All Harry Potter characters don't belong to me
Cerdwyn3 – Causing emotions to go up and down can be so fun. Don't you think? I'm evil, I know. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
SaintEmo – Don't you think they're already in love? Thank you for reading and reviewing.
SheWhoIsBeautifulInDeath - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Dark faerie luvr – Glad to hear you enjoy my story. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Rachel – Die or not. You'll have to wait and see. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Blissfulxsin - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Georgentosser – I'm so happy you liked that line. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Moonlight Princess – Yeah, I also believe that the will is the key to living. Life just isn't worth living for her right now. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Freedomfighter393 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Emaleth84 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Fire331 – Really happy that you liked that line. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Silverdragoneyes14 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Meadow B – It is a great relief to me knowing that this whole dilemma is believable to you. I was hesitant to write it because of the issues it involves but ended up finishing it. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Zuvalupa - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Ayumi-dono - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Caz-felton-malfoy - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Lucygirl07 – glad you like how Draco is portrayed. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Jade Summers – modern day Romeo and Juliet is sounding nice. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Meeaz – Everything has to be with Draco, of course, especially long and happy lives. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Eleoopy – You do know that I'm puffing with pride now that I know I've been able to make you cry with both my stories. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Hahatushkaru – I couldn't find your review for the last chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing this time.
Tara – You're smelling pretty close there. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Femme Draconis – Welcome back to the fanfiction world. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Ccolombianmami11 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Lady Rebecca - Thank you for reading and reviewing. By the way, would it be possible for you to not use your log in username the next time you review. It just makes it harder for me to answer reviews because your name is so long. Thank you.
JoJo – smacking some sense into Ginny will be done by someone appropriate. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
DGlover – Draco will find out about Ginny being a Weasley some time. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
GoldenFawkes – Conveying that surgery to her may be up to someone else. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Oobleck89 – smashing dishes and slamming doors? I think that would be more suitable for when Draco finds out she's a Weasley don't you think? Hm…I think I've given a bit of the future away. oops Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Chickenpea - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Bella-lover - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Black'Ice'Statue' – I think Draco is only a cold stick at school and in front of most people. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Ice Princess – Kissing will be coming soon. They are still young and only just growing up. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Xojulesxo – she's been hiding her identity for so it has just become a habit for her and not hard at all. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Violaslocumb – Glad to hear you like my characterization. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Darklight989 – all will be revealed in the future. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Alexandria J. Malfoy - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Kayla - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Helldrkangel1 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
QueenThayet2990 – Spaghetti-O's. food. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Wandless - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Pirates93 – Hey, why'd you change your name? I was rather fond of wonka tonka. Thanks for the idea about the novel, I might just do that. Seriously. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Luver19 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
My-Chemical-Romance-Fan - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Looney-Lovegood - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Tenshi noyo Ryu Taiga - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
CheesieCake – You're reviews are always truly appreciated too. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Lorina - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Super Wench – naughty naughty. Using school resources for personal pleasure. D. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Big T - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Entracer – would you really like to be engaged since you were little? Though I do think it would take that long to develop such a true relationship. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Kassie - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Hart-break - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
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ILOVDRACO – Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Chapter Twenty One – Hold On
"Speaking"
Thinking
Draco had not accepted the fact that Ginny was giving up and had made it his goal to use the next few days to try and change her mind. He was not going to sit aside and watch her die.
The mood between them was not foul like before but surprisingly gentle as it always was whenever they were together. Draco had asked Sarah to find a nice dress for Ginny to wear and then to take her down to the Ball room.
Ginny stood in front of her full length mirror and looked at herself. She had lost weight in the past few weeks and her skin had gone pale. Her cheeks held no color and her eyes were sinking into their sockets. Running her hand up her torso she could feel her ribs and frowned at how she was wasting away. She had reached the age where she should have been developing into her curves but was instead working backwards. Ginny turned around quickly to put on the dress Sarah had given her.
Dressed in a beautiful dark green sleeveless dress, Ginny walked into the Ball room to see Draco standing there is formal dress robes. His head was slightly inclined and his hands were placed casually in his trouser pockets. Only now did she notice how much he had changed from the little boy she had first met, and handsome was the only word she could think of to describe him. A blush made its way onto Ginny's cheek when Draco smiled in her direction with eyes that seemed to look right through her.
Luckily for Ginny, she had known him for most of her life or else that smile of his would have made her swoon.
"What's all this for?" she eventually asked.
Draco walked up to her and extended his hand. "May I have this dance?"
