ISLA MAGICA

SIX

Ginny decided to cancel her room and take up Draco's offer to stay in his suite for the rest of her holiday. The remaining days of her stay were spent in each other's company, and not one word was spoken again of what would happen after their time on the island came to an end.

Draco felt contented to keep it this way, no complications and no worries. Simply being in her company for now was enough and if it had to end, then he would have to accept it and carry on with his life in England as normal. Ginny knew his feelings on the matter, what good would it do to fight her decision? Ultimately, his experience with Astoria had taught him that a woman could not be forced to stay and could not be forced to love, and he was not going to beg Ginny to carry on with him back home.

All in all, they would have had three weeks together in each other's company, and as her stay drew to a close, Draco had to make sure the last few nights were memorable enough to keep him firmly in her mind.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they made their way around the back of the hotel grounds and walked across the small Quidditch pitch. "Are we playing Quidditch?"

"No," he said, smiling. "Why would I torture myself by playing against you? A world-class Chaser?"

"We could try and catch the snitch?" she suggested.

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, did you see me play? Not exactly very successful, was I?"

"Well," she started thoughtfully, "It was only ever when you played against Harry that you were terrible. You were more concerned with trying to annoy him than catching the snitch. That's your own fault."

"Yes, yes, OK," he said, rolling his eyes. "Regardless, we're not playing Quidditch in any way, shape or form."

Ginny giggled in that unreserved way she was wont to affect, the way which made his heart skip a beat or two. "I'm just saying that you were fine when you played Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," she said, humour in her voice as they strode over the beautifully-kept grass.

"Well, thanks," he said begrudgingly. They reached the broom shed and Draco tapped his wand on the lock, muttering the password which Matías had given him. The lock clinked open, and the door swung inwards for Draco to retrieve a couple of brooms. "Oh shit! They've got the Firebolt Inferno's!" he exclaimed, surprised at such expensive brooms being left in what was essentially a wooden shack.

"No, they haven't!" Ginny said, pushing past him into the shed, her eyes wide. "Wow!" she gasped, reaching to touch one. "The Harpies don't even have these yet..."

The pair of them stood admiring the brooms for another five minutes or so. They were sleek in design, made from the best ebony wood as the old Firebolts had been, with trimmed hazel twigs for precision turning. But it's best feature was the speed dial which allowed you to select your pace with a flick of a switch. It was also said to reach speeds of 170mph.

Ginny chose one and it immediately jumped into her hand. "Wow... it's humming," she whispered. "You can literally feel it's power. Merlin, I cannot wait to get on this broom. What are we doing then?" she asked eagerly, turning to him and the look of anticipation on her face made her glow.

Draco swallowed, wishing to himself that she didn't have this affect on him. "We're going to do a night flight around the island, we will be able to reach places others can't even see."

"But we won't be able to see either," she said, bemused. "It's going to be dark."

Draco smiled. "Just wait and see." He selected his broom and was surprised to note that Ginny was not wrong – the power coming off the broom quite literally thrummed under his fingers. "You ready?" he asked, gripping the broom tightly. In all honesty, Draco hadn't flown properly for many years for various reasons and he was looking forward to this.

Ginny nodded, excitement lighting her eyes as she glanced at the broom in her hand. "The girls will not believe I've flown one of these..." she muttered, shaking her head.

"I can't believe they've got such valuable brooms stored in a wooden shed," Draco replied as they went back outside. "My father always told me that anything valuable should be stored carefully, away from thieves and if they had to be on display, a thousand curses at least should be placed on them."

"That's very dramatic," Ginny said, appearing to be quite shocked. "Though I suppose my family didn't ever have much of anything valuable worth taking."

Draco knew he should have been put off by her lack of experience in the world of wealth and riches, but he wasn't. "Come, let's go," he said. "The sun is setting." Draco wondered when he would discover something he hated about her, as would be inevitable. Her short-temperedness could be annoying, but it was humorous at the same time. It didn't irritate him enough for him to hate it.

