Of Stitches and Stalking

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any characters, places, names, and things you recognize are not mine. The plot and characters unknown are mine.

-Chapter Six-

The incessant rapping at her door caused her to wake mid afternoon that Saturday. Her hair was a frightful mess, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, and her face was blotchy from crying over Draco bloody Malfoy. She wore pajamas that were three sizes too big and when she opened the door, she nearly died of shock.

"Draco!" She exclaimed, dropping the crumpled tissue she hadn't realized she was holding in her hand as she reached out to catch him before he fell.

"I – I had to see," He groaned in pain, "you. That letter…"

"Sh, don't talk. Come on. What did you do, you idiot?" She asked as she helped him into her house.

She guided him to her bedroom and helped him sit on the bed before ordering him to lie down. He was still in his house coat, for crying out loud. She didn't know where he got off on the crazy train, but Merlin's grey beard she was going to strangle him. Out of concern or frustration, she wasn't entire sure which would lead to his unpleasant asphyxiation.

"You're in a very un-Malfoy like state," She muttered and he gave a pathetic excuse for a laugh.

"I'm a… very diff-ah!-rent," he hissed in pain as she helped him ease down, "damn… hurts – Malfoy."

"Sh… don't talk. You're in pain. Let me see if I can find something. I might have something left from when I broke my wrist last year," She said and hurried to her bathroom.

Draco closed his eyes, grimacing in pain. His ribs ached and his right side hurt like a bastard. Not to mention the healing burns covering all of his left side except his face and arm were throbbing and itching uncomfortably. If he hadn't cared so damn much for the fiery redhead, he wouldn't be putting his body through this pain. He'd almost say it was like hell, but that was an exaggeration and Malfoys… Well, Draco Malfoy did not exaggerate.

"That might have been an exaggeration," He muttered to himself after the pain eased to a faint throb.

The soft closing of a door and the padding of footsteps caused him to crack open one of his eyes and gaze lazily at the brown eyed doctor as she came to a stop beside her bed. The look in her eyes made his heart twinge and his brow furrow as he took in her puffy eyes and splotchy face for the first time. She had been crying. The realization made him ached to hold her. He shifted slightly before letting out a noise laced with pain; Ginny's expression softened and became laced with concern.

"Draco, what have you gotten yourself into?" She asked softly as she knelt beside him, "Come on, swallow these. They'll make you rather loopy – but other than alcohol it's all I can do to help with the pain."

"Ginny?" Draco asked after she helped him take the pain killers.

"Hm?" She asked softly, setting the glass half full of water on the bedside table.

"Where you crying?" He asked faintly and she snorted before turning to him.

"Why would I be crying?" She asked, smiling faintly.

"Are you going to tell me to get out as soon as I can move?"

"It depends on why you came here," She replied quietly, "If you came to ask me back, I will."

"Oh." The fell silent for a few minutes until –

"Let's get you more comfortable. That medication should have started working," She stood and began fussing without letting him answer.

"I – I'm sorry about Eliza," He said softly, wincing as she began to pull off his house coat.

She froze, "What?"

"I didn't tell her to come," He grimaced as he pulled his arm free, "Bloody hell, I wish I could use magic on myself right now."

"You can't use magic?"

"I can – just not on myself. It will affect the healing of my burns," He replied and her hands froze.

"B-burns? Draco, what exactly happened after you left me here?"

The next twenty minutes were filled with Ginny checking his wounds as he told her what had transpired. At the end, she stared at him half in horror and half in anger.

"Why would you do something so reckless? You're such an idiot. I've been worried sick about you all week!" She shouted at him, "You are so thick. What happened to Slytherins actually having that 'save your skin' reflex? Where did yours go?"

He managed a weak smile before admitting in a very sleepy voice, "He… deserved it. If I didn't catch him… you'd be at risk again. Can't have that…"

At the end she thought he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'my Gryffindor princess', but she wasn't entirely sure. He'd fallen asleep, taken away by the drugs she had made him ingest.

With a sigh, she decided to shower and start cooking some soup for the injured man lying in her bed.

-Break-

There was singing. He could hear it as he chased the last of his dream. He wasn't willing to let such a nice dream slide out of his fingers like the silky tendrils of red hair of his dream woman. He couldn't remember anything except the fiery red locks sliding from his fingertips now.

His eyes slid open and it took him a moment before he remembered where he was. His body barely ached and he struggled to sit up. He felt weak and very un-Malfoy like. Where in Merlin's beard was he? He wasn't in his bed.

