Chapter Three: Part II, Chapter 2: No Regrets

There is no future
There is no past
I live this moment
As my last
There's only now
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other day
No day but today

- Rent

Draco Malfoy paced around the outside of Dumbledore's office, anxious. Snape had just arrived and told him that Dumbledore needed to speak with him -- immediately. At first, he thought it was something great -- such as Dumbledore deciding that he was wrong, after all, to choose Neville Longbottom as Head Boy and that he truly wanted Draco to be it.

But by the look on Snape's face, he knew it was anything but that.

"Why? What --"

"This is not the time for questions, Malfoy! Simply go!" Snape had yelled, shocking the rest of the students in the dungeon commonroom. Draco nodded reluctantly and climbed out, walking slowly to Dumbledore's office, hoping to keep the old man waiting a bit. The way he thought of it, Dumbledore rudely interrupted him (He was in the middle of a gross, but satisfying, makeout session with Pansy Parkinson), so Draco would delay Dumbledore. It was a vicious cycle, really.

Draco's plan had backfired, however, when Proffessor Mcgonnagal bustled out of the office and gave Draco a cold, "Don't you dare move." What he had done to deserve the harshness from all his professors, he didn't know. He just hoped his mother didn't do something stupid again.

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Ginny Weasley was nervous. Her scar wasn't hurting her, but she had a splitting headache. Her nerves were on end as she looked around at the corridor walls; it seemed as all the paintings were laughing at her agony. 'Ha-ha,' they were saying, 'You don't know what's going on, do you? We do! Ha-ha!' She wanted to rip those little oil paintings up and start a bonfire.

"Miss Weasley?"

Ginny spun around, wand drawn.

"Oh, Proffessor, it's just you!" Ginny said, taking a deep breath. Mcgonnagal glanced at Ginny's wand, then at Ginny. "Oh, sorry." She quickly put it away.

"That's quite alright. Follow me, please. Proffessor Dumbledore is waiting for you, as are your parents, and..."

Ginny coughed. "And?"

Mcgonnagal looked at her hands. "Well, we'll just get to that later. Come on, then."

Ginny followed her dumbly, feeling rather like a lost kitten following the first stranger it sees.

"But, Proffessor, what's --"

"Wait, Miss Weasley."

Ginny grumbled audibly and let herself be dragged away to her headmaster's office. As she walked, she let her mind wander to the many explanations Dumbledore could give, forcing herself to only think of funny ones.

'The only way you can survive is if Mr. Potter kisses you!' 'You must get married to the most handsome man in all of London!' 'You must --'

"We're here," Proffessor stated lamely, nodding to something out of Ginny's vision. She moved a few steps over and gasped.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

Draco glowered at Ginny for a second before replying, "None of your business."

Mcgonnagal let out what seemed to be a strangled sob and the pair looked at her questioningly.

Ginny lightly tapped her teacher's arm. "Proffess-"

"Sugar biscuit," she said to the eagle, and then walked the teens in. Draco and Ginny gave each other one last look of disdain before stepping onto the moving staircase.

"Albus? They are... here," Mcgonnagal said, pushing each of them into the room (and slightly next to each other).

"Thank you very much, Minerva." Mcgonnagal nodded, sniffled, and turned to leave the room. "And Minerva? -- Do not fret, please."

She gave no reply other than another sniffle.

"Bloody hell," Draco muttered. Ginny glared at him before running into the arms of her mother and father.

"Mum, dad..." Ginny trailed off as she saw her mother's eyes filled with tears and her father's expression: the one she knew clearly as 'I'm-going-to-kick-some-pureblood-ass.' "What's wrong?"

"Mother," Draco greeted, nodding. His mother nodded back, then turned her head away from everyone and focused on Fawkes, the phoenix.

Dumbledore lightly cleared his throat and everyone in the vicinity's eyes were on him. He had that effect on people. "I think we should get to the matter at hand, now that we're all here."

A collective nod of agreement.

"And I'm sure most of you are familiar with the line of hatred cutting between Slytherin and Gryffindor?"

A more meaningful, extreme nod of agreement, along with a few "uh huh"s from Ginny and Draco (Who then proceeded to glare like there was no tomorrow).

"Well, it seems as if along that line there has been a barrier formed. A barrier of..." Dumbledore looked down at the floor and chose his words carefully. "Prophecy, and I use this term very loosely."

