A/N: Guess I'm starting over again... Italics are flashbacks. Another reminder...there are OOTP and HBP spoilers!

Disclaimer: Don't own it.. Oh man J.K...you're amazing!

Finding Hope Again

Chapter One: How It All Began

There was nothing left of Ginevra Weasley's world, and she knew that as a fact. Sadness had come and destroyed her only seeds of hope. She felt as though there was only one way out- one way that defied all that she stood for before. No matter how desperate to take a brake from the pain she was in, she could not bring herself to take her own life. Her mother had taught her to stay strong, and as the youngest member of a house full of older brothers, she would stay true to her childhood teachings. However, her childhood was almost too surreal to remember; the laughter, the love, the smiling faces - everything she held sodear to her heart before.

She lived each minute as it happened. Emptiness filled the hollowed cavern in her chest where her loving heart once beat. Nothing mattered to her anymore. The days went by slowly and the cold never ceased. She knew even in warmer weather the cold inside her would never stop growing. She had seen too much death and despair to ever keep the black stain inside her at bay. If only she could bring them back, then maybe her life would have some meaning again.

She sat alone in a cold alley. The ground was hard, but her body was numb, such a numb that took over every single one of her senses. It had been that way for a while, but she was too depressed to notice anymore. Her eyes, once filled with hope and love, stared into the black sky with a blank expression. Beautiful coffee brown eyes with such an emptiness that at a glance no one would have ever known the liveliness and sparkle they once emitted. Her pain could not show, for it was too deep inside of her to be revealed, but she felt it every moment of the day. It grew within her and churned its way through her soul, delving into her more and more every day.

She knew that she was merely one of the many homeless witches and wizards living on the streets of muggle London who would hide in fear forever. She could not cry anymore for she had run out of tears long ago, yet she could still remember the pungent taste of the bitter droplets that once ran down her cheeks in never-ending streams. She still remembered heaving sobs and moaning in despair throughout the cold nights with no one to comfort her. Sometimes she wished that she would cry just one more time, to assure herself that she hadn't completely turned into an empty emotionless shell. She held on to whatever she could find within herself. Sometimes it was a memory, others, it was the smell of the bakery across the street.

She snuggled closer to the large, roomy abandoned box that was now something she could call home, though it could never be anything near to what she had before. She pulled up the crude worn blanket that she found the previous week in a garbage can on the curb of the street. It provided no warmth, to say the least, only a good sturdy home filled with love could keep her warm during the harsh winter wind. She took one last look into the deserted alley she stayed in, one last attempt to find something to help her - be it a bottle of alcohol or some form of warmth. Seeing nothing, she gave a weak attempt in trying to get comfortable in the shabby box. She slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep that she didn't know if she would wake from.

She awoke the next day at the crack of dawn to a throbbing dull ache spreading throughout her whole body. It was something else that she was used to by now. There was a crick in her neck, a stiffness in her left leg, and a pain in her head so severe that she could barely see clearly. She knew she wouldn't be able to last the winter if she didn't find better shelter, but she had nowhere to go. It was another day to let her mind plague her with thoughts of despair and hopelessness. She knew she was ill, as she believed she had a muggle sickness. Influenza was something she heard many passers-by speak of.

The previous month, she went to a free clinic to receive a shot that would help with battling the flu, but so far, nothing had happened. She still felt the same sickness day in and day out. She felt as though there would be no end to this, for even the Purple Lady had come down with it. Having observed the Purple Lady's life for the past year, Ginny came to realize that the woman, along with dressing in purple everyday of the week, had never seemed to be ill until just a week ago. At least the Purple Lady had medicine to help her cope with the symptoms, Ginny figured.

Eventually the sun was shining as radiant as ever, a very misleading image for the air was a chilly twenty degrees Fahrenheit. The streets were covered in a dirty grey slush from the muggle automobiles driving through. It was a Monday morning, and many reluctant muggles were on their way to a long day of work. Letting out a long sigh, she leaned her head back and tried to keep her mind off of the terrible cold. She knew that her feet, barely covered by a pair of worn-out shoes, were nearly frostbitten. Her nose wasn't in any better condition.

