Chapter 6: A Devastating Blow

Ginny's sleep was quiet and peaceful. She dreamt no dreams, thought no thoughts, just let the ease and comfort of nothingness wash over her. She had no idea how long she'd been sleeping, but out of nowhere, a shout interrupted her lack of thought. Ginny rolled over, forgetting the noise as quickly as it had come. She settled back into the bliss of sleep until another shout, a louder one, came crashing through her world. This time Ginny couldn't forget the cry. It had shaken her all the way to her core, making goose bumps rise on her skin.

Pulling herself from sleep, Ginny's conscious mind woke her up. She scanned the room, wondering what shout had taken her from sleep. Straining her ears, Ginny listened with all her might...nothing.

"No!"

The shout came crashing in around Ginny, and she flew out of bed, heading in the direction of Draco's room. As soon as the sound of distress entered her ears, she knew it was him. Ginny yanked the doors open and found Draco tossing and turning on his bed.

"Malfoy!" she shouted loudly, and he woke up with a start. Sitting up abruptly, he tried to disentangle himself from the sheets and blankets. He froze, closing his eyes tightly. Ginny knew he was trying to remember his dream…his nightmare.

"Anything?" Ginny asked quietly. Draco opened his eyes and shook his head.

"Nothing," he answered softly.

Draco flopped back down on his bed. Ginny watched him carefully, not knowing how to react. These last couple of days she'd begun to think that there was much more to Draco than he let on. He pretended to be this cold and unconcerned robot; when really, he was normal. He had emotions and feelings just like everyone else, even if he pretended he didn't. It was a shock to Ginny, but she was trying hard to get used to the many layers of Draco Malfoy.

"You'll remember sometime," Ginny offered, sitting delicately on the edge of his bed. Draco eyed her cautiously as she scooted a bit closer to him. Ginny placed her hand over his in hopes of calming him down; it worked.

"It's something important," said Draco, breathing deeply in and out. "I just know it."

They stayed there like that for a time: Draco lying down, concentrating on his fleeting nightmares, and Ginny sitting beside him, holding his hand and comforting him with silence.

When the first rays of sun peeked over the treetops, they were both pulled out of the silence.

"Err, well," Ginny stammered somewhat awkwardly. What was there to say, really?

"I need to change," Draco said simply. Ginny got the hint and left the room without another word. She walked down the hall, returning to her own room. In the first moments of light, the guest room she was staying in looked even more amazing than ever. This room was decorated in shades of blue with white accents. The dark blue walls were adorned with all sorts of masterpieces, and a fuzzy, white rug was spread over the wooden floor. Ginny strolled over to the great windows, pushing aside the billowy, white curtains. She opened the windows carefully and stepped out onto a small balcony.

Ginny gasped at the sight before her. The huge property of the Malfoy's spread out grandly in front of her, taking her breath away. Her eyes widened, trying to take in the majesty of it all. Across the acres there were many exotic plants and trees, beautiful and grand water fountains, and, to top it all off, an enormous maze. She was vaguely reminded of the maze in the Triwizard Tournament that had led to Cedric Diggory's death. Ginny shuddered, the memory of a dead, lifeless Cedric flashing across her mind.

She turned her attention away from the maze to the rest of the grounds.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice drawled from behind her. Ginny turned around slowly. Draco stood in the doorway of her room, the light shining out around him making him look god-like.

She froze, her voice leaving her. Draco Malfoy, she could honestly say, looked amazing. He was wearing some blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt that showed his well-toned muscles. His eyes glinted, and Ginny noticed that his hair was tousled and wet. He must have showered, she thought, and the image of Draco showering tried to push its way into her mind. She squeezed her eyes closed-tight, ridding herself of the image of a naked and dripping wet Draco.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," Ginny managed to say at last, "I'm fine."

"Okay."

They stood there awkwardly, both of them trying hard to think of something to say. When did being around Draco become so awkward? She thought, then froze. She'd called him 'Draco'.

"Err," Ginny began, a thought coming to her mind, "Actually, I don't really have anything to wear." She looked down at her robes. She'd been wearing them for more than 24 hours. They were grungy and wrinkled, and they made Ginny's skin crawl. Can you say gross?

