I am not Jk Rowling and none of the characters or setting or world of Harry Potter belong to me.
**I want to thank I_was_BOTWP for being here with me on this journey as the best Beta and Alpha a girl could ask for and helping to make this piece everything it is now.**
-This piece was written for the Facebook Group The Slytherin Cabal, for their Death by Quill 2019. My prompt was Mirror Magic and the pairing I chose was Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley.
It was November 1996, a few months into his 6th year, and Draco Malfoy was spending a lot of time working on fixing that stupid vanishing cabinet. He had gotten so frustrated with looking at useless books in the library, that he now spent all his time hanging out in the Room of Hidden Things. One afternoon while waiting to see what would happen to an apple he put in the cabinet, he decided it was best to explore the rest of the items in the room.
Piles of books with titles he had never seen in the library stood all over the cavernous space, some of which he found interesting. One title stuck out to him - "Witches and What It Really Means When They Like You." Draco found this particular book to be fascinating because he figured up until that point he knew all he needed to know about witches. His father in fact did not let him down in the over-information department. While reserved and seen in society as prim and proper, at home his parents were a totally different story. Often, they divulged to him tales of their nightly escapades and how they longed to bring him a sibling into this world. He only wished for one so he would not have to go on hearing about this private side of his parents' lives.
Haphazardly stacked chairs that were either half broken or missing seats towered over a section. Past them, he came upon a pile of jewelry that seemed to have a certain aura around it. The magic it possessed was reaching out to his core as if it was calling to him. Draco decided the next few hours could be spent examining it. Upon investigation he found a gold chain with a red lion on it; he pictured some poor Gryffindor losing it. He found a matching earring set that went with a bracelet. It was nice, but none of the girls he knew would wear it. Still, a feeling kept his interest sparked until he landed upon a pair of necklaces. There was nothing spectacular about these upon first inspection. The longer Draco examined them, the more he realized they were not just necklaces, they were two small mirrors set into a circular shape. He had no way to know who had created them - but someone made two of them, which meant they had a purpose. This piqued his curiosity, and so he decided to take them with him back to the Slytherin common room. After one last look at the cabinet, he determined no change had occurred. He grabbed his apple, took a bite, and left.
After dinner, Draco realized they were a part of the same mirror, and not only that, but much like those coins Potter used, these worked in sort of the same way. You tapped one three times and the other one vibrated. Upon two taps of the one vibrating, both flashed a bright purple color and then they allowed you to see the reflection of the person on the other side. The magic a mirror could possess was astonishing. Later that night, Draco tested out his theory by activating them and leaving one hidden behind the drawn curtains of his bed, before walking with the other one around the castle to see how far out of range they would work. The whole time he heard his roommates talking about girls and each other.
The decision to keep them secretly tucked away was an easy one. With the mission set before him, he was not sure what was to come, and he had found one more thing that could come in handy. When Draco made it back to his dorm, he covertly placed them in his trunk for safe keeping, ignoring the other boys' continued talk. Eventually, a use would present itself.
Draco was running around the Forbidden Forest, it was cold and the wind hit his face, like water hits the earth in a rainstorm. It hurt to even breath, but he kept going. His deranged aunt Bellatrix decided that on his day off and out of battle for what felt like months, he should still be training, and therefore she sent him off to hunt and kill the group of centaurs still inhibiting the Forbidden Forest by Hogwarts. Finding them was surprisingly easy, as the herd was not too far from the place they had been in 1st year. However he was at a place in his heart where he just did not have it in him to kill them. He still had yet to actually pull off a killing curse on anyone, although he was now quite adept at torture.
Somebody else was always there - every single time up until this point - to cast the killing curse before he could even whisper the incantation.
The nights bled into each other, and the days seemed to pass before the sun even set; he felt so alone even though every single day he was with the people he had loved his whole life. He was an innocent bystander who was thrown into the wrong side of the war. Or was it the right side? Draco was not sure what he believed in anymore, besides wishing it was over.
Leaning against a tree, he took a moment to let the cold air finally just settle around him. He realized it was his running that had made his skin sting like needles. Standing still was not so bad after all. Getting his breathing back into a normal rhythm, he slowed his fast beating heart down. He pulled out the chain around his neck and tapped the pendant three times. Five minutes passed while he waited for a response - nothing. It must have meant she was busy.
Ginny Weasley was coming out of a 5th year Charms classroom, when she bumped into him. The first thing she noticed was that he smelled really strange - like mold and dust. Which threw her for a loop. She then noticed that he had on robes that looked brand new, but were covered in dust around the edges. As her eyes traveled up to see who exactly she had ran into, she came upon the green and silver tie, then she saw the creamy pale white skin, and finally her gaze landed on cold steel eyes.
