A/N: Grr….ignore me, as of right now, I'm very angry. Why? Well, you see, I've had this chapter all nicely written up, then, the computer froze, and alas, I had not hit the save button. I suppose I learned my lesson. Always hit the save button. Or get a new computer that won't freeze constantly.
Chapter 13: One by OneIt's no lie
She is yearning to fly.
She says Adios, says Adios,
And now you know why
He's a reason to sigh
She says Adios, says Adios…
Goodbye.
The sun shone brightly in the clear glass windows and the room filled with clear, bright light—light that brought so many things with it; hope, peace, and another day. Slowly, she stretched, a smile upon her lips ask she awoke from the most wonderful dream. Then a frown crossed her peaceful face, because as she thought about it presently, she could not recall what her dream was about. She was sure it included some kind of wonderful paradise land, and the most beautiful music…
Chasing her thoughts away she doggedly climbed out of bed, pulling on her uniform, rather disheartened. Reality; what a bitch.
The sun was shining so cheerfully, yet the world insisted that she still have her dreadful classes. What's worse, her first class of the day was the one and only potions—hell for any student not in Slytherin.
" Really cheers me up, you know, waking up to see Snape's greasy hair every single morning." She grumbled, pulling on her shoes now. Through all the grumbling, though, Ginny Weasley could be found rushing into the Potion's classroom 10 minutes later.
As stealthily as she could, she snuck in, receiving quite a few glares from some. Breathing out a sigh of relief, as there was no sign of Snape, she plopped down in her chair. Snape really was an ignorant, idiotic gi—
" A 7th year near her graduation, and still can't get to class on time?" Ginny groaned, sinking low into her cool, metal chair. Lord, deliver me from this torture.
" We should send you back to first year, no?" he went on, his black beady eyes fixed on her.
" Sir—" Ginny cleared her throat, thinking up an excuse other than, ' I woke up late, and I'm a lazy ass so I didn't bother running to class. '
" No excuses, fool of a Weasley!" he roared, slamming the desk.
" If you say so." She squeaked meekly, ignoring the sneering glances from the Slytherins.
" Stay quiet, if you will." He whispered scathingly. Ginny frowned, picking up her quill and beginning to draw—doodle on her roll of parchment, something she should not have been doing.
" If only someone would understand me and my troubles…"
~*~
"Oy, Harry!" Ronald Weasley. Undoubtedly it was him. Who else would have such an annoying voice—
" Hullo, Ron."—maybe Harry Potter could compete, along with Granger, but other than that, he was sure no one had a voice quite as annoying as theirs.
" How's work?"
" Fine, I suppose. You?" Oh, Potter, you are ever so boring…
" Fine, fine—mum's in a frenzy though, been talking non-stop about Ginny's graduation tomorrow." Ron mused. And Draco sat straight up against the cold stone wall, his ears alert. Ginny's graduation? A pang of guilt coursed through him as the memories flooded back. And of course they had never left, but it seemed like such a long time ago. So many summers ago, it seemed. Yet it was not. God damn it, keep your mind on the damn mission!
" Ah, Ginny…" I hate you Potter…
" Yup. I'm worried about her though, Harry. Ever since this past summer, she hasn't been the same. Mum says its just hormones, but damn she's got mood swings, then. So melancholy, you know? And that's not normal for her. Something's bugging her, that's for sure. Been sighing a lot, saying things like, ' The heart is such a fragile thing…' and ' My god, he's a bastard!'" Draco froze, his fists clenching.
" Don't worry about it, Ron, I'm sure she's ok." Came Harry's jolly voice. Shut up, Potter.
" Yea…I reckon you are right--" he paused for a moment. A couple of geniuses here, eh?
"—It's just that I love her, and I'm just worried. She's the only sister I've got, you know."
"Ack!" Draco hissed suddenly, clutching his arm. He rolled up his sleeve and saw it glow in all it's ugly glory, forever remaining on his arm. The mission. And suddenly, he felt tired. He wanted nothing more than to just go home and lay in bed. The mission. Should he succeed…he didn't want to think about it. Come on, go on, just kill them and be done with it! But the images stubbornly flooded in anyway, images of her crying, brown eyes wide…
He stalked away alone in the dark night, cursing under his breath. The dark lord would not be pleased…but then again, he didn't really want to please him—he just valued his life.
