"Harry!"Ginny called out in excitement as she hadn't seen him in such a long time. Running into the door way of the Burrow, she left Draco behind, and jumped to land on Harry's open arms.

"Ginny," Harry laughed as he hugged up until she pulled back. "It's been forever. I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know, I'm so sorry." She said as she looked at him. Her eyes lingered slightly on the fading scar on his forehead, but she was looking into his eyes once more. "Work has kept me."

"I've heard how close you're getting." Harry commented when Draco came behind Ginny, George to his side. "Everybody at the Ministry is talking about it. The File is flying every where I go."

"The file has mistakes in it, don't believe it all." Draco said.

"I'll fix it, Draco, don't worry." Ginny told him without even glancing back at him. "What I don't understand is why the Minister hasn't tried to send some Aurors or something."

"Because he'd afraid of you two, Gin." Harry spoke, but Ginny only paid attention to what he called her. Only Draco and Harry ever called her that anymore, and she knew it meant something. "He's terrified you'll show up at his office one day and tell him exactly what to do with those Aurors."

"Ginny!" Molly came into the front room and embraced her daughter, before she turned to Harry and Draco. "Now, I made up the room at the top of the stairs for you two. Hermione's room is right across the hall, and if you need anything don't be afraid to ask." She told Harry and Draco, but both knew the Weasley kindness well enough to know without being told.

"Now, come on," She said as she started to walk into the dining room where the rest of the family was seated, including Hermione, who was speaking with Charlie and Bill. Angelina was waiting for George, and he sat beside her, while Fleur entered from the other side of the room, and sat beside Bill, turning some of his attention from Hermione. Ginny and Draco sat with Hermione, with Harry on the other side of Draco, leaving the rest of the table open for Percy.

"I hope you're hungry." Molly announced to everyone as she pulled her wand to set the table with several plates and sets of silverware. Then she moved all the plates of food from the kitchen to the table, before she sat beside Arthur.

There was quite a fuss, and tons of talking about several things, mostly about Molly's grandchildren, and when they're ready to go to Hogwarts, but once dinner ended, everybody spilt up. George and Angelina sought privacy upstairs in their room, while Harry stayed to talk to Arthur about politics. Hermione found a place to read, but stopped when Charlie approached her, both still eager to finish their conversation about his work.

"Outside?" Ginny asked softly as she looked up at Draco. He only nodded as he moved to follow her out the side door. Ginny and Draco passed some of the children playing, including ten year old Victoire, her younger siblings, as well as eleven year old Teddy Lupin who was playing with her.

"Aunt Ginny!" Victoire ran to Ginny, holding up a small necklace she'd pulled from her pocket. "Look it! Look at Teddy gave me!"

"It's beautiful." Ginny smiled at her niece before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"He always gives me stuff." She commented as she pushed her blonde hair back so it was behind her ear.

"He likes you, Victoire." Ginny laughed as she walked away with Draco, leaving the children to play by themselves. When their laughter died out, and the two were out of ear shot from the rather loud house, Draco found a patch of dry grass, and sat down, leaning up against a tree. Ginny sat beside him, but not until she looked over her shoulder at the house, only to make sure nobody saw the exchange between the two.

"I was talking to George earlier today." Draco commented.

"Yes," Ginny agreed.

"He said that if we were to be together, it wouldn't matter to your family. Or at least, they wouldn't kill me the way they would've some odd years ago." Draco laughed as he stared forward, effectively avoiding her gaze, until she reached up and pushed his face towards her with a hand on his cheek.

"He just said that to you, or you asked?" Ginny asked.

"He said that to me." Draco answered looking into her melted chocolate eyes. "He said that he can tell in the look on my face, when I look at you, that we… that we have something," Draco rephrased the exact words George had used, avoiding that L word, only because it'd been years since either of them had said it to each other.

"What did you say?"

"There wasn't anything for me to say," Draco answered. "He made me promise to protect you, if anything were to ever happen, and to promise that I…" Draco stopped and trailed off, but when Ginny squeezed his hand gently, he knew she wanted to hear the rest of the sentence. Before he continued, he looked down at their joined hands, and squeezed her hand back, taking in the feel of her delicate hands.

"Promise what?" Ginny persisted, drawing his attention back to her beautiful gaze.

"Promise that I wouldn't break your heart." Draco answered. As soon as the words had escaped his lips, she drew her hand away from his, despite the fact he rather enjoyed holding her small fingers. She even moved away from him slightly, but he could still feel her body close to his, and he could smell her vanilla hair.

"Draco, we…" Ginny started to speak, and usually when he already knew what she was going to say, he'd stop her, but in this case, he wanted to hear it again. "We're not together because of your father. It hasn't got anything to do with telling my family. Even if they didn't approve, it wouldn't matter, because if we could be together, we would."

"I know," Draco answered. "I know, Gin. It's just… we were together for three years when he found out. Why didn't we ever tell your family before?"

