For You Harry
Chapter 9

How can this last? Ginny asked herself. She looked down at the shining ring on her finger, the ring that Draco had given her. She knew it was a fairy tale thought to think everything could go on being perfect. She knew it was stupid to dream that Draco would one day be friends with Harry and Ron, to think that things could go on like they were.

She'd kept Draco a secret so long it was second nature. There were only a few days left of the term and she felt as if the walls were tumbling down. Hermione had started to ask questions. Everyone was on edge, it was the end of the year and Harry still hadn't had his major battle yet. He still had to fight someone at the end of the year that was second nature as well. It hadn't happened yet, but it was going to and everyone was on pins and needles waiting for it to come.

Ginny didn't want it too. In fact, she didn't want time to move any farther. She knew of the ceremony planned two days after term for all the Slytherin seventh years leaving Hogwarts and she knew Draco was toobe the star, the first to receive the new mark.

He'd shown her a picture, his eyes and cheeks stained with tears as he brought out the scrap of parchment. He'd drawn it in class the fear overcoming every thought he had in his head. He didn't want it on his arm, in its new position, the top of the forearm instead of the inside. It would be visible for all of time, he didn't want his children to see it, but he had to go through with it.

He was to become the newest spy for the Order. Only a few people knew. He'd told Ginny, it was her after all that had gotten Snape to talk to him. She'd walked into his room and told Snape every single thing that had happened. She told him how much she loved Draco and how he felt about her and how he didn't want to become a Death Eater. She'd gone out on a limb to appeal to the only person she knew that could help, and he'd done his part. He'd talked to Draco, drawn it out from him. Then, he'd gone to Dumbledore.

Ginny was amazed when it came out that Draco could do Occlumency, but for him it was second nature as well. He'd been doing it since he was young, protecting himself from his father and nightmares of his father. He was the perfect specimen for a spy, but it was dangerous.

He hadn't cared. He still cried, letting only a few tears fall down his face in front of Ginny; he still dreaded the mark on his arm, he was terrified. He was terrified of becoming a Death Eater. He was terrified of being changed. He was terrified most of losing Ginny.

He'd taken to spending as much time as he could with her whenever he could. She even spent the night in his room once, falling asleep in each other's arms in an innocent embrace, her chastity never threatened. He'd kiss her when ever he could, hold her hand, slip his arm around her, even if it was only when they could be alone.

The ring glinted and a tear fell slowly down Ginny's face. It was now that she worried. Now that she was scared. She couldn't let Draco know how afraid she was; she had to be strong for him. She didn't know he could see the fear in her eyes, hear it in her voice, sense it in her touch. He knew and he would hug her and kiss her as much for himself as for her, if not more. He cared more about her than he did for himself. He'd changed that much. He wasn't selfish anymore; he no longer cared for what he had for himself. He was a changed man. He was the person Ginny need him to be, the person he wanted to be.

That didn't change the day. It didn't change the ceremony. It didn't make time stop. It didn't change anything, except him. He was who he wanted to be, except he couldn't' escape who he was. He was Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy. He was Draco Malfoy, soon to be leader of the newest set of Death Eaters.

He was many things, but the one thing he kept next to his heart was that he was Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley's fiancé. The man she wanted to marry. The man she wanted to spend her life with. For her, he could fight off those other titles. Maybe one day he'd be remembered for doing something great, not something horrible. He liked that.

Ginny didn't. She didn't want him to be remembered. She wanted him to be normal. She wanted him to glide through life without doing anything spectacular. Why? Because then his life wouldn't be threatened. Then she wouldn't have to worry if one of his letters may be his last. Then she doesn't have to worry about the time when she hears the horrible news and is unable to stand, unable to feel anything except heartbreak.

She wanted him to be a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff! She wanted him to be normal, even if then he wouldn't be Draco. He'd be someone else and she'd still love a Slytherin. She'd always still love a Slytherin. He wasn't slimy and evil, even if he was a Slytherin. He was Draco, just Draco, the man of her dreams, the love of her life, the person that made the loneliness disappear.

Another tear dripped down her cheek. She couldn't help the fear, the pain. She couldn't stop it and she knew the wall was crumbling. Just as the fear was getting worse their secret was failing. They were losing their secrecy, someone would find out soon. Maybe that would be for the best, and then they could comfort each other always. No, it wouldn't be for the best. If Draco was found out by the Death Eater's he might be killed and that would be worse then him becoming a spy.

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Draco changed the password to the Prefect's common room entrance and walked into the room, hoping Ginny would be alone for once. He looked around the room, it was empty, he smiled, except for a small red headed girl staring at a ring on her finger. He could see the ruby glinting in the fire light and tears glistening on her face. He knew she'd wipe them away as soon as he came near so he reveled in them for the moment.

He didn't want to admit it, but seeing her cry made him feel better. It made him know that she, too, was afraid. It let him know that he wasn't a slimy Slytherin just because he was afraid. It told him that Gryffindors can be afraid as well. He didn't like that she was scared, he didn't like it at all, and he knew it was his fault. He couldn't change his entire life. He couldn't change who he was completely. He wasn't slimy, he liked that, but he couldn't change entirely.

He walked over to her and fell softly to his knees in front of her. He laid his arms on her knees and looked up at her. She smiled at him, her beautiful smile that made his heart do a flip. She wiped away the tears and sniffled once. "I, uh," she said trying to explain away the tears.

"Ginny, I know you're scared," he said with a smile, trying to comfort her, "it's okay; you don't have to hide it for me."

