Dead.

Everyone was dead.

She was completely surrounded by the unhealthy stench of dead flesh as she walked through the sea of bodies that littered the ground. How could they have lost? It just didn't make sense to her and a numb, void feeling has taken over her senses. What is she suppose to do now? She thought she would be celebrating with her family, kissing Harry, and shaking hands with Order members. She didn't think she would be picking through the battle field for any survivors before the Death Eaters came and burned the bodies. But they lost and at that moment all of her childhood fantasies of good and evil vanished and in that one hour she aged thirty years.

She holds a handkerchief up to her nose to block out the smell of human decay. It was nasty business and Voldemort did not fight fair, it was foolish to think he would have. She sees a shock of red hair and her heart drops. Cautiously she walks up to it and looks down at the worn brown robe and shaggy Weasley hair. She doesn't even have to turn the body over to know that the bluish dead skin and the broken glasses belong to Percy. She fights down the urge to vomit and turns her head the other way.

A little way off Luna Lovegood is turning over bodies and checking pulses with her blonde hair showing brightly among the dull and drab grays. They're like the clean up crew now. The only ones left and uninjured to do this dirty work. Along with a few other younger members of the Order who weren't allowed to fight. A strange moaning sound brings her out of her thoughts and she looks to her left. A few meters away a black robed figure is moving on the ground, still alive.

She takes out her wand prepared to kill. They left no survivors, and neither would she. Cautiously she walks up to it and turns the person over with her shoe. Who she sees there makes her heart skip a beat.

Draco Malfoy has his eyes closed tightly with a grimace on his face and Ginny takes a sharp intake at breath at the sight. There are gashes across his pale cheeks and his hands are clamped down on his left leg that's oozing blood all over his white hands and pooling beside him on the ground. She could deal with nameless Death Eaters… but not a face she knows. She looks around to make sure no one can see and then she kneels down beside him.

"Draco?" she asks in a small timid voice, having never said his first name before.

His blurred eyes snap open to hers and she retracts back a little out of fear. His robes are covered in dirt as well as his skin and hair. It's so unlike his usual polished façade that it's almost painful to see him this way. Even school Ginny can remember him always being so put together and good looking, never a hair out of place. He doesn't seem to be able to focus on her so he closes his eyes again and a strange moaning sound comes from his lips. She looks down to his leg wound and realizes why. He had been cut by Gryffindor's sword. The same sword that Harry had dipped in poison before the battle to ensure death… but it didn't protect him from his own. Draco will die before the Death Eater's return and he'll just become another body for their bonfire.

Good riddance.

She stood to leave him then. She wasn't here to save Death Eaters. She was here to see if any of her friends or family had survived. He probably killed most of them.

"Ginny?" Luna is before her now as she walks away from Draco's body. "We didn't find anyone alive. Did you?" she asks, her large eyes rolling around to double check the bodies on the ground.

She looks over her shoulder to his helpless form, lying in the mud. "Just a Death Eater."

Luna's eyes take a hard edge, the war had done that to her. "Let him die then." She says harshly.

Dean Thomas makes his way up to them, looking shaken and ill. "We should go now. We don't want to get caught."

The girls nod and walk to where the others are, ready to Apparate away. Ginny looks over to Draco again and an unwanted sense of shame and compassion comes over her. We're supposed to be the good guy…; this is something the Death Eaters would do. She battles with herself for a few moments before making a decision.

"You guys go ahead." She tells the small group and they look at her through quizzical, tired eyes. "I just want to say goodbye."

They nod their heads in sad understanding and she watches as they pop away. Taking a deep sigh and hoping she's doing the right thing as she walks over to his body and grabs his hand, Apparating him to a safer place to heal his wounds.

X

Cussing to herself the whole time, she staggers while trying to lay him down on the old bed in the ruins of her childhood home. The Death Eater's nearly demolished it last year but a few walls and half the roof remain, like some strange ghost house. He lands on the springing mattress with a loud thump and dust flies into the air around him. No one comes here anymore but her, when she's feeling particularly sad and depressed about the way the world is turning out. She brought him here knowing full well that the other Order members would kill him if she brought them to their hide out. They have adopted the 'take no prisoners' policy just as Voldemort's followers had. You have to fight fire with fire in these dark times.

