Chapter 3

"Ginny, oh gods what have I done?" Draco whispered. He sank to the ground on his knees, intent to stay there until Ginny would at least talk to him and he could sort out this mess. After a few minutes, Ginny turned around, giving Draco a confused expression. He could see tearstains on her cheeks and instantly wanted to make it all better, no matter what the cost. But, alas, that was impossible.

"What Draco?"

"I'm sorry Ginny. I'm so sorry! I can't believe I said something like that! Please, please, please don't leave me!" Draco begged in a very un-Malfoy-like voice. Ginny stood up and walked over to him, sitting down next to him and giving him a confused expression.

"Why would I leave you over something so silly like that? I was pretty mad, but everyone says things they don't mean sometimes. It's human nature." Draco sighed heavily and reached out his arms, silently asking for Ginny's permission to hug her. With a smile, Ginny cupped his face in her hands and leaned forward, kissing him gently. Draco wrapped his arms around her, feeling more relieved than he ever had in his entire life.

"I'm so sorry, Gin. So sorry," he whispered.

"Shh, it's okay. Do you really think I risk losing my family over some guy that I didn't really love?"

"You mean that?"

Ginny chuckled as she laid her head against Draco's chest. "Of course I mean that, silly … but you were wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"You were wrong about me not knowing how it feels to lose someone. The year before my first year … my godmother was in a magical accident … I was really close to her … it was part of the reason I latched onto Tom so quickly." She chuckled and shook her head.

"What?"

"I've never told anyone that before. I mean everyone knew that Michelle died … but I put on a brave face for everyone. Don't do that for me with your Mum okay?" Draco gave her a confused look. "Don't put on a façade for me; I can see right through it, so it's a waste of energy."

"You surprise me sometimes." Draco chuckled and shook his head, wrapping his arms tighter around Ginny.

They stayed like that, Ginny leaning against Draco and his arms around her, for a good hour, before Charlie came charging out of the house. Because the sun had already set, they didn't notice the wide grin that was plastered on his face, and groaned, assuming he had bad news.

"No matter what happens, remember this, okay?" Draco said as he took Ginny's left hand and ran his finger over the silver band. She nodded wordlessly as he kissed her forehead.

"How bad is it, Charlie?"

"Bad? Ha! It's not bad; it's marvelous! Dumbledore's convinced them to let him stay here all summer!" Ginny's face lit up and, standing up, she launched herself at her favorite brother. "Gin … air!"

"Oh, sorry Charlie." She smiled sheepishly. "Draco can you believe this! It's all going to be okay after all." Draco smiled and nodded.

Perhaps I haven't lost her after all, he thought as he watched Ginny do a little dance, ecstatic that Draco was no longer being forced to leave The Burrow.

The Next Day, The Living Room of The Burrow

"Umm, Mr. Weasley?" Draco had gotten up extra early in the hopes of catching both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, before Mr. Weasley went to work and Mrs. Weasley was tangled up in her various projects.

"Yes?" Both of the elder Weasleys turned to face Draco, with mild annoyance on their faces, but they, admirably, did try to hide it. Not very successfully, mind you.

"I'd umm …" Draco shrugged mentally, it was now or never and never simply would not do. "I'd like to apologize for everything Lucius has done to you and your family and to tell you how grateful I am that you're letting me stay here. If I were you, I certainly wouldn't let me stay."

"Thank you Draco, that means more than you know. And, it's Arthur." Arthur stuck out his hand, which Draco shook firmly. He smiled in spite of himself as Arthur kissed his wife on the cheek and disapparated.

With a smile, Molly stepped forward and hugged Draco tightly. "You're most welcome dear." She smiled again as she released him and started to leave, but turned around suddenly. "Oh, and please call me Molly." Draco nodded and smiled as he listened to her bustle around the kitchen.

In some strange way, she reminded him very much of Narcissa. Or at least, the way Narcissa really was. When Lucius wasn't around, she was one of the most worrying, compassionate, and overbearing mothers you could find. She fussed over Draco a lot, although she did it in a less obvious way. Like during dinner, if he had something in the corner of his mouth, she would look straight at him as she dabbed the corners of her own mouth with her napkin, whereas most mothers would lick their finger and reach over to rub it off. Draco found it most amusing.

Ginny smiled when she saw Draco standing in the middle of her dining room, hands in his pockets, staring at the door to the kitchen. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle, setting her chin on his shoulder. She felt him tense up before realizing it was she and starting to relax again.

"What's wrong love?"

"Oddly enough, she reminds me of … Mum." He chuckled softly and half-heartedly.

"You miss her, huh?"

"More than you know, Gin." They stood there for a few moments, both lost in their own worlds, before Ginny stood up on her tip-toes and left a trail of kisses along Draco's jaw line. When she got to his ear, she nibbled on his earlobe; something she knew drove him crazy. She ran her hands over the well-defined muscles in his chest and abs, enjoying the way she could still feel them through his sweater.

Draco looked down at her and smirked; she smiled back mischievously for a moment before reaching up to nibble on his earlobe again, making him shiver, uncharacteristically.

"Come with me," he said simply as he pulled out of her grasp, took her hand in his and started for the stairs. He led her up the stairs and into his room, where he closed the door behind them.

Closing the distance between them, Draco put one hand in the small of Ginny's back and the other behind her neck. Slowly, he pulled her into a soft, innocent, sweet kiss. When he pulled away, he saw that she had a particularly adorable, albeit goofy, grin on her face.

"Do you realize how long it has been since I've kissed you?" he whispered.

Ginny nodded, biting her lip, before replying. "Let's not make it any longer, shall we?"

Draco leaned down and covered Ginny's mouth with his again; he knew that if he kissed Ginny, the entire world would seemingly melt away and that was exactly what he needed right then. So, for the first time, he let himself get completely lost in Ginny's kisses.

A/N: Again, I'm terribly sorry and I'll answer reviews when I replace this chapter with the beta'd version.