"I'm doing this for your sister, Weasley…" he muttered into the cold night's air, gray eyes narrowed dangerously.
~*~
He sat alone at his desk, fingers tapping the wooden surface rhythmically. He was home. Yet it was so cold here, and it wasn't from the nasty weather. This kind of cold emanated from the very core of him, chilling his bones, his heart, his soul—if he had a soul. His mind floated over to her smiling face, and graduation.
'Ginny—says she wants to move to the U.S. after graduation. I told her she was batty—I mean, the United States? What for? Why would she ever want to run away from her life? But the thing is, I reckon she'll really do it. And Harry, I just hope she's alright, is all.' It was his fault. Because of him, she had chosen to flee her home. Because of him, she was running. Because of the choices he had made. Regret welled up within him. So go after her.
But he couldn't. His life, as of right now, was perfectly balanced, was it not? His life was perfect, and he felt miserable. He couldn't throw his life out the window, just like that. He couldn't love her—it simply wasn't possible. It was like defying the law of gravity-- it just did not happen. Through all his thoughts, however, doubt still managed to creep in. And the memories floated back.
'Mommy…' he called, his voice oddly small. Her face beamed back at him lovingly, blue eyes so clear.
' Yes, Draco?' she called, her voice sounding tired all of a sudden.
' Do you love Daddy?' His tone was light, yet even at his young age, there was the slight tinge of bitterness in his voice. And then there was that awful pause, where her eyes so clear suddenly clouded up. Gripping his shoulders, she whispered to him softly at first.
' Some people, spend their whole lives wasting away on their own account, because of the foolish, stupid, small mistakes they made long ago. One mistake changes the course of your lifetime, Draco—the difference between good, and bad.' Draco's eyes were wide with confusion, yet he listened on.
'Draco, listen to my words and someday, understand them. Don't let the precious chance pass you by, and make yourself a good life. When true love passes by, you'll know, for that one will make you laugh, yet cry at the same time, make you want to change your ways, to live forever with them, anywhere, under any circumstances, and make you want to fulfill their every desire. And when that person passes you by, don't let them. Grab them, chase them, go to the ends of the world for them. Don't live your life as if you'll never hurt, you'll never die. Live your life to the fullest, Draco, and don't ever let chance pass you by.'
And now after thinking of her words again, it made sense. The desperate tone in which she had told him. All his life, he had lived up to be the one person he thought he had wanted to be. And what was that? The lowly servant of a weakening dark lord? Hurry.
Getting up abruptly, he rushed down the flight of stairs, the blood pounding in his ears. Hurry. Grabbing his coat off the hook, he swung open the door, and ran out alone into the dark night.
She stood by the window, watching her son disappear out of sight, feeling a tear roll down her pale cheek. Hurry.
The sun set low below the horizon, the sky turning a brilliant vermilion color. It was truly beautiful. She sat under the tree, munching half-heartedly on a doughnut, wishing the sun would stop setting. Tomorrow, she would leave her home, leave everything behind. Of course she was scared by the prospect. She was lost, and she didn't know where her life would lead. Would there be something magical in the U.S. to mend her heart? The wind howled, but held no answer. There were some people lurking about, most of which were love struck couples taking their last walk together before they parted. But soon, even they left as the sun dipped even lower. At last, she was completely alone.
'Bloody hell.' She whispered, squinting into the distance. A figure cloaked in black approached her. It couldn't be…No, he wouldn't…but as time flew by, and he grew closer, his silvery blonde hair came into view, and her eyes grew wide with—horror, surprise, something. The minute it took for him to approach her, to stand right before her was like forever. But finally, he halted, face grim yet determined in an odd way. And she never once took her eyes off of him, because she was frozen. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, thoughts that didn't make sense, thoughts that contradicted one another. Getting no reaction from his presence, he sighed, dropping his hands by his sides, his head hanging low.
"Ginny…" His voice sounded tired and mournful. But Ginny didn't care.
"No! Get away from me, bastard!" she shouted urgently, not bothering to let him talk. She scrambled backwards only to grab onto the rough bark of the tree. And then there was the crying. The tears that sprang from her eyes unwillingly. His face looked troubled beyond words, and he looked so very pained, yet he did not say anything. Not for a while. And for that while the silence overtook them; he staring at her, she staring at him.
