Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters”J.K. Rowling has the privilege. I just enjoy making them my bitches for a few hours…The lyrics are from “Gifts and Curses” by Yellowcard.
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“Draco Malfoy, do you love me or not?!” Ginny Weasley whispered to him in a strangled voice.
The blonde stared at her in silence.
Ginny’s face contorted with a fresh batch of tears. She wiped them away, nodding to herself.
“I see.” As she turned away, Draco grabbed her arm.
“Gin, I’m not sure I know how to love! I wasn’t surrounded by love as a child like you were. I grew up in the Malfoy Manor, and my parents--”
“NO!” Ginny yelled. “I won’t take anymore of this bullshit, Draco! ‘I’m a Malfoy’ isn’t an answer! It’s not an explanation or excuse of behavior!” She paused.
“Love isn’t something you learn from other people, not really. Love is something you know and feel.”
“I don’t know what to feel, Ginny!” Draco said angrily.
“Well, I do,” the youngest Weasley replied softly. “Being in love is what I have felt for the past six months of my life with you.”
Draco said nothing.
“You can deny it all you want, Draco, but just know that I won’t be around to convince you anymore.”
The door slammed shut, and she was gone.
Draco slumped down into the nearest chair, wondering how the best thing to ever happen to him had gotten away.
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I try to be strong for her
Try not to be wrong for her
But she will not wait for me anymore, anymore
Why did I say all those things before?
I was sure
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Draco Malfoy had taken the Dark Mark the night of his graduation from Hogwarts. A potential Death Eater could not take the Mark if he or she was not willing, but Draco was willing.
He had already discussed it with Dumbledore and Snape”
He was going to be a spy for the good side.
The potions master, at first, had desperately tried to talk him out of going down the same path as he had, but Draco knew he had to do it. His father, Lucius, would kill him if he refused to take the Mark. In taking it, he could be a key source of information on Voldemort’s plans, with having Lucius at such a high rank in the Death Eaters.
It would be the only chance to redeem himself from the badness of his past.
Ginny Weasley hadn’t turned Draco over to the light side. The former Slytherin had done that himself. But she truly believed that he had changed. No one else knew he was fighting for the good side. He had to keep appearances up to maintain Voldemort’s trust, while keeping Dumbledore’s at the same time.
He knew going in that the spying business would be tricky. If he wasn’t careful, it could be suicide.
If Voldemort won, the entire wizarding world would be ruined.
Draco couldn’t let that happen.
Not for Ginny.
Ginny was all that mattered to him anymore, besides winning. She knew who he was. She knew the real him, and she cared for him. No one had ever cared for him like she had. The fact that he mattered to her was enough.
But she also loved him. Ginny Weasley was in love with him, and for some reason he couldn’t say it back.
He wasn’t supposed to love anyone. A spy couldn’t afford to love someone. It was too dangerous for all of them--they would end up getting hurt.
So, Draco never admitted that he was in love with Ginny, for fear of losing her.
And now…she was gone.
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She is the one
But I have a purpose
She is the one
But I have to fight this
She is the one
A villain I can’t knock down
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Draco regained consciousness in a room he didn’t recognize. It was dark and deathly quiet. It almost stank of evil.
He tried to move out of the chair but, not surprisingly, he quickly found that he was under a Binding Spell, with ropes around his feet, arms, and torso.
Great, just…great, he thought.
And as if things weren’t bad enough, the door on Draco’s left slowly opened to reveal a small group of black-cloaked Death Eaters.
They know.
That was the only thought running through his mind before he was hit with the Cruciatus.
Draco struggled to stay silent, but it was too strong…too painful…
He cried out in agony, much to the sick satisfaction of his torturers.
The anonymous Death Eater to hit him with the curse lifted it. Draco tried to regain his breath and think about anything other than the pain, knowing that this was just the beginning of the torture.
The Death Eater lowered his hood.
Lucius.
“Draco, Draco, have I taught you nothing?” The elder Malfoy ‘tsk’ed. “Showing fear or pain is showing weakness. Malfoys are not weak.”
Lucius hit Draco with another round of Cruciatus.
Draco screamed.
“You may be the only heir to the Malfoy fortune, and my son, but deceiving our Lord is inexcusable. We have valuable sources that have reported your current position as a spy for Dumbledore, do you deny it?”
Lucius lifted the curse once more.
Through ragged breathing, Draco managed to say one thing.
“Never.”
Lucius cocked his head to the side in mock pity. “Then I suppose we’ll have to torture you until you’re begging for mercy, at which time you will provide us with Dumbledore’s plans. Unless you would rather tell us now.”
Draco glared at his father.
