-Chapter Sixteen-
"Bye mum!" yelled Ginny through an open window of the Hogwarts Express. The train was slowly moving but gathering speed, and soon Molly's tearful face disappeared around the corner. Ginny turned around to face Ron, Harry, Hermione, Colin, Luna and Draco.
"C'mon Gin," said Ron softly, leading his sister away from the window. "Let's go find a compartment. Ginny complied but then she stopped when she realised Draco wasn't following.
"Draco," said Ginny in a questioning tone. "Coming? Don't worry, everybody is cool with you being in our compartment."
"It's not that, I'm just wondering if the other Slytherins will notice I'm in your compartment. I'm really not in the mood for trouble." Ginny simply shook her head and smiled. "What," asked Draco exasperatedly.
"Who cares? It's not as they're going to come over and annoy us. Only you did that, remember?" teased Ginny, poking Draco in the stomach.
Draco smiled wistfully. "Yeah, with Crabbe and Goyle, those two idiots. They dropped out of school to join Voldemort."
"Well, I'll have fun kicking their arses," said Ginny vengefully.
"You're not planning to be an Auror are you?" asked Draco seriously as the pair walked towards the compartment everyone else was in.
"I wouldn't mind it. I mean, I totally kicked that Death Eater's arse," said Ginny happily.
"No Ginny, it's far too dangerous. Besides, I still can't believe you followed after me. That was the epitome of stupid! Never, ever again," said Draco seriously, shutting the compartment door behind him when they entered it.
Ginny eyed Draco unhappily and groaned. "Not you too, my whole family has been harassing me about that. I know you kept your mouth shut then, but now you're going on about it." Ginny then turned her back on Draco; a bit miffed and stalked about a metre away. Draco only needed to take two strides to envelope her in his arms from behind.
"Don't walk away Ginny. I'm serious. What if the Death Eater initiated a spell before you disarmed him? I know what you did was good, but it isn't worth risking your life," softly hissed Draco into Ginny's ear.
"Then why do you get to do it then?" retorted Ginny, turning around to face her boyfriend's face which was set in all seriousness.
"Because I've trained with Death Eaters before," whispered Draco into Ginny's ear with a soft tone. He felt a violent shiver reverberate through her body and he wondered if he said the wrong thing. Ginny's eyes reached his and presented shock. "Let's go somewhere more private," said Draco and he lead Ginny to the empty compartment next door.
"When was this?" asked Ginny surprisedly, fear lacing her wavering voice. Draco's eyes darkened for a moment and he wished he hadn't said anything about his past to Ginny. What was she going to think of him now?
"Just about all my life," muttered Draco, turning his face away from Ginny's so he wouldn't see the predictable shock and disapproval. But all she did was gently cup his face so he was looking right at her.
"Did you want to?" asked Ginny carefully, still holding Draco's face so he wouldn't look away.
Draco paused. He never told anyone about his past in fear of what they would think about him. But somehow, it was different with Ginny. He wanted to her know. He wanted to know whether she would accept or reject him. His eyes lifted up to Ginny's young, smooth and unblemished face. Her eyes were so warm, so welcoming. Her body had wrapped around Draco's as they sat very closely together in that empty compartment. Her entire body quivered with curiosity, and some how, Draco knew she would understand.
"Up until my fifth year, I really did want to become a Death Eater," said Draco in a very quiet, emotionless voice. "I thought they had everything. I thought Voldemort was everything. And then as I grew older, something slapped me in the face, it was reasoning. It was my morals. Morals I didn't even know I had. Then I began detesting Death Eaters. The things they did to innocent people… I can't even begin telling you Ginny. It's too ghastly for your innocent self. I realised how stupid it was following Voldemort. We were simply pawns in his death game of chess."
Ginny's warm gaze scanned Draco's face. Sincerity rang with every word. Ginny tried picturing herself in Draco's situation, but she couldn't imagine Voldemort as a real Lord. It was too wrong. It went against her upbringing way too much. Draco's arms had tightened around Ginny as he revealed this and it was natural for her to lean her forehead against his. "This is the Draco I know, and love," murmured Ginny defiantly, her soft sweet breath tickled Draco's nose.
"Do you want to know why I played my part in Dumbledore's death?" asked Draco in a completely dead voice.
"I want to know, only if you want to tell me," replied Ginny, her emotional voice a drastic contrast to Draco's.
"I want to tell you Ginny. I do. You should know. You love me, you should know." Ginny looked up expectantly and patiently. Draco drew his strength from Ginny's innocent and young face. The love emanating from her made his will to tell Ginny about his past strong.
"My father would have murdered me if I didn't attempt to kill Dumbledore," was the short explanation for Draco's actions. Yet those direct words suddenly told a lot. "I know it was selfish of me," continued Draco, his brow furrowing. Ginny noticed tears prickling in the corner of his eye. "But I didn't want to die. I really, really didn't want to die. Not at my father's hands. I know, I shouldn't have done anything. Dumbledore's life is worth so much more than mine. I know this. But was so scared Ginny… so, so scared. And now, the guilt won't ever leave me." Draco's voice didn't crack, but now tears streamed uncontrollably down his face, down onto Ginny's muggle clothes.