He was struggled to sit up when she entered the room holding a tray with a bowl of soup on it. He froze when his eyes locked on the red hair.

"Don't leave me."

The words tumbled out of his lips before he realized what he'd said. She smiled faintly as she watched his face scrunch in horror. She almost laughed outright, but knew he would have been more mortified, although it was rather unlikely he'd remember saying it.

"I'm not going anywhere Draco Malfoy, but you're going to eat this soup," She said sweetly before sitting next to him and setting the tray on his lap, "Be careful. It's hot."

"Gin – Gingin," Draco slurred and she giggled.

"Those oxycontin really took it out of you, didn't they?" She murmured and smiled, "You're cute like this. Why aren't you always this way?"

"Wouldn't be a Malfoy," Was the slurred reply as he shot her what he thought was a dirty look.

"Come on, Draco, open up," She said, smiling while she held out a spoonful of the chicken noodle soup for him, "You need to eat and rest some more."

He opened his mouth after she narrowed her eyes at him and fixed him with a look that quite reminded him of Molly Weasley when she fought against Bellatrix. That look scared him more on Ginny than it did on Molly.

"You know, you're not very Malfoy like any more," She murmured and he snorted before accepting another spoonful of soup, "Besides, I thought you were a different Malfoy."

"You're to blame, Weasley," He retorted, "Making me all…" His lip curled but he didn't get to finish the sentence before she shoved another spoonful of soup in his mouth, nearly choking him.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He spluttered and she smirked.

"Apparently, you haven't taken my words to heart when I tell you to go die, Draco," She said as her smirk turned into a playful smile, "I think I much prefer you drugged than normal. Although… I am surprised you're letting me feed you…"

Well, it's not like he could help it. He hurt everywhere and those muggle drugs left him feeling rather boneless. So, he let her fed him. Not like he'd remember it in the morning anyways if the pills were anything like alcohol. In fact, he felt very much like greeting morning at that very moment. Almost as if to punctuate the desire, his eyes slowly drooped close against his will before he finally caved and was lost into his dreams once more. Ginny shook her head in amusement with a soft smile tugging at her lips. She kissed his forehead and pulled the blanket tight around him.

"You're lucky, Draco. If you had been able to stand, I would have slammed the door in your face," She said softly as she gazed at his sleeping face.

It reminded her of that day so long ago when she had saved him. What he'd been doing out that night, she didn't know, and since that night he'd invaded her life most unwelcomed. Yet, she enjoyed it all the same.

She carried his bowl and spoon into the kitchen and washed them silently. She wanted to go home, but she didn't want to face everything. She felt as though she had been replaced, but hadn't she been the one to leave in the first place?

Maybe it was time to stop running. She had more than enough money saved due to her cunning use and quick understanding of the London Stock Exchange. She could sell her stocks and – and what?

Start another new life?

No. She wasn't exactly starting a new life, was she?

"Damn it, Draco," She muttered, "This is your entire fault."

She yawned. Merlin she was tired.

She padded her way back into her bedroom and collapsed on the unoccupied side of her bed with a soft sigh. There was so way she was sleeping on the sofa, she decided as she turned onto her side, facing Draco, and snuggled into her bed. She watched him through bleary eyes until her lids slid close and dreams claimed her mind.

-Break-

The following morning, Draco woke with a start. His body ached, but he felt rested, something he hadn't felt at all in the last week. Despite Molly's best attempts, he'd been unable to sleep peacefully and refused to take a dreamless sleep, going so far as to sneer at all three women who tried to force him to drink it. He kept his eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep as he took in his surroundings with his remaining senses.

His good arm was slung around something soft with a slight pressure on his shoulder. His left side was itching with the faintest of aches – it was mostly healed he surmised – but the few bruised ribs and the hole in his side still hurt like hell. He could smell cinnamon and vanilla with the faintest hint of lavender – Ginny. It was the sigh that was almost content sounding, but laced with annoyance that made him opened his eyes, and when his eyes focused, he was seeing beautiful brown eyes that widened in surprise.

"Good morning," She said softly and smiled, "Mind letting me go? I tried to escape once before, but you sort of moaned in pain and I didn't want to hurt you."

He let her go and she rolled off the bed. His eyes watched her carefully as he tried to remember everything that had transpired. He felt as though something significant had happened, but everything after he'd taken those little white pills was, well, rather hazy. He vaguely thought that he had let her feed him, but wasn't entirely sure on that.