They mounted their brooms and kicked off the hard ground, rising into the still warm air with ease. Draco felt the exhilaration that he hadn't felt in years as they rose higher and higher above the island, as though he were free from all that had happened in the past year. He was weightless and he could tell she felt the same by the look of utter contentment on her face.

"Let's do a couple of laps of the island before it gets dark," she said, excitement in her voice as she fiddled with the speed dial and sped off without his assent to such a dangerous idea.

Draco stared after her in disbelief as she disappeared into the distance, the speed of the broom and the way she controlled it shocking him in equal amounts. He gathered himself back up and adjusted the speed dial himself, intent on catching up with her, and zoomed off in the same direction. Merlin, it was such a feeling of exhilaration that he had never experienced before, not even as a boy. The wind blasting through his hair and at his skin, the warm air hitting him like a welcome hug from a loved one and the way the island began lighting up beneath him, twinkling lights like so many beacons shining in the darkness and they shone as if from the earth itself.

He slowed quickly to a stop as Ginny came back into his sights, hovering over the caldera as it lit up. "What did I say?" he said as he drew beside her.

"I didn't expect this," she whispered, her face in awe of the show beneath them. "It's beautiful... But, it wasn't like this when we went out on the yacht."

"You can only see it from above," he explained. "It's one of the lesser known facts about the island."

Ginny continued to stare down at the island, spinning this way and that with expert precision. "Oh, wow!" she gasped, propelling to the left and sinking lower onto her broom as she sped away from him again.

Draco chuckled to himself at her unpredictability. Just another trait that he couldn't bring himself to hate. He followed her once more and relished witnessing the way her blazing red locks flurried in the sharp wind, her determination to get to her destination and he knew he could never hope to keep up with her, even with his own experience of riding a broom. She was like an addiction; he knew it was bad for him, knew he shouldn't indulge in her, shouldn't chase after her and yet, he couldn't stop himself. He found he had no inclination to stop himself, that had gone some weeks ago when he had seen her naked in the lake. Seeing her riding the wind only deepened the need to indulge in her, the need to claim her over and over until whatever it was in him was satisfied. Draco feared it would never be satisfied.

"Look at that," she whispered as she came to a stop, pointing below at the tallest peak of the island. Clustered there was a rainbow mix of lights, unlike the other lights that shone from the island, shining from the gently swaying trees. The peak was to the west of the hotel, furthest away from the buzzing heart of the island. "There seems to be a clearing down there, let's go look."

Draco followed her once again as she drifted down towards the cluster of lights, which slowly disappeared as they descended. The magic wore off the closer you got to the island, but he could already tell this place so untouched by human life was beautiful before they even hit the ground. When they did, he conjured up several glass jars and filled them with fire so as to light the area around them. Lumos would have cast too harsh a glow. They stood in a clearing amongst a small cluster of trees, but it wasn't the brightly coloured hibiscus that grew there nor the overhanging trees that gave the place it's beauty. It was the smell; it was as though Ginny's scent had been magnified at least fifty times over and assaulted his senses to the point where he felt could get drunk on it.

"Merlin, this place smells lovely," Ginny said, as she inhaled deeply. "Like... cinnamon and pine trees mixed together."

"What? Cinnamon?" he asked, bemused. "It doesn't smell like that at all. It smells like..." Draco cut himself short, he was about to say 'You,' but decided this sounded ridiculous. "It smells like flowers and sweets."

Ginny stared at him. "Flowers?" she shook her head. "No, no... It smells like cinnamon buns. It smells like you."

Draco stared back at her now, shocked that she had said what he wouldn't. "Like me?"

Ginny swallowed and looked away from him, unable to maintain eye contact for much longer. The fire from the jars illuminated her sudden embarrassment to him, but it only made him want to kiss her. "Yes, like you."

