By the time Draco arrived home, Severus had long since crawled into his bed, exhausted Ginny's voice by demanding 'Just one more' bedtime story five times, and passed out. She had wanted to follow his lead and curl into her own bed, but she still hadn't managed to fix the toy dragon yet.

Draco popped in just as she successfully got the dragon to fly once more without freezing midflight and plummeting to the ground. The dragon looked a little worse for the wear, but it was zooming around the entrance hall as Draco swept in.

Ginny took one look at him and lost all train of thought on the toy. It would have been polite to call his hair disheveled. It was, more appropriately, a downright disaster. His robes were covered in burn marks, and he had a large red mark on one of his cheeks.

"Bloody hell," she whispered as she closed the gap between them. Catching his jaw in her hand, she loosened her touch as he winced. "What happened?" she asked, tilting his head down and to the side as she tried to get a better look at the wound.

"Nothing," he snapped, though it carried none of the usual fire or bite he would have used. Instead, the word was flat, his tone displaying his exhaustion.

She could think of nothing but to laugh. Clearly, 'nothing' was about as far from the truth as they could possibly get. "Have you tried-"

"I haven't tried anything yet," he said, pulling away and moving towards the kitchen. Ginny followed on his heels.

"I can take care of that-"

"It's fine," he told her promptly, interjecting once more. "It's been a long day. I want to eat, shower, and go to bed. I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow."

"What happened?" she asked again, concern lining her words.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss," he said curtly. She highly doubted the case was such, especially since most of the time he told her without reservation. Then he stopped, suddenly, and turned on his heel to face her. Catching her shoulders, she thought for a moment he might sag against her. He stood erect, but his hands squeezed her shoulders for reassurance. "It was bad," he confessed. "Extremely bad. One of the worst I've seen."

Once he started to open up, she knew better than to interrupt. If she tried to say something now, he would clam up again, and she wouldn't get any further details out of him. She wanted him to share as much as possible, as she worried about his mental health when he kept it all locked inside.

He continued, "It was a kid. A young kid, barely older than Severus. No one knew for certain what was ailing him. We tried everything we could, attempted every possible cure. But we lost him. And we still don't even know what caused it."

If it had been anyone else, she would have cajoled them. Lacing her words with sympathy, she would have said how sorry she was to hear it, and how she couldn't imagine what his day must have been like. But Ginny had learned over the years that a different approach was needed with Draco. He would take no comfort in words. They would do nothing to ease his guilt and frustration.

Instead, she pulled him to her, mindful of his cheek. It started simply as a kiss, her lips pressed firmly against his. He deepened it almost instantly, his tongue diving into her mouth as her head tilted back. Hands moved from her shoulders to her waist, and he lifted her effortlessly off the guard, turning as he did so.

Even through her layers of clothes the stone wall felt cold against her back. As his hands moved to fumble with her clothes, she followed suit. He'd been so wrapped up in his work lately that she honestly couldn't remember the last time they had taken a moment alone. It was so little, but she took it where and when she could. After all, between Severus and the shop she wasn't one to judge.

It ended almost as quickly as it started. Ginny was left gasping for breath as he finally gave into the pressure of everything in his life. His head slumped against her shoulder, but she could tell it was not in the usual post-coital manner. His head remained, even as he readjusted his pants and she pulled hers back up. His hands curled into fists against the wall on either side of her head. His breathing was labored, and each intake and exhale was harder to manage than its predecessor.

"Malfoy," she said softly as she turned her head into his and gently kissed his neck.

That simple gesture broke him. All sense of self control evaporated in an instant, and he dissolved against her. Witnessing this type of display from him for the first time, her body froze up. It took her a moment before she could sort out her arms. Wrapping them around him, she pulled him in tight. He shook against her and she yearned to comfort him, but still she did not speak a word.

They stayed like that for some time, until Daisy appeared hesitantly in the long hallway. She looked up at Ginny, but was too afraid to speak a word.

"Yes?" Ginny asked. Though her attention turned to the house elf, she continued to lightly stroke her fingers up and down Malfoy's back.

"Daisy has warmed up food for Master. Daisy heard him come home and Daisy thought he would be hungry."

Ginny nodded, "Thank you, Daisy."

With a quick nod of her own and a small curtsy, Daisy scurried off down the hallway and disappeared once more.

"Come," Ginny said as she pushed herself away from the wall. Placing a kiss on his earlobe, she turned him to the kitchen, "The house elf is right. You need to eat."