Disclaimer: Anything Harry Potter or Romeo and Juliet related is not mine. If I had it my way, Draco would be my Romeo and I'd be his Juliet, without the whole death thing of course.
Summary: They say she died by suicide, but they're wrong. I know because I led her to her death. She died of a broken heart.
A/N: Takes place in Draco's 7th year and Ginny's 6th year. Any sections that speak in first person is Draco.
Juliet without Her Romeo
Chapter Nine: Till Death Do Us Part
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Draco sat in Potions in a daze. It had only been two days since he broke it off with Ginny, and he still could not snap out of his trance. He could still remember walking back to his common room after turning his back on his sobbing red head, convincing himself that it was for the best. He knew he would always love her, and maybe one day they could be together without fear. But that time was not now, and he would rather be without her in hope for a later chance.
When he woke up the next morning for breakfast, Draco immediately began to worry about having to see her. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to look at her face in fear of seeing tears, or if he could ever pass her in the hallway without wanting to give her a kiss. But for the following two days, he didn't have to worry about that because he didn't see her at all.
She was still on his mind all the time, slowing him down in the hallways and distracting him from his schoolwork. All he could hear over and over again in his head was the echoes of her tears, the tears that he caused. There would be times that he would be walking the hallways very slowly, half hoping for her to walk around the corner and bump into him like she always did. He continued to be late for class, waiting for her to run into him, but she never did. He would stand there, completely alone in the hallway, with his head leaned against the wall in utter guilt, regret, and misery.
"Mr. Malfoy," Snape's sudden yell brought Draco back to the present time. "Just because you came to class late does not give you an excuse to slack in your work!"
Draco gave Snape an understanding look before he looked down at his work that he was half doing. He was just about to put a beetle instead of a pinch of clover into his luck potion, which by the looks of it was turning out horribly. Draco slowly shook his head, trying to snap out of it, knowing that his father would not be happy with how his grades were already dropping so dramatically.
Draco set back to work at his potion when he heard voices mutter behind him.
"I think that's the first time Snape yelled at Malfoy! About time. I wonder if I could get away with throwing my extra worms at his slimy head."
"No, Ron!" a feminine voice hushed immediately. "Just because Malfoy is on Snape's bad list today doesn't mean you aren't."
Draco grumbled angrily to himself, mad that he came to class late and was stuck at a table in front of the famous Gryffindor trio. All period he was forced to listen to Ron and Hermione bicker back and forth, and he would hear Harry randomly laugh at the two.
Throwing his clover in too harshly and having his potion smoke green, Draco tried to steady himself and take a deep breath. He had to stop thinking about Ginny and think more about his own life.
"Hey, have you guys noticed anything odd about Ginny lately?"
'Damn, Potter,' Draco thought angrily. Figures he would be the first one to make Draco suffer. Noticing that Draco needed more fairy wings to even out his ruined potion, he went to the storage area that was coincidentally right behind the trio's table.
"What are you talking about, Harry?"
As Draco tried to find the jar of wings, he looked over his shoulder at the three talking quietly. Hermione was half listening to Harry, half making her potion, while Ron and Harry seemed to just have given up.
Draco watched as Harry shrugged his shoulders at Ron's question. "I'm not sure," Harry said as he picked at his sleeve. "She seems more distant than usual. I haven't seen her at any of the meals lately."
Ron shrugged his shoulders lazily. "You know how girls are with eating," he said as he took a beetle and threw it into Draco's abandoned potion.
Draco scowled at Ron, and was about to take the jar of spiders and chuck it as his head when Hermione looked up from her potion at Harry. "Laura has told me that Ginny won't even leave their room," she said. "And I asked Laura if she knew anything, but I guess Ginny broke off their friendship awhile ago and still won't talk to her."
Ron looked at Hermione curiously. "Ginny hates Laura?" he repeated. "That doesn't make any sense at all. But I still think you guys are worrying over nothing. Remember how closed up she was after her first year?"
"Ron, she was possessed by Voldemort," Harry said blankly. Draco would have laughed at Hermione and Ron who shivered at the name, but was so drawn into their serious conversation that he held it in. "She had a reason to want to be alone then. But the fact that she hasn't stepped foot out of her room for two whole days is saying something."
Ron shook his head slowly before turning to his potion. "I still think you guys are overreacting. I would know if something was going on with her, I am her brother. She keeps no secrets from me."
Harry and Hermione exchanged questioning looks before all three returned to their work. Draco was too deep in a worried thought to hear Ron ask Harry if he found his invisibility cloak yet.
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"Ginny?"
