Chapter Twenty Six: Tender Moments

"I like it, I like it, I absolutely adore it!" Ginny screamed, running into the lab and practically jumping on Draco tightly hugging him on his waist from the back.

Draco was startled by her actions, especially the hugging. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't just normal. 'She is a Weasley: irrational and unpredictable, what else is new? But she is so warm, always brings warmth down here. My little Sun.' "I assume you liked your birthday present?"

"I love it!" Ginny squealed girlishly.

"One problem is solved, one to go."

"Yes," she agreed with a sigh.

"Oh," he didn't like that hopeless sigh, but he had something in his pocket that could cheer her up. Well, he hoped so. "It isn't everything. I have one more present for you."

"Oh, really?" 'He smells funny. Like a mixture of everything, probably, from working with potions, but there is still his own scent, something nice and fresh.'

"You can let me go now."

"Oh, sorry." She reluctantly stepped away from him. She didn't want to let him go. It felt so good to just stand and hug him.

"I want to give you this pendant," Draco said, taking a pretty, big, white something on a chain from his robes' pocket. "It's made from a diamond. It has locating and protecting charms, so you'll find me whenever I am in trouble."

Ginny took the pendant from his palm and examined it closely. It was a very neat figure of a beautiful dragon with gray stones for eyes. 'Just like Marko's.' She followed the shape with her finger: the outlines were smooth, not a scratch or a hole was there then she noticed that something was glowing in the middle. "Why are you giving this to me?" she asked skeptically.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked uncomfortably. He prayed, she wouldn't ask that, but as always in vain.

"I mean why you give me something that can find you, especially about all hush-hush around simply your existence," Ginny pushed the answer out of him. She knew the reason, she knew him too well already. He wanted to know that there was somebody who is behind him, somebody whom he can trust and who would help him. But Ginny wanted Draco to say it aloud himself.

'I'd better say the truth or I'll hear no end of it.' "I don't want to die alone," Draco breathed out.

That was too drastic for Ginny. "What do you mean? Are you going to die? When? Why? I don't want you to die!" she exclaimed, pressing the pendant to her chest, as if attempting to protect Draco by doing so.

Draco was touched, really touched. He never dared to think that she cared about him so much. "The war has its casualties. Anyone can die now."

"But that's ridiculous! I…I…Ok, I'll take this pendant and wear it, but you must promise me that you won't do anything that make me use it, right?" Ginny said strictly.

"Right. I promise," Draco said with a small grin.

Ginny put the pendant on. "Oh, it's so heavy!" she groaned.

"My life isn't light."

Ginny's eyes widened. "You are giving me your life!"

"Of course not, silly. But there is still a piece of me there. It makes the pendant glow and alive so to say. It will protect you and guide you to me, like Patronus. And now you promise me that you'll wear it at all times."

"Even in showers?"

"Even in showers. It isn't that powerful to make a visual contact, so don't be so scared about your maiden honor," Draco said with a smirk.

Ginny only rolled her eyes to this. Then went into a deep thought, 'He did so much for me. Gave me that beautiful dress for the Ball and a pendant which will protect me. He trusts me and cares about my safety and I haven't even properly thanked him for Ron's rescuing! I wish I could do something like this for him!' "Can I give you something like this?"

"Do you really want to?" Draco asked disbelieving. Ginny nodded firmly. "Well, I have another one here," he said, taking another pendant from his robes. It was an amber weasel with brown stones for eyes.

'What else?' She rolled her eyes again, but mentally this time. "What should I do?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"Just put one hair of yours on it."

Ginny did as she was told. When she put a hair on the weasel's figure, it was sucked into it and a glow, the same as in the dragon, appeared. Draco put it on and under his shirt, so nobody could see it. As it touched his bare skin, the same warm he felt just minutes ago, began to go through his veins, heating him from head to toe. He liked the feeling. It was worth living for.

An awkward silence fell, both didn't know what to say next. Ginny turned her head here and there, looking for a subject to talk about, when her glance fell on a single black, dried rose in a glass of water.

'A dried rose in water?' "What is this rose doing here?"

"Oh, that," Draco said suddenly interested in the bottles with ingredients on the bottom shelf. "It reminds me of you when you are not here."