Draco chuckled and made her look back up at him. "Well, to me, it smells like you." That honesty sent a surge of burning want through him and it was so ridiculous. How could that make him want her? Again, none of this made any sense and it was this senselessness that made him lose all reserve. He grasped the back of her neck and captured her mouth with his own in a rough and needy kiss, and she responded to him immediately. A kiss had always been a means to an end, that end having always been the start of more carnal pleasures, but a kiss with her had always been more. A kiss with her was a way of communicating in the most base and primal of ways, a way for their very desires to intertwine and meet on a mutual level, almost as though it was preordained that they should connect so physically to tell each other what their voices wouldn't.

He could feel her body pushed up against his and it was inevitable now that he felt the persistent urge of want pushing against his shorts. Whenever her body was so close to his and her mouth against his, it was always inevitable. The blaze of desire felt different this time, it transcended desire and stood on a whole other plane – it was hunger, need and passion all rolled into one, it was what he imagined it felt like to wish for water in drought. It was essential that he should be with her at that moment, on that peak, his senses overwhelmed by her.

Ginny must have felt the same as he felt her hands tugging at his shorts, impatience in her effort. Draco quickly assisted her and freed himself from the restraints of his shorts, immediately forcing her down to the ground amongst the soft grass and flowers. Now he felt her impatience, too full of need to bother removing her long skirt, instead he pushed it up until it pooled around her waist and revealed her knickers to him. This was the only barrier between him and her now and it was gone with a quick tug, tossed into the darkness of the trees somewhere and he was surprised to discover how wet she was already.

"No, no," she whispered, her eyes wide as he looked up at her, and the darkened lust in those amber eyes reflected by the fire only served to stoke his own lust further. "Now," she muttered with urgency, "now."

Draco didn't need her to elaborate, he grasped her hips and pulled her onto him with slick ease. Only then did he lean over her, his hands gripping at the earth, clenching at it as he filled her with his need, wanting her to know with each driving thrust that she belonged to him, with him. Whatever it was about the peak of the island, it had made him understand that primal thing inside him – it wanted her, it needed her, he wanted her, he needed her. The two were connected, he was the primal thing.

Ginny gasped and sighed into the night, her body reacting with his, meeting his in an imperfect rhythm. The feel of her ankles wrapped tightly around him, keeping him from leaving her, the feel of her hands on his neck, clutching at him, maddened him and he had to kiss her again. His mouth met hers like a storm meeting another, and lightning tore through his chest as his heart thumped faster and his blood thundered through his veins. It was quick and impatient, and when he came inside her, it was with utter relief and contentment as she pulsed around him, her own climax fresh.

Draco dropped beside her, exhausted, his breath heavy and the smell of her still surrounding him. He could hear her breathing just as heavily beside him.

"We shouldn't have done that," she said quietly.

Draco turned to look at her, her eyes on the darkened sky above. "And why not?"

"We're in public," she replied.

"There is no one else on this peak," he said, feeling a little annoyed that she regretted what they had just done. "It's hardly public."

Ginny shut her eyes. "I don't know what just happened then," she said, her voice soft and with the slightest trace of fear. "I lost control... there's some kind of strange magic up here."

Draco silently agreed with her, remembering the suddenness of his arousal after they spoke frankly to each other. "The island is known for it's hidden magic," he replied, trying to assuage her fears. He knew what she feared – their connection and what that might mean. It would disrupt their lives in more ways than they could imagine. "It is nothing to be fearful of."

"I do not fear the island," she said, turning to look at him now. "If it is the magic of the island, what is it's meaning? That is what scares me."

Draco looked back at her, unable to answer such a question. He could barely make sense of the past weeks he had spent with her, let alone what was happening with her in the present. "That is one thing I cannot answer," he replied. "Whatever it is cannot be malicious."

Ginny shivered then and he remembered they were laying half naked exposed to the night air. He Summoned their clothing and they dressed in silence. Draco was disappointed with her inability to let go of her worries, disappointed with how that had ended and was determined not to let this mire her last couple of nights. They mounted their brooms again and returned to the Quidditch pitch to put the brooms back.

