Juliet without Her Romeo

Liz21

Rating: R
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Draco & Ginny
Book: Draco & Ginny, Books 1 - 5
Published: 01/12/2003
Last Updated: 03/04/2004
Status: completed

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.

Chapters

1. The Beginning of Her End

2. Too Late to Turn Back?

3. From a Dream to a Promise

4. Till Morning Comes

5. Friends and Angel

6. Caught Up In Love

7. Choices and Consequences

8. Sacrifices for Love

9. Till Death Do Us Part

10. Death is Only the Beginning

1. The Beginning of Her End

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 One: The Beginning of Her End

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.

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7 weeks earlier

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"Drakey! Stop pouting and hurry up! I don't want to be late for the ball!"

Draco's pale face winced at Pansy's whiny voice. All that woman ever did was bitch and complain. It was her fault that he was going to this damn ball in the first place. If he had it his way he would sulk in his bedroom the whole night, away from all of the happy people. Why anyone even wanted to go to a masquerade ball beat him. What was the point of dancing when you couldn't even see what females were hot or not?

Draco stepped out of his private bathroom and glared at Pansy who was sitting on his four-poster bed. "I am not wearing this," he said, shaking his gray mask in his right hand.

Pansy rolled her eyes at him. "Drakey, don't be so silly! You have to wear your mask! That's the whole point of the dance! I'm wearing mine."

Draco felt his stomach turn with disgust. Her mask was a bright pink, over polluted with glitter and shine. The only good thing about it was that it covered her boring eyes. It would have done better to cover up her pug nose.

Draco turned to his mirror, relived to have an excuse to look away from her matching dress robe. He stared at his black ones, still too stubborn to put on his mask. His face was too pretty to cover up.

Pretty it was. He no longer wore his blonde-silver hair slicked back; he stopped doing so at the end of his sixth year. It now hung over his stormy gray eyes which still held his usual glare. His flawless skin was that of an angel's, though he was far from one. Taking one last look at his reflection, Draco reluctantly put on his gray mask which covered the top half of his face, ending just above his nose.

Pansy smiled brightly at him, her lip gloss shining a bit too bright. She walked up to him and cooed, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Draco flinched inwardly as she placed her hand on his arm. "Why are we going to this damn ball in the first place? It's very un-Slytherin like."

Pansy frowned at him. "Just because I want to have fun doesn't mean I'm not a Slytherin. Besides, it's our last year and last dance. We should go."

Draco sent her a glare which she ignored and turned to walk out his door. Annoyed, Draco looked at his reflection and glared at it. Damn mask, it didn't show his famous Malfoy glare. Now what?

Sighing one last time, he followed Pansy out the door, walking as slowly as possible.

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No one, not even Potter, deserved this slow, agonizing death. There Draco stood in the Great Hall, bored out of his mind. Fairy lights sparkled above the dancing students' heads, providing some of the only light in the hall. What was the point of the masks if one could hardly see anything around them? It was the fifth dance of the night, and already Pansy has succeeded in dragging him onto the dance floor. He swayed lazily to the slow beat, his arms draped around her. He was too zoned out to even feel Pansy's hips rub suggestively against his. All he wanted to do was get out of there.

He suddenly got his wish. Pansy stopped dancing with a huff. "Drakey!" she squealed angrily.

Draco looked down at her obnoxious mask. "What?" he growled back.

"You're not even dancing! Forget it, I'll find someone else to dance with."

With one last huff of anger she was gone, her hips swaying angrily. Draco rolled his eyes; women. At least he was done being tortured.

Draco casually walked towards the refreshment bar and grabbed a cup to fill with punch. He took a sip, disappointed to find that it wasn't spiked. Didn't anyone know how to have a good party?

He knew he wouldn't have fun, and yet here he was, standing by the punch bowl and looking like a pathetic loser. And why was he still wearing that stupid mask? He went to remove it when a sweet lullaby filled his head.

"This isn't spiked, is it?"

Draco's hand froze in mid-air. He turned to his left, where a delicate figure stood next to him.

The woman smiled at his eye contact. "Did you hear me?" she asked sweetly.

All Draco could do was nod in response to her latest question. What was wrong with him? He has never been speechless before. Then again, he has never seen anyone so beautiful before.

Draco found himself entranced by her slim, curvy body that was visible underneath her forest green dress robe. Her hair was filled with baby's breath flowers and twisted up to the top, it just reaching Draco's shoulders. He tried to make out her hair color, but he couldn't tell with the lack of light. It seemed to be auburn brown or strawberry blonde; something with red. Draco squinted at her face, where he could just make out a few freckles that her simple gold mask didn't manage to hide.

When his eyes flickered down to her soft pink lips, the mysterious woman smiled. Draco felt his stomach flip. She smiled like there was nothing wrong in the world.

"Do I know you?" she asked softly. Her voice was music to his ears.

Not sure of what to say or do, Draco did the first thing that came to his mind. He stuck out his hand and asked breathlessly, "Dance with me?"

The beauty looked at his hand in surprise, but nonetheless took it with another smile, causing his stomach to flip once more. "I'd love too."

Draco never knew how he made it onto the dance floor without bumping into anyone. All the way he never took his eyes off his dancing partner, her doing the same. Her touch was electric, sending shivers down his spine. His knees nearly buckled with an unknown feeling when he placed his other hand around her waist, drawing her close to him. What was happening to him?

She smelled of a sweet peppermint mixed with the scent of the flowers in her hair. Draco fought the sudden urge to draw her close to him, so instead he looked down into her eyes. Soft honey brown ones flickered back at him. He knew he had seen those eyes before, but where?

He was about to question her name when she suddenly closed the gap in- between them and rested her head on his shoulder. Draco's words got lost in his throat, which he managed to gulp down. Her approach gave him new confident as he wrapped his arm around her securely. They fit so well together.

For the remainder of the slow song, they danced in harmony without a work spoken. It was as if both didn't dare to speak in fear of ruining this precious moment. They danced as if no one else was there, and they danced as if they could dance forever. Draco rested his chin on top of her hair, the baby's breath engulfing his nose. Never had anything smelt so sweet before.

But as it is, all good things must come to an end. The music stopped playing, but Draco and his mysterious partner stayed in their position, too afraid to let go. Dumbledore's voice broke Draco free from his trance.

"Attention students! It is now time to take off your masks, and then resume the ball."

All around them, people eagerly took off their masks, some with laughter at who they were really dancing with, other sneers of disgust. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Pansy stand in shock at finding out her dancing partner was Harry Potter. Honestly, couldn't she tell a Gryffindor from the rest of them?

Taking a deep breath, Draco released his grip and pulled away. He looked down into the masked face of the beauty, and made a move to take off his mask when she gently grabbed his hand. "Not here," she whispered. "Let's go to the courtyards."

Draco nodded in agreement and without a word he led her outside, hand in hand. A cool breeze swept through the dark sky, causing her to shiver. Draco put his arm around her, sending warmth up and down his body. She smiled up at him, and for the first time in the night Draco smiled back.

They settled near a bench with fairies carved into the sides and rose bushes surrounding them. The moonlight poured over them as they turned to face each other. Draco was so fixed on the idea of about to know who this young woman was, that he didn't even notice the bright red hair.

"Ready?" she asked quietly.

"Wait," Draco said suddenly. He gently took her hands and squeezed them lightly. "Before we reveal ourselves, may I ask for something?" Was he really saying this? Was Draco Malfoy honestly asking for something, instead of just taking as he pleased?

She nodded her head, her lips separating as if she knew what was to be asked of.

"Just a simple kiss to end this wonderful night."

She nodded slightly, and underneath the mask Draco could see her eyes flutter shut. Draco took one last breath and leaned into heaven.

The moment their lips made contact, a joy Draco has never experience swept through his empty body. The sudden rush made Draco press his lips down harder and his arms wrapped out her body. She responded with equal determination, her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Never has he kissed lips so soft that took his breath away. He heard her whimper slightly under his touch, and this made Draco smile against her lips.

Keeping his promise to a simple kiss, Draco slowly pulled away, never taking his eyes off of hers. Her smile was radiant, making her face brighter than Draco never thought was possible.

"Ready?" Draco asked.

She nodded, and with great anticipation they both pulled off their masks with one swift moment.

Draco turned to look across from him with a smile of excitement over his face, only for his mask to slip from his fingers in shock.

"Weasley??"

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"My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy." - Romeo and Juliet Act I, Scene V

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Hope you guys enjoyed it! Yes the whole masquerade ball is really overused.but I don't care! It worked, so yeah. This obviously is a chapter story, so expect more soon. I am way excited over this story. Thanks and please review!

Liz21

2. Too Late to Turn Back?

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 Two: Too Late to Turn Back?

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Draco stared at Ginny Weasley, shock and disbelief running through his body. This had to be some kind of joke. He couldn't have shared that memorable night with a Weasley, his loathed enemy. He stood there frozen, his mouth hanging open as he took in the red hair and the freckles. He ignored the beauty in her face, or the curves of her body. All he could see was red, spots, and hate.

"Weasley?" he repeated once more.

"You already said that," she said rather annoyed. "Maybe if you say it one more time, I'll disappear."

Draco stared at her, now his eyes were wide with surprise. He in general looked very un-Malfoy like. He wanted to tell her that her disappearing would only bring happiness to him, but instead he said, "How can you joke around at a time like this?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow up at him. "A time like this?" she repeated.

"We just kissed!" Draco exclaimed. As if he just reminded himself that they did indeed share a kiss, he wiped his lips clean with his sleeve, ignoring Ginny's death glare. "A Malfoy and a Weasley just kissed!" he continued. "How can you act like nothing happened?"

"Draco," she said slowly. "Settle down. I don't know why you're overreacting." Ginny paused and took a second to stare at the blonde haired boy. "Actually, you look quite cute when you freak out."

Draco closed his mouth firmly and narrowed his eyes at her. Now he looked like a Malfoy. "First," he said coldly, "You do not call a Malfoy cute. Second, I didn't give you permission to call me Draco, Weasley. And third, why the hell are you so bloody calm?"

Ginny smiled at him, making him feel weak. Her smiles were beautiful. "Look, Draco, I'm just as shocked as you are about this whole situation," she said quietly, "But I know I can't ignore that moment I just had, no matter who I shared it with."

Draco's tense expression relaxed a little at her words. "And what moment was that?" he asked curiously.

Ginny's pale face blushed with a crimson red, clashing beautifully with her hair. "I don't think words can describe it," she said while staring him in the eyes. "But all I know is I've never felt anything so right before."

Draco stared at her, unaware of how close they were right now. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ginny placed her small hand over his lips. He gulped nervously at the feel of her skin. "Don't tell me that you didn't feel that also," she whispered.

Draco stared into her honey brown eyes, saw them bright with happiness. He briefly wondered what she saw in his own two eyes before he thought back at when he first saw her and how he felt. Or of when he held her in his arms as they danced together slowly, their bodies fitting together as if they were meant for each other.

She slowly lowered her hand from his mouth, her fingers delaying on his bottom lip. Missing the contact of her touch, Draco licked his lips as she stepped closer to him, closing any space in-between them. She took her hand again and gently touched his cheek with it. Draco closed his eyes and leaned his face into her hand, promising himself that he would never forget how her hand felt.

He slowly leaned his head down towards her lips, but then suddenly took a step back, causing her hand to fall to her side. "No," Draco said loudly, shaking his head. "No, this won't work."

"And why not?" she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I know you feel what I feel, Draco. Why won't it work?"

"Because you're a Weasley and I'm a Malfoy," Draco said sternly. A bit too sternly, as it brought tears to her eyes.

"What's in a name?" Ginny questioned him. "I mean, who cares what our last name is?"

"My father does, all of your brothers do, and," Draco paused to think for a second, "I do."

Ginny shook her head at him. "No you don't. You just pretend you do because it gives you a reason to hate my brother."

Her comment caught Draco off guard, making him pause for a second. He stared at her, trying to think of something to make up for his hesitation. "Don't tell me who I am and who I'm not," he snapped.

Ginny's eyes grew wide at his reaction towards her, but she quickly narrowed them. "That's right; you have your father to tell you that."

Draco stared at her, surprised that she would use that tactic to get to him. "Don't talk about things you don't understand," he said slowly, making sure she heard every word clearly.

"He's the problem, isn't he? You don't have a problem with me being a Weasley, your father does."

Draco didn't say a word as the answer was quite clear to both of them. Ginny slowly shook her head at him with pity. "Why are you so afraid of him?"

Draco lowered his eyes to the ground. "You don't know what my father is capable of."

"You'd be surprised," she said quietly.

Draco looked up at her with confused eyes, and was about to ask her what she meant when he thought he heard footsteps. He quickly took another step away from her, afraid that they would be seen together.

"Draco," Ginny called out, and went to reach for his hand. Tears started to drip from her eyes.