"A dead rose reminds you about me!" Ginny felt heavily insulted. And she thought he cared about her. What a maroon she was!

"Oh, no, no," Draco began defensively. "It dies only when you are here."

"And why so? It thinks it is too offensive to be in my presence?" Ginny was fuming now.

"Quite the opposite, actually."

"Huh?" The surprise quickly consumed rage.

"The rose knows that it is just a pitiful reminder, that's why it dies when the true beauty comes under this roof, granting its unworthy inhabitants with her majestically presence," Draco said with a deep bow in a Renaissance fashion. But he bowed not only because the context needed it, but also because he didn't want her to see in his eyes that he wasn't exaggerating. He meant every single word, but covered it with mockery, hoping she will see only the mock side.

"Well, that was one Hell of a compliment, sir Marko," Ginny said giggling.

"Why thank you, lady Anne," Draco answered with sparks in his silver eyes. And they were off in the fits of laughter. A loud boiling from a nearby cauldron interrupted their pleasant moment. That sound brought them back to reality.

Ginny looked around and saw five cauldrons boiling. "What are these?"

"The last assignment."

"Why didn't you waited for me, we are still partners, you know."

"I couldn't, Snape told me to begin right away, because he needed them as fast as possible. I didn't like his tone or this situation either."

"What do you want to say? What situation?" Ginny asked with a frown of confusion.

"I looked through the assignments for the last month and I was far from pleased by what I've found."

"Don't jump around the bush, just say it!"

"We have been making antidotes for Dark spells and curses for the last month. Believe me, I know, when I see one. I learned them even before the Polyjuice potion."

"You mean there were attacks and we are healing people who suffered in them?" Ginny asked with a trembling voice.

"Yes," Draco states matter-of-factly.

'Merlin! Attacks, the Order, Mum, Dad, brothers…' Everything was spinning around her, pictures of dieing relatives flashed before her. "No! No! Nooo!" Ginny screamed and fainted with Draco, of course, catching her like a real gentleman. He took her to the couch and put down. Then took a vial from one of the numerous cupboards and put it under her nose. Anything that was in the vial was quite effective, because Ginny began to stir and blinked a few times right away.

"What was all that about, Anne?" Draco said with irritation and concern at the same time.

"Oh nothing," she answered not looking into his eyes. 'How embarrassing.'

"People don't faint from nothing," Draco said sternly, his tone saying you'd-better-say-because-I'll-get-it-out-of-you-no-matter-what.

"Oh, I just thought that my parents and brothers may be injured," Ginny answered shyly.

Draco frowned. He was still touchy about relatives' topic. "Nothing to worry about." Ginny looked at him with a silent question. "If they had been injured in any way, we made everything to make them healthy again. We made those antidotes, didn't we?" Draco asked with a small smile, trying to take her from bad thoughts.

"You made them, I just did the research," she said ashamed that she was so weak at practical potions.

"Nonsense! You did your part of the job! If you hadn't made the research, I would've never made the potions. So don't underestimate your work," Draco finished seriously.

"Oh, ok," she said with lifted spirits a bit. "What's today assignment is, then?"

"I've made everything already, you can go, if you like," Draco said with a hint of sadness.

"You did? Well, you still own me a story."

"A story?" The thought that Draco must tell a story was just ridiculous! "What story?"

"The story of the second scar on your wrist," Ginny reminded.

"Oh that one," he sighed. "It is long and dull."

"I have time," she settled on the couch, ready to listen.

Draco sighed again and sat down on the opposite couch. It was impossible to resist her, especially when she looked at you like you'd open a new world for her with your answer.

"The meaning of the second vow can be put in one word – Potter."

"What?" She wasn't ready for such turn of events.

"Well, penetrating into people's souls isn't another Potter's ability. It isn't natural, it can be only taught." Ginny still couldn't get it. "I taught him, I am his Dueling Teacher."

"But that's, that's…" Ginny began with her jaw in the floor.

"Impossible?" Draco helped her to finish. "Yeh, Potter firstly also thought so. I, his arch nemesis, am teaching him how to kill Voldemort," Draco chuckled. "You must've seen his face, when he had found that it'd be I."