"Draco," murmured with emotion. She had never seen Draco cry and now she felt like doing so herself. "Don't think that your life was worth less than Dumbledore's. He would have never said anything like that himself. You did what you had to do. You didn't want to die. I would have done the same thing."
There was some soft of ferocious honesty in Ginny's voice which Draco could not deny. Would Ginny really have done the same thing if she was in his situation? She said she would have. It was that moment, a strong uncontrollable love for Ginny and all her traits burst out of Draco in the form of tears and sobs. He couldn't see Ginny out of his tear-lidded eyes, but he knew she was holding him close to her, as he cried and cried. His heaving chest and wracking sobs transferred from his body to Ginny's, giving the pair some sort of connection of the pain they were feeling.
For the next four hours, Draco kept on crying. All the unpleasant memories Draco suppressed during his life came rushing back up to the surface and he couldn't help but shed tears over that. The fact his parents never loved him, the torture he had to endure, the murders he had to observe, the loneliness he existed in before he met Ginny and the guilt that wracked him since his father made him do horrendous things. One of them was when Draco was twelve, and Lucius made him murder one of the house elves who dropped a mug. Most of all, he cried because of the fright he had always known, which sometimes enveloped him so badly that he couldn't move. That fear, of death. The end of his life; the life he felt he did not deserve.
Ginny didn't know it was possible for someone to cry for so long, but she didn't mind cradling his head to her chest, stroking his blonde hair from his eyes and letting his tears splash onto her clothing, soaking it. This was Draco's confession, and he deserved to be able to let out his pain in private, no matter how long it took.
Half the journey was complete when Draco's wracking sobs had subsided and his tears stopped falling. He up-righted himself stiffly, stretching out the kinks in his muscles from staying in the once position for so long. He looked down at Ginny and that's when he saw how saturated her blue jumper was. Draco's face had been held to Ginny's breast in a motherly motion, and his tears had landed on Ginny's right breast, soaking the entire clothing area around that. It looked as if Ginny's milk ducts had let loose!
"Oh god, Ginny, I'm sorry about your clothes," apologised Draco with a brilliant blush. 'I cried on her boobs!' thought Draco exasperatedly whilst Ginny simply smiled and shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. You had a lot of emotion to be let out. You haven't cried in a long time have you?" said Ginny perceptively, getting up and wrapping her arms around Draco.
Draco responded by nuzzling his sore nose into Ginny's soft neck. "You know people too well. I haven't cried since I was six, since I accidentally knocked over a glass of milk and Lucius and Avery tortured me. They told me after the crucio-ed me that men don't cry. I have never cried since then… except for then," he said softly, his gaze dropped downwards.
"That's a very long time," said Ginny with surprise evident in her tone. "Eleven years… Sometimes, life gets too much for me, and I just cry, for no reason. You feel so silly afterwards, but you feel so much better."
"This is how we're different. You express your emotions. I don't. You're happy. I wasn't. I wasn't until you decided to sit next to me during that crowded library session," murmured Draco, finishing off the sentence with chaste little kisses up and down Ginny's neck and collar bone.
Ginny moaned almost inaudibly and said, "if you don't stop that soon, I'm going to rip the clothes off you, and I know you hadn't planned on taking my virginity in a train compartment." Desire filled every word, and Ginny knew that if Draco wanted to, he could take her there. Ginny would not object. Draco sucked lingeringly at Ginny's pulse point and her pulse rate sky rocketed. Ginny moaned Draco's name louder now, and Draco felt this new force taking over his body, making his arms itch to take off that tear-soaked jumper. If Ron hadn't ripped the compartment door in search of them, Draco would have done so.
"Oh there you are! Malfoy, what did Ginny do? Poke you in the eyes or something? They're all red," commented Ron in a rough voice compared to the soft voices Ginny and Draco had just been using.
The mood was now ruined, but Ginny and Draco didn't mind. Instead, Draco laughed and said, "yeah, that's what happened."
Ron quirked a red eyebrow, knowing there was some inside joke. He didn't feel like being left out so he said to the pair, "you better get changed. We're halfway there." Ginny saluted her brother whilst Draco nodded. Then, Ron was gone.
"I congratulate your brother on his bad timing for once," commented Draco dryly as he followed Ginny out of the compartment and into the one everyone else was in. Ginny simply looked backwards and smiled her beautifully innocent smile but the image was lost when she winked devilishly.
Draco groaned quietly. Whenever they shared a more passionate moment and Draco found himself resisting his powerful testosterone kicks, he needed to go to the toilet. It wasn't to empty his bladder either.
And so, the school year completed its cycle with monotony. The holiday reprieve from school felt too short, and Ginny found herself continuously bogged down with excessive amounts of work. Ginny only barely made time for quidditch, the sport she loved.
