Quietus Evigilo, a harry potter fanfic

For: scarletangel68

Title: Quietus Evigilo (Sleeping Awake)

Rating: PG
Tone/Mood: Snarky, if that can count as tone or mood.
Line of dialogue: "Oh, hell. Well, there goes the neighborhood."
Can incorporate HBP canon or no: Yes.

Summary: Ginny has been put into the Wizarding World's equivalent to a coma and for some reason Draco Malfoy is the only person that can save her. Post-HBP, no real spoilers.

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the things within. (: I hope this meets up to scarlet's expectations! And, of course, I would love to thank my beloved betas, Tricia and K.I.L. (: Enjoy!

"Hey! What's the big idea? You beastly invalids had best release me! I have feet, you ignoramus'! I can walk!" A pained grimace befell Hermione Granger's face as she caught wind of the travelers nearing the room she was occupying. A wave of regret and fear washed over her as she cast another glance at the pale, listless redhead who lay, unmoving in the hospital bed. The sight caused tears to spring to Hermione's eyes if she allowed herself to stare for too long. The rude and obnoxious intrusion that was slowly making its way down the hallway was the last resort to remedying the predicament Hermione's best friend lay in, leaving Hermione herself with mixed feelings.

Whether or not their plan would work, she could not tell for certain, but she was willing to push aside her emotions if the solution to their problems did arise. She twisted her neck to face the empty doorway, inhaled deeply to calm her nerves and awaited the arrival of the quickly growing noises. A few more stomping and dragging noises, accompanied with growls of anger, brought Hermione's attention to the entrance of St. Mungo's equivalent to a coma wing. As one voice continued to grow louder and shadows were cast against the dimly lit doorframe, two tired male figures came hauling another very reluctant male into the room.

"Release me at once you moronic, filthy-blooded gits!" Draco Malfoy attempted to squirm from the grasps of both of the males on either side of him. Their grips only tightened on his biceps as his body twisted. With a heavy sigh, Draco gave up fighting their hold on him and instead turned his attention to the room was he was brought to, immediately recognizing Hermione Granger as she neared them, covered head to toe in a white lab coat and holding a tattered clipboard in her left hand.

"Oh Merlin… first you drag me into this bloody place, then you put me in a room with Granger? You are bloody morons!" Draco fumed in spite of his restraints, words spitting emptily onto deaf ears. All he could register was that he was, in fact, standing in what seemed to be a hospital room, with Harry Potter on one side of him, Ron Weasley on the other side, both immobilizing him, and Hermione Granger standing in front of him with a solemn look on her face as per usual. Completely befuddled, Draco shook his arms free and scanned his surroundings in hopes of finding a reason for his being there. Immediately, his eyes fell upon the pale, silent and unmoving redhead who lay in a bed only a few feet to his left. He felt all of his anger dissipate as he took in her motionless form.

"What am I doing here," Draco slurred, the words slowly reaching Hermione, Harry, and Ron, more a statement than a question. Draco's steady gaze moved from the girl in the bed to Hermione in front of him, and he watched as the bushy-haired woman stared at her lifeless best friend. A shaky breath signaled that Hermione was preparing herself to speak.

"Mr. Malfoy. Do you, per chance, recall the day on the battlefield when Ms. Weasley was attacked and placed in her present state?" Draco's arms snaked over his chest and he eyed Hermione in mild examination. Lifting his in arrogance, the blond opened his mouth to speak, as usual, defiantly.

"I do – what of it?" Hermione's gaze became steady again as she lifted her eyes from the bed to the blond in front of her.

"Do you also recall the last things you said to her that day?" Draco's spine stiffened and the hairs on the back of his neck shot up. His last words with her? Their last conversation? Was it of any supreme importance? And if so, why? Draco couldn't quite place why he'd been summoned.

"I simply told her to watch her back. Is that a crime?"

