Ginny, true to her word, stayed in the room the entire time taking a position in the chair by his bed. Daylight began to stream in presently, and the movement in the guest room had not changed.
"Hey." Bill's soft voice pulled Ginny from her trance.
"Hey." Ginny shook the sleep from her eyes as she looked at her brother in the doorway.
"Gin," Bill walked into the room and leaned against the dresser, "What's going on between you two?"
"I don't know what you mean." Ginny swallowed hard.
"Come off it," Bill rolled his eyes, "We all assumed it was Harry you were head over heals for, but you don't exactly abandon the love of your life to sit with an acquaintance for the entire night while they sleep."
"Harry and I have never-"
"I know you've never, but that was the assumption. But Draco here, he's abandoned his family, his inheritance, which is quite a lot mind you, all to join the opposite side of the army and put his own life out on the line to save three people he was supposed to hate the most."
"Had a change of heart I guess." Ginny shrugged.
"I won't tell anyone, if that's what you are afraid of. Nobody outside of this room will know, but you have to tell someone at some point."
"He- we- it's complicated." Ginny sighed putting her head in her hands. "We had to keep it a secret, and then he got that assignment and was branded, and he was just so scared. So, I told him to tell Dumbledore, that the order could help him. Took him a while, but he did, and well you know the rest."
"So you've known him for a lot longer than just last year." Bill nodded.
"Since my first year." Ginny cringed as Bill's eyebrows shot up. "It's a long story."
"You've known him for six years and never told anyone!"
"Shhh!" Ginny jumped from her chair and crossed the room so she was within a foot of her brother.
"Ginny, why didn't you tell anyone?" Bill asked, his voice quieter but the accusation still very present.
"Yeah, cause I can totally walk into the kitchen and be like 'Mom and Dad I'm best friends with Draco Malfoy, what's for dinner?'"
"He could have hurt you! His family could have hurt you!"
"Funny you say that actually…" Ginny laughed to herself at the irony.
"What the hell did he do to you?!" Bill hissed.
"Oh calm down," Ginny rolled her eyes, "Its just that's how we became friends." When Bill looked at her questioningly, she continued, "In my first year, Lucius Malfoy slipped me a diary, I began writing in it, and it began writing back to me."
"And you didn't tell anyone?!"
"Sh! Its fine!"
"It's not fine! You were writing to Lucius Malfoy without anyone knowing! Do you know what could have happened?"
"I wasn't writing to Lucius Malfoy, I was writing to Tom Riddle."
"Who?"
"It's really complicated, but basically You-Know-Who's younger self."
"YOU WHAT?!" Bill roared, paying no heed to the sleeping house.
"I didn't know that then obviously!"
"YOU WERE CONVERSERING WITH YOU –KNOW-WHO BECAUSE OF THAT SLIMY GIT?"
"No, I'm alive because of that slimy git!" Ginny threw back.
"Who's a slimy git?" A weak voice from behind them asked.
"You're awake!" Ginny spun around, relief spreading over her face as she raced back to Draco's side.
"Sorry, mate," Bill shifted his weight, his arms crossed over his chest, "Didn't mean to wake you."
"S'ok," Draco grunted as he attempted to raise himself into a sitting position. Ginny immediately helped his body upright and shifted the pillows to hold him. "Who's a slimy git?"
"Doesn't matter, how are you feeling?" Ginny asked softly.
"I've been better." Draco gave her a light smile.
"You just need to lay low for a few days and recover. You were lucky." Ginny looked pointedly at the young Malfoy.
"Yeah, I guess I was." Draco nodded.
"What happened out there?" Bill asked.
"They finally figured out how to make a tracking jinx." Draco sighed leaning his head against the backboard.
"How could they have traced you? Hermione said you guys were so careful, and she set the wards herself every night."
"It was a name based trace. So it was set for a location to be set on whoever said a certain word. It can penetrate any ward because they know where exactly they want to be."
"So what word is it? We should warn everyone else." Bill asked.