"A prophecy?" Repeated Mrs. Malfoy.

Dumbledore nodded. "As we all know, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin had very... different views on how they wanted Hogwarts to be run."

The proffessor began to explain the story of Godric and Salazar's star-crossed grandchildren who fell in love, and whose love then burst into a new version of hate between Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"But, proffessor, what does this have to do with us?" Ginny asked politely. "It doesn't really have anything to do with us."

"Oh, but it does. Elye's daughter married a man whose last name was Prewitt -"

Mrs. Weasley lightly gasped.

"- And Alasia Slytherin's daughter married a man whose last name was Black. They had a child named Phineas."

Draco Malfoy's fists clenched. "What - does - this - mean - ?" he hissed, but Narcissa lightly slapped him, knowing exactly who Phineas was.

"As you can see," Dumbledore continued, "It all comes down to these children... or, should I say, young adults."

Ginny crosses her arms. "I don't understand, what does this have to do with my scar?"

Mr. Weasley looked at his daughter crossly. "What scar?"

She glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded his head, and then began to roll down her knee-high socks. The snake was now bright green and was a bit longer. Her parents gasped as Draco gulped and glanced at his mother.

Narcissa grabbed her son's hand forcefully and forced him to stick out his ring finger. There, just as she suspected, was a silver ring that once belonged to her great-great-grandfather. She shook her head and dropped her son's hand as quickly as she had grabbed it.

"Albus," Narcissa said, "please tell me this doesn't mean..."

"It does," he replied curtly.

Ginny and Draco shared a glance that wasn't filled with hatred -- instead, it was filled with confusion. For once, Draco felt some slight -- VERY slight -- compassion towards Ginny and her humongous scar. He didn't, however, notice what his mother did, or put together the clues.

"Okay, seriously now," Ginny grumbled, "Can someone clue me in?"

Mrs. Weasley looked down at her hands as she spoke. "We're related to Godric Gryffindor."

Ginny's eyes bulged. "So... that means I have to marry someone related to Slytherin?"

"I still don't understand why I'm here. I don't care who the Weasel has to marry!" Draco hissed, crossing his arms.

"Don't you see?" Narcissa yelled, throwing her hands up. "You're related to Salazar Slytherin! Phineas Black, sound familiar?"

Draco's eyes went wide as he and Ginny looked at each other. The thought of them being married was appaling!

"So I have to marry him, or I die? I'd rather die!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms huffily. "I will not become a Malfoy!"

"You'd never be a Malfoy," Draco hissed scathingly.

Dumbledore frowned. "You are only going to be taking his name and living with him, Miss Weasley. You will still be yourself -- the same fiery young woman Hogwart's has loved you being." He turned to Draco. "And you. You are only giving this girl your surname, and will be living in a great house with her. You probably will see her less than you've seen her during school. Nothing will change except who you see after school, Draco."

They looked at each other once more, their feelings still set: they would prefer death as opposed to being married to each other.

"As you know," Dumbledore continued, "the year is almost over. In a few days, the seventh years will be moving out of the school. When they do so, Ginny, I want you to move in with Draco at Malfoy Manor."

It was silent as Mrs. Weasley silently sobbed; she was losing her baby girl. Narcissa stared at the back of her son's stiff, straight shoulders as she tried to sympathize for him. She found it impossible; she could only sympathize for Ginny and how the rest of her life would be ruined with her son's coldness and cruelty.

-----------------

Ginny Weasley walked towards the Gryffindor commonroom, feeling rather like a shell of herself. She couldn't believe that in 3 days she would be married to Draco Malfoy. As she got closer and closer to the portrait of the fat lady, she couldn't help letting a tear form from behind her eye. Harry would probably be seated by the fire, just as she left him, finishing up his homework. Hermione would be stroking Crookshanks in her favorite red armchair as Ron would be hovering around Harry, telling him to hurry up so he could copy it.

Their lives would continue. Hers would end.

She blinked away the tears and took a deep breath. The fat lady was in front of her, lightly snoring away.

"Macaroni and cheese," she said, awaking the snoozing portrait.

"Ah, yes, dear..." she whispered, opening up ajar before falling back asleep.

When Ginny entered the room, all she heard was silence and the repetitive scraping of a quill on parchment. As she turned the corner, she saw that only Harry was in the room and, as she suspected, doing homework. Oh, how she loved him and his horrific procrastination. It was Sunday night, and here he was doing his late homework that was due friday and the homework that was due monday. She couldn't help but love him.

