But if everything had remained constant, my life would never be where it is now. I have experienced pain and loss, but more importantly, I have found true happiness. You see, if Draco Malfoy hadn’t gone against his parents’ wishes and joined the Order, I never would have become friends with him. And if my fiancé hadn’t broken my heart, I never would have gone to Draco’s house, hurt and confused, and let him comfort me when I thought I had nowhere else to go.
I guess my story begins about a year ago, when I was working at the Ministry. I was twenty-two, living alone in a tiny house among a small neighborhood of wizards on the outskirts of London. The events that occurred that day made me think that my whole world was falling apart, when really, my life was just beginning.
It was a hectic day at the Ministry, as usual, but it was a Friday, and I had something to look forward to. My fiancé, Jonathon Rafferty, was coming over to my house so that we could spend some quality time together. We hadn’t seen each other all week due to both of our busy schedules and he was constantly on my mind.
I was so in love with him, and my family adored him ” even Ron. During the war, none of us ever seemed able to relax ” my mom especially ” with nine of us in danger. And after it was over, after Harry Potter did indeed defeat the Dark Lord, we were never able to completely shake the fear and the worry that plagued our family for so long.
But when I met Jonathon, that tension that lingered among us all seemed to melt away, slowly disintegrating whenever he smiled until there was nothing left. His laugh was contagious, and before I knew it he had brought the familiar joy back to my family when I thought it was lost forever. I loved him with all my heart, and part of me still loves him for what he did for us.
So this is where my story begins: a day that seemed nothing out of the ordinary but would become a changing day, a day when my life took an unexpected turn and caused me to make a mistake that would alter my life as I knew it. But it wasn’t just any mistake ” it was the perfect mistake.
Often I wonder if the clock in my office stops periodically just to torture me so that when I look up, only five minutes appear to have passed when in reality, a half hour has gone by. But whenever I glare up at the thing it only laughs and tells me “Patience is a virtue, honey”, to which I respond with a certain finger gesture while wondering, for the thousandth time, why I’m not allowed to get rid of it.
Presently, I still have an hour until I get off. That is, if I can finish all this paperwork in time. I glance at the messy pile of papers surrounding me and sigh. That’s what I get for being so slow on Mondays. My work always piles up by the end of the week.
I work for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes; specifically, I’m the head of the new division called the Suspicious Case Agency. Basically, we review all of the cases of magical accidents and catastrophes and pick out the ones that could be connected with Dark wizards. My job is to do a bit more in-depth investigation, find the ones worth looking into, fill out a complete report, and hand it over to Auror Intelligence.
Auror Intelligence was created during the last year of the war. Aurors used to operate themselves, investigating and fighting Dark Wizards. However, their workload became too much with so many Death Eaters and other Dark Wizards on the loose wreaking havoc while You-Know-Who was alive. Auror Intelligence specializes in the investigation of those Dark Wizards and the creation of covert operations against them, while the Aurors’ jobs are to go fight them.
Ironically, Draco Malfoy has a job in Auror Intelligence, and has played a key role in the capture of many law-breakers. I guess that’s when I started to respect him ” it was one thing to renounce his role as a Death Eater and turn his back on his parents, but it was another to work against them. I know that his dad, who had been in Azkaban ever since the ordeal at the Department of Mysteries, died shortly before Voldemort’s defeat, but Aurors killed Narcissa Malfoy. Whether it was a direct result of Draco’s work, I don’t know, but I decided not to give him a hard time for doing the right thing. And that’s how our friendship began.
Working with Malfoy has been... an experience. It is he who usually comes into my office periodically and fetches the mountains of paperwork that is to go to Auror Intelligence. After about four years of working together, I have learned to ignore his moments of arrogance and pride, though they are scarce. He makes me angry at times, yes, but he also makes me laugh, and has brightened my day numerous times in the few minutes he stops by to get the reports. I have not forgotten the boy he was back in school, but as far as I am concerned, they are two different people. Draco will never be able to erase the past, and part of my family have certainly stressed that to me when I speak of our relationship, but in my eyes, his slate has been wiped clean.