“Have it your way, then.”
Suddenly, Draco was hit with a different torturous curse from every Death Eater in the room.
It seemed to go on for hours, until everything went black.
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I see your face with every punch I take
And every bone I break
It’s all for you
And my worst pains are words I cannot say
Still I will always fight on for you
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Draco was awakened by a shrill, feminine voice.
“Dammit, Malfoy, open your bloody eyes!”
Draco had never felt happier in his entire being. That sweet, sweet voice…
“Ginny,” he whispered, his voice raspy.
“Yes, Malfoy, your girlfriend’s here, now let’s go!”
Draco glared half-heartedly at the boy-who-lived.
“What are you doing here?” the blonde demanded weakly.
“I came here to rescue you, you ungrateful rodent, and Gin refused to let me go alone,” Harry paused. “She said I would likely murder you before I got a chance to save you.”
“Finite Incantatum,” Ginny muttered. The ropes around Draco went slack. Ginny and Harry carefully helped him to his feet.
That’s when Draco noticed his surroundings.
Every Death Eater that had been torturing him was now unconscious on the ground, under what he assumed were several well-placed Stunning Spells.
Draco smirked.
“How did you find me anyway?”
“Dumbledore somehow figured out your location. He sent me to get you, and Ginny came along. We used a Portkey to get here. Surprisingly, there were no wards around this cabin. Without Voldemort, the Death Eaters are a bit of idiots.” Harry explained.
“So, Dumbledore sent you so you could be the bloody hero, as usual, and vanquish the Dark Lord once and for all, but he wasn’t here, so you settled for stunning all the Death Eaters?” Draco sneered.
Harry glared daggers at the blonde. “I’m not trying to be heroic, Malfoy. I was sent here. I don’t give a damn about you, but you are on our side, so I went.”
Draco matched Harry’s fierce look.
“Stop it!” Ginny hissed, breaking out of the silence she had kept during Draco and Harry’s bickering. “Will you boys stop being so childish? We have to get out of here to safety before Voldemort gets here and murders us all! We can talk all about it when we get back to Dumbledore’s office!”
Harry and Draco were rather impressed at Ginny. She could really take charge.
The redhead whipped out a quill from her pocket. They all touched it, feeling that familiar tug at their navels.
The trio landed in front of Dumbledore’s desk.
“Thank you, Harry, Ms. Weasley,” the old headmaster acknowledged them. “Ms. Weasley, if you would please accompany Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will take care of his injuries.”
Ginny nodded.
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She is the one
All that I wanted
She is the one
And I will be haunted
She is the one
This gift is my curse for now
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The couple was content with ignoring each other for the first few minutes, until Draco spoke up.
“Look, Gin, about yesterday…”
“Draco, just…don’t say anything.”
The former Slytherin looked at her. “You really love me?”
Ginny snorted. “Of course I do.”
“It’s hard for me, you know. I don’t want to put you in danger, Gin. I couldn’t bear it.”
He knew it was a mistake to say that when he could almost feel the rage coming from the redhead.
“When will you understand that I’m in danger every single day of my life?” she replied in an overly even tone of voice. “Not being with you won’t get me out of any danger”I’m part of the team that directly opposes Voldemort, for Merlin’s sake! I will have to fight, and I will risk my life. And I know you will have to as well, even with your spy cover blown. Don’t try to protect me by pushing me away. Protect me by loving me,” she finished angrily.
“I do love you,” Draco mumbled.
“What?” Ginny asked.
“I love you, Ginny,” he repeated louder.
Ginny stared at him in disbelief. “Look, if you’re just saying that to--”
“No, Gin, I’m saying it because it’s true. It’s always been true. I’m in love with you, Ginevra Molly Weasley,” Draco stated confidently.
“Really?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Ginny really smiled for the first time that week. She laughed, gently throwing her arms around Draco’s neck.
“That’s all I wanted to hear.”
Draco hugged her back. It felt so right in her arms. It felt like everything was perfect.
“So you won’t intentionally break my heart again in trying to keep me safe?” she asked.
“No.”
“And you promise that we’ll fight in this war together?”
“Yes.”
“And you won’t hesitate to say that you love me from this day forward?”
“No. I love you, Gin.”
Ginny grinned. Draco grinned a bit himself.
Ginny craned her neck up and gave him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, deepening it.
Draco realized what had kept him alive that night. Knowing that Ginny was somewhere, knowing that he could hug her and kiss her again and finally say to her those three little words was his only hope to survive.
Ginny Weasley had saved his life in more ways than one. He would never doubt his love for her again.
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Still I will always fight on for you
Fight on for you...
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