Title: Through the Siege
Author: Matriaya
Summary: When Hogwarts falls under attack by Voldemort and his forces, Draco and Ginny are forced to spend the night in a storage closet. Battling death and their own set ways, unlikely emotions blossom.
Dedication: this one goes out to Draigonfire. You are seriously the best writer on the planet girl. I'm note even joking. I bow down to your immense greatness. And to Grace. Pirates for Life
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not a single thing. But if I did, I would buy a big house in the Caribbean and spend the rest of my life sitting on the beach, drinking Mr. Pibb out of empty rum bottles. (drink up me haughtys yo ho!)
______
A chilling wind speared through the hallways, tossing the thick silence around with such force it could slice through bones. Those who paid attention could felt the malicious intent laced in the wind. It had become quite obvious the wind wasn't spun from the depths of the Earth – something deep in the shadows conjured the impending storm. The Dark Lord was back.
~~~
Ginny scurried down a dark hallway, her whole body trembling with fear. The shrill alarm had just sounded, Hogwarts was under siege by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Numerous times throughout the year, the students and staff had been drilled on what to do should such an unspeakable event happened. Everyone was supposed to go immediately to the nearest no-windowed classroom and wait until the "all-clear" was given. Only one flaw in this plan – she had no idea where the nearest windowless classroom was. In fact, she had no idea where she was. As so many others had done in the past, she took a wrong turn on the way to Divinations and found herself lost in the endless labyrinth of hallways that made up Hogwarts. On any other day it would've proved to be in her favor, giving her an excuse to miss a bit of class. Today it was life threatening.
Fear blinded her, pounding through her mind and squeezing at her heart. Everyone else was together – panicked but still together. She was all alone. Not even the whisper of a human soul echoed through the vast hallway. Off in the distance, the sound of rock exploding trickled in. She was cut off from the happenings outside however, the only thing she focused on was putting one foot in front of the other and running. To where she had yet to determine, but the instinct to run was overwhelming. Forever, her feet pounded the cold stone of the floor, forever did her heart beat out the eternal rhythm of terror. Just when the horror had become too much, a blessed angel of mercy beckoned from a doorway previously unseen by her – calling her name.
More like one of hell's angels, she decided as she took in who it was. Draco Malfoy. Instantly she recoiled to the opposite wall, staring at him with a mix of apprehension and suspicion.
"Ginny, come on! We need to hide!" he called, gesturing towards the room. Finding herself at a temporary loss for words, Ginny simply shook her head. This was, after all, the son of her family's greatest enemy, not to mention a death eater and deep supporter of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Maybe he even had the dark mark already. Rumors of such had already circulated the gossip main-stream, though they had yet to be confirmed. A look of confusion crossed his face at her refusal. It swayed her opinion momentarily. Why would be look confused if he knew it was a trap? Then the image of a hoard of death eaters with their beady eyes peering out from beneath midnight hoods shot through her head and the fear started up anew.
She wouldn't move from the spot, her resolution was set. There was no way in hell that she would hide in a room with that poison-tongued serpent. As if to contradict her, marble and stone exploded in a haze of dust down the hallway, announcing rather gruesomely the arrival of the death eaters. One more glance at Malfoy's face revealed a bloodless mask of fear. He too was terrified; there was no faking the emotion she saw there. Releasing one last deep breath, she darted forward into the open doorway. With the slamming of the door behind them, the room was plunged into total darkness. For a long moment, silence hung thick, and Draco thought the sight of Ginny diving into the room had been a dream. A soft whimper of fear sliced through the inky blackness, and he knew she was there, against the far wall.
"Luminos," he took out his wand and spoke. A beautiful light poured forth, and the darkness was obliviated. Sure enough there she was, crouched against the wall, trembling from head to toe. He hadn't the slightest clue why he'd actually helped the annoying weasel in the first place. In the end his father would've commended him for leaving a Weasley to die. Not that he wanted his father's praise in the first place. Lucious Malfoy was the enemy now – he was liable to kill Draco, he was too far under the Dark Lord's spell.
