Hey Lovelies, so this is one that not a lot of people are always to big on, but for some reason this story has been shouting at me from the back of my brain for awhile. If this pairing isn't for you that's fine, but if you want to give them a shot, please do. I hope you have something to say about it, and I hope that you let me know what you think. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Chapter 1 – She's Like The Wind

There were people everywhere; dresses of every color swirled before him and the sounds of music and laughter filled his ears. Three years ago tonight, the Great Hall hadn't looked like this. That night had been dark, cursed, and in the end, silent; a million things had changed since then, but a million other things had stayed the same. Harry Potter was still there, standing at the bar for the moment but not for long. His eyes swept around the room as he pretended to be listening to whatever Ginny had been saying. His gaze stopped when he reached the large oak doors.

The pair stood framed in the towering archway as whispers and stares found them. Neither one of them was entirely sure why they had come, but they had received the invitation and never ones to refuse a social outing they had obliged. People looked at them with distrust and loathing, and neither man nor woman could find a fault in it. They were deserving of the stares, of the whispers and the scowls. Or at least that is what they had thought.

A smile tugged at the corners of Harry's mouth as he looked at them, he was shocked, but pleased that they had accepted the invitation he had made sure was sent their way. What better way to reintroduce them into society than at the largest party of the year?

Without so much as a word to Ginny he pulled away from her and made his way across the room towards the door. Intent upon rescuing them from the stares and the whispers, well intent on rescuing her, Draco he couldn't really care less about. When he arrived in front of her he gave her a slight bow and extended his hand. A waltz started behind him and he smiled down at her, "Ms. Black, may I have this dance?"

She looked up at him, curiosity filling her icy blue eyes. "Lord Potter?" She addressed him using the title that he had gained after the war, one he wasn't used to people using. "There is no need to extend such courtesies towards me. I know that my being here is not something that everyone is going to accept. No need to ostracize yourself from your friends on my account." She gave a small wave of her hand, as if to dismiss him but he caught a hold of it and held her gaze.

"Narcissa." Her eyes widened at his use of her given name, but he didn't let her interrupt. "You have every right to be here tonight. Without you, I wouldn't have been here; I would have died out there in that Forest. You helped save everyone here, you deserve to be among them."

"Potter, if my mother says no she means it. Back off." Draco started to take a step towards Harry but Narcissa got in the way. "Go enjoy yourself darling, Harry is fine, in fact," she turned back to the dark haired young man, "I will accept your offer to dance."

He smiled as Draco huffed off in the opposite direction, and he moved her hand to his arm. He escorted her to the dance floor. The whispers and stares that had followed her since she set foot in the castle seemed only to multiply when people noticed that Harry had taken it upon himself to escort her. There were audible gasps and loud whispers carried to their ears as they began to waltz around the dance floor.

"Who does she think she is?"

"Why is she even here?"

"Wife of a Death Eater."

Fewer revolved around Harry, but some of those cut through to the dance partners as well.

"What is he doing?"

"Did he invite her?"

"Potter and Lady Malfoy are waltzing? Strange."

When the song ended she pulled away from him and barely met his eyes as she dropped him a shallow curtsey before turning from the dance floor. Slowly he made his way back over to Ginny, who had not moved the entire time that Harry had spent with Narcissa. "What was that all about?" To the casual observer her voice sounded light and easy, simply curious, to Harry it was bitter, like she couldn't quite believe that had just happened.

"I owe her Gin."

"Owe her? You owe Narcissa Malfoy?"

"It's Black again now, and yes, I owe her."

"What could you possibly owe her?"

His expression turned serious and he met her eyes for the first time since he had come back to the bar. "I owe her my life." He heard her gasp as he walked away from her and slowly wandered through the party. He had never told anyone what she had done for him in the Forest, and he assumed that she hadn't either. It was a secret that neither one of them felt the need to share, but it connected them. In a way that neither one ever hoped to be connected to another.

He moved around the room, talking and laughing with everyone that he was expected too. He joked with the Weasley's, and pecked Hermione on the cheek. He tickled both Teddy and Victorie when he reached the table they sat at with Andromeda and Fleur. Both toddlers brought a smile to Harry's face; at two and three it was nice to see that there was a bright future ahead of them.

As he circled the massive hall he found himself searching for her, watching her. Her blonde hair made her easily distinguishable, even from a distance. He was glad to see that not everyone was whispering and pushing her to the side. From his spot along one wall, he could see that she was talking to the Minister and to McGonagall. They were smiling and it seemed that she was getting along fine.

"You're staring Potter." He was shaken by the snarky drawl. "She's going to notice and I doubt that she will appreciate the fact that you are checking up on her."

"I'm not checking up on her. I was just making sure she was okay."

"She's fine Potter. Don't you have a girlfriend you should be watching out for, instead of silently stalking my mother?"

"It's not stalking to make sure that she's having a good time, and as far as Ginny is concerned, I think she's doing just fine on her own." He nodded to the bar where he had left her and Malfoy turned to look over his shoulder.