Suddenly, I hear the familiar creak of my door opening and look up from my work. Draco Malfoy has just entered the room looking about as tired as I felt. His shirtsleeves were rolled up and his untidy hair was falling into his eyes, which had dark circles underneath them. I smiled when he came in, and he took a seat at the hard wooden chair in front of my desk.
“You look tired,” I said, putting down my quill and sitting back in my chair.
He shrugged. “It’s been a crazy week.”
“Yet hardly any of these cases have turned out to be anything of importance. Maybe everything is dying down; You-Know-Who has been dead for four years.”
“Actually,” Draco said, leaning forward. “I disagree. Part of the reason why I came over here was to tell you that that case you gave us, the one where the Alohomora charm was used at a Muggle household? Well, it turned out to be a murder case. Upon further investigation, we found two dead Muggles in the house, apparently stabbed to death.”
“Wow,” I said. “I knew it seemed odd. But why is this so significant?”
“Because the name of the killer is Julian Barnes, a wizard responsible for the death of twenty-six Muggles over the course of seven years.”
My eyes widened. “Twenty-six?”
Draco nodded. “Ten of them were children. So I came to say good work, Ginny, because little accidents are very common, and not a lot of people would have investigated something as simple as the use of Alohomora. Thanks to you, Julian’s locked away in Azkaban for a long time.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You sound like my boss,” I said. “But thanks.”
He sat there for a minute, pushing up one of his sleeves, and I caught sight of the Dark Mark that was tattooed on his forearm. By now, I had gotten used to seeing it, and it was the only thing that reminded me of Draco’s dark past. Its color was no longer jet black and over the past few years, after Voldemort’s death, it had faded significantly into a grayish color.
“Is that ever going to go away?” I asked quietly, gesturing to his arm.
He stopped messing with his shirt and looked up at me. “I don’t think so. I believe the Dark Lord wanted to make it a permanent mark, so that his followers would never be able to truly escape him.”
His words were full of bitterness and regret, and I was sorry I had brought it up. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to---“
Draco held up a hand to stop me. “It was my mistake,” he said firmly. He paused. “Listen, I came up here to ask you something...”
Suddenly, he was looking nervous, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself at a sight that I never would have imagined possible four years ago.
“It’s Friday,” he began, “and I was wondering if you, er, had any plans?”
I swallowed. “Well,” I said slowly, “Jonathon and I were going to spend some time together...”
His eyes flickered over to the ring that was on my finger, the one that had been there for nearly a year now.
“Oh,” he said. “I understand.”
Feeling terrible, I thought I should explain. “It’s just that, we haven’t seen each other for a week, and---“
“Don’t worry about it!” he told me. “Really. You have plans. Maybe some other time.” He stood up and turned to leave.
“Draco,” I said.
“Yes?”
“Have a good weekend.”
A smile spread across his face, but it did not reach his eyes. “You too, Ginny.”
As the door shut behind him, I felt even worse than before, if it was at all possible. I had always thought he must be lonely, living by himself in a giant mansion. He had dated occasionally but it never lasted long, and I found myself wondering what we would have done if I hadn’t had plans with Jonathon. He probably would have taken me to dinner at a nice restaurant and made me laugh the whole time. He was a good friend.
But Draco needed someone else, someone that he could share his life with and go home to every night. Since we became friends, I cared about him, and I knew that he deserved the happiness that I myself had been feeling since I met Jonathon. So as I sat in my office trying to finish my mountain of paperwork I hoped that soon, Draco would find love.
“For God’s sake, Jonathon, tell me what’s bothering you,” I said, exasperated. He had been acting distant all night, and I could tell something was on his mind. All through dinner, he seemed lost in thought over something, and it was getting on my nerves.
After dropping our plates into the sink I turned around to face him, but was startled when I saw that Jonathon’s face was so pale. “Are you alright?” I asked gently, walking to the table and putting my hand on his forehead.
“I’m fine,” he said, reaching up and moving my hand.
“Yeah, right, Jonathon, you look like you just saw a ghost!”