She takes the leather satchel she had been carrying off her shoulder and opens it to take out her healing supply kit. She had brought it with her just in case she had to use it to help anyone while she was on the battle field, not knowing that the only one left alive would be a Death Eater. Again she curses her stupidity for what she's doing but she tries to block it out and focus on the task in front of her. If she doesn't get the poison out he's likely to die in a matter of minutes, depending on when he took the blow and she can't let that death be on her hands. No matter who he is.

She gets on her knees so she's close to his body and tears the fabric of his pants away to reveal his pale thigh. Dark blood is still pouring from the wound and the veins around it have turned black. She grimaces at the sight but her medical training has taught her how to handle this. She searches into her bag again and takes out a dark red potion. Uncorking the stopper she pours it over his wound, cringing when it sizzles and steams. He convulses in pain and starts screaming at the top of his lungs.

She furrows her brows at the noise and takes a cloth from her bag to wrap the deep gash. That potion will stop the poison but he would be very ill for a few more days before it took any effect. After she ties it tightly she takes out her wand and starts healing his other scratches and bruises on his body, also giving him a healing potion to help any other internal injuries that she's likely to miss. When she's finished and he's stable, she leaves him there, hoping she did the right thing and that it won't come back to bite her one day.

X

His senses are foggy and he can't concentrate on a single thought. He feels something cool and wet on his face and he tries to open his heavy lids. Through his blurred vision he sees a girl with red hair hovering over a bowl of water. She dips a wash cloth in and takes it out, wringing out the extra water and turning back to him on the bed. She jumps to see his eyes open but controls herself once again to bring the cloth back to his face.

He realizes that this girl is cleaning him off. His mind is coming back to him so he tries to sit up but a pounding headache shoots through him and he sits back down.

She places the cool cloth on his forehead. "Don't exert yourself." She says in a soft voice and Draco thinks it might be the sweetest thing he's ever heard.

He tries desperately to focus on her face, taking in her light cluster of freckles along a small upturned nose and deep brown eyes surrounded by dark lashes. He's seen her before, he knows he has.

"Who are you?" he asks in a strange, weak voice that makes him cringe.

She hesitates for a moment before answering him. "Ginny Weasley."

Weasley. Suddenly panic seizes him and he sits up despite his head's protests. She jumps from the bed and looks at him fearfully.

"What are you doing to me?" he demands to know in a hoarse voice that hurts his throat. She has to be torturing him or something. No Weasley would help out a Death Eater, let alone a Malfoy.

Her eyes harden as she glares at him. "I'm helping you, you ungrateful jerk."

A strange, disbelieving laugh leaves his throat and he tries to stand up. A pain like he's never felt before shoots through his left leg and he crumples to the ground. She's by his side in a second trying to help him but he bats her hands away.

"What the fuck have you done to me?" he asks accusingly as he tries to touch the painful wound on his leg. Sweat has started to appear on his brow and his hands are shaking.

"I didn't do anything to you." She snaps. "I found you on the battle field. You were almost dead. So, against my better judgment I brought you here to try to help you!"

"That's likely." He snorts sarcastically.

"It's the truth."

He looks at her like he knows she's lying so she huffs around and starts throwing things into her bag. "I knew I shouldn't have done it." She says more to herself more than him. "But I did anyways because I'm an idiot." She throws a paper bag at his feet. "That has food in it, but you might not want to eat it because it may be poisoned." She says angrily. "I'm leaving now. Have a good life, Malfoy, and you can thank me that you have a life after all."

"Wait." He says as she turns around to leave. He almost believes her. She could just kill him right now if she wanted, but she hadn't. "Why would you help me?"

"I have no idea." She says honestly, still mad at herself. "I found you and you were still alive… I guess I didn't want to be like you."

