CHAPTER 15: - Stolen from the Platform

Draco threw the last of his new robes into the trunk and closed the lid. Blinka was fussing over him as she'd always done before his return to Hogwarts. She was so careful to make sure that he didn't forget a thing. A gesture which had, in previous years, greatly annoyed him…yet this year he was quite grateful. He was so anxious to get to school to see Ginny that his mind wasn't on packing.

A soft knock on his bedroom door told him that his mother had come to see him. "Come in, Mother." Draco dismissed Blinka and waited for his mum to enter.

Narcissa's head popped around the corner of the door and she stood smiling at him. "My son." She sniffled slightly. Draco could tell she'd been crying, yet before he could ask the reason she continued to speak. "This is your last year. The time has gone so fast. Look at you!" She grabbed his hands and held them out as if to show how big he'd gotten. Draco controlled the urge to roll his eyes. He loved his mother dearly, but she was behaving rather sentimental at the moment. "Are you all packed?" she said.

"Yes." he said. "I need to be on my way to King's Cross very soon." Draco hesitated for a moment. "Mother? There's…there's something I was hoping you'd do for me before I left."

Narcissa gave him a slightly confused expression. "Yes?"

He crossed the room and opened the drawer in his bedside table. After grabbing the object inside, he laid it softly in her hand. "Could you fix this for me?" It was Ginny's badge. He'd intended on having Ginny ask for a new one, but now that his mother knew his secret he thought he might as well take care of it before leaving for school.

His mother pulled her wand out of her robes. "Repairo!" She'd touched the silver with the tip of her wand and the holes had disappeared. Narcissa handed the badge back to Draco who laid it carefully on the bed. "I am assuming that things will be different for you this year. Are you prepared for what the consequences might bring?" Her bottom lip trembled slightly, but her face was compassionate.

Draco had spoken to his mother about his decision to tell the other Slytherins although she had been reluctant to agree with him. He was well aware that his happiness meant everything to his mother, yet his safety mattered more. She was afraid that the others would not be accepting of Ginny…and that the Dark Lord would find a way to punish him, regardless of his protection at Hogwarts. Draco knew that after this year he would need to go into hiding. Whether or not Ginny would complete her final year at school or follow him into hiding was beyond him, at this point. They hadn't talked that far into the future. But he knew they couldn't live a normal life together while Voldemort still walked the earth.

He lifted his head to look at his mother. "I'm prepared. Mother, I have to stop living this lie. It's not that I don't believe in the things that you and father have raised me to believe. I still do. But I can't be a part of something that wants to see her dead, no matter how strongly I've believed in it. She means more to me than that. I can't control how I feel."

Narcissa's expression changed a bit and she looked at Draco in a rather questioning manner. "Will you befriend the other Gryffindors?"

"Absolutely not!" He couldn't believe she would ask such a thing.

"Draco, you do know that you will find it difficult to be with her if you aren't accepting of those around her." It wasn't so much a question, yet she was making sure that he was aware of the fact.

He scowled. "I will make an effort to be nice to her brother; the rest of her family, perhaps. But Potter, Granger and the others can still rot in hell for all I care." He was remembering seeing Ginny laughing, as she lay on the ground with Potter at the Burrow. He couldn't recall ever hating the scar-head more. He cleared his throat and continued. "But what about Father? And…and Aunt Bella?"

His mother took a breath and smiled to the best of her abilities. "You leave it to me. I'll take care of everything."

He wasn't going to stop there. He felt it was time to come clean with everything. "Mother, I overhead your conversation in the dining room that day." She eyed him cautiously. "I heard what it was that you said to Aunt Bellatrix. You assured her that I would step up into my position as a Death Eater and help to bring the others home. How are you going to explain this to her? Or the Dark Lord, for that matter? Or…or Father?" It hurt him the most to betray his father in this way. Once he found out, Draco was sure he would be disowned as a son. Not only would he be walking away from everything that he believed in, but he would be leaving behind his family – at least for now. He knew his father would never forgive him…even under the persuasion of his mother.

