They say you don't know what you've got till it's gone…
"Mum?" called the youngest redhead. Twenty-one year-old Ginny Weasley walked down the rickety staircase of the Burrow and sat at the dinner table. She sat there somberly, reading the letter gripped in her hand over and over again. Her brow furrowed as she bit her lip. She looked up at her mother, who was scrubbing furiously in her sink.
"Mum?" she called again.
"Hmmm…" replied her mother distractedly.
"I…I just got a letter from my Commander," she said softly. Molly Weasley faltered in her cleaning, and then started scrubbing harder after a few moments.
"Oh, that's nice dear."
"No mum, it's not nice." She let out a shaky breath. "He says…Commander Diggle…"
"Diggle?" questioned her mother.
"Yes, you know Commander Dedalus Diggle," she said exasperatedly.
"Yes, his wife is delightful. She gave me this wonderful teapot once…" Molly prattled on, washing some pots and pans. Ginny huffed angrily.
"Mum?"
"Oh, and they have the most charming daughter. She's about Charlie's age. Lamina and I have been trying to set them up for months!"
"You know Charlie doesn't go on blind dates," said Ginny with a sigh. Her mother shook her head.
"He will never find a girlfriend if he spends all his time with dragons. Nice girls don't train dragons…"
"Mum, you're not listening!" hissed Ginny. "He just sent me an owl…"
"Who dear?" asked her mother happily. The young red head growled.
"Commander Diggle. He told me he is letting me out of Auror Training." She looked at her mother with a miserable expression. "Mum, I don't understand it. I was top of my class."
"Gin, come here and help me with these pies. All the boys are coming for dinner in ten minutes."
The young woman sighed angrily and shoved the letter in her pocket. Grudgingly, she began to take out pies from the oven. She kept looking at her mother expectantly, waiting for some kind of sympathy but her mother kept washing and putting away dishes (all by hand, which Ginny found odd). She looked up at Ginny and smiled at her warmly.
"Help me set the table. Draco is coming tonight, right?"
Ginny sighed angrily. "Yes."
"Lovely. I always love it when he comes. Except, he and Ron always get in some sort of fight."
"Mum, I really need…" started Ginny setting a plate down a bit too harshly; Molly took in a sharp breath.
"Be careful, Gin! Those are my good plates," Molly scolded. Ginny's temper flared. She didn't need her mother to tell her to set the table. The young red head needed answers and she knew for a fact that her mother had them. Ginny knew her mother's tale-tell signs too well.
One, her mother was bringing up subjects she only talked about when she had too many glasses of wine. Two, she was doing all the chores the Muggle way and not magic, giving her a good chance to avoid Ginny at all cost.
"Mum," started Ginny once more. "I really need some advice about what to do."
Looking at her mother, she almost dropped a water glass. Yet, with her quick reflexes- thanks to the Auror training she was just let out of, she was able to save it.
"Ginny! You almost dropped that cup! Merlin, can't you focus?" she snapped. Ginny's mouth fell open and her eyes went wide staring at her mother.
"Damn it, mum!" she yelled, slamming her fist on the table. "Are you listening to me? I've been kicked out of my dream! I am trying find out why, when I was top of my class, and you want to talk about being focused on setting the bloody table!"
"Ginevra Molly Weasley you watch your mouth!" snarled Molly with her hands on her hips. Ginny didn't care; she stood to her full height, being a head taller than her mother. She glared down at the older woman.
"Why am I being kicked out of training?" Ginny's lip trembled as she felt tears forming in her eyes. "I know you know mum. Why?"
Molly closed her eyes and sighed. The older woman set down the last of the plates and gripped the top of a chair. She thought for a moment. How could she tell her daughter that she couldn't fulfill her dreams because she was born a girl? Since Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, it had been her dream to become an Auror and destroy the evil wizards that ruined her life. She declared it to all her family when she was merely twelve.
"Ginny…" her mother started warily. "You… won't understand."
Her daughter's face fell into one of pain and confusion. "Won't understand what?"
Molly closed her eyes. "What had to be done."
"Mum, you're not making any sense," she said softly.