Draco felt the pressure tenfold. He knew taking his NEWTs would be extremely tough, but he never expected such a high workload. Often, this was made worse since he couldn't concentrate. Ginny was continuously on his mind. But he couldn't see Ginny either, because his school work restricted him. After one month of not being with her, something snapped within Draco. He just knew that if he didn't see her soon, he'd go crazy.
So they spared one day of every month just for each other. No homework, no stress. The days were spent frolicking in the snow, stuffing their faces in the kitchen, playing tricks on Ron… and these moments gave each other the strength to face the piles of schoolwork that bombarded them. As the days they spent with each other passed, it became apparent to the school that the two were an item. Surprisingly, Ginny, Draco and everyone else found that they didn't really care. The Slytherins of course looked at Draco as if they were slapped in the face, but they themselves were too bogged down with school work or undercover Death Eater activities to care too much.
During this time, Draco and Ginny's relationship bounded themselves to each other in the strongest way possible. The love and respect they held for each other was indescribable. The two seriously felt that if one of them died, the other would die inside as well. Ginny and Draco knew their love was unbreakable.
It was June and the summer holidays were fast approaching. Ginny had completed her horrendous finals exams and received many E's (exceeds expectations) and two O's (outstanding) for potions and charms. Ginny was extremely surprised and happy with her result. She was surprised she could even get such high marks. Most of the time her thoughts were of Draco; and his chest.
Draco himself had O's for every single subject. He was hardly surprised since this was the score he was aiming for. The only other person to receive such a high mark was Hermione Granger, and she was silently seething, though she kept telling herself to get over it.
Minerva McGonagall decided to give the entire school a three day break for everyone's hard work. She also gave them the break to try and relieve some of the pressure that people were feeling about the impending war with Voldemort. It didn't really alleviate any pressure, but everyone accepted the break gratefully.
The seventh years were expected to be at an awards ceremony for their graduation on the second day of break.
On the first day, Ginny and Draco caught up after two months of barely seeing each other. Draco just couldn't ignore the revision he had to undertake in the final lead up to NEWTs and Ginny grudgingly accepted that. So now they were making it up. It was June, and the weather was getting quite warm so the two love-struck teens decided to hit the lake. When they got their, everyone else seemed to have the same idea.
Ginny had put on a deep blue bikini which she seldom got to wear since it was so cold in England. When they got to the edge of the lake, Ginny stripped off her shirt and kicked off her shorts. She didn't exactly stick out since a lot of other girls had their bikini's out, but a few guys couldn't keep their eyes off her, until they saw Draco glowering at them. After the other guys got the message, Draco simply stared at Ginny, making her laugh. It also made her feel good, that she could get such a reaction out of Draco.
"C'mon smartypants," teased Ginny, tugging Draco's shirt up. "Show us what you've got." Draco smirked and got his shirt half way off when Ginny got impatient and tugged the rest of it off him. A few meters away was Ron in the water with Hermione.
"Get a room Gin," shouted Ron, pretending to gag and accidentally sucking water up his nose. Violent coughing followed whilst Ginny and Draco ignored him.
Draco was taller so he was too busy looking down and perving on Ginny's bust whilst she stared longingly at his muscular chest. Just as her fingers stretched out on their own and stroked, Draco brought his arms around Ginny and held her close to his body whilst he ran and jumped into the water despite the excited screams of, "no Draco! Don't you dare!" from Ginny.
The combined weight of the two submerged them underneath the water for two meters until they had a chance to swim back towards the surface, gasping for air. Ginny was laughing and Draco felt deliriously happy.
"Hang on a minute," said Draco as Ginny wrapped her arms around his wet neck. "My boardies came loose; they're falling off my bum."
Ginny cursed the fact the water was murky.
After Draco had securely fastened his board shorts back on properly, the two went in for a kiss. It was an extremely bad idea because in the heat of the moment, their legs stopped moving, which meant they were sinking. However, they were too wrapped up to notice they were a metre under the water. It was only after they broke away they realised they sank. Ginny took a deep breath before she realised where she was and swallowed a whole lot of lake water and she began choking. Draco recovered faster and wrapped a secure arm around Ginny and surged upwards. Once above the surface, Ginny coughed the rest of the water out of her throat and lungs.
"You okay?" asked Draco worriedly, still clutching Ginny close to him. She hadn't started moving her legs yet, which were still motionless out of shock.
"Fine," panted Ginny, coughing out a bit more water. "I don't think we should do that in water again," she said breathlessly, resting her head on Draco's shoulder. Draco shook his head in agreement and began swimming back to shallower water with Ginny in his arms. It took Ginny a few minutes to recover and once she did, she and Draco smiled deviously at each other. Ron was right next to them, kissing Hermione. Won't Ron have a surprise when something clamps onto a particular… appendage underneath the water.
I hear the fish are extremely lonely these days.
Ginny borrowed a pair of robes from Hermione that actually fit her properly and made her way into the Great Hall with Colin, who had his camera in hand. He volunteered to do the professional photography for the class of 2006.