"Come with me," Draco said with a grin. He turned out of the room, and she followed him down the hallway. He turned here and there, going up a flight of stairs. He paused outside a random door and froze. Ginny stood next to him, looking at the closed door and then at Draco.

"Is this where we're going?" She asked him. Draco shook his head, putting his hand on the door.

"No," he answered about to push the door open.

"Then why are we here?" Ginny asked a little pointedly. All she wanted were some clean clothes and a nice long shower. Was that so much for a girl to ask for?

"I don't know," he said, not bothered by Ginny's impatience. His hand was still on the door, but he pulled away. "There's something about this room," he told her. "I don't know what it is…"

Ginny rolled her eyes. What was with him? She began tapping her foot furiously, and Draco got the point.

"A little impatient, are we?" he asked with a grin, leading them forward once again and leaving the random room behind.

Ginny followed him to a grand pair of doors at the end of the hall. This, she assumed, was the biggest bedroom in the whole mansion, belonging to none other than Lucius and Narcissa. Draco opened the doors and stepped into the magnificent bedroom. Ginny stopped to take in the amazing room, but Draco tugged at her arm, pulling her deeper into his parent's room.

He pulled her through another door, making Ginny stop in her tracks for what seemed like the millionth time in the past couple of hours. This time, Draco let Ginny look in wonder. He had taken her into his mother's personal closet, which, he admitted, was quite extraordinary. The room was enormous. The walls were lined with clothes in any color ever imaginable. In the center of the room, a rectangular dresser was placed. Ginny walked up to the dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. Her breath caught again, as she saw the sparkling jewelry that had been placed gently in the drawer. She looked at the rest of the dresser and opened drawer after drawer, stopping in awe every so often when she came across something that took her breath away.

Spinning around, Ginny saw Draco grinning at her.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked her.

"This is amazing!" Ginny breathed, turning to look at the room once again. She stroked the precious gems longingly.

"Okay, okay, enough with the jewelry. You only need some clothes for now. So, just pick out a couple of things you like," Draco told her lazily. What was it with girls and jewelry?

Ginny threw him a look but began to look around the closet, which, she had realized, was bigger than her room at the Burrow. Within a couples minutes Ginny had a couple items that she liked. She held up one of the robes to her body and frowned.

"This will never fit me though," she told Draco.

"Not to worry," he replied, twirling his wand effortlessly. "We can trim and shorten it here and there."

Ginny nodded, strolling over the full-length mirror. She smiled to herself, imagining what the robe would look like on her. She tore her eyes away from the mirror as Draco pulled her back out of the room. They made their way back to Ginny's room; Draco paused at the same door on the way back, but Ginny yanked him forward.

"I'll only be a bit," she told him, rushing into her room. Boy, she was looking forward to that cleansing shower. After she was done showering, Ginny hurried to get one of the outfits she'd chosen. She searched through the clothes, trying to decide what to wear. She had picked several wizards' robes, a nightgown, and some muggle-ish outfits as well, finally deciding on a pair of low rise, skinny blue jeans and a strappy white tank top. The jeans were a little long on her, but the waist size was practically perfect. She whipped out her wand and shortened them easily. The tank top fit her well enough, though she imagined that she didn't fill it out quite as nicely as Narcissa did.

She held her wand to her hair, drying it into perfect curls in mere seconds. Ginny sighed. Oh, how good it feels to be clean.

Ginny exited her room, in search of a certain blonde. She walked to his room and knocked a couple of times.

"Come in," his voice drawled from the inside. Ginny followed his instruction and entered Draco's room. He was lying down on his bed, eyes shut in concentration.

"Whatcha doin?" she asked casually.

Draco felt her sit on the bed, but didn't open his eyes when he responded.

"Trying to remember."

"The nightmare?" Ginny asked tenderly. She saw him nod his head and got the signal that he wanted her to be quiet. She got up from the bed and strolled about the room a bit, examining the fine oak furniture and black, satin linens.