Draco refused to join the crusade against mudbloods however, and lost all communication with his father. Though he was fine not speaking with the man, it meant that he was absolutely alone. Perhaps that's why he took pity on Ginny. She was clearly completely lost as she ran down the hallway. The real reason he offered her sanctuary in his little hide away bothered him. For one brief moment, he took pity on the girl. Going against all his training as a child, he let emotions rule his head. When he saw the fear on her face, etched even in the way she ran, he felt compelled to make it go away. Fear would be something that would haunt them both tonight, relentlessly. But at least he wouldn't be alone.
Using the light from his wand, Draco lit a spare torch and set it in the stand. Despite the denseness in the atmosphere, the flickering firelight melted away a bit of the tension. Ginny, who was still crouched next to the wall, lifted her head just slightly to glance around her. They were in a storage closet, the 2 walls to the side were lined with shelves; cardboard boxes were stacked on the shelves. What exactly were in those boxes had yet to be determined. Well, there was no army of hideous death eaters waiting to rip her limb from limb, that was a plus. There was, however, the last person in the school she'd want to be trapped in a room with.
"Are you okay?" his words came out hesitantly, echoing in the small space of the room. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him, just nodded. After a long period of awkward silence, Draco's annoyance level grew.
"Don't think I'm helping you because I've gone soft or anything Weasel," he snapped. "I just didn't want anyone to think I was working for the asshole outside."
Not many people would speak out against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Malfoy'd probably grown up around his cronies though, Ginny figured, so it was no big deal for him.
"Thank you,"
Her whisper hung in the air for a long moment. Draco was too shocked to speak. Did she just admit feelings of gratitude? Was it possible that the Weasley girl was finally realizing her place in life, and was thanking him for not making her life a living hell (like he had her brother)?
"For what?" he bit out roughly.
"For saving my life."
As she spoke, she lifted her gaze to meet his.
The quick retort that waited on the tip of his tongue dissolved into thin air. Emerald flashes of moonlight gleamed up at him from beneath long glossy lashes. Swimming in the endless shafts of light was a mixture of fear and tears. Tears, he noted with mild surprise, that she was trying desperate hard not to shed. Stupid weakling. That was his first response to the scene. But then the Weasleys were always a weaker breed. This malicious train of thought was quickly obliterated by a rare burst of emotion. Slowly, almost with hesitance, he crossed the small expanse of the room and crouched down next to her.
"Ginny, no one knows this closet is here except me and Snape," he reassured her. "The Dark Lord won't find us."
Technically that was a falsehood. There were plenty of ways Death Eaters could've found out about the closet, but it was safer than in one of the classrooms where everyone else huddled. Something akin to amusement leaked into her gaze as she stared at him.
"Is this a 'we're-all-going-to-die-so-the-roles-are-going-out-the-window-and-your'e-actually-going-to-be-nice-to-me' kind of thing?" she asked. She still hugged her waist, and there was a weary skittishness in the way she held herself, but the deer-in-the-headlights look was gone.
"Yeah," he grinned at her. "I guess there is."
Ginny couldn't help but smile back at this. The serpant with a heart of ice had turned, for one night only, into a human.
With a huge sigh he slumped down onto the floor next to her, leaning against the wall, and stared hard at the doorway.
"Don't think this'll last into tomorrow Weasel," he growled, more to assure himself that to warn her.
"I go back to being the most popular boy in Hogwarts, and you'll be the lowlife muggle-loving slime that you are."
Ginny laughed. There was nothing funny about what he said, it just struck her as extremely hilarious With her laughter the last bits of fear melted away. All that was left was the sinking realization that she was trapped in a room with Draco Malfoy.
It was going to be a long night.
Minutes ticked by in silence at first, drawing on into an endless void of tension. Seeing as they were enemies on a daily basis, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. The contents of the boxes, as Ginny soon discovered, was primarily old Hogwarts robes with the house patches ripped off. Curious, she thought, what all these were doing here. Maybe Malfoy and Snape were selling them on the black market – supplying outfits for Death Eaters or something. It would be interesting to hear his cover up story.
To the great surprise of both kids, the hallway outside the doors was silent. There was no scraping of feet or hissed orders. The rumblings of destruction far away in the castle filtered through every once and a while, but there was no apparent danger to their lives.