Molly looked at her beautiful daughter. She could do so much. She had the world in the palm of her hand and she wanted to do the only thing that she wasn't allowed to do. She could have been a journalist, worked in fashion, gotten a job at the ministry, or even been a homemaker like herself. Yet that was never good enough for the youngest Weasley. She wanted to prove she could be just as strong as her bothers. Deep down, Molly knew Ginny could do it. Molly knew her daughter was special, that she could be a top Auror just like Draco and Harry. She knew she could…but she just couldn't…
"Gin…they…" but a distraction came just as Molly opened her mouth. The door to the Burrow burst open and a sea of redheads came flooding in, along with a few brunettes and a blond. They talked excitedly about work and inhaled deeply when they smelled fresh baked pies.
"BOYS!" called Molly, welcoming the distraction. Ginny looked at her with an astonished expression. Her mother walked right by her and into the living room to greet and give all the men a hug. She went from Arthur to Ron, and even gave Draco a small kiss on the cheek. When she got to Harry, she gave him a small smile and a squeeze on the shoulder. Harry glared at Malfoy.
"Is dinner ready?" asked Arthur, hanging his robe. Molly smiled and nodded then leaned closer.
"Ginny just got the letter from Diggle."
"MUM!" yelled a furious Ginny. Everyone turned around to see her red in the face, clutching the letter in her hand. "TELL ME WHY I AM BEING KICKED OUT OF TRAINING!"
Silence ensued.
Ginny's brown eyes scanned the crowd. Something was going on. All her brothers had an "oh bugger" look on their faces. Each of them avoided her eyes, looking around the room like it was the first time they had ever seen it. More tears fell from her eyes as a realization came to her mind.
"You know?" she questioned in a whisper. "You all know? If you knew why didn't you TELL ME!" she screamed. The men winced at her voice and turned away. She stood there for a few minutes, mouth wide, waiting for an explanation. She furiously wiped away tears and sniffled.
"Mum? Dad?" she questioned and they looked down. "Bill, Charlie… Fred, George?" Each gave her sympathetic eyes. "Ron, Hermione?" The older girl bit her lip and Ron grabbed her hand.
Ginny looked at the last person she wanted to ask. Bending her head, she looked into his down cast eyes, making him look up. "D-Draco?" she asked he looked up at her and saw the pain he held inside. He knew, too.
"Ginny…" her father said, stepping out from the crowd. "We need to talk."
Ginevra's heart nearly stopped. She looked at the eight men and two women standing before her. She stared at them with confusion and anger written in her eyes. Slowly she looked toward the ground and sighed. She felt like a fool, a complete and utter dolt.
For so long had Ginny been happy being a woman. She was the only girl of the Weasley family and therefore had pretty much anything handed to her. This would be the first time in history when she would curse not only her family, but also the Gods for making her a woman.
"I don't get it," she said softly. Her mother moved to put a hand on her shoulder, but Ginny brushed it away. Molly took back her hand and frowned at her daughter. If you were to look at this Ginny Weasley, you would think her no more than a child. All her family stood before her, and there she was: sitting on the couch, looking so small, so vulnerable. It broke their hearts. "A Woman's Ban?" she inquired, looking up at her father. "That's unfair."
"Gin, we did it for all the women in the Wizarding world. It is the only way to keep them safe." input Ron with a smile. Ginny glared at him and shook her head.
"No Ron, It isn't the only way to keep us safe. I would be safer out there than sitting here, waiting for someone to come and get me," she growled.
"So many women have already died horrible, disgusting deaths. We didn't want you to go through that kind of torture," said her father, trying in vain to reassure her.
"And what makes you think I will even get captured? Do you think that I am so dumb that I can't watch out for myself?" she cried, beginning to breathe heavily. "What do you take me for? An incompetent? I was the only girl in training, not to mention top of my class. That has to account for something!"
"Yes Ginny, Diggle was very reluctant to let you go. He tried, he really did, but it has been the law since that day we all went to see Dumbledore," offered Bill. Ginny shook her head in disbelief.
"That was only a fortnight ago!" She looked around like her world no longer made sense. "And he agreed? Dumbledore agreed to this…this…thing!"