Ginny lay in her bed, with her curtains pulled tightly closed all around her. They have stayed like that since the night with Draco, and have only moved when she had to use the bathroom. She continued to look at the ceiling of her red, four-poster bed in a daze.
"Ginny, please answer me. I know you're there."
Ginny sighed quietly as she turned onto her side. Laura and Mary have been pestering her daily for her to talk, continually calling her name and asking her what was wrong. But they wouldn't understand; no one could.
So Ginny continued to lie in her bed with tears still running down her puffy eyes, and every time some tried to talk to her she ignored them, knowing that they would soon go away. Why wouldn't they? Only those who mattered in her life left her.
A complete numbness filled Ginny's body, one very close to how she felt after her first year. After she was nearly killed by Tom Riddle, someone she thought she loved and trusted, she turned cold and dead inside. During the summer before her second year, she would lie in her bed all day. Depression took over her body, taking away all of her energy for life and happiness to smile. Her family let her camp in her room, saying that she was fragile and needed recovery. It took a few months, but she did recover and learned to open her heart again to trust and love.
And then Draco walked into her life.
The moment she kissed the masked man, she knew she was in love. It scared her that it turned out to be Draco Malfoy, but didn't change her mind a bit. She was so ready and willing for love, that once she knew she found it she wasn't going to let go.
She was hurt when he walked away from her that night, but allowed herself to keep faith in him. She knew that if they were meant to be, that they would be together. And after a week of dying hope and regained pain, he did come back to her, and she was happier than she has ever been her whole life.
Ginny sniffed quietly as a tear rolled down her cheek. She opened her heart up gladly for him, just for him to hurt her. Just like Tom Riddle did. She put so much trust, and faith into Draco, but she was still hurt in the end. She willingly gave up friends for him, and was about to give up her family just to be with him. She would give up anything to be with him.
He brought the joy into her life, made all her dreams come true. He was her strength when she was weak, and held her so she wouldn't fall. She was grateful for all the time she spent with him, felt so blessed because she was loved by him.
And he told her that it was all nothing. Everything she became from him was all a joke. She was a joke.
Ginny only sat up in her bed after she heard a tired, annoyed sigh and then a slam of the door. Knowing that she was alone, she opened up her bed curtains to walk over to her trunk. Opening the lid up hastily, she pushed away the silver cloak she borrowed from Harry, wondering if she should return it to him before tonight. Shaking her head, she fingered the stolen bottle of blue liquid hidden underneath the cloak. Clasping her hand around it, she examined it closely as shivers went down her spine. She wouldn't back down.
Grabbing a piece of parchment, a quill, and an envelope, Ginny pocketed the small bottle before closing her trunk and retreating back to her bed.
She sighed sadly as she closed the bed curtains, and with the light of her wand she stared down at the blank parchment.
She was nothing, and she wasn't going to put up with it any longer.
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Draco was on his way to the Great Hall for dinner even though he didn't have the appetite to eat. He had such a horrible feeling in his chest, and he knew he wouldn't get rid of it until he saw Ginny safe and sound. Shaking his head, he looked up at a person who just passed him in the hall, and his heart nearly jumped when he saw who it was.
"Laura," he said quickly. His face twisted at the fact that he called an enemy by her first name, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Laura paused and slowly turned to Draco in near shock. "Did you just speak to me like a normal human being?" she asked slowly.
Draco scowled at her, and was tempted to flick her off or something to make up for his non-Slytherin behavior, but shrugged it off. This was for Ginny.
"I need to talk to you for a minute," Draco paused to take a forced breath, "please."
Draco watched as the girl's dark brown eyes widened with curiosity, and assumed that the only reason why she agreed to talk to him was because of pure shock. Checking up and down the hallways and satisfied that it was near empty, Draco said in a low voice, "Is Ginny okay?"
Laura's wide eyes quickly changed into narrowed slits. "First," she said slowly, "why do you care? And second, I thought she was Weasley to you, not Ginny. Actually, since when did you start calling people by their first names?"
Choosing to ignore all of her pestering questions, Draco waved her off impatiently. "Is she or isn't she?"
Sighing loudly, Laura quietly shook her head. "She hasn't spoken or eaten in two days. She won't even come out of her bed with anyone in the same room as her." She quickly shook her head again, causing her blue streaks to sway gently. "I'm really worried about her. I haven't seen her this depressed since after our first year."
Draco's heart weighed down even more if possible and he was about to thank her politely and walk away when she looked up at him with such guilty eyes that it made Draco pause.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," she muttered quietly as she played with her hair. "She was supposed to be happier. She should be with her friends and her family, and as far away from danger as possible."
Draco stared at her. "What are you rambling about?"