Draco and Hermione were to receive dux of the school due to their perfect scores in the NEWTs, and both were looking extremely sharp when Ginny and Draco entered the room. All the graduates were dressed in their house's finery and were looking proud to be official witches and wizards, sitting in rows in front of the main school.
Ginny seated herself next to Mari who was talking to her friend Ashli about who was the most handsome out of the graduates. Ginny kept silent but thought about it herself. At first, her eyes fell onto Harry. Harry James Potter. The guy Ginny had carried a torch for, for so long. He was looking incredibly good looking with his ruffled black hair, smart robes, neat red and gold tie. He was possibly one of the hottest guys there. Except that Draco was there too, and in Ginny's opinion, Draco killed the competition. There was no competition.
Ginny didn't know if it was because she was in love with the guy or what, but Draco just looked so damn good. His hair was loose but neat, hanging in front of his eyes in that customary style of his. He was tall and looked commanding. His robes were impeccable. His hard grey and blue eyes were captivating. He looked so much older, so much more refined, just so much more. Ginny had to look away. Sometimes her love for Draco was too much to bear. However, no matter how many times she looked away, she would always look back at him. This time his eyes were set onto hers. And he smiled and Ginny felt her life was perfect. Heck, Draco made the silly black wizarding hat everyone had to wear look sexy. Ginny imagined Draco wearing nothing except for that wizarding hat and she smiled and blushed to herself.
Colin seemed to be darting around everywhere, snapping photos, since there was this continuous flash going around in Ginny's peripheral vision.
Ginny then focused on her brother. Her sweet, annoying, over protective loveable brother. Ron. Ginny's lips graced into a smile as she remembered all the good times she shared with him throughout her life. Ron was her closest brother because they were closest in age. Ginny treasured moments like these whenever she thought about Ron, because she usually felt like strangling him with a spiky belt.
Then her eyes fell onto Dean. Ginny had gotten over him a long time ago. Ginny remembered she really enjoyed that relationship until she got fed up with him. She compared that one with Draco's. Ginny could laugh at the comparison. Ginny then noticed Colin talking to Hermione, gesturing with his camera. Hermione then sat up straighter than usual and flashed a beautiful smile whilst Colin snapped that up with a flash. Ron smiled his adorable goofy smile when it was his turn and then it was Draco's. Ginny really wasn't surprised when Draco smirked at the camera.
The Headmistress made her way up to the podium and cleared her throat after Colin had taken photos of every individual. He was surprisingly efficient about it.
"Good evening parents and students," she said in a loud and clear voice when silence fell. Ginny's eyes widened. Parents were here? She swivelled around in her seat, searching for her mother and father. They were there, their eyes lain proudly on their youngest son. Ginny smiled to herself and looked back at McGonagall.
"We're here this evening to say goodbye to the students who have graced the vast halls of this school for seven years. They all arrived here, young and inexperienced in the year of 1999. But here they are, full grown, fully qualified witches and wizards. They have stuck to their school work through the tough times and achieved passing grades for every exam. For this, we congratulate them," announced Minerva in a never before heard appraising tone. She began clapping and soon everyone else was, loudly too.
After the applause died down, Minerva cleared her throat softly and kept talking. "Also tonight, we present the duxes of the school. These two fine students received equal marks. Outstanding in all of their subjects. I present to you; Hermione Felicity Granger of Gryffindor House!"
Hermione beamed and Ron gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder of congratulations. She walked in a lady like fashion up to McGonagall and shook her hand smartly. Minerva simply beamed at Hermione. She was so proud of her house and proud that a dux had come from it. She handed Hermione her trophy which had the school logo on it with the words 'dux' written in fancy lettering, saying, "congratulations Miss Granger. You will go far." Then the raucous cheering broke out.
Minerva then waited for silence to fall and announced the other dux of the school for the class of 2006. "And tied with Miss Granger, I'm proud to present our other dux for 2006, Mister Draco Xavier Malfoy of Slytherin house!" said Minerva with surprising relish.
Draco smirked and walked his commanding walk to Minerva, shaking her hand professionally and thanking her politely, amidst the surprised murmurs of everyone in the room.
'Draco Malfoy, dux?' they all thought surprised.
"Good work Draco," said Minerva warmly, winking at him with a surprising twinkle, just like how Dumbledore used to. Draco simply tilted his head and smirked softly in this all knowing way and made his way back to his seat with trophy in hand. When Draco sat down and scanned the parent's isle idly, his blood ran cold, because in the far unnoticed corner sat Lucius Malfoy, smirking proudly. Nobody knew it was him because he charmed his hair and skin differently, but Draco would never forget those hollow, cold, evil eyes of his father.
The rest of McGonagall's words were drowned out until Draco tuned it when she said, "and when I call your name, I want you to come up and collect your diploma." The rest of the people in alphabetical order went before Malfoy but soon it was his turn. Draco assured himself that his facial expression was neutral and he twitched his lips into his customary smirk. He walked over to McGonagall a second time and thanked her for giving him something. He then lined up next to the previous person who had been given her diploma. His eyes roved against his will towards Lucius, and he was still there, smiling his creepy smile. Draco shuddered slightly, looking for Ginny. She was gesturing at some other graduates with another Gryffindor and Draco felt relief sweep through him. She was not hurt.
