Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I Will Always Love You
Prologue
"Love is a hidden fire, A pleasant sore, A delicious poison, A delectable pain, An agreeable torment, A sweet and throbbing wound, A gentle death." - Fernando de Pujas
"So, did you miss me?"
Twisting around, Virginia Weasley peered at the person standing behind her. A stunning man with crystal blue-gray eyes and gleaming white-blond hair was smiling wryly at her. He seemed perfect and immaculate, except for the way his hands were shoved awkwardly in his black coat pockets, revealing anxiety and tenseness. Dressed in all black, Draco Malfoy seemed very out of place. In spite of this, he was unconcerned about how he might have looked in his surroundings.
"Nah. Not really."
Most people would have been stunned by the seemingly careless riposte, as not many dared to speak in such a casual manner towards a Malfoy. However, Virginia was not most people.
"You didn't," Draco mused.
"No. In fact, I was happy about your disappearance. Why are you here?"
Virginia Weasley was a very blunt woman. Having worked in a bookstore for five years, she was not the type to beat around the bush for answers, especially regarding those silly little questions about certain romance books that usually induced little girls into blushing while attempting to inquire about said books.
"Ah, well. You see, I got bored from my trip to New York. Not much was there. So I decided to come back."
"Hmph," Virginia scoffed, "What? There were no purebloods in New York for you to fuck, is that it? Is that why you're back? You got bored?"
"Well...not necessarily. I just missed ol' Diagon Alley. That's all."
Virginia sneered, "Of course, Dracie."
Draco winced, "You know I don't like that name."
Virginia shrugged. "That's why I like to call you that." Moving away from Draco, Virginia resumed her task of organizing the books on the bookshelves.
"Gin! Talk to me!" Draco pleaded.
"Why should I? You leave for two years without a word or notice and suddenly you're back? If it weren't for Pansy Parkinson and her gossip, I never would have known where you went. Did you know how worried I was?" Virginia exploded with a yell.
Draco was shocked. "You...you were worried?"
"Well of course! Why wouldn't I be. I thought you were killed or something." Unwilling to show Draco how much she suffered when he was gone, Virginia tossed Draco a threatening glance and returned to her previous job.
"Gin, please," Draco begged. He grasped the corner of her sleeve.
"Please what? Leave me alone." Virginia twisted away.
Seeing how Virginia wouldn't respond to his pleas, Draco became irate. "It's not like I didn't try to come back! It's not my fault my father wanted me to marry some prissy girl! Don't try to make this sound like it's my fault. If it weren't for your reluctance to introduce yourself to my parents, none of this would have happened," he growled.
"Hah! They would have a heart attack. Honestly, can you imagine what they would look like when they find out that their son was meeting a muggle-lover?" Virginia snorted.
"So? It's not like you are muggleborn! The Weasleys, just like the Malfoys, are known for their pure bloodedness in their families. Even though your family is not...exactly as wealthy as mine, your family remains well-respected and your lineage can be traced at least back a thousand years!"
Virginia let out a short bark of laughter. "Hah, not as wealthy. Try dirt poor! I am poor, Draco, you can say it. This is the reason why we cannot be together. We are from two completely different classes." There had been a time when little Ginny Weasley had been embarrassed to admit her membership in the Weasley family. Discomfited to be walking down the corridors of Hogwarts in hand-me-down robes, Virginia had been afraid to declare that her family was, indeed, deprived of money. However, time had cured her from her unhappiness of such hardship during her years as the youngest Weasley. For her family had something that many other families lacked, love and happiness.
"Ginny!" Draco cried in a fit of desperation.
"Don't Ginny me! Tell me, are you really going to marry your," Virginia paused as if something had left a bad taste in her mouth, "fiancée?"
"Well..." Draco hesitated.
"Hmph," Virginia scoffed. "So you haven't annulled your engagement. When are you planning to marry her?"
"I've...put it off."