Music began to play in the background and Ginny placed her hand into his. Draco guided her into his embrace and wrapped his arm around her hips to securing her to him.
"We had a Yule ball at school during Christmas," Draco explained while leading Ginny around the room in their favorite dance.
"Is that why you didn't come home?" she asked.
Draco nodded. "Father wanted me to stay and attend. You were the first person I thought of when they told us to bring partners."
"You didn't go alone did you?" Ginny asked, more concerned about him feeling lonely.
"No, Bell and I went together. But just as friends." He added.
Ginny smiled at the slight hint of worry in his voice. She did feel a tiny pang of jealousy for not having that opportunity, but she understood. She wouldn't be here for him much longer anyways so she told herself she didn't have the right to be jealous anymore.
"Was it fun?" she asked.
"Not really," he said accompanied with a shrug. "Wasn't really anything to do except dance, and I only danced with Bell once."
Draco twirled Ginny into his arms before leading her into a dip. "I really wanted you there with me," he said before pulling her up again.
"We can dance anytime we like, Draco. It doesn't have to be at a formal event." She said, hoping to lighten the conversation.
"We might not have much time left," he said softly to himself but still deliberately loud enough for her to hear.
Ginny knew what he was trying to do but couldn't get herself angry with him because deep down, without even realizing it, she was slowly starting to doubt her decision.
The next few days were spent in much the same way. Draco was coming up with more and more ideas to try and change Ginny's mind and even though Ginny knew what he was doing, she didn't have the heart to refuse his efforts.
Lucius had decided that Draco had spent enough time at home with Ginny and ordered him to go back to school. It was on that last night that Draco sneaked into Ginny's room to wake her up.
Ginny rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. "Draco?" she mumbled. "What is it?"
Draco handed Ginny her dressing robe. "Come with me. I have something for you," he whispered.
Draco took Ginny's hand while slowly creeping out the room and down the stairs. They reached the entrance to the kitchen and quietly made their way inside. No candles were lit and the only source of light was from the moon shining in through the window. Draco guided Ginny to a seat at the table and told her to sit down.
"What are you doing?" Ginny whispered while moving her hands to find the seat.
"Shh…Just wait and see," he whispered back.
Ginny waited patiently as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. She could make out the setting of the kitchen from the shadows cast by the moon, and from her memory of what the kitchen looked like. The Grandfather clock outside chimed loudly to signal it was midnight and she jumped in her seat. Ginny's hand flew to her heart while she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a cake with thirteen lit candles on the table in front of her. The light from the candles allowed her to see Draco standing next to her with a smile on his face.
"Happy Birthday to you," he began singing as softly as he could. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ginny, Happy Birthday to you."
Ginny was smiling so widely her eyes were squinting.
"Blow out the candles and make a wish," Draco whispered into her ear.
Ginny clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. After a few seconds she opened them and blew out the candles in one breath. The kitchen was once again bathed in black and white shadows as Ginny felt Draco's lips press against her temple.
"Happy Birthday Ginny," he whispered into her ear.
Ginny's birthday was really two days away and Draco knew it but decided to celebrate with her earlier since he was leaving tomorrow morning. They took the cake to the tea room where they sat on the rug in front of the fireplace.
They had their backs against the couch and let their legs stretch out in front of them. Draco watched as Ginny struggled to eat her slice of cake and had opted to swirl the cream around with her fork. Since coming back home he had noticed things like that about her. She would sleep a lot, eat so little and sometimes cringe in pain when she thought no one was looking.
He thought that taking that 50 chance would be the smart thing to do, but he didn't realised how hard it is for her to live with such a burden.
Placing his plate onto the coffee table next to Ginny's, Draco took hold of her hands and placed a gentle kiss on it. Ginny smiled while linking her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"What did you wish for?" Draco asked casually.
Ginny smiled and turned her head to look at him. "I can't tell or it won't come true."
Draco smiled sadly and wondered if she would have wished to live. When he first heard about her choice, he felt angry, then annoyed and even went into denial and tried to change her mind. But now, all he felt was sad and empty.
"I have to go back to Hogwarts tomorrow," he said.
"I know," Ginny answered softly.
The implications of reality finally hit Draco full blast. It's hard to believe, but only now did he realise he might never see her again. Tears threatened to leak from his eyes but he forced them back. He wanted to beg her not to go but he knew that would do nothing. He felt like a bubbling cauldron with a lid stuck on top. He felt like exploding but of what he wasn't sure. Conflict with himself was tearing him apart until Ginny gently touched his cheek.
"Everything will be alright," she said.
