Disclaimer: Not mine...
Summary: ...it was right then and there that Ginny decided that she couldn't live with what had happened to them without doing something about it. If it took her the rest of her life, she was going to avenge their deaths.
Author's notes: I couldn't think of a title for this one. Any ideas?
Ginny sat on the edge of Draco's bed, gazing at his elaborate bedroom. Almost everything was green. The sheets, the curtains, even the ceiling was painted green. Ginny had never seen such a beautiful place. It was enchanting, yet forbidding at the same time. She hadn't been there for more than two days, but she already felt at home. Draco was being very kind to her, and Lucius was away on business. So, Ginny was able to roam the manor as often as she pleased. But there were a few rooms that she was forbidden to enter. Lucius' study was definitely off-limits. Not that she'd go in there anyway, the thought of what could lie behind those large cherry doors frightened her.
Ginny knew that she had to stay at the manor. It wasn't safe anywhere else; not with the Hunters tracking her down. But, part of her still wanted to go home and give her family a proper burial. But it was impossible. She would be killed. Thinking about everyone, especially the way that they died, brought tears to Ginny's eyes. Her chest tightened and she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She missed them terribly.
Ginny glanced around the room. On Draco's dresser was a photo, framed in gold, of Draco and his mother, Narcissa. She had been murdered by the Hunters a year earlier, Draco had told Ginny. Tears were streaming out of her eyes as she longed to see her mother and father alive again. But it would never happen. It was right then and there that Ginny decided that she couldn't live with what had happened to them without doing something about it. If it took her the rest of her life, she was going to avenge their deaths.
Just then there was a soft knock on the door and Draco walked in, carrying a tray of delicious looking food. Ginny had to admit, she was being very well fed here. For the first time in a long time, she wasn't starving. She actually felt as though she was already gaining weight. Her eighty five pound body definitely needed the extra weight on it.
"Hello," Draco said cheerfully as he sat the tray on the round table next to the bed. "I brought you some breakfast. I didn't know what you liked, so I brought a few things," Draco sat on the bed next to Ginny. "How are you doing?" he asked.
Ginny sighed. She was tired of being asked this question. She was flattered that he cared. But she didn't want to talk about what had happened. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Ginny asked. "You barely know me. You used to be so mean to me and my family. Why do you care now?"
Draco looked down at his hands then back into Ginny's eyes. "Honestly," Draco answered. "I don't know. I'm not the same little child that I was at Hogwarts. I was selfish and rude. I've done a lot of things that I regret, Ginny."
"But why change sides now? In the middle of the war, I mean."
"I haven't changed sides. Well, not officially. I'm caught in the middle. If I stay where I am, I could lose you forever. But, if I join your side, my father will surely murder me."
"Your own father would do that?"
"Yes, he would. He never wanted children, and then I came…I was basically just a pawn to my father. He promised me as a servant to Voldemort when I was an infant." Draco lifted his sleeve and revealed the Dark Mark to Ginny. Ginny ran her fingers around the shape of it. It was exactly like the one that she had seen in the sky at the Quidditch tournament.
"Does it hurt?" She asked looking into Draco's haunted eyes.
"No. Not anymore."
Ginny looked into Draco's eyes for a moment then quickly turned away. "So," she said, changing the subject. "Tell me something about yourself. If I'm going to be living here for a while, I want to know who it is I'm staying with."
Draco smiled. "Well, there's not much to know really," he said. "I'm beginning to loathe the color green. I'm not very fond of Pumpkin juice. And," Draco grabbed Ginny's hand and held it in his. "I think I'd miss you even if we'd never met."
Ginny smiled. She felt a strange warm tingly feeling rising in her chest. She shook it off and pulled her hand away from Draco's. "Do you have anything that I could wear?" Ginny asked. "I don't have anything."
Draco smiled. "Actually, I had some of the house elves alter some of my mother's old clothes to fit you. I don't know if you'll like them, they're mostly black."
"I'm sure they'll be perfect," Ginny said. "Thank you, for being so thoughtful."
"You're welcome." Draco jumped off of the bed and walked over to a trunk in the corner of the room. He opened it and pulled out a few dresses. He then shut the trunk and walked over to Ginny. "While you were sleeping," he said, "I came up with a plan. I'm going to tell my father that you and I are engaged. I know a few spells to change your appearance. But you have to pretend to be on our side. Otherwise he will kill you."
Ginny looked at Draco with fear in her eyes and nodded. She knew that this was the only was to survive. She tried to concentrate on what Draco was saying for the next few minutes, but her mind kept going back to Harry and she wondered where he and Ron were right at that moment.
"I don't like this plan," Ron said angrily as he and Harry sat in the waiting room of St. Mungo's.
"Shut up, Ron. I'm not very fond of it either, but it's all we have for now." Harry held his head in his hands and sighed.
"But what if that ferret boy tries to take advantage of her?" Ron's anger was now turning into panic.
"He won't do that."
"Don't you want to be with Ginny? I mean you haven't bloody seen her in two years. She's you fiancée!"
"Don't you think that I wanted to hold her in my arms? I wanted to—badly. But now is not the time. I need to give her time to get used to having me back."
"Harry, she is in a very large manor with a rich and handsome Malfoy right now. Does that not bother you?"
"Of course it bothers me!" Harry yelled as he stood up from his chair. "But Malfoy is the only one she has right now. You don't understand what these Hunters are all about. They are tracking us as we speak. The walls of the manor are the only things keeping Ginny safe from them. If she leaves, she dies."
Ron was about to say something in response when a tall brown haired Healer walked up to them.
"Mr. Weasley?" The Healer said to Ron. "I'm Vladamir Jones. I was in charge of your brother and sister-in-law." Harry saw Ron flinch at the words sister-in-law. Ron was still in love with Hermione, he always would be. But Harry was more concerned with the Healers use of the word 'was'. It was past tense. That could only mean one thing. "The girl, is it Hermione? Yes, Hermione is now in recovery. But she lost the baby. And Fred is still in critical condition. We're doing the best we can. It's the end of my shift now, and a new Healer will be taking my place. Her name is Henrietta Scott. She'll be here shortly."
Harry watched the Healer in silence as he walked away. He turned to Ron to see him sitting on a chair, weeping. If Fred didn't make it Ron would only have Ginny left. The rest of his family was gone. Harry understood how Ron was feeling. He too had lost his family. But at least he had never really known them or been very close to them. Harry sighed and walked over to his best friend. They would stay here for now. But as soon as they got news that Fred and Hermione were going to be alright they would leave. Many dangers lay ahead of them, but for now they needed to forget them and concentrate on the present—the future could wait.