It took her a minute to clear her mind, but once she did, she realized he had his hand on her elbow. Draco Malfoy was a sight to see, and not in his normal posh style. Her brows furrowed and she wondered just why he had transformed into the sight before her.
"Erm ...you can let go of my arm now?" she muttered. She was not too excited about getting caught up with him in the hallway. If her brother happened upon them, she would not hear the end of it.
Releasing her arm, Malfoy said something she did not quite catch, before he went off in the other direction. She watched him go, and eventually he disappeared, but that silver hair of his was the only perfect thing he possessed now, and that detail would eat away at her.
Ginny walked out of the bathroom with a threadbare purple towel wrapped around her petite frame. As she got further down the hall, her reality finally started to set in. She realized that the luxury life was one she would never be graced with, even if the war came to an end. In her 4th year at Hogwarts she had given up her crush on Harry Potter. She realized that with the way things were, his heart would never be hers, and she slowly moved on in life. They remained great friends in the aftermath - that is why she now stood where she was, right outside the door to her designated room at 12 Grimmauld Place.
It was 3 years down the road and the battle still raged on. Walking to her mirror, she inspected herself. Starting at the top, she assessed red hair that always felt dirty, no matter how many times she washed it. Her skin was a perfect example of someone who lived in chaos. Dropping her towel, Ginny took in a body riddled with scars, bruises, and gashes that would never heal correctly. She did not think that anyone would ever love her, especially if they saw the nasty black scar on her thigh that looked like barbed wire, but was the result of a nasty curse, courtesy of Alecto Carrow.
It was easy to lose herself in the war - one day on fighting, one day on volunteering in the medical ward, and the third resting. Yet, it kept her going this far, so why stop now? Getting dressed, she slowly put on her shirt, followed by her pants, and lastly the same necklace she had worn every single day since the end of 5th year, when Draco gave it to her. She tucked it away safely under her shirt and decided to head down the stairs for breakfast. These days the house seemed to be either quiet or really loud; there was no inbetween. Currently, the old townhouse was being used as a safe house for all the DA members. The twins were always around, cracking jokes, even in the worst of times.
Time crawled by until that afternoon, when she was alone in the house while all of the others were out on missions. Security protocols meant the house was never left empty. Locking herself in her room, she attempted to contact Draco. She took out her necklace and tapped the mirror glass three times.
A pretty purple glow let her know he had taped back.
"Hello love, I'm a bit rushed, but I'm happy to see your gorgeous face," he panted. From the bit she could glimpse behind him, it was evident that he was running around in a forest.
"Where are you? Are you out in a battle?" Her voice began to raise upon the realization that he was most likely in the same place everyone else was.
"No…..I was tipped off that the raid was going to be at the manor today so I am running around with Aunt Bellatrix in the Forbidden Forest. Where are you?" he responded.
"I'm still at Grimmauld Place. As the safe house keeper on roster today, it is my duty to stay back and protect the base," she said, then added, with a bright smile, "It is so good to see you."
"It is great to see you, too. I do not have much longer because Bellatrix will eventually catch up to me, but it's time. Choose a place sometime next week and tap me. I promise I will meet you. It is getting to a point where hopefully Potter will do his thing, and I get out of this mess. But, even if he does not, I can not withstand it any longer. At least these mirrors allow me to see you. You are the only thing keeping me sane," he confessed with a look of sincerity in his eyes.
"Wednesday, Diagon Alley, at the Leaky Cauldron, 5pm sharp," she answered without hesitation. "Whichever of us gets there first needs to secure a room upstairs. I can only wait for ten minutes, and then I will leave because I will take that to mean that you are not coming. But, I am hopeful it will not come to that."
"Until then, my love." He smiled at her through the mirror.
"Until then," Ginny echoed him. Upon the words leaving her mouth, Draco tapped his mirror and their connection to each other was broken.
She began to prepare herself; she knew this meeting with him meant that she was not only going to be seeing him, but she also knew her family and the whole resistance may see it as a betrayal.
It was the middle of June 1997, and Draco had been splitting his time between Ginny and fixing the cabinet as much as possible. Confident that the cabinet would be repaired soon, that meant that his time with her was going to come to an end. In a show of trust, he had told her about the task set before him, but he had never showed her his progress until now.
Once he had made the decision that he was pretty serious about her, and with all the odds against them, he had resolved to give her one of the necklaces in anticipation for them separating. He wished they could have had more time together, but this was the best solution he could offer her.
Draco was propped up against a marble column, covertly waiting for her to get out of her Charms class. Having spent enough time dodging her brother that year, he knew Ron would not run into her this time of day, and so it was his safest time to send her a message.