" I came back." He said softly, sounding almost pitiful. But there was no sympathy in her. She lashed back sharply, harshly, hitting him with words that he wouldn't forget soon.
" I don't give a shit, Malfoy! You're lower than scum, and don't even deserve to live. You wanna know why? Because you're a bloody coward. And I hate you. I hate you." They were like knives, words were, but he did not do anything about it.
" I know I'm a coward, Ginny." He said, closing his eyes, jaws tightening. But merely a moment later, they were open again, clear and desperately seeking for some answers.
" But hell, Ginny, wouldn't you be too? I wasn't supposed to know how to love, and I wasn't supposed to know how to feel. If I told you I loved you, everything that I had known, every belief I ever had would be gone. And the only thing I would have had would be you. And honey, I didn't trust love. I know what it can do. I know it can rip you apart in a second. Then, what? What happens then, when you are gone, my heart ripped apart, with nothing in this world?" Silence.
She stayed quiet, though her head was shaking fervently, and she was muttering to herself. Her eyes were still full of unshed tears, and she was gasping for breath. Memories.
" So, if you're such a coward, why are you back now? Because you felt scared? Scared that I might forget about you? Come back to say, ' Hey, don't forget me, that bastard you love.'?" She spat, choking on her own words as she struggled to breathe properly.
" Haven't you figured it out yet, Ginny? I've come to say, ' Hey, don't forget me, the bastard that loves you.'." His gray eyes shined luminously in the now quickly approaching darkness, and they were the same as before, yet different. All his arrogance, all the uncertainty was gone—in its place stood hope, love, and hurt.
" And why now?" she asked. " Why've you come back now?" she repeated, her voice louder this time. When she got no answer but the cricket's lonely chirping, she laughed bitterly.
" Oh, I get it. What, did your oh-so-important Lord Voldemort send you here?" Her voice was full of fiery hate, yet it was nothing compared to the flash of anger that coursed through his eyes as he heard her words.
"Stupid girl." He whispered quietly. He stepped close to her. She moved away. Then, grabbing her shoulders, he forced her to look at her, to look into his eyes.
" I've come back because realization hit me harder than a pile of bricks, Weasley. Because I've realized that my life was worth nothing, and that I had made the biggest mistake of my life, letting you go. You make me want to laugh and cry at the same time, and—god damn it, you make me go crazy. Why the hell should I let this chance pass me by?"
By now, she had calmed down slightly, her shoulders shaking as she cried silently. And it nearly tore him apart, seeing her cry like that. It nearly made him want to run back, so she would stop crying. But he found he couldn't. Maybe because he wanted to stop guessing about his life. Maybe because he was so selfish.
Collapsing onto his knees, he let go. He let all his pent up bitterness out, and finally let the tears fall. He watched his tears fall onto the grass, and he didn't say a word.
She watched his strong façade go down in a second, and she watched him cry. The first time she had seen him cry. And the way her heart twisted—she couldn't stand it. Reaching out, she stroked his head, kneeling down beside him. Bastard. One tear falling from his eyes made her heart soften.
When he looked up at her, his eyes were foggy and bloodshot, and he looked a mess, but she could see it in him. She could see all his regret.
Looking up at the sky, Ginny whispered despairingly.
"Oh, god help me…"
"I love you." She whispered to the man in front of her, wrapping her arms around him. " But how can I ever be with you, when the whole world will rip us apart? How, when both of us will be in danger?" she asked in her light and reasonable voice—or at least she tried to. He pulled away from her, his eyes wide and sparkling. Set with a stubborn kind of gaze.
" So we'll run away." He said slowly. Ginny frowned, confused and flustered by his words.
" We'll run away together, Ginny—run away from the world, from our worries, to a place where no one will find us, a place where peace is abundant." Ginny sat there, silent, taken by surprise by his proposition. He smiled gently, and took her hand in his. Leaning down, he whispered one last time into her ear.
'Run with me…'
So she did. Forgetting about everything else, she took his hand and ran. Run. They ran across the vast field, and though nothing about them had changed—everything had. Their worries and troubles had suddenly gone away, and their hearts danced merrily, beating as one as the night overtook them, their smiles, their laughter…their love. And the wind rushed them on, ever whispering.
Run.
A/N: Last chapter. But wait—there's just one more epilogue, and then I'm finished. *sniff * I really hope you thought it was ok…Do I get a cookie now? ^_^