Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to my beta, Crystal Music. Thanks so much for all your help—loved all of your suggestions and comments!

Also, I am labeling this story as ALTERNATE UNIVERSE (AU): spoilers up to 5th book in canon only.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and her publishers. No copyright infringement is intended with this story.

Draco's Destiny

By: Eugenia

Chapter 7: Reborn

Draco knew that Ginny was dead, though he searched frantically for a pulse. He could feel the moment slow down as if in slow motion: the pounding in his ears, the unshed tears, the sudden hatred for Neville, and the disbelief that he, himself, had done nothing to prevent it. Draco knew that a defining moment in his life was occurring. Suddenly, he realized that his life had a purpose. He had to fulfill his destiny, no matter what the cost.

Therefore, for the first time in his life, Draco chose to act. He lifted his wand, pointed it at Ginny's chest, and chanted the incantation that would bring Ginny back from the dead. He chanted the words over and over, drawing strength from the dark magic of his ancestors before him, knowing that if Ginny awakened she would reject him because of the path of Darkness he had chosen.

Yet at that instant, Draco could only think about Ginny, remembering her innocence, her goodness, and her love. He recalled how sweet she had tasted and how her hair had danced like fire in the wind. He thought about her big eyes, inquisitive and alluring, always beckoning, a challenge from him. He dreamed of her laughter and her passion; he wished for her smile and even for her tearsAnd just when he thought that the dark magic had failed him, he felt a deep chill down to his bones, something being taken from him, a part of him gone forever.

In that second Ginny awoke, and though weak, she noticed instantly the change in him. His eyes were greyer, darker, and the spark that had always excited her was now gone.

"Draco, what have you done?"

"It had to be done. I've found my destiny."

Ginny was not sure what he meant. All she knew was that he looked different, and that she certainly felt different as well. She could feel an overwhelming fatigue overtaking her, though she was aware of the students surrounding her and of the moment when Dumbledore and all the other professors barged into the room. When Dumbledore conjured up a stretcher, she allowed her strength to desert her and fell into a deep and haunted sleep.

Ginny woke up in the middle of the night with a painful headache. Actually, it felt more like a full-body-ache. She breathed in and out deeply, trying to gather her composure so that she could recall the events of the past day. She was confused, for she was drawing a blank between the time of the accident and the present.

She recognized the white sheets of the parallel beds of the infirmary from her first year, when she had been recovering from being possessed by Voldemort and left in the Chamber of Secrets to die. She shivered instinctively as she felt a strange feeling of déjà vu, but it was interrupted as she noticed something weighing down her left hand.

She could see nothing there, yet she instantly knew what it was. Draco. He was there, holding her hand. She was not sure how she knew it was him, but Ginny decided that now was not the time to dwell on that. She wanted to know—needed to know—what had happened. Ginny needed to understand before she could accept what had happened, or even act in any way. As they were alone in the infirmary, this was the perfect time for them to have an enlightening tête-à-tête.

"Hello, Draco," she said with a tinge of amusement, thinking that she probably looked like she was talking to herself.

"I'm here, Ginny," he replied as he removed his invisibility cloak. His hair, she noted, was ruffled and he looked paler than usual. She was a bit disappointed that he did not comment on her cunning detection of his presence, but then, he looked like he was beyond any emotion at the moment.

"You look like hell," she remarked.

"Whereas you look radiant as always."

She grinned. "I've always thought you were an angel, you know. There was just the question of whether you had fallen or not." He sure looked the part, with his almost-white hair and that surreal air given off by his seamless demeanor.

"You can rest assured that I've most definitely fallen, then, especially after today." His face betrayed no emotion, though Draco looked away from her just in case it did.

She reached over and grabbed his hand in order to get his attention once more. "It doesn't matter to me, Draco. Not anymore. I just need to know what exactly happened to me." It was as if she had forgotten and forgiven that scene in the prefect bathroom where he had broken her heart.

For the first time during the conversation, Draco let slip the walls he had built around himself and let her see his surprise, his shock at her acceptance of him -- as if he could not imagine hers as a sane reaction. "Why?" he whispered.

"Because I heard you're a god in the sack and I just couldn't pass that up." Ginny smiled deviously at him.

"Seriously, Weasley."

"No, really, it was all over the last issue of Wonder Wizards Weekly. Pansy even gave a quote saying that it's a favorite topic of conversation of all the Slytherin girls. I should make you wear a sign on your forehead that says 'Property of Ginny Weasley' so they know not to mess with you."

