Believe
The Esteemed Lady Quotes
Summary: After seven years, two lovers are brought together. He thought he'd never see her again. She thought he'd stopped loving her. But it's amazing what can happen if you still believe. D/G
Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't write fanfiction on it, I'd just write me another book, wouldn't I? Yeah. Sure. And I don't own the song, though I like to think I do.
AN: Yeah. Completely different from what I'd originally done. This is based on Josh Groban's song Believe, but not the song itself, but what it represents to me because of many feelings shared and acted upon during that song. So basically, this fic is dedicated to Peter, whom I love very much. This is Version Number Three and it's all thanks to you, babe! Merry Christmas, all.
"The whole school is dividing, getting ready for the war. They're going to hate us, you know." Ginny told Draco as she leaned against his chest. He grinned, looking down at the girl curled up beside him. He knew what she was saying was true, but with her touching him, he couldn't imagine anything terrible ever happening. So they'd hate him. He'd throw his entire reputation away if it meant he'd have her by his side.
"Don't worry," he teased, "The other Slytherins will welcome you with open arms when you transfer over." Ginny sat up and gave him a shove.
"Draco!" She scolded. "I'm being serious!" Draco's playful smirk faded and was replaced by the look that told the world he was used to getting his way.
"They can't do anything to us." he said defiantly. "If they do hate us, we'll just have to leave. I don't care about them. As long as we're together, That's all that matters." Ginny looked away. She knew he took much pride in his reputation, and no matter what he said, it would hurt him if he lost that, and she didn't want the reason for that loss to be her.
"You'll lose everything. People will look down on you. Are you sure you're willing to face that?" She asked softly. Draco looked at her for a moment, but then he knew that hs pride wasn't the only thing on her mind. Instead of asking what was wrong, however, he gently cupped her face with his long hand.
"Gin, I'm a Malfoy. And a Malfoy always gets his way, no matter what he has to do." he told her firmly. "Now, what I want is you. What do I have to do to get you?" Ginny gave him a small smile.
"I...I can't do this without my family's blessing." she said quietly. "I'd wouldn't be able to take it if they hated me for being with you." Draco frowned.
"What?" he questioned quietly. "Are you breaking up with me?" He didn't sound angry, or even hurt. Just curious. As if this had never happened before. Ginny shook her head.
"No. I love you, but I love my family, too. I want them to love you like I do." she said, brown eyes filling with tears. Draco noticed this, and smirked again.
"If you insist, but I don't fancy the idea of kissing Ron. Or any of your brothers, actually." He stopped a moment and considered. "Well, that Percy may be all right. He's girly enough, isn't he?" Draco's goal was achieved, and Ginny laughed a little.
"That's not what I mean." She said. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, will you wait for me?" Draco took her hand and looked at her steadily.
"I would wait for you forever, Ginny Weasley." he said sincerely. He leaned in to kiss her when the door to the empty classroom they were populating flew open.
"Ginny!" Ron cried in horror. His gaze settled on Draco and his eyes narrowed icily. "Malfoy." Harry stepped from behind him and studied the scene before him: Draco and Ginny sat on a table, one of Draco's arms around Ginny, and her arms were around his neck. Both of them looked horrified that they'd been caught.
"Get away from her, Ferret." Harry said evenly. Draco's eyes narrowed, and he glanced at Ginny. Her face stopped him from retaliating, pleading him not to fight with her brother and his friend. He sighed and let go of her, running a hand through his white-blond hair in defeat.
"Fine." he said stonily. "Have it your way, Scar-face." And with one last longing look at Ginny, Draco walked over and shoved his way past Harry and out the door, or at least that was his goal. Ron grabbed his sleeve and pulled him around to face him. Draco found himself at least two inches shorter than the redhead, but that didn't stop him from meeting his gaze confidently.
"What do you want, Weasel?" Draco hissed, grey eyes burning.
"If you ever come near my sister again, I swear I will kill you, Malfoy." Ron said evenly. Draco's entire face darkened.
"I'd watch who I was threatening if I were you. Why don't you just go back to your mudblood girlfriend and leave me alone?" he hissed. Ron started in surprise, then before Draco knew what happened, Ron threw a solid punch which hit Draco in the eye.
"Go curl up and die somewhere, why don't you?" he said in disgust, then with Ginny in tow, he turned and walked away, leaving Draco on the floor, staring in horror. That was the last time the two were able to talk to each other before the war.
Draco woke up with a gasp. Why had he had that dream again? Was being at home after seven years bringing back memories? It was bad enough he'd walked into the front hall and re-lived the night the Dementors had performed the Kiss on his father, right there in front of him. The last night he'd stayed in England. Even with the renovations his mother had made, the Front Hall would never be a good place for Draco to be again.