Draco peeped an eye open as he felt her weight leave the bed. He'd given up trying to remember his nightmare, even though he knew it was important, but he couldn't remember it for the life of him. A woman crying echoed in his ears, and sometimes, a bright, green flash would erupt in front of his eyes, but he didn't know what any of it meant. He should've shrugged off the nightmare as nothing more than his imagination, but he could feel that it was something more than that.

A shiver went through Draco's body at the sight of Ginny. Her back was to him, so he took his time examining her body. The jeans she was wearing wrapped tightly around her legs and waist. The spaghetti strapped tank fit equally as tight around her top, showing off every curve. Draco remembered his mother wearing an outfit like that, but Ginny did it justice. Her long, curly red hair flowed gracefully about her, even when she moved ever so slightly. Draco could feel his heart beat faster as he took in Ginny's body one more time.

Who knew all of that, Draco thought, was always hidden under bulky robes? He stopped himself. What on earth had he just been thinking? It's just Weasley, he had to remind himself, just Weasley.

"Enjoying the view, are we?" she asked flirtatiously. She'd been examining the magnificent mirror above Draco's dresser when she noticed that he was staring at her. A quiver of delight had gone done her spine as she watched his eyes rove over her body.

"Err – " Draco fumbled. Great, he thought; she'd seen him looking. Ginny smirked and rolled her eyes at his loss of words.

"I'm that good looking that I leave you speechless?" she asked boldly, a line that Draco, himself, would normally say. What are you doing, Gin? She asked herself. Was she – dare she think it – flirting with him?

Draco raised his eyebrows at her, the same question coming to his mind. Is she flirting with me? He thought oddly.

"What if I said you were?" he asked her softly, stepping forward to the challenge. Ginny froze; she hadn't been expecting that answer. She saw him smirk, knowing he'd won…whatever sort of Battle of the Words they'd just had.

Draco just shook his head, "Come on, Weasley. Let's go get something to eat."

Ginny nodded in agreement and left the room first. She managed to make her way down to the dining hall without making a wrong turn.

"Wait here," Draco told her. "I'll have something out right away."

"No, really – " Ginny began to argue, but Draco held up a hand in response. He vanished through a pair of swinging doors at the other side of the dining room. Ginny sat wearily in the chair she'd occupied the night before. She was the guest, after all, but she didn't want to feel like a burden to anyone, even to Draco.

Draco made breakfast quickly. He knew Ginny felt guilty, but he didn't mind…which was very odd. Whenever his parents had asked him to do something – which hardly ever happened – he'd whine and complain until they said he didn't have to. Now, he was willing and wanting to make some stupid Weasley breakfast. He should tell her to make her own dumb food, allowing her to starve before he'd ever do something for her.

He sighed dramatically as the eggs magically scrambled themselves. It's not like it's a lot of work anyway, Draco pointed out to himself. A couple flicks of his wand and breakfast was making itself. All he had to do was supervise to make sure the food didn't go crazy on its own or something.

But the truth pushed its way into his mind. The fact was that he honestly wanted to do things for Ginny. For whatever reason (Draco's mind refused to wonder why), he wanted to make Ginny as happy as she could be. There was something about the way she smiled. Her face completely lit up, forcing everyone in the vicinity to feel happier as well. He'd experienced that this morning when he'd taken the red head to his mother's closet. When she grinned in excitement, Draco couldn't help but feel excited as well.

The kitchen was enveloped in silence, and Draco realized that breakfast was done making itself. He flicked his wand once more and walked out of the kitchen, allowing the food to follow behind him.

"You really didn't have to do this," Ginny began. She stood, ready to make the speech she'd been practicing, but Draco held up his hand again to silence her.

"Come on, Weasley," he said to Ginny. "You're the guest. I'm the host. That's the way things work; end of story."

Draco flicked his wand, ordering the plates of food to settle themselves neatly on the table. Ginny was about to protest, but Draco just shook his head at her.

"I've already made it," Draco said wearily, "just eat."

Ginny did as she was told but threw an annoyed look at him anyway. The food was delicious, she wouldn't deny that, and before she realized it, Ginny had eaten through four helpings of breakfast!

"Wow," she said afterward, "That was really good!"

