Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the idea (which I think is original, but ya never know). Anywho, the whole kitten-caboodle belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Chapter 9: Back Again

"...And then I was sent to another camp for a few years before ending up here." Draco finished. Every man in the room, and even a few who had entered during the middle of the story, had their eyes on Draco. Finally someone spoke.

"What happened to Ginny?" Carter asked, his eyes wide in anticipation.

"'Donno," Draco said simply.

"I bet she went back to Harry." One of the men said. Draco smirked and shook his head.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you." He said.

"Why not?"

"Well, the camp that I went to before this place had me fighting on the front lines with Potter. And I, being the conversational wizard I am, got to talking to him during one of the battles..."

FOUR YEARS EARLIER

"So, stolen anyone else's girlfriends lately?" Harry asked angrily, dodging just in time as a curse came their way.

"Still bitter, eh?" Draco smirked, shooting a curse and hitting one of the Death Eaters.

"I am not bitter!" Harry yelled angrily, letting down his guard and glaring at Draco.

"Duck," Draco said casually, causing Harry to realize just in time that two curses were heading his way.

"I just—" he ducked the first curse. "don't understand—" and nearly tripped dodging the other.

"—why she chose me?" Draco finished helpfully.

"Well, yea." Harry said.

"I know it must be unbelievably hard for you to understand why she chose me—the incredibly handsome one—over you—the pathetically sappy idiot. It had me stumped too." Draco said, pointing his wand at the nearest Death Eater and muttering 'Stupify..'

"Close, but no," Harry said. "It boggles my mind how she could choose the Death Eater over the Romantic."

There was a pause, and then—

"Watch out," Draco said carelessly, pushing Harry so hard that he tumbled to the ground.

"What'd you do that for?" Harry asked angrily, quickly pulling himself up. "There wasn't even a curse coming!"

"I know." Draco smirked.

PRESENT

"I mean, honestly, how thick can the man be?" Draco sighed with annoyance. "I was right there, fighting next to him, and the bloody cretin has the nerve to call me a Death Eater."

There was a sort of uncomfortable silence; all of the men looked at each other uneasily. Finally, Carter spoke up.

"Well, er, we all kinda thought the same thing too." He muttered. Then, receiving the glare Draco sent his way, added, "Well, now we don't think so. But before, when you were just that annoying git who refused to socialize with others, we figured you were a triple agent. You know, came over here to be a double agent, but you're really just working for You-Know-Who."

Draco let out a frustrated growl, throwing up his hands and accidentally sending his lit cigarette at an unsuspecting comrade.

After the soldier's fit of screaming, "Get it off me! Get it off me!" while squirming this way and that, Draco spoke.

"I really don't understand your people's logic." He said exasperatedly. "Just because I don't care for the bloody Boy-Who-Lived doesn't mean I want to kill him! I just think he's a cocky prick who gets more then he deserves, but that doesn't mean I don't like what he stands for."

Everyone just stared at Draco, seeming to take a while either to understand what he was saying or to believe him. Draco sighed in annoyance.

"Honestly, it's not like you have to have a Potter fetish to fight against You-Know-Who; otherwise Snape wouldn't be risking his greasy ass right now!"

"I know that," Carter said with a hint of defensiveness. "It's just—your father—"

"—isn't me." Draco said sternly, glaring at Carter with his steel gray eyes.

Not wanting to discuss the degree of his evilness further, Draco was relieved when a soldier from their camp came running through the door with a smile on her face and a message on the tip of her tongue.

Her name was Something Johnson—Draco couldn't place her face.

"What's up, Angelina?" The man Draco nearly burnt with his cigarette asked.

Now Draco remembered her! She was a Gryffindor a few years his senior who he'd played Quidditch against a few times.

She was doubled over, sputtering slightly and looking as if she'd just run twenty miles.

"Well, spit it out woman!" Draco said loudly. She lifted her head to glare at him and Draco smirked. Apparently she remembered him too.

"They need more soldiers," she said finally, taking her eyes off of Draco and joining in on the celebrations with the others. People were yelling, jumping up and down, as a few set off gold sparks with their wands. Draco, mean while, was staying perfectly stationary, only moving to yawn a bit and cross his arms impatiently.

He'd already fought twice for things he believed in, so it wasn't nearly as exciting the third time around.

Finally, when the yelling quieted a bit, Angelina said, "The Healers are here now to give every soldier a check up and tell us if we're healthy enough to fight."

At these words, there was a stampede toward the door, and poor Angelina nearly got trampled in the process. Draco sighed heavily, shaking his head at the childish antics of his fellow comrades, and making sure to push Angelina nice and hard before following the rest. Draco joined the shortest of three lines leading to the Healers.

"Hey, Malfoy," said the man in front of him, turning around. Draco recognized him as one of the men whom he bunked with. "What did you say this Ginny chick looked like?"