Draco exploded. "How could things be alright?" he said as his voice quivered. "I'm never going to see you again. You're dying and I'm going to be here all alone. There are so many things I want to do with you, experience with you…"
He couldn't continue anymore because he could feel himself losing control. Tears slid down Ginny's cheeks as she realised letting go was harder than she had thought. Draco eventually pulled himself together and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't be doing this."
Ginny shook her head and held his hands in hers. "I wish there was a way for things to be easier for you. There is a spell…"
"No!" Draco shook his head frantically. "No."
"Things will be better for you…"
"Don't you understand," he said softly. "Its how I feel without you that will make things hard. Even if I lose all my memories, there will always be something missing. Something I won't ever find again."
He didn't know where the words had come from but he knew from the moment he said them that they were true. Life would never be the same.
Placing his hand on Ginny's cheek, he looked into the eyes of the girl he had grown up with. He remembered her in the cream coloured dress and her long hair in a pony tail. She was merely five then and he was only six, but even when he had ignored her, he always thought she was beautiful.
A tear slid down Draco's face but he ignored it and Ginny didn't think she would ever see him let himself cry so openly. She watched as he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out and instead felt his lips pressed to hers.
Draco didn't know what he was doing. He hadn't thought about kissing her, he hadn't planned on kissing her but it was the greatest thing that could ever happen.
It was a simple kiss, like all first kisses were, but for them it held much greater meaning. Leaning back slowly, there was a fraction of a second where everything between them was forgotten. No life or death situation, no sadness and regrets, only the sensations of a moment they would never forget. As reality slowly seeped back in, Draco now knew what life from now on would be like for him. Seeing a sweet smile grace Ginny's lips, Draco inwardly laughed at how obvious it was. He would love her for the rest of his life, even beyond death.
Draco woke the following morning hoping to see Ginny before he went back to school but was told she had gone back home. He supposed it was for the best because he doubts he could have let go easily. Going through his morning routine in a trance, Draco poked at his breakfast before heading back to school.
Martin had accompanied Draco back to Dumbledore's office before quickly leaving. Dumbledore asked if everything had gone well and Draco merely nodded his head before going to the common room. He should have been in class but didn't feel up to it. He honestly didn't know if he would be up to doing anything, because all he could do was wonder if Ginny was still alive.
Lying on his bed with the curtains closed, he pursed his lips and remembered last night. A smiled played on the corner of his lips as he relived every heartbeat and sensation. He would live with that moment forever.
Ginny sat at her desk, looking into her desktop mirror. She was getting ready for the party that was being held for her birthday today, where all her brothers were going to be home. Molly had requested that they all attend this family celebration since they had not been together for such a long time. Fred, George and Ron were excused from school along with Charlie, who was at Hogwarts for the tri wizard tournament, and Bill too some holiday leave to come back home. She was ecstatic about seeing them all again.
Descending the stairs, Ginny was welcomed with hugs from Bill and Charlie. She hadn't seen them for so long and had held onto them for longer. The rest of her brothers were next to give her hugs before they all sat down at the dinner table to have a family meal together.
There were no questions asked and no comments made. The tension was easily hidden by the chattering between brothers and parents. Ginny asked her brothers the occasional questions but was never asked any in return. What was there to say? I know you're dying Ginny but how are you anyways? Or, it's ok if you haven't got the hang of transfiguration, you won't need it when you're gone. They weren't exactly ideal conversation builders.
Ginny had her tradition Birthday celebration with the chocolate cake and 13 candles for her to blow out. She was sang the birthday song and asked to make a wish before blowing out the candles all in one breath and cutting the cake. It was a lovely cake and after it was all eaten up, everyone moved towards the lounge for tea and more chatting. Ginny couldn't remember the last time the burrow was so full of people and welcomed the noise as opposed to the silence when no one was home. As hard as she tried, Ginny couldn't help it as her eye lids became heavy and her head leaned against Charlie's shoulder. She then felt herself cradled in warm arms and lifted off the couch. Her eyes fluttered open to look at who was carrying her.
"It's ok Gin. Time for bed now." Ginny relaxed into Charlies arms and was soon drifting off to sleep.
Ginny was woken from her sleep by the ache in her chest. Fumbling around for her potions, she swallowed the pain killing liquid while trembling hands held the bottle. This had been happening more frequently lately so she knew from experience she would not be falling asleep again. Putting on her dressing gown, she made her way down to the kitchen quietly as not to disturb anyone else.
She was surprised to see Bill sitting at the kitchen table nursing a steaming cup of tea.