The men looked at each other and grimaced. "Well, he didn't exactly agree…" Ron told her, "but, it was passed anyway. Dad made sure it did…"
"You passed this?" she said astonished, looking at her father with wide eyes. "You …my father…are the one responsible for doing this to me? Crushing the only dream I ever had?"
Hermione stepped forward looked at Ginny sympathetically.
"We all agreed on it, Gin. Even I thought it better to stay here. It will be much safer…"
Ginny silenced Hermione with her hand. "I know Hermione Granger is not telling me about staying out of something. Especially something as important as this! How can you just stay home? What about all those things you told me about not giving up, and that just because they are men doesn't mean that they are any better than me?" she huffed. "You told me that, Hermione! When I first started training, you convinced me to stick it out! And now, you want me to just sit by and let our men go out and fight! Ha! That's bollocks!"
"Ginny you have to understand," started Bill, kneeling in front of his little sister. "These are not Commanders who are training you. When you go out there into real battle, no one holds back. You have to kill or be killed. You think it will be like training but it is nothing like that! It's disgusting... and painful! I don't even know why I can still do it after all this time."
"I know, Bill," interjected Ginny with annoyance. "I have been out there, with Charlie, when we got attacked by Dolohov," she said flatly.
"Yes Gin, you did," Charlie acknowledged. "But you also went down after only one Cruciatus Curse."
"The only reason I even received that Curse was because you got distracted. Remember?" Ginny smiled a bit too sweetly. "I took that curse for you." Charlie's lips went tight and he visibly paled.
"T-that you did Gin. But still, if you cant handle one of those…"
"And if I remember correctly, I was the one who battled Goyle. Let me just say, he is useless with a wand and prefers hand to hand combat." She lifted her eyebrows. "He nearly broke my arm." Charlie opened his mouth but Ginny kept going. "And, since I am the only one to remember correctly even after I suffered from that curse, I was still able to stun Goyle, while you just let Dolohov go while fussing over me."
"Ginny, you were badly hurt! You were in St. Mungo's for two weeks."
"I know and I made up those two weeks in training by tripling my hours on the field," she sighed. "I am not a little girl. I can handle myself."
Arthur looked at his daughter. Damn it! He hated how stubborn she was; just like her mother. Arthur took a long breath, trying to calm his shot nerves. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked at her sternly.
"Ginny, I know you are strong. But you will not, I repeat WILL NOT go into this war!" he growled. Ginny shook her head.
"No dad, I will, I repeat, WILL go into this war. This is not just your war; it is also mine. I belong to this world, too. I should be able to fight for my family. You know this is what I have wanted to do since Tom Riddle." The family flinched a bit at the mention of that incident. "You can't deny me my chance."
Arthur wanted to hit himself over the head. Why didn't he think of this when he first made up the law? Maybe he was only thinking of his wife, but he forgot his daughter: the one who really had a reason for going into war. She wanted to make sure that what she went through would never happen to any one else. And now…Arthur was failing his little girl by denying her the opportunity.
"I can't let you go into war, Ginny," he started. He saw her eyes flare and her lips go tight. "If you go, I will personally," he breathed in heavily, "snap your wand."
Ginny began to tremble as tear after tear fell down her face. So, they wanted to keep her from fulfilling her dream? No bloody way!
"Then snap it!" she hissed at her father. All the men took a step back. "I don't care what any of you say! There is only one person who matters and he has yet to object to my decision." Ginny turned to Draco who had been leaning on the fireplace. He hadn't the guts to look at her. "Right, Draco?" she came.
He let out a long sigh as he heard her words. Could Draco Malfoy deny the only woman he had ever loved? No, he couldn't- he wouldn't- but he had to. He wanted that ring on her finger to stay there until they were old. He wanted her to be alive after this new war was over. He only signed the decree…for her.
"No," he whispered softly. Ginny's heart began to break. "No Ginny, I don't agree with you." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "I will not let you go into this war."
A thousand more tears fell down Ginny's porcelain face as the words left his mouth. He wasn't going to support her? After she supported him through everything that went wrong since they've been together? Did four years of being together mean nothing? Was this war going to break everything they had?