"I see…" Hermione scanned her clipboard, turned a few pages, analyzed a few of her scribbled findings, and then turned all of the pages back. Bemused, she turned to look at Ginny again, and then to look at Harry who was as attentive as his unnerved feelings would allow. Inhaling to compose herself, Hermione looked back to Draco.

"Mr. Draco, are you aware of a certain disease that disables the mind and body's ability to awaken, but keeps the entire subconscious alive? The technical name for it is Quietus Evigilo, which in literal Latin means 'Sleeping Awake'. There is a Muggle disability that I've researched similar to this, in which the victim may be asleep for years at a time and then sporadically reawaken. It's very rare for anything of this sort to come into the Wizarding World, and I must admit, I actually had to do quite a bit of studying just to identify what her problem was. The reason we have an entirely different name for it in our world is because Quietus Evigilo is simply the technical name – the textbook name, if you will – that is far too vague. The more commonly known Wizarding term is-"

"Inexperrectus. A Latin term derived from our spell, Inexperrtorum." Hermione's eyebrows arched slowly.

"Yes, you're correct. Not many people know of this term, as such a spell was banned from use because of its obvious effects." Draco nodded his head. "Now, Mr. Malfoy, I am glad you understand the gravity of this situation – and the rarity. All of the information concerning Ms. Weasley's condition has been withheld from the Press, and even most of her family, in hopes of evading alarm. She is, indeed, the only person under this curse at the moment." Hermione paused to swipe a tear from the corner of her eye. "I am sure you are still wondering where you have any part in this."

"Listen, Granger, I haven't got all day. Spit it out before I leave." Hermione's placidity evaporated and she ground her teeth.

"Mr. Malfoy, my colleagues and I have come to the conclusion that you are our only hope." Draco arched an elegant eyebrow.

"Oh?" His snide smirk was slinking over his lips as Hermione raked her thin fingers through her unruly hair in an attempt to placate her irritation.

"Yes. Your beloved father was the ingenious man that cast this horrible spell. Our belief is that he is the only one who can relieve Ms. Weasley of her fate."

"Well, I'm sorry Granger, but my father is dead." Hermione nodded.

"I'm well aware of that. It is also our theory that as his only living blood relative, you may be the only existing person with the ability to save Ms. Weasley." Hermione paused and took in a shaky breath. "And we've nearly run out of ideas. I stumbled upon an old journal entry dating back before even Hogwarts was established, and the suggested solution was to listen to the one in the Inexperrtorum state. So, we did. Now, we assumed we would be hearing some frustrations concerning your father, but we were wrong. You see, Mr. Malfoy, it has recently come to our attention that Ms. Weasley at times mumbles your name in her sleep."

Draco let out a soft snort. "You're joking. The vegetable Weaslette is fantasizing about me? Pfft, that means nothing. Most women fantasize about me in their sleep." As arrogant and typically Malfoy the statement seemed, Draco was actually attempting to avoid any form of direct relation to Ginny's current state by lightening the mood. Of course, Hermione Granger was a determined woman.

"Draco Malfoy, if you know anything that may be keeping her in this state, anything at all, you had better widen your trap and answer my questions before I take away the heritage you're so proud of." Hermione's elegant fingers grabbed tightly onto Draco's shirt-collar, the threat seething passed clenched teeth, accompanied with furrowed eyebrows and fire-ignited eyes. Draco's mind raced as he recalled the events before Ginny's attacks.

"Come, come now Weaslette. I know I am devastatingly handsome, but you must stop staring. It's not becoming of you." Draco Malfoy sauntered passed the cam fire that blazed in the center of his team's small, circular campsite, and leisurely rested his body against a tall, wooden pole that held up a tent.

Ginny shot a sharp glare over the rim of her steaming coffee mug toward Draco. "Shut your yap, Malfoy. I was simply disgusted by watching you converse with the bimbos for comrades we have that flaunt their bodies for you. I cannot understand what makes that behavior appealing to you." Draco prodded his chin with his index finger in mock thought.

