Disclaimer: the characters aren't mine.
It was a little over three months after Ginny had been forcibly pried away from Draco's side by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and she was almost completely recovered from the experience. McGonagall thought that after the realization that the two were indeed soul mates that they should be allowedto share a room,but sometimes Ginny still woke up some nights and couldn't breathe, clutching wildly at Draco in the darkness.Ginny's mind wasn't exactly the same as it was before the ordeal; sometimes, she would think thoughts that she knew couldn't be her own, but after the first month or so of having his mother in her head, Ginny stopped telling Draco everything she and Narcissa conversed. It was the last day of school, a bright June day, and Ginny was dreading the summer. She always knew the day would come that she would have to leave the school and leave Draco, but she didn't think it would happen so fast. The water of the lake lapped Ginny's ankles lightly; she sat right at the water's edge, her journal open in her lap.
1st June 1998
Well, journal, I'll be leaving Hogwarts in a few hours, and I'm not exactly sure how my life is going to change after this summer. Draco and I haven't discussed how our relationship is going to go after graduation, but I'm scared. I'm so afraid for some reason that he's going to go back to them, go back to the Death Eater ranks and get himself killed. I know I wouldn't be able to live without him, journal, but there's no way I could tell him that. I know he doesn't want me to know it, but he's going to go back and kill his father. Every time we discuss his mother, he gets this look in his eyes… I remember how Luna always said that his aura spiked with silver sometimes, and I can see that now. I do not want him to die just to avenge Narcissa; I know it's selfish of me, but I want to keep him with me. Narcissa agrees with me, but that's of no consequence to Draco; he sees it as if he's responsible for his death, and he has to protect the honour of her memory by avenging his father.
I don't know what Ron and Hermione are going to think when I tell them that I'm not going to be a part of this war. Too many people, too many innocents are dead, and for what? This is Harry's fight, and even though I hate him more than I can possibly say, I still hope he gets rid of Tom. I'll admit, I would like to be there to see him fall, but I just don't want to get involved.
The graduation ceremony is in a little over an hour, and I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to keep up my brave face. I'm going to have to pretend like I'm okay and that nothing is wrong for hours; I'll be sitting with Draco on the train home and dying inside because today might be the last day I get to see him.
I suppose I'll go put on my clothes for the ceremony. I'll write more later.
"Mister Malfoy?" McGonagall's voice echoed through Draco's head, and he looked up. There she stood in the doorway of her office, an unreadable expression covering her face. "He will see you now. You may talk in my office, as I will be overseeing preparations for the graduation ceremony." Draco nodded, and stood for a moment outside the door, taking a deep breath to steady himself. He opened the door and walked in, shutting the door carefully behind him. There, standing in the middle of McGonagall's office and looking slightly skeptical, was Arthur Weasley.
"Mister Weasley." Draco was nervous, but he hid it well. He extended his hand to shake Arthur's, and Arthur looked at it for a moment before grasping it. Draco realized that Arthur was carrying some of his old prejudices toward Lucius over toward him.
"Mister Malfoy." Arthur's voice was cool, and it showed no sign of emotion. It impressed Draco, who had always been led to believe that the Weasleys lacked not only in manners and no money, but also in restraint.
"Well, sir," Draco looked slightly nervous, running his hand through his hair nervously, "it's about Ginny…"
"What about her?" At Draco's mention of his only daughter, Arthur's demeanor changed to slightly more protective.
"Sir, you may know, she and I have been seeing each other for the past few months." Draco chewed on his lip for a moment for a second before stopping himself. Really, why was he so nervous about this? "And I've come to regard her very highly and her safety is my main concern…" Draco stopped, not really sure how to continue. Arthur's expression softened, but only slightly.
"Her safety? Are you implying that in a house full of brothers and myself Ginny will not be safe?" Arthur's voice wasn't rude; in fact, it showed a patience and kindness he never thought he'd feel directed toward a Malfoy.
"Well, sir, I do think that you and your sons are perfectly capable of keeping Ginny safe." Draco said quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was to offend Arthur; if he offended him, there was no way Arthur would allow him to carry out his plan. "It's just, with the war and all, I really don't think she should be in this country. Perhaps I could take her out of the country and keep her safe, just until the war is through…"
"You want me to allow you, someone brought up to hate my family, to take my only daughter out of the country and care for her?" Arthur's voice was skeptical and slightly disbelieving at best. Draco ran his hands through his hair again.
"Sir, with all due respect, I've already lost one woman I love very dearly to this war." Draco was going out on a limb and being blunt. "I thought you would understand that. I assure you, I'll take good care of Ginny, and I'm sure she'll write to you, and I can tell you exactly where we'll be going and you can visit if you like. Just please, don't make me leave her." On those last words, Draco's voice cracked. What's wrong with me, not even being able to speak without feeling the need to go into tears, he thought darkly.
Arthur studied Draco for a moment. He took in the immaculate robes and polished shoes, but he also took in the mussed hair where Draco has been pulling his hands through it and the bitten fingernails. This boy is by no means his father, Arthur though, shaking his head slightly. It wasn't normally in his nature to judge people by their family, but the Malfoys seemed to be the exception to that.
"Do you have house elves in the home where you plan to take Ginny?" It was a strange question, Draco though, and he nodded slightly. "Ginny's not going to like that, you know. She's just like her mother in that she loves to cook, and she sometimes spends entire days just baking. I'd suggest you give her the reigns over the kitchen, or else she's going to be very displeased." Draco looked at Arthur incredulously, the words he'd just said washing over him.