Draco stepped out of her reach. "Don't," he warned. Later when he thought back to that moment, he wondered if he was telling her no or himself.

"Why?" she asked quietly. "Why are you turning your back on this?"

"Because turning my back is easier than watching my father destroy everything I love!"

Ginny's surprised expression made Draco realize what he just said. "You, you love me?" Ginny repeated slowly, afraid to say it

in case he didn't mean it.

The nearby footsteps frightened Draco, and he wanted to look for the intruder, but he was mesmerized by Ginny's face. Her eyes were wide with fright and excitement, gleaming from the tears she shed. Her face was flushed, and she nervously bit her bottom lip.

Draco shook himself mentally. Now was not a time to drown in her beauty. "It doesn't matter," he said quickly. He knew it was too late to erase what he just said, there was no point lying about it. "It doesn't matter because we are never going to happen."

The way he emphasized never was enough to bring Ginny to tears once more, but she slowly shook her head at him. "I don't believe you. You know why?"

Draco just turned his back on her to walk away when she asked him that question. He froze, wanting to know why she had so much doubt in him. "Why?" he asked without turning around and looking at her.

"Because I can see it in your eyes that you want to be with me just as much as I want to be with you."

Draco closed his eyes tightly at her words. Later he looked back at that moment, and wished that he could have told her how wrong she was. But even then he couldn't lie to himself. So instead, he slowly walked away from her for the first time, but not the last time, in her life.

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"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet,"

-Romeo and Juliet
Act II, Scene II

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I have a feeling this story is going to be a tear jerker! Hope you guys are enjoying it so far. Next chapter Draco has to deal with his choice of walking away, and he may go back on his decision.

And who was the owner of the footsteps?

Please review!!

Liz21

3. From a Dream to a Promise

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 Three: From a Dream to a Promise

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Only a week had passed since Draco turned and walked away from Ginny after finding out her true identity, but it felt like a year to him. Everywhere Draco went, there she was. Whether it was across the Great Hall or across the hallway, he would always catch a glimpse of her red hair or smell the scent of peppermint around him.

At first Draco thought she was stalking him, that she couldn't take no for an answer. But as that week went on, Draco soon began to notice that every time he saw her, she didn't even seem to notice him. It didn't take him long to figure out that her schedule was probably running along with his, and it took him this long to notice her.

But noticing her was the last thing he wanted to do. As hard as he tried, he couldn't get her out of his mind. Not even the strongest memory charm could make him forget what happened on the night of the masquerade dance. Every night he went to bed dreaming about her angel face, and every morning he would wake up with a smile on his face.

It was when Draco woke up with a smile on his face for the eighth day in a row that he started to worry about his state. He was on the way for an early Sunday breakfast when he saw Ginny walking a few feet ahead of him, all alone. Making up his mind in the two strides it took to catch up with her, Draco roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her into a nearby empty classroom.

He heard her gasp loudly at his sudden actions, but didn't turn to face her until he made sure the door was shut securely. Draco turned around to face a very pissed off Ginny.

"What the hell is your problem, Malfoy?" she snapped.

"So it's back to Malfoy now?" Draco asked with slight amusement as he walked up to her. It troubled him slightly that she stumbled backwards into a desk behind her out of fear.

Draco stopped just inches in front of her cornered body, suddenly aware of what situation they were in. Even though she seemed to cower under his towering height, her chest rose with shallow breaths, but not from fear or shock. Draco tried to see her facial expression, but she instead watched the floor beneath them, not daring to look him in the eyes. Draco raised his left hand, and very hesitantly he lifted her chin up slowly to his face.

Her brown eyes widened at his gray ones, and she subconsciously licked her lips. "What do you want, Draco?" she said barely above a whisper.

Draco smiled at the sound of his name. Only Ginny was possible of making his name sound

like it was a piece of heaven. Keeping his left hand in place, he raised his other hand and lightly grazed his fingers against her cheek, causing her eyes to flutter shut.

"You've been haunting my dreams, Miss Weasley."

Ginny's eyes opened at his words and opened her mouth to speak, but Draco placed his right hand gently over her plush lips.

"Every night I have the same dream," he continued. "It starts off with us dancing under the moonlight, alone but together." He drew his left hand out from underneath her chin, only to place it on the back of her neck. "And every night we dance and hold onto each other, too afraid to let go. Then when we do stop dancing, I lean down to kiss you but you suddenly disappear."

Draco's eyes flickered down to her lips before looking back into her eyes. "I have had that exact dream every night since the night we kissed, and it will not leave me. And," he paused as he shifted his body a bit closer to hers, "I think there's only one way to stop the dreams."

"And which way is that?" Ginny said, her voice muffled by Draco's close presence.

"This way," he said as his hand on her neck pulled her to him, and his lips crashed onto hers.

Draco meant for it to be a simple kiss. He was positive that kissing her one more time would get her out of his mind for good. But when her arms wrapped around his neck securely and he felt himself do the same to her waist, he lost all control.

Their mouths meshed together, each in a frantic hurry to taste each other. Draco moaned with delight as Ginny opened her lips to him, anxious to explore her mouth. Her hands moved up from his neck to his hair, making tight fists into it when he lifted her body and sat her on the table behind her.

Trying to get as close as possible to each other, Ginny released her hands from his hair and widened her dangling legs, pulling him in-between them to close the gap between them. Her small hands cupped the sides of his handsome face, trying to get a steady hold of Draco's fast pace.

Once Draco was sure that she would not tumble over the desk, he released his hands from her back and quickly drew them to the front and started to unbutton her shirt. His fingers slipped at the middle button; he was trying to get the shirt off as fast as he could.

When Draco's fingers slipped the second time, he quickly abandoned the shirt and instead rested his hand on Ginny's knee before dragging it up to the bottom of her skirt. He just started to hike it up when Ginny's mouth pulled away from his.

"I, I can't do this," she said with heavy breaths, her grip on him loosening.

Draco froze. He pulled far enough away to look her in the eyes. "You don't want this? You were the one who was saying before that you wanted me and,"

"No, Draco," Ginny interrupted, her labored breathing easing down a bit. "I do want you, and I want to be with you. But I can't do this in here."

Draco titled his head to the side in confusion. "Why not? The desk is perfectly stable, and the door is locked. No one will walk in."

When she didn't answer right away, Draco grabbed her in another kiss. After they kissed for several minutes and Ginny didn't say a word, except for an occasional moan, Draco's hand went back to adjusting her skirt. He just got it to up when Ginny grabbed his hand.

This time Draco broke the kiss. "What? What's wrong? We both want to be with each other, don't we? And if you really don't trust the desk, we could go on the floor, or against the wall, or"

"It's not that," Ginny said quickly. Draco looked at her curiously as she bit her lip in embarrassment. "It's just that," Ginny paused for a second, "I've never done this before."

Draco quickly withdrew his hand from her thigh. "You're a virgin?" he asked quietly.

Ginny's eyes flew to the floor and she slowly nodded her head. "I'm not waiting for marriage or anything," she mumbled. "I just don't want my first place to be in McGonagall's room."

Draco glanced around them, just noticing what room they were in. He looked back at Ginny, and with a sigh he saw her still staring at the floor. He lifted her chin up and gave her a comforting smile. "There's nothing to be ashamed of," he said. "And you're right; McGonagall's room is no place for a first time. You deserve a huge, comfortable bed with rose pedals and everything."

Ginny smiled up at him, and Draco continued to stand there and stare, taking in her ravishing beauty. He could have stared at her like that all day, but after a moment he started to pull away from her.

"You're brother is going to start wondering where you are," he said as he helped her down from the desk.

"Oh my brother can go fuck himself," she said as she buttoned up her shirt.

Draco's sudden laughter filled the air. Ginny looked up at him in surprise with her own smiled on her face. "What's so funny?"

"You sound so funny when you swear," he said as he tried to contain his laughter. "Sort of ruins the whole perfect angel attitude."

Ginny gasped at him. "Draco Malfoy, I do not act like a perfect angel!"

When Draco's laughter increased at her comment, Ginny went to go nudge him in the arm when he grabbed her hand and kissed it gently, causing all laugher to stop and smiles to freeze.

"But you're my angel," Draco said quietly as he lowered her hand.

Time froze between the two as Draco continued to hold Ginny's hand, and Ginny continued to stare at Draco. Finally the silence was broken by Ginny.

"Why did you walk away from me after the dance?" she asked quietly.

Draco stared at his fingers as they grazed over Ginny's knuckles. "I thought it was obvious with my father and all."

Ginny shook her head as she watched Draco. "I know that, but what I don't understand is why you let him control what you want," she paused to take a breath, "you do want me, right?"

Draco's fingers froze as he looked up with her. She stared at him, waiting for him to answer. When he didn't, Ginny started to pull her hand out of his own to walk away.

Draco held onto her tight. "No, Ginny wait. You don't understand. I do want to be with you, believe me I do. But I can't risk it."

"And why not?" Ginny asked angrily. "Why is us being together so impossible and dangerous?"

Draco shook his head at her sudden rage. "You don't understand my father, Ginny. He hates your family with a passion, and the last thing he'd want is for us to be together, whether it made me happy or not. He doesn't care about other's self being, just himself."

"Draco, your father doesn't scare me!

"Well he should," Draco said angrily. "You have no idea of what he has done to innocent people just for the hell of it, or what victims have fallen into his hands for his evil deeds."

Ginny's face flushed slightly at Draco's statement. "Draco," she said with a forced calm, "You are here and your father is far away at wherever you live. You shouldn't have to worry about him here at Hogwarts."

"It doesn't matter where we are, Gin. He is everywhere. If he isn't here at Hogwarts, he has someone working for him here. You know what he did in my second year? He picked some poor little first year, gave them Voldemort's old diary, and had them open up some chamber of his. My father did all of that without having to step inside of Hogwarts. He is an evil, powerful man, and I will not let you have the opportunity of crossing his paths!"

"Well then you're a little late, Draco, because I already did!" Ginny shouted angrily. She pulled her hand away from Draco and stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, even thought he secretly did not want to know.

Ginny took a deep breath before saying in an even tone, "I was your father's little pawn my first year for the chamber. Your father sent me to my death with that diary, and you know that? I survived. I survived and I am not going to let your father ever think he can control my fate."

Draco stared at Ginny with an open mouth, barely believing what she just told him. He faintly remembered his father bragging about picking a family enemy for the dirty deed, but the Malfoys had a lot of enemies. But after all these years, he never thought that a Weasley did it.

He watched as she hugged herself, and trying to hold in a sniffle. He quickly took a step towards her and wrapped her in his arms tightly. "I am so sorry, Ginny. I never knew."

He felt her sniffle against his shoulder before she said, "I know, Draco. I know."

Once he was certain that she was okay, he slowly pulled away from her so he could look her in the face. "Ginny," he whispered, "I don't want you to get hurt because of me. If my father ever found out," he stopped there, not wanting to think about what his father would do exactly.

"He doesn't scare me, Draco," Ginny said quietly. "We could keep it a secret. No one has to know."

Draco studied her face, as an uneasy feeling steadied in the pit of his stomach. "I don't know, Gin."

"Draco, please," Ginny whispered. She stared into his gray eyes before saying, "Please don't turn your back on this. Promise me you won't."

Draco stared at her. He knew Ginny wanted to be with him just as much as he did, but something bothered him tremendously. He looked into her eyes, and saw them glistening with tears, and as she bit her bottom lip, he forced a small smile.

"Okay, Ginny. I promise."

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"Do not swear at all; Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry, And I'll believe thee."

-Romeo and Juliet
Act II Scene II

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Hope you guys like it so far. I'm not one to move anything this fast paced, but it is based on Romeo and Juliet, and it's not going to be a 20 chapter story. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far and please review again!

Liz21

4. Till Morning Comes

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 Four: Till Morning Comes

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Secret glances in the hallway.

Innocent hands rub against each other in the crowded corridor.

Anonymous love letters sent every morning at breakfast.

That was how Ginny and Draco kept their relationship a secret for weeks. During the day they would live by the rules of

keeping quiet, and they survived on the little things they could get away with.

But at night, it was a whole different story.

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Draco waited impatiently for Ginny in McGonagall's room, their usual meeting spot. They claimed it to be 'their spot' after their first run in with each other three weeks ago. It was also rather convenient that Professor McGonagall always left her room for the night after dinner, and was foolish enough to trust the students and not lock the door.

Without failing, every night the two would meet at quarter to midnight, decide on where they should go tonight to spend time

together, and then leave the room before Filch did his nightly midnight checks. But every once in awhile a certain red head would run late.

Draco glanced at his watch for the fifth time that minute. It was already five to midnight, and they were cutting it very close with getting caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris. Just when Draco was going to leave and send Ginny an owl, Ginny came running through the door panting.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" she said, bending over a little to catch her breath. "Ron saw me leave and asked way too many questions."