"Perhaps because of the simple fact that they flaunt themselves for me? I'm sure, She-Weasel, that if I gave you such a chance, you would be just as keen to do the same." Ginny's blood boiled and her cheeks turned about as red as the color of her hair. Calmly, she placed her cup down beside her and strode to where Draco was, leaning directly into his face.

"Give me a chance, you say? And what makes you think that I would ever need approval to pursue you – or anyone for that matter? Or flaunt myself for attention! You are just an ignorant moron who considers himself Merlin's gift to women, and I would be a fool for ever being even mildly attracted to a ferret such as yourself!"

"Malfoy!" Draco was snapped out of his reverie when Harry grabbed his shoulders and shook him. 'Malfoy, wake up!' Shaking his head from side to side, Draco glared at the offender and brushed his hands from his shoulders.

"Please refrain from touching me, Potter," he growled, dusting his shoulders off; "For your information, Granger, the Weaslette and I did nothing more than usual. We bickered." Hermione disregarded his rude tone and nodded her head, deep in thought.

"I see…" Hermione seemed distant again as she scanned her clipboard, less intensely as before. "Well, regardless, it is your name that she mumbles and we are determined to find out why. We still need your help." Draco's eyes widened.

"Ridiculous! Why?" Draco's defiance caused Hermione to rotate her left thumb over her temple gingerly, questioning herself something to the same extent. Inhaling shakily, she cleared her throat and glanced at him, preparing to speak.

"Because," she choked out and then coughed to regain composure. "Because, Draco… you're our only hope." Hermione Granger's guard faltered, her clipboard wavering in her unsteady hands and her eyes glazed with what seemed like unshed tears. It was, in all honesty, not until this point that Draco decided to examine the other occupants of the room. Harry, though attempting to stand tall and at attention, had a slumped disposition; his entire body seemed to be permanently shrugged despite his efforts to straighten himself, and at every mention of Ginny's name, his entire body would shudder. Ron was completely unstable, pale, and weak; his eyes barely wavered from their steady gaze on Ginny's bed and rarely rose to glare in Draco's direction having nearly all of his usual vigor lost. Hermione had been trying to maintain her composure, but the obviously arduous process of reviving her best friend had taken a toll on her mental and physical state. Dark bags hung low beneath her eyes and her cheeks seemed hollowed from lack of nutrition – as well as the rest of her body. Her entire demeanor had shifted in the duration of their conversation as the dilemma took on a more personal and less professional level. Draco Malfoy's cold-hearted soul softened.

"What do you need me to do?" Hermione's eyes lit up as she followed Draco's gaze to the motionless, sickly Ginny in her bed.

"I feel like an idiot."

Though the circumstance required a level of seriousness, Hermione, Harry and Ron had a great deal of trouble suppressing their giggling as they watched as Draco lay onto a table, shirtless. Sprouting from the table was an odd contraption of metal and IV tubes, which attached themselves to his head. Small suction cups were attached to his flesh, and they were connected by cords to similar suction cups on Ginny's body. A thin, white sheet covered the lower half of his body.

"Amazing, because you look like one too." Harry muffled a snort and laugh as a laughing Hermione weakly tried to elbow Ron as punishment for his comment. Draco, not at all amused, sat up and narrowed his eyes at the trio.

"Do you twits want me to do this?" Hermione's lips tightened as she suppressed a smile and nodded her head sincerely. "Then I'd advise you to refrain from any comments such as that, or you will watch me walk right out of here." Ron and Harry both inhaled deeply to adjust their inability to stop laughing and soon enough managed calm exteriors.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, we're going to inject this potion into your blood stream, and with the help of a few of my colleagues, we will cast a spell that should ignite the ingredients of the potion and allow you mental transportation to Ginny's mind through these veins that we've connected between you and Ginny." Draco, having been determined from the very beginning of his agreement to participating in this experiment, nodded his head in all seriousness, finally matching the solemnity of the others. As he shifted his vision to the ceiling, he listened as a few other members of St. Mungo's staff entered. Intrigued at who would be watching over him, Draco immediately noticed a fellow-Slytherin, Blaise Zabini, and a Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbott.