He studies her for a few moments and then looks away nodding his head. "What was wrong with me?" She tells him about the sword and the poison and that he had been slipping in and out of consciousness for two days. Reluctantly she answered his question about the battle and how Voldemort and his side had won. "And you've been taking care of me this whole time?" he asks her, with a strange look on his face.

She nods her head tightly. "Against my better judgment."

He pulls himself back on the bed cringing the whole time. "That's probably why your lot didn't win." She glares at him and he smirks. "You're all too bloody nice."

"We just like to keep our souls in tact."

He looked almost sad then and Ginny had a sudden urge to touch him, but she doesn't dare. "So, what are you going to do now?" he asks her, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She looks at him suspiciously. "I don't know."

Again he gives another tight nod. "I should leave now…." He looks around the dilapidated room. "Even though this place is wonderful." She gives him a hesitant smile and he's struck with how pretty she is. He looks away quickly. "Where's my wand?"

"I have it."

"I need it to Apparate."

She takes it out of her bag and almost hands it to him but pulls back suddenly. "You wouldn't, well….you won't hurt me, will you?"

He smiles at how open and trusting her eyes are. He doesn't see that very often anymore. "I could never hurt you." He says and notices a faint blush on her cheeks. "Not now, anyways."

She hesitates for a few seconds before handing his wand to him. His hand closes around it and he smiles to himself as he studies the dark wood between his fingers. He looks up at the girl who saved his life even though he was her enemy and says very seriously.

"I hope I never see you again."

She knows what he means. He's an elite Death Eater and she's considered a rebel now, if they were to meet again it would probably end up with one of them dead. She smiles at him again and in the back of his mind he almost wishes he knew her better.

"I hope I never see you again either. "

With that he lifts his wand and Apparates to Malfoy Manor. His Mother and Father hurry over to him with relief in their eyes because he's alive, while Ginny returns to Order headquarters and mourns her whole family because they're dead.

X

Lord Voldemort looks down at the thick black ring on his hand and plays with it idly while one of his followers speaks.

"My son is alive, My Lord." Lucius' deep voice booms through the whole room. You can tell he is very pleased. "He returned to us yesterday afternoon and he is eager to serve you once again."

Still basking in the glow of his recent victory the Dark Lord settles back in his chair and survey's the man kneeling before him. "Where did he return from exactly?" He asks, only mildly interested. "Every body was burned… He didn't run away during the battle did he?"

Lucius could make out the harsh edge in his Master's voice and nervously he licks his lips. The penalty for desertion is almost unbearable to think about. "Of course not, My Lord. He was near death after being cut by Gryffindor's sword, but he was nursed back to health until he could return to us."

His interest is perked now. He sits a little straighter in his chair and leans forward. "We didn't send any medics to the field." He states in a low voice. "Who helped him?"

The Dark Lord knew that his Death Eaters worked in an 'every man for himself' way. No one of his followers would have helped him… but if they did they would be rewarded for helping to bridge unity between them. He needs his army more solidified.

Lucius sends a nervous glance to Draco who's standing to the side, waiting to be summoned. He had said he wouldn't say who… but he can never lie to his master. "Ginny Weasley, the youngest daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley, was the one who helped him."

Draco closes his eyes and the Dark Lord smirks. "Really? That is interesting." He begins tapping his wand against his thigh and sits back with a thoughtful expression dawning on his face. "Draco?" Draco steps forward and bows down low. "Is this true?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Why would a member of the Order help you? Did she know you killed her two older brothers last July?"

Draco shakes his head. "I don't know what she knew. I think she was just being nice." He almost cringes when he says that but he remembers her hesitant smile and cool touch and realizes it's the truth.

"Nice?" He raises a dark eyebrow and then a slow smile comes to his face. "You know, little Ginny and I go way back. Tell me, Draco, is she pretty now?"

Draco knows he's being played with but he knows better then to lie. "Yes, My Lord. She is very pretty."

A twisted smile comes to Lord Voldemort's face and Draco gulps loudly. In the past year he had been collecting his Horocruxes, only keeping two hidden. The rest he put back into his body to make him stronger. The more pieces of his soul he had back the more he started to change in appearance. He's no longer the snake looking creature he was before but he looks like a handsome man of thirty, with thick black hair, scarlet eyes, and a slender build. He's more frightening now that he looks like a normal person then when he looked like a monster.