"Yes, we should, though I doubt anyone else would. The word is You-Know-Who's real name. The Death Eaters were talking of doing this last year so they could flush out Potter, but I guess it's working now."
"And you didn't bother to tell us?"
"I told the trio, Remus and Tonks. I figured everyone else wouldn't say that name out of instinct."
"So what, you decided to test it out?" Bill huffed.
"Potter did actually." Draco answered leaving Bill blank for a minute.
"So how come they got out without a scrape and you didn't? Kinda seems like a set up to me."
"'A set up'?" Ginny rounded on her brother, "What you think Draco told the Death Eaters where they were so he could barely escape with his life while they run off without a scratch?"
"Ginny." Draco warned, "I can fight my own battles."
"No, this is ridiculous. You almost die fighting for us, and you can't even get through on conversation with anyone without someone accusing you of helping the Death Eaters!"
"He's branded, of course we are going to be very suspicious!" Bill defended.
"You have no idea what it's like to be raised a Death Eater! You have no idea what he went through, and what he still struggles through!"
"And you do?"
"Gin…" Draco grabbed Ginny's wrist, "It's fine."
"No, it's not fine! I'm done with my family being such assess to you!"
"Oh, excuse us for wanting to protect you!" Bill threw up his hands.
"I," Ginny's voice became deadly low, and her eyes narrowed on her brother as she stepped towards him slowly and calculated, "don't. Need. Protection."
"I wasn't saying you can't-"
"Draco has put his life on the line for our cause multiple times, which is something most of the people in this house cannot say. Yet you say he's still a Death Eater, simply because a stupid tattoo? You should be ashamed of yourself, because Draco is three times the man you will ever be."
"I-" Bill cleared his throat before looking at Draco, "Rest up. The other three got in late last night, they said they wanted to talk with you when you were up for it." Then walked out of the bedroom closing the door quietly behind him.
"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Draco whispered.
"They shouldn't be so hard on you." Ginny huffed taking a seat on the bed beside Draco.
"It's nothing I can't handle." Draco smiled looping an arm around her shoulders.
"What happened out there? I got your message and next thing I know those three show up shaking and you're nowhere to be found."
Draco sighed before beginning, "Potter got pissed because he saw me writing to you, thought I was sending a message to the Death Eaters. Said the magic word, and Montclair, Greyback, Nott, Crabb and Goyl showed up."
"Why did you have them escape and you not try?"
"Potter needs to stay alive. I'm not sure why, but it has more to do that we know from the Prophesy. I'm not sure the Dark Lord knows the whole why, but he needs to be alive, it's the only way we can win this damn war. Besides, its not like I've never dueled before."
"You nearly died!"
"My life isn't as important as his."
"It is to me! You can't just throw your life away."
"You would move on." Draco resolved refusing to look at her, despite her glaring directly at him.
"I would, would I?" Ginny questioned.
"At least with Potter you could have a boyfriend that your family doesn't want to kill."
"Ok, first of all, what makes you assume it would Potter?"
"He's crazy about you, and your family loves him, it would be better for you that I could ever be."
"You don't get to dictate my life for me, its my life and I'll be damned if anyone is going to tell me otherwise."
"And the second?" Draco asked hesitantly.
"I could never," Ginny gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, "ever," on the tip of his nose, "move on from you." And softly, she captured her lips on his. Instantly, their surroundings melted away. They were merely two people who had been deprived of each other for months, two people who lived in constant fear and oppression, two people who's love and hunger for one another had only grown in their time apart.
By late-morning Harry had given up hope of extra sleep, and turned to his usual wandering around before the rest of the house fully woke. Since no one had the opportunity to sleep the night before, they had non-verbally decided to sleep through the morning. Harry found most of the cottage to be simple and domestic. Flur's decorating flair showed as the interior was in the color mode of green, dove white and pale blue.
It wasn't until he reached a room with a door slightly ajar, that his curiosity began to grow. Careful to not make it creek, Harry opened the door to a scene that instantly flooded him with anger. Draco, slumped in an almost sitting position, had both arms wrapped around Ginny, her hair splayed over his shoulder, and her body tucked neatly against his chest.