Blaise squeezed Hermione's hand as she took a steadying breath and pierced the needle containing the potion into the IV that was attached to a vein in Draco's arm. As she pushed the potion into the stream, a blue liquid swam down into Draco's arm, injecting itself into his bloodstream. Removing the needle and discarding the syringe, Hermione beckoned the others in the room, a number that Draco is still uncertain of to this day, to gather around his bed. As the potion began to take effect, Draco's eyelids started to become heavy, and his vision began to blur as he tried to pay attention to what was happening around him.

A murmur of chanting commenced with sounds of an ancient curse being repeated over and over inaudibly, and Draco had to strain to hear as he slipped away into unconsciousness. He felt as if he were in a snug, dark space and struggled as though there were tightly wound bonds around every limb of his body. At last, he felt his mind jolt to a stop in a brightly lit area. Slowly, his eyelids slid open and he found himself in a very familiar setting – his tent on the battlefield. Abhorring such memories, Draco shook his head and thinned his eyelids to adjust to the bright light that was glaring at him from between the flaps of his tent. Reaching over his side, Draco tugged the zipper of his sleeping bag to his knees and pulled himself from the warm confines to rest his feet on the cold, dirt floor. Briefly questioning why he was in said setting, Draco rationalized that as it was one of Ginny's last few memories, the war zone was a more likely place for her subconscious to rest.

Grabbing a pair of shoes and fumbling his fingers through his hair, Draco stood and exited his tent to meet a hot, blazing sun and a completely deserted area. With a sharp resolve, he turned to begin his search for Ginny.

After doing a few rounds around the campgrounds, Draco finally stumbled upon Ginny sitting at a small fire, boiling hot water in a pot and scrambling eggs in a frying pan. Having sensed an intruder, Ginny turned her attention from what she was doing to look at Draco and growled.

"Oh hell." She turned her attention back to what she was doing and Draco watched on, amused. "Well, there goes the neighborhood." She paused. "Again."

"What – upset to see me?" Ginny snorted softly and released a soft 'tch' sound, avoiding looking up to Draco.

"Just as much as the last few times." Draco's entire expression twisted to complete confusion.

"Last time? Listen Weaslette, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here." Ginny turned her attention up to him again, befuddled.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I don't want to be here any more than you want me to be. Daft Weasel…" Draco allowed his eyes to roll for a moment, and within the next second, he found himself pinned against a wooden pole he vaguely remembered, Ginny's eyes glaring at him.

"What? Draco Malfoy doesn't want to be here?"

"Of course not, you git. Why would I? If it weren't for Potter and Granger forcing me in…" Ginny gasped and took a step back.

"Forcing you in…?" Draco nodded. Ginny continued to look completely confused.

"Goodness Weasley, you don't know?" A shaking brush of red locks informed Draco that his inquiry was correct. "Do you remember being hit by my father?" Again, Ginny shook her head. 'Well, that makes the possibility of this state being my father's fault near impossible…' Inwardly, Draco let out a groan. "Well, Weaslette, allow me to intrude. You were hit with Inexperrtorum by my father. 'Quietus Evigilo' as Granger put it."

"Yes, yes… Sleeping Awake…" Ginny took a seat again. "So, what exactly are you doing here?"

Draco allowed a devilish, impish smile to spread over his lips.

"Well, my dear She-Weasel, you were thinking about me, obviously in a less-than-irritated way from what I've gathered." Ginny growled, but Draco whipped his hand up to object to an interruption. "So, being the best subject for such an experiment, Granger and Zabini decided to send me into your subconscious, as my name was the only one you ever mumbled audibly."

"This is a nightmare. This is a nightmare. This. Is. A. Nightmare." Ginny dropped her head into her hands and let out a soft whimper. This was simply impossible. There had been a few imaginary Draco's that her mind had created, but she thought she'd managed to permanently block them from visiting. To her, this was just another one of those visits in her sad and current status in life.