Soon, everybody had received their diplomas and were all standing in a neat line up in front of the school. McGonagall told them to smile nice first, and then they were allowed to jump in the air and throw off their hats or whatever they liked. When the first serious photo was taken, Draco decided to throw off his hat like everyone else. He saw a flash a millisecond after the photo was taken and he knew that photo would always surprise him in the future. Since when did Malfoy's jump in the air and throw their expensive wizarding hats into the air?
The graduating ceremony was over and all the graduates hurried to their families, presenting their diploma's happily. Draco had a bone to pick with his own family as well. Well, just Lucius.
Ginny expected Draco to go straight to her, but instead he changed course and headed for a strange man near the back of the hall. Ginny decided to leave Draco alone for a moment and ask him later. Instead, Ginny left Mari and Ashli and trailed her brother who had hurried to Molly and Arthur, waving his diploma around like a baboon.
Hermione's parents had made the trip to Hogwarts with much assistance from the Ministry of Magic. The two muggles now smiled their dentist teeth happily at Hermione who rushed up and hugged them, diploma in one hand and dux trophy in the other.
Harry didn't really have anyone to go to. Sirius was dead, Dumbledore was dead. Parents, dead. So he hung around with Ron, being congratulated by his parents. Ginny caught up with her brother and gave him a congratulating hug, telling him he'd be a good bum. Ron asked her if there were any good academy's around. He got lots of A's (acceptable) so he should be accepted into a 'Bum' academy fairly easily. Ginny laughed at his mock seriousness and hit him on the head, destroying his much needed brain cells.
Meanwhile, Draco and Lucius disappeared from the Great Hall and strode into a deserted corridor.
"Well, well, well," drawled Lucius to his scowling son. "Dux of the school eh? Pity that mudblood stole your limelight. To think, they let that piece of shit receive her trophy first. Don't they know rank when they see it?" he hissed.
Draco ignored his father's insult. He actually felt slightly offended for Hermione, but he didn't want to tell his father. The consequences would be unthinkable. Instead he asked in a stone cold voice, "what are you doing here?"
"What? Can't a father witness his only son graduate to become a fully qualified wizard?" asked Lucius with feigned innocence. Draco scowl deepened in response. "Now son. Don't look at your father like that, it's disrespectful," drawled Lucius.
"You never showed me a inch of his respect," said Draco, still using that cold, emotionless voice. Lucius knew of the anger behind those grey and blue eyes though.
"Son. You don't deserve respect," hissed Lucius, smiling his grotesquely evil smile. The last four words bit Draco hard though he effortlessly hid it.
"You don't either," hissed Draco back, his eyes narrowing. The anger was showing. Only his father and Ginny could draw out the emotions from within him. Lucius merely feigned interest in looking at his nails before he struck Draco in the face with a back fist with a sickening crack. Draco barely staggered. His father had hit him so many times in the face it was almost routine. It was amazing that Draco even received dux. All his brain cells should have been dead by now.
"I don't understand it," continued Lucius, leaning on a pillar and really examining his fingernails now, ignoring the blood that streamed from a cut on Draco's temple, thanks to Lucius's bulky ring. "You used to be such a good son, up to your fifth year. Then you started to put your toe out of line. Oh I punished you, gave you ultimatums, rewarded you, loved you, but still… you chose to grow cold, ignore me," he said in a bogusly concerned fatherly voice.
"The things you do Lucius. It disgusts me. You're a cold heartless bastard," spat Draco, ignoring the dripping from his face to the ground. The splashes were getting faster. Draco knew from experience that head wounds bleed a lot.
Lucius stopped leaning on that pillar and focused his sharp eyes on his son. "You better watch your mouth boy," and he back-fisted Draco with ten times the force of the first strike. Draco staggered and fell to the ground because of the momentum. Whilst the pain enveloped Draco's whole head, he could not get the image of Lucius's eyes out of his mind. The moment before Lucius hit Draco, his eyes gleamed red. Disturbingly red.
Lucius leant down and picked up Draco with force from the collar of his robes. He was just about to put his arm around his son's neck to strangle him when his left for arm suddenly seared with pain. Lucius released Draco who fell back onto the ground with a thud.
"Master calls," gasped Lucius happily. Draco nearly threw up with revulsion. "I hope you can defend yourself boy," hissed Lucius through his pleasuring pain. "When I kill you!" Lucius gave Draco one last leering look through his pain-ridden eyes and scurried off the school grounds so could apparate back to Voldemort.
Draco gingerly made his way next to a pillar and leant against it, setting his trophy and diploma aside. He carefully touched his temple and regretted it instantly. A burning sensation racked Draco's mind and it was all he could do to not stab himself with the trophy so the pain would be redirected. Draco knew his skull wasn't broken. It had been mended plenty of times so now it was pretty solid, but it felt like it was broken.