Draco raised his eyebrows at her. "What was that?" he asked, cupping his hand to his ear. "Did Ginny Weasley just give me a compliment?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Did she just compliment him? Oh boy, what was going on with her?

"I should go into work today," Ginny said, out of nowhere.

Draco looked a little taken back, but masked his surprise – and was that disappointment? – quickly. Why was he disappointed that she was leaving? It wasn't even for that long of a time. She'd be coming back at the end of the day…so why was he feeling so sad?

"Can't you just, like, skip a day, or something?" he asked her in what he hoped was a casually off-hand voice. He snuck a peak at her, noticing that she was grinning at him. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing."

Silence followed, and Ginny hadn't answered Draco's question.

"Well," he began again, "Can't you play hooky? I mean, you go in every single day!"

Ginny sighed, "Yes, well, I try to anyway." She looked at him sadly. "The thing is," Ginny explained, "Is that every single day there are more and more people coming in who are hurt, dying, or cursed. And every single day it's my job to heal them. It's tough and slightly depressing, but I feel the need to do my part. This is what I can do to help in this stupid war. It may not seem like much to me every single day, but on some days, I do happen to save a couple peoples' lives…"

She turned to Draco, a smile lighting up her face.

"Do you have any idea how that feels?" She asked dramatically, looking away again. "To save someone's life? It's the most amazing feeling ever! One minute, there's a lifeless and cold body in front of you, and the next, the person is breathing and living. You've saved their life!"

Ginny looked down embarrassingly.

"I don't know how else to explain it," she finished lamely.

Draco put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he told her. "I get it."

Ginny smiled slightly. She stood from the table and walked to the front door, Draco following slowly behind.

"Well, as always," he told her, "stay safe."

He gave a small grin, and Ginny smiled, a warm sensation hitting her dead on. She turned around and stepped into the beautiful morning. Ginny walked to the edge of the property feeling Draco's eyes watching her go. She spun around and disapparated to St. Mungo's.

The day passed uneventfully for Ginny. She was rushed from room to room, not giving her a chance to stop and breathe. Ginny managed to save every single person that had been rushed to her care. It had been a very long, but very good day.

You couldn't say the same thing for Draco. He spent the whole day cooped up at the manor, moping around. Draco Malfoy wasn't the type of person to be pent-up for long periods of time without something to do. He would start to pace after only moments of silence, and he couldn't stand to sit still.

He tried to think about his nightmare. As the minutes passed, he realized that there was something very important about what his subconscious mind was telling him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

But the worst thing, even more annoying than his nightmare, were the thoughts of Ginny that kept ruining his train of thought. Images of Ginny smiling and laughing barged their way into his mind, not allowing anything else to take their place.

What the hell is wrong with me? Draco thought angrily. What on earth was going on? He'd been with her for about a week, and he already couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Ugh!" Draco groaned aloud. He knew it would be a very, very long day.

Ginny disapparated from St. Mungo's looking forward to seeing Draco. Wait…what did she just think? Looking forward to seeing Draco? She questioned herself. Ginny, what the hell are you thinking? She'd been with him for about a week, and she already couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Ugh!" Ginny groaned aloud, taking in the sight of the manor. She walked slowly to the door, trying to avoid the inevitable: facing Malfoy.

"Hey!" Draco said brightly the moment she entered the mansion. Ginny eyed him suspiciously. Since when had he ever been happy to see her?

"Hello," she answered dully.

"Did you have a good day at work?" he asked her just as cheerfully, knowing he sounded like some suit and tie husband asking his wife how her day was. Ginny was thinking along the same lines.

"It was fine," Ginny answered shortly. "Look, I'm really tired," she told Draco. "I just want to get to bed as soon as possible."

Draco's face fell slightly, but he recovered quickly.

"Yeah, alright," he said. They stood there awkwardly, so Ginny spoke up.

"Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

She left Draco standing by the door and made her way to her temporary room. Draco, instead of being upset at Ginny's rude brush-off, smiled to himself. 'I'll see you tomorrow', she had said to him. Draco walked up to his own room, imagining the days to come, just waking up and seeing Ginny's happy face in the morning.