"What's your favorite muggle movie?" she asked suddenly, shattering the silence. Draco, who had been absently making random coloured tendrils of smoke come out of the end of his wand, looked up at her in surprise. It was the most random question in the world, that much was true, but Ginny made it a habit to ask everyone she met. Seeing as how they had never been formally introduced (the run-in at Flourish and Botts didn't count) she'd never had a chance to ask him. But of course his family hated muggles, why would he have seen a muggle movie?
"Shrek." He answered, looking down at the ground with slight sadness on his face. A grin split hers.
"Shrek? Really? You struck me as more of a Resident Evil kinda guy."
He'd mocked her since she set foot in Hogwarts, it was only fair she could enjoy a jest once and a while. He didn't even react to that, which irked her a bit.
"You're a muggle lover, you must watch them all the time. What's your favorite?"
Though there was a definite sneering tone in the first part of that statement, the question was friendly enough.
"A Walk to Remember." She admitted. He snorted at this and shook his head.
"A sappy romance," he said. "I should've known."
As his words disappeared from the air, she looked down from where she was peering into a box and said with mild amusement,
"What ever happened to the "lets-be-nice" part of this agreement?"
That trademark smirk appeared on his lips.
"Just because I'm not going to turn you into a miserable mound of sobbing Gryffindor trash that I should, doesn't mean I won't state the honest truth."
This was the Draco Malfoy that had all her friends swooning over him; the cocky fast talking bastard with a "Don Juan" aura and a sexy smile that could make a girl melt. Lucky her, to be trapped alone with him.
"You want the honest truth Malfoy?" she shot back just as easily. "You're an arrogant asshole who's snogged too many a girl and thinks his gorgeous smile can get him out of anything."
Draco blinked. Did Ginny Weasley just compliment him? Wow, she really must be out of it. Not, of course, that he was going to let her get away with it – oh no.
"So you think I have a gorgeous smile huh?" his words slid out slyly. Ginny laughed and shook her head, turning back to the boxes in front of her.
Avoiding the truth was futile. Malfoy was an incredibly good looking guy, there was no denying it. Girls of all years and houses flocked to his side, hoping to receiving a glance from those steel eyes of his. Even her friends had a crush on him at one point or another. Somehow she'd managed to avoid his charms – though it wasn't too surprising; he had plagued her family for years. For once she was happy she repulsed every bone in his body. It would make everything a lot easier.
As time dragged on, conversation died out as rapidly as it had begun. Ginny sat in the corner humming to herself and Draco practiced spells, though she'd never heard of them before. That's why, when the blast shook the hallway, both were caught entirely off guard. A gasp ripped from her throat as she recoiled to the far wall, nearly running into Draco as she did.
"What the hell was that?" Draco hissed. Without even realizing it, she clutched to his arm. With fear flooding back into her eyes she looked at him in the sparking candlelight.
"He's come for us."
Both encased in wild terror, the two kids sunk back against the wall and listened in silence to the scene outside.
"Master," a voice slithered in, "the Malfoy child is close."
There was a silence – only the sound of Ginny's pounding heard thrummed steadily. Then, as if in their minds a deep rumbling began: a laughter that filled their spirits with an icy chill. A pair of huge red eyes materialized in the closed doorway in front of them. Draco clamped a hand over Ginny's mouth, effectively stopping the scream that had formed in her throat. The eyes watched them a moment longer, seeming to stare into their very souls, then disappeared. Slowly, he released his hold on her mouth, brushing that hand down her hair unconsciously as he did. She tore her horrified gaze away from the door and looked at him in question. He put one finger to his lips and gestured to the hallway.
The laughing sound that had penetrated their thoughts now resounded outside the door, but softer this time.
"He's in there."
A voice spoke; so awful it seemed to grind into their bones. There was a touch of amusement in the way the Dark Lord spoke, which only sent chills down their spine.
"And the Weasley girl is with him."
Ginny froze.
"Shall we get them out mi'lord?" one of the Death Eaters asked. Everyone seemed to hang on the pause that followed, waiting to hear his decision.
"No."
Draco almost fainted with relief.