"You wish. As do I." Ginny growled.

"Can it, Malfoy. It's bad enough I have to see you and acknowledge your existence, don't make it worse by speaking." Draco's sneer returned. Curtly side-stepping to the bench she was perched on, the blond scooted directly next to her and leaned to whisper into her ear.

"Too late," a grin reappeared on his lips and Ginny instinctively whipped her hand up to slap him, but thought better of it.

"Malfoy, how long are you going to be here for?" Draco's smirk remained.

"As long as it takes to get you back to the world of the living!" Ginny groaned.

"…Lovely."

"Gin-ny!" Ginny's previously steady hand wavered, but she continued to pour herself a steaming cup of tea – she indeed needed something to calm her tense nerves. "Giiiiinnnnnyyyyy!" The high-pitched wail continued until it reached where Ginny was comfortably sitting. "Gin – oh! There you are. How are you this glorious morning, my dear Weaslette?" Draco clapped her heartily on the shoulder blade in greeting, jolting her slightly off-balance. Stabilizing her hand before she could spill tea all over herself, Ginny continued ignoring the persistent blond. "Oh, come, come now! Why the silent treatment? Simply because you can't control your deep passionate feelings for me doesn't mean you need to take it all out on me. I am the only other tangible part of your subconscious and most likely your only chance of finding a way out. "I think you should be a little receptive to me." Again, Ginny let out a short 'tch' noise.

"Yes, because I've always been fond of point-nosed, whiny Purebloods that persist in calling me names and have been nearly unable to control my urge to pounce on you. Please Malfoy, do not prolong our unity any longer." Having finished pouring her tea, Ginny reached her hand forward to place the kettle onto the burner, only to be interrupted by a tap at her shoulder.

"What?" Draco dangled a mug in front of her eyes.

"Well, you're holding a kettle…I'm holding a mug… I thought this connection would be rather simple to understand – even for someone of your low intellect." Ginny raised an interested eyebrow before leaning forward with a placating grin plastered to her lips, the warm water from the kettle sloppily pouring from the spout, a few droplets splashing onto Draco's hand.

Instinctively upset by the contact of hot water to his hand, Draco let out a yelp and his mug slipped from his fingers to the ground, rolling off forgotten as he softly blew on his skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I burn your precious skin?" Draco sent Ginny an unsatisfied glare and continued to pet his hand. A soft chuckle emerged from Ginny's lips as she gently blew the steam of her tea away from her face.

"Dude! You've lost your mind!" Still coddling his hand, Draco's eyes leveled with Ginny as her entire body doubled over in laughter. "What?"

"Did… did you just say 'dude'?" Draco nodded, causing Ginny to grab her stomach, her face contorted in sheer bliss. "Ah. Tell me, Draco, where did you learn this term from?" Coughing, Ginny attempted to contain her growing laughter.

"From my Muggle-slang-word-of-the-day' calendar." Muggle-slang calendar? Who on earth would buy such a gift for Draco Malfoy, other than to rag on him? Ginny could barely fathom the thought, and she shook uncontrollably with laughter. Draco's eyes narrowed and his forehead bore a scowl. "What?"

"Muggle… a-ha!" Ginny stomped her feet and clutched her stomach, nearly falling to the floor in laughter. This was far too great to pass up a chance to howl at, and the prospect of getting back to the world of the living offered her the hope of being able to share this experience with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Draco, on the other hand, still was unaware of what was so humorous.

"I don't see what you find amusing, Weaslette." Had it not been for the aching in her stomach and the continuous laughter she was unable to escape from, Ginny would have given Draco a glare at his nickname for her. Draco continued to scowl until Ginny's immense laughter slowed down to a few soft chuckles.

"Explain yourself now. What exactly is so funny?" Rewarding Draco with one last chuckle, Ginny managed to muster up the ability to speak and leaned in to explain her laughing fit.