Draco stared at the vaulted ceiling and sighed. Why her? Why Ginny? It had been seven years since the war, since they'd seen each other last. There was no way she'd remember him, let alone still love him, so it was rather pointless to hope she did.
Draco forced his thoughts away from Ginny and thought about what he wanted to do today. It was Christmas Eve. Maybe he could go to Hogsmeade and see if he could find anyone he knew. He wanted to know what had happened to all his friends–and his enemies. Besides, he wanted to make an appearance to his favorite broom shop, which had recently received a large quantity of his latest broomstick model, the Winged Dragon X940. It would be quite fun to pretend to be looking at brooms, and then turn around and tell them he was the maker.
The Winged Dragon was his pride. He'd spent the past six years after he finished the nasty business of de-Dark-Magicking the Malfoy fortune creating brooms, and this one was his absolute favorite. He'd traveled the world for inspiration and methods.
His decision made, Draco got out of bed and prepared to go to Hogsmeade. He took the Floo into Honeydukes, which from his experience, had always been the cleanest. Even so, he had to brush a ridiculous amount of soot from his dragonhide trenchcoat and his white-blond hair. Once clean, Draco stood up and looked around. To his surprise, Honeydukes seemed much larger than he remembered it. He realized it had spread into the next shop. Wondering what else was different, Draco purchased a bag of Merl's Melting Chocolates and walked outside, slipping the delicious chocolate into his mouth as he studied the street before him, exploring the shops.
Zonko's was gone, replaced by a branch of the ever-growing Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. That stupid girly coffee-shop was still there, unfortunately, though it seemed to have become even more stupid and girly, if that were possible. Draco spent all day exploring Main Street, though the broom shop was on another street. He realized suddenly that it was already late afternoon, and he was hungry.
He knew that he'd have the best chance of meeting someone he knew in the Three Broomsticks, his favorite pub in the world, next to that interesting little place in California with the very diverse crowd. That was a very interesting place indeed.
Draco was in a fairly good mood. The changes were to be expected, and didn't bother him much. Everyone wanted to change things after the war. He himself couldn't picture Hogsmeade the way it used to be without seeing the forms of the dead or wounded comrades, and people still hexing each other, shouts of the Unforgivables filling the air. Everyone wanted to forget what had happened.
Draco shook thoughts of the war from his mind as he raised his grey-blue eyes to the building he was looking for, only to have them widen in surprise. The Three Broomsticks was gone. Instead of the cozy pub he had ducked into as a boy to grab a butterbeer with his friends, there was a neat-looking bookshop entitled "The Peacock Quill." Disbelievingly, Draco walked right up and peered in the window. There was not a sign of the old pub anywhere.
He was about to turn away in dissappointment and walk away sorrowfully when a book on display on a small table caught his eye: The Boy Who Lived: The Second Year. Potter had a biography? Unbelievable! Draco slipped into the shop and picked up the book and began flipping through it. As he'd expected, it wasn't the least bit interesting. Great Hero, bla bla, saved the world, bla bla, wait . . . was that his name? Draco stopped and read the passage.
The Chamber Of Secrets was open. And Harry had a pretty good idea of who had opened it. Draco Malfoy, his second-worst enemy. (You-Know-Who was the first, of course) It was no big secret that his father was a Death Eater. Draco himself was not a very nice person. Evil just seemed to follow the Malfoy family around, or at least as far as Harry could see.
Draco snapped the book shut with a frown. Of course Potter would have him singled out as Prime Suspect Numero Uno. That had always been the case. Draco dropped the book carelessly onto the table, ignoring it as bounced off the stand and fell onto the floor. He turned to go back out into the falling snow.
"Didn't your mother teach you manners? When you knock something down, you pick it up." A woman's voice said sharply from behind him. Draco raised his eyes to the ceiling in annoyance. Great. A Potter-ite.
"Sorry to have offended you. Didn't mean to litter." Draco said bitterly, turning around and leaning down to pick up the book. The woman hit him on the head, much to his shock and unease.
"That book happens to be about a very close friend of mine." she scolded.
"Yeah, I bet you're head of his fan club aren't you?" Draco said, straightening and smirking at the woman. The smirk caught halfway, as the woman was already smirking at him. A very familiar smirk.
"Ginny?" he whispered in amazement. Her smirk faded.
"Draco Malfoy?" She gasped. Draco could only nod. He was in shock. He never expected to see her again. And yet, here she was. Even more to his surprise, Ginny suddenly threw her arms around him, causing them both to fall to the ground, spilling the items in their arms.