Draco's eyebrows rose. "Did he find out about us?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly," Ginny said once she caught her breath. She walked up to Draco and gave him a light kiss on his lips. "I told him I was going to the kitchens for food, and to not wait up because afterwards I had to do some astrology homework."

Draco grinned at her and circled his arms around her. "Well aren't you the sneaky one."

Ginny smiled at him and leaned against his chest. "I learned from the best."

Draco chuckled lightly, and then quieted down so he could enjoy just holding Ginny in his arms.

"I missed you, Draco," she murmured against his shirt.

"But we just saw each other last night," he said quietly. "And then at all of the meals, and I saw you in the library. I'm not sure if you saw me or not. I was in the potions section and,"

Ginny lifted her head up to look at him and gave him a small smile. "You know what I mean, Draco." She sighed loudly. "Sometimes when I see you look at me at breakfast, I want to just scream aloud that we're together. Or when you always give my hand a quick squeeze when we pass each other in the hallway, I want to just grab you right there and snog you like crazy."

Draco pulled away to look her in the face. "Oh really?" he said with interest.

Ginny pushed at his chest playfully. "Yes, really," she said with another smile. The smile soon faded when she asked the question Draco knew she would ask sooner or later.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"How much longer do we have to keep us a secret?"

Draco sighed loudly and glanced at the floor for a moment. He knew they couldn't play secret the rest of their lives, but he was hoping that he would have more time before he had to tell her what to expect of the future. He looked up into her hopeful eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Ginny,"

A sudden meow broke his sentence.

Draco and Ginny both froze before spinning around to the door. Mrs. Norris stood at the opening, meowing for Filch that she found two students out of bed.

Ginny's scared eyes searched Draco's face. "Filch will be here in a matter of minutes. We have to get out of here."

Draco nodded quickly before grabbing her hand and running to the door. The hallway was clear for now. He looked at Ginny and whispered, "Just keep quiet."

Ginny nodded her head and squeezed his hand tightly.

Draco moved to dash out of the room with Ginny when Mrs. Norris meowed at them angrily, causing him to pause. He took one good look at the cat before kicking her clear out of the way.

"Draco!" Ginny whispered anxiously.

Draco turned around with a wide smile. "I've always wanted to do that. Okay, let's go."

Ginny nodded, and with one more look down both sides of the hallway (Mrs. Norris landed five feet away from them and was currently walking around in a dizzy circle) they took off for the stairs.

Ginny kept her word and was quiet, but when Draco started to lead them down towards the dungeons she asked in a hushed voice, "Are we going to Snape's room?"

Draco was about to answer her when they heard footsteps coming right towards them. With a whispered, "Shit," Draco stopped and looked around them frantically for a place to hide. Noticing that the statue of Salazar Slytherin was only a few feet away, Draco made a jolt for it.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Ginny whispered urgently. "That statue won't hide us!"

"Trust me, Ginny!" he said quickly. Holding onto her hand tightly, he reached the statue just as the footsteps stopped.

“Is someone down there?" a voice asked.

Ginny's eyes grew wide. "That's Hermione's voice. Draco, she can't see us together! She'll tell Ron and Harry and everyone. We have to hide!"

Never letting go of Ginny or answering her, Draco grabbed his wand and pointed it at the cement wand the statue was holding. He saw out of the corner of his eye Ginny staring at him in confusion as he whispered to the statue, "Pureblood."

At his words, the tip of Salazar Slytherin's wand glowed green, and a second later the brick wall behind it changed into a wooden door. Ignoring Ginny's gasp of surprise, he pulled on the door knob and pushed her into the room, him following after. Draco only allowed himself to breathe when he heard the footsteps of the Head Girl walk by and vanish.

Draco walked over to a green armchair and dropped into it. "That was a close one," he drawled.

"Draco?" Ginny asked. "Where are we?"

Draco looked up at Ginny and watched her take in the room with interest. It was the size of the average dormitory room, but only contained one green four-poster bed along with one dressing cabinet, a desk, and another door that led to a private bathroom.

"This," Draco motioned at the green room with silver outlines, "Is Slytherin's secret room."

"And you know of this how?"

"My father," Draco said lazily. "He tried to get me my own room, but that crackpot Dumbledore wouldn't hear of it. So in place of that, he told me of this room incase I ever needed some time alone to practice my magic."

Ginny slowly walked over to his sitting form. "And you need a room to yourself to practice magic?"

Draco stared at his hands. "You do if it's illegal."

"What are you talking about, Draco?"

Draco hesitantly looked up at Ginny. Even without saying a word, he could tell by her face that she had an idea of what he was talking about. Her eyes looked at him with worry, probably hoping that he wasn't serious. Draco rose from his seat and grabbed both of her hands. "Gin, there are other reasons of why we have to be a secret," he said quietly. He slowly took one of her hands, and placed it on the outside of this left arm. "He can't know."

Ginny's eyes grew wide with fear at Draco's last statement, and he watched her as she began to understand what he meant. Tears started to spring to her eyes, and she gave him a small nod, showing she understood why no one must know.

Never taking her eyes off his arm, she whispered, "Can I see it?"

Unable to form words, he slowly nodded his head. He moved his hands to unbutton his shirt when Ginny grabbed his hands. She was now looking into his eyes, and she held her gaze as she lowered his hands and placed them to his sides. She then brought up her hands once more and slowly unbuttoned his shirt for him.

Draco watched her as she moved from one button to the next, and even once her job was completed, he never looked away as she slid the two halves of the shirt down his arms and off his body. She finally broke their gaze and looked at the Dark Mark on his arm, gently touching the image of the skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Draco flinched at her cool touch, startled that she would want to touch such a thing.

"Did it hurt?" Ginny whispered as she continued to stare at it.

Draco nodded his head in response. He gently took her hand away from his mark and squeezed it tightly. "I'm sorry I brought you this close to danger," he whispered, his voice tight with regret. "It was selfish of me; I just wanted you to be with me."

"Draco,"

"I mean, if Voldemort ever found out that one of his Death Eater's was with the enemy,"

"Draco,"

"But don't worry, Ginny. I won't let any harm come to you. I'll go to any distance if it means to keep you safe."

"Draco!"

Ginny's sudden outburst broke Draco from his ramblings. "What?" he asked.

She grabbed his head and pulled him down to her lips. It didn't take long for Draco to react to her sudden kiss, and he quickly kissed her back. Their mouths quickly opened to each other, but before Draco could wrap her up in his arms, she broke apart.

"I love you."

Draco's gray eyes stared into her brown ones as her words sunk in. "You, you what?" he stuttered.

Ginny smiled slightly at his mumbled words. "I love you, Draco Malfoy, and I'd die to be with you."

Draco gently cupped her face with his two hands. "Ginny, please don't say that. I'm not worth that."

Ginny overlapped his hands with hers. "You are worth everything to me, Draco. I'd die for you."

Draco studied her face, knowing what she said was true. His stomach dropped at her words, not wanting to believe her or listen to her. But her brown eyes were full of love and seriousness, and he knew she meant it. He continued to stare at her, torn between kissing her and telling her that she shouldn't risk her life to be with him.

Doing neither of the two, he took his hands away from her face and grabbed her two hands lightly. He stared hard and long at her like that, until he said,

"I love you too, Gin."

He gathered his hands up to his face, and kissed each one lightly before lowering them and kissing her lips. He loved the way she tasted. Her usual scent of peppermint clouded his emotions, making him want more of her. As he kissed her with a gentle passion to show how much she did mean to him, his hands let go of hers and drifted towards her shirt.

He hesitated with the piece of clothing, remembering Ginny saying about her being a virgin. He knows she loves him, and he felt the same about her, but was she ready?

Ginny's lips went still at Draco's hesitant gestures, so she broke the kiss gently and pulled her head away to look into his eyes. Without saying a word, she backed away from him and his reaching hands, and for a moment Draco was afraid he made a mistake and was already pushing it too far.

Ginny smiled shyly at his scared face, and before he could react, she reached for the bottom of her white shirt and pulled it over her head.

Draco stared at her with wide eyes as her shirt floated to the floor and she stepped back to him. "Draco," she whispered against his lips, "I want to make love with you."

Her words shivered through him, and he gently touched her cheek. "Are you sure?" he asked gently. He wanted to do this,

more than anything, but he didn't want her to regret it.

In response, she took his hand and slowly walked over to the green bed, never taking her eyes off of his. She lay down on the center of the silk blankets, and pulled Draco down with her.

Draco hovered over her body, savoring how she looked. Her red hair sprayed out over the pillows, and her pale skin sunk into the green surroundings. He leaned down and gently kissed her, tracing her lips with his tongue. Ginny's hands flew up to his naked chest, and Draco kissed her harder as her fingers lightly grazed over his skin. A light moan escaped her mouth when Draco left her lips and kissed along her jaw line to her neck, gently nipping the area right by her ear.

Abandoning the now red area, Draco slowly kissed his way down to her chest, letting his tongue linger on her skin before he moved to another spot. He raised his head to kiss her swollen lips as he reached behind her back for her bra clasp, and once that was free, he took the white material off in one swift movement.

He slowly raised the upper half of his body, so he was straddling Ginny's own. He gazed over the young woman, his breath sucked in by her beauty.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured quietly as he leaned back down to steal another kiss. He felt her lips smile against his at his comment, and then they opened up to a gasp as he reached down and tenderly cupped one of her breasts.

Ginny's hands flew to his hair, taking it in fistfuls, as he took her into his mouth. His tongue circled the sensitive area, and he nibbled affectionately at it. Ginny arched her back up to him, wanting more of his touches.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to hold off much longer, Draco abandoned her chest and continued his trail of kisses down to her smooth belly, all the meanwhile his two hands were unbuttoning her jean pants. By the time his mouth reached the rim of her pants, Draco lifted himself off of her so he could slide her pants off, along with her shoes and socks. Draco kissed each naked leg, wanting to touch and taste her everywhere.

Once only her innocent white underwear was left, Draco crouched over her and took his time as he leisurely slide them down her bare legs and threw them onto the floor with the other clothes. Draco looked up at Ginny's face and saw her blush with embarrassment, causing Draco to smile at her. He leaned back over her lips and gave her a reassuring kiss, letting her know not to be ashamed.

Leaving her with a smile, Draco bent back down to his abandoned trail of kisses, and continued it to her thighs. He took her legs and pushed them apart a little, kissing her inner thighs as softly as he could before sliding his tongue into taste her.

It aroused him greatly that she actually tasted of her sweet peppermint, and as he probed over her sensitive areas, he watched as her eyelids flutter shut and she moaned quietly. Her hips bucked to meet his mouth, and Draco eagerly took her request. But as soon as her moaning grew louder, he stopped despite her groaning protests. He had to get his pants off, and quickly.

Draco hastily climbed over Ginny's legs to the side of the bed as he unbuckled his belt. Ginny watched with amusement as he took his pants off, and would have offered to help, but everything including his black boxers was off in a record speed. Ginny felt her face burn when she took him in, embarrassed all over again.

Noticing Ginny's face, Draco slowly crawled back onto her, not wanting to startle her. Her legs already still spread from earlier,

he leaned into position, but stayed that way for a moment. Draco's face hovered over Ginny's, and gazed into her eyes filled with lust and a bit of fear. Draco smiled down at her, kissing her soft lips.

"I love you," Ginny mumbled against his lips.

Draco pulled an inch away from her face. "I love you too, my angel," he whispered back to her. He gave her one more loving kiss before breaking apart. "Are you ready?" he questioned.

Ginny nodded her head, and as Draco grabbed her mouth in a passionate kiss, he eased into her. He felt Ginny's fingers tense over his shoulders, but not until he broke through her barrier did she dig her nails into him, and her mouth gasped with pain.

Draco quickly stopped moving and looked up at her tear-stricken eyes. Guilt quickly filled his body as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Ginny nodded her head silently, and after a moment of being still and getting use to it, she started to move her hips up to him, egging him to continue. Draco grabbed her bruised lips once more before he began to move against her slowly, and each time he pulled out he went back in with ease. Only when Ginny's discomfort was completely gone and she wrapped her legs around him did he move faster.

As the pace increased, Draco broke the kiss and bit her neck. Ginny's moans increased as Draco's pace did, and he moved in harder when she whimpered, "Oh please," against his shoulders.

Draco wasn't sure how much time went by until he felt her go over the edge, her screaming his name the whole time. This excited him greatly, and with a few more hard thrusts, he too followed closely, yelling her name and pouring himself into her. With a few shudders, he fell onto her sweaty body in exhaust.

Ginny's hands tangled themselves in Draco's wet hair, and they laid there panting, feeling each other's heart beat. Draco moved his body to ease himself out of her, and then he rolled off of her and lay down next to her, only to put his arms around her and pull her close to him. She laid her head on his chest, their legs entwined together, and Draco's arms wrapped tightly around her. There the two star-crossed lovers slept, not knowing what was still to come.

