14
Ginny stood on the lake's shore, patiently. She would be leaving in ten minutes, but was to meet Draco to say good-bye. Ginny worried about what the holidays would bring, and hoped against hope that her choice would be accepted at least by the few family members that she did decide to tell. She was lost in her thoughts when she felt a pair of arms go around her waist. "Hey, you," he whispered in her ear.
She turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tightly. Holding back tears, she looked into his eyes, "Be careful, ok. I wish you were coming with me or that I was staying here. I'm terrified that I'll come back and all of this will have been a dream," she whispered.
He looked at her, and brought his lips down to capture hers. When they broke apart a few moments later, he leaned his forehead against hers, "Did that feel like a dream," he said. Pulling her tightly against him, he clung to her. "Gin," he said, "Oh please, please be careful. I can't lose you. Come back to me."
She leaned up to kiss him again. "Don't worry, Draco. I'll be back in two weeks," she said.
He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "I'm going to miss you like crazy. I love you Virginia Weasley," he said, as he captured her lips once again.
"I love you too, Draco Malfoy," she answered when they had broken apart, "I have to go." Pulling herself from his embrace she raced to the entrance hall where she was to meet Ron. Much to her dismay, he also wanted to say good-bye, given that he would not be going home for holiday. Meeting him in the Great Hall, she hugged him, "Bye, Ron, see you in two weeks," she said.
He frowned at her, "I don't see why you all of a sudden want to go home. Hogwarts is great at Christmas time," he said.
Ginny sighed, "I have some things I need to do," she said. "See you later."
Ron watched as she walked out the doors and wondered what could be so important that she had to run home. Sighing, he turned back to the Great Hall to meet Harry and Hermione for breakfast.
The train ride home was uneventful and Ginny spent most of it sleeping. Upon arriving at King's Cross, she looked around for her mum, who was supposed to pick her up. She was surprised to see Bill waiting for her. She ran to him and gave him a hug, "Hey Bill," she said.
Bill smiled, "Hey, little sis."
Ginny pulled back and began to walk at his side. "I thought mum was picking me up," she said.
He grinned, "Well, she was, but given that you really needed to tell me something I told her that I would pick you up. Besides, she said she had some shopping to do," he said, then turned to her, "So, Gin, what's this big secret that you need to tell me."
Ginny had hoped to be able to prepare what she was going to say, and tell him tomorrow or the next day. This would have to do, she thought, and turned to Bill. "First, you can't tell anyone, Bill. Trust me, I have my reasons," she said.
"Ok, Gin, I won't tell," he promised, seeing the seriousness in her eyes.
Ginny nodded and took a deep breath, 'here's goes nothing,' she thought. Turning, she looked up at Bill, "I have a boyfriend, Bill," she said.
Bill's eyebrows went up. "A boyfriend? That's what your big secret is, Gin? A boyfriend?"
Ginny looked at the floor, "That's just the beginning. My boyfriend is not very well liked by dad, Fred, George, Ron, Percy or Harry," she said, ticking them off on her fingers.
"How do you know this if they don't know who it even is?" Bill countered.
"Because," Ginny whispered, "it's Draco Malfoy."
Now Bill's eyebrows went way up. Like everyone else he, too, had heard that name mentioned in not so nice references by just about all of his brothers and by his father as well. He looked at her; she usually had good judgment, so he asked the only question that mattered to him, "Is he good to you?"
Ginny smiled, "Oh, yes, Bill. He's wonderful. He's a lot different than Ron and Harry think, and a lot, lot different from his father. I love him, Bill, and I know that he loves me, too," she said, then sighed, "However, that's not everything that I have to tell you."
Noting the seriousness in her voice, he looked down at her, "What else is there, Gin?" he asked, his concern growing.
"My life may be in danger," she said, and he stopped in his tracks.
"Why?" he asked slowly.
Ginny turned to face him, "Because of Draco's father. Draco worries that his father will come after me once he finds out Draco's feelings for me. Therefore Professor Snape said that it would be wise to tell someone in my family what was going on. I chose you, Bill, because I thought that you would understand the most," she said, "And before you start lecturing, I am not giving Draco up. Not now, not ever, no matter what. I am, for the first time in my life, truly happy, and Lucius is not going to ruin that for me, or for Draco. Understand?"
Bill nodded, "We Weasley's are stubborn," he said, "well, we'll just have to be on the lookout, won't we?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders. "So, how did you and Malfoy come to be?" he asked, but Ginny had stopped dead in her tracks. He looked back at her, "Gin?"
Ginny was staring past him at something in the sky. Flashbacks to the World Cup in her Third Year poured into her mind. That same shape, brought by death and destruction. And it appeared to be over her home. "Gods," she whispered, and broke into a dead run.
Bill watched her take off running, and finally noticed what she noticed in the sky above their home, and he, too, took off running.
Ginny reached the house first, and not even pausing to think, pushed open the door, "Mum," she whispered, half afraid of what she would find. Tears were already pouring down her cheeks at the thought of what she might find. The Grandfather clock in the kitchen was her goal for the moment. Pausing before it, she saw that none of her family were 'in god's care' as she had feared. She did notice as someone came up behind her that three of her family were 'in mortal peril', her mum, Bill, and, Ginny gasped, her. She spun around only to see a face of pure hatred before Ginny saw no more.