"I missed you." She explained, smiling at him sheepishly. Draco laughed, the tension breaking.
"I missed you too. I haven't seen you since. . ." He trailed off.
"Since you left?" Ginny suggested, lowering her eyes.
"Yeah." Draco studied her for a moment. "Hey, do you want to get a drink?" Ginny looked up again.
"Sure." She said. "We could go to the Three Broomsticks, like we used to."
"Well," Draco said, looking around and frowning, "that's what I was sort of trying to do here. It didn't seem to work very well."
"Oh, that's right!" Ginny said, smirk back in place. "Oh well. I guess we'll just have to go to Madame Puddifoot's." Draco stared at her, clearly horrified. That was the stupid girly coffee-shop.
"Please, no." He begged.
"I'm just kidding. I can't stand that place. They just moved." Ginny said, brown eyes dancing with mischief.
"Oh, good." Draco said, sighing in relief. "Because I really thought you had forgotten this used to be that particular pub." Ginny shook her head, choosing to ignore his sarcasm.
"Nah, I come here all the time." she said. She picked up the three books she dropped. "Let me pay for these." Draco watched as she walked up to the register and paid for the books. He saw Ginny had grown into a rather pretty woman, though she still had a sprinkling of freckles across her face. Her brown eyes still sparkled with mischief, and her red hair was in a braid that fell to her waist. She wasn't as tall as Ron, but she was at least as tall as him.
Ginny turned to see Draco's blue-grey eyes studying her. She took the opportunity to study him as well. She realized he looked more like his mother than his father. Sure, he had his father's grey eyes and white-blond hair, but he had his mother's tall, thin frame and delicate features. The previously mentioned white-blond hair fell gracefully down into his eyes. His face was lean and very defined. The black of his sweater and trenchcoat brought out his naturally fair skin.
"Shall we go?" Draco asked, shaking himself from the trance he seemed to be in. Ginny nodded, a faint blush coming to her cheeks as she realized she'd been standing in the middle of a semi-crowded shop, staring at Draco Malfoy.
"Come on." Ginny said, leading Draco out into the snow and to the next street over. Draco stared. The Three Broomsticks was right next to the shop he'd been planning on visiting. Who would have guessed?
"What do you know? It's right by my broomstick. I feel kind of silly now." He said, running a hand through his hair. Ginny laughed.
"Oh, come on. You're vain enough to walk right past here and stare proudly at your pretty little broomstick in that window without even noticing your favorite pub." She said.
"I am not!" Draco replied, giving her a wounded look.
"Yes you are." Ginny argued, giving him an impish grin. Draco frowned at her.
"For your information, I haven't even come to look at my shop. My visit is strictly pleasure." He said. They made their way into the Three Broomsticks, though Draco couldn't help but peek into the window of the shop and smile at the Winged Dragon on display. Ginny noticed this and bit back a grin. He was the same as ever. . . so proud.
They found a table and sat down. A young woman came up to them. They looked up. Way up. The woman was quite tall. She smiled.
"Hey, Ginny! What can I get you guys?" She asked pleasantly.
"I just want a hot chocolate." Ginny said. She looked at Draco.
"That sounds good. One for me too, please." He said, smiling at the waitress. She began to return the smile flirtatiously when she stopped and gasped.
"Draco Malfoy?" She said in surprise. "Is that you?"
"Um, yes." He replied, the smile becoming a little uneasy. The young woman grinned broadly.
"Don't you remember me?" She asked. "I'm Millicent, Millicent Bulstrode. Well, Zabini now." Draco stared. The Millicent he remembered was a large, hulky creature who had a nice left hook and an awful scowl. This woman was tall, yes, and a little less than thin, but in no way resembled the girl Draco remembered.
"Millicent! You've. . . changed." He remarked, Understatement of the year, he thought to himself. Millicent giggled, which was something the old Millicent never would have done.
"Yeah, well. I can still beat you up, so that's okay." She said, winking at him. "I'll be back with your drinks." Draco gave Ginny a shocked look as Millicent walked away.
"Wow." He said. "That's really Millicent?"
"You'd be surprised how many people changed looks after the war." Ginny said. "It affected everyone." Draco frowned at her sad tone, but he didn't reply. For once, he didn't really know what to say.
"But how have you been? It's been a long time." Ginny said.
"I've done all right. I cleared the Malfoy name of all things Dark, and bought out Nimbus with the earnings, to make our fortune honestly for the first time in many generations." Draco smiled. "But I guess you knew that, didn't you?" Ginny laughed.