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"Good-night, good-night! Parting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say good-night till it be morrow."
-Romeo and Juliet
Act II Scene II

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Hope you guys liked it. Yay D/G action!!

Liz21

5. Friends and Angel

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 Five: Friends and Angel's Tears

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"Draco," a voice cooed. "Wake up."

Draco closed his eyes even tighter in response to the intruding voice. "Five more minutes," he mumbled into his pillow. Or what he thought was a pillow.

A sweet laughter filled his ears. "You're so cute when you're cranky."

Draco opened one eye to glare at Ginny who he was currently using as a pillow. "Malfoys are not cute," he said before closing the eye again and squeezing his arms tighter around Ginny's naked body.

He loved waking up next to his angel every morning. Every night for the past week when he fell asleep with her in his arms, a part of him wanted morning to come as soon as possible just so he could see her again. But not this morning. This morning was meant for sleeping in.

Draco was sprawled out over Ginny, his head resting oh her smooth stomach, and his arms wrapped around her protectively. The green silk blankets provided minimal coverage to either of them, but were draped carelessly over Draco's bottom half. Sun poured through the stain glass windows in Salazar Slytherin's room, signaling a sunny Saturday morning.

Draco sighed with content as he lay on Ginny's soft skin, while her fingers played with his hair. He could stay like this forever.

Draco smiled when he heard Ginny sigh impatiently. He always did enjoy bothering her. "Draco, I know it's Saturday so we can sleep in, but there's a Hogsmeade trip today and I promised some girls from my year that I'd go with them."

"Fuck Hogsmeade," Draco grumbled loudly. "Aren't you sick of those trips by now? They're the same every year. I mean, wouldn't you rather lie in bed all day with your very naked, gorgeous boyfriend, then walk around in the cold until your feet are sore?"

Ginny's silent laughter caused Draco's head to rise and fall with the movements of her stomach, but he held on nevertheless. "Your laughing is making me sea sick," he said with his eyes still closed. He was determined to win this time.

Her stomach stilled at his comment, and just when Draco was positive that she gave up, he felt a sharp tug come from his hair.

"Owie!" Draco yelped as his eyes jolted opened. He turned his head sharply to the red head, sending her a death glare. "What was that for?" he exclaimed as one of his hands freed her to touch his hair to see if it was okay.

This time Ginny didn't bother holding her laughter in. Draco looked at her with a bit of shock and annoyance. "So you laugh at my pain instead of my jokes?"

"You're such a baby, Malfoy," Ginny said jokingly through the last of her giggles.

Draco started at her face, red from laughing, and tried to come back with a snappy comeback. But he realized that the most insulting thing he could ever say to her was, "Weasley."

"You're loosing your touch, Draco," Ginny said with a wide smile.

"Thanks to you," he said grumpily. "And since you messed up my hair, I'm not going to let you go," he added stubbornly, only holding onto her tighter and pressing all of his body weight onto her.

Ginny squealed loudly as Draco's hands began to tickle her sides, making her trash underneath him. "Draco," she said in-between giggles. "Let go!"

"Only if you promise that we get to sleep in tomorrow!" Draco said quickly as he watched her with amusement.

"I, I promise," Ginny said with deep breaths.

After giving a few more tickles, Draco finally let go of her and rolled off. Finally being able to breathe, Ginny turned to her side to face Draco and said, "You're so spoiled, you know that? You always have to win."

Draco smiled cheekily at her. "Well I always get what I want," he said as he leaned over and kissed her softly on her lips. But before she could deepen the kiss, he broke away and lay back down with his hands behind his head. "So what's the big deal with Hogsmeade today?"

"Well for one, I promised Laura and Mary that I would go with them."

"And they can't manage to go on their own?" Draco interrupted rudely.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Of course they can. But Mary doesn't want to be alone with Laura and Mike,"

"Who?"

"Mike is Laura's boyfriend. But it doesn't matter, you probably don't know him. Anyways, Mary doesn't want to be the third wheel with them so I'm coming along to keep her company."

"Doesn't she have any other friends?"

"Draco!" Ginny said as she hit him in the arm. "Didn't your father teach you that it's rude to interrupt?"

"No, but he did teach me how to kill people and that death is the best punishment there is."

Ginny stared at his casual face in disbelief. She knew better than to have asked. "And," she continued as if nothing happened, "I have to return my masquerade mask at the costume shop. I rented it out for only a month, so the last day to turn it in without getting fined is today."

She started to sit up and get out of bed when Draco pulled her back down. "It's been a month since the dance?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Five weeks to the night," she said. "Now can I please go and shower?"

Draco smiled at her before letting her go. "Only if I can join."

Ginny grabbed the bathrobe that they left out from their shower the night before, and wrapped it around her. "Fine," she said as she walked over to the bathroom door, "but no hogging all the hot water this time."

"Oh don't worry," Draco said as he sat up and walked towards her, "We'll be steaming it up enough in there that we'll have to take a cold shower."

Ginny giggled at Draco's wide, suggesting smile and turned to walk into the bathroom, but not before grabbing a hold of Draco and hauling him in there.

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"Stop pouting like a five-year-old, Draco, and let go before someone sees us!"

Draco grinned evilly to himself. He thought he cooperated too nicely when he watched Ginny get ready for her trip to Hogsmeade, so he figured he'd make up for it now. Their routine of leaving Slytherin's room was Draco would go first to make sure the coast was clear, and then he would let Ginny go ahead of him. If they were heading towards the same direction, Draco would wait until she was out of sight till he started to follow.

The farthest Ginny got was a footstep out into the hallway before Draco tackled her into his arms. They've been standing there for five minutes; Draco holding onto her like a toddler did to his teddy bear.

"Is this some kind of slow torture?" Ginny asked, her voice muffled from her head being shoved into Draco's hard chest.

"Ah, I love you too, angel" Draco said sarcastically.

Ginny sighed heavily into Draco's robe before saying, "Draco, you know I love you and would want to be in your arms all day. But we both know you're just doing this to annoy me because you didn't get to sleep it."

Draco pulled Ginny away from him, and struggled not to laugh at her flushed face. "Okay, I'm satisfied now," he drawled out lazily. Then without waiting for a response, he turned around and started to walk back to the Slytherin common room.

"Hey!" Ginny called out after him.

Draco paused with a smile that he hid as he turned around to face her. "Yes?" he asked innocently.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked, trying to stay serious but Draco saw small flicker on her face.

Draco let his smile escape as he walked back to Ginny to give her a goodbye kiss. Draco bent his head down a little to reach her lips, while cupping her face gently, and gave her a soft, lingering kiss.

He pulled his lips away to end the kiss, but kept his face near hers to stare into her eyes.

"Have I ever told you that your eyes light up like stars in the sky?" he whispered to her quietly.

Her eyes widened at his comment, and a smile flickered on her face. "I love you so much, Draco."

Draco smiled at her and moved in for one more kiss. "I love you too."

With a goodbye and a promise to meet at Slytherin's room at midnight, Draco turned to walk back to his common room when Ginny stopped him.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade at all today?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, if nothing comes up today."

Ginny smiled at his response. "I'll see you later."

Draco stood in the same spot to watch Ginny leave, and he continued to stand there even after she was long gone. He hated how he couldn't risk enjoying a simple outing with her. He sighed loudly to himself. They've lasted a month so far and no one has found out. Maybe they were fine, and Draco was just overreacting.

'Or maybe I just know my father too well,' Draco argued with himself. With another sigh, he turned around to leave but was confronted by Pansy Parkinson who was standing right behind him.

"How long have you been standing there?" he questioned angrily, panic rising in his voice. If she saw him with Ginny.

Pansy raised an eyebrow at him. "I just got here and you were standing there like a lost puppy," she answered.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her to see if she was lying. "Why are you here?"

Pansy rolled her eyes at him. "It's a free hallway, Draco. I don't care what your name is, or how much money your father has. You don't own this hallway."

Draco kept his eyes narrowed, waiting for her to continue.

Pansy sighed. "I was looking for you anyways to see if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me. You do owe me after leaving me at the masquerade dance."

Draco dropped his searching gaze after deciding she was telling the truth, and quickly sneered in disgust. "I don't owe you anything," he snapped, "but I'll go with only because I have to do a bit of shopping."

Pansy's face immediately light up. "Really? Anything for me?"

Draco rolled his eyes and chose to ignore her as they walked out of the castle together towards Hogsmeade. A happy, spoiled Pansy was much better than a complaining, bitchy one.

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Ginny couldn't help but be jealous over Laura and Mike. She loved Draco to death, and she would never give him up for anything, but as she watched Laura and Mike hold hands as they walked and kiss each other every few minutes, Ginny frowned. She was so happy for Laura, but it made her realize that she could never do anything like that in public with Draco.

"Are you okay, Ginny?"

Ginny snapped out of her daze and looked at Mary who was walking next to her. Ginny smiled at the short, brown haired girl.

"Of course, why do you ask?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. You just seem to be a bit off today. Actually to be completely honest, you've been a bit off for the past month."

Ginny's heart dropped. Surprisingly, Mary has been the first one to question Ginny on her recently changed behavior, and she hasn't even thought of an excuse if this situation ever came up. "Uh, well you see," Ginny trailed off before looking at Laura and Mike in front of her. Ginny quickly nudged her head at Mary towards them. "Just feel a little lonely with me being single and all."

Mary looked at the happy couple and quickly nodded her head in agreement. "I know how you feel," she said quietly, "but at least Laura's the one happy and not someone like Pansy who doesn't deserve it."

Ginny smiled back at her, relieved that she believed her. Ginny was going to add that Pansy didn't even deserve the love of a garden gnome when Laura suddenly jumped on her.

"Ah!" yelled Ginny, attracting several group's attention around them. She blushed at the sudden attention, and shot a look at Mary who was giggling at her. She turned to Laura, who had a wide smile on her face. "Where the hell did you come from? You were just in front of me with Mike!"

Laura's smile grew wider, proud that her surprise attack worked. "Well if you were paying attention, he just went into the Quidditch store. I told him I had to go to the costume shop with you, so we'd meet him later at the Three Broomsticks."

Mary's giggling suddenly stopped. "Oh, thanks for reminding me, Laura! My mom said she'd buy me a broom for my birthday, so I have to go check the models out. I'll meet you guys later then?"

Laura and Ginny both nodded their heads as Mary walked away. Ginny then turned to Laura and punched her playfully in the arm.

"Ow!" Laura squealed as she grabbed her injured arm. "What was that for?"

"For scaring the shit out of me," she said with a smirk as they started to walk to the costume shop.

"You know, you could be Malfoy's double, smirking at me like that," she said as she continued to rub her sore arm.

At the mention of Draco's name, butterflies exploded in her stomach. She stared at Laura, who was not aware of it, and thought to herself before asking, "Would that be such a bad thing?"

Laura turned to Ginny with confused eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but was completely silent. Ginny gulped suddenly, wishing she wasn't so curious to think what her best friend would think about their relationship. Time froze by as Laura stared at Ginny, and Ginny doing the same, when Laura suddenly broke into laughter.

"Good one, Gin!" Laura laughed loudly as she continued to walk, leaving a thankful Ginny to catch up to her fast pace. "Would it be bad to be like Malfoy? You crack me up! If you want to be compared to a sleazy, arrogant ferret, be my guest."

Ginny forced a laugh as they rounded the corner. "Come on, Laura. He isn't that bad," she tried again.

"Right, just ignore all those years of him torturing your family and friends, him being evil, and," she paused to lower her voice to a serious notch, "don't forget what his father did to you your first year."

Ginny frowned at her. "But Laura that was his father. Draco had nothing to do with that."

"Still, like father like son. And," she paused suddenly to stare at Ginny. "Did you just call Malfoy by his first name?"

Ginny stared at the brown haired girl, her mouth gaping like a fish. She was stuck in a corner, and the longer she stood there looking like an idiot the shorter it would take for Laura to figure it out. She quickly looked up the road, and just ahead was the shop. "Look, there's the shop!" Ginny said excitedly as she dragged Laura to it, furthermore ending their discussion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh, Drakey! Let's go in there!" Pansy exclaimed loudly as she gripped Draco's arm tightly.

Draco flinched at her death grip on him. He so far has stuck to his plan at ignoring her, which for some reason led her to believe that he was going to buy her something. He looked up at saw her pointing at a jewelry store, and was about to walk away from it, but she was already dragging him to it.

"Pansy," he warned. "I'm not buying you anything."

Ignoring him completely, she continued to drag him until they were both in the store when she left go to go look around for herself.