"Draco," she said, ending the silence that had sprung up, and she swallowed hard before speaking again. "Draco, that, what happened on the peak, I've never felt so weakened by my own body before, so lacking in control. It scares me. The only time anything surpassed that was when I was being used by Voldemort in my first year." She stopped, steeling herself before she could carry on. Draco had never known the full extent of his father's foolish actions all those years ago and it was hard to hear it. "I have always wanted to be in complete control since then, and being with you scares me because I lose it so easily. But... I've realised this is nothing like back then. I don't mind losing myself in you because I know you will bring me back."

Draco pulled her to him and held her tight, nuzzling her neck and drinking her in. "I'm sorry for what my father did back then," he murmured into her throat, kissing her there. "And, you know, you do the same to me. I lose all control when you're touching me, it's a struggle to keep a hold on to rational thought even now as I just hold you like this."

Ginny pulled back to look into his eyes and already they had darkened with desire again. Merlin, she was insatiable and he was more than happy to oblige. "Take me again, Draco, this time we can let go completely."

Draco near growled as he kissed her again, wondering how he could let go anymore than he already had, but he was never going to back away from this challenge nor from her.

Draco awoke the following morning with the sun shining on his face from the open balcony, the gauzy curtains blew in the breeze and rustled softly, the only sound in the still atmosphere of the room. Beside him lay Ginny, wrapped up in the covers and naked underneath all that material, her face peaceful in slumber.

The sex they had the night before had surpassed all the moments of physical intimacy they had so far shared, and he hadn't thought it would be possible. Their bodies had spoken to each other on a deeper level than he had experienced, their want for each other had become like breathing and it was from this that he knew Ginny Weasley belonged to him as he belonged to her. There would be no doubts around that anymore and she would know it soon enough. The way he had taken her last night should have been an indication of that, but he had to make sure, she had to know unequivocally that he was not going to share.

Draco stood from the bed and decided to let her rest, judging by the way his limbs ached from last night's activities, he could only assume hers would too. He didn't want to suffocate her with his presence either, so he dressed quickly and quietly before going down to breakfast. The clear light of day would serve to wake him up from this dream he was walking around in as he felt this could not be anything else; Ginny Weasley writhing and trembling in his bed, making him feel things he thought he had felt before with Astoria. Nothing he had felt for Astoria had felt like being with Ginny, it was better, sharper, and it was this that made him wonder if it was all real.

"Ah, Señor Malfoy," Matías was at the entrance to the breakfast room, greeting guests as they arrived. His face lit up when he saw Draco. "Where is the Señorita? Did she not enjoy the brooms?"

Draco smirked, unable to stop himself. "Oh, yes, Matías," he said quietly back to him. "She enjoyed the brooms very much. She's sleeping at the moment."

Realisation dawned on Matías's face and he chuckled. "Muy bien, Señor, muy bien," he said, nodding with approval and gesturing for Draco to seat himself wherever he liked.

Draco took a table by the large patio doors, which were shut at the moment, so that he had an unobstructed view of the caldera. His order was taken and his food arrived in decent enough time. Now he was left to his own thoughts and he decided it would be good to sort through them. But, there was nothing to sort through, he knew what he wanted and he was going to get it when he returned to England. There was no hiding from his own desires now, desires that had felt traitorous only weeks before but now felt like they had always been there, waiting for her to turn up at the right moment. His parents would not be pleased, they would be even less pleased with Ginny than they were of Astoria, but he found that he couldn't make himself care. For all his good intentions of seeking out someone they could approve of, he had found the girl who they would likely despise. Still, he could not care at all.

Draco lived primarily at his flat in central London, away from the Manor and his parents, so their disapproval was not something he felt would cause problems. Ginny had a flat in London somewhere, so she would be away from the disapproval of her own family over him. It made him chuckle at the path he had decided to go down, the path that would be the hardest to take, when he had been choosing the easiest path his whole life.