Hogwarts was in shambles. The once magnificent castle that she had considered her home-away-from-home was now nothing but giant mass of rubble. She hadn't even been able to start her Seventh Year- something she had greatly looked forward to. Ever since Dumbledore passed on in her Fifth Year, she had always wondered when the school would close down. Even with Professor McGonagall as Headmistress, it just wasn't the same. She planned on becoming an auror, just like the majority of her Gryffindor friends.

The Burrow had been burned down until all that was left was a dark area of dirt in the middle of the green foliage outside of her home. The evil Death Eaters had decided to hurt the family that Harry Potter considered as his own. They figured that it would be the best way to weaken him, and it did. They locked the Weasley family in with dark magic spells that none of the family had heard of before. They had picked the night on which a family reunion took place. Even Bill and Charlie were there. Percy had stopped by for a few moments and paid respects to his mother, but left soon after receiving death glares from Ron, his father, and almost everyone else who saw him.

At precisely 9:00 P.M. on a beautiful late July night, Death Eaters swarmed the outside perimeters of the house, disabling all alarms and protection shields Arthur, Molly, and the rest of the family had put up. Even some highly-ranked members of the Ministry had helped, causing some suspicions when the next day they found out about the attack. There was a leak in the Ministry, proving that nothing was safe anymore, especially in this desperate time of war. They cast many dark and complex spells around the threshold, locking the family inside. Though there were many attempts to get out, they were unsuccessful. By midnight, there was nothing left of the Weasley house. No one would have even known a family was there in the first place, no one but 17-year-old Ginevra Weasley who had snuck out to meet her new muggle boyfriend, ditching the family reunion.

She had just spent a magical evening with her muggle boyfriend who lived about a mile away from her house in the country. After visiting with her family for a while, she left at 6:30 to go to Matthew's house. She figured the family wouldn't miss her. Despite the knot tangled in her stomach during the time she was away, she still tried to have a nice time with her boyfriend of three months who miraculously still hadn't figured there was anything unusual about her, let alone the fact that she was a witch. Eventually she had to go back home, and she did with hopes that she would make it in time before everyone went to sleep. She wanted to wish Charlie and Bill a sweet goodbye before they left to go back to their respective homes. She knew that it wouldn't be problem though because the Weasley family would be up into the wee hours of the morning that night celebrating. Even though she had ditched her family, she still wanted to see them off properly. Besides, she hadn't given Ron the proper congratulations he deserved for getting his first job as an auror. Even though times were hard and dark forces ran amok, the family pushed aside their worries and smiled for their son's achievements. Also, Ron was planning to propose to Hermione Granger, and Ginny wanted to see the ring if Ron would let her.

About a quarter of a mile away from home, returning from a magical night with Matthew, she saw the Dark Mark hovering over where her house would have stood, a large puff of rising black smoke. Shaking uncontrollably and with nonsense thoughts running through her mind, she ran to the emergency hide-away that her father had employed for this reason exactly, just as a safety precaution in case the family was ever attacked. Expecting to see at least one member of her family there, she was surprised to find that no one was there. In attempt to keep her head calm, she figured that they had already used the portkey to the Ministry. She walked over to a pine tree and touched the small bird house that hung off a needle-covered branch and immediately felt the sensation of being pulled by the portkey.

When she arrived at the Ministry, she noted that the clock read midnight. She ran to the first person she saw and asked if any members of her family had been through this way. The confused secretary replied no and asked if everything was alright. Ever since Arthur had been given a promotion, people began to notice him and gave him and his family more respect. Ginny immediately broke down into hysteric tears. The secretary notified nearly every department and the Minister of Magic. A group of aurors and other specialists fighting against Voldemort traveled immediately to The Burrow. After putting out the raging fire, all that was recovered was a clock of the Weasley family. Everyone was pointing to "Dead", a sign Ginny had never seen before, except for Ginny and Percy who pointed to "Mortal Peril".

Overcome with sadness, Ginny cried her heart out until she became sick from the emotion. Percy had been called to the scene, seeing as he was the last member of her immediate family, and arrived with tears streaming down his face. Once Ginny saw him, she forgave him at once of what he had done and they embraced each other. Still crying, Percy apparated back to his flat along with Ginny who had not yet taken apparition courses, or the test for that matter. He made her a nice cup of tea, but when she was presented with it, she cried because it was exactly how Mrs. Weasley made it. For a while longer, she silently wept until she fell asleep. Percy looked sadly at his sister, and knew that he had to do something to avenge the death of his family. He wrote Ginny a note and left to go back to the office to seek out plans on what the Ministry was going to do.