Draco sighed loudly. He hated shopping with women, especially money digging ones. Already bored out of his mind, he was set to just leave Pansy when a display case caught his eyes. Draco walked up to it curiously, and the second he saw it he knew it was perfect.

"Excuse me," he called out to the shop owner.

An old man in his sixties came limping out of the back room up to his customer, and started to greet him with a warm face that quickly turned into fear when he saw who he was. "Master Malfoy," he said quietly with a little bow. "How can I be of service?"

Draco glared at the shop owner, and for once in his life it bothered him that an 18 year old boy could have such an influence on someone he has never met.

"I'm interested in that ring," Draco said as he pointed to the center one in display.

The shop owner's face immediately lit up, glad that Draco was here to do business. "Ah, and a fabulous ring it is, Master Malfoy." He quickly took it out of the case carefully for Draco to examine it closer.

Draco accepted the ring with his perfect hand, and held it close to his gray eyes. It was crystal clear, which surprised Draco slightly. "What kind of ring is this?" Draco asked as he continued to examine it.

"It's a promise ring," the shop owner answered excitedly as he adjusted his glasses. "It's one of a kind, and was said to be made by the tears of an angel."

Draco's heart leapt with the news of that, but showed no interest on his face. "Was said, or is made by an angel's tears?" Draco asked forcefully. "I don't want to buy anything that's really made out of cheap plastic."

The shop owner's eyes immediately rounded. "It is made of an angel's tears, Master Malfoy. That I know for certain. It's been in my family's shop for years, ever since the day it was created."

Draco slowly nodded his head, knowing what he was saying was the truth. He wasn't the kind to even try and cheap a Malfoy out of his money. "Does it do anything?" Draco asked.

"As a matter of fact, it does," the shop owner said. "Sine it's a promise ring, it's meant to be promised upon by true lovers. If the promise is ever broken, the ring turns black and stays that way forever."

Draco slowly nodded his head, never taking his eyes off the ring. "I'll take it," he said as he handed it back for it to be wrapped up.

The shop owner nodded gratefully, sending his double chin to do a little jiggle. He returned quickly with a small velvet black box, which Draco pocketed before dropping a few too many Galleons on the counter. Ignoring the shop owner's calls of him paying too much, Draco quickly walked out of the shop before Pansy could notice that he was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You are insane, Laura! Your mother is going to kill you!"

Laura and Ginny laughed loudly together as they exited the costume shop arm in arm, talking non-stop about Laura's new hair. While Ginny was returning her mask, Laura came across a hair dying kit, and walked out of the shop with bright blue streaks in her dark brown hair.

Laura smiled at her in-between giggles. "It's bloody wicked, Gin. I would have made you get some also, but all there was left was red and green. We both know the red would have done nothing, and there's no way I'm letting you wear a Slytherin color!"

Ginny's smile immediately dropped at Laura's comment, but thankfully Laura didn't notice the mood change. They continued to walk with their arms linked and just saw Mary and Mike waiting for them outside the Three Broomsticks when Ginny saw a person with white-blonde hair in the corner of her eyes.

'Draco,' she immediately thought to herself. She quickly looked in the direction she saw sure enough that it was Draco, who was walking down a street by himself. She smiled happily at his back, and turned to Laura who thankfully didn't notice.

"Oh crap, I forgot something," she said to Laura as she quickly unlinked their arms. "Just go have a butterbeer without me. I'll see you back at Hogwarts."

"What did you forget?" she asked curiously. "All you had to do was go to the costume shop and we did that."

Ginny's eyes lit up with an excuse. "I know, and Fred and George asked me to check out the shop's merchandise to see what they were competing against," Ginny lied.

Laura studied her for a few minutes before saying, "Well, okay. Do you want me to come with?"

"No!" Ginny exclaimed, with much more force than she intended. "I mean no, don't bother. You should go have fun with Mike and Mary," she added quickly once seeing Laura's hurt face.

"Well, okay then," Laura said slowly as she started to walk towards the two people waiting for her. "Just be careful, okay?"

Ginny nodded at Laura, and once she, Mike and Mary were inside, Ginny took off to the direction that Draco was heading for.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco was on his way back to Hogwarts with a hidden smile on his face. He knew Ginny would love the ring; it was made especially for her.

As he walked by himself, he thought over the past month with Ginny. It was odd how hours without her could see like years, but a month with her seemed like only a few days. Draco reached his hand down his pocket to finger the velvet box when he was suddenly pushed roughly from the back into a dark alley.

If Draco didn't have his hand in his robe, he would have had his wand shoved up his intruder's arse in a second flat, but being one handed slowed him down. By the time he was able to reach for his wand, a pair of hands grabbed his arms and shoved him up against the cold, brick wall. Still too dark to see, he could tell that his attacker wasn't very strong, and he was about to fight back with his own bare hands when a pair of lips suddenly seized his.

Draco's eyes opened with surprise, and was about to bite down on the mysterious person's lips when he took notice of how the lips felt against his, and of the smell of peppermint suddenly filling the air.

"Ginny?" Draco murmured against the lips still kissing him.

The person pulled away from Draco for a second, just long enough to whisper, "Lumos."

Blinking at the sudden bright light, Draco adjusted his eyes to the red head standing innocently in front of him.

"Ginny," Draco groaned as she smiled at him. "I could have killed you!"

"You're probably the slowest Death Eater I've ever seen."

"Ginny, quiet!" Draco hushed immediately. The last thing he wanted was for people to hear that. Sure, people assumed he was one. But there was a big difference between assuming and knowing.

Ginny laughed at Draco's frantic moments, and without saying another word she started to kiss him again. Not one to object

to such actions, Draco quickly wrapped his arms around her, and just started to kiss her deeply when he felt her start to unbuckle his pants from underneath his robe.

Gathering all of his control, Draco gently slid Ginny's hands away from him. "Not here, Gin. Someone might see us together."

For the million time of the day, Ginny smiled at Draco's worries. "What's so funny? This is serious," Draco said angrily.

"Not if you put a silencing charm on the whole alley," Ginny said seductively.

Draco's eyebrows immediately went up. "So no one heard that whole Death Eater talk?"

"Nope," Ginny said slyly. "While you were still trying to get your wand out I put up the charm. And it's dark in here, so anyone who walks by won't see us."

Draco stared at Ginny, quite impressed. "You really are getting sneakier, my angel."

Ginny smiled widely as she put her hands back near Draco's pants. "I learn from the best, love."

She leaned up to Draco's lips, and whispered, "Nox." Once everything was dark, Draco and Ginny were too occupied to hear the footsteps that walked away from the entrance of the alley.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"O! speak again, bright angel; for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head, As is a winged messenger of heaven Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes,"
-Romeo and Juliet
Act II Scene II

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Thank you for reading and please review! I would go on to say that the characters Laura, Mary, and Mike are mine, but they're all based off of my real friends. So I guess I own my friends then?

The blue hair was inspired by Laura herself.

Thank you so much to all of those who have reviewed. You all make my day and I love ya!

Liz21

6. Caught Up In Love

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 Six: Caught Up In Love

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"You're seeing someone, aren't you?"

Ginny quickly looked up from her book she was reading by the warm fireplace in the Gryffindor common room at Laura standing over her with two cups of hot cocoa in her hands.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Ginny said with a smile of thanks as Laura handed her one cup before sitting down next to her on the carpet floor.

Taking a sip from her drink, Laura looked at her from over her cup. "You're seeing someone secretly," she repeated. Before she let Ginny reply she added, "I mean, it all adds up. You've been so distant for this past month, been sneaking off every night and not returning till morning,"

Ginny nearly dropped her cup from shock. "I've told you already, I've been going to the kitchens for a midnight snack and then would go do some late homework wherever I could without getting caught."

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you?" Laura asked as she set her cup down on the floor. "I mean your brother and his friends might, but they don't know you like I do, or how I used to."

Ginny frowned at her friend. "Laura, don't be like that. I'm still the same person as I've always been."

Laura slowly shook her head, her brown and blue hair swaying with the movement. "No, no you're not, Ginny. It seems whenever we're together anymore you're always in deep thought or just quiet."

Ginny stared at her with sudden anger. "So just because I'm quieter than usual you automatically assume that I'm seeing someone behind everyone's back?"

"That's what I'm talking about, Gin! You would have never jumped down my throat because of an assumption I made."

Ginny diverted her eyes from Laura and stared silently into the fire. The day she found out about Draco being a Death Eater she promised herself that she wouldn't tell anyone about their relationship. It was too dangerous that she couldn't even trust her own friends. She sighed quietly looking back at her angry but concerned friend. She felt guilty keeping something like this from her, but if it meant risking everything for Draco, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"Well people change sometimes," Ginny muttered as she set her cup on the floor next to Laura before standing up, "and if you can't accept who I am, then maybe we shouldn't be friends."

Laura stared up with her in shock, too stunned by her words to stand up to her height. "You can't be serious, Gin."

Tears started to creep to Ginny's eyes, but she ignored them. "I'm sorry, Laura, but I can't be friends with you right now. You're asking too many questions, and it would be safer if we stopped talking for awhile."

"Safer?" Laura yelled as she quickly stood up. "Safe from what?"

Ginny looked at her friend hard before answering, "Safe from me and my new life." With that Ginny quickly walked out of the common room without looking back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco was on his way out of his common room to go to Slytherin's room early to set up his surprise for Ginny, when he heard someone clear their throat loudly behind him. He turned around with annoyance to Pansy, who had her hands placed angrily on her hips and her face scrunched up. She was pissed off.

"Draco Malfoy!" her screeching voice made Draco want to rip off his ears. "You did it again!"

"Did what again, Pansy?" Draco asked innocently as he eyed the door out. So close, but yet so far.

"You left me! First the dance, and then the jewelry shop! Honestly, don't you ever learn?"

Not going to take her crap, Draco flat out said, "No, don't you ever learn? Haven't you figured it out by now that maybe I don't want to be with you?"

Pansy opened her mouth to yell at him, but closed it quickly. Draco raised his eyebrows, impressed at himself for making her speechless. Shaking his head at her, he headed out of the common room, happy to get away from her clutches.

He was a footstep into freedom when he heard her angry footsteps follow him. 'Why won't she just leave me alone?' he asked himself angrily before turning around to wait for her. Sure enough, Pansy came out of the entrance and walked right up to him.

"There's another girl, isn't there?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but that's as much emotion he showed to her. "And why would that be?"

"Well, the idea of not wanting to be with me is just crazy. The only reason for your odd behavior towards me is because," she stopped suddenly with a gasp. "You're under a love spell! Oh, my poor Drakey!"

Draco stared at her with disgust before he started to walk away from her. He had enough, and if he was going to stand there another minute he would have burst into laughter.

Pansy's voice echoed in the hallway after him. "Don't you see, Draco? Some horrible witch is turning you against me so she can have you all to herself! Don't worry, I'll find out who it is and make sure she gets the punishment she deserves!"

Once Draco turned the corner and was out of sight, he let out a chuckle. "You do that, Pansy," he muttered underneath his breath. After checking to make sure she wasn't still following him, he headed for the Slytherin statue.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco checked his watch as he stood outside the statue. It was only 11:30 and he was early, but that went well according to his plan. After saying the password and walking into the door that appeared, Draco went to go close the door after him when a soft sound came from the inside of the room.

Gripping his wand tightly, Draco crept further into the room with his back against the wall. Taking slow, quiet steps, he gradually made his way into the main room where he paused. The sound grew louder, confirming that someone was definitely inside. Taking a deep breath, Draco jumped away from the wall and into position with his wand pointing right towards,

"Ginny!" Draco exclaimed with a deep breath. "Angel, we have to stop meeting like this," he said half joking, half annoyed. That was the second time that day he could have accidentally hurt her.

Ginny sat on the edge of the bed with her back towards him, and didn't respond. Curious, Draco walked around to face her and found her with her hands covering her face. She let out a muffled sob, which explained the noise he heard earlier.

Immediately alarmed, Draco rushed over and dropped down onto his knees in front of her. "Angel, what's wrong?" Draco soothed as he went to remove her hands.

Ginny's face was beat red from crying, her eyes puffy and wet. She hastily wiped her tears away. "Nothings wrong, Draco. I'm just had a little fight with Laura," she said as she stared at her hands.

Draco frowned slightly. He didn't know much of Laura except that she was a Gryffindor, but he knew that she was one of Ginny's closest friends. "About what?" Draco asked quietly.

"It was nothing, Draco. Don't worry about it," she said as she wiped away her last tears. After she was done she smiled at him, happy that he was there. "Why are you here so early?"

Draco stood up to sit next to Ginny on the bed. He suddenly felt foolish saying that he was going to fill the room with lit candles and roses with magic, so instead he just shrugged his shoulders. "I needed to get away from Pansy."

Ginny nodded her head before resting it against Draco's shoulder. "I know what you mean," she agreed quietly.