She let out a sigh and tired smile. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears; it was harder every time she saw him.

Draco knew she wouldn't hold out any longer, she was going to cry and it was his turn to be strong. He grabbed a hold of her legs and pulled her down while spinning so she fell onto his lap. He pulled her close and she cracked, the tears started to fall and he squeezed her tighter. He began to rock her and run his hand over her hair. "It's alright," he said knowing it wouldn't help. He did know, however, that she loved to hear stories from when he was a child so he told her one.

"Once, when my father had gotten drunk and broken my toy broom," he started, his words soft and soothing, "my mother, she locked him in his office and then she came and found me. She took me up in her arms and she rocked me. I was only three, maybe four years old, and she held me until I stopped crying," he laughed, "and when I stopped my eyes were so sore from rubbing away the tears that I thought my eye lids would fall off. So, she went into the bathroom and ran a washcloth under freezing cold water. She brought it in and tucked me into bed and laid it over my eyes.

"She told me a story, a story about a prince and a dragon that traveled the world and defeated an evil king, while she ran her hands over my hair. I fell asleep but I remember the end.

"She said, he found his princess and after that, nothing could defeat him. He ran the evil king out of the castle and they lived happily ever after," he said with a smile. He had very few good memories, and that wasn't even good considering his father had been drunk and broken one of his toys, but it counted. It counted because it showed that his mother loved him. It showed that even in an evil family there is a happy story and a happily ever after. It told him that he could change; he could be that prince and chase the evil king from the castle, no matter how impossible it seemed.

He heard Ginny sniffle through his arms and smiled. "So, my princess, another story then?" he asked. He liked to comfort her; even if he was feeling the same things as she was at least he could comfort her for once.

She nodded against his chest and her rubbed her back softly, "I think I've told you them all, except," he smiled again, "once when I was four my father had been gone for weeks and when he finally came home, he brought gifts. He brought so many gifts I couldn't count them, I'm not even sure he could, but he hid them in his office.

"I was never allowed in his office, never, especially not to play, but that time he let me run around. He even let me pull the books of the shelves to find my gifts. I think-" he was cut off as three people stumbled into the room. He almost jumped up but couldn't, not with Ginny in his lap.

"What are you doing?" he heard one of them yell, he recognized the voice, it was Ginny's older brother. Their secret was out. The tallest of the three walked over and looked down at his sister, her cheeks still wet with tears, "Get away from my sister!" he screamed before he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

Draco jumped up and started to follow but was held back forcefully but Harry.

"Let me go, Potter," he hissed. He could hear Ginny yelling and knew she was probably struggling to get free of Ron's grip. She was fighting to get back to him. She couldn't break his grasp, he was too strong.

Draco could fight Harry, he could get past him, but now wasn't the time. He couldn't fight Harry and expect them to accept him, expect them to let him be with Ginny. He backed down and fought back his own tears of having Ginny ripped from his arms.

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Ginny sat between Ron and Harry, blocked from any contact. She'd been constantly flanked by the two for two days now and it was the last breakfast before everyone left. She couldn't stand it, couldn't stand them controlling her.

She glared up at Ron who'd gotten used to her glares. She turned her head and glared at Harry who'd also become immunre to them. He continued his conversation with Lily, telling her he wanted an owl everyday and she saying that she'd rather have a chocolate frog everyday. Their laughter was nervous.

Everyone's was. The great battle at the end of the year was inevitable. It had never been this long before the battle. Everyone almost knew today was the day, they knew that before the day was out there would be a battle, a great battle in which someone might die, in which something terrible would happen, no matter what.

Everyone boarded the carriages, shaking with fear. No one knew which carriage Harry was on but everyone knew it would be the carriage the attacker would be looking for. All hoped guiltily that his was first, that they would find him and leave them out. They couldn't help but fear, they couldn't help but be terrified of the battle that would come.

It did come. It arrived in full force when the passengers in the third carriages got out. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stepped down on to the soft earth and the Death Eaters aparated. The carriages stopped moving but there were still people off, and people sticking their heads out to see what was going on.

The seventh year D.A. students got out and started to help Harry fend them off while the other students ran back to the castle.

Draco stood back, unsure what to do. He knew his father was one of the men attacking and he knew the love of his life was one of the students defending. He could get her and drag her away, even if she was kicking and screaming to save her life. She was standing, her red hair blazing in the morning light.

He looked at the Death Eaters and recognized his father right away and slinked back even farther into the shadows. He hoped it was just a regular attack, something to scare the students, nothing big, just a show. But it wasn't. He heard a crack come later than the others. He was the only one to hear it, he knew because no one else was looking that way. He looked over and he saw him. He saw the Dark Lord.

He was taller than the others and his cloak fell on him in a way that Draco couldn't explain, but you could see the evil flowing out of him. Draco watched as he raised his wand, pointing it at distracted Harry and he started running. He started running as the light came out of the wand and he jumped, hoping he would take the curse before Harry.

The light hit him squarely in the chest and sent him back a few feet where he fell, his limbs hanging loosely as he skidded over the mud.

Harry reacted immediately, his voice so loud it was heard above the other noises, "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed. The green light shot out of his wand and hit Voldemort in the chest. He staggered, trying hopelessly to fight the curse, and fell, a lifeless heap.

Ginny ran over to Draco's body and pulled him into her, tears running down her face more freely than ever before, "You see! He's good! He's good! He died for you, for you Harry!"

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A/N: You've taken the time to read... so please review!