She was not sure how he would react, but to her pleasure, he laughed. It was odd, hearing him laugh like he did not have a care in the world. Ginny could not remember ever having heard him laugh like that, but she thought it suited him well. It even made him more handsome, if that was at all possible.

"What do you want to know?" he asked her finally.

"Everything."

"Ron, I'm so sorry. Please listen! I didn't mean it to happen!"

"Neville, it's one thing when your clumsiness gets points taken away from Gryffindor, and it's another when it lands my little sister in the infirmary."

"I don't know what happened. One minute I was trying to block the oncoming spell and I couldn't make up my mind—I must have tried to do a Shield Charm and a hex at the same time…"

"You don't realize it, do you?" Ron spat. "If Malfoy hadn't been there, Ginny would be dead!"

Ron was pacing in their dormitory, trying to avoid the glances of Dean, Seamus, and Harry as he argued with Neville. Normally Harry would have tried to interfere and calmed Ron down, but seeing as Ron was not speaking to him, he doubted he could have had much effect on him at the moment.

Neville looked as if he were about to cry. "I tried to warn everyone…honestly, I did."

Before Ron could scream at Neville some more, Harry said quietly, "Neville, I doubt that screaming 'watch out' while everyone was busy screaming incantations of their own justifies what you did."

Ron turned to scream at Harry instead. "Stay out of this! This is between me and Neville. You know, Malfoy was right—he always did say you were meddling where you didn't belong."

"Yeah, I guess I do," said Harry, "but at least I can recognize an accident when I see one."

Ron, seething, stormed out of the dormitory and headed down the staircase towards the common room, where he sat opposite the fireplace, his anger burning as bright as the fire in front of him.

"Do you really want to know everything?" Draco asked Ginny.

"Yes," she replied, looking into his eyes.

"Even the part where you unconsciously humped me in front of everybody?" His eyes gleamed mischievously for a second.

"Draco."

"Alright, although I know you wanted to—okay maybe not in front of your brother and all his little friends, but I'm a sexy dish here and it's obvious how much you want me."

"Stop stalling and tell me what you know."

"Oh, I love it when you order me around."

She shot him a disgusted look, but could not hide her amusement.

"You're cuter when you're mad," Draco said, catching her off guard.

"Flattery won't work on me right know."

"I know. It was worth a shot. Okay, here goes: I brought you back from the dead, Ginny. I performed the darkest magic in existence—necromancy. If it wasn't for that fool—Dumbledore—I'd be in Azkaban for life." He paused and began to walk around the room, as if he could not stand to talk to her face to face.

"After it happened, Dumbledore asked to see me in his office. He knew that dark magic had been performed in the castle, but all he asked me was why I had done it. He seemed to think that this was the one thing that mattered. I told him that you'd saved my life and so I had been in your debt, and now the debt had been repaid."

"That's not true!" Ginny exclaimed.

Draco shot her a look that said 'don't interrupt me' and continued, "Then the Minister of Magic arrived with a couple of Aurors, and they wanted to take me to trial at first. But Dumbledore refused to let them take me, saying that it wasn't really necromancy because your body was still alive, so that it was more of a healing charm—a Reviving Charm—than any dark magic. The minister looked unconvinced but relieved, and he said he'd have a word with my father before I arrived home for winter break."

Ginny was hesitated for a moment and then asked, "What happens now?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to spank you."

She grinned back at him. "Might be a bit difficult with me on the bed."

"I was counting on that"

"No, really, Draco. What are we going to do?"

"Now I try to forget about you, while you try to stay out of danger over winter break."

He leaned over her, pressed his lips momentarily upon hers, and left the infirmary without looking back. Ginny sat in her bed, feeling stunned. She could have sworn it had felt like a good-bye.

Harry knew it was not a wise course of action, but he followed Ron into the common room anyway. He did not stop until he was right in front of Ron, blocking the other boy's view of the fire. He did not stop to think or to check to see if anyone else was there. However, he faced Ron and waited until Ron bothered to look up.

Yet Ron already seemed defeated when he asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to know what the hell you're thinking!" Harry bellowed. The few students left in the common room scrambled up from their chairs and began to leave. "How can you just sit there and blame Neville for it?"

"She's not your sister, Potter."

"Don't give me this 'Potter' garbage you picked up from Malfoy. I don't believe you! You used to hate his guts. And now you're worshiping the ground he walks on! I can't believe you're friends. He may have saved Ginny's life, but he used Dark Magic, Ron. Dark Magic—you do remember what that's all about, don't you?"

Ron glared back at him. "We're not friends."

"What?" Harry looked at him incredulously.