They sat like that for a few more minutes before Draco remembered why tonight was so special in the first place. He quickly sat up from the bed and faced Ginny again. "I actually wanted to give you something," he said as he pulled out the small velvet box from his pocket.

Ginny's eyes grew wide at the box, knowing immediately it was jewelry. Her eyes grew even wider when Draco opened the box for her, showing her the crystal ring inside.

Draco didn't know what to expect from her response, but dead silence was not what he was hoping for. "It's a promise ring," he said as he took it out with a silver chain attached to it. "I put it on a necklace only because if you wear it on your hand, people might start asking too many questions. But it was said to be made by,"

"The tears of an angel," Ginny interrupted. She broke her gaze from the ring and slowly brought her tear filled eyes to Draco's searching ones. "I remember my mother telling me about them when I was younger. They're actually supposed to be impossible to find because,"

"Because it's the only one of its kind," Draco said, finishing her sentence. "The second I saw it, I knew it was for you."

Ginny stared at the ring in amazement. "I can't accept it, Draco. It must have been so expensive."

Draco shook his head quickly. "Don't worry about the price, love. You were worth every cent."

Ginny opened her mouth to object when Draco added quickly, "Plus it's a gift."

Ginny looked up at him with curious eyes. "A gift for what?"

Draco smiled at her sheepishly. "Well, it's been a month since we came together and I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me and how thankful I am that we survived this long."

Ginny smiled at his words, tears of happiness building up. "Thank you, Draco," she said as she stood up next to him to give him a kiss. "But you didn't have to buy me anything, I know how you feel."

Draco smiled at her. "I know, I know," he said as he played with the ring.

Ginny looked down at the ring and asked, "Aren't you supposed to do something to the ring? Some kind of spell or words has to be spoken."

"We're supposed to make a promise on it," Draco said as his hand stilled. "And I already thought of one."

Ginny slowly nodded her head as she stared at Draco anxiously.

Draco unhooked the clasp, and as he put on the necklace around her neck he whispered, "I promise, Ginny Weasley, that I will love you till my dying day."

Once the words were spoken and the necklace was in place, the ring lit up once to show the promise was real. Once the ring returned back to its crystal state, Draco looked at Ginny, who had tears pouring down her face.

"I love you so much, Draco," Ginny said as she leaned in for a kiss.

"I love you too," Draco murmured as he lowered his head to her. His lips just brushed over hers when he paused.

"Is something wrong?" Ginny whispered, her breath tickling his face.

Draco shook his head. "I thought I heard something," he said before brushing it off. He went to kiss Ginny again when he raised his head.

"Do you hear that?" Draco said as he slowly let go of Ginny's waist.

Ginny stared at him curiously before straining her ears, searching for the sound. "Yeah, I do actually," she said as she let go of Draco. "It sort of sounds like,"

"Footsteps," Draco finished quickly as he stepped away from Ginny and pulled out his wand.

"But how is that possible?" Ginny asked as she watched Draco walk away from her towards the entrance. "This room is sound proof. We've never been able to hear anything from the hallway before."

Draco quickly ran back into her view, his face ghostly white. "The door is open," he said in disbelief.

"What?" Ginny exclaimed, as she ran into view of the door, Draco following behind. It was indeed wide open.

"I forgot to close it," Draco said, running his hand through his hair. "I can't believe I forgot to close it."

Ginny turned around, facing him with wide eyes. "Do you think anyone heard us? Or even saw us?"

Draco opened his mouth to answer when he stopped. The same footsteps they both heard earlier filled the silence in the hallway. Without a word spoken, Draco gently pushed Ginny out of the way before running out of the room.

With his wand in his hand, Draco looked down the left side of the hallway where he heard a hurried pair of footsteps. He just saw a robed figure turn the corner.

"Hey, you!" Draco yelled at the person before running after them. He had to find out who it was, make sure they didn't speak a word of this to anyone.

He turned the corner in lightning speed, only to appear in a completely empty hallway. He frantically opened the few doors nearby, but every room was empty.

"Damnit!" he yelled furiously. Losing his temper he angrily punched the brick wall, immediately regretting his actions. The bones cracked underneath the sudden pressure, and blood oozed down his knuckles.

Draco leaned against the wall, slumping down to the floor. He didn't know how long he sat there, cradling his injured hand, until he heard footsteps running towards him.

"Draco? Oh my gosh, are you hurt?"

Draco ignored Ginny's worried calls and continued to stare at the wall across from him in a trance. Not until did Ginny bend down in front of him and gasp at his injury did he speak.

"He's going to find out, Gin. Someone knows about us and my father is going to find out. He always does."

Ginny quickly shook her head as she tried to pull Draco off the ground. "No he won't, Draco. Some person could have just been walking by and you spooked them," she said quickly, even though she knew it would have been too good to be true.

When Ginny finally succeeded in getting Draco to stand up, she started to lead him towards the hospital wing. "Did you see the person's face or anything?"

Draco slowly shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered. "Where are we going?" he said, finally looking around them.

"To get your hand fixed," Ginny replied. She glanced at Draco worriedly, and frowned at him. "Draco, it was an honest mistake to leave the door open. Stop beating yourself up over it."

Draco stopped in the hallway, dragging Ginny with him. "You don't understand how serious this is, Gin. Someone here knows about us because I wasn't careful enough to make sure I did something as simple as closing the door!"

Draco stopped yelling when he saw Ginny flinch at his loud voice, making him quiet down immediately. "Ginny," he said with a forced calm, "I don't want to see you in any danger. Maybe we should break it off before anyone else finds out."

"No!" Ginny exclaimed loudly. "I won't let you do that, Draco! That's just running away from the problem, not solving it."

"But Gin,"

"No buts," Ginny snapped. "Don't worry about me, Draco. I'll be fine as long as I have you."

Draco sighed loudly, knowing for her tone that the discussion was over. They continued their walk to the hospital wing and rounded a corner, walking right into Snape.

"Well, well if it isn't Miss Weasley, out of bed after hours," Snape's voice drawled with apparent excitement.

Draco and Ginny both froze in their spots. Noticing that Snape didn't even mention him, Draco quickly said, "That's right, Professor. I caught the little Weasley and decided to bring her to Professor McGonagall myself."

Snape's eyes shined over to his favorite student. "Good job, Mister Malfoy. Since you are a prefect, you are able to take off points if you wish."

Draco smirked at Snape, trying to hide a smile. "Don't worry, sir. I was planning on that also."

Snape nodded at him, and glared at Ginny before continuing on his way. Once he was out of sight, Draco sighed loudly. "That was too close," he said to Ginny who was trying to hold in a giggle.

"Hey!" she exclaimed suddenly. "You called me little Weasley!"

Draco grinned at her. "Well I didn't think Snape would buy the whole act if I called you angel."

Ginny thought for a second, before breaking out into laughter. "I would have loved to see his face if you did say that," she said as they continued their walk.

Draco's sudden serious face made her stop giggling, knowing what he was going to say. "Okay, okay," she said before he had a chance to talk. "We'll be more careful for now on."

"Thank you," Draco said before he took another look around. "But you should go before we run into anyone else, like Granger or even worse, your brother."

Ginny nodded and started to walk towards the Gryffindor tower before calling out, "You better go get your hand fixed though!"

Draco grumbled at her, and as he walked into the hospital wing, he couldn't help but sigh once more with worry. The uneasy feeling in his stomach grew, and it was starting to weigh him down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"To breathe such vows as lovers us'd to swear; And she as much in love, her means much less To meet her new-beloved any where: But passion lends them power, time means, to meet, Tempering extremity with extreme sweet."

-Romeo and Juliet
Act II Scene I

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Shorter than the one before, but still long enough! Hope you guys enjoyed it! And trust me when I say it's just getting good! Please review!!

Thank you to all those who have reviewed so far! I love you guys!

Liz21

7. Choices and Consequences

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 Seven: Choices and Consequences

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Draco was on his way to breakfast the next morning with the same uneasy feeling in his stomach. The whole night he kept on having dreams of his father finding out about him and Ginny, and then they both had to suffer from his wrath. When he woke up screaming after having a vision of Ginny being tortured, he stayed awake in his bed until it was time for a new day.

He was a few feet away from the Grand Hall when he spotted a group of Gryffindors halfway blocking the entrance. Greatly annoyed at this, he was about to go barge through and push them out of his way when one of the girls said something that made him stop in his tracks.

"I can't believe Ginny did that!" a short girl said to another with blue streaks in her hair.

"I know, that's why I'm worried," the girl with blue streaks whispered quietly.

Draco stared at the group near him. He knew them somehow, but couldn't place them. Suddenly aware that he was standing there like an idiot, Draco dropped down to tie his shoe as he listened to their continuing conversation.

"So let me get this straight," a male voice said. "You questioned her about a secret relationship, she got angry, and then told her she didn't want to be your friend anymore? Laura, something else had to happen. Ginny just wouldn't do that to you."

Draco's hands stilled with his shoelaces as he popped his head up at the trio. He stared at the girl with blue streaks, confirming that that was Laura, Ginny's best friend. He knew he knew her from somewhere. He assumed that the other two were Mike and Mary, who Ginny has mentioned to him several times.

"I'm telling you, Mike, nothing else happened," Laura said as she sighed loudly. She looked at Mary with concern and said, "She's also been lying to us all this time. Remember her excuse about always getting a midnight snack from the kitchens? I stopped by there last night and a house-elf named Dobby said Ginny hasn't been there for the past month."

Deciding that he had heard enough, Draco stood back up and walked up to the three. "You're blocking my way, little Gryffindors," he said with a sneer.

All three of them looked up at Draco, immediately ending their conversation. "There's plenty of room to get around us, Malfoy," Laura snapped. Mary narrowed her eyes with disgust at him, and Mike quickly broadened his chest to appear tough.

Glaring at them, Draco smirked before saying, "Ten points from Gryffindor for not being polite to a prefect."

"What?" Laura screeched. "You can't do that!"

Slightly amused, Draco added, "Twenty points then, for nearly breaking my eardrums."

Draco didn't even flinch as Laura went to go draw out her wand to curse him, and laughed evilly as her boyfriend stopped her from doing so. "You Gryffindors are so pathetic," he sneered. "I especially love the part where you guys are supposed to be faithful, but yet I here you talking shit about a friend."

Laura's angry face looked at him in a slight surprise. "We weren't talking shit about anyone," she growled, "and it's none of your concern of what or whom we talk about, Malfoy."

With one more glare and a smirk, Draco left the trio and went over to the Slytherin table to eat. Just because he was with Ginny didn't mean he couldn't keep up the house rivalry.

With a satisfied smirk he dug into his pancakes and eggs.

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Ginny slowly walked to Charms class, not too worried that she was already late. Professor Flitwick favored her for some reason, and never punished her when she came to class late. Walking down the nearly deserted hallway, Ginny played with the ring around her neck sadly. Last night was so horrible, having to share a room with Laura after ruining their friendship like she did. But she had to do it. Laura was getting too close to finding out the truth, and Ginny could not risk anyone finding out. She knew that eventually she would have to make sacrifices with her secret, but if it meant being with Draco she would do it without a second thought.

Just as she put her necklace back underneath her uniform to hide it from view, she accidentally bumped shoulders with someone.

"Sorry," Ginny mumbled as she heard their quill and books drop.

"Sorry my ass, Weasley! Get back here and pick my things up!"

Ginny shuddered slightly at Pansy's complaining, and turned to face her with an evil glare which quickly melted when she saw that Draco was with her. Ginny was about to give him a quick smile when Pansy glared at her.

"I said pick up my stuff that your clumsy ass dropped!" she screeched loudly.

"I'm the clumsy one? Look who dropped everything she was carrying!" Ginny snapped back. It

was just an innocent shoulder whack, but how Pansy was complaining it was as if Ginny pushed her off a cliff.

Draco's muffled laughter broke their fighting, causing Pansy to reel on him. "Drakey! Make her pick up my books!" she whined loudly.

"Just leave it alone, Pansy, and stop bitching before we get detention for being late to class," Draco said angrily. He didn't even know why he bothered to walk to class with her anymore.

Pansy put her hands on her hips crossly and started to pout. "I'm not going to lower myself to Weasley's level! Make her do it!"

Draco sighed loudly before desperately looking at Ginny. He didn't want to make her do anything, especially for Pansy's pleasure, but it was his role as the mean Slytherin to do such a thing.

Catching his glance, Ginny groaned before bending down to the ground. "Don't worry about it, Malfoy. I'll spare you the agonizing task of having to speak to me."

Impressed at her choice of words, Draco let out sly smile as he and Pansy both watched Ginny pick up the books and quills near their feet. Once Ginny collected all of Pansy's belongings, she stood up and handed them over with an irritated face. She turned to leave when Pansy stepped forward and roughly grabbed her arm.