"You're… you're going to let me take her?" Draco's voice was quiet, almost as if he didn't believe this was happening.
"I know how overwhelming young love can be, and I know that it's foolish to try and stop it." Arthur smiled gently. "McGonagall also explained the situation to me, and while your father and I might not have been the best of friends, you seem to be what's best for Ginny and you seem to be nothing like your father. She's going to throw you for a loop on some things, though. Even though you might have mansions filled with house elves that come to your every beckoned call, she won't like that and she won't put them to use. Ginny's always done for herself, and I don't expect that's ever going to change; she's just like her mother." Arthur put his hand on Draco's shoulder and smiled slightly. "If you don't make sure she writes at least twice a week, you're going to have six angry men beating down your door, and that doesn't even include extended family."
"Yes, sir." Draco smiled a genuine smile. He turned to leave the room, but stopped, his hand on the doorknob. "Thank you." He whispered, turning around to face Arthur before heading out of the room and down outside. The ceremony was going to take place on the grounds, and it was due to start within the hour.
Ginny sat quite still, letting the realization that Draco had just graduated from Hogwarts sink in. While all the others that were seated to watch the ceremony got up and walked over to congratulate the graduates, Ginny sat still, lost in her thoughts. Draco moved from his seat and quietly got up, walking over to where she was sitting. He sat down in front of her, but it was a few moments before she noticed him there. She looked up finally, startled.
"Lost in your thoughts, Red?" Draco asked, amused. Ginny blushed slightly, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Yeah, I am." She admitted quietly. "Sorry, it's just... yeah, I've been thinking about a lot of things... and I've made this decision, it'll be the best for both of us..."
"Wait a minute," Draco interrupted Ginny, "this sounds like you're trying to break up with me." Draco stopped, looking at her, but she wouldn't look back at him. "You can't break up with me, we're soul mates. Why in the world would you want to do something like that?"
"It's for the best." Ginny repeated. "You're going to go off this summer and do Merlin-only-knows-what, while I'm going to be stuck at home, worrying about you. I don't think it would be good for either of us to wait for the other like that. I mean, what if something bad happens? What if one of us dies? What if there's an attack on the Burrow again? What if..."
"Stop, stop." Draco interrupted her. "Nothing bad is going to happen, and I'm not going to be off doing Merlin-knows-what this summer, because you're going to know exactly what I'm doing because you're going to be with me."
"With you?" Ginny said, confused. "How in the world will that work out? I'm not of age yet, and there's no way that my dad or my brothers will let me go off and stay with you this summer, and my brothers would just as soon kill you as to look at you!" Ginny tugged at her hair, her words worried and troubled. Draco caught Ginny's hands and pulled them out of her hair, smiling at her. Her fingers tangled in his.
"Red, I've already talked to your father. He's going to let you come and stay with me, provided you write to them nearly every day. I don't want you to be a part of this war, and you're not going to die. I couldn't..." Draco trailed off before stopping himself. "Either way, you're going to come with me, and we'll be safe." Draco rubbed the back of Ginny's hands with his thumbs and smiled at her, and she looked at him disbelievingly.
"You talked to my father?" Ginny asked incredulously. Draco nodded. "Well… what if I don't want to come with you?" At Ginny's suggestion, Draco looked slightly confused. He hadn't even considered the fact that Ginny might not want to go with him, so it came as a shock when those words came out of her mouth.
"Why wouldn't you want to go with me?" Draco couldn't quite help the hurt from creeping into his voice.
"I do, but you didn't even consider that I might not want to." Ginny replied. Draco looked at her disbelievingly for a moment before scowling.
"If you don't want to go, you don't have to go." He said sourly. He turned to walk up to the castle, but Ginny caught hold of his arm. She turned his body around to where he was facing her.
"Draco, of course I want to go with you." Ginny murmured. "This is just a big thing, that's all. I've not spent a summer away from my family ever, so this is going to be a big deal for me." Ginny implored Draco to understand with her eyes, and he finally nodded. The two of them stood in quiet understanding for a moment.
"So... where exactly are we going?" Ginny finally asked.
"France." Draco replied matter-of-factly. Ginny smiled slightly.
"I've never been to France." She stated. "When do we leave?" Ginny couldn't quite keep the excitement from creeping into her voice. She knew she shouldn't be happy, seeing as how she probably wouldn't get to see her brothers all summer, but she was quite fond of travelling.
"We leave as soon as you like." Draco replied. Ginny smiled and took both of Draco's hands in her own. She moved closer to him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I love you." She murmured, burying her face against the soft material of his robes. He squeezed her tightly, smiling.
"I know." He replied simply. The two of them stood there, locked in that embrace, while all the other people milled amongst each other. There was no need for words between them; the simple act of holding each other was enough. The words they were not saying were making the air sparkle and crack with magic, and if one were to look at them they would swear that there was a golden glow around the two of them.
"So Red, do you need any help packing?" Draco broke the embrace and took Ginny's hand, starting the trek back up to the castle. Ginny smiled slightly.
"Do I ever." Ginny replied. "You can start off by helping me coax Arnold from under the sofa in the common room, then you can help me dig my books out from under my bed, then..." The rest of their conversation was lost as they closed the doors behind them.
The final chapter! I'm debating on a sequel, but I've got an idea for another story that I want to start on first. Well, I've started on it, but I haven't written what I think would be enough on the first chapter. As always, review, and happy reading!