"Pile up the rubble in front of the door, then put the Immovibeto charm on it. Let those two waste away and die in despair as I did."
To say the relief was short lived would be an understatement.
As the guffaws and shuffled footsteps of the Death Eaters slowly died away, Draco released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Instantly he got up and walked over tot he door. So the old codger stayed true to his word. The door wouldn't budge.
"Damnit!" he burst out, slamming a fist against the wood. Reluctantly, he turned around. In the light of the torch he could see Ginny staring downcast at the floor, trembling just slightly.
"We're going to die."
This snapped him out of his anger quick enough.
"Hey," he spoke sternly. "We are not going to die."
It was as if something broke inside of her. Where once was a trance-like voice, a wild panic now blazed.
"Yes we are! I know what the Immovibeto charm is Draco, I pay attention during Charms! There's no way in hell we're moving those rocks. We are going to starve in here!" Her words came out in a frantic rush. That's when the tears started. Uncontrollable and unstopping, they flowed down her cheeks, leaving little red stains in their wake.
Everything had become a blur. Who knew how long they'd been stuck in that room? Draco guessed it was around midnight. After Ginny's breakdown, they both fell into silence. Her mind was completely blank. Vaguely she felt Draco's fingers threading through her fanned out hair as she lay with her head in his lap. To anyone else it would've seemed extremely intimate, but tot hem it was merely detached comfort bred of desperation. The instinctal need for human contact and physical touch.
"Have you ever done anything you've totally regretted?" she looked up at him, though there was only a mild interest in her eyes. It was clear she was too far gone in her own delirium. He chuckled at that. The question had come completely out of the blue.
"Of course," he said with irony-filled amusement. "I'm a Malfoy, remember?"
A sweet little smile touched her face.
"What about you?" he asked, looking into her crystal clear eyes. "Is the angelic Weasley capable of doing anything wrong?"
At this, her eyes seemed to cloud with memory.
"We were in Diagon alley last year, buying school supplies. There was a beggar on the corner, asking for money. Said he hadn't had anything to eat in days. He grabbed onto my skirt, asked if I could spare some change. I had to buy stuff for school and mum said not to waste it so I brushed him off and walked on. I came back the next day with Ron, he'd left his coat at Flourish and Blotts. When we passed by the corner where the man had sat, I noticed the coppers were there. They were hauling away the body of the man. He'd died over the night."
Her voice turned bitter with resentment.
"If only I'd given him a knut or two! Maybe he would've lived!"
Draco had no idea what to say. Ginny's confession was a mere grain of sand in the vast expanse of all the things he'd done. Yet she burned at the guilt of it. He had plenty of money to spare, but whenever he passed a beggar on the street he usually kicked the person. She, who had barely enough to get by, was now racked with the internal feeling of blame. Maybe she was more of an angel then he'd first jested at.
"Ginny its not your fault that the man died." He reassured her. "There were a million other people at Diagon Alley that day who could've afforded to give him some money, you couldn't."
Somewhere in the depths of his mind it occurred to him that he probably shouldn't be trying this hard to make her feet better, but the boy inside of him realized they were most likely going to die in there so being nice was a pleasurable way to go.
"So you never did tell me what you regretted," she pried with a secret smile on her face. After his kind words, she felt considerably better.
"There's no way I'm getting out of this question is there?" he asked amused. She giggled and shook her head.
"Damn. Okay, if you say so."
Ginny smiled up at him and shifted slightly in his lap so she could see his face better.
"It was about 3 years ago, and my family took a trip to Silvannia for our family vacation. There was a family staying in the condo next to us – a mum and 3 little kids. They were mudbloods, lower society, they'd won the condo through the lotto. Father hated them from the moment their youngest ran into his with a plate of biscuits. I didn't"
The first hints of tears crept into his voice.
"I didn't want to do it Ginny, I really didn't! Its just Father…he said they weren't anything, he threatened to kill me if I didn't…"
It was quite obvious something was wrong. Cool, collected Draco Malfoy hardly showed a glimmer of emotion, but the fear and pain in his voice dominated him now.
Ginny pushed herself up to a sitting position, all her hair falling to one side of her head.