"There you are, Draco!" A shrill voice rang out behind him, cutting through his thoughts, and his heart jolted unpleasantly as he recognised that voice. It was Astoria. Of all places. He didn't even turn to look at her, her face only came into his view when she decided to sit directly across from him. "This is a lovely place, Draco, how ever did you find it out?"

Draco stared back at her, with what he hoped was a bored expression. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting back against his chair.

Astoria smiled that sweet smile she was wont to affect when she attempted to manipulate him. "There's no need to speak so unkindly, Draco," she said with an irritating titter. "Are we not still friends?"

"I don't think we are," he replied in a curt tone.

Astoria looked back at him, a flash of fury behind her eyes, but which she quickly buried and replaced with her sweet demeanour. "I came here to reconcile with you," she explained. "I have missed you, more than you will believe."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, wondering what had happened to make her come crawling back to him, what had made her search him out. "How did you know where I was?" he asked, ignoring her attempt at drawing him in.

Astoria laughed. "Blaise is not at all good at keeping a secret," she replied, rolling her eyes. "He's such a bore, telling me not to come after you! And why shouldn't I? I am your fiance."

Draco laughed derisively, causing another angry look to pass across her normally smooth face. "You was, Astoria," he pointed out. "You're not anymore. So, what's happened? Your little rebound not working out for you?"

Astoria looked appalled. "Stefan was not a rebound, we were not at all romantic -."

"Do not lie to me," Draco said in a harsh voice, leaning forward now to emphasise his point. "I know when you're acting, so don't pretend to be that pristine little princess you love to affect. She doesn't work on me."

A dark look settled on her face then. "Fine, Stefan was my boyfriend," she admitted with reluctance. "But he made me realise how much I missed you, Draco." Her eyes widened as she said it, an imploring look if there ever was one. A look to induce sentiment and empathy, but Draco had grown far too cynical where she was concerned.

"What's your point?" he muttered, leaning back in his chair and glaring at her.

"My point is that I came here to start anew with you," she said, her eyes still imploring a side of him that no longer existed for her.

Draco frowned. "Right, I see," he murmured. "You want to start over again? Despite knowing I am ready to be a father, something which you are not willing to give me?"

Astoria grimaced and struggled to hide her reaction behind her white smile and child-like expression. "I am willing," she insisted. "I thought I wasn't ready for all that commitment, but I am. I want to start a family with you, Draco."

Draco couldn't feel any less than he did in that moment for Astoria, and wished she had never come. For whatever reason, her new beau had either grew tiresome or had grown tired of her. Just then, Ginny entered the dining room and was laughing with Matías, who unfortunately pointed him out to her. Draco could have groaned in frustration as he saw the a confused look pass over Ginny's face before she took a seat closer to the entrance.

"Are you listening to me?" Astoria asked, offended by his lack of attention and turning to see what he looked at. "Is that Ginny Weasley?" she whispered. "How on earth is she affording this place?"

Draco could not fault Astoria for asking such a question, he had thought the same thing very briefly. "She is an international Quidditch star, Astoria," he replied in a bored tone. "She has earned her right to be here more than you."

Astoria frowned. "Defending Weasley's now, are you?" she sneered, her facade dropping quicker than he had expected. "And I belong in a place such as this. Where was she born? In a barn, probably." Astoria laughed derisively at this, but realised quickly that he was not going to indulge her where he might have before. "You are being such a bore, Draco! I've just said I want to start a family with you and you haven't even reacted."