"Well, it would've been a reaction of everyone in the wizarding world, don't you think?" Draco nodded still smirking. "Why did you agree then?"

"I…I," it was Draco's turn to find the walls interesting. "I don't exactly know," he drawled. "I was so confused back then. It happened after Christmas. In the middle of January. I didn't know what to do with my life. Snape gave me shelter but that wasn't enough. And then, like a thunder from the clear sky, I received a message from Dumbledore.

I came to his office and he asked me to become Potter's Dueling Teacher. You can imagine my reaction." Ginny giggled. "I even openly asked him if he was nuts. But he answered he was completely sane and asked to think over his proposal. It took me two days, it wasn't a simple requirement about coming to dinner. My positive decision could change my whole life and it did.

When I threw away all the ridiculousness and enemy staff and thought about it soberly, I came to a conclusion: why not, for Merlin's sake? I knew that Potter was powerful, but he is vulnerable, emotional, uneducated, so to say. He, of course, has chances to kill Voldemort, but only chances, and we need to finish him once and for all, right?" Ginny nodded with resolution. "You know Potter, better than I do and I am sure you'll agree with me that Potter is, well, a gryffindor."

"What's bad about that?" Ginny asked felling insulted.

"You know how they act – firstly do then think and you can't win a battle this way," Draco said knowingly. Ginny snorted. "That's why I agreed to teach him some tactics to control and direct his powers."

"And you proclaim that the victory in this War lays only your petite shoulders?" Ginny asked with sarcasm, firstly because she was a gryffindor and you can't just simply insult her House, secondly, well, she didn't quite believe him.

It was Draco's turn to feel insulted. Petite shoulders? His shoulders were all right! "Of course not, everything is on your dear Potter's petite shoulders! He was destined to kill him not me, I am just leading him to his victory. Always the second in turn, remember?" Draco said nastily.

'Uuuh, he insulted Harry just like that! He, probably, felt that I hadn't believed him. Maybe he really puts a lot into Harry's training,' she thought ashamed. 'But where did that nastiness came from all of a sudden? As if he was…' she didn't even dare to think this word, but it came on its own accord, you can't control your thoughts, 'he was jealous? Jealous of her and Harry? But that's absurd! He can't be jealous of her, right?' Ginny's thought weren't that confident now. "Hey, Marko, I am sorry. Your shoulders are absolutely normal."

"Forget it," Draco said with a sigh. He hated to argue with her. It felt like he was losing her, and he didn't want it to happen, not in this lifetime. "I was first. Do you still want to know about the vow?" He asked uncertainly.

"Um, yes."

"I swore to teach Potter to master the wandless combat Dragon Fang without hurting him and protecting him in the process," Draco recited. "Funny isn't it? Especially the last part," he finished with a smirk.

"I'd better say, unusual. Why did Dumbledore make you swear in such words?"

"He couldn't just trust me with his most talented and favorite student. He must be absolutely sure that I won't kill him, knowing my reputation and all," he said with a weak smile. "But Dumbledore knows that my vow is unbreakable."

"Taking into account what state Harry returns in the evening in, you are not far from taking him from us," Ginny said with a chuckle.

"I know where to stop," Draco smirked. He stood up and went to check on the cauldrons.

"Marko, what did you swear on? You weren't…yourself back then and you couldn't give him your word…"

"I swore on the most precious thing to me now and then," he said, stirring one of the potions, "our friendship."

Meet ma at 1 o'clock in the Common room. We need to talk. It's important.

'What does Hermione want to talk about?' thought Ron. 'Especially at such hour. Maybe another crazy project of hers.'

Still exactly at 1 o'clock, Ron in his pajamas walked down the stairs from the boy's dormitories to the Common room. Hermione was already there, sitting on one of the sofas near the fireplace.

'She looks so pretty with all her hair so messy, but it needs to be smoothed a little to make her really beautiful. Ron! Get a grip of yourself! She wants to talk, that's all and keep your hands in place!' "Hey, Herm'," Ron said, sitting down into an armchair beside her.

"Oh, hello, Ron," Hermione answered quietly, looking at her hands.

'Why is she nervous? Something bad happened?' "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Huh-huh, about your girlfriend, Ron."