"I… I killed them. All of them." He admitted in a horrified whisper. "They screamed. I heard it through the wall, their screams. It was awful. Father just laughed, smirking at me. He told me he was proud of me. Told me that death by killer rats was an excellent way to go. I spent the next four hours puking in the bathroom, but their screams never went away."
Draco's heart split at the memories of that dreadful night. Though he wouldn't admit it even to his own mother, he still woke in the night with the screams of those girls in his head. They were so happy, so full of life…
"Draco."
All she'd said was his name. She was still comprehending it all as she took in the rampant desperation in his eyes. He'd murdered people. It had always been a commonly known fact that the Malfoys were evil people and most figured Lucious had knocked off a few people before Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord, but Draco? It was all too unreal. She should be afraid she knew – trapped in a room with a murderer – but somehow she wasn't. Instead, she scooted silently next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.
He was truly touched by this. Instead of calling him an animal and brandishing her wand as he'd originally thought, she told him without words that everything was all right. Silently he reached down and took one pale slender hand in his, examining it in the firelight.
"Look at us," he spoke quietly as he played with her fingers, "two enemies gone mad by the confinement, sharing the darkest secrets in our souls."
"Pathetic aren't we?" she agreed. Draco laughed, its hearty sound filling the silence.
It was the hunger that took them next. Gnawing endlessly at their empty stomachs until the piercing pain dulled to a mild discomfort. Another bout of insane hopelessness followed by the numbness of silence.
"I don't want to die," she murmured almost inaudibly. "I'm too young to die. There's so much I want to do with my life."
Draco remembered his words from hours earlier. He'd told her she wouldn't die, told her he'd get them out. The chance now was highly unlikely. Though short bursts of emotional activity came every once and a while, the last shreds of hope were slowly slipping away. Most likely the spirit would give out long before the body did.
"What did you most want to do before you died?" he asked, though he didn't look at her. He was too devoid of energy to lift his head off hers.
"Get kissed."
If any other person had said it during any other time he would've taken it as a come on and responded accordingly. But the tone in her voice resonated with the truth and his head shot up as he peered down at her in surprise.
Ginny should've been embarrassed with the heat of his gaze boring into her head, but for some reason she wasn't. She'd simply stated the truth, there was nothing shameful in that.
"Are you serious?" he asked, curiosity thick in his tone. As she lifted her head up to meet his gaze, the slightest sugary pink blush stained her cheeks. She nodded with a small smile, he was taken aback. Releasing a deep sigh he turned away a moment. Kissing had been a part of his every day life – it became as natural to him as breathing. In those moments of silence he tried to imagine what it was like for her, not being kissed, but nothing came to mind.
Never been kissed! It was straight out of that muggle movie! Yet judging by the timid way she faced him, he could believe it.
"I can remedy that," he murmured out, his voice more husky than he'd have liked. The slightest thread of fear laced through her gaze; and she stared at him, frozen. Just a day ago, Ginny would've gagged at the thought of kissing a Malfoy. His offer was very tempting though, especially under the circumstances. Hesitating just and instant, she nodded.
The air around them grew considerably warmer, it seemed to crackle with electricity. Draco just looked at her for a moment, unsure he'd seen correctly. No one else had ever put so much trust in him before. Even Crabbe and Goyle, who were supposed to be his best friends, held a blockheaded wariness in his presence. Yet Ginny sat before him, biting her lip – she looked so fragile – and though there was worry and timidity, there was no fear. Taking her small, pale face between his hands, he unconsciously stroked her silken cheek with his thumbs.
"Are you sure?" he asked. As much as his ego would've loved to rob her violently of her first kiss, something else inside him hesitated. She didn't smile, there was no cheerfulness
to reassure him, but she nodded again, variably placing herself completely in his hands. Slowly, very slowly, he drew her face close to his and kissed her softly on the lips.
His mind melted.