"Look Malfoy, you've got to understand. You just used a Muggle term, in its correct usage, and I simply wish I had it taped. Because I have a feeling that this will be the one and only time that I will witness such an auspicious moment in time. Allow me to bask." Ginny put on a very good show of over-dramatizing the entire process of 'basking' in Draco's Muggle-slang word usage.

"Yes, yes, lovely. Don't get used to it, because as you pointed out, it will be the only time you'll hear it if that is the reaction it gets out of you. Besides, my mission is not to make you happy – it's to get out of here." Draco blew on his hand once more for good measure.

"I'm aware of that Draco."

"Good. I wouldn't want you having any false hopes of me staying here and making you feel all fuzzy inside." Ginny chuckled.

"Like you could make anyone feel 'all fuzzy inside.'" Draco took offense, naturally.

"I can. I simply don't want to."

"You wish, you twit."

"No, I know."

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Blaise…?" Hermione strode quickly from the doorway to where Blaise Zabini was standing in between Ginny and Draco's beds.

"Nothing yet," he sighed, causing Hermione to slump down into a chair beside Ginny's bed.

"Any changes, though?" This caused Blaise to relieve the tension with a smirk.

"Actually… I've seen them both smiling a great deal." Hermione nodded. "I mean it, 'Mione. Look." Hermione stood and peered at the two motionless figures, each with warm, genuine smiles over their lips. Softly, Blaise circled his arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"Blaise?"

"Yes, love?"

"This may work." Blaise's lips lifted in a small smile and he nodded.

"Ginny?" Ginny glanced up at Draco as he approached her. They'd been separated for a few hours, avoiding each other to avoid conflict as well as to dwell on how they would accomplish overcoming Ginny's current state.

"Yes?"

"What's the last thing you remember, before you came here?" Ginny paused to ponder.

"The last thing I remember, huh?" She sighed, deep in thought.

Ginny growled angrily, fists curled at her sides as she continued to give Draco Malfoy the stare-down.

"You know very well that you're attracted to me, Weaslette. Deny it all you want, pretend its disgust, but I know for a fact that you harbor very passionate feelings toward me. I see how you watch me during training; I saw it all in your eyes when you watched me step forward as the only willing spy for the Order that night. Oh yes, I know very well you want me, Ginerva Weasley…" Draco's smirk was wiped from his face immediately as Ginny's tightly clenched fist collided with his chin. The blond went sailing down to the ground, gripping his now bleeding chin in a desperate attempt to force the blood to stop flowing.

"You'll pay for that, Weaslette!" Draco growled, continuing to wipe at the blood that was pouring down his chin.

"Oh I will, will I? Who's the pig lying on the ground, having just been hit by a girl?"

"Ginny! Wake up!" Draco's hand was waving frantically in front of Ginny's eyes when she finally snapped back from her memory. Angrily, the redhead shot him a glare.

"Well, for your information, the last thing I recall is punching you in the chin." Proud of herself, Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. Draco snorted.

"It figures. Probably blocked out the rest of it, didn't you?" Draco's lips curled in a sneer and he stood, preparing to walk away from Ginny entirely. Ginny, determined to get out of her residual state, swung Malfoy around by his shoulder.

"What are you implying, Malfoy?" Draco smirked and clasped his arms behind his back.

"You honestly don't remember?" Ginny shook her head and continued to shoot glares at him. "Think. Harder."

With that, Draco disappeared, Ginny on his tail.

"Ron, Harry, quick!" Hermione bellowed down the hallway, calling her two best friends into the room where Ginny and Draco still remained. Storming down the hallway at top speed, the two rampaged into the crowded room, shoving their way past others to peer at the two motionless bodies.

"What?" Harry was the first to speak, watching as Hermione made her way to the center between Draco and Hermione.