Off in the distance, Draco could hear faint footsteps approaching. They reverberated against the vast walls and hammered into Draco's already aching brain. "Draco?" said a sweet voice. Draco couldn't believe it. It was Ginny. Her voice of course drilled into Draco's mind, yet he felt so much better after having heard it.
"Draco!" said the voice again, louder this time. Draco didn't have his eyes open but he could sense her. Her sweet scent, her warmth, the way her soft petite hands touched his shoulder and the pleasant tickle of her hair. He heard her mutter, "scourgify" as Ginny cleaned the blood that had dripped onto his robes. Then she muttered something else unintelligible but the pain in Draco's head suddenly went away, leaving slight discomfort. He could finally open his eyes without everything around him spinning around crazily.
"You're an angel," said Draco softly, wrapping Ginny in his arms and holding her tightly, as if he should let go she'd disappear.
"Who did that too you?" whispered Ginny softly, stroking his now golden hair due to the sun bleaching it.
Draco's warm voice converted back into his cold dead one. "Lucius."
Ginny gasped, "what? Why?"
"He obviously hadn't beaten anyone up for a while," muttered Draco, burying his head into Ginny's shoulder. She let her hair down so he had the added bonus of her sweet smelling locks. A few silent moments passed whilst Ginny and Draco relaxed against each other in the pleasant summer evening. Eventually Draco fell asleep on Ginny's shoulder. She knew this because he suddenly drifted into a dead weight.
"Draco," said Ginny softly. No response. "Draco," she said again, this time rubbing his back. He roused and looked at Ginny sleepily. "You should get to bed. You'll feel better tomorrow morning." Draco simply looked at Ginny, as if she wasn't seeing the same thing he was.
"My father is going to kill me. Sleeping won't make me feel better" he said simply, getting up and collecting his awards. Ginny stayed on the ground, looking at Draco in shock.
"Draco, don't think that" she had started to say, but he cut her off.
Leaning down, Draco kissed Ginny deeply before saying, "I love you Ginny," and he swept away before Ginny could respond herself.
Ginny spent the rest of the third day of break packing away her belongings for the summer holidays. Try as she might, she just couldn't stop worrying about Draco. After she was done packing, she chatted with Colin a bit but the conversation would keep dying because she would keep staring at something in the distance, wondering about her boyfriend.
"Ginny," prompted Colin the third time when his best friend had adopted a glazed look in her eyes. Suddenly Ginny snapped out of it.
"Sorry Colin, what was that?" asked Ginny, forcing her eyes to focus on Colin's face.
"I said, do you want to go to the beach these holidays?"
"Yeah, of course," replied Ginny enthusiastically, hot sand and cool water was envisioned in her mind. But after that fantasy was gone, Draco's sad eyes returned.
"We can talk about this later, you should go find Draco," sighed Colin, noticing the faraway look in Ginny's eyes. At the sound of Draco's name, Ginny's head suddenly flicked up. 'That did the trick,' thought Colin amusedly.
"Yeah, I should go find him. I'm pretty worried about him," sighed Ginny herself. Ginny finally cracked a smile, albeit a resigned one and ruffled Colin's hair, exiting the Gryffindor common room. Ginny searched all of Draco's usual haunts, but her efforts were futile. She tried the library, the great hall, the room of requirement and the quidditch pitch to no avail. Ginny considered going to the Slytherin common room, but then she decided she liked living.
Sighing, Ginny made her way to her tree by the lake, thinking about the plans she had with Draco for the summer holidays. Draco couldn't exactly go home to the Manor, it was currently banned for accommodation, since the Ministry still had a warrant over the building, suspecting it still contained dark magic. So Draco was going to spend the rest of summer at The Burrow. McGonagall had already filed for Aurorship for Draco and to everyone's immense surprise, he was accepted. Draco would start his training halfway through the holidays, to Ginny's disappointment.
As Ginny reached the tree, she finally noticed a figure already occupying the space besides it. It was Draco. He had already heard her approaching, and he smiled and opened his arms, welcoming Ginny into a hug.
"I've been looking all over for you," murmured Ginny, settling into Draco's arms and lap.
"Sorry if you wasted your time. I just needed some time alone," replied Draco, staring over the top of Ginny's head and looking out onto the lake. "You want to know what happened with my father?" asked Draco, knowing exactly what was going through his girlfriend's mind.
"Yeah, I do," replied Ginny, resting her head on Draco's chest, looking up at his face. Draco looked back down, worry and love etching his young face. Ginny wanted to inch up, to kiss those soft smirking lips, but she wanted to know what was troubling Draco more.
"Lucius disguised himself and attended the ceremony," started Draco evenly. He then continued with a bitter voice, "to see me receive my dux and to see my graduate."
"Do you think he was proud of you?" asked Ginny softly. Draco took a moment to reply.
"I don't know. And that's the worst thing. Not knowing… I think he was happy, that I was so smart, yet pissed since Granger won as well. He's so damn hard to please, my father."
"If you were my son, I'd be wildly proud of you. But I'm glad you're not my son, since I'm in love with you." What Ginny just said brought a smile to Draco's face, but it was fleeting.