Never before had he tasted anything so sweet, so innocent, so pure. He stroked the skin beneath his thumbs, making Ginny shiver beneath his touch. The kiss was something Ginny felt all the way to the base of her spine. Tingling warmth shot through her veins, making her head spin. At first she wasn't sure how to react to the delicious onslaught of sensations. What should she do? How did she kiss him back? But the feeling of his fingers caressing her skin made all her worries slip away. He knew what he was doing, and for some strange reason she truly did trust him. So she let herself go, melding into him. His mouth coerced her lips to move, teacher her what hours of skilled practice had taught him. Too fast… too fast! His subconscious screamed at him. The instant she let go, a wild carnal desire swept over him, threatening to break all the restraint he now possessed. So to save them both the pain, he forced himself to pull away. A little moan tore from her lips as the warmth of him disappeared. Draco closed his eyes as a shudder of need swept through him There. It was over.
Ginny's eyes slowly fluttered open, looking up at Draco. She hadn't thought it was possible, experiencing something so… amazing. Her friends had always giggled about the pleasures of kissing, but never in her most vivid fantasies did she figure it would be this mind-blowing. And the way he made her feel so special, so wanted. It was all in her head, she was sure- why would a Malfoy ever want a Weasley? - but the magical feeling wouldn't go away.
"Thank you," she murmured, drowning in the silvery brilliance of his gaze. There was something undefinable, loosely akin to confusion that stared back at her. With a maddening slowness, he released her face, his fingertips brushing her cheek in passing.
Draco let out a shaky breath, leaning against the wall once more. Had really just done that? And enjoyed it? If he never saw her again in his life, he would be just fine. There was no way in hell he would be able to admit to the world he had just kissed a Weasley it was even harder to admit to himself it was absolutely amazing. Well her "one-thing-to-do-before-she-died" had been accomplished. Too bad the "dying" part was coming sooner than expected. It wasn't such a bad way to go, she decided, with the sweetness of Draco's kiss permanently imprinted on her lips. He seemed despondent as she glanced over at him. Probably mentally mocking her from awful kissing abilities. Oh well, she grinned, at least she was happy.
"What's the one thing you wanted to do before you died?" Ginny asked, gently prodding at the silence. He returned from his void with a sad look.
"One you could never give me," he replied.
Unwilling to take no for an answer, a playful smile lit her face.
"You'll never know until you tell me. Wait, wait, lemme guess. Is it… to shag a Slytherin?"
One perfect blonde eyebrow raised at this, and a smirk touched his face.
"I've already done that. Several times."
Her expression was priceless. Clearly Mr. and Mrs. Weasley kept their daughter more sheltered than he'd have guessed.
"Right. Well then, what is it?"
A somber cloud settled over him again.
"I don't want to be a Malfoy."
Silence, that fickle friend that had been plaguing them all night, found the opportunity to once more make itself known. Ginny's mind whirled. How was she supposed to answer this one? Family was something one was stuck with. Unless of course…
That was it!
"I've got it!" she burst out. "You've got to marry me!"
The look on his face was one of both surprise and skepticism.
"I think too long in confinement had messed with your head." He told her.
"No! no, I'm serious! Think about it. When two people get married, the wife usually changes her name tot he husband's right? But there's no rule that says the husband can't change his name to the wife's. I know that Weasley isn't exactly the most respected name in the community, but its about the farthest you can get from Malfoy."
Her argument was fair. He took a long moment to consider her words, the incredulousness of it actually making a small bit of sense.
"You realize you're absolutely mad?" he said, but couldn't keep the grin off his face. "You're 16."
"Yes, and you're 17.You made my wish come true Draco, I want to do the same for you."
It was the deep sincerity in her voice that swayed his decision.
"All right."
Ginny hadn't actually expected him to say yes. It made her happy though, to know that he didn't abhor her that much.
"Right, so… let's gets started!" she bubbled out. Her enthusiasm was amusing to watch, if nothing else. Draco had no idea how, locked in a storage closet, they were going to get married. She obviously had some sort of plan though, so he wouldn't' question. She hauled herself to her feet, an idea suddenly making itself present. Her feet didn't want to cooperate however, as a massive wave of dizziness smashed into her, nearly knocking her over. The wall broke her fall however, and she rested against it for a lingering moment, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing a hand to her forehead. Before Draco could make a fuss the spell had passed, and she proceeded with her plan.