“Ginny,” he said quietly, “Can you sit down for a minute?”
Perplexed, I sat down in front of him. “Jonathon, is something wrong...?”
He sighed and averted his eyes. “I... have something to tell you.”
I stared blankly at him, realizing that this couldn’t be anything good. He continued.
“I wish there was a better way to say this but... Ginny, I can’t... I can’t marry you.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I did not like the expression on his face. “W-what?” I stammered. “Listen, it’s okay if you’re scared, we can wait...”
But he shook his head. “I can’t.”
“But... Jonathon, I love you!”
“Ginny, please don’t---“
“Look at me!” I said forcefully.
He stopped avoiding my gaze and stared into my eyes. “I care about you. I’d never want to hurt you, but... I’m in love with someone else.”
I felt winded; all air seemed to have escaped my lungs as I tried to process his betrayal. It was impossible. It had to be some kind of sick joke. How could he do this to me?
I put my face in my hands as he spoke, feeling hurt and anger fill my body with every word that escaped his lips.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he repeated. “I can’t control my feelings, Ginny, it just... happened. I tried to forget her but I couldn’t. I love her.”
Slowly, I lifted my head up to face him. I couldn’t believe it. I felt as if I had been slapped across the face, and I stared at him in disbelief.
“Ginny, please don’t... Don’t look at me like that...” he pleaded, reaching for my hand, but I jerked it away.
“Ginny,” he repeated. I could see the pity in his eyes, but there was not a trace of guilt. It made me sick to watch him try to justify what he had done. “It’s not like I did it on purpose...”
“Don’t even tell me that,” I said forcefully, finding my voice. I refused to let him see how much he had hurt me. “You can’t say that this was an accident. You had a choice, Jonathon, and you made the wrong one.”
“I didn’t choose to fall in lo---“
“You were supposed to be in love with me!” I cried, hardly believing what I was hearing. I had given him everything, and this was what I got in return? Was our entire relationship a lie?
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I just---“
“No. No! I don’t want to hear it!” I yelled, standing up. “You’re choosing her, aren’t you?”
Jonathon sighed, and then nodded. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not sorry. You’re a liar, and you’re a cheater. You destroyed this relationship and walked out on me when I have been nothing but loyal to you! I can’t forgive you for this, Jonathon!”
I yanked the ring off my finger and slammed it on the table in front of him. “Take this to her,” I told him viciously. “Her standards are low enough to be dating a jackass like you, so I don’t think she’d have a problem with wearing a second-hand ring. Now get out.”
I watched as he stood up, silently grabbing my engagement ring and slipping it into his pocket. He turned to leave, but when he got to the door, he stopped and faced me again. “I really am sorry,” he said weakly.
Despite my best efforts at holding my feelings in, I felt tears well up in my eyes as I saw him apologize for something that I could never forgive. “Please,” I whispered. “Just go, Jonathon. You’ve done enough.”
So he left. As soon as he shut the door I sank into a chair and cried until no more tears would come. I kept thinking of the day we met, and how I thought I could trust him with my life. And I thought of my family... they had all been so happy for me when Jonathon proposed. He had helped bring my family joy again. How could I tell them that it had all been a lie; that it was over?
I stood up shakily and grabbed a tissue from my kitchen counter. As I wiped my eyes, a picture of Jonathon and me caught my eye. We were waving happily at the camera, our faces full of laughter, but I wondered if he was already cheating on me that moment, and the picture was only a memento of his charade.
At the thought I got some Firewhiskey and poured myself a good amount of it while I stared at the picture of us. I wondered what I might have done to make him cheat on me. I thought I had been everything he wanted, but apparently I wasn’t good enough.
I felt a few tears stream down my face, so I took the picture and threw it in the trash. I needed to go somewhere where I wouldn’t be constantly reminded of how I had wasted the past year of my life with a man who never loved me. I needed to talk to someone, but I couldn’t go to my family because I didn’t think I could handle their disappointment. I didn’t want them to feel the pain I myself was feeling.
So I grabbed my coat and Apparated to the first place that came to my mind: the Malfoy Mansion.