"Look, it's true that I don't hate him anymore, but that doesn't mean we're friends. I haven't forgotten the way he's treated me in the past. But he's the one person who didn't think I was insane when I didn't want to hang around the famous 'Harry Potter,' and I can't forget that either."

"But he's Malfoy!" Harry looked at him as if Ron had told him that it was raining dragons.

"Yeah, well, he's not that bad company when he's not so busy insulting you."

Harry shifted uncomfortable on his feet.

"Why don't you sit down?"

Harry's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Harry plopped down on a scarlet armchair next to him and propped his feet on the wooden coffee table that was usually covered with books. "Look, Ron," he began, "about the Hermione thing I—"

Ron shook his head. "No, you were right. She wasn't mine—I never did anything…I think I was 'fraid to lose our friendship. I had no right to her."

"Yeah, but I should've told you. I should have asked. It can't have been a picnic to find out the way you did. I don't blame you for what happened afterwards."

Ron grinned sheepishly recalling their fist fight. "Your face was priceless when you saw it was me."

"Huh, too bad I couldn't see it."

"Oh, I think I can duplicate it." Ron proceeded to make a face of utter astonishment, his eyes wide, his eyebrows high into his forehead, and his mouth open in a big circle.

Harry laughed openly and threw a cushion at Ron, who was laughing without any shame. At that second, Harry felt a pang of recognition, and he knew that for that split second, it had seemed like old times.

Ron surprised him when he suddenly asked, "What are you doing for the holidays?"

Harry shrugged. "Staying here, I suppose."

"You want to come to the Burrow?"

Harry tried to suppress the urge of happiness he felt, and replied coolly, "I guess." Then he thought about it, and though awkward, he asked anyway. "What about Hermione?"

Ron looked a bit taken aback for a second, but he replied confidently, "Okay, but you get to invite her."

Harry shook his head, his hair flying back and forth. "I think she'd really like it if you asked her."

Draco knew that it would be difficult to avoid Ginny once she was let out of the infirmary. He needed to just get through these few days at Hogwarts and then he would be at a safe distance once he was at Malfoy Manor for winter break. He had to devise a way to keep Ginny away. They had always had an ill-defined love/hate type of relationship, and Draco thought he could use that to his advantage.

I need a girlfriend, he thought, and I need one fast. He paused to think about the irony of the situation, and smirked as he realized how his thoughts could be misinterpreted so easily. Preferably someone from Slytherin…someone pretty, of course, since I'll have to look at her often. Either blond or brunette, but definitely not a redhead. And a good body wouldn't hurt, obviously. But the most important thing is that she's the typical Slytherin so no one suspects a thing.

He walked into the Great Hall for breakfast and began to check off unsatisfactory choices in his mind. Girls were everywhere, all of the sudden. They all seemed to be looking up expectantly at him, as if they were in on his little secret. Then one of them spoke to him, telling him to sit down next to her.

He grinned at her, snapping on the old Malfoy charm, and said to her while looking at her as if she was the only person in the Great Hall, "Hello, Pansy. Would you like to be my date for my family's New Year's Eve ball?"

Pansy Parkinson giggled, but did not seem taken aback. "I'd love to go, Draco. I thought you'd never ask."

There, mission accomplished. Not so bad actually. But then again, with my good looks, I wouldn't have expected anything less. Draco looked around him, satisfied with his accomplishment. The Slytherin table had erupted in whispering, and as the gossip traveled far and wide across the room, he sensed everyone was looking at him. He glanced at the Gryffindor table, though he was not sure what he expected to find. He knew Ginny was still in the infirmary. However, he did not expect to see Hermione Granger shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

At first he dismissed the look as part of the rivalry between the houses, but there was something else in that look that he had not seen before. He remembered with a pang of bitter taste the memory of Granger hitting him third year over that stupid hippogriff. He wondered whether she would react in a similar matter if he were to hurt Ginny. He got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It's for her own good, Draco tried to convince himself. Yet the memories of the previous night kept prying into his thoughts. He had gone back to visit Ginny in the early hours of the morning, after a sleepless night. She had not noticed when the infirmary door had opened and closed of its own accord. He was not sure why he had gone. He kept telling himself that it was because he was checking up on her. In reality he just felt drawn to her. He could not keep her out of his thoughts, and it had become almost unbearable. He had to see for himself that she was safe in bed.