A light spattering of dust filled the air as she pried open the flaps on one of the cardboard boxes. Shooting a mysterious glance in his direction, she pulled out one of the long black robes. Hobbling over to where he sat, she took the robe and fastened it to the shelf to the side of them, by slipping the top beneath another box.
"Draco Malfoy, meet Father Kris." She gestured to the floppy robe, and Draco cracked a smile. Struggled at first, though only slightly, he too managed to haul himself to his feet.
"And what are we going to use for rings?"
That did present a bit of a problem. Ginny had never owned such a fine thing as rings, and Draco had thrown away all of his family signet rings to spite his father two days ago. Another brilliant idea struck her then. Tugging at the tattered sleeve of her own robe, she ripped two 1 ½ inch pieces of string from a frayed seam.
"They're not exactly gold, but they'll do."
What surprised her most was the nervousness that bubbled up in her stomach. It was almost as if they were really getting married. In all sense of reality they had, they were.
"I, Ginny Elizabeth Weasley take Draco…"
Halfway through she stumbled, realizing with slight embarrassment that she didn't know his middle name.
"Thomas," he filled in for her.
"…Draco Thomas Malfoy to be my lawful wedded husband – to have and to hold – through sickness and in health – as long as we both shall live."
Her emerald eyes sparkled up at him with more beauty and assurance than he'd ever seen in his life.
"I, Draco Thomas Malfoy take Ginny Elizabeth Weasley to be my lawful wedded wife – to have and to hold – through sickness and health – as long as we both shall live"
Taking one slender finger, he tied the small piece of string around it. As she did the same, a small thread of peace, something his life never gave him, unwound in his heart. Fighting to keep the smile off her face, Ginny disguised her voice and said,
"By the power vested in me by God and the Church of England, I now pronounce you man and wife."
There she stopped. 5 more words generally followed that statement, but they wouldn't pass her lips. Should she say them? It wasn't her place, but the thought was so tempting…
"You may kiss the bride," Draco murmured, smiling softly at her. As his lips touched hers, for a brief chaste moment, it sealed their fate. Everything became real.
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Ginny spoke a few minutes later, still getting used to the sound. It felt good, wrapped in his arms.
"Well its one last name I thought I'd never have." He admitted. Then, after a long moment, his voice grew soft.
"I'm really sorry Ginny, for everything I've done to you."
She tried to brush off his apology, but he took the flailing hand in his and continued.
"No, I'm serious. I hated everything that had to do with you and your family. I treated you and your brothers like shit. I'm really truly sorry."
She was touched by this. It was hard, she knew, for his huge ego to admit that he was wrong – especially to a Weasley.
"I really wish we weren't going to die. It would've been very fun to be married to you." she told him with traces of tears in her voice. His arms tightened around her and he kissed her hair softly. The grandfather clock somewhere deep in the school gonged out three echoing chimes, signaling the early morning hour of 3.
Late at night, when Lucious would scream at Narcissa and shards of broken vases peeked through the russet oak of his door, Draco would often dream about what it was like to die. Surprisingly, it was a lot less painful than he'd often imagined. All the energy was draining from his body, and spells of lightheadedness washed over him every few minutes. The only thing that kept him conscious was the soft warmth of the girl in his arms. She's squeeze his hand to signal she was still with him, and he always let out a sigh of relief. Not a day earlier he would've felt the complete polar opposite, but now he was afraid to lose her. Though the rest of his life was an opulent waste, she'd managed to make the last hours meaningful. The frigid ice his father's "lessons" had placed on his heart made him unable to make normal emotional connections. He had never felt a close bond to anyone, not even his own mother. It was normally a good thing, it made loss much more bearable. As the night had progressed the sweetness of feelings had trickled ever so slowly into his heart until it almost hurt to breathe. But the pain filled him with a happiness he'd never before experienced, and he prayed feverishly it would never end. And it was all her fault.
"Draco?" Ginny struggled to whisper.
"Mmm hmm?" he responded. The steady thrumming of his heart against her back was comforting.
"What are all the robes for?"
If she was going to die, she didn't want to go down believing her husband was a black market profiteer. Three was a moment of tenseness as he searched for words, and she feared the worst.