Virginia let out a small bitter chuckle. "And after all we've been through, all you've promised me, you say you've...put it off? Sure Draco, let your parents take over your life. See if I care. After all, it isn't me who had broken our vows to each other, it is you." Utterly frustrated with this conversation, Virginia turned to walk away again.
"Please!" Draco hurried forward and attempted to stop her averting. He grasped her arm and tilted her chin towards his face. "Gin, please give me a chance."
"Why should I? When would we actually be able to be together, Draco? I am not willing to wait forty years until I am withered and old. I can't wait that long. I can't wait until your rich wife dies for us to be together. It's either marry her or defy your parents," Virginia declared, voicing her only view in this matter. "As much as I," Virginia's voice broke slightly, "love you, I can't wait forever. You know that, Draco."
Draco looked uncomfortable. Inside, he was facing his inner turmoil concerning his love for her. He knew he would not hesitate in running off with her and marrying her if not for the threatening repercussions that were imminent if he and Virginia were to marry.
"Gin," Draco attempted to reason with her again. "You know that I can't run off with you. You know why! I can't risk your life for my happiness! I refuse!" The desperate and helpless feelings were palpable in this man.
"And what, Draco, and should we both be unhappy and suffer? I'd rather try to escape and be together and live a fulfilled, albeit short life. You know that old saying, 'It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?' Well right now I think that quote makes a lot of sense."
"But..."
*Flashback*
"I love you Ginny," A seventeen-year-old Draco Malfoy said to the red-haired girl next to him. He looked down at her sweetly smiling face and knew that he was wholly, hopelessly, and completely in love. He did not remember when he fell in love, but from the precious memories he obtained from his mind he evoked his feelings of possessive protectiveness when he learnt of her innocence. Despite of people's rumors of the Chamber of Secrets and her involvement in it, Ginny Weasley remained innocent and unknowing of the world's terrors. Perhaps it was because her mother and her brothers had done a too great a job in endeavoring to defend her from the harsh truths of the real world, but no matter the reason, Ginny continued to be uncorrupted, even at the ripe age of sixteen.
He remembered his feelings of tenderness to the girl, the inability to hurt her physically and emotionally, and the utter faith he placed in her.
"I love you too Draco," Unbeknownst to Draco's feelings of immediate heartwarming gratification at her words, Ginny returned his words with a simple and innocent intonation. It was almost reflex-like. She had always readily returned these words, although this was the first time she voiced them to someone she regarded from a romantic viewpoint.
Draco experienced many things when he heard those words from his first and only love. He felt not only gratification, but also exhilaration and delight. He felt elated and joyous. He felt like he could jump up and down announcing to everyone he came across that not just anyone, but Ginny Weasley loved him. He never had such profound moments such as this one before, and it had affected him greatly. It had rocked him to his core, and changed the most basic beliefs he had of the world.
She never found out how much those words meant to him.
*End Flashback*
Draco faltered in his words when he recalled their memories together as teens. However, he scowled when he came upon another memory. This one ensured their separation from each other.
*Flashback*
"Draco, my boy, come over here," Lucius Malfoy said as he extended one long finger and tapped the chair next to him elegantly.
Draco was reluctant to go to his father. Seated comfortably in his seat, Draco had no wish to remove himself from the cozy seat. The chair was in a good position, Draco mused – it was in the opposite corner from which Lucius sat. But, however reluctant Draco might be, Draco knew he could not disobey his father, even in the simplest of orders.
So, Draco forced himself upright and walked to his father. Lowering himself slowly onto the chair, Draco's eyes never strayed from his father.
"Well, Draco. Do you know what I'm going to talk to you about?" Lucius questioned.
"Um...it has to do with my grades?" Draco asked hesitantly.