"She's flirting with Zabini and you're over here not even trying to stop it? Finally realized you can do better than that huh?"

"There's nothing wrong with Ginny, we just, it's not the same, now that I'm not facing death everyday."

"You're an Auror, not exactly the safest job there is."

"Still a lot safer than I used to be. I think the thrill of it was a part of the draw for us. The knowing there was a real chance that I wouldn't come back. Now that I'm here," he seemed to realize what he was saying and whom he was saying it to and he stopped suddenly. "What am I telling you any of this for anyhow?"

"You'd be surprised Potter, we Slytherin's make very good listeners." He smiled and retreated back the way that he had come.

Harry sighed and moved around the room giving his goodbyes as he went. There was no use in trying to say goodbye to everyone, just those he was sure would feel offended if he didn't. When he reached the little trio he gently touched her elbow as he cleared his throat. "I just wanted to offer my goodbyes." He extended a hand to Kingsley, "Minister, Professor," he shook McGonagall's hand in turn and finally he faced Narcissa. "Ms. Black." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"Lord Potter. Thank you for the dance earlier. I apologize for the way I behaved afterwards."

He smiled at her as he backed away, green eyes dancing with his every syllable, "It was my pleasure."

By the time he made it back over to Ginny she was alone again. "I gave everyone our goodbyes, we are free to leave whenever you would like."

"Well, then I'm ready. There is no reason to be here at all." He could feel the fight coming and he didn't want to have it in public. That went against his belief in privacy when it came to his personal life. He took her arm in his and led her to the fireplace that had been set up for everyone to come and go for the evening. Stepping into it he sighed as she disappeared from sight.

He came out in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, and seconds later he heard Ginny come spinning in behind him.

"This isn't over Harry. I want to talk about this!"

"Talk about what Gin?"

"This, us, tonight! You left me by myself at a ball while you danced with someone else and then proceeded to travel around the room alone, talking to absolutely everyone except me!"

He had kept a cap on his temper up until this point, but it was wearing thin. "I asked you to dance Ginny, more than once before Narcissa and Draco got there. You turned me down! I'm sorry that I asked someone else! And as far as leaving you at that bar, you knew everyone there, you could have made conversation with anyone, in fact you did. I saw you talking to Blaise Zabini; so don't act like you were alone all night because of me. You are an adult, you can take care of yourself."

He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, and he honestly didn't want to hurt her. "You know what, forget it. Now is not the time to talk about this. Not when we are both angry. Tomorrow when we've cooled down a bit we can talk. Until then, I'm going to bed." He headed for the door and stopped when he heard the fire whoosh back to life behind him.

"Goodnight Harry." She gave a small smile and then stepped back into the fire calling out, "The Burrow."

Harry laid awake for hours turning it all over in his mind. There was so much to think about, so much to consider. He had spent the last three years of his life with Ginny, is this really all it came down to? One lousy fight and they were going their separate ways? He tried to think of all the things that may have gone wrong, all the ways he could fix it, but his mind kept drifting. The image in his mind kept shifting, the woman in front of him was changing. No longer was her hair straight and red, or her eyes a honey brown, instead there were long golden waves falling around her shoulders, and icy blue eyes that seemed to peer into his soul. Narcissa Black was invading his dreams.

The next morning Harry awoke to the sound of Kreacher's voice calling for him. "What is it Kreacher?"

"The Weasley girl is in the kitchen sir. She is wanting to know if you is having breakfast yet sir."

"Tell her I'm on my way down." The elf bowed and with a loud pop he disappeared from Harry's room. It was a few minutes later that Harry arrived in the kitchen, fully dressed and ready for the day. His first thought when he looked at Ginny was that she had been crying.

Her voice was soft, and he could hear the heartbreak in her words as she gave them, "Harry, we need to talk."

He nodded and sat down across from her, he started buttering his toast but then he set the knife down on the table and met her eyes. "This isn't working Gin. I don't know what happened, but we aren't working anymore."

He had expected the tears to start flowing again, but instead she just sighed. "I know. I don't know how to fix it anymore." She looked down at her lap where she was twirling her wand in her fingers. "I don't want to just give up, but…"

"But it's gone." Her eyes shot back up to his and he saw she was surprised.

"Yes!" It was a whisper but it was there. "I didn't know how to describe it, or what to say, but you're right, it's gone."

Harry got up and came around her side of the table and pulled her up into a bone-crushing hug. "I'll always love you Gin, it's just not the same anymore. It's like trying to fall in love with my sister."

"Exactly!"

"Hey!"

"Well, it's like trying to love one of my brother's anyway." She looked up at him and smiled, "That's what we are Harry, family. Nothing is going to change that, but I can't love you."

"And I don't want to love you like that anymore." He kissed the top of her head. "This feels right."

"I agree. I've missed you Harry."

"I missed you too."

When she left again this time it felt right. They had done the right thing. They were better as friends, as siblings, than they ever had been as lovers. Now when he shut his eyes the woman in his head didn't even start off with red hair, now she was blonde.