Disclaimer: I'm getting so bored of writing these, so I'll make it quick. Nothing you recognize belongs to me.
The Final Time
Chapter 12-
Internal and External Debates
Ginny's spider had gotten tired of spinning its web and was currently resting, just like Ginny knew she should have been. But she couldn't rest, not when she was so busy worrying about Draco and the curse. She frowned slightly when she thought about that. She was worried more about Draco Malfoy, who was supposed to be her worst enemy, than the curse that could kill her. Even if they hadn't said much, she knew her parents were slightly disappointed, not to mention worried, about her friendship with Draco. And if Ron found out…well, it wouldn't be pretty, Ginny thought with a little smile. Ron was so prejudiced sometimes. Everyone in Gryffindor was, Ginny thought with a sudden burst of anger. They had all these pre-conceived stereotypes about the other houses and hardly ever mixed with other students to prove them wrong. She knew Draco was alright, though. He wasn't the cruel boy her brother and Harry made him out to be anymore. He still had a temper, Ginny had to admit, casting her mind back to that day in the classroom, but he wasn't narrow-minded. And, he wasn't that bad looking, either.
Ginny blushed. Where had that thought come from? He was Draco Malfoy, for Merlin's sake!
Wait.
Ginny gave a little scowl as she'd realised she'd just done something that only a few seconds ago she'd been mentally berating Ron for. She closed her eyes and shook her head to get her thoughts out. After a deep sigh, she opened her eyes to find a bemused looking Ron staring at her.
"Ron!" Ginny squeaked, blushing furiously.
"So, what's on your mind, Gin?" He asked, used to Ginny's technique to rid her mind of unwanted thoughts.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Ginny said quickly, trying to look innocent.
"Hmph." Ron looked at her disbelievingly and changed the subject. "Guess what, Gin?"
"What?" Ginny asked eagerly, glad of the change in conversation. "Did you and Hermione finally get together?" She giggled at Ron who was going as red as a tomato.
"Ginny!" he hissed, "Her-Hermione and I aren't t-together!" he stuttered, looking furtively around to see if anyone had heard what she'd said. "And don't say those things so loud!"
Ginny gave another giggle before quietening under Ron's embarrassed glare. "What?" She asked again, more seriously.
Ron leant forward, his face splitting into a grin. "Malfoy got cursed!" he crowed triumphantly. "I don't know who did it, but I'd sure like to give them a galleon or two!"
Ginny stiffened, but Ron didn't notice.
"Yeah, apparently he got hit with this nightmare curse or something. Bloody hilarious, if you ask me."
"Is-is he alright?" Ginny asked softly.
Ron looked at her curiously, "Who cares about Malfoy, Gin. Stupid bugger deserves all he gets, and more." He brightened, "still, Colin Creevey said that if the nightmare curse was strong enough, your nightmare becomes real." He gave a snort of laughter. "Wonder what Malfoy dreams of, eh? Probably getting attacked by Hufflepuffs and Muggles is his nightmare, I bet."
Ginny collapsed back into the pillows. Ron stopped his tirade and looked at her sympathetically, misunderstanding her gesture. "Oh, Gin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you tired, I only wanted to make you laugh." He reached out and gave her a gentle hug. "When Dumbledore told me you'd fallen down the stairs and knocked your head, I was so worried," he continued, "You're my little sister, Ginny, and I love you to pieces. I swore I'd never let anything happen to you. And, yeah, I messed up in second year, but I have been trying really hard to protect you." He drew himself up, and looked at Ginny seriously. "I'd die if I let anything happen to you."
Ginny didn't say anything. It's already too late, Ron.
~~~~~
Draco looked around warily. The hallways of Hogwarts had disappeared to become thick rolls of mist, making his clothes damp and cold. The muddy grass under his feet made a squelching sound as he walked slowly through the mist, the white blanket stopping him from seeing anything more than three feet away. His hand dipped into his pocket and he gripped the familiar length of wood, slowly pulling it out and brandishing it cautiously in front of him. He stood still for a moment, trying to listen for any sounds.
There was nothing, except for his own heartbeat and the sound of a frog a few feet away. He gripped the wand a bit more tightly, and craned his eyes, trying to see through the fog. Something was wrong, he knew it. It was too quiet.
"Good evening, boy," the familiar cold voice of his father said next to his ear.
Draco turned around swiftly, the wand still clutched in his hand. "I warn you, don't come any closer to me, Lucius," Draco hissed, looking at his father in disgust.
Lucius' upper lip curled. "Believe me, boy," he said frostily, "I'm already too close to you for my liking."
Draco didn't say anything, but behind his back his left hand balled into a fist.
Lucius folded his arms, his blonde hair immaculate and expensive robes hovering a fraction above the ground to stay dry. "Enjoying your time with your slut?" He asked, fixing Draco with a stare.
"Ginny is not a slut," Draco snarled, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hand.
Lucius shrugged indifferently. "Oh, well," he said smoothly, "I didn't come here to argue with you about your love life."