Laura quickly looked away from Draco. "I didn't mean for this to happen," she said quietly. "I was just trying to protect her, even if she would hate me for it later."
She quickly turned to leave, when Draco roughly grabbed her by the shoulders. "What are you talking about?" he nearly shouted as he shook her hard.
Tears came to her brown eyes as her hair whipped in front of her face. "Let me go, Malfoy. You're hurting me!"
Draco narrowed his eyes at her, but refused to let her go. "I know you know something, so spit it out."
"Let go!"
"Fucking tell me what you know or I swear to God I'll show you what pain really is!" Draco yelled loudly into her face.
"I know about you two!" she shouted back. Draco let go of her in shock and watched as she leaned against the brick wall in tears.
"You, you know about me and Gin?" he repeated.
Laura sniffed loudly as she nodded her head. "I saw you guys kiss at the masquerade dance," she said quietly, not daring to look him in the eyes. "But I thought it was nothing because you walked away from her, and I thought that was the end of that. But after Ginny started to act more distant, I automatically thought of you two being together. So I asked her if she was secretly seeing someone, and she confirmed my answer by breaking our friendship."
Draco stared at her as she talked, faintly remembering footsteps nearing him and Ginny on the night of the dance. "And then I saw you two in the alley in Hogsmeade," she continued quietly. "She made up some stupid excuse about why she couldn't hang out with me and everyone else, and after I ordered a drink at the Three Broomsticks, I followed her in the direction I saw her go. And when I saw you two I froze." She looked up at Draco evilly. "I don't trust you, Malfoy, I never have. And I refused to stand by and watch you play with my best friend's heart without stepping in."
"What did you do?" Draco was near shaking now.
"I knew I couldn't do anything about you two, so I went to someone who could."
Draco's body went completely rigid as he stared at Laura in shock. "You're my father's source?" he spat through clenched teeth, trying so hard to not kill her right there.
Laura's face quickly turned to confusion. She opened her mouth to speak when a loud squawk filled the hallway.
Draco and Laura both looked up to a large, gray falcon flying straight towards them. As it reached Draco, it dropped a letter into his hands before resting on Laura's arm.
"What is Adder doing sending you mail?" Laura asked as she eyes the letter curiously.
"This is your falcon?" Draco asked, staring at the gray bird.
Laura nodded. "I keep him in my room away from the other owls; they don't like him too much." She nodded towards the letter. "What's it say?"
Draco eyed her curiously before starting down at the envelope. It said Draco Malfoy in a loopy cursive. Immediately recognizing Ginny's handwriting, Draco tore open the envelope and quickly retrieved the letter. Draco felt his face flush completely and his body go weak as he read it.
Dear Draco,
I love you, and I always will.
Even after my dying day.
Love your angel,
Ginny
"What does it say?" Laura asked quickly.
Draco looked at her over the letter, his gray eyes wide with fear and his pale face dead with no color. "Where and when did you see Ginny last?"
Laura looked at him curiously before answering, "I tried to talk to her in our room before I came down here, but she wouldn't respond. Why?"
Draco's heart began to page rapidly. He tried to remember where the Gryffindor Tower was located from his prefect training, but all thought drained from him. He quickly grabbed Laura and pushed her in front of him. "Lead me to Gryffindor Tower," he said frantically.
Laura turned around quickly. "In your dreams, Malfoy!" she yelled. She turned to walk away when Draco pulled out his wand on her, pressing it up to her chest.
"Show me where the Gryffindor common room is, let me in, or I swear you will never get to see your little boyfriend ever again."
Laura started down at the closeness of Draco's wand, and nodded slowly without looking up at him. With a quick nudge of his wand, Laura turned around and led them quickly to her common room.
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Ginny stood next to her bed after sending off Laura's falcon with her letter, too dazed to even sit down. She didn't know how long it would take Adder to reach Draco, but all she needed was a minute. A minute to build up her courage to do what she was about to do.
She reached her hand into her pocket and withdrew a small bottle. She stared at the blue liquid inside, swirling it gently. The night before, she stole Harry's invisibility cloak and broke into Snape's private collection. She remembered him telling her class one day of one of the wizarding world's most powerful and deadliest potion, despite how small it was or that is was bluer than the sea. The second she saw the small, blue container, she knew that that was the solution to her problems.
With her free hand, she violently tugged her necklace off. She clasped the crystal ring into her hand, and as she stared at it tears started to pour down her face. Draco's words echoed through her head.
"I promise, Ginny Weasley, that I will love you till my dying day."
Ginny sniffled as she started to unscrew the cap of the poison. She found herself in Draco, and without him, she was nothing. Without him in her life, there was no reason to live. He broke what little remains of her heart, crushing her spirit and will to live.