"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Harry heard himself roar. Draco immediately woke, and stiffened at Harry's presence removing his hands quickly from Ginny's body sending a stab of pain by his movement. Ginny slowly removed herself from Draco's chest, but not from her place from beside Draco.
"What the hell Harry." Ginny murmured rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"So you've decided to sleep around the ranks of the Death Eaters? We're not good enough for you?" Harry spat.
"You slimy piece-" Draco began to growl, but was cut off by Ginny slowly walking towards Harry. Her glare was more deadly than anything Draco or Harry had ever witnessed, and had Draco not been so angered by Harry's calling Ginny a slut, he would have felt sorry for the boy.
"What the hell did you just say?" Ginny asked quietly. Harry held her gaze steady, rage blinding him.
"You heard me." Harry sneered. Ron, Hermione, Bill and Flur, all rubbing sleep from their eyes, but looking quite alarmed appeared outside the doorway.
"What happened? Are you guys ok?" Bill asked the room quickly stepping inside the small guest room.
"We're fine." Ginny replied, her eyes never moving from Harry's.
"Yeah, it doesn't look fine." Ron snorted earning a jab in the side from Hermione.
"Turns out Ginny here has decided to convert Death Eaters by sleeping with them." Harry growled. Several things happened next, Ron cursed loudly and lunged towards Draco, Bill immobilized Ron with a full body biding spell, Hermione squawked at the news, Ginny threw Harry against the wall, one forearm pressed against his chest and the other at his throat, and Draco had managed to leap out of bed and stood against the wall.
"Ok, lets all take a breath." Bill told the group calmly. "Ginny, let Harry go." With a huff, Ginny relinquished her grasp on Harry, but only moved back a small step. Bill relinquished the curse on Ron, who jumped to his feet with indignation.
"I think we should allow Ginny and Draco to explain what's going on before we jump to conclusions." Bill continued.
"The hell we are," Ron growled.
"No, we are." Bill answered firmly, "And if anyone can't handle that, I'll immobilize you and ship you off to You-Know-Who personally."
"Bill ez right," Flur agreed with her husband.
"Why don't we all go down to the living room?" Bill suggested a strong hand on Ron's shoulder, "Darling, would you mind putting on some tea?"
"Not at all." Flur answered with a smile turning to leave.
"Harry," Hermione whispered wrapping a hand around his forearm, "Let's go." Wordlessly, he followed Ron and Hermione out of the room leaving Bill, Ginny and Draco in the guest room.
"I'm not sure exactly what is going on, and I'm not condoling this in the slightest, but I trust your judgment, Ginny, and if you say Draco is a good man, than I believe he is. I hope you two are ready for this, because there is nothing about what will happen next that will be easy. I love you, Gin." Bill pulled his sister into a tight hug and pressed a kiss on top of her hair, "good luck."
Bill looked firmly at Draco, who nodded in understanding before leaving Ginny and Draco for a brief moment. Ginny stayed rooted to the spot, and Draco wondered briefly if people could explode with anger.
"Hey," Draco crossed the room to face her, and held her head in his hands firmly. Her eyes flickered towards his grey ones, and fear began to replace her anger, "We are going to get through this. Sooner or later this was going to happen, and Bill's on our side. Or at least he won't let Ron and Harry kill me."
"I love you." Ginny whispered. "And not the 'we are about to die so I might as well say it I love you'. I love you, Draco Malfoy, I will never be able to love someone else as much as I love you, and I figured you should know before ya know…"
"I know," Draco smiled placing a brief, but compassionate kiss on her lips, "But it still is a 'we are about to die I love you'."
"I will kill those two goons if they try anything." Ginny promised.
"I fear more for them than I do for us." Draco smiled encouragingly, "You ready?"
"No." Ginny snorted, but grasped his hand in hers and began the decent to the living room.