At first he had thought she was sleeping, as she was lying in bed motionless. Yet as he neared her, he realized with a pang to his heart that she was crying softly. He had to restrain himself from reaching out to her and consoling her. He would not have known how to console her, but he wanted to do it just the same, as she had done for him that day after his fight with Ron. But he stood there paralyzed, gazing at her, wanting her to stop crying. With every tear he witnessed, he felt a stab of pain and of guilt sweeping up and engulfing him in misery. He had never felt this way before. For the first time in his life, he wanted to apologize for his actions. A voice in the back of his mind reminded him: Malfoys don't apologize. A Malfoy can do no wrong. Well, he certainly felt like he had wronged Ginny. He was disgusted in himself. I can change, he thought. Ginny told me I had a choice. But that voice returned to him, saying: You cannot chose what has already been decided for you. Malfoys have destiny, and you shall fulfill yours.

Draco had run out of the infirmary back into the Slytherin common room. There, he had collapsed on a sofa, and had sat winded for a minute. Then a piece of parchment in his pocket had gotten his attention. It was the letter from his mum.

He was pulled out of the reverie by Pansy, who was talking excitedly about the Malfoy New Year's Eve Ball. He was still clutching his mother's letter underneath the table, as if that piece of parchment could give him strength. He nodded absentmindedly at Pansy, who kept asking him for his opinion on the details of the ball.

Ginny heard a knock on the door to the infirmary and watched wordlessly as Madam Pomfrey went to admit the visitor. The romance novel in Ginny's hands slid down to her lap. She'd been enjoying the latest book in the series, which was called Witch Flies West. The cover of the book showed a gorgeous blond witch on her broomstick flying over a wizard who stood on the Eiffel Tower. The wizard blew kisses at her and tried to catch her out of the air. Apparently the American witch had flown to Paris on a shopping spree only to fall in lust with the first French wizard she met. The plot was predictable yet comforting. So far the main characters had done some unmentionable things under a park bench that still had Ginny blushing furiously whenever she thought about it. Jacques had then proceeded to take Melanie back to his place to cook for her and then to show her his broomstick.

However, Jacques' ex-girlfriend Yvonne had been waiting for him in his flat and had cursed the blooming relationship between Jacques and what she had called his "vache amèricane." To which the offended American "cow" had replied something about a "French tart" and "good riddance." Ginny choked back a giggle and looked up to see Hermione standing near her bed with a worried expression on her face.

"Hermione, it's just a book." Ginny saw that Hermione now looked a bit nervous. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes. Everything's fine," Hermione replied in a tense voice.

"Ron told me that the two of you had made up."

"Mmm," Hermione said noncommittally.

"And that he and Harry were okay, too."

"Mmm huh."

"And that you'll be with us over winter break."

Here, Hermione just nodded.

"He also told me that he grew a new head so that he could eat twice as much during the holidays…"

Hermione nodded again.

"Hermione! What's wrong? You haven't been listening to a wor—"

"There's something that I have to tell you," she interrupted gravely.

"Well, what is it?" Ginny asked, her curiosity aroused. She had never seen Hermione look at her so uncomfortably.

"Draco's going out with Pansy."

Ginny looked down at her book momentarily, so it was hard for Hermione to see the other girl's face. "I know," Ginny said quietly.

"What? You know? How?" Hermione looked both shocked and relieved.

"Lady Violet—my portrait friend—she's been coming to visit me. She feels really guilty that I'm in here for some reason. Anyway, she's the one who told me."

Hermione sat down on the next bed. "How long have you known?"

"Since my second day in the infirmary," she replied in a weary voice.

"Oh, Ginny. I'm so sorry."

"I'm not," she said, wiping away an angry tear, "I hope she makes him miserable."

It was almost noon on Christmas Day when Harry went to answer the door of the Burrow. He swept the door open, ready to exclaim 'happy Christmas' to the Weasleys' visitor, but instead, he stood there frozen to the spot.

"Lo, Potter," Draco said in a voice liquid with amusement.

Ginny who had been standing behind Harry, walked around him now. She turned to Harry and said, "I can handle this." Then she promptly walked up to Draco and punched him in the stomach. Draco, obviously unprepared, fell backward into the snow.

Author's Note: So far something has been missing from my story. It's called a plot. Well, rest assured that I've come up with one. My hope is that it will show up in the following chapters—yes, the story will continue. It will take me a while, as I need inspiration like this 4th HP movie to get me writing. This think called a "real life" keeps getting in the way! (And here I thought I didn't have one!) You'll be happy to know that I'm working on the next chapter, which has actually been one of the most fun so far. Just imagine a world gone mad where Draco gets to infiltrate the Weasleys' Christmas…more on a certain love/hate relationship…lies, food, and quidditch…oh, and lots of pain, of course…plus a another big cliffhanger at the end (already written), which I'm sure you'll all love!

Thanks so much to the following people for their reviews:

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