Draco stared at her, feeling deeply amused and galled by her audacity at the same time. Looking at her now, he couldn't understand why he thought her above all other women; she had a perfectly straight, aristocratic nose, but now it seemed to be permanently shunted into the air as though looking down it all the time. Her eyes were a deep brown, but he didn't see sweetness in them anymore, all he saw was a murkiness that came off as suspicious. "I have no reaction, because I have no inclination to start over with you," he finally replied, his tone careful and slow as he spoke so as to make sure she understood his message. "The thought of marrying you and having children with you sickens me. Your coming here has only made you appear desperate. You and I both know you have no interest in becoming a mother yet, and there is no issue with that. My issue with you is that you lied right up until the point you saw it getting serious. So... why would I bother with you again?"

Astoria was dumbstruck, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to figure out what to say next. There was nothing she could say that would make him change his mind. Instead she stood up with as much dignity as she could muster and then completely ruined it by declaring, "I haven't given up on you yet, Draco. I know how prideful you are. Once your ego is out of the way, you will see that this is the only path you can possibly take."

With those last words, she walked out, her body unnaturally stiff. Draco breathed out and shook his head. The bloody audacity of her coming to him and thinking he would go running back to her just because she said so was utterly offensive and ridiculous. The other guests, of which there were few at the early hour, turned back to their food, pretending like they hadn't eavesdropped on a personal conversation. He looked over at Ginny, who now had her food in front of her, and he decided that he should speak with her.

"So that was your ex, then?" she asked as he slid into the seat beside her. "She seemed miffed."

Draco chuckled. "Miffed doesn't cover it," he replied. "And don't pretend you didn't hear most of that."

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not pretending," she said as she buttered a slice of toast. "She wants you back." She said this so casually that Draco wondered whether she wasn't as casual about it as she might like him to believe.

"Ridiculous..." he muttered.

Ginny looked at him, a thoughtful look on her face. "Is it though?" she asked.

Draco frowned, confused. "Of course it's ridiculous," he said, scoffing at the suggestion that it wasn't absurd.

"She's offered you the life you wanted," Ginny said in an even tone. "A life you wanted with her not so long ago. It isn't that ridiculous."

"It is ridiculous," he insisted, drawing his chair closer to her. "She's got an ulterior motive here. It hasn't worked out with her new boyfriend, so she's come all this way to beg my favour. Astoria is not one to be alone for too long and she probably thinks I would have taken her back in a heartbeat."

Ginny looked sceptical. "She wouldn't choose to commit herself so easily to you, when she had been reluctant before, just because she is lonely," she said, shaking her head.

Draco rubbed his face and sighed. "You don't know Astoria," he replied.

"I don't need to know her," she said, still in an even tone of voice. "Why would you give up on the chance to become a father? That is what you have been looking for."

Draco was in disbelief. Did she really not know? Even after all they had spoken of, after last night? How could she not know that he would shun all others in favour of her? "Because I don't want her," he answered in a low voice. "Listen, let us enjoy your last day on the island. Forget about Astoria. She can try all she likes, nothing ties me to her anymore. Nothing."

Ginny still appeared to be a little disconcerted but she smiled all the same. "OK," she agreed. "But we have to be discreet. Can't risk her seeing us together."

Draco nodded, not entirely bothered if she did see them together. In his mind, once his holiday on the island was done, he would return to England and seek her out, damned be to everyone else. When she left tomorrow morning, he hoped it would be with an address pressed into his hand to make things easier. "That's fine," he shrugged. "She will never see us on that peak, we can Apparate there now we know it's there."

Ginny nodded slowly. "OK, I will meet you there soon enough," she said, a strained smile on her face.

Draco did not want to press her, it was evident that Astoria's appearance had shaken her somewhat. The thought that they could be exposed so soon was possibly the cause of the anxiousness he saw in her. It was possibly for the best that she was leaving tomorrow morning as Merlin knew how long Astoria was going to attempt to sink her claws into him. He left her sitting there and went back to his suite to change, ready for a day on the peak. He wondered briefly what it would do to them in the light of day, if it would have the same magnetising affect.