"What did you come here for, then?" Draco bit out. "To remind me how glad I am I renounced you?"
"Close, boy, close," Lucius smirked, his own wand appearing in his hand. After seventeen years, Draco knew what was coming. He dodged to the left and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Lucius threw a ward up and raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you've got? Tut, tut." He shook his head in mock sorrow. "Just as well you became a turncoat, then. Remember, boy," he said, his demeanour changing, "A Malfoy is never soft."
Draco threw himself to the right, but he wasn't quick enough. The curse caught him on the edge of his ribcage, and he gasped as the tremors of pain began to rack his body. He dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around his chest. He bit the inside of his mouth to stop the screams from escaping. He wouldn't give the man who called himself his father the pleasure of seeing him cry out.
"I suppose that was always your problem, boy," Lucius' voice said from somewhere above him. "You were so weak and kind-hearted." Lucius said the word with a sneer, as if it was something to be laughed at. "Your mother and I always thought you should have been a Hufflepuff."
The curse wore off and Draco moaned in relief before a cry of pain escaped him as Lucius kicked his ribs. "Pathetic, that's what you are," Lucius said, humour obvious in his voice. "A pathetic little worm that should've been killed at birth. Crucio!"
This time, Draco screamed. The pain was like a thousand hot pokers searing every inch of his body, and they never seemed to let up. He barely felt Lucius kick him again and the crack of his ribs being broken. "A miserable excuse for a Slytherin and a Malfoy!"
Draco was thrashing from side to side on the ground, the pain almost unbearable. His father had tortured him like this before, but never, ever for so long. He would never have risked Draco, the heir, sustaining brain damage or something like that. Draco knew he didn't care about that anymore. In Lucius' eyes, he wasn't fit to carry the Malfoy name, and that meant he had to be eradicated. He felt the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, and he gave a broken sob. The curse suddenly lifted, and Lucius rolled Draco onto his back with the tip of his booted foot. The smirking vision of Lucius entered his sight. "Can't handle it, boy?"
Draco drew up the last of his strength and spat at Lucius, missing. Lucius gave a disgusted sneer and looked down at his son, covered in mud and his own blood. He gave a sudden smile, and straightened up. "Now the time has come," he announced grandly. "The end of a disappointing seventeen years, and the beginning of a lifetime of fulfilled, rewarding ones. "Goodbye, you foolish boy." Draco closed his eyes, praying for help, but knowing none would come.
~~~~~
Ron and Ginny's conversation was interrupted by a sudden scream. "What the-?" Ron muttered, turning around to face the direction from where the sound had come from. "What was that?"
Ginny, however, knew. "Draco," she whispered, still for a moment, before readying for action. She threw back the blankets and slipping onto the cold stone floor. "Ginny?" Ron said, startled. He stood up quickly and tried to catch her. "What on earth is going on?"
Ginny dodged past him and began running in the direction of the scream. She rushed past Madam Pomfrey, who was going as quickly as she could towards the curtained off bed in the corner of the wing.
"Ginny!" She ignored Ron and skidded to a stop next to the bed. She flung back the curtains and stared down at the flushed face of Draco Malfoy. "Move aside, Miss Weasley," Madam Pomfrey snapped, and Ginny quickly stepped backwards to let her through. The Mediwitch leant over the prone form of Draco, checking his pulse and then his forehead.
"What's the matter?" Ginny whispered softly, her hand creeping out to grab hold of Draco's cold one.
"The curse is taking effect," Madam Pomfrey replied, grabbing a syringe from the bedside table. "What's that?" Ginny said, panicking slightly.
"Don't worry, Miss Weasley," the woman said, jabbing Draco in the arm. "It's a potion that is supposed to counteract the effects of the curse. It needs to be injected into the bloodstream."
"Oh," Ginny said, looking back at Draco's face. "He'll be okay now, then?"
Madam Pomfrey hesitated. "It was a very strong curse, Miss Weasley," she said at last, refusing to look the girl in the eye. "A very strong curse," she repeated, drawing the sheets back up Draco's body.
Ginny said nothing. Ron tugged on her arm. "C'mon, Ginny," he whispered to her, bewildered. "You need to get back to bed."
Ginny shook her head and looked at Madam Pomfrey imploringly. "Please, can't I stay with him?"
Madam Pomfrey frowned.
"I'll be quiet," Ginny promised, giving Draco's hand a slight squeeze. "I just want to keep him company."
Madam Pomfrey looked suddenly sympathetic. "He doesn't know you're there, dear," she said softly, looking at Ginny with a bittersweet smile on her face.
"I don't care," Ginny said determinedly.
Madam Pomfrey gave a slight sigh. "Very well then. But first, you must wear a dressing gown and put on some slippers. You'll catch a cold otherwise."
Ginny nodded and ran back to her bed, Ron trailing behind her.
"I'm not letting you stay with him alone," he said darkly, looking back at the unconscious boy.
"Why not?" Ginny asked, wriggling into her warm slippers.
"He's a Slytherin!" Ron said incredulously. "What's got into you lately, Gin?"