Draco rolled his eyes, answering, "Red hair, freckles, brown eyes—why do you care?"

"No reason," The man said, turning back around and standing on his tiptoes to look over the heads in front of him. He turned back to Draco. "Why don't you go in front of me."

Draco raised an eyebrow, suspicious only for a second before shrugging his shoulders and stepping in front of the man.

Just when his suspicion was fading away, the man behind him tapped the shoulder of the woman now in front of Draco, leaning around Draco to whisper something in the girl's ear.

Suddenly, the woman in front of him offered Draco her spot. Again, with raised brow and hesitation, Draco accepted. This happened until there was just one person in front of Draco.

"Be my guest, Malfoy," Carter said, offering him his spot with a grin. Draco stepped forward, looking behind him at all of the smiling soldiers who were eyeing him. Draco rolled his eyes for the hundredth time that day, turning around and wondered what they were all playing at.

"Draco?"

Draco's eyes widened as he stared into the brown eyes of Ginevra Weasley.

"I—Irish?" He finally said, smiling uncontrollably. "Since when did you become a Healer?"

Ginny, however, did not return the smile. She stood in front of him, her wand aloof in one hand, as she said coldly, "A lot happens in five years."

Draco's grin vanished. She was angry. Of course she was angry—he knew it'd be a miracle if she wasn't. He took a deep breath, asking, "You hate me, don't you?"

"For like a week I did," Ginny said casually. "Once I figured out that you weren't lost; that you'd left."

"Not voluntarily," He said quickly.

"Really?" she asked icily. "I wasn't aware that they dragged you out at wand point."

Draco could here the soldiers behind him suppress laughter. He sighed, chuckling a little himself.

"You never let me off easy, do you." He said good-heartedly.

Ginny shrugged, saying, "Not when I know you're lying."

There was a pause—Draco wasn't sure if she was going to slap him or not. The look on her face was murderous. He hadn't seen her this mad since she'd confronted him about leaving her the first time.

Ginny's angry eyes left Draco's pleading ones and spotted the pencil stored behind his ear.

"Still sketching, are you?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking at him.

"I haven't been able to draw a decent picture since you left."

"You left." Ginny said in a clipped voice.

"Ginny, I'm sorry—" Draco began honestly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, suddenly bursting with anger.

"Tell you what—?" Draco questioned.

"That you were a double agent!" Ginny yelled. Draco winced, both at the sound of her voice and the guilt he'd been feeling for the past five years over the same issue. "That is why you kept leaving, wasn't it? Didn't you trust me?"

"Of course I did, but—"

"But what? You just felt like leaving me in the dark?" She yelled. By now, everyone was staring at them, and the men were no longer smiling. Ginny laughed darkly. "And you know what the sad thing is? Ever since I showed up at your cottage, I'd been scared every night to go to sleep, knowing that one day you wouldn't be there when I woke up."

"Merlin, Ginny, you have no idea how much I wanted to tell you," Draco said, pleading with her to understand.

"Save it," Ginny snapped, speaking through gritted teeth. "After everything I told you—after everything I gave up for you—you just—you just—"

Ginny seemed to have run out of words to scream at him, so, instead, she slapped him hard across the face. Before Draco even had time to recover, he felt two hands grip his face and suddenly Ginny's lips were on his. His eyes were wide as Ginny bit his bottom lip hard, forcing her tongue into his mouth.

Draco could no longer hear the people around him. He was, instead, focusing on the tiny war happening between his mouth and Ginny's. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him, kissing her roughly—both from the happiness of being able to kiss her after five years of being apart and from the anger her could feel radiating off of her. Ginny kissed back just as fiercely, not even wincing when he bit her lip so hard he drew blood.

Finally, Ginny pulled back, a satisfied look on her face.

"You were right," she said with a smile. "That was pretty good."

Draco was puzzled for a second before suddenly remembering the conversation that'd had so long ago about kissing someone when you were angry. He looked at the beaming red-head with shock.

"So—that whole fight—that was—"

"Just a component in my sick, twisted game." Ginny smirked. "Sorry about that, by the way," she added, placing a hand gingerly on Draco's cheek which now bore her hand print. "I got a bit carried away."

"So—so you didn't mean any of that stuff you said?" He said in amazement, grabbing her raised hand and holding it tightly.

"'Course not!" Ginny laughed, kissing his bruised cheek lightly. "Dumbledore explained everything to me when I went and told him you'd left again. I knew something was up because you would never break your promise willingly."

Draco grinned, remembering the promise he'd made Ginny to never break her heart, and happy that she knew he didn't mean to go back on it.

"So, Dumbledore suggested I go back to my job at St. Mungo's and start training to be a Healer so I could come visit you."

"Well, you've come at a rather inconvenient time," said Carter from behind Draco. He was leaning around Draco and beaming at the red-head. Draco narrowed his eyes at him.