Ginny woke with a start at 5:00 in the morning with no idea where she was. She thought for while until the previous night's memories flooded through her like a tidal wave crashing onto the shore. The depression she was going through was like a heavy weight sitting on her heart.

"Percy?" she called. "Percy are you here?" She called and searched for him a little while longer until she found the note that he left her. It said that he went back to the Ministry and would probably be there until later the next day. At the end there was a small post-script in which he told her that she could floo to his office. All she needed to do was say "Percy's Office" instead of "Ministry of Magic".

With an intense desire to be in someone's company, she immediately ran to his fireplace, grabbed a handful of floo powder, threw it to the floor of the fireplace, and yelled "Percy's Office". She was transported roughly to a scene that jarred her senses and took every bit of happiness she would ever be able to hold on to away. At first, her arrival to Percy's office in the Ministry was pleasant. Percy kept a very clean fireplace, so she wasn't completely covered in soot when she landed. When she looked up, such a strong feeling of dread and fear seeped over her.

Blood was all over his once sterile and clean office. It was not just any blood though; Ginny knew it was Percy's blood. His marred and lifeless body was limp on the ground in a very mangled position. Needing to get out of the office and afraid to go back to Percy's flat, Ginny peered out of the office door into the hallway. It seemed as though Death Eaters swarmed the place sometime in the previous night. Turmoil stirred inside the depths of her stomach. She looked around and saw that Ministry Officials were bound by their hands and gagged, lifeless and bloody on the floor. Nausea swept over her and fighting the urge to vomit, she ran to the safety of an exit and stealthily emerged from the building, hoping that there were no other Death Eaters roaming the premises.

She had nowhere to go. She knew of no other place where she would be offered safety. Then it dawned on her. She was at least forty-five minutes away from Harry's flat and she could fly there. She knew once Harry became an auror, he wanted living quarters close to the Ministry so he would be available whenever they needed him. Certainly there had to be some broom nearby. She searched the campus for one, yet the tired ache that was spreading through her bones was telling her mind to get some rest. Gathering her courage and shaping a smile over her deep grimace of suffering, she hopped on a broom she had stumbled over, ignoring the small blood stains from an employee who must have tried to escape, and started flying towards her last chance of sanctuary.

About half way there, she realized that the sun was rising. The night had shielded her from being seen before, but now there was nothing keeping her invisible from muggles. She hastily landed and hopped off the broom. She felt around her muggle clothes, hoping that her wand had not fallen out. Thankfully it was tucked away in her jacket pocket. Sighs of relief merged from her mouth, and she cast an invisibility spell that she read in an advanced spell book of hers. It hadn't been in use for twenty years because of potions and cloaks, but if performed correctly, it could last for an average time-span of an hour. She then cast it on her broom and took of into the sky once again.

Looking down over the buildings on the street where Harry's flat was located, she noticed something in an alley below her. She knew that what she was doing was dangerous enough, but she thought that maybe someone had managed to escape the Ministry and was going to Harry's flat. She started her descend to the alley below. It was still fairly dark despite the rising sun, so she whispered "Lumos" to obtain some sense of where she was. After quickly looking around, she wished that she had never landed to check out what was there.

What she saw had diminished all of her hopes almost immediately. There was not only one dead body, but two. And they belonged to Harry Potter and Rubeus Hagrid. There was no hope for the Wizarding world. Harry was supposed to be the savior that would defeat Voldemort, returning safety to her life and the lives of every witch and wizard alive. There was nowhere left for her to go. There was nothing left for her to live for. Barely clinging on to any hope she had left, she turned her back on the scene before her and let a few tears fall from her eyes. Then she remembered the Order. Even though Harry was gone, the Order still had to be intact. It was her last hope.

She was about to take her broom out again for another long, exhausting ride to, when she remembered that she could not go the Black House. Because Harry was dead, all of the Black family's possessions would go to Bellatrix Lestrange, a very prominent and accomplished Death Eater. Without a second though, she knew that she had to go to Hogwarts. Maybe some of the teachers had gathered there. It was her very last chance at salvation. She mounted her broom, but realized that she would never be able to make it all the way to Scotland by broom. It would be a near lethal attempt. Then she remembered the Knight Bus. She hesitantly stuck her wand hand out and waited for the Bus to come. A foreboding feeling deepened in the pit of her stomach when she saw the purple vehicle flying her way. She had no idea what she was about to be greeted by.