"Wrong, my boy. I have to talk about that red-haired Weasley," Lucius spitted out as if it were the nastiest words on earth, "and how you have been disgracing yourself by associating with her. If I hear one more word about her and you together, you may not find the results most pleasing. Make no mistake Draco, and I will not repeat myself. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Draco replied quietly. Most people would have been horrified by the implications of Lucius Malfoy's deliberate words. Yet Draco was not most people – he was Lucius' son. He understood his father perfectly. Such was the way Lucius spoke to his son, full of threats that were not so obvious to the more oblivious minds.
"Good Draco." Lucius' tone softened a slightly, "You are seventeen, Draco. You are going to graduate soon. I do not wish to see you waste your time with such muggle-loving trash. Do not involve yourself with such rubbish, or she may just not graduate from Hogwarts, at all."
Draco had to repress an urge to argue with his father. Teeth clenched, his hate for his father seemed so palpable and clear in the air. He watched as Lucius waved an uncaring hand at him, dismissing him. Without a word, Draco rose from the chair, and walked out promptly through the door.
*End Flashback*
Shaking himself slightly from his brief reveries, Draco said earnestly, "You know I love you Ginny. I always will. But I have to protect you. Can't you understand that? Because I love you so much, I can't let you die."
Aggravated, Virginia shouted, "Bullshit! That is just pretty words that you spewed to excuse you from escaping into the world with me. They are not words that were supposed to make me feel better, they are just words that would ease your conscience! Why Draco? Why coming back to me? Go back to your rich fiancée!"
"Because I love you!" Draco finally shouted.
Virginia suddenly seemed deflated. "If you really do, then why can't we be together?" She whispered.
"You know why, Gin..."
"Yes I do. So I guess this is goodbye." Sadly, Virginia looked up at Draco. Being only five feet three, Draco towered over her at six feet one. Averting her gaze, Virginia pinpointed her eyes at the books behind Draco.
"Virginia?" Draco's heart painfully clenched.
"What?" Virginia said quietly. She glanced at him briefly. This short glance revealed the nearly dried path of a single teardrop on his face.
Wordlessly, Draco softly trailed the back of his fingers down her face. Slowly, he lowered his face to hers, and pressed his mouth softly against hers. With a moan, their kiss began to grow in passion with every passing second. Their tongues tangled and clashed. Virginia's knees buckled at the sheer intensity of their kiss. She was only kept upright by Draco who drew her closer to him. However, the kiss did not last long. After a short moment, Draco released Virginia from his clutch. Stumbling back a few steps, Draco touched Virginia's lips tenderly.
"I will always love you," Draco promised as he gave her one last loving look. With a pop, he apparated.
"Draco..."
This may be the last thing that I write for long
Can you hear me smiling when I sing this song, for you, and only you.
As I leave will you be someone to say good-bye?
As I leave will you be someone to wipe your eye?
My foot is out the door, and you can't stop me, now
You wanted the best, it wasn't me
Will you give it back, now I'll take the lead
When there's no more room to make it grow
I'll see you again; you'll pretend you're naive
Is this what you want
Is this what you need
How you end up let me know.
As I go, remember all the simple things you know,
My mind is just a crutch and I still hope
That you will miss me when I'm gone
This is the last song
The hearts start breaking as the year is gone
The dream's beginning and the time rolls on
It seems so surreal, now I sing it.
Somehow I knew that it would be this way,
Somehow I knew that it would slowly fade.
Now I'm gone, just try and stop me, now.
You wanted the best, it wasn't me
Will you give it back, now I'll take the lead
When there's no more room to make it grow
I'll see you again, you'll pretend you're naive
Is this what you want
Is this what you need
How you end up let me know.
As I go, remember all the simple things you know,
My mind is just a crutch and I still hope
That you will miss me when I'm gone
This is the last song
And will you need me now
You'll find a way somehow
You want it too
I want it too
As I go, remember all the simple things you know,
My mind is just a crutch and I still hope
That you will miss me when I'm gone
This is the last song
~"The Last Song" The All-American Rejects
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