying my father."

"Andromeda Tonks is nothing like your mother," Ron said suddenly, sticking up for the woman I'd never met.

"They are different, I know," I agreed, obviously much to his surprise. He wasn't sure what to do with me not fighting back. It took the sparks right out of his wand. "My mother was much more into blood status, frowning upon her sister when she married Ted Tonks. She's also very stern and not good at showing emotion. She's never known much love, only the love of a child taught not to love. She's not as mean as people make her out to be, she's just trapped under the thumb of a cruel husband."

As I talked, I could see that Ronald Weasley was finally listening. His frown wasn't one of anger anymore, it was one of confusion and maybe even guilt at believing what was commonly said to be truth. He said nothing though, still to stubborn to admit he was wrong.

"Every time I hurt Ginny by trying to leave her, I did it only to protect her. She's safer without me, I've known that from the beginning," I admitted. Holding out my left arm, I slowly rolled the sleeve up, inch by inch uncovering the ugly mark that I bore on my arm. "This mark, the mark of servitude to the Dark Lord, isn't something I ever wanted burned into my flesh. I did what he commanded of me to protect my mother, but I never had any intention of taking the mark and for several years I avoided it. I did this for Ginny."

He looked thoroughly perplexed at this new announcement, a look I'm sure many listening intently in the kitchen had too. "I'd given up trying to leave Ginny a long time ago. It won't work because neither of us truly wanted it too. I love her too much to lose her like that. So I made her another promise. I promised that I would always return to her."

Still, he was confused as to how this related to my taking the Dark Mark. So, I explained further, "I'd avoided taking my mark for a long while but neither my father nor You-Know-Who was happy about it. If Ginny hadn't been the question, I would have rather let him kill me than burn this thing into my flesh, which is exactly what he did to those who refused it. I made a promise to always return to Ginny and I couldn't very well do that if I dead and being eaten by that horrid snake of his could I?" I did not wait for his answer. "So, I did one of the hardest things of my life. I stood before the evilest man in the world and lied to him, held out my arm to be branded like cattle in his herd of Death Eaters."

I sighed and dropped my face in my hands, the emotions of that night coming back and nearly overwhelming me. In front of me I heard Ron plop down in a chair. It was then I felt the familiar soft hand on my shoulder, Ginny's light touch. I opened my eyes and looked up at her, feeling freer than I had in a long time. All around me the Weasley's had poured from the kitchen and were filling the room. Even Potter and Granger had come in, each taking up positions on either side of the chair their friend was in.

With the exception of Harry Potter who stood with an unhappy frown, each person in the room shared a similar look on their faces. Each of them had a look of acceptance, even Ronald Weasley was admitting to begrudging acceptance to his childhood enemy. I took Ginny's hand in mine, pulling her down onto my lap, relief flooding my body.

Ginny's happy giggle filled the room as she landed with a thud on me. One by one, her family began to sit down, relax, and talk. Mrs. Weasley took up her knitting, a green sweater from the looks of it, and Mr. Weasley joined her with a muggle car magazine in hand. Fred and George both took seats on the couch and pulled their giggling girlfriends down with them. Percy walked up the stairs only to return a few minutes later with a large book in hand, sitting nearest the fire to read.

All around me the Weasley family was returning to normal. Bill was doting on his wife and new child while Charlie stood behind them making faces at the little girl. It was clear she didn't know what to make of the silly man. Granger pulled a book out of a tiny beaded bag, making me shake my head in amusement. Once a bookworm always a bookworm I guess. She quietly took a seat next to Percy and stuck her nose in the book. Ron and Potter drifted towards the foot of the stairs, deep in conversation about a Quidditch match they'd played just the other day from the sounds of it.

Looking at Ginny, I saw her beaming at me. "I love you," she whispered in my ear before kissing right below it. "And so do they."

Looking around, I realized she was right. Maybe love was stretching it, especially in Ron's case, but they had accepted me. Each and every one of them had at least on some level. They had accepted me into their home, their lives, and their family. For the first time in my life, I felt a true sense of what it was like to finally be home.