"Owie!" Ginny yelled as Pansy continued to hold her death grip.

"What is that?" Pansy asked, looking at Ginny's neck.

Draco followed Pansy's gaze, and saw her staring at Ginny's necklace with the promise ring attached to it. 'It must have slipped out from underneath her clothes when she bent over,' Draco told himself quickly as his stomach dropped.

Not giving Ginny a chance to answer, Pansy took a harder look. "I know what that is!" she said aloud to herself. "That's a promise ring." She quickly looked up at Ginny with a face full of uncertainty. "Where did you get this, Weasley? And don't lie to me and say you bought it yourself! We all know that isn't nearly possible, even if you sold yourself for it."

Narrowing her eyes at Pansy for the last comment, Ginny glanced at Draco before saying, "It was a gift."

Pansy stared at her blankly before laughing at her harshly. "A gift? No one cares enough about you to give you such a thing!" Without looking over her shoulder, she said to Draco, "Hey, Draco. Maybe we should take away some house points for Weasley lying to us."

Draco opened his mouth to speak without a clue of what to say, when Ginny said loudly, "I'm not lying, Parkinson. It was a gift so fuck off!"

Everyone went absolutely still at Ginny's words, too stunned to move or speak. Draco swore to himself, knowing exactly how Pansy was going to react and quickly thinking of how he was going to help out Ginny.

Just as Draco predicted, Pansy's look grew very ugly before she slammed Ginny up against the brick wall painfully. "What did you just say to me, Weasley?"

Draco watched in horror as Ginny whimpered in pain from the sudden impact. He quickly pulled out his wand, preparing to protect what was his.

Ginny stared at Pansy with such loathe that Draco felt himself cringe in fear. "I said fuck off, Parkinson," she said, annunciating each word.

What happened next seemed to be in slow motion. As Draco watched from behind, he saw Pansy put her hand in her left pocket, which Draco knew for a fact was where she kept her wand. He tried to catch Ginny's eye to warn her, but she was so fixed on keeping Pansy's glare that she didn't even notice her reaching for her wand. Just as Pansy's wand came into view, Draco made up his mind and shouted, "Stupefy!"

His breath stopped as him and Ginny both watched Pansy's body slump to the ground. Ginny looked up to Draco with wide eyes, who was staring at Pansy in shock.

"I just attacked Pansy," Draco said in shock as he looked up at Ginny. Before Ginny could thank him or convince him that it was for the best, Draco shouted happily, "I've wanted to do that since my third year!"

Sighing with relief, Ginny went to go walk up to him when she stopped in pain. Alarmed, Draco ran over to her. "Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

Ginny slowly nodded her head. "I think I just bruised something when I hit the wall," she said as she tried to shrug it off.

Draco slowly shook his head in guilt. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything earlier. You know the last thing I want is for you to get hurt, and"

"Draco, I understand," Ginny interrupted with a smile. "The whole being more careful idea wouldn't go to well with you rescuing me while Pansy was conscious."

Draco nodded his head, even though he felt like a helpless, horrible person. He quickly looked at Pansy and then grabbed Ginny's hand, dragging her away.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked as Draco broke out into a fast pace.

"Someone must have heard the fight, and any second now they're going to come across Pansy knocked out," Draco said as he quickly looked behind his back. "It wouldn't be too smart to hang out at the scene of the crime."

Ginny quickly nodded her head as she tried to keep up with Draco, and not until he took them through a few random turns did they stop. Deciding that they were safe and secluded, Draco let go of Ginny as she leaned up against the wall.

Draco stood in front of her, and watched her as she played with her necklace. "I didn't know that this would be so hard," Draco said suddenly. "The lying part is no problem, but I never thought that having to protect you would be such a big dilemma."

Ginny nodded in agreement as she continued to play with the crystal ring. "It is hard, Draco, but it's worth it to me. I'd rather be dead if I couldn't be with you, and believe me when I say I'd give up anything for you."

"Like your friends," Draco pointed out, instead of questioning her.

Ginny's fingers stopped playing with her necklace at his words. "How did you know that?" she asked, unable to look him in the face.

"I heard your friend Laura talking about it," he said as he tried to watch her face that she was hiding. "Ginny, I don't want you to drop everyone just for me. You need more than one person to survive in this world."

"That's not true, Draco," Ginny said, quickly bringing her eyes to his. "All I need is you to survive, I don't need anyone else." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts properly. "What about you, Draco? If I need my friends, who do you need?"

Draco stared at her, not knowing what to say exactly. He's never had the good friend, one that liked him for him and not his money or power. He grew up having no one to play to or talk to whenever he wished, and never did no the meaning of a real relationship Ginny came along. But there was life before her.

"Me," he said flatly. "I've only been there for myself before you, so I guess I need myself."

Ginny nodded her head silently. She wasn't expecting him to say family or friends, because she knew he had little of each. And here she was, with an abundance of both, but she didn't care anymore. "I've already made up my mind on this, Draco," Ginny said, refusing to break his gaze. "I know that I can never have both you and everyone else in my life at the same time. I wouldn't be able to handle the stress, the lying, and I know that it would come down to me choosing who I would rather have. And I'm not going to go through all that if I already know I'd pick you."

Draco stared at Ginny desperately. "Ginny," he almost pleaded, "stop thinking of me and think of you for once."

"You are me, Draco!" Ginny finally yelled, tired that he wasn't getting it in the first place. "Without you I am nothing. There's no point in keeping friends that would only destroy us, because not having you would destroy me."

Draco stood there, not knowing what to say. Instead, he slowly nodded as he grabbed her hand. "If that's how you want it then."

"It is, Draco," Ginny said convincingly.

"Let's just hope it's the best choice," Draco said as they slowly walked away together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco sighed heavily with exhaust as he left the Great Hall by himself. All through dinner he watched Laura give Ginny looks of confusion, worry, and even hatred, as he tried to ignore the looks Pansy gave him. He purposely sat away from her at dinner so she wouldn't question him about the scene earlier, but that didn't stop her from looking at him. News was spreading fast that Pansy was found knocked out in the hallway, but she refused to say who she thought attacked her. Draco glanced at her while she stared at him with a knowing look on her face. Draco found it easiest to just stare at his plate of food and nothing else for the rest of the meal.

Suddenly desiring a good nap with no interruptions, Draco headed towards Slytherin's room. Earlier that day when he and Ginny were alone, they both agreed that tonight they should play low and cancel their usual meeting. After too many risks and too many questions from everyone, they knew it was best to just stay in their own rooms for one night.

Draco strutted into Slytherin's room, for once not having to worry about special precautions for entering, as he did with Ginny. Not even bothering to take off his school robe, he immediately flopped onto the bed, too tired to care that the lights were still on.

Draco immediately lifted his head in suspicion, for he did not even turn the lights on. Even with his back to the surrounding room, Draco could feel a presence right behind him near the sitting area. He slowly sat up, and was about to pull out his wand when he paused. He slowly shook his head and with a smile he remembered seeing Ginny leaving dinner early. 'Probably decided to surprise me,' he thought to himself.

"Ginny, you really have to stop sneaking up on me," he said as he casually turned around to face her.

His face suddenly froze, and turned ghostly pale as he stared at the person in front of him. His hand went to grab his wand, but he knew there was no point.

Draco stared hard at the person before growling, "Hello, Father."

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"And learn me how to lose a winning match, Play'd for a pair of stainless maidenhoods: Hood my unmann'd blood, bating in my cheeks, With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown bold, Think true love acted simple modesty."

-Romeo and Juliet
Act III Scene II

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This chapter was short compared to the last two, but that's just how it worked out. This is going to be a total of ten chapters, so a few more left! Sorry for the cliffhangers!

Thanks for reading and please review!

Liz21

8. Sacrifices for Love

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 Eight: Sacrifices for Love

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Draco watched as his father sat comfortably yet sophisticated in the green armchair in the sitting area. He had yet to speak a hello or a word to Draco since the two faced each other, and it was making Draco shiver with a knowing curiosity.

"What are you doing here, Father?" Draco asked, even though deep down he knew exactly why his father was here.

A smooth smirk came over Lucius' face, one that matched Draco's own perfectly. He continued to stay seated, and Draco sighed quietly. He slowly walked up to his father, and with each step closer towards him, Draco's uneasy feeling grew more and more.

Sudden fear overcame Draco as he stopped only a few feet away from him, them both staring at each other with a knowing look on their faces. Draco was accustomed to being afraid of his father; he grew up knowing only fear and pain from him. But Draco wasn't afraid from himself, he was afraid for Ginny.

"I think we can both guess why I'm here," Lucius said coolly as he stood to Draco's height. "Especially after whom you had mistaken me for."

Draco felt his heart race, but he continued to look at this father with a plain expression. One thing he learned one he was younger was to never let your weaknesses show. Knowing that he had no way to get around what he said without lying and getting beaten, Draco chose to stay quiet and wait for his father to continue.

Lucius was only a few inches taller than Draco, but he was still able to tower over him with intimidation. "I've been hearing an interesting story from an inside source," he said casually as he walked over to the fireplace. He stared into it with his back to Draco, but Draco continued to keep his still posture and his mouth closed.

"This story is of two people from two very different households. In fact," Lucius said as he turned to face Draco with colder eyes, "there's been a family feud between these two for years." With each word, Lucius neared Draco, and was now standing right in front of him again. "Do you have any idea of who these two people could be?"

Finally given permission to speak, Draco opened his mouth without thinking. "I don't know, Father. There's a lot of people I have in mind that are supposed to hate each other."

The evil sparkled in Lucius' eyes, and before Draco could brace himself for his sharp tongue,

his father drew back his hand and smacked him hard across the face. "Don't be smart with me, boy," he said through clenched teeth. "I've taught you long ago to never lie to me."

Draco slowly brought his gaze back to him, tasting his own blood in his mouth. "What do you want me to say then?" Draco said flatly, hoping not to receive another hit. "We both know that you know everything, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at Draco for a long moment, before saying, "I want you to tell me that it was just a convenient shag, that she was nothing more than a whore to you."

Draco opened his mouth to lie to his father, to tell him that for the last month he only used Ginny for sex, but he remained completely silent. He knew that pain would be a consequence to his silence, but he couldn't bring himself to say that about Ginny. And even if he could, his father would know right away that he was lying right through his teeth. Draco was an excellent liar, but since his father molded him he knew what the truth was or not.

Lucius slowly nodded his head at Draco, understanding his actions. He withdrew his hand once more, making Draco flinch, but he let it drop slowly. "I wanted to believe at first that it was only for the sex, and that lust took over your ability to think. But after hearing that you've given her a promise ring, now that just don't make sense."

Draco knew his eyes grew wide at his father's words. He really did know everything.

"Tell me, Draco," Lucius said so quietly that it chilled Draco's bones. "Do you love her?"

Draco tried so hard to shake his head no, but there was no point. His father knew, and he was just making Draco suffer for his own pleasure. So he then tried to speak, tell him that yes he did love her and he couldn't do anything about it, but Draco knew that that was just as much as a lie as saying he didn't love Ginny.

Lucius eyed Draco, slightly amused at watching his son be torn apart. But when Draco still refused to say a word, patience and time slowly ticked by, and the longer he stood there silently, the angrier Lucius grew.

When it grew obvious that Draco refused to answer, Lucius smirked. "There are ways to get you to answer, Draco," he said quietly. "And you know from experience that I'm not one to be hesitant to torture it out of you."

Draco's eyes grew wide, and his heart beat picked up greatly. He took a deep breath before whispering, "Yes."

Lucius' smirk was wiped off his face. "What did you say?" he spat.

"I said yes!" Draco nearly yelled, no longer afraid of his words. "Yes I love her, and maybe you're having such a big problem with dealing with that because you don't know what love is!"

Only a second went by between Draco's last spoken words and when Lucius quickly pulled out his wand and yelled, "Crucio!" at him.

No matter how many times Draco has felt it, it still hurt just as much as the last time. Pain swept through his body, quickly reminding him why he should never make his father angry. His knees buckled underneath his whole pressure, and even though he tried desperately to stand up to his father's height, his knees soon gave out. He fell to the floor in spasms of pain as a tortured cry built up in his throat. Knowing that his cries of anguish would only bring his father pleasure, Draco bit down his tongue so hard to keep them in that he could taste his own blood.

While he withered with pain, he heard his father speak over him, "All Malfoys learn sooner or later that love only makes them weak," he growled. "I thought I got that through to you, but I guess you'll just have to learn the hard way."

At the end of his sentence he lifted his wand, and the pain left Draco's body, leaving him to tremor and twitch silently on the floor. As Draco tried to get a hold of himself, Lucius said, "Tell me what promise was made on the ring."

Draco tried to use his voice, but coughed up blood instead. "To love her until I die," he said, his voice rough with pain.