"What?" she cried in a hurt whisper. "Draco, what are you saying?"
Malfoy moved from the fireplace and stood in front of her. "I will not let you go into this war." He held his head high. "I absolutely forbid you." He could hear the family take in a deep breath. He watched as Ginny's eyes went from brown to blazing.
"You forbid me?" she yelled in astonishment. "YOU FORBID ME?" she screamed in his face. Ginny ran her hand though her hair, letting out a growl. "Last time I checked, Malfoy," at the sound of his last name coming out like a curse, Draco smirked. "I am not your wife yet. So you forbidding me is absolutely out of the question." She let out an angry breath. "I am going to tell you- all of you- something! I am not a little girl! And I don't need your approval. I am going out to war. Someone- some camp will take me! I will be in this bloody war whether you like it or not."
"You think any one will take you?" he chortled. "No one will. Do you understand me! I will personally make sure that any Commander who takes you as a solider will be sent to Azkaban."
"You won't." She snarled.
"Oh, but Ginny, I will."
Ginny looked at her husband-to-be and melted. "Draco," she whispered. "I need you by my side. I need you to stand up for me."
He swallowed audibly. "I can't…" he whispered back. He cupped her face and looked at her softly. "I just can't." This was the breaking point. Ginny pulled her face from his hands and stood back.
"Fine," she said. "If you don't have my back on this, I will go alone. I have to do this!" With that, she turned on her heel and started making her way towards the door. The family began to look from one to another wanting to stop her, but at the same time no one had the heart.
"GINNY!" called Draco. She kept on walking. "If you walking out that door… you can forget about us." The young red head stopped in her tracks and froze. "If you go into this war, you can forget about getting married, about us, about everything." She turned around and looked at him, brow furrowed.
"What?" she asked. Her family looked from one to another, astonished at his words.
"Draco?" gasped Molly. "You don't know what you're saying."
"I know exactly what I am saying," he said, face stony. Ginny and Draco locked eyes.
Her confusion and his stubbornness met and for a long time nothing mattered as they stared at each other.
"I might as well have never existed to you if you choose war." The love of his life let tear after tear fall down her face. With a heart-breaking sob, she fled up the stairs. The entire family said nothing until the door to Ginny's room was slammed.
When Draco heard the door slam, he let out a shaky breath. That was the hardest thing he had ever done. He covered his face with his hands as he thought to himself. I swear never to say anything like that again. He was taken out of his reverie when he felt a hand on his back. He turned his head to look at Molly Weasley. She smiled softly at him, looking deep into his silver eyes. Though he kept his façade, she could see the regret of his words, and her only response was to nod.
"Dinner," she said simply, turning away and herding the others into the kitchen. When Draco turned around, Harry Potter was the last one standing, looking at him with a raised brow.
Draco Malfoy lay in his bed on the third floor that night, grumbling to himself as he tried his best to find a good spot on the lumpy mattress. A few good partial dreams later, he felt something warm on his face. He titled his head towards the warmth and gave a satisfied sigh. The warmth then began to push his blonde hair out his face and traced his jaw. His gray eyes fluttered open to see an angel sitting on his bed.
"Gin?" he questioned groggily. She smiled softly and nodded.
"Go back to sleep, Draco," his love uttered. He smiled at her and did just that. As the moments passed and she continued to trace his face and he heard her begin to speak.
"You hurt me today, Draco," Ginny said softly. "And when I ran to my room, I fell on my knees and cried. I cried so much that I couldn't breathe." His brows furrowed as he listened. "I got to thinking, thinking about my family, my friends, my life, you, and basically, I just couldn't understand why you would do this to me."
His gray eyes opened and stared at her brown ones. She had small tears rolling down her face. She wore a pained expression as she looked at him. He sat up and took her in his arms. Gently, he began to lean back down to the bed, bringing her with him. She let tear after tear leak on to his pale chest. He said nothing, just held her as tight as he could. To him, the world could end now for all her cared, as long as Ginny was by his side. Draco kissed her head and took a deep breath, taking in the smell that was Ginevra soon-to-be Malfoy.
