"Mr. Malfoy? The mail has come in...where would you like me to set it?"

"Just set it on the table." a hoarse and exhausted voice said from the desk of the dark office.

The small maid set the stack of letters gently down on the coffee table in the center of the room and turned to head towards the door, stopping slightly in the doorway, looking back at her employer hesitantly before turning quickly and heading out of the room, shutting the door with a snap behind her.

In the dark depths of the room, Draco stood facing the window which was hidden behind dense maroon curtains. A tiny slit in the curtains let him peer gloomily out into the streets below.

He wore his long white blonde hair down and it stuck to his sweat drenched forehead. Glass in hand, he took a swig of the dark vodka it held and closed his eyes, letting the stinging liquid burn his throat.

Torture. His father had endured torture trying to prevent him from a certain fate as a death eater. And what had that attained him? A loss that shook him to the bone.

And yet as he stood there, thinking painfully of his father, the only person he wanted to be with confused him. Why did he see her face every time he was upset? Why was it always her?

The dreams had been hard enough, but upon the unexpected death of his father why would he be thinking of her?

Taking another swig of vodka, this time emptying the glass, Draco held the glass up to the light, inspecting it. A sudden burst of rage hit him and he threw the glass to the floor, emotions flooding through him as the glass shattered merciless into pieces.

He collapsed to the floor, his hands covering his face, tears falling from his bloodshot eyes. How could I of known? he thought. How could I of known that I'd miss him this badly but want her?

Maybe it was their recent encounters, or maybe it was her stunning beauty. He didn't know what it was, but the only thoughts in his head were of her as he sat crouched on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably with millions of emotions clouding his mind.

He needed her, oh how he needed her. If only he knew that she needed him at the same moment.

~*~

"This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day. Our condolences go out to the family of Lucius S. Malfoy. Thank You."

A cold breeze covered the land as dark gray clouds circled over head. Rain began to fall lightly from the sky as dozens of people crowded around a large grave where a coffin was just being lowered into the moist ground.

Draco squinted his eyes against the rain, tears no where evident in his demeanor. He had no reason to cry anymore. Or maybe he just didn't have the will to.

His mother and their family members and friends stood with him, none of them saying anything. The silence was almost unbearable.

Ginny walked solemnly towards the crowd of people. What am I doing? she thought. She had gotten out of bed that morning, knowing from the newspapers that today was Malfoy's funeral. Without thinking she had gotten dressed and driven out to the cemetery.

Her heart had been working for her instead of her brain, which was currently coming back to terms with why she was there. She was there to comfort a friend. Wait, what was she saying? Draco wasn't her friend...why was she there then?

Before she could think of an answer, she had already come within a few feet of the crowd which was now diminishing away out of the cemetery. The only person left now was a man standing alone at the head of Malfoy's grave. Draco.

He looked up, noticing her there. Their eyes met but said nothing. Nothing needed to be said.

Ginny turned and began to walk back to her car when a voice called to her.

"Ginny, don't...don't go."

She stopped, turning around slowly. Her eyes met his again, and he had begun to walk towards her, the grass becoming muddy as the rain began to come down harder.

"Why are you here?"

"I was actually just asking myself the same question."

Draco paused, looking at her. Her fire red hair was wet with rain and plastered against her head. The black dress she was wearing was hardly wet because of the black cloak covering it. Her deep blue eyes seemed empty.

"I...I'm glad your here..." he said softly, so quiet it was almost a murmur.

Ginny was taken back slightly. What do I say to that? she thought nervously. This is the guy who made my life hell in school and I always had the impression that he hated me...but then again we did say we would start over. That means that I am nothing but a work colleague to him. But then why is he glad that I came to his father's funeral?

She looked up at him, into his steel eyes that failed him in his act to look unaffected with his fathers death. His eyes cried out with pain.

Suddenly she didn't know what she was doing. Her brain seemed to melt away and all reason melt with it. She reached up and touched his face, gently on his right cheek.

He winced slightly at her touch, closing his eyes.

Her brain fell back into her head like a rock and Ginny tore her hand away from his face, suddenly aware of what she was doing. She looked down at the ground and began to turn around when he grabbed her and pulled her towards him, crushing his lips down on hers in one swift motion.