As it pulled up to her side and the door opened, she wasn't welcomed by the wonderful Stan Shunpike, or Ernie Prang, but she was harshly grabbed and pulled inside by a strong, robed, and masked Death Eater. Frightened tears spilled over her eye and clumsily tumbled down her flushed cheeks as her heart raced faster and faster. 'Good bye Ginny,' she said to herself. She knew this would be her end. She tried to compose herself, but it did not help when the Death eater pulled her to a bed an threw her on it. Terrible thoughts took over her mind. She wanted to die immediately. She didn't want to endure the torture she was bound to go through beforehand. Before she had a chance to let out another whimper, the Death Eater said something.

"You are our prisoner now," said the Death Eater gruffly and menacingly in a baritone voice that let his gender be known. Oddly, the voice sounded very familiar.

'Where on earth have I heard that voice before?' she asked herself. She knew it sounded so familiar, but she brushed the thought aside, as more pessimistic notions flew in its place. She thought of being tortured a great something worse than the Cruciatus, killed slowly and painfully, and being left in a dungeon.

"I'm sure we'll have time for some of that later," he remarked. Ginny figured that he was using Legilimens to read her thoughts and tried to block him, but was unsuccessful for she never had training in Occlumency.

She looked out the window and saw that they were flying over water. Gathering her courage, she decided to ask a question, but immediately decided against it figuring that she would get herself killed faster than she hoped for. As her courage went caput, so did her brain. Tears were slowly threatening to jump out of the confines of her eyes again. The man slowly stepped over to her. It didn't even look like he was walking. It was much more of a glide. Such an elegant walk didn't deserve to be wasted on filth like him.

When he reached the bed she was sitting on, he raised his arm to strike her, but instead lightly tapped her cheek.

"You will know where we are going once we arrive," said the man.

She trembled in fear as she again thought of what he could do to her, but at the same time, her mind was boggled on why that evil, malicious, yet smooth, baritone voice, sounded so familiar. She had now laid down on the bed, keeping an eye on the Death Eater.

'Who has a voice like that?' she questioned herself. Taking a deeper look at the man, she noticed that a long strand of silvery hair had snuck out of the hood. She knew who it was. A memory passed through her head, distracting her the from the existing thoughts of death that seemed to have taken over her mind. She remembered that day clearly. It was a day that changed her life...

It was a busy day at Diagon Alley. Many people gathered at Flourish and Blotts to see the great Gilderoy Lockhart. She knew her mother had a bit of a soft spot for the man, but she loved Daddy with all her heart. It was a special day, today. Harry potter was accompanying her family to get school supplies. He had been staying at The Burrow for quite some time, now. Ron and the twins had rescued him from that horrid place.

She was going to begin her first year at Hogwarts, soon and was very excited. Once Harry saw her at school, she knew that he would fall in love with her, as much as she loved him. Then she would be the happiest girl alive, for she had fancied Harry ever since the first day her mother helped him get to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Harry would love her for who she was, and he state of her robes and books wouldn't matter because she would have Harry Potter forever.

Her family, now including Hermione Granger, was about to leave the store when none other than Draco Malfoy came up to the small group. It was just Ron, Harry, Hemione and herself. He had said some pretty cruel things before his father and come along and told him to stop, not only did he do that but eventually he slipped a certain someone's diary into Ginny's pile of second-hand books.

Yes, the voice belonged to Lucius Malfoy, the one and only. Her stomach came up to her throat, an opposite from where it settled before. Her mouth dried and her palms became sweaty. Lucius Malfoy was supposed to be in prison along with some other recently captured Death Eaters. If he was free then that meant that the others were most likely free too. At this realization, the Death Eater looked over at her and tucked the free strands of hair back into the hooded robes. She looked at him with bug-eyes that had no intentions of hiding her emotions. She was scared. This was the man who was responsible for giving her that wretched diary.

"Ahh," he drawled, "I see you've made that deduction. It is true, I won't lie.'

"B-But h-how?" she questioned before she could stop.

"Don't you know to keep your mouth shut?" he said in such a strict voice that made her bones shake beneath her skin.

She nodded while her eyes watered with tears.

"I suppose I'll have to punish you."

Her eyes were flooded with painful tears before anything could happen.