To say the atmosphere in the living room was brooding was an understatement. Harry was pacing the length of the living room, and Ron was leaning against his knees as he sat next to Hermione on the sofa, who looked more nervous than Ginny had ever seen her. Bill had taken a spot at his usual seat on the small love seat, a place next to him saved for Flur who was heard gathering cups together from the kitchen.
"Harry, sit down." Hermione whispered as if she spoke too loud something would explode.
"No, Hermione, I won't sit down," Harry glared at his best friend, "I just saw my best mate's sister sleazing up with the enemy!"
"Don't call her that." Draco snarled at Harry. The two locked eyes as if in some sort of mental battle.
"Harry, sit down." Bill insisted. Silently, Harry moved to the couch and fell onto the couch with a loud 'thunk'.
"You too." Bill told his sister and Draco. Nodding, the two silently moved to the remaining couch, the soft white love seat across from the trio. Flur entered a few seconds with cups and saucers brimmed with tea, her usual cheeriness quieted by the growing tension and lack of sleep.
"Thank you, love." Bill smiled accepting one of the cups that flew towards him. The trio each accepted a cup, though refusing to drink, and Draco captured the two that flew towards them before handing one to Ginny.
"'Et 'vas nothing." Flur smiled politely.
"Now that we are all gathered, how about we start from the beginning? Just before we start, how about we all agree not to say or do anything until they are finished, deal?" Bill asked the trio, who nodded in agreement, though Ron and Harry were stiff in doing so.
"Um," Ginny cleared her throat, "Right. Well I guess the beginning of this," Ginny motioned between herself and Draco, her eyes not leaving the carpet, "started in my first year."
"She was eleven you bastard!" Ron shouted leaping to his feet. In one swift motion, Bill sent Ron's body into a full body-binding curse and back into a sitting position on the couch.
"We were friends you asshole!" Ginny corrected her brother glaring in his direction.
"I was merely trying to help her." Draco offered.
"Become a Death Eater." Harry snorted under his breath.
"Actually, he was the one who figured out the diary and got me away from it." Ginny corrected.
"Tom's?" Hermione asked shocked.
"Lucius Malfoy snuck it into my bag at Diagon Ally, and I just assumed Mom put it in there. He was making me do all sorts of weird things, most of the things I didn't remember doing, and Draco discovered it. He was planning to destroy it before you lot raided his room and stole it."
"You should have told us." Hermione sighed.
"I didn't want you guys to think I couldn't handle myself." Ginny shrugged, "Anyway, we kinda became friends after that. Well, more like really early morning Quidditch partners." Ginny smiled at the memory. "We've been best friends ever since, and," A small smile was exchanged between the two, "last October, we kinda became a thing. I've known about everything Draco has done, and the whole Dumbledore alliance since the beginning, and Draco hasn't been anything but a gentleman from the moment we became friends. I just want to remind you all that he just saved your sorry asses and willingly rotted in a dungeon to protect you, and you are so quick to rip him apart. Don't tell me he's a Death Eater. He may be branded, but he never has and never will become a Death Eater. The last two weeks should have proved that if nothing else has. He's not like his family, just like Sirius wasn't his."
"Sirius was entirely different." Harry whispered.
"And how was he so different?" Ginny prodded
"Sirius was very clear he didn't want to become a Death Eater from the beginning."
"Draco has too, we've had many discussions about it."
"I'm sorry I don't trust the boy who has tried to kill us multiple times."
"I never tried to kill you," Draco supplied quietly, "Just for the record."
"What the hell do you see in this bloke anyway? His inheritance is gone so if it was money you were hoping for you're kind of screwed."
"Maybe I love him." Ginny narrowed her eyes at Harry. Instantly the room hushed over.
"Love is- a strong word," Hermione smiled weakly at the two, "And you are so young…"
"What, I'm too young to understand what love is?"
"I'm just saying, it's hard to know what you feel yet…"
"Draco," Bill looked directly at the young Malfoy, "What exactly are your intentions with my sister?"
"Sir?" Draco asked, his presence cool and collected, but his brain working in overdrive with nerves.