She reached out and lightly touched his hair. "Draco, your aunt and I have never been close. I know that I haven't spoken about it much, but I never really needed to - she's been in Azkaban almost as long as you've been alive. I assure you that she will not dare cross me. As for your father, it is pointless for me to tell you that he will not be pleased. You know that fact is part of the consequences. However, you are still his son. Despite the way in which your father has raised you, he does love you Draco. He loves you very much. Maybe…in time…" her voice trailed off. "As for the Dark Lord, I can only pray that during your time away at Hogwarts we will think of something." Her eyes began to well up with tears once more and Draco put his arms around his mother. He knew his decision was very difficult for her to bear, but her support meant the world to him. He could not remember loving her more.

She continued to speak. "I will be sending you owls to keep our lines of communication open. Do not read those letters around your friends and make sure that you burn each one that you receive. I want you to know everything that's going on, but no one else must know. It's imperative that the other Slytherins NOT KNOW what we are discussing. They won't understand. One word to their parents and we will all be in trouble." She looked him directly in the eyes. "And if for some reason he should complicate matters I will send Blinka. You will not go uninformed. Your protection means everything to me so promise that you'll be careful."

Draco knew that "he" meant the Dark Lord. He nodded his head and kissed his mother on the cheek. "You have my word." He began to ache inside. She would be alone soon - and for how long, he didn't know. He began to fear for her safety. How could he have caused so much trouble for her?

She'd wiped her tears and the familiar smile appeared on her face once more. "Well now, let's go have a bit of breakfast before I see you off. I had some of your favorites put on the menu."

He returned her smile. "You go on ahead. I'll be there in a minute. Just want to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything." He didn't want to say that he'd like one last look around. It might be the last time he saw his room for quite some time.

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Ginny bounced from one side of her room to the other as she gathered up items for school. She tossed them into her trunk so quickly that half of them flew right back out again. In a few hours she'd be with Draco on the train to Hogwarts and their secret would be out. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins as it never had before and she could hardly contain her excitement.

She closed the lid and sat on the foot of her bed, waiting for Hermione to return from her shower. The door to her room opened and Mrs. Weasley came in carrying an armful of socks. "Here you are, dear. Make sure you add these to your trunk before you close the—Ginny? Are you already set to go?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, Mum. I'm all packed. I'll find room for the socks, though."

Mrs. Weasley gave her a quick hug. "You've always been anxious to return to school after the summer holidays were over, but I fear that this year you're in an extra big hurry to leave your father and I behind."

"Oh, Mum, you know that's not true." It wasn't a lie, really. Ginny missed her mum terribly when she was at school. However, the idea of being with Draco was all too appealing and she was glad that this was her last day at the Burrow.

"Isn't it?" Mrs. Weasley began to reminisce. "Remember the year you squeezed yourself into Charlie's trunk so that he'd take you along with him to school? Goodness, we had a time with you. You were always in such a hurry to go to Hogwarts long before your big day came." She smiled and stuffed the socks into Ginny's now-open trunk.

Ginny returned her mum's smile. "I'd forgotten about that." She sighed. "I suppose you're right. But it was the boys' fault. They always came home and talked so fondly of school - how could I not want to be a part of that, as well?"

Mrs. Weasley hugged Ginny again. "I'm glad we'll have one more year of this. It will be hard when all of you kids are out of the house. I'll miss it." She sniffled a bit and Ginny lightly rubbed her mum's back.

"Oh, Mum. Don't get all emotional on me now. You know I'll always be close by." She hoped she could keep that promise. Truth be told, maybe she shouldn't be giving her mother false hope.

Mrs. Weasley choked back her tears. "Well, I suppose we need to be leaving soon. I'll go check on Hermione and the boys to see if they have everything. See you downstairs in a bit."