"Yeah. Those are some nice brooms." Ginny said. "I was looking at them for Ron. But they're way to expensive."
"Do you want one? I could get you one if you want." Draco offered. He had fourteen of his own, just for his own flying pleasure, two in each color. He would definitely spare one or two for Ginny.
"No, thanks. I don't fly much anymore." Ginny said. "It. . . it's not as fun as it used to be."
"Why not?" Draco asked, aghast. Flying was one of his favorite things to do, and he couldn't imagine losing his love for it.
"Because I can't help but remember when I had to watch you fly away." Ginny replied quietly. Draco stared at her.
"What do you mean?" He asked. He didn't remember ever flying away from her.
"The night you left England." Ginny said. "I came to see if you were all right. I saw you walk out into the middle of one of the fields, and turn around to look at something in the distance, then you mounted your broom and looked at me one last time, then you flew away. I didn't ever see you again until now."
"I don't–." Draco stopped suddenly. He did remember. He didn't know she had really been there. He had been seeing everything he was leaving behind, every regret he had, and every reason he had to leave. He was thinking about everything that was gone, and he just couldn't take it. He had to get away. So he'd flown to his summer home, far away from the heart of the battle, to wait it out.
"Ginny, I didn't know." He said seriously. "It wasn't you, I just had to get away from the war, from everything."
"No, I get it. I just. . .I'll never forget it." Ginny said, looking at her hands. She couldn't believe she'd admitted that to him. She'd never told anyone about that before.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't the smartest of ideas. I just didn't know what else to do." Draco said, looking down. "I had to go, so I went."
"Draco-." Ginny began, but Millicent returned with their hot chocolate.
"Here you go. Enjoy." She said, grinning at Draco.
"Um, thanks." Ginny said, trying to make up for Draco's silence. Millicent walked away, but neither looked up from their hot chocolate, nor did they take a sip. Both were deep in thought.
"Ouch. That's hot." Draco said, breaking the silence as he burnt his tongue as he finally tasted the hot chocolate. "So, what about you? What happened to the Golden Trio and their groupies?"
"Well, Ron and Hermione got married three years ago. They're expecting their first baby in a few months." Ginny said, smiling a little.
"So they made it, huh?" Draco said. "Great. A bunch on mini-Weasels running around."
"Oh, be quiet. They could be like me." Ginny said, looking at him innocently.
"Even scarier." Draco teased.
"I'm glad though. It's good to see some people can still get along the way they used to." he said, and he meant it. As much as he didn't particularly care for Hermione and Ron, he was glad some people could get their happy ending like they always planned. Ginny was looking at him.
"A lot of people left, I guess for the same reason you did. A lot of people just wanted to get away from the War and its aftermath." She said. Draco smiled at her.
"You stayed." he said observantly.
"Yeah, I guess I couldn't leave. My family is here, and my friends are mostly here, and. . ." Ginny fell silent suddenly.
"And love?" Draco suggested, hoping against all hope that it wasn't so.
"No." Ginny replied. "I haven't fallen in love with anyone."
"Not even Potter?" Draco said, quirking an eyebrow. Ginny looked down again.
"No. Harry. . .he was one of those who left. He killed people, and people close to him were killed. It was too much for him. We've only seen him a few times since the war. He comes in for Christmas. He's at Ron's now. Well, they're probably at Mom's but anyway, we get letters. But he just travels, I think. He doesn't know where to stay." She said sadly.
"Oh." Draco said, remembering his anger with his former nemesis earlier that day. He sighed. Things really were different.
"What about you?" Ginny asked, trying to sound like she didn't care. "Do you have some beautiful wife somewhere?" Draco shrugged, looking at his hot chocolate.
"No, not at present." he said. "I was under the impression I was waiting for someone." Ginny looked at him, eyes wide.
"Draco. . ." She whispered. Draco looked away. He couldn't stand the panic on her face.
"No, I understand. I walked away from you. I never expected you to wait for me." he said gently. "Look, I'm sorry I ruined this nice little reunion. It's been great seeing you. I guess I'd better get home, though. I mean, I haven't spent Christmas with my mother for seven years. . ." Draco stood up.
"Wait!" Ginny cried, reaching out and grabbing his arm. He turned around in surprise.
"What?" He questioned.
"I-I was waiting for you. I always have been." Ginny said, her voice breaking slightly. "I stayed here because I thought, well, that maybe you'd come back for me someday." Draco's stony eyes softened. He pulled her to her feet so they could look at each other at eye level.
"You mean," he said in a very quiet, nervous, un-Draco-like voice, "You still feel the same as.. ."
"Yeah." Ginny half-whispered. "Yes. And you?"