"Save your tears girl. This is nothing."

Before she could blink an eye, he had called a curse.

"CRUCIO," he shouted. His voice dripped with malevolence and his eyes glistened happily with malice.

Pain could not even begin to describe what she was feeling. She felt as though she was on fire, but at the same timeshe suffered a harsh coldness that could cause her heart to stop. The tips of her nerves screamed from a blinding sting that seemed to never end. Sharp, acute pings shot through her head, causing her eyes to burn and sting. Blackness took over her once colorful vision. Her stomach and lungs felt like they were being twisted with every unnatural movement she made. She writhed on the bed in pain and could not contain her screams. Her body twitched and turned, shook and jumped on impulses that she could not control. She couldn't stop the pain. It was going to take over her entire body and she would never be able to return to her reality.

Lucius, seeing her shout in agony and twist in pain, decided he should stop now. It was getting boring and he wanted the girl alive in a good state of mind. She shouldn't end up like the Longbottoms, he thought as he lifted the curse. She saw a magnificent light as the pain ended. A bright white light flashed before her just as her vision was engulfed by darkness. As soon as the pain had started, it had stopped.

She awoke in a cold place, but she wasn't sure if it was her vision or if the place really was darker than anywhere she had ever been. A barred window at the top of where she was provided the small light she needed to figure that she was in some kind of dungeon cell and allowed her vision to come out of the hazy darkness it possessed.

She desperately tried to call out to someone to come save her, but all she heard in response was her echo, resounding off the dank and dingy walls of the dungeon she was in. She sat down on the cold, hard stone floor, hoping that there would be no slimy insects crawling about her body. Asshe thought more about the bugs, sherealized that insects were the least of her worries. She moved her hand to help balance herself into a more lounge-like position, but instead of feeling the cold stone floor, she felt hair, a nose, and a mouth. She shrieked in fear and stood up, only to find herself dizzy, nauseous, and falling back to the ground without any ability to regain balance.

As she fell, she let herself drown in the darkness, letting go of any hope she could have every hold on to.

She, yet again, awoke. But this time she was in a very comfortable bed. A downy duvet covered her and provided some sense of comfort. Groggily, she propped herself up, using her elbows to balance her aching body. She looked around where she was. The room was mainly green. A deep brandy wood stain coated any wood furniture or decor in sight. Silver accented nearly everything from the curtains to the blanket snuggled around her. The room gave off an antique atmosphere, making Ginny feel completely at home.

No. She didn't want to be comforted in this place where she was probably going to be tortured again. She had remembered everything that had happened to her. This had only made it worse - being in a strange new place that was pulling down her defenses and replacing them with a sense of security. She couldn't take a game like this any longer, for it had gotten to her and she was sick of it.

"Who's doing this?" she screamed at the top of her lungs. After a few moments, she was replied to by nothing other than a deep growl of her stomach. She waited another couple of minutes before she screamed for someone to show themselves again, but nothing happened. A horrible feeling welled in the most sensitive pit of her stomach. Dizziness swarmed her vision as she stood much too quickly. Her palms began to sweat profusely. Her breathing became raspy and short. "Is anyone there," she deliriously questioned the air in front of her. "Someone help me," she sobbed desperately and slipped off the bed in a hysterical state of mind.

She bumped her head on the corner of the night stand on her way down. Her vision was clouded by a darkness that was crawling around the edges of her light and coloring it black. She couldn't see properly, and it scared her. Her eyes hurt to stay open, but she couldn't let herself slip away again. She needed to know what was happening and who was responsible, even though the answer to the second query made her shiver in fear. Despite the difficulty, she stood again using the bed as support, but found that she could not support herself at all and that the bed was no help. Right before she was about to slump to the floor, she let out a gasp as two strong arms tightened around her waist, hoisting her onto the bed.

She made struggled and fruitless attempts to get away from who was keeping her down on the bed. She repeated "NO!" over and over again to whoever held her there. She feared that she was going to be taken advantage of.

"Calm down, Weaselette," the voice said. It sounded smooth and deep, but not as low as Lucius's was. "I won't hurt you."

She visibly settled down, but her breathing didn't sound settled yet. There was no way she was going to trust anyone after what had happened to her. The nick name sounded familiar, but at the moment she could not concentrate on anything aside from the pain she was in.

"I'm going to help you. Is that O.K.?" the voice asked. Whoever was with her was obviously male.