"You're not my father though. Heaven forbid. I caught his eyes and I knew it was him, despite the disguises. The years I've spent looking at those cold, bastard eyes. I won't forget. I confronted him outside, where you found me. I told him I didn't respect him, how I thought what he did to innocent people was disgusting. He beat me. As per usual. Then his dark mark burned, Voldemort was calling him. He loved the pain. He told me he was going to kill me," said Draco, adopting a cold, dead voice which Ginny hated hearing him talk in.
Ginny bristled defiantly and sat up straighter. "If your father is going to kill you, it'll mean I die too. Now, I'm a tough cookie, I don't die easily. Your father will have a hard slog before him if he expects me to die," she growled. Draco laughed and Ginny looked to him with a bewildered expression. "What, it's true!" she said hotly.
"You're so damn innocent Ginny. I'm not going to let my father kill me. I'm going to make him face the Ministry trials, where he will be sentenced to death. I'll have the pleasure of watching him die by the hands of those he hurt," growled Draco, his soft voice turning vicious. He looked down at Ginny's slightly shocked expression and softened up. "Sorry, that was a bit much," apologised Draco.
"No, it's okay. I get where you're coming from," said Ginny, and then she fell silent. Ginny was turning the things Draco said over in her head whilst listening to the steady beat of his heart. "How's your head?" asked Ginny finally.
"Much better," smiled Draco.
"Try not to worry about your father. When you think about it, there's really nothing you can do about it except become an Auror and rid us of Voldemort," consoled Ginny.
"Oh yeah… there's that Aurorship to think about. Won't Lucius have fun finding out his son betrayed him?" asked Draco dryly.
"Oodles of it," replied Ginny in her own dry voice. Her tone softened when she said, "I'm going to miss you next year. I don't know how I'm going to complete seventh year without you there."
"God Gin, I don't want to even think about having to live the most of my next few years without you there. You know how I have two years training right? I'll be coming home. When you graduate I'll still be here."
"But then after that, you'll be sent off to fight. I'm afraid Draco, I'm so scared you're going to die, I won't be able to live if you die, I love you too much," babbled Ginny. Just thinking of the possible ways Draco could be killed physically hurt her. Draco made shushing sounds and held her close.
"Don't think about that," he murmured, tilting his heads towards Ginny's lips. "Just kiss…" his lips moved against hers. And they did.
Bathed in the dying candlelight, Ginny tried not to make too much noise as Draco roamed his large hands possesively over Ginny's body. Draco was just about to tug off Ginny's pajamas when Ron's voice suddenly shouted up the stairs.
"Ginny!" he hollered in two exaggerated syllables. "Where's Pig?" Ginny groaned with frustration. Ron always had the worst timing ever.
"You sent a letter to Hermione with him!" she yelled back angrily. Great, now the mood was ruined. Stinking brothers.
Ron replied with a stupid, "oh yeah!" and he went away back to his room. Ginny sighed and pressed her face into her pillow to exhale loudly. She and Draco were in her room, back at The Burrow. Half of the summer holidays had past excruciatingly quickly and tomorrow Draco was due in at Auror training along with Ron and Harry. Today was their last day of complete freedom before one of them were tied down with other engagements.
"Where were we?" asked Ginny with a sigh. Draco smirked devilishly, but Ginny wasn't paying attention to that. She was too busy looking at Draco's bare chest. It was the middle of summer and the heat was building, which of course gave Draco notions to simply sleep in his boxers.
Arthur and Molly finally gave Draco permission to share Ginny's bed, knowing what the teen's actions would be. However they knew they couldn't control their daughter. Ginny was sixteen, old enough to make her own decisions.
"I was going to pull off that nightie you're wearing," said Draco huskily, whispering in Ginny's ear, knowing it would cause shivers to run down her spine. "But when your brother asked you about his owl, reality came crashing back. Your family is all around us and what we were planning to do does include a lot of noise making."
Ginny blushed. Draco had claimed Ginny's virginity a week or so out in the backyard by the small flowing creek that ran behind the Weasley's property It was twenty metres away, a good distance. Despite their small house, they owned a lot of land. He had surprised Ginny by leading her there. He had conjured a little natural tent that hung around the drooping trees by the water and placed a mattress in it. The rest was pretty much self explanatory. Ginny had felt a great amount of pain at first, and then the rest of the experience turned out to be better than expected.
"I wish I didn't," murmured Ginny, her blush deepening. Draco tsked and held her close, shaking his head as he did so.
"Don't wish that. You're one of the more responsive girls. I like it. Don't be ashamed," whispered Draco. Ginny immediately felt better and snuggled closer to Draco. She was just about to blow out the candle when Draco placed his pale fingers on Ginny's lips. "There are other ways we can have fun without having to make too much noise," suggested Draco suggestively, smirking. Ginny grinned and got the idea. She brought her arms up so Draco could continue to slip off her nightie.
"Nervous?" asked Ron nervously after Harry, Draco and Ron had apparated to the Auror HQ.