"You need to go back home. I'm sure someone is worried about you," She said and he grimaced.

"Can't I stay here under the watchful eye of my doctor?" He whined and she laughed as he slowly pushed himself upright, not paying much attention to the redhead as she went about the room.

"Whining is very un-Malfoy, Draco," She said with her back to him and he seemed to freeze at her words.

He was quiet and she turned around with an eyebrow raised in question, almost as if she expected him to answer something very specific. He vaguely remembered telling her he was a different Malfoy now, but wondered if he'd elaborated. In fact, he was almost tiring of being told he was acting very un-Malfoy. He hated what it meant to be a Malfoy – or what it had meant to be one before the Battle of Hogwarts.

But that wasn't exactly when the Malfoy name had taken its biggest change, was it? It had been when he'd put himself between the bushy haired know-it-all he was tentative friends with and his father. Nobody knew what it was like to be a Malfoy anymore – even he didn't. What right did anyone have to say such things?

Then he realized, she'd only been teasing. There was a certain warmth to her eyes that made him think over her words again. They hadn't been cold at all. Rather the opposite. Teasing – and caring. He remembered the combination all too well from that last year at Hogwarts.

"What if I don't want to be a Malfoy anymore?" He asked in reply, unsure if he was being completely serious or not, and she blinked in surprise.

"Don't be silly. Of course you want to be a Malfoy."

"Do you know what being a Malfoy means now? It means being a bad guy," Draco said softly, "Even as a good guy, I'm bad. I betrayed my family – my father murdered my mother and I killed him."

"But, Draco," She knelt at his side and peered up at him with a small smile, "You're a hero. You're one of the good guys."

"Am I?"

She smiled and leaned up to press her lips against his softly. She pulled away before he could register the motion. Frozen in surprise, he watched her as she knelt before him and took his hands in her smaller ones. She looked up, vulnerable silver meeting honest copper, and gently rubbed her thumbs across his knuckles.

"I don't think I would have done that the first time let alone a second. Nor would I have taken care of you, or currently be taking care of you if you were," She replied, "I'm sorry about the letter. I was afraid."

"Exactly what of?"

"Of facing my family. How do I explain everything? How can I face them?"

"Just tell them everything you told me. I don't think less of you, Ginny," He told her and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

"Well, we need to get you home," She said softly, "We can work out the details later."

"Ginny?"

"What Draco?" She asked as she helped him stand.

"Will you come home with me?"

"Go die, Draco," She said with a gentle smile tugging at her lips, all harshness lost from her words.

"Only if you're with me," He told her.

She laughed softly.

-Break-

When the elegant Eagle owl tapped at her window a week later, she smiled and let it in without a second thought. Morgana cooed at her as she fed the bird some snacks and removed the parchment from her leg.

"Hey girl," She said softly before unrolling the letter.

I said I was fine, woman. You take after your mother, you know. Salazar's greybeard! The Healer's at St. Mungos gave me the okay to return to work on Monday.

And what do you mean 'It's about time'? I trust you enough to know that you'll make sure I'll live. Most people still hate me because I'm a Malfoy, remember?

Anyways, Sunday dinner tomorrow. Will you come?

Yours,

Draco

With a small smile on her lips, she scribbled a reply on the bottom of the parchment.

Idiot. You better take it easy still.

How do you know I don't hate you? I could just be pretending to be nice just to become a mass murderer later.

Go die.

Love,

Gin

Desire eventually won and Ginny donned the little black cocktail dress Draco had helped her pick out and secured her hair into an elegant twist. Before she pulled on her silver strappy heels, she pulled her wand from the lock box hidden beneath the fourth floorboard from her bedroom door. Then, with a deep breath, she squared her shoulders before disapparating to the nearest apparition point to the Burrow.

She desperately wanted to see the man she had come to love.

That made her freeze, realization dawning in her eyes and she wondered when she had come to love Draco.

He was snarky and arrogant, as always, although it was less prominent now and it was almost endearing to her. Vain and prideful. But he was charming and polite. He was very gentlemanly towards her. And he had been so wonderful to both her and her family. Not to mention the strange sensation in her chest when she thought of him and the smile that tugged to her lips even when she was irritated with the man.

"Merlin's beard," She whispered, "I do."

She squared her shoulders and called forth all of the Gryffindor bravery she had once held – and still held firmly in her heart – before marching across the distance from the small forest and her family home. There was a large table in the backyard with more seats than Ginny could count along with a small table with several chairs around it.