She nodded at her mother and turned her attention back to her trunk. Ginny wondered what things were going to be like after this year. She had no idea what Draco was going to do. As long as Voldemort lived, he would never be safe. Would he go into hiding and wait for her to finish school or would he want her to come with him after her 6th year? She couldn't pretend that it didn't worry her. They had 10 months to come up with something. She prayed that it would all work out…

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Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry arrived at King's Cross several hours later with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They loaded their trunks onto the trolleys and pushed ahead to Platform 9 ¾. Butterflies took over Ginny's stomach at the thought of being with Draco any moment and she wondered how Ron and Hermione would react upon seeing them together in the Prefects' car. This would make everything real to Ron since he'd been in denial after finding out about their secret affair - but Hermione was most certainly going to get the shock of her life.

Once they neared the platform Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said their farewells. They were all old enough to board the Hogwarts Express without parents in tow. Ginny kissed her mum on the cheek and told her she'd send Pig with a letter the next day. Just as she was leaving her mother's embrace she saw a blond head come into view at the other end of the station. Her stomach did somersaults and she had to look away to hide her excitement.

As the farewells came to an end, Ron was the first one through the barrier; Ginny trying desperately to hang back. She had hopes of a quick word with Draco before they got on the train. Once she saw the back of Ron disappear into the brick barrier she motioned for Harry to go next.

Harry shook his head in protest. "No, no. Ladies' first."

Ginny was rather annoyed. Now was not the time for Harry to turn polite. How was she going to get them to go on through ahead of her? Thankfully, Hermione stepped forward and ran through the barrier and Ginny had to think quickly. No excuse came to her as Harry raised his eyebrows indicating she should go next. Suddenly, the sound of a toad brought her attention to Neville Longbottom and she waved.

Harry's exasperated expression told her that it had worked. "Oh Ginny, come on." He said. "It's almost 11:00 as it is. I'll see you on the other side." And with that, he casually leaned into the barrier and disappeared.

She beamed. Draco was fast approaching. Neville reached her first and asked her how her summer holiday had been. She tried to be as gracious as she could, but couldn't stop glancing over Neville's shoulder at Draco. When Neville finally pushed his way through to the other side, Draco stepped toward Ginny.

"Hey, there." His voice was soft. She wondered if he had changed his mind about making their relationship public until he spoke again. "Ready to show them how crazy we are for each other?" He tried to make the question lighthearted and cute, but she knew he was serious.

Ginny nodded her head in answer, unable to speak for she was entirely too happy and nervous to say anything. Draco lightly touched her hand and the sensation traveled through her body. Nothing could beat what was about to happen. She felt so free at the thought of releasing their secret to the whole school.

Draco glanced around her and spoke again. "You go on ahead. I'm supposed to meet Crabbe and Goyle here as I do every year. But I'll see you on the train in a sec." He gave her one last smile before she turned her trolley around and began to head in the direction of the barrier.

Something made Ginny stop and she looked over her shoulder to see Draco admiring her from behind. He smiled. She couldn't contain herself any longer. Ginny's steps were light as she ran back to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you, Draco." Her lips met his and a surge of energy rushed through her limbs at the thought of their first public kiss. He held her close to him for a moment until she pulled away from him, slightly disappointed that no one had seen them. But she was filled with the memory of Draco's touch, just the same. She ran toward the barrier, yet again.

This was it! Her life would change in a matter of moments and she wasn't turning back now. But as the trolley entered the barrier, Ginny felt her world begin to spin. Her stomach lurched forward and dropped swiftly until she thought she was going to be sick. It was as though someone grabbed her around the waist and pulled as hard as they could. The back of her head pounded as she watched the scenery fly by in the corners of her eyes. It felt like an eternity before it all began to slow down. She landed hard on all fours – slamming her knees down onto a cold stone floor as she immediately lost what little breakfast she'd had that morning. The surroundings were still, but her head was still spinning. She took several breaths and wiped her chin before looking up.

Red, slanted eyes came into view and Ginny screamed. She rolled onto her back and pulled herself away from the face that was looking down at her. Boney white fingers, bent inches above her body, bore the actions of the last word she remembered.

"Crucio!"

Authors Note: Don't you just love cliffies? Yes, this is where the story becomes a bit more stressful...however - I promise not to disappoint. Thank you guys TONS for the reviews. You rock!