"Sorta," replied Harry with a shrug. He had already been through too much in his life to feel too nervous about something as harmless as Auror training. Draco felt the same way and simply shook his head, staring straight ahead.
Draco moved forwards and pushed open the large wooden double doors and came face to face with hundreds of men and women all clad in simple black robes. The training hall was massive, with one corner for the new trainees. The rest of the area was used for training. Draco made his way to the little corner and Harry and Ron followed. After they had registered their punctuality with a senile old batty woman, they were directed to an area of the centre where there were lots of other people they recognised from school.
When the three of them reached the large group, a large, buff and tough looking man by the name of Odgens Firewhisky addressed them. The first thing he said was, "if any of you doofus's mention anything about my name, I'll put my foot up your arse!" Odgens roared out the lat part, spraying the unlucky people who were standing in front of him with spit.
"If you want to become a Auror, you have to bit fit," roared Odgens some more. "Therefore, for the first month, we will be working on your fitness. You have a one hour run around this whole building. Run!" and with groans, all the trainee Aurors began running the countless laps. Draco got the feeling the next requirement of the day was to do hundreds upon hundreds of push ups and sit ups. He was absolutely correct.
Ginny stirred and rubbed her eyes and then she gazed at her watch, which was the only thing Ginny was wearing at that moment. Ten o'clock in the morning. Bah, too early to get up. She rolled over, expecting her naked body (minus the watch!) to touch Draco's. But it didn't. Ginny's eyes snapped open and all she saw next to her was more sheets. Crushing disappointment filled Ginny. Ever since Draco was staying with the Weasley's for the summer holidays, he was always by Ginny's side when she woke up.
She lay there for a moment, simply smelling Draco's own unique scent on her pillows and sheets. Draco had spent just about two months sleeping Ginny's bed, and now it was her favourite piece of furniture.
Sighing, Ginny threw on the first things she saw. The green singlet and a pair of denim short shorts. She scraped her hair roughly into a pony tail and slipped into a pair of thongs. 'There,' she thought. 'Summer attire complete.' She then shuffled her way down the stairs, her thongs flip flopping underneath her feet.
"Morning dear," called out Molly as she brought out the breakfast she reserved for her only daughter.
"Meh," replied Ginny dully, tucking into her meal. "What time did Draco leave?" she asked, curious despite her unhappy funk.
"Six in the morning," replied Molly over the classical wizarding radio station. 'Six in the morning,' Ginny mouthed to herself. 'That's bloody early!'
"When does he get home?"
"Six in the evening," replied Molly placidly, stirring something that smelt nice in a pot.
"So late!" yelled Ginny outraged. She never bothered asking Draco the itty gritty details of his Aurorship, now she wished she had.
"The position is demanding Ginny," said Molly calmly as she began chopping up onions finely. "Oh by the way, you received your booklist in the mail this morning," Molly added, tipping the onions into the pot. Ginny sighed and her eyes caught the parchment envelope. She reached over and ripped it open roughly, not bothering with the letter opener.
'Blah blah blah,' thought Ginny bored. Her eyes scanned the usual pleasantries of the letter and she set it down, sighing again. Molly finally stopped working and looked straight at Ginny.
"Don't be so downhearted dear. This is Draco's career. Be supportive."
"I know," replied Ginny simply. But inside she was really taking her mother's words to heart. "I'm going to see if Colin wants to go to Diagon Alley today, to buy books," suggested Ginny, finishing her breakfast.
"That's a great idea," beamed Molly, happy Ginny was getting out and about. "There's money in my purse. Take what you need for next year's supplies and grab a little something for yourself." This is immediately brought a smile to Ginny's face.
"By the way dear," added Molly, stirring the contents of her pot once again. "Are you having sex with Draco?" Ginny froze and blushed deeply. Ginny's facial colour had answered Molly's question. Ginny hurried to the fireplace to floo Colin whilst Molly smiled secretly to herself. Having sex at sixteen wasn't the best thing for Ginny to do, but teenagers were teenagers, and Molly knew that. She did have seven children after all. She was simply glad Ginny did it with someone Molly trusted. Surprisingly so. Draco Malfoy.
Hi again. I know this isn't the greatest chapter, and nothing else happened cept that Draco is staying at the Weasley's for the summer hols. (and Draco took Ginny's virginity!) Anyway… I couldn't really think of anything else to add to this chap because it would make it too long. This chapter was to mostly set down some ground points for the new turn the fic is taking. I really really need feed back. I'm just wondering, if I should add or take more fluff? I know some of you guys think the fluff is good, but to me sometimes it seems like overkill. But I can't help it :S
Also, do you find the chapters stupidly long?
Anyways, I'll see if I can cook up something more interesting in my next chapter.
Lots of love,
Jessica/yourbeautifulnightmare
P.S. I've actually had no experience in the sex dept so that's why I've actually added no real sex scenes. Also, with all the kinkier parts, they're inspired by the other fics I've read. Then, I add in my own imagination.
No personal experience whatsoever! I'm only fourteen!