She spotted his head of blonde hair as he set the last of the dishes on the table. She bit her lip, looking ready to flee at any moment. She almost did, when Harry walked out of the back door holding a pan of something. She could faintly hear the conversation exchanged as Harry set the pan on the table.

"Bout time you're moving, Malfoy," Harry was saying and Draco smirked.

"Aw, what Potter? Couldn't function without me? Some Department Head you are," Draco jeered although there was nothing harsh to his words.

Harry scoffed before saying, "I'm ready to hand your paperwork back over to you tomorrow. I should have just left it all for you to do."

Draco smiled at him, "You could have. You didn't have to do my work."

Harry shrugged, returning the smile, "You saved her. S'all that matters."

She swallowed at the words, unsure whether to continue to head down or not. She was grateful she had yet to be spotted, but she wondered when she would be. She took a deep breath and began to head down as Harry turned around and headed back inside.

That's when he looked up, out of habit mostly, and froze when his eyes landed on the beautiful redhead he had grown to have affection for. It showed; the amount of stress and anxiety, written on his features made him look far older than twenty nine. It was the changes. They were both changing rapidly from the lives they'd been living.

She frowned as she neared him; the man met her strides perfectly until they met just before the open garden gate. She lifted a hand to his stubbly cheek. Brows furrowing, she searched his features as he gently, almost unnoticeably, leaned into her hand.

"You haven't been sleeping," She murmured and he snorted derisively, "Why?"

"You shouldn't be talking, woman," He replied although concern dulled the sharp tone he used, "Potter's been badgering me about you. I told him – I hope you don't mind."

She smiled faintly and shook her head, "I – I've missed you."

"I can't believe you came," he said softly, reaching up to clasp the hand that was now dropping from his face, "I didn't expect you to."

She smiled faintly before answering, "Honestly? I can't believe I'm standing here either. I can't do this without you, Draco. I can't face them without you. Hell, I'm doing this for you!"

"What?"

"I'm saying, I've fallen in love with you and your irritating face and your ridiculous need to have stitches. I – Merlin's beard – I love you! It's the only reason why I'm standing here, damn it."

Draco grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. He leaned down and pressed his lips firmly to hers, effectively shutting her up as well as surprising the woman greatly. He pulled away quickly, a faint red tinge rising on his ears.

"I'm sorry – I shouldn't have – Salaz–"

She cut him off by pressing her lips to his and wrapping her arms around his neck. Draco wrapped her into his arms slowly trailing his hands around her waist as he did so. She pulled back and looked up into his eyes, resting back down on the flat of her feet. Leaning down, Draco rested his forehead on hers and smiled at her.

"Draco!" Hermione's voice shouted from the back door, "Come get the roast, would you?"

"Y-yeah. Hey, Hermione? You might want to hold off on that. Make sure all of the food is securely on some surface," He lifted his head and shouted over his shoulder, "Gin? Can I take you on a date? Tomorrow? Six o'clock?"

A grin graced her lips, "Of course you can. So, how are you going to introduce me to my family?"

"Well, I was thinking something along the lines of 'Molly Bennett', but I think I could make arrangements to introduce you as 'the love of my life' or perhaps even 'your long lost Weaselette'," He grunted as she punched his shoulder hard, "Alright. I'll settle on Ginny, but I'd like to claim you as mine, if you'd let me."

A beautiful smile blossomed on her face as she said, "I would love that, I think."

As Draco pulled away and offered her his arm, she took a moment to reflect on her situation before shaking her head.

"Thank you."

"Anytime," He said, kissing the top of her head lightly.

As they neared the kitchen doorway, Draco called out, "Molly? Hermione? Eliza? Have you secured the dinner? You ought to gather everyone in the living room before I come in. I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Ginny smiled up at Draco, who looked down at her with amusement written on his face. She bit back a nervous laugh and let the man she wanted to be with forever lead her into the house.

-Chapter End-

Epilogue is last! I've enjoyed writing this fic so much. I want to make a shout out to GinnyWeasley5 for being an amazing reader and helping me with a tiny bit of a problem I had while editing. You're so awesome! I dedicate this chapter to you!

Side note - I'm still waiting for someone to find my allusion! It's a really famous book written by a female. British classic literature published in 1813. It's not ridiculously apparent, but it's still there!

I have 6 days until basic! And then I probably won't write anything for a few months. I've really enjoyed this though, so I don't think I'll really stop writing, but it'll be a while until I can spend hours being a Potternerd again. :) With any luck, you guys enjoyed this chapter. :D