He changed quickly and hopped in his bed, welcoming the coolness of sleep.

The clock struck midnight, and Draco rolled over in his sleep. He fidgeted and twitched, tangling himself in his sheets. His face went pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Inside his mind, it was even worse.

Draco was walking the own halls of his home, following the quiet whimpering that dangled at his ears. He turned 'round corners, went up and down stairs, the sound always moving away from him. Finally, the sobbing got louder. Strangled cries met his ears, and he picked up his pace. Draco approached a plain door, and grabbed the knob quickly.

He scanned the room and noticed a huddled form in the corner. Draco made his way forward, realizing who the person was.

"Mother?" he asked softly, reaching out a hand to her. The blonde woman didn't hear or notice a thing. She was quivering slightly as she picked up her head. Draco saw his mother's cheeks stained with tears, her eyes bloodshot and puffy.

"I'm sorry to tell you," a cruel voice announced, filling the room with Draco and his mother, "But your son has died. He betrayed me and was killed as he tried to escape."

"Noooo!" the woman shouted miserably, denying what the voice had told her.

"It's true," the cold voice replied.

Narcissa wailed again, and Draco tried to comfort her, but she didn't notice. The voice was gone, leaving Narcissa Malfoy crying in the corner. She picked up her wand slowly.

"Draco," she stammered, bringing her wand to her temple.

"Mother!" Draco answered, but she couldn't hear him. Narcissa gulped loudly, her crying subdued. "Mother, what are you doing?" Draco cried, eyeing her wand wearily.

"I love you, Draco," the woman whispered sadly. A small smile dangled on her thin lips. "I'll be with you soon."

"No!" Draco shouted, but he could only watch helplessly. Narcissa Malfoy closed her eyes, and a flash of green light flooded the room. "Mother, no!" Draco cried again, but it was too late. The crumpled form of his mother lay lifeless and still on the floor.

Draco wrapped his arms around his mother's body, feeling the warmth leave her slowly. He cried, the tears falling freely and heavily down his cheeks.

"Draco?" a voice asked softly. He picked up his head, listening to the soothing voice. "Draco, are you alright?"

"Mother?" he called out to the air. "Mother, is that you?"

"Draco, it's Ginny."

"Ginny?" he asked, confused. What happened to his mother? He looked down at his arms: they were empty. The room shimmered slightly and then faded away. As he opened his eyes, he saw a shadowy form standing over him. Red curls tickled his face, and he realized it was Ginny.

"Draco?" she asked.

"I'm awake," he answered slowly, knowing he'd been asleep.

"Draco," she said worriedly, "You've been having nightmares every single night for the past couple of days. I think something might be wrong."

Draco heard her words but only for a moment. He was very distracted, noticing the thin nightgown she was wearing. The sheer white fabric came low at her neck and hugged her form ever so slightly.

"Draco!" she shouted, noticing that he was ogling her.

"Huh?" he asked in a dreamlike sort of voice.

"You need to remember!" she ordered him, and Draco closed his eyes, though regretfully as the image of Ginny's body faded. They sat there a couple of minutes, but Draco didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Nope," he said wearily, "nothing."

"Hmm…" Ginny contemplated, "Well, you were calling out 'Mother'…" she stopped. "Actually, now that I think about it, you called out 'Mother' before too."

"Mother?" Draco said thoughtfully. "But why on earth would I…" he stopped, his face going deathly pale.

"Draco?" Ginny whispered, chills running down her back as she took in his stark-white appearance.

"Oh, no."

Draco threw off the covers and ran out the door. Ginny called after him, but he couldn't hear her or was too determined to pay any attention to anything else. All Ginny could do was follow him wherever he was going. She finally caught up to him; he was standing outside the same door they'd stopped at earlier that day.

Without a word, Draco pushed open the door. He took a deep breath and stepped inside. Ginny watched him walk in, hesitating before she followed. She waited several moments before entering.

The sight that met her eyes made her freeze, and the growing stench stung her nose.

"Oh, Draco," was all she managed to say. She looked at him sadly. He was crouched in the far corner of the room, a lifeless body in his arms: his mother's body.

A/N: Read and review, my loves!