Chapter 12

Draco growled when he heard a door slam and crying a moment later. He knew, by the footfall, that it was Ginny. And, he was fairly certain that her family was the reason she was now crying. He quickly got up and tiptoed down to her room. He could hear the muffled conversation of the Weasleys from the parlor, but couldn't understand what they were saying. He decided he didn't want to know anyways, and proceeded to Ginny's door.

"Gin?" He knocked softly. He heard her sniffle slightly and her sobs became slightly less frequent. "Can I come in?" After a moment's pause, he heard a small, affirmative noise and quickly entered the room, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

Ginny was sitting on her window seat, her knees pulled up in front of her. Her hair was a mess and her cheeks were stained with tears, not to mention the steady stream of tears that was making its way down both of her cheeks. She made a valiant attempt at looking presentable when Draco came in – smoothing down her hair, straightening her clothes, wiping her cheeks – but the tears returned soon enough. She turned towards to the window, in and effort to hide her tear-stained face from Draco.

"Ginny …" She looked back at him; there was something in her eyes that was pleading with him. Pleading for him to hold her, comfort her; tell her that everything was going to be okay. Catching and recognizing the glint in her eyes, Draco quickly strode over to the window seat, sitting down next to her. "What happened?" Draco silently cursed himself. She wouldn't want to explain to him what had happened … he was such an idiot.

But Ginny just smiled a sad smile and taking both of his hands in her own. Suddenly, Draco didn't feel so much like an idiot anymore. "It's nothing for you to worry about, Draco."

"Like hell. Stop trying to protect me, Ginny. Tell me what happened." Draco reached up to cup her face as her bottom lip started to tremble. She put her hands over his and turned her head slightly to kiss his palm.

She started to speak in a shaking voice. "They're not happy with me, to say the least. They don't want me to go. They think I'm making a huge mistake and probably think that I should just let you go off on your own and get yourself killed. Even Charlie wouldn't stand up for me. He just stood there, staring at me like I had grown another head." She took a deep breath and her voice became slightly steadier. "I don't understand why they can't see it."

"See what?"

"The fact that I'm in love with you and I couldn't let you go by yourself in a million years." Draco gave her a warm smile as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. She gave him a watery smile, in turn, as she continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if they tied me down, just to keep me from leaving … they're so mad, especially my Mum and Dad."

"I'm so sorry."

"You've nothing to be sorry about," she whispered, squeezing his hand affectionately.

"All of this is my fault. If it weren't for me –"

"Draco … I'm going to say this once and for all. I love you. I would rather deal with this – fighting with my family, and whatever else is going to come – and be able to be with you than to have never known you. I know you're going to say that life would have been better if I had never met you, but in all honesty, it wouldn't have been. I'll be happier with you, facing all of this with you than I would be without you." Ginny took his head firmly between her hands and kissed him long and hard, leaving them both breathless. When she pulled back, Draco quickly pulled her onto his lap, gathering her up in his strong arms. 'This,' Ginny thought, 'this is the one place in all the world that I feel completely safe.'

Despite her overwhelming feelings of safety, Ginny couldn't help but think that this was as close to rock bottom as she had ever been, with the exception of first year, of course. Somewhere, in the dark recesses of her mind, she had this crazy idea that everything would turn out the way it did in all the books; she and Draco, having fallen in love, would live happily ever after. But it didn't. And she wasn't sure if it ever would. When they had started on this crazy journey of sorts, she had never, in a million years, imagined what she was getting herself into. Don't misunderstand; she loved Draco with every fiber of her being. But, in that moment, everything about life, excepting the fact that she was in Draco's arms, sucked.

Ginny snuggled closer to Draco as a few tears started to slowly slip out of her eyes. It had been a while since she let herself cry; the last day she saw Draco at the end of her fifth year, to be exact. But a few tears and two or three sniffles didn't really constitute crying. Draco hadn't wanted her to cry that day, as he said there was no reason to; they'd be seeing each other again soon enough and letters would suffice until then. Within moments, she was crying – really crying – into Draco's chest. He was rubbing her back soothingly; he knew she needed to cry, to just let things go.

Fate definitely had some interesting ideas on what to do with the lives of Draco Malfoy and Ginevra Weasley. She had never really been kind to either of them, but then, in some stroke of tenderness, she had given them each other. As hard as it was to believe, that almost seemed to make up for everything else they had been dealt in life.

Draco wanted nothing more than to be rid of everything. He wanted to take Ginny and run away to some desert island, where no one – not Lucius, not Voldemort, not Ginny's family, not anyone – would bother them ever again. He vowed to himself, in that moment, that, regardless of his duties to the Order, he would never bow down to the man – the thing – that wanted Ginny's family and friends dead. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He didn't give a rat's ass, anymore, what Lucius thought, or what Lucius wanted. All that mattered now was what he wanted … no, all that mattered was what Ginny wanted.

Draco smiled ruefully as Ginny's tears continued to soak his shirt. In that moment, his hatred for her family rivaled his hatred for his own sorry excuse for a father. He didn't care that they were part of the reason he was alive at the moment. He wanted nothing more than to throttle the whole lot of them. Life, in general, was hard enough for Ginny right now, without her entire family being against her. Yet somehow, he was putting his life on the line for them and everyone else in the wizarding world. He knew why too … one word … Ginny. She would be utterly crushed if anything happened to her family.

It was another one of those things that Draco just didn't understand about Ginny. How she could love her family so much even after the way they treated her. He was no stranger to the fact that they didn't pay much attention to her until, on the rare occasion, she did something wrong.

Draco couldn't keep his mind off the fact that Ginny was crying her eyes out … all for him.

Draco thought back to a year ago. He never, in a million years, would have expected himself to be in this position. He never, in a million years, would have thought that he could be here, comforting her. He never was good at comforting people – he always said the wrong thing. But that was one of those things that Ginny had, inadvertently, taught him how to do. She taught him how to be gentle and caring. She taught him how to comfort people when they most needed it. She taught him how to control his temper. She taught him how to smile, really smile. Above all, she taught him how to love.

He grew up expecting to become the man his father was – cold, cruel, mean; the Malfoy standard to a T. But then, Ginny happened. He knew he could never go back to the way he used to be. It scared him, sometimes. Especially when he was faced with the possibility of losing Ginny. Sure, he could be the man he wanted to be for Ginny. But without Ginny what was the point in being that man?

It was just one more problem that reared its ugly head when he had agreed to join the Order.

Draco nearly laughed as he thought of what Lucius would say if he could see his son right now. But then, it suddenly struck Draco that he didn't care anymore. The only attention he ever gave to Lucius anymore was to make sure that Ginny was safe. When he was younger, he completely idolized his father, thinking him the greatest man to ever walk the earth. Now, Lucius could rot in hell for all Draco cared.

He hadn't really thought about it before now. For the majority of his 16 years, he had worried about what Lucius would say or what Lucius would do or what Lucius would think, subconsciously. Even a year ago, he hated Lucius, that was for sure, but Lucius' approval or disapproval was always there, in the back of his mind, making him rethink his decisions and actions. But now … now he didn't care. At all.

There were only three people that he truly cared about in the world anymore. Blaise, Severus, and Ginny. And he would die before he ever saw any of them harmed. He fully intended making Ginny his wife … assuming they survived this.

A/N: Because is ff DOT net being anal, I can't post the real version of this chapter, i.e. with the song lyrics. If you'd like to see the real version, email me. I'm sorry for the delay; my house is the site of WWIII right now. But please stick with me; I promise this will get finished. Review!