"If you see here, this is the potion we put into Draco's body." Hermione raised her index finger to indicate the blue liquid that was halfway to Ginny's bloodstream; "My belief is, once whatever problem is solved, this liquid will enter Ginny's bloodstream, enabling her exit back into our world." Ron's heart leapt and he nearly collapsed.

"Oh Merlin… let it work. Give Malfoy strength." Mutters of agreement surfaced.

From that moment on, no one slept.

"All I remember is hitting you, you selfish, ego-centric pig!" Ginny was only a few steps behind Draco as he weaved past the other tents that cluttered the campground. Halting for a moment to glance at her, Draco steadied his voice to speak.

"Well, I'm telling you that that wasn't the last thing that happened, you insolent prat!" Ginny balled her fists again, holding them beneath Draco's nose threateningly.

"Want a reenactment, then? I'm sure we'll be able to establish what else happened once we refresh ourselves of what led up to it." Head-Strong Ginny and Thick-Skulled Draco only warranted themselves an intense staring contest at the end of Ginny's statement. Resentment coursed through Draco's mind as he recalled the actions of the night prior to Ginny's attack and it was all he could do to keep himself from spelling it out simply for her. If she was going to get herself out of the hellhole of her mind, she was going to have to figure out what it was that was keeping her from doing so in the first place.

"You know what? I'm tired of this. I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here, you ridiculous Muggle-lover. You're not putting an effort into remembering, and this is proving to be an honest-to-God waste of my time, so sod the bloody hell off while I try to escape for myself." Growling angrily one last time in Ginny's face, Draco twirled away from the redhead and stormed toward his tent.

Draco reached his tent quickly and immediately sank into his sleeping bag. Of course, he'd slept in his sleeping bag the past two nights that he'd been there, and nothing had happened, but he assumed that if he tried hard enough to …wish… himself out, perhaps he'd accomplish leaving Ginny's mind to its own wanderings.

"Come on, come on…" Draco tugged at the zipper of the sleeping bag furiously, and slammed his head against the pillow in frustration. "Come on, damn it!" Ginny swung the tent flap open and stomped into Draco's private area.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" Draco turned his frustrated attention to where Ginny was standing, but only for a moment, and then sank deeper into his sleeping bag.

"I'm trying to leave. There's no point in me being here any longer."

"ThaznotthelasthingIremember." Draco paused in his attempted escape.

"Pardon?"

"I said, that wasn't the last thing I remembered." Draco growled.

"You had bloody well better have a good reason for not telling me this before. Are you aware that you could have made this entire experiment a waste of time?" Shooting another glare at her, Draco let loose another growl. "Well, out with it you!

"Is that all I am?" Both of their attentions were snapped as Draco's first name was muttered from Ginny's lips. Ginny, of course, was the first to recover, and continued to glare at Draco. "Is it? A waste? A bloody waste!" Draco sighed and moved from lying down to sitting upright on his sleeping-bag covered cot.

"People only perceive things to be truth because it's more likely than not how they genuinely feel about themselves, Weaslette. Did you know that?" Ginny gripped the hem of her shirt in an attempt to null her rage.

"I don't find myself a waste, Draco. I find you a waste. You've got so much bloody talent that you let lie dormant because you've got bloody billions! And then you have the audacity to tell me, the person that helps you keep that much money in your pocket, a waste!" Draco smirked, and then began to laugh. "I'm glad you're amused, Malfoy."

"You came in here to tell you what you remember, right? You tell me first, and I'll tell you whether or not I think you're a waste." Ginny sighed and kneaded her left temple with her thumb – a small tactic to numb the idiocy of others she'd learned from Hermione. Ginny smirked inwardly at the thought; Hermione, her best friend. How long had it been since she'd seen here? Shared stories of girlish fantasies? Or what about Ron? Or Harry? Or anyone for that matter!

The inevitable consequences of wearing her heart on her sleeve in front of Draco Malfoy, especially pertaining to what she did indeed remembered, only caused her to lose all feeling in her body and render her foolish in front of him, but the prospect of being able to go home and once again see the people she loved was far greater than having to be tortured by Draco for the rest of her life.