His face fell. 'Now she'll give me a lecture about how stupid I was to trust an unknown person and blah-blah-blah.'

"I won't give you a lecture about how stupid you were." Ron's eyebrows went high into the hairline. "It's already established that she had been following Voldemort's orders, you can't be blamed for anything."

"How did you punish her then?"

"What?"

"You were the one to punish her, it had been the part of the deal. So what did you do?"

"Oh, that. I did nothing actually. I gave the right to Dumbledore. I just asked her how she had done all that. I mean, that nobody could see her real face and everything. She answered that I was too dumb to understand it," she finished with a frown. How can Hermione Granger be dumb! She can understand everything!

"I don't think that's possible. She just couldn't tell you, because didn't know herself. Voldemort had done everything for her," Ron said calming her down and restoring her know-it-all dignity.

"That's not the point, Ron."

"Huh,"

"I saw her face," Hermione stated.

And it made Ron to start to feel uncomfortable. He wanted it, right? He wanted Hermione to see Traitina's face and maybe understand his feelings towards her, but when the moment came, Ron didn't think it had been a good idea.

"And I saw myself," she finished.

"And you didn't like it," Ron grumbled gloomily.

"Of course, I didn't." Ron's face darkened. "But only because no girl wants her face on the other one," Hermione said with a small smile. "I am very confused, Ron," she said nervously, twiddling her robes. "I mean, she had my face and was your girlfriend even if it was a fake, you had a relationship with her and that barrier and…brrrr, what do I do with everything!"

'I've never thought, Hermione can be such a nervous wreck,' Ron put one hand on hers, stopping her fingers from tearing her robes apart. "'Mione, just tell me what's bothering you, ok?" he asked warmly.

Hermione looked at his hand. 'It's so big, so protective.' He did protect her all their years at Hogwarts. She was used to hide behind his wide back like behind a wall. 'Yeh, until that bitch appeared! Ok, Hermione, calm down. You need to sort the feelings between you. Now or never.'

"I still haven't thanked you for trying to warn me about my girlfriend using me. Why did you even bother with the researching?"

"You are my friend. I missed you," she said stuttering then looked at Ron's hand again. From her look he understood that it somehow bothered her and took it away.

It indeed bothered her but in the other way. It felt so good to have his hand on hers, such a pleasant distraction. A disappointment flashed in her eyes, but too quickly for Ron to notice.

"I really appreciate your efforts," were the only words Ron found.

"Ron! I have a serious dilemma here!" Hermione exclaimed as she always did when couldn't find an answer to a question that she put herself a goal to answer to.

"Then say what is it and we'll finish with it!" Ron said annoyed.

Suddenly Hermione felt scared. Scared about the whole ordeal. What if her conclusion weren't right? She was inexperienced in romantic affairs! She was a bit, but only when it didn't concern her. She could give Harry advice about his relationship with Cho, but…

"Your girlfriend had my face and it was a plan of Voldemort to separate us, then…then you wanted me as your girlfriend," she blurted out. "But why?"

Ron stood up and headed to the stairs. He left her so many clues and she understood nothing, maybe she really is too dumb to comprehend such obvious things. "I think, you can research it yourself, 'Mione," Ron said gravely.

She caught up with him only halfway to boy's dormitories – he had too big strides for her. "Ron!" She put a hand on his forearm, trying somehow to stop him. This gesture stopped him so abruptly, that Hermione even bumped into him, making them standing really close. "Do you like me?" she asked hesitantly, but looking into his eyes.

There was a long pause. Hermione was trembling, she didn't know why; it wasn't cold in the Common room. But she felt all her life depended on his answer.

"More than you can ever imagine," Ron said in the same grave tone.

"But why so you say it like it is a curse?" Hermione asked, her eyes sparkling from unshed tears."

"Because it is. Your heart will never answer my feelings," he said tiredly and took his glance away.

"But, Ron!" She took his head into his hands, so he could face her. "You've never asked!" Then she pulled his head down and kissed him. Before loosing herself in a heavenly pleasure she heard Dumbledore's words echoing in her mind, "Only the one, who truly loved you, could take you from under that barrier."