As she slowly brought the open bottle up towards her, her mind flashbacked to their first kiss, how innocent and tender it was. She remembered the first time they made love, and how he filled all the empty spots in her heart. More tears came from her eyes and her mind was only on Draco by the time the bottle reached her mouth.
She was so absorbed into the blue, deadly liquid a centimeter away from touching her lips, that she didn't hear the loud, hurried footsteps outside her door. She slowly titled her head back a little, and her last tears silently dropped from her dead eyes. With a quick shudder of her body, she tipped the bottle to empty the fluid within. Just as the cool liquid drained into her mouth, the door banged open.
"Ginny!"
Ginny stared at Draco standing in her room, his chest heaving quickly and his face full of worry. She opened her mouth to speak but instead let out a gasp of pain before her knees gave out and she collapsed to the ground.
"Ginny!" Draco yelled out again before running over to her, dropping down to his knees next to her as Laura trailed right behind him. "Ginny, what's wrong?" he asked frantically.
"The potion is quick," she muttered quietly, tears pouring down her face as her body gave another painful shudder.
Draco quickly searched her before picking up her near limp hand that was clutching an empty bottle. He hastily sniffed it, his eyes widening as he looked back at Ginny.
"Poison," he said quietly. He quickly turned to Laura. "Quick, get Dumbledore!"
Laura stared down at Ginny's shaking body with wide, tearful eyes. "Is she going to die?" her voice trembled.
"She will if you don't get help now!" Draco barked. Laura nodded quickly before breaking off into a sprint and running out of the room.
Draco turned back to Ginny, and tears quickly came to his eyes as he watched her move in pain. He quickly gathered her into his arms, and clutched her closely to him.
"Why, Ginny?" he asked quietly, fearing the answer.
"Without you, there was nothing to live for," she whispered, her lips trembling. "I needed your love to survive."
Draco quickly shook his head, tears falling from his gray eyes. "I do love you, Ginny. My father found out about us, and it was either I lied to you or he would have killed you," he said hurriedly, not knowing how much time he had to explain. "Ginny, I do love you. I love you more than life itself."
Ginny's eyes grew wide at his words, realizing what she had just done. She raised the hand that she was clutching the promise ring, and grabbed onto Draco's hand tightly as the potion coursed through her body.
"I love you, Draco," she whispered as she looked up into his eyes.
Draco shook his head at her words. "Don't do that," he said through his tears. "Don't you say your goodbyes." He promptly lowered his face to hers, kissing her lips tenderly.
"Please don't leave me," he whispered against her lips. "Help will be here soon, just please don't die."
Ginny's eyes blinked away her tears. "I'll never leave you," she whispered as her body gave one last shudder. "I'll always be your angel."
With those words, Ginny took her last breath before her body turned completely still. Her eyes stayed open staring blankly into Draco's, and her hand went limp in his.
Draco brought his head back farther away from her, and slowly shook his head in denial. "No," he mumbled to himself. "Ginny?" he whispered.
He shook her body gently, waiting for her to respond. But she never said a word, never let out another breath. "Ginny?" his voice croaked with tears. "Answer me, Ginny."
Draco let go of her hand and gently stroked her cheek, surprised at how cold it already felt. He tried to stare into her blank face, but his tears made his vision blurry. As a sob broke out from his throat, he placed his wet cheek upon Ginny's cold one, and held her closely to him.
"I'm sorry, Ginny," he sobbed as he rocked her lifeless body back and forth. "This is all my fault. I just wanted you to be safe. I'm so sorry,"
He heard the door crash open behind him, and was half aware of the gasps that followed by several people. Draco Malfoy laid there on his knees in the middle of the floor, clutching the dead Ginny Weasley tightly to him. He heard Dumbledore's soothing voice, but could not make out the words. Gentle hands were placed on his shoulder, and as someone tried to depart him from Ginny, Draco only held on tighter, begging to not have to let go.
Only when Draco had to, did he detach his hand from hers. There he found the promise ring in his hand, still crystal clear from his promise.
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"Here's to my love! O true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die."
-Romeo and Juliet
Act V Scene III
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Wow, only one chapter left and the story is done. I hope you guys enjoyed it and please don't be mad at me with how Ginny ended up. The review did pretty much say that she died. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I love you all!!
The line: "Don't do that," he said through his tears. "Don't you say your goodbyes." Was from Titanic and the paragraph: He brought the joy into her life, made all her dreams come true. He was her strength when she was weak, and held her so she wouldn't fall. She was grateful for all the time she spent with him, felt so blessed because she was loved by him. - was inspired by the song Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion.
Liz21