Once he was dressed, Draco Apparated onto the peak, dead centre of the clearing and was again assaulted by the heady scent of Ginny. It was the magic of the place doing this, almost as though it were a solid love potion giving off the scent of the person you were most attracted to. In the bright light of the sun, he could also see through the trees the horizon of the island on all sides. Draco decided not to get too close as he could already tell there was a vast drop from the edge just beyond the trees.

After some time looking out at the view, Draco dropped down onto the grass and inhaled deeply, letting the smell overwhelm him. It was a sensual overload and he could understand now why they had been so affected by the place last night. It would be a struggle when she arrived not to repeat what had happened the night before. When she arrived... It had been some time now since he had arrived, at least twenty minutes and he hadn't thought it would take her this long to ready herself, especially since she had almost been done with breakfast.

Draco waited another ten or so minutes more and only then did he start to grow suspicious. He had a vague and horrifying thought that she had perhaps been cornered by Astoria and put under idiotic questioning – but this seemed unlikely. There would be no reason for her to speak with Ginny, no thought that the pair of them had anything going on. Or perhaps Ginny had sought Astoria out and wished to question her. But that seemed even less likely, Ginny would not be so precious about his life with Astoria to seek the other woman out.

Then where was she?

Draco was not one to linger long and so disapparated from the peak, with some reluctance as it was almost addictive. In his suite, he called out to her. No response. Perhaps she was still downstairs, perhaps Matías had her locked in conversation – he was known to talk a great deal to guests too polite to walk away.

He walked into the bedroom, the sheets were still crumpled but there was a piece of paper folded on the bedside table. His heart thumped unpleasantly when he saw it – he knew it wasn't good.

Draco,

The past few weeks I've spent here were completely unexpected. I came here to figure my life out, but I ended up leaving here with even less of an idea about how it's going to go. Instead, I spent these few weeks in a blaze of hedonism, living in such a way that I had never thought I would, least of all with someone I had considered an enemy.

For one crazy moment, I actually believed we might work back home. I am supposed to be brave, but I can't even bring myself to say this to your face: I believed this was more than just sex, even as early as our first couple of days together. But I doubted we could work outside of the island's power, until last night. Until last night, I felt I wasn't brave enough to stand with you in front of my family and friends and tell them that we were together. And that was one crazy moment when I imagined I could and damn all their opinions.

Then your ex shows up and makes me realise how selfish and indulgent all this really is. You were willing to throw away a chance at the family you wanted to carry on with me and I couldn't, I can't, allow that. I have to remember that we have barely even truly known each other for that long, and for you to disregard Astoria's offer so lightly seemed horrifying to me, considering the length of time we have been lovers. Your pride may be all that is stopping you from reconciling with Astoria and I don't want you to realise that too late. I'd rather spare both of us the needless pain, Merlin knows we don't want anymore of that.

Because of all that, I think it is best for me to leave now. Even if you don't carry on with Astoria, we both know that this has to stay on the island, we will return to normal life and move on. No matter what we say, it is important that our families and friends support the relationships we have, it never ends well when they don't.

Ginny.

Draco's first reaction was to follow her back home, make her see sense, force her to see sense. His second reaction was a feeling of futility and it was this that made him sink back into the mattress. It was as he had said before; you cannot force a woman to stay. No matter if he went after her, nothing he could say would dissuade her, nothing he could say would make her stop thinking she was doing him a favour by leaving.

It didn't matter to him that they had only been lovers for a few weeks. He had felt more for her than he had for Astoria in the four years they had been together. He could see Ginny as his wife, he could see her as the mother of his children and the length of their time together didn't matter to him. Draco had indulged himself in his time, but he knew when something meant more and this meant more to him than anything ever had.

But, he would let her be. He would let her go. If only for now, at least.

And it was this thought that made him realise how deeply he cared for her. He had known he would never bother Astoria again, and all the other women before her, once it was done, it was done. This one he knew he would never be able to rest truly until she was his and, one way or another, she would be.

Once again, thank you for all your reviews! They are much appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know if you do.