"It's for charity," he breathed out. "Snape and I… we collect left over robes from different shops and give them to various charity programs and second hand shops."
"I love you."
She had no idea where the words came from. An intense relief swept over her, mixed with the knowledge that he was capable of doing something so… amazingly kindhearted. Yet she didn't regret saying the words, because she meant it. Somewhere in between saving her life and kissing her breathless, she'd fallen in love with the one person she'd never have glanced at.
Funny how the universe works.
Draco smiled.
"I love you too," he admitted softly into her hair. His arms tightened around her, and a sense of rightness settled over him as she nestled further in his embrace. It was truly unconventional, how she in the space of a few hours, taught him something that no one else managed to in his entire lifetime. He learned how to love. 6 hours ago he welcomed the thought of death, knowing full well that he would have to face the scorn of his classmates alone. Now he had a touchstone, an angel to watch over him; and he was ready for life. Unfortunately, life wasn't ready for him.
Thump. Draco swore he heard a thump somewhere out in the hallway. At first it was a hallucination, but no! Voices were out there too! Weakly he squeezed Ginny's hand, and was engulfed in dread for one small instant. She couldn't leave him… not now…
Loosely she squeezed back, and he sighed in relief.
"I think we're saved," he whispered in her ear. Though she lacked the conviction to give a complete response, a small noise of confusion slid past her lips.
"Malfoy would have known to come here…" the familiar serpent tone of Snape wormed through the pile of rubble. Ginny apparently heard that, because she straightened up a bit. Moments crept by; neither person dared to breathe as they listened intently for a noise out side. A noise did come – a great deafening blast that ripped pain from their brains and made the shelves shake. In all reality it could've been Voldemort back to finish the job, he had no idea, but he felt the need to get up and face the intruder head on. Unused legs trembled violently as he inched his way up to his full height. Ginny slumped down when the support of his chest disappeared, her eyes rolled back to look up at him.
"Come on," he said in a whisper, "stand up."
The door seemed far away, where before the room appeared cramped. Ginny slipped her hand in Draco's, and smiled as tingles shot up her arm. Just as they reached the door, someone outside murmured a hasty "Alohamora"and the door swung open. A very dusty looking Snape and McGonagal stood on the other side; a small spattering of teachers behind them. Blasted debris from the rock pile lay scattered throughout the hallway, blanketing everything (including the people) in a fine layer of white dust.
"Miss Weasley," McGonagald breathed out with awe.
Though everyone looked tired and worn out, there was a mingled sense of relief. The siege was over.
EpilogueThe braided silver that glinted in the pale moonlight still felt a little foreign on her finger. After two years of wearing a fraying string, the ring was considerably heavier. What it signified however made her so light she thought she could fly. A cool gentle breeze blew off the silver lake – touching her hair with feather-light fingers. All she could feel was the comforting heat radiating from her husband's chest.
"I actually miss this place," Draco admitted. It was his 2nd year away from Hogwarts, and he was now on the Dark Arts Defense Squad – cleaning up after the remaining Voldemort followers who'd scattered after their unsuccessful attack two years earlier. Ginny, recently graduated, enrolled in medical school. After their small wedding, however, they wouldn't help but return to the spot they'd sat together so many times before.
"It brought us together," she noted with nostalgic romanticism. He smiled. It was true. Before the siege, he would've much sooner killed her than attempt any sort of romantic endeavor. Now he couldn't picture life without her. That angel – touched soul and breath-taking smile had wormed so deep in his heart that she filled every cell in his body: making him a whole person.
After his father was sent to Azkaban, Draco completely abandoned his opulent heritage and moved into a small flat with Ginny. Narcissa, inwardly glad for her husband's demise, took the Malfoy fortune and moved to the states. The Weasleys had 2 years to acclimatize themselves to Draco, so the announcement that they were officially getting married wasn't that much of a shock. To the two, they had forgotten their families' feuding long ago. Somewhere in the twisting cosmos, fate saw it right to create a monster. From the hateful spurting that poured from the dark villain's mouth sprang up a love that would not be defeated. A bond nothing can break – their hearts and souls beating as one.
~Fin~