She came bouncing out of class with Luna in tow, which he thought was the perfect opportunity to shoot her a magical flying airplane. He watched her open it up to read "Room Of Hidden Things, 6pm Sharp -DM", as she finished she moved her head in search of him. They briefly made eye contact, he nodded, and then swept off.
Several hours later she met him outside the Room of Hidden Things, where he was pacing back and forth. He was nervous and he had no idea what to say to her. He greeted her with a hug, and then turned to the door to open it to let her in. Following behind her, he reached for the door and shut it. He noticed she paused and waited for him to lead her on.
She interrupted his thinking when she said, "I have never seen it look like this before. I did not know it would transform into something else; I have only ever been in here for DA meetings and it never looked like this."
He responded with, "The room takes the image you tend to conjure up in your head. This is the part we call The Room Of Hidden Things. All of this is stuff that needed,for one reason or another, to be hidden."
He pointed to one of the stacks of books that still stood tall, "Those books are the ones you can not even find in the library. Just beyond there is a stack of oddly placed chairs; the first time I saw it, well I actually paid it no mind. This... seems to be a collection of jewelry that has been lost over time. There used to be a Gryffindor necklace here, but based on the fact that I can no longer find it I am guessing it has been found," he told her as he lead her around the room.
"Wow this is very interesting Draco, look at all the things in here, there is even a pile of clothes! I wonder who they belong too." Her voice raised as her excitement grew. "Oh! Look at that, there is even a couch over there that you can sit on."
"Since we are here, I found it fitting that I show you this." He whispered as he brought her face to face with the cabinet. "This is it. The one I told you about. It has come a long way, and it will not be long before it is completely finished. I know how much you hate that I am the one who has to do this. However, Ginny..." He began to stumble over his words as he expressed to her what she meant to him.
"Yes, go on, I am listening," she encouraged him on, grabbing his hand.
"I, well, I know that when this is finally fixed, it will mean a lot is going to happen. Listen to need to remain safe, and I need to know you will stay in Gryffindor tower when that day comes. No matter what you hear, you have to stay. I have a duty to my family - you understand how important family is to me. Just like we said, our families are important to both of us. If anyone finds out about you or us, well, that will be the end. I'm going to give you this." He pulled out one of the necklaces and thrust it into her hands.
"It's a necklace. I don't understand." Her brows began to furrow.
"It is not just any necklace. There are two parts and they are made of a magical mirror. We can use these to communicate with each other. See watch this." He began to tap on one of them and showed her as they turned purple.
"That is really cool - look I can see you in the reflection," she said.
"Yes, that is the point - we will use these to communicate with each other when we are no longer together. I meant what I said about our days together being numbered. I really want to continue this thing between have avoided putting a name on it, but I want you to be my girlfriend. Will you accept this in return?" Draco had laid his heart out to her anticipating her response.
"Do you think I would be here, supporting you, against all odds, if I didn't…" She paused, tears forming in her eyes. Ginny gave him a watery smile. It's about time you asked."
It was Wednesday and Draco arrived at 4:55. She was not there yet, and he hoped that she would not be against Blaise being there. He decided with this meeting that not only would he get to see her but he was going to prove his loyalty for her once again.
"Do you think she will show?" asked Blaise
"She will, she has about fifteen minutes to do so. If not, we agreed that we would move on, as we did not have time to wait. It is risky for me even being here five minutes early." Draco said.
"Relax, if you are worried about what she is going to say, do not be. Luna has expressed on multiple accounts that Ginny is still much in love with you." Blaise assured him, smirking.
"Luna? Really Blaise? Ginny swore she never told anyone." Draco grumbled.
"She didn't, Luna sees these things naturally," Blaise said.
The boys continued their banter back and forth with each other, until it became 5:02 he realized she only had three minutes left. He turned to look at the door as it creaked open.. Draco nearly lost his breath. She was a sight for his eyes.
Not giving her a chance to remark upon Blaise's presence, he pulled her into a hug once she reached him.
"I have been waiting for this day, to hold you and touch you again," he said into her hair, not wanting to let her go.
"It's been too long," she agreed, holding him just as tightly. "I almost was not able to come but I am here."
Stepping back, he held her at arm's length, looking deeply into her clear eyes. The trusting look she gave him formed his resolve.
"We do not have much time; I brought Blaise along to be the binder. Ginny I should have done this a long time ago. I will not have another opportunity to do it again, and I wish I could have done this better, but we do not have time." He rushed to get the words out, "I promise to spend the rest of my days making it up to you. I love you, I want to be with you in body and spirit. Will you marry me?"
He did not even have to give her time to say yes, because the minute the words left his mouth the "Yes" left hers. As the moment came to an end, he looked into her eyes to make sure there was no doubt, took both their hands, and apparated them all away so that the binding ceremony could be performed without interruption or detection from either side.