"What do you hope to do after this war?"
"I-" Draco mumbled, what did he want? He never really thought about after the war. Hell, he never expected to survive through the war, "I'm not sure, I mean we are both quite young, and have full careers we have to think about, but I hope we can figure something out after this is all over." Draco's hand inched for her still shaking ones. Timidly, she grasped it, her focus still not leaving the others.
"That's very mature of you." Bill smiled, "I'm sure Mum and Dad will want to know at some point, but I don't see any reason why they need to know anytime soon."
"Mum already knows, and I think Dad does too. But thanks Bill." Ginny sighed in relief.
"I don't think he should be on the team." Ron spoke uncharacteristically calm, the charm now lifted.
"Wait," Harry looked between Ron and Draco, "We should discuss this. Kitchen?" Hermione and Ron nodded and the trio left for the kitchen.
"Well, I can't say I'm shocked." Bill looked to his sister pulling Flur from the arm of the chair to his lap.
"That they would kick him off the team?" Ginny snorted folding her arms across her chest, "Yeah, me neither."
"No," Bill smiled broadly, "You and Malfoy." Ginny and Draco exchanged a confused look before turning to Bill for further explanation, "You were never one to follow the rules, Gin. But you never were one to be rash. Take care of each other."
"Thank you, Bill." Draco extended his right hand, which Bill took firmly.
"Don't thank me yet, you still have to get through those two." Bill nodded to the kitchen. "Besides, if you do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt her, she has six brothers plus Harry to answer to, two of which will take you out in a heartbeat."
"If I did anything to hurt her, I would deserve it all." Draco affirmed.
"Fred and George are going to kill me for not telling them first." Ginny leaned against the couch pulling a hand through her long red hair.
"I have a feeling they already know." Draco assured.
"What makes you say that?"
"Before I left, they told me that there's a place for me at their shop, presuming I survive and all that. I believe their words were, 'we want to keep it running by Weasleys'."
"Those two!" Ginny cursed half-heartedly. "Well we'll tell them later, with everyone else I guess. Ah, the verdict has arrived." The trio reentered, Ron and Harry looked as though they were battling each other, but Hermione looked somewhat pleased with herself.
"Draco, we owe you our lives for what you did back in the Mannor, and I think its safe to say that everyone here thanks you deeply." Hermione began, "But we feel as if having the four of us together is only going to make things more dangerous for everyone. If you would be willing, we would love to keep using your knowledge to find the Horcruxes, and we can figure out some way of communicating and such."
"Sounds fair," Draco nodded expressionless.
"Right," Hermione gave a soft smile, "Well, we should be heading off soon, erm..."
"You don't want to stay and rest more?" Bill asked eyeing Hermione who seemed to be the only one not seething at Draco.
"No, I think it's better if we get going. Draco, did you have anything in the bag you sent that you need?" Hermione asked sweetly.
"Ah, yes I do actually." Draco slowly stood with jagged and painful efforts. Hermione extended her bag to Draco so he could rummage through to find the wooden box he had hastily thrown in the bag.
"Did I have my wand when I got here?" Draco asked suddenly remembering his wand was not on his person.
"It is on the bedside table in your room." Bill nodded.
"Thank you." Draco nodded to Bill, "Then this is it." t
"Ok," Hermione looked terribly awkward, "Well I guess we should be heading out. Erm, thanks for everything."
"Anytime." Draco forced a Malfoy smile towards the trio, "Take care of yourselves."
As simply as that, the trio left and the cottage was left to Bill, Flur, Ginny and a still standing Draco.
"We should get you back upstairs to rest, you still have a lot of recovering to make." Ginny stood and offered her body as support for Draco.
"Would you like anything to eat?" Bill asked. The thought of food made Draco realize how hungry he was and how little food he had eaten in the last few months. Hermione was a good cook, but as winter grew steadily colder, finding food was not as easy as it sounded.
"Food sounds fantastic, thank you." Draco accepted.
"I vill bring zumthing upztairz." Flur smiled before leaving for the kitchen.