"He's right," Draco said, turning back to Ginny with an apologetic look on his face. "We're about to be sent out."

"I know," Ginny said in a calm voice, grinning. "But I'm willing to wait."

Draco smiled, not knowing what to say, but choosing to ignore the chorus of sarcastic "Aw"s that issued from the mouths of every person in the camp.

"By the way," Ginny said, kissing Draco once more and flicking her tongue into his mouth before saying critically, "Have you been smoking?"

Fin

::sigh:: It's so sad that this is the end—but I feel really happy with this ending (which is strange for me cause I'm notorious for bad endings). Anyways, I lover all of my readers and reviewers, and I am soooooooooo happy that you guys like this story. Here's my final thank yous. ::tear::

Krispykreme1468: lol, I love sex chapters too. You know what else I love? Cake. Chocolate cake. Mmmmmm....

Lily Dwarf: I'm sorry that you're bored and cold. I can't really help with the cold thing, but if you're bored, watch Friends. Trust me, you'll feel better.

Yellow Banana: You're name made me hungry. I really want a banana dipped in sugar. No, I'm not crazy, I'm perfectly sensible.

Merit Somnia: Damn right Ginny's angry! Well....kinda. And Draco wasn't brutally murdered, just brutally kissed—which, in my opinion, way better.

Vix: haha, yep, sex while painting is pretty damn creative. And I donno if I'm gonna write more after this. I don't have a sequel idea yet, but you never know...

Funnykido: Yep, it's a happy ending! I had you worried there for a second, didn't I? haha, I'm so crafty.

Kneh13: heehee, when you said the chapter was wicked, it reminded me of Rupert Grint. Ah, Rupert Grint. Donno why it reminds me of him, and I don't care. ::dreamy sigh:: That Rupert Grint just cracks me up...

Miss Court-A-Doo: Aw, you say that things rock your socks too? Me too!!! That's so cool. It's like you're my brother from another mother. Ya, I know you're a girl, but it wouldn't sound as good.

Blatant Discontent: heehee, yep, the obvious is so not my style. I kept reading over ch. 8 thinking, "Well, Draco, the logical thing to do would be to just apparate up to the attic and wake Ginny up....but I don't think that'd be nearly as interesting."

QuirkyWriter: Oh God no. Not Titanic, no no no no no. Anything but that! By the way, I am so checking out those books.

AnitaBlake/BuffyFan: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear AnitaBlake/BuffyFaaaaaaaaan. Happy birthday to yoooooooooooooooooou!

Elfin Princess Prue: lol, there's Harry's reaction! Not exactly nice, but who really cares what Harry thinks, right?

Straycat: Yep, there is a painting called the Ginevra de Benci. Once I found out that Ginny's full name was Ginevra I searched it on the internet and found that. Maybe I should've credited De Vinci for it....all well.

Hadhafang: I donno about a sequel. I might, I might not. If I think of an idea, I will, but that hasn't happened yet. What do you think I could write about in the sequel?

Prexus: heehee, it's good to know that next time you go to an art museum and see a painting you're gonna be like, "I bet they thought that up while doin' it. Heeheehee..."

Ayumi-dono: heehee, you're so energetic in your review, it makes me laugh. And I never thought about Ginny being in danger since she was still in the cottage. I guess I kinda over looked that little tid-bit. Oopsie.

WiDz: lol, no love triangle, but I still gave you Harry's point of view. Not that anyone listens to that whiny brat, but still...

Dracosbaby7: lol, ya, I hate it when they kiss once and then are all, "Omg, I'm so in love with you!" Although I have written a few of those fics (something I seriously regret. It was long ago), but all well.

Persephone 4: haha, woot! I've made art dirty! I can't wait till you're next art class, cause all your friends are gonna be wondering why you're laughing so hard. They'll think you're crazy. It'll be funny.

Actrez: Yes, our reading relationship is a bit strange. But, ya know, who really cares? We know we're weird, so all well. Here's a quote that I just heard while watching That 70's Show. Donna: "Eric, I love you." Eric: ".....I love cake."

Actionmaster: heehee, you'd rather do it then read it? You're such a guy. Glad you found someone to go to homecoming with. Your friend, huh? Riiiight. You think she's goooorgeous, you want to kiiiiss her, you want to huuuug her, you want to loooove her....

Brokentoy19: He didn't really lose her, just for—like—five years. But not forever.

Sunflour: lol, I actually have no idea what a war would be like—especially a magical war. So I did my best and described as little of it as I could. Hopefully it's believable.

Herbie: haha, Herbie's sex-hungry! Fuck Buddy Day sounds great! It sounds a lot better then Hump Day, cause that's just a little too graphic.

OK. The end. Tis sad. :( I wove you all!!! Adios.