"Fine." The air seemed to ripple and become unfocused and soon melted into a fire-lit scene, where a growling Draco Malfoy was on the ground holding his lip and glaring at a fuming Ginny. The real Draco had no longer been sitting on his cot, but on the floor, and stood to dust himself off and watch, with interest, Ginny's memory.

"You have big talk for a Muggle-lover, Weasley," Dream-Draco finally stood and strode to Ginny with a smirk flittering over his lips.

"Do you want me to hit you again, you git?" Ginny held her fist at eye level in defense. Draco let out a soft chuckle as he watched Ginny's memory with growing reminiscence. Ginny sent him a glare and forced him to attempt keeping a straight face.

"Come, come now my Dear Ginerva… are you honestly telling me that you have absolutely no attraction toward me?" His sumptuous voice caused Ginny's previously steady fist to waver. She glowered at him and sighed heavily.

"Absolutely nothing, Malfoy." Draco smirked again and reached his hand forward to grasp Ginny's unsteadied fist, dragging their hands down to their waists.

"Honestly? Because I'm unbelievably attracted to you, you silly, arrogant, stubborn girl." With that, Dream-Draco took his free hand and pulled Ginny to him, covering his mouth with hers.

It was then that Ginny's dream memory cut.

"So, you see?" Ginny's gentle voice floated toward Draco where he stood near his cot. The blond pondered her for a moment, and then smirked.

"I see very well." Draco pulled Ginny into his arms and, soon after, into the most bliss-filled kiss she'd ever experienced; her entire body went limp in his arms as he held her, both forgetting where they were, and what they were trying to accomplish.

Breathlessly, the kiss broke moments after.

"Draco, I-"

"Ginny, I honestly didn't think I'd ever get to do that again. I've tried so hard these past few weeks, months, oh, hell, however long it's been, to get over the fact that you were put in this horrible state right after our little escapade." He sighed; "I missed you Ginny… I, Draco Malfoy, missed you, Ginerva Weasley, more than you could ever imagine."

Ginny sighed and leaned her head against his chest.

"Arrogant prat."

"Hot-headed twit."

"Stubborn jerk."

"Inane wench."

"Unreasonable ferret."

"Gorgeous." Ginny paused to look up at Draco.

"I never thought I'd be able to actually… enjoy being with someone – I mean, after Tom, Dean, and Harry… I never believed that well…" She paused and bit her lip, gaining even more of Draco's interest. "Well, I never believed I'd actually be able to…"

"…Fall in love?"

Before either could make a move, an illuminating light split between them and knocked them both separately into worlds of complete darkness, confusion, and mayhem.

Minutes later, they awoke beside one another in hospital beds.

"Ginerva Weasley, get your rear over here!" Hermione grabbed her best friend. "When are you going to give me details?" An unhappy Ron was standing beside Hermione, sulking at the mere mention of the subject at hand.

"Hermione, don't you dare promote such a thing!" Ron seethed angrily. Hermione swatted Ron's shoulder. "I'm serious! Ginny, how could you do this? It must be one of the most unreasonable things you could have ever thought of doing!" Ginny simply permitted her brother a smile.

Draco, who was on his way to them as they spoke, stopped and stood beside Ginny and smiled. They shared a short, romantic glance, and then Draco straightened up, offering his hand to Ron, who lifted an eyebrow in interest before taking Draco's digits into his own hand and gave it a good, hardy shake.

"Shall we, my dear?" Ginny took Draco's arm, and the two walked amidst waltzing friends and family to the dance floor, smiles warming their cheeks. Harry made his way past the dancing couple and straight to his best friend.

"So it's true?" Ron nodded to Harry's question. "You know what that means, right?" Ron gave Harry a baffled glance. "He'll be moving in with her next to your apartment." Ron slapped his forehead.

"Oh, hell. Well, there goes the neighborhood!"

-Fin-