"O.K." she responded after a few moments of hesitation. Her voice was unsteady and barely audible.

She felt whoever it was get off the bed. Shuffles of footsteps could be heard as the person went away.

"No," she cried, realizing that the person may never come back. Her voice was raspy and hoarse. It screamed for water without even saying the words. "Please don't leave me." She began to beg. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"It's alright," the presence of the voice returned and the bed sunk as the extra weight was added. She felt safer already. She tried to tell herself that the person was most likely bad, but she knew that she would be fine.

She could smell who was sitting by her now.He had a very masculine scent of oranges mixed with mint, which provided a refreshing smell, as the deep cologne that she couldn't figure out covered him. She felt like she was floating on air as she inhaled him. She also became aware that her odor must have been terrible because of the events she had been through. She had already gone without showering a day before she blacked out, and being in the dungeon couldn't have helped considering the stench down there was unbearable. She wasn't even sure how long she had stayed in there.

"Here," he said, "I want you to drink this. It will make you feel better." She could feel him push a small glass into her hand so she could grip it safely. He helped her sit up so she could drink, and then helped guide the glass to her lips.

"What is it?" she skeptically asked, thinking it was some kind of poison.

"Do you honestly want to know?"

Thinking that the ingredients weren't of the utmost importance, she questioned him again, this time more to the point. "Well, what does it do?"

"Don't go around telling people this, it isn't anything anyone else should know, but I made a potion with Professor Snape that can cure some effects caused by the Cruciatus Curse. You seem to be in need of one."

"Is it really?" She asked, her small, full, chapped lips formed a tiny smile. "Wait, how do you know Professor Snape?" She knew that the Professor was a Death Eater, and doubted that the man giving her the potion was anything having to do with the Light side of the war.

"Yes," whispered the guy. "Now drink it," he commanded with a hint of agitation in his voice. "I know Professor Snape because he was my Potions teacher for a while at Hogwarts, before he was promoted to D.A.D.A."

She decided the best way would be to down it all in one gulp. Potions never tasted good. She held the glass up to her lips. The wretched smell of it made her want to vomit. She plugged her nose using her thumb and pointer finger. She parted her lips slightly and downed it all at once. She supposed since the person went to Hogwarts and didn't seem to be too suspicious that she could trust him. Besides, even though she despised the man, Professor Snape, for what he did, he was a very accomplished Potions Master.

The feeling she got after drinking it was anything but pleasant. Her stomach turned and twisted, and a slight headache was beginning to form. But as soon as it began, it was over. She felt as though she had been renewed to a point. Her vision was crystal clear, and her body felt rejuvenated. She turned to thank whoever gave her the potion.

"Thank you...," she paused, a baffled look came upon her face, "Malfoy?"

"Draco Malfoy," he replied with a smirk. "Pleasure meeting you here, Weasley," he sneered sarcastically.

"No," she cried, "I have to leave. You will take me to your father or - or maybe you'll just torture me yourself!" She was crying hysterically and had jumped out of the bed, running towards the door.

"No, I won't!" he screamed and grabbed her waist. "I'm not like him." He became exremely annoyed that she had compared him to his father.

"Yes you are," her voice quivered with both fear and rage. "You are Death Eater SCUM and I will not become some victim of your torture," she screamed and struggled to escape from his firm hold on her.

"I'm not a Death Eater," he replied in agitation. This was much harder than he thought, but he needed her to stay.

"Show me your arm then. Your left arm." She knew that he wouldn't. She caught him in his own trick.

Her eyes enlarged with surprise as he revealed his arm. A perfectly normal, unblemished, Dark-Mark-free arm, but Ginny did not buy it one bit. She knew that before the war started, many Death Eaters hid their Dark Marks with special concealment charms.

"I see," she remarked. He had loosened his grip on her waist, making her escape easier than she though. Without any notice, she dashed for the door while screaming "You're hiding it with a spell. I know you are, you piece of cra- " but she was cut off.

"WAIT," he bellowed with an anger that stopped her in her tracks and quietly whimper. He crept towards her and forced her back towards the bed, away from the door, where he could catch her if she tried to leave again. He supposed that he should have known that this would have happened, but all he wanted to do was help her. She could have been one of the few good witches that were left.

"If you leave, Ginny, you will die," he said, stressing her first name.