"I would like to see her again." Draco's head snaps up and Lord Voldemort smirks. "Yes, I do miss her…" he says with a fake pout. "I think it will be amusing to see what Potter's little girl thinks of me now." He stands up to go then and Draco looks at him helplessly. "Bring her to me, Draco."

"Please, My Lord…. I…"

The Dark Lord turns to him with a cold expression. "What?" he snaps. His emotions changing from hot to cool in a few short moments. Draco falters again. "I want her before me in two days. Do not disappoint me."

He leaves and Draco is left staring at the spot he just left with a hopeless feeling in his chest.

X

"Ginny, get up!" Luna pushes on the redhead's shoulder urgently. "You have to wake up. We have to leave."

"Why do we have to leave?" she asks tiredly.

"Because we're surrounded by Death Eaters."

Ginny jumps up from the bed and grabs her wand, not even bothering to throw on anything over her nightgown. "Where is every one?"

"Down stairs. They've cut off the floo network… We'll have to find another way out."

Ginny groans and looks out the window. They waste no time it seams. Black cloaks rustle in the wind as the masked figures look up at the muggle house they've been staying in. "How did they find us?" she asks as they make their way down stairs where the rest of the Order is.

"Colin never came home last night." She says as matter of fact. "They must have gotten the information from him." They step beside the others who are all huddled in a circle in the front hallway. "So what do we do now?" she asks the crowd.

Dean runs his hand nervously along his wand. "We can't Apparate inside… and it's only a matter of time before they start coming in."

"Do you think they're waiting on us to come out?" asks Hannah Abbot as she nervously chews on her knuckles.

"I don't-"

But Dean didn't get to finish his sentence because right at that moment the door busted open and the Death Eaters came blazing in. They all held up their wands and dueled with all their might but the Order was at a disadvantage and their wand work was sloppy. Ginny begins dueling with a large looking man who nearly succeeds in throwing a killing curse at her but another, more slender, Death Eater deflects it.

"Goyle, you idiot." Says the voice and she narrows her eyes, knowing full well who that is. "We need her alive."

"Malfoy, you fucking bastard." She says as she raises her wand. He disarms her quickly and grabs her arms. "Let go of me, you bloody wretch." He drags her out side where he pulls her close to his body. "I should have let you die."

He looks at her behind his mask and she can almost see a hint of sadness in them. "I'm sorry." He says so softly that she doesn't hear before he Apparates them away.

They land with a thud, and Ginny falls to her knees from the impact. She stands up quickly, not wanting to appear weak and looks in front of her with wide eyes, trying not to shake. She almost faints when she sees who's standing there, smirking at her.

"My, my, my, little Ginny, you sure have grown up." She's too shocked to move, she's too shocked to speak so she just stares at him dumbly. He walks close to her and runs his finger down her jaw line and it's so cold it makes her shiver. She wakes up and flinches away from him, causing him to smile. "Yes, you are going to be fun." He remarks and then sobers his expression when he turns to the cloaked figure beside her. "You're a day late."

Draco drops to one knee and bends his head towards the ground. "I know, forgive me, Master. It took time to get information of her whereabouts."

She scoffs then and glares at Draco's head in complete and utter loathing. She's too busy hating him to wonder why she's there in the first place. The Dark Lord sees this and a wicked grin spreads on his face.

"Are you upset with him, little one?" he asks in a smooth, deep voice. "You wouldn't be in this position if you would have let him die. I think you've learned your lesson the hard way, haven't you?"

She continues to glare at Draco and she does something that she thought she would never do in her life. She agrees with Lord Voldemort. "Yes, I should have just let him die." She hisses out hatefully.

The Dark Lord laughs, a high unpleasant laugh and runs his hand down her side. She shudders and tries to move away. "Yes," he says as his eyes take her in. "I think I'll enjoy you immensely."

He tells Draco to leave and as he Apparates away he can't help but think that it probably would have been best if she would have just let him die there.