"Bill," Ginny whispered as she made her way to a seat opposite her brother. "What are you doing up this late?"
"Haven't gotten used to the time difference I guess," he answered with a smile. "What about you? What are you doing up this late? You need your rest."
Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "Just couldn't sleep," she answered casually. She didn't want to tell Bill the real reason in case he started to fuss.
"Did the pain wake you up?"
Ginny was surprised by the question and looked at Bill with wide eyes. He smiled sadly before answering her silent question.
"I had the chance to speak to your healers and they told me about the symptoms."
Ginny averted her eyes to look at the grains of the wooden table. "I was hoping the topic could be avoided."
"You can never avoid things forever." He said gently. Ginny waited for him to ask the question but he didn't, so she asked him instead.
"Aren't you going to ask me why?"
"No," Bill answered simply. He then turned to look out the kitchen window with a smile on his lips. "You're all grown up now and able to make your own decisions. But I still remember giving you piggy backs when you were only a little thing. No older than 5 and pulling on my hair, pretending I was a horse."
Ginny smiled as she remembered. "Yeah, I remember that. I must have been really annoying."
"Why would you think that?" Bill asked curiously.
"I would have been heavy to carry and pulling on your hair must have hurt. Mum always asked you carry me, I was such a burden for you."
"But you've never asked me."
Ginny looked at Bill confused. "Asked you what?"
"If I thought you were a burden. You never asked, so how do you know."
"Well it mustn't have been very pleasant always having to look out for me and stuff." She said sadly.
Bill lifted Ginny's chin gently with his fingers. "Loving you isn't a chore, Ginny. Families care for each other, and you are very much apart of this family."
Tears rolled down Ginny's cheek and Bill left his chair to wrap her in his arms. Ginny openly cried into her brother's chest and held onto him with tightly.
Bill let her cry till her hearts content, occasionally whispering comforting words.
"Shh…It's alright, Ginny."
Ginny didn't realise how much she had been holding in. But after soaking Bills shirt in her tears last night, she felt much better and was able to relax and enjoy spending time with all her brothers.
The first thing she did that morning was play a game of chess with Ron. Surprisingly to her, he did not let her win like she thought he would. What she hated most about people knowing about her condition was that she would be treated like porcelain, physically and emotionally. But not today, Ron won and didn't hold back on the victory dance.
Seeing Ron prance around gleefully, Fred and George had given him one of their canary creams telling him it was a prize for winning. Needless to say, he was not a happy birdie. Ron had been chasing Fred and George around the house while malting his yellow feathers when he noticed Ginny rolling on the couch laughing her heart out. She was very soon, Ron's next tickling target.
Ginny was especially ecstatic when she, along with Ron, Fred and George, convinced – begged, grovelled, whatever you want to call it – their parents to let Ginny play a game of Quidditch. It was a three-on-three game with Bill, Charlie and Ginny against Ron, Fred and George. Percy refused to participate in such physically strenuous activities when there was paper work to be completed. Ginny had always been a fan of the game but had always watched from the sidelines. She was allowed to fly around on one of her brother's broom when they came back from school, but even then, it was under strict supervision. It was a quick game that ended with Ron completely missing the snitch and Ginny falling in love with playing Quidditch.
Percy managed to take some time off from his paper work to give Ginny a lecture on the importance of keeping up with her studies and not slacking off. He helped her with some transfiguration while slipping in a few minutes of talk about cauldron thicknesses and their great significance. She was saved by dinner.
The Tri Wizard tournament was the great topic of discussion for the rest of the evening and Ginny was very excited when hearing about the obstacles and the fiasco concerning Harry being the fourth contestant. She noticed Ron was a bit uncomfortable whenever Harry was mentioned so she tried her best to frequently change the topic away from Harry.
It was when all seven of them were climbing up the stairs and still in a heated discussion about international Quidditch teams that Ginny started to feel light headed and braced herself on the wall. She felt the presence of her brothers surrounding her and heard their concerned voices so she tried her best to smile and convince them she was fine. Unfortunately she wasn't and lost consciousness within seconds.
Ginny's eyes fluttered open as she felt lots of poeple hover around her frantically. There was a lot of noise from crying, talking and casting of spells. Recognising Janine as one of the poeple around her, Ginny lifter her hand and grabbed Janine's wrist.
"Ginny! You're awake," Janine said with relief.
Ginny nodded her head and weakly pulled Janine closer.
"Please," Ginny whispered. "I dont want to die."
End of Chapter Twenty One. Thank you for reading and I hope you review.