Her body shook with fear. Her eyes watered with scared tears. He was going to kill her. Her knees went weak and she sat on the bed. No matter how hard she tried, the tears would not stop flowing.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked in the faintest whisper he had ever heard.

"No," he responded. "I am in hiding from my father and Voldemort - are you still scared of that? - you see. They are after me because at the end of my Seventh Year, I joined the Light. I've been in hiding ever since, and they have been looking for me ever since, and if you leave, they will track both you and me down."

"I - I'm s- sorry," her body racked with tears. "We could've been killed."

He stared at the girl in disbelief. Her moods were unbearable. She was skeptical, then happy, then furious. Now she was terribly anguished. Not knowing what to do, he put an arm awkwardly around her shoulders. He never thought he would live to see the day where he would be comforting a Weasley.

"No need to cry. It's O.K. now."

"But it's awful! I could've gotten us killed!" she wailed and threw herself into his embrace, soaking his shirt with tears of despair. She was shocked that Malfoy was being almost caring.

"No, really. We're fine now."

"B-but y-y-you're m-mad at meeee," she sobbed and whined. He really couldn't take any more of this. He savedthe girl's life and she gave him a headache.

"I'm not mad at you. Trust me. We all make mistakes," he said, the agitation in his voice barely kept at bay, but she apparently didn't notice.

She looked up at him. Her wide, doe-like eyes stared at him in disbelief. His sullen gray eyes stared down at her in confusion. They became lost in each others eyes, and they didn't know why. Then, he realized she needed more support, so he smiled. It wasn't the prettiest thing Ginny had ever seen, but it did the trick. Her mouth had been moisturized by her tears and were now a bit smoother fromthe waythey were before. She softened and smiled in return. Then, she burst out laughing only to look up to a dark look that came over his face.

"What's so funny?"he questioned.

She looked at him in utter disbelief and returned to her giggling, trying to keep the laughter at bay with all her might. It hurt her stomach she had laughed so hard.

"Tell me," he pestered, becoming more agitated with every giggle escaping her lips. He saved her life for goodness-sake and all she does is give him a headache and laugh at him.

Her laughing subsided to small chuckles whenever she looked at him. So, breaking any eye contact, she told him.

"You can't smile. Really, I don't recommend that you do that, Malfoy," she squeaked.

"Yes I can. I just did."

"If you call that a smile."

He really couldn't smile. He was never been brought up to. The facial muscles weren't able to move like that and could not form anything remarkably close to a smile. In fact, it made him look like he was quite constipated, which was what cause Ginny's outbreak of laughter.

"Try smiling and looking in the mirror," she suggested. "Trust me, it's not something you'd want to see again."

He scowled at her and ran to a mirror that was eloquently placed in the room. Looking directly at the reflection of his mouth, he arranged his face into a smile. Shocked by the terribly embarrassing appearance of his attempted smile, he realized why she had laughed and told him not to smile. His Malfoy pride would never let him admit that he couldn't do something, but in this case he figured that it was best if he didn't smile again for a long time.

"You're right. I can't smile," he admitted somewhat sadly.

"That's O.K., I can teach you!" Ginny exclaimed.

"You can't teach a person to smile, Ginny."

"Yes you can."

"How?"

"By making you need to smile. Making you laugh." Ginny confused herself. She tried to tell herself that this was Malfoy, but she couldn't help it. She had seen something in him that made her heart beat faster.

Her stomach audibly growled, interrupting the beginning of a smiling lesson. Draco was actually thankful that she was hungry because it saved him from learning how to smile - something he didn't quite want to do.

"You can teach me to smile after you've eaten. It's probably been about six days since you've last had something to eat. You were out quite some time."

She had been out for six days, meaning that she hadn't showered in about a week. At once she felt extremely disgusting and gross. She couldn't bear the dirty feeling that took over her body. Her stomach grumbled again, forcing her to choose food over beauty. "O.K. Let's get something, but the second we're done, I have to shower."

He led her down a staircase she hadn't seen and they enjoyed a nice, hot lunch.

That was basically how everything was until the fateful day that ended it all.

Ginny sat up in her box. "I wish you were with me Draco," she whispered to herself as she went out into the muggle world that she lived in, feeling even more disgusting than she had the day when she found out she hadn't showered in six days. Now, it had been well over six days since she last showered. In fact, it had been well over a month.