"Of course!" Draco said in relief, and with that he pulled her into a long-awaited kiss. The few people in the pub that noticed them cheered, though they didn't notice.
"Draco!" Ginny gasped when they broke apart. She stared at him in pure awe and joy. His eyes were more blue than grey now, and shining brilliantly.
"Ginny, I've got an idea! Come on!" He cried, taking her hand and running from the pub.
"Where are we going?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"I've got a Christmas present for you!" Draco explained gleefully, ducking into the broomstick shop next door. He strode up to the front counter in all his Malfoy glory. Ginny knew the look on his face as the one that told the world he was used to getting what he wanted, and he was going to now.
"I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm going to be taking that broomstick in the window, as it's mine." He announced to the cashier, who gasped.
"You can't do that!" He cried.
"I don't think you heard me." Draco said in his most aristocratic tone. "I am Draco Malfoy, and I designed that broom you've got in the window there, and I'm taking it." Recognition dawn upon the poor man, and he gasped again.
"Of course. I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy. Take it. Merry Christmas." He said humbly. Draco smiled, quite pleased.
"Thank you. Merry Christmas to you, too." He said, and walked over to take the broom from the display.
"Draco, what are you doing?" Ginny demanded. Draco grabbed the broom and led her outside.
"I," he said, "made a terrible mistake the last time we were together. I flew away from you." He mounted the broomstick and looked up at Ginny.
"I'm going to try it again, because a Malfoy cannot fail in anything." he held out his hand. "Want to fly away with me, Gin?" Draco smiled at Ginny, and her eyes lit up. She got on the broom behind him and locked her arms around his waist.
"Hold on." He said, then they lifted into the air and sped off into the gathering night. It was cold. It was snowing, and freezing, but neither one felt the cold, even with the wind whipping around them. As they sped over a lake, Ginny rested her head against Draco's shoulder, closing her eyes. She really did love flying, especially now that she knew.
"Draco?" She said.
"Hm?" Draco said, shaken from his happy thoughts.
"I missed you so much when you were gone." Ginny sighed.
"You know, I never stopped thinking about you. I had a dream about you just last night." Draco said. "I never meant to leave you. I just realized I had to make everything right and good so I could get your family's approval, and we could be together."
"You did all that for me?" Ginny asked, lifting her head and staring at the back of his own in amazement.
"For you." Draco said. "Remember what I always told you? I'm a Malfoy."
"And a Malfoy always gets his way, no matter what he has to do." Ginny finished, smiling.
"You've got it, love. Oh, I think we're here." Draco said, looking down. Ginny looked down as well, and gasped.
"Draco, that's my parents' house." She said in bewilderment.
"Yes." Draco agreed matter-of-factly.
"Why are we here?" Ginny wanted to know.
"So I can get their approval, of course. Unless you don't want to be with me." Draco looked over his shoulder at her questioningly. Ginny squeezed him happily.
"Of course I do." She said admiringly.
"Then it's all right." Draco replied simply. They landed and walked up to the front porch. Draco looked up at the house, then at Ginny. He took a breath to say something, but a voice came suddenly from inside the house.
"FRED! GEORGE! You turned the stew PURPLE! I know it was you! Fix my stew NOW!"
"That's Mum." Ginny explained, giggling. Draco looked at her and made a face.
"You know, this was a good idea until now. I don't like the thought of her yelling at me like that." He said a little nervously.
"Don't worry. That's her Fred-and-George yell. It's reserved specially for them." Ginny said. "Now this was your idea. You ready?"
"Not quite." Draco said, smiling through his nerves. "Ginny, I love you."
"I love you too, Draco. I always have." Ginny replied. Draco smiled at her, then he leaned in and kissed her deeply. It was a perfect Christmas kiss, with the snow falling, and the soft glow of the Christmas lights, and the music from the Wireless inside.
Well, it was perfect, until the door swung open only to let Ron burst in on them again.
"Hey, you!" He said teasingly, pleased to have caught her. "What are you do–Malfoy?! Ginny! What is he doing here?!" As Ginny and Draco burst into laughter and tried to explain, it became quite apparent:
This was a Christmas to remember.
The End
Wow! Twelve pages! That is a BIG one-shot. But yeah. There you go. Merry Christmas. Thanks to the Talented Mister Groban for playing his wonderful music, and thanks to JK Rowling for the characters, and most of all, thanks to Peter, who made this Christmas the best one ever.
Oh, yeah! And thanks to you, faithful reader, who is now going to leave me a lovely prezzie and review, right? RIGHT?!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight! See you next year with a new chap of Just One Thing. (Man, my titles suck, don't they?)