Once the sun and sunk well below the horizon and the stars began to show over the wintery landscape, everyone started to drift home. Bill and Fleur were the first to leave, wanting to get their new baby home. Charlie soon followed, apologizing and promising he'd be back for New Year's Eve. Fred and George returned to their shop in Diagon Alley, Katie and Chelsea glued to their sides. Even Percy returned the thick book to its spot and took his leave.

Soon the only ones to remain were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the trio, and Ginny and I in the living room. Mrs. Weasley looked to be finishing the sweater and it would seem Mr. Weasley had drifted to sleep in his chair. Granger was still buried in her book, the pages turning several times a minute. Harry and Ron stood, quickly saying goodnight, before dragging themselves up the stairs to collapse into their warm beds.

Everything felt so peaceful, a rare thing indeed, as I sat with Ginny curled in my lap. Before long, Granger drifted off to bed too after having finished her book. After finally completing her knitting, Mrs. Weasley set the sweater aside. "Arthur," she said, prodding her husband awake. "Arthur, go to bed. You'll kill your back sleeping in that chair."

Not even fully awake, he did what his wife said and exited the room, surely back to sleep the moment his head hit the pillow. "Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said as she cleaned up the room.

"Yeah, Mum?" Ginny mumbled against my chest. I couldn't help but smile.

"Off to bed with you. You'll be dead on your feet tomorrow at this rate," she chide, shooing her off my lap and up the stairs. Ginny obliged without protest, yawning a goodnight at me before taking her leave.

I stood too, intending to go to bed, but Mrs. Weasley stopped me. "Under the circumstances, I didn't argue it before, but you'll not be sleeping in Ginny's room anymore. There's a room directly under hers, just a floor away from her, that you'll be staying in," she told me, unconsciously folding a blanket as she spoke.

"Yes ma'am," I agreed quickly, feeling quite grateful for anything at this point. They'd already taken me, who was I to argue where I'd sleep? I turned again to go up the stairs, a new destination in mind this time, but Mrs. Weasley stopped me again.

"Draco," she said, touching my arm to stop my steps. I turned to her to see the green sweater in her hands. "It's not much, nothing like you're used to I'm sure, but it's yours all the same," she said softly, a blush coloring her cheeks as she laid the garment in my hand.

I looked down at it, noticing the dark green was contrasted by a large D on the front in silver. Every one of her children had one, I'd seen Ginny where hers on many occasions. And now I had one. I knew this was Mrs. Weasley's way of welcoming me into her family, and I couldn't help but feel touched. "Thank you," I said just as softly, looking at the motherly woman before me. "It has to be the finest shirt I've ever owned." Honest ran in every word.

The tears that filled her eyes at my comment were unexpected and to cover them she shooed me off to bed. I clutched the shirt in my hands as I made my way up the stairs and to the room that would be mine; my room, my Weasley sweater, my home. My home.

Okay, how was it? Be honest with me, did it suck? Writers block is evil and made this chapter hard to write. It came out okay didn't it? Please talk to me people, I need your opinions and feedback! Click that nifty little review button down there. Yeah, right there! Come on, click it, you know you want to! Tell me what you think and I'll give you a huge mental hug! :D

So, poor BJ is a bit famished after the long period between chapters. Thankfully a few reviews drifted in even 'till the day before I got this up, so he's not starved yet! You'll keep the meat on his bones with your reviews won't you? Gosh, I feel like one of those save the children commercials. "Just one review a chapter can save a child's life. Click now, a child needs your help today." *dramatic and sad music*

Okay, you all know by now what comes next:

A happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!

PS: Does anyone want to go back through my chapters and which ones the chapter number and end notes aren't bolded? I want to make them all look the same but I'm feeling too lazy (well, my internet is feeling too lazy) to go check myself. Please and thanks? :D Y'all are awesome!