Her mind told her to pull away, but her heart melted into his lips. So warm was his taste that she could feel it fueling in her system. A soft cry came from her throat as she kissed him back, almost greedily.

This was it, she thought. This was why I came here. Draco pulled out of the kiss slowly, looking into her eyes.

"I'm sorry Virginia." he said as he let go of her arm and turned around, walking away from her.

"Oh god.." she muttered silently under her breath, the tenderness of the kiss still trembling on her lips.

~*~

"Draco," Ginny called, stumbling through the muddy grass to catch up to him. He had stopped short of his fathers grave, and had turned around to face her again. This time his eyes held no sadness.

"Draco, I..." Ginny began, until she saw the malice plainly written on his face. Her heart stopped, any emotion she had been feeling suddenly jumped to fear at the look present in his eyes.

Suddenly the boy she had known and feared and hated back in school was standing in front of her, and she couldn't control the fear that built in her stomach and filtered into the sobs in her throat.

"Why did you come here? Why did you come when we both know you hate me...and my father?"

Ginny stood there, the rain falling harder from the sky. Breathing heavily and choking back sobs, she looked into his eyes and fueled on any courage she could muster.

"I came here because I wanted to help you...in you I saw a changed man, someone who I could really connect with and get along with...but looking at you now I see nothing but malice and anger...that's not the Draco I chose to befriend."

Draco's face seemed to pale slightly and the malice seemed to drain from his face, replaced by a very scared and lonely looking man.

His mind was racing, everything focusing directly on what this woman in front of him had just said. She was right, he realized, he was nothing but a ball of anger and malice, and the kiss that they had shared had been something totally unlike him and had revved up an anger in him that he couldn't control.

He couldn't believe himself. Sure, Ginny was beautiful, and she was nice, but this was a girl who would never want him, so how could he of kissed her? She had started it first, he thought. But maybe that was just her way of being sensitive to his dad's death.

Nothing he could think of could have prepared him for what happened next.

Ginny couldn't feel her legs. Cold wind was wrapping around her and enclosing her as she felt her body begin to move towards him. Her eyes stayed fixed in his, and each of their breaths seemed to be frozen in time.

What am I doing? she thought. I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago.

She stood so close to him now, their breath falling upon each others frozen face. Their eyes still held a stone cold gaze.

Ginny raised her hand to his face again, this time cupping his face in her palm. She felt a sob escape his throat at her touch, and saw a tear fall from his eye.

She moved her hand up towards his white blonde hair and ran it through it, caressing his cheek as she let it come down.

"Don't back away." Ginny whispered quietly as she stood on tip toe and ran her mouth into his. Draco reacted immediately and they both couldn't bear the emotions that flowed through them.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Draco held onto her tightly as their lips parted and their tongues explored every inch of each other's mouth.

The kiss lasted forever, each of them pouring their emotions into it. Draco's loss of his father mixed with his anger and frustration melted away through soft lips and nearly violent touches.

Ginny's heart cried out in it's own frustration and pain as she felt moved through the kiss. Her heart screamed that this was it, that this was what it wanted. This was what it needed to beat everyday.

Her mind fought an endless battle, telling her of the man that she was kissing. This man was cruel and evil, and she was kissing him, sharing with him something she kept away from others: her heart.

This time Ginny backed away, her hands resting comfortably on his chest. Rain ran down his face as she looked up at him, seeing his gray eyes through the curtain of white blonde hair.

The look was something that she couldn't read.

For a long time neither of them moved, both standing there in pouring rain, still as close as the kiss they shared and as connected as their feelings.

Draco placed a hand on Ginny's cheek, feeling her face gently. She closed her eyes and welcomed the touch, slowly laying her head on his chest. Sobs began to shake her as she thought of what was happening.

It seemed to reach him as well, because his chest started to shake as her wrapped her up tightly in his embrace and cried into her shoulder. Her own tears fell and joined his.

"What's happening to us Draco?" she said softly without moving.

"I don't know...but whatever it is, I think it's worth pursuing."

She couldn't reply. Instead her lips curved and her tears stopped. She had no idea why she was smiling.

~*~