Ginny turned around to look at her brother in the eye. "Common sense? Compassion? Sympathy for a fellow human being?" She replied angrily, brushing past an astounded Ron and storming to Draco's bed.
She dropped down onto the chair next to the bed and took Draco's hand again.
"Look, I'm sorry," Ron said from beside her. "I just understand why you're being so nice to him…"
Ginny didn't say anything. Ron gave an exasperated sigh and crossed to the next bed. Ginny glanced at him as she heard the scraping of a chair as he dragged it over to Draco's bed. "I'm not letting you stay here alone," he promised resolutely.
"Whatever."
An hour later, Ron was still sitting next to her. Ginny's eyelids drooped slightly, and she gave a small yawn. "Do you want to go to sleep?" Ron asked softly.
Ginny was about to reply 'no' when Draco gave a sudden gasp. She looked back at him worriedly. He was shaking slightly. "What's the matter with him?" Ron asked softly.
"I don't know," Ginny whispered back, leaning forward to stroke his cheek. Draco moaned.
"Should we get Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked, unsure. Draco cried out, and Ron stood up, the chair pushed back with a loud scrape. "I don't like this," he told her, frowning, "and turned to get the mediwitch.
Draco screamed and Ginny jumped. Ron quickened his pace, looking back at them with a funny look on his face. He hadn't gotten halfway across the wing before Madam pomfrey rushed out of her office. "What's wrong?" She gasped, looking at Ron.
"Everything," Ron said gloomily, turning and trudging back towards Ginny and Draco.
His sister and Malfoy. Ron gave a deep sigh.
Draco screamed again, and this time he didn't stop. Ron grabbed his sister by the shoulders and pulled her away. "Let Madam Pomfrey do her work," he whispered to her as she began to protest. Madam Pomfrey grabbed the syringe from the table but Draco's thrashing arms caught it and it crashed to the ground in a clatter of glass and liquid.
There was a cracking sound and Madam Pomfrey quickly placed a hand on his ribs. "They're broken," she informed them grimly.
"Broken?" Ginny echoed, her eyes wide.
Ron didn't say anything. Madam Pomfrey studied the boy in front of her for a moment before turning to Ron. "Get the Headmaster," she told him urgently, and Ron turned and began to run.
Draco gave a sob and Ginny saw a trail of blood trickle from the corner of his mouth. She took out her handkerchief and carefully wiped it away, leaving a red smear on the white cloth.
"He'll be alright," she said out loud, more to assure herself than anything else. He has to be alright.
Madam Pomfrey gave a deep sigh. "There is nothing I can do here," she informed Ginny in a monotone. "I'll wait outside for the Headmaster."
Ginny nodded, and gave Draco's hand a reassuring squeeze as the Mediwitch left. She took a good look at the boy in front of her. His eyes were closed, and his blonde hair was hanging over his face. She brushed it away. His skin was red and flushed, and covered in a gleaming layer of sweat.
Later, Ginny would say that she didn't know what possessed her. But at that very moment, in the sanitary environment of the hospital wing, she was struck with realisation that this might be the last time she saw Draco alive. The curse was killing him, she knew it was. She took a gulp and tried to stop the tears she wasn't sure why were forming from falling. Slowly, she bent down until her face was only inches from his. She took a deep brath and gave Draco a tentative kiss on the lips.
~~~~~
"Avada Kedavra!" Lucius shouted, and a bolt of green light escaped from his wand to stream straight towards Draco.
Draco scrunched his eyes even tighter and waited for the end to come.
It didn't.
Instead, there was a slight pressure on his lips. His eyes fluttered open to meet the startled brown eyes of Ginny Weasley. She gave a surprised squeak and drew away quickly. "D-Draco," she stuttered before turning and running out of the hospital wing.
Draco closed his eyes, confused. He was in Hogwarts's hospital wing, and he'd just awoken to Ginny Weasley kissing him. What had happened?
"Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore's voice said from next to him, and Draco opened his eyes to find the Headmaster settling into a chair next to the bed.
"Headmaster," Draco croaked, the cut where he had bitten through the side of his mouth protesting.
"Don't talk," The headmaster instructed him, his eyes kindly. "You've just been through an awful experience, and you need to catch up on your rest."
Madam Pomfrey, who Draco didn't even know had been there, held a goblet out to Draco. "It's a sleep potion," she said gently at his curious look.
Draco wanted to ask what had happened after the Death Eaters had attacked them in the Forest, but he took the potion instead.
~~~~~
If you want to be emailed when I update, tell me in a review or email me at dizzy_flower@hotmail.com . Thankyous go to: fcuking cathy it was kind of sad, wasn't it? sun-and-wind he will, he will; happigolucki616 I love sad stuff too; Luna Writer I know, it was a huge shock; flava0ftheweek Dumbledore is only human; Little Wings that's good, I was worried that the story was getting a bit confusing; DnG4eVeR I'm glad you think it's original. Where else have you seen it? Crystaline Snape I will! Arafel2 Thankyou! You must be one of my most loyal reviewers!