As she watched him, she felt the tears finally come. She tried to cry as quietly as possible, but after a few seconds, she emitted a small sob. Harry's head shot up and looked around.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called, looking around. Ginny said nothing, just wished she was invisible. Wished she could run away. He finally turned the corner and saw her, then stopped in his tracks. "Ginny, come here."

Ginny nodded and stepped slowly over to her ex-boyfriend. She kept her eyes firmly on the ground and tried to make her red bangs fall in front of her eyes to block her tears, but it was no use. Harry gently lifted her head up and looked at her.

"Come here," he said again, lightly bringing his arms around Ginny and hugging her tightly. She loosened up and let the tears fall onto his blue tee shirt. Everytime she felt she had no more tears left, she would feel Harry's body beneath her arms and she would cry harder, knowing she could never be with him. No matter what.

She looked around and broke away. She was sitting on the couch, lying on top of Harry. She didn't remember getting in this position, nor did she know why Harry let her, but all she knew was that it was the most comfortable she had felt in days. She wished she could spend her life just like this; in Harry's arms, rather than in the arms of a man who hated her more than anything.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. His eyes looked half-closed as he attempted looking up at her from his position on the couch. Ginny could see the light blush on his face as she noticed she was pressed up against him, but that he didn't complain or move away.

"No," replied Ginny truthfully. "I have... I have to... I can't... I have to... With..."

"Please explain. It will make you feel better, I know it."

She shook her head. "It will make me feel worse. It's just... I can't... be with you."

Harry looked at her closely. "What do you mean?"

"I can't be with you. Ever, Harry. Life after Hogwart's... it won't... be the same. It won't be how we planned it," she mumbled, staring at the design on his tee-shirt.

"Bullocks," Harry said with a small smile. "Everything will be the same. No matter what."

Ginny tried to smile, but found it increasingly hard. "You don't know, Harry..." she whispered, putting her head on his chest.

"Then tell me!" he half-yelled, causing Ginny to jump.

"Harry, please..."

He looked into her eyes. "Tell me. Tell me what's frightened you. Tell me why you can't be with me once school is over for us both."

Ginny looked at her hands and sat up. "I'm... getting married."

Harry was silent and sat up as well, causing Ginny to move off his chest. He looked at the floor.

"To whom," he asked, thought it sounded more like a defeated question.

"Don't make me. Please." She was practically pleading to avoid the yelling, the anger, the everything that she knew would ensue once she said those three little words.

Harry looked at her and she knew she had no choice.

"To... Draco Malf -"

He jumped off the couch in shock, knocking over the glass of water Ron was drinking hours ago.

"You're marrying the FERRET?"

Ginny nodded solemnly. "But it's not like I want to! I have no choice, Harry, really!"

She told Harry to sit down and he did so, listening earnestly as she told him all that Dumbledore had said. His expression went from cold to warm in a rather of seconds as, although he was heartbroken, he knew it would be worse for Ginny.

"Have you told Ron yet?"

Ginny shook her head. "Haven't had a chance... where is he?"

Harry lightly laughed. "He's on a date with Hermione. She thought they should go for a walk outside to get his mind off of...well, you. They left only ten or so minutes ago, I don't think they'll be back anytime soon. Everyone else is at Quidditch practice... It is a nice day out, I don't blame them."

"Why aren't you out with them?"

Harry shrugged. "Homework...and I didn't want you to be completely alone when you came back."

Ginny smiled and looked down.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said apologetically. "I wish that last year -"

"No regrets, Harry," Ginny said quietly with a smile. "There's no time for regrets."

With great force and ferocity, Ginny kissed Harry with all the strength in her body. She ignored the burning of her scar and deepened the kiss before slowly breaking away.

"What time will everyone get back?" she asked quietly between kisses.

"Ron... Hermione... don't know. Quidditch... ends... hour..."

Ginny smiled. "That gives us enough time," she answered, kissing him once again and reclining back on the couch.

End chapter

Author's Note: ...I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T HELP IT! I foreshadowed Harry/Ginny too much, in my opinion, in the last chapter, so I had to have some final H/G fluffiness. This was basically a filler chapter until the graduation -- which will most likely be next chapter. Please review!

PS: I haven't decided whether I will always include lyrics in front of chapters, but I saw it fit this time to do so. Hope you don't mind!