"I love you," she whispered softly. He did not reply, only held her closer. "I've loved you since the moment you touched me. I could never love any one as much as I love you. I want you to know that will never change." The two lovers lay there for a moment as the Chuddley Cannons clock ticked on. Draco began to drift off into sleep as her tears kept falling on his chest.
Soon, Ginny pulled away. "I have to go," she said softly, he sighed and nodded.
"Your brothers may come in and find us," he acknowledged and with that he smiled a bit. Let's just say, he still couldn't look Fred Weasley in the eye.
"Goodnight, Draco." The blond heard the quiver in her voices and said nothing. Things would be better in the morning.
For a few moments, the room was silent. Draco's mind began to relax and he felt a deep sleep coming on. Just before his body was to turn off for the night, he heard something strange. His sharp hearing kicked in as he heard the swish of robes. He opened his eyes, barely enough to see out of, and witnessed Ginny Weasley putting on her dark blue robe; her dark blue traveling robe. Draco's breathing began to grow heavy as he watched her take off her necklace, a present he had given her for her twentieth birthday. The red head then picked up a small bag. Draco's eyes flew open and at that moment, she turned to look at him.
"Draco?" she gasped in astonishment as she thought him to be asleep. He sat upright.
"What are you doing?" he questioned, his breathing quickening. She shook her head and began to back out of the open door.
"You made me choose," she said softly, tears falling down her face. "It's your fault. I loved you! I would have done anything for you, Draco, but you can't ask me to choose between my dream and you."
"Ginny…" he began as he slowly rose out of bed. Unfortunately, he forgot he wasn't wearing any pants. He looked at her with a scared expression; Ginny's face fell as she watched him.
"Forgive me…" she said. "I love you." And with that, she bolted down the hall.
"GINNY!" Draco yelled, as he watched her robe disappear.
Draco found the first pair of pants he could and hastily put them on. He looked around the room for his wand. He could still hear Ginny's steps as she made her way out of the house. He grabbed his wand and ran out of his room.
He was on the second floor when he heard the front door open, and then slam. "NO! GINNY!" Draco ran faster, reaching the front door and throwing it open. He barely even heard the voices that rang through the house behind him.
He could still see her. Oh, how he thanked Hermione for putting up those wards within two hundred feet of the house. His pace quickened as he bolted for her. He thought of throwing a curse at her…something…anything to make her stop. But his mind had melted; he didn't know left from his right. All he knew was that he needed to get to Ginny. She was so close to the edge of the wards.
"PLEASE!" he yelled, but it was too late. The red head had passed through the wards. She turned around and faced him, wand already above her head.
"I love you," she said, and with a flick of her wand she was gone.
Draco stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at where she had been only moments ago. His mouth fell open and his eyes began to sting. She left. His wonderful, beautiful, perfect, woman had just disappeared before his eyes and he hadn't even said 'I love you' back. It was only after a few moments that reality hit him. She was gone. His heart beat faster and faster as he heard the voices of the Weasley's calling to him. He paid them no mind. He only stood still.
Molly Weasley was the first to get to him. The woman ran to her future son-in-law's side and put a comforting hand on his back, hugging him to her.
"What happened?" she asked after a few moments. Molly almost lost her train of thought when she saw his face, stony and angry.
"She left." His voice was hoarse. "And I didn't even tell her I loved her." He cleared his throat and looked into her eyes, his lips set into a thin line. Mrs. Weasley saw the struggle in him, the urge to cry and rage at the same time. But he stayed silent, his body shaking. She then began to cry, not only for Ginny's leaving, but for Draco as well. She knew Ginny was the only person he ever loved and now she was gone.
"Oh, Draco," she said, throwing her arms around him even though he didn't respond. She let her tears fall in place of Draco's because she knew that he wouldn't.
"I love her," he said simply. "I didn't mean what I said; not one word." She wiped her eyes and looked up at him sadly.
"I know you didn't Draco. I know."
Miles and miles away in the city of London far from Ottery St. Catchpole, a young woman with red hair and brown eyes fell to her knees, crying in a dark alley for the man she had to leave behind…