"I don't know," Ginny's voice had a sound of desperate truth as she looked up at Draco. "I was afraid then. I was worried that they wouldn't like you. I mean… they didn't like you then. Not when we started Project Lost."

"Yeah, but we were working together, well… somewhat together, for two years before anything started between us, Ginny. We never rushed into anything. I've known you since you were eleven, for goodness sake. It's not as if we rushed into some huge thing over night." He pointed out. "I was around for a long time, before we were together."

"That doesn't mean they liked you Draco." Ginny replied. "For those first two years after we started the Project, they didn't like the idea at all. They didn't understand that you were the only chance I had at ever finding Ron, and back then, that was all I wanted. I needed funding, and I needed your father, and you had both. You were the best choice, whether I liked you, or they liked you, or anybody liked you for that matter."

"That was what you based your decision on?" Draco asked. "Funding and my father?"

"Yes," She nodded, "And you knew that. You needed to get rid of the money, before your father found it all, do you tied it all up in the Project so it wasn't yours legally, but still there for you to spend. And I didn't care, because it was there for me to spend too, when I needed it." She answered. "We both got what we wanted through Project Lost, Draco."

"And a lot more, Gin." Draco replied as he looked into her eyes. A moment of silence passed between them, without either moving, and for once, Draco felt like he could just kiss her, and everything would go back to the way it was before, but he couldn't risk feeling her lips, and not having everything back again.

"It's been two years," Ginny whispered, rather difficultly, for once her voice starting to shake.

"Yeah…" Draco agreed with a soft nod. "Two long years."

"You haven't said it since that night." Ginny said. "You never said it to me again after Elizabeth…" She trailed off as she casted her eyes downward. "After we gave her to the church, you never said it to me again."

"I thought you hated me, Ginny." He answered. "For being the reason you had to give her up. I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"But I called for you two weeks later when you never came back to the office." She looked up again. "I told you I wanted you to still be around, but you still never said it again."

"I'm sorry," He whispered to her as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Their bodies were pressed completely together for one of the few times in the last two years, and both were taking in the feeling like it was brand new.

"I love you," Draco whispered to her, in hopes of hearing it back, but instead, Ginny's lips pressed hard against his own, forcing him into a passionate kiss that he never wanted to end. Her fingers were pulling at his hair, but he didn't care, while her other hand was desperate to find his bare skin. His hands were still around her waist, just holding her close, until she straddled his legs, still kissing him passionately. Only when she sat on his lap, did he move his hands, one to sit on her bare skin, just beneath her shirt, while his other hand, traced down her leg.

Only when both felt the tugging need for air, did she pulled back, but only enough for each of them to draw in air. Her forehead was against his, and his arms were around her once more, while her arms found their way around his neck.

"I love you." Draco repeated once more, forgetting what it felt like to tell her. He'd been so wrapped up in hearing it, that he forgot how he loved to say it. "I love you, Ginny." He said once more as he looked into her eyes. It was one of the moments, and both recognized it. Both of them were desperate for anything. For those three words, or for the feel of bare skin on bare skin, or for another breath taking kiss, just as long as the desperate moment never faded.

"I love you." Ginny finally managed to breathe out, but once she saw the look of desperation upon Draco's face change into utmost happiness, she smiled like she hadn't in two years. She moved, still sitting on his lap, but her legs off to one side, so she could put her head on his shoulder. "I love you too, Draco." She whispered to him, feeling his arms tighten around her, so tightly it was difficult to breathe under his arms, but she wouldn't have ever told him to stop.

"I've missed you so much, Ginny." Draco told her. "You have no idea. I've missed you every day. I can be sitting right next to you, so close. Close enough, where all I'd have to do is reach out to feel you, but still miss you like I'd never seen you in years. I missed you every night when you weren't there, and I killed myself so many times wishing I could've done anything to give you what you wanted." Draco was just talking, and she heard every word just as clearly as she heard the desperation in his voice.

"I hated myself for not being able to give you what you wanted, Ginny, and I'm so sorry. I've wanted to just… I just hold you… Even for one night, for so long." He said to her, his voice finally starting to break as it became softer and softer, but she could still hear him clearly enough. "Just one night, where I fall asleep holding you, and wake up to see you. To see your hair all over the place, and kiss you in the morning, and hold you, and never let you go." He tried to say more, but he lost his voice. Ginny only put kisses on his neck and cheek, until she reached his lips.

"Tonight, Drake." She told him softly in his ear, before she caught his lips in a kiss. "Tonight, come to my room." She told him before she looked him in the eye. She could tell how happy he was, just by the color of his eyes, and how they cleared up and shone in a way they never had during their Hogwarts years.

"Ginny," His voice was soft and breaking, in a way that only she'd ever heard it before. He never spoke like this around anyone else.

"Drake?" She asked as she looked into his eyes. He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but wonder what could've been had he smiled like that at her the first time they met, some two decades ago. She would've fallen in love with him from the very start.

"I love you."

"I love you too."


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