He just got over his coughing fit when he felt Lucius' boot connect harshly with his side. Draco gasped aloud as his body cringed, making him want to curl into a ball to protect himself.

Lucius' cruel voice filled the room. "Stand up now and face me, you traitor!" he spat angrily.

Gathering all of the energy left in him, Draco slowly made it to his feet, surprised that he didn't fall over in a heap. Blood trickled from his mouth as he stared in to his father's eyes, but he made no move to wipe it off.

In all of his years, Draco had never seen his father this angry. "I don't think you realized what you have done with your foolish acts with that muggle lover," he said slowly. "This ends now before our Lord finds out, because if he does, many will suffer. He will never allow someone in his inner group to associate with someone on Dumbledore's side, and neither will I."

Draco stared back at his father, and then slowly shook his head. "I don't care how much you torture me, I will never leave Ginny."

Lucius' eyes narrowed at the name his son spoke so freely. "Then maybe the choice between life and death will get you to change your mind," he said slowly.

"You're bluffing," Draco replied quickly without taking in what Lucius meant. "You'd never kill your only heir; it would ruin the Malfoy name forever, and that's all you care about."

This brought a cruel smile onto Lucius' lips, making Draco shudder slightly. "You're right, my dear son, I would never kill you. I'd kill off the one thing that mattered most to you."

Draco's whole body went completely numb, and he was certain his heart stopped beating. "Don't you dare touch her," he said slowly, each word growing louder than the next. "Don't you lay a fucking hand on her!"

"You're frightened," Lucius said with delight. "And you should be. You've seen me kill off whole families, and innocent muggle children by the dozen. What makes you think that that Weasley would be any different from the rest?"

"Nothing does," Draco said quietly, knowing that Lucius meant business, "just my pleads for you not to cause her any harm."

Lucius stared at Draco long and hard before saying, "Here this now. Break whatever little thing you have with her now, never step foot near her again, and I may be restrained from causing her pain."

"I want you to promise me," Draco said, his voice shaking. "Promise me that if I agree to break it off with Ginny, that you will cause her no pain."

A knowing smile glazed over Lucius' face. "I promise," he said with glee. "Besides, I think you'll be the one causing her all the pain, at least enough for you to learn to never go against me again."

He turned near the door as if to leave, before turning back around. "You shall never disrespect the name of Malfoy like this again, Draco," he said coldly. "You will stay away from her, if you know want what is best for her." With a quick glare he left the room, leaving Draco to stand alone in a daze before collapsing into a seat in shock.

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Draco knew it was around lunch time, and he had yet to move from Slytherin's room. After his father left, he stayed in that one seat for a few hours before dragging himself over to the bed. He awoke a few hours later after he had too many nightmares of watching his father torturing Ginny, and he was just standing there and watching, doing nothing to help her. He hasn't been able to fall asleep since, but still didn't move from the bed. He lay there on top of the sheets, with the same clothes on from the night before. His hair was a rumbled, his clothes crinkly, and didn't even want to know how his face looked.

For awhile Draco was contemplating on flat out ignoring Ginny instead of breaking her heart, but he knew that she wouldn't stop coming to him. He even thought of running away with her, but there wasn't a place he could go that was safe from his father or Voldemort's spies. His best bet right now was to stay locked up in that room, hoping that Ginny wouldn't come looking for him.

He just closed his tired eyes again, hoping for sleep to come, when he heard the door open, and slam shut loudly. "Draco?" Ginny's voice called, "Are you in here?"

Before Draco could get a chance to sit up or even fix his hair, Ginny came into view. Her worried face relaxed at seeing him as she ran over to him. "Draco, I was so worried about you!" she said as she sat next to him on the bed. "I was a bit surprised to not see you at classes, but when I started to hear people say that no one has seen you since dinner last night, I knew I had to come find you."

Draco stared at her with blank eyes, unsure of what to say. She cared about him so much, and yet here he was planning on breaking her heart. 'But it's for the best,' he argued with himself. 'I love her enough to let her go.'

"Draco?" Ginny asked so quietly that it made his heart break. He watched as she finally took him in, looking at his ruffled, slept in clothes, to his bruised cheek and puffy eyes. "What happened? Is something wrong?"

Draco wanted to yell at her to run far away and to never look back. He wanted to tell her that his father came to him last night, and he found out all about their relationship. He wanted to tell her that he would never want to hurt her, but he has to end it or else she will get hurt. He spent half the night thinking of ways to get around the whole situation while making his father believe he followed orders. The thought of telling Ginny everything and having her play along was the best idea, but Draco still didn't know who his father's source was. It could be anyone, and Draco could not take the chance of being with Ginny especially after his father threatened her life.

"No, nothing's wrong," Draco lied quietly. His arm draped around Ginny and pulled her to him so that she would lie down close to him. "And don't worry; everything is going to be fine."

Ginny sighed happily with content as she lay her head down in the cradle of his neck and wrapped an arm around his body. After they laid there silently for quite some time she whispered," I love you, Draco," as she snuggled into him.

Draco looked down at her face, and watched as she fell asleep. He brought his free hand to her face, and lightly touched her freckled cheeks he loved to tease her about, and then tucked her glorious red hair behind her ear. He slowly outlined her soft pink lips with his finger, making sure to always remember exactly how they felt against his skin. He pulled his fingers away so he could lower his lips to her own, and kissed her as gently as he could.

"I will always love you, Ginny Weasley," he whispered against her lips before he pulled away far enough to lay his head back down. "And I'm sorry for what I have to do, but it's for your own safety." Drawing both arms around her tightly, he held her close as he finally fell asleep.

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He left her there sleeping on the bed alone with a note on his pillow, asking her to meet him tonight where they had their first kiss. As he left to go shower and change, he stopped to stare at her sleeping form, taking in her beauty and angelic face. Before he could let his mind wander into how much he was going to regret his, he left the room quickly.

Draco stood near the fairy carved bench in the cold night air, but was already too numb to feel it. He glanced at the familiar surroundings; remember how nervous he felt before he kissed Ginny, and how scared he was when he found out who she really was. And coincidentally, those were the exact two feelings he was feeling now.

He heard footsteps approach him, but without turning he knew that the light steps were only made by one person. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye; saw her smiling face and her bright eyes. He felt his own face light up at her presence, but he stubbornly shut it back down. After so many years of his father beating the feeling of showing no emotions into him, Draco was finally glad that it came in use.

He didn't face Ginny until she was a foot away, and looked at her with the same cold eyes that he looked at her for so many years before the masquerade dance. She didn't seem to notice because she right away put her arms around him to give him a hug, as they always showed some sort of affection when they greeted each other.

Draco felt his body start to melt under her touch, and his heart aching. His arms went up to hug her close to him, when they froze in midair. If he was going to do this tonight, he was going to do it right.

He roughly grabbed her two arms and pushed her off of him. Her sudden gasps tore at him, and he had to look away when he saw her fall down on the bench from his harsh force.

"What was that for, Draco?" her shocked, hurt voice asked.

Draco continued to look to the side as he desperately tried to get into his mean, Slytherin attitude. 'Just think of her as another lousy Gryffindor you are supposed to hate,' he told himself as he heard her sit up from the bench. 'Just don't think about who she really is, or how you really feel about her. Hell, think of her as a female Potter.'

Ginny eyed him with worry before she lifted her small hand to his face to turn his head towards her. "Draco?" her voice squeaked.

Draco flinched from her touch, and drew his head as far away from her grasp as he could. "Don't touch me, you dirty whore," he spat out angrily.

Ginny's eyes widened at his words, and her mouth hung open in surprise. "What did you just call me?" Her voice was shaking with anger and shock.

Draco finally turned his gray eyes on her, and knew that this time she caught his look. "I said don't put your poor, Mudblood lover, Gryffindor filth hands on me, Weasley," he said slowly, saying each word with great force.

"What has gotten into you, Draco?" Ginny asked desperately as Draco continued to glare at her coldly. "This isn't like you at all! You're acting like,"

"How I used to?" Draco finished for her. She slowly nodded her head, and Draco managed a small smirk before he continued. "Let's think about it together, shall we, Weasley? The night I kiss you for the first time, I magically change my personality around you. Now why would I do such a thing like that?"

"Because you love me," Ginny said, even though it sounded more like a question.

Draco stared at her with evil eyes, and felt laughter rise in his throat even though he literally felt his heart break. "Or maybe because it scored me a shag with you. True, you are poor and your hair wants to make me vomit, but your body is rather a turn on."

Ginny slowly shook her head at him as tears collected in her eyes. "You don't mean that," she said quickly.

"Come on, Weasley! Did you really think that a Malfoy would really change for you, let alone love you? I mean, we can all dream, but that's just ridiculous!"

"But you, you said you loved me," she whispered, her voice shaking as tears fell down her cheeks.

Draco studied his manicured hands as if they were the most interesting thing, but really he couldn't look at her cry. Watching her and knowing he was doing that to her made him want to run to her and gather her in his arms to comfort her, but Lucius' harsh words dug into his mind. It was either this, or death.

"Love is a just a word. It doesn't actually mean anything, especially coming from a Malfoy."

More tears formed in Ginny's eyes as she cried harder. "You're lying," she said through clenched teeth. "Not after all we've had together, not after how you would hold me after we would make love, or how you would look at me." She paused to take a breath of air. "Why are you lying to the both of us? Why are you even doing this?"

Draco looked up at her shaking body, quickly running out of things to say. He couldn't drag this on forever, and he hoped that by now she would get it and leave him alone for good. "The only false thing here is your little fantasy of us ever being together," Draco said uncaringly. "So grow up and get over it."

"No," she whispered in denial as all her tears suddenly stopped. "This isn't happening.it can't be happening," she trailed off.

"Well it is happening, so accept it and move on."

She stared at him in shock. "Do you honestly believe me to move on?" When Draco didn't reply she added, "Draco, you're everything to me. You're my heart, my soul. I'm nothing without you."

Draco made sure his gray eyes made contact with hers. Her bottom lip was trembling, promising another breakdown. He had to say it. He had to keep her as far away from his as possible.

"You were nothing more than a convenient shag to me, Weasley. You meant nothing to me."

The face she made was as if Draco actually took her heart out of her chest himself, but he just as much did that. Wanting a quick retreat to go hide in shame and grief, Draco turned to leave when Ginny yelled out, "I know you're lying and here's your proof!"

Draco turned back around and saw Ginny holding out her crystal promise ring with shaking hands. "It's not black," she said quietly. "You promised to love me until your dying day, and it's not black because you're still alive and you still love me, just as you always have."

Draco stared down at the ring, completely forgetting about it. He sighed quietly before pushing her hand out of his face. "It's a fake, you tramp," he snapped. "Do you really think you're worth spending that much money on? I bought it at some cheap store, knowing that you would think it was a genuine, and then I would easily have you wrapped around my finger."

"But," Ginny stared to say but was drowned out by Draco's overpowering voice.

"It will never turn black because it's not real, just as this past month was nothing real. Just fun for me, even though watching you suffer brings its own amount of pleasure."

It was a matter of seconds, but time slowed down. Draco watched as her once bright eyes turned into a hardness that he never knew was possible. Her knees slowly unbuckled and as she collapsed onto the floor, in either grief or shock, he saw what he had done to her. He destroyed her, and it was too late to bring her back.

As on cue, Draco turned his back on her and started to walk away. He didn't even realize it then that he broke his first promise to Ginny, the promise to never do such a thing to her again. But promises meant nothing to him anymore; he had to have a heart to keep promises. He promised himself to never hurt her, but he did more than he even meant to. Walking away from her made his decision final, and he made himself promise that this time he wouldn't come back. All he wanted was for Ginny to be safe, and the farther away from him the better. He would rather have her hate him for a lie then love him for something that couldn't last.

He didn't get far until he heard Ginny speak to him.

"Goodbye, Draco. Remember that I will always love you."

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"I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life,"
-Romeo and Juliet
Act IV Scene III

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Now some of you are very concerned about the ending. I wrote the end of Chapter 10, the final chapter, a way that may please all of you. Hopefully you will be some what satisfied with my ending. Thank you for reading so far!

Liz21

9. Till Death Do Us Part

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

10. Death is Only the Beginning

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 Ten: Death is Only the Beginning

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Draco walked around the lake by himself quietly, staring blankly in front of him. He sat by the lake a lot, lost in his thoughts and guilt. It has been a little over a week since Ginny's death, and already he was failing all of his classes. No one took any notice of the sulking Malfoy or of the dead look in his eyes, as Ginny's suicide was still top news at Hogwarts.

Rumors spread fast of how Ginny tragically killed herself, some saying that she hung herself in her room with a goodbye note to her family, and others saying that she shot herself with a muggle weapon. Such rumors were spoken quietly around Ron Weasley, who was still frozen with shock, and his friends who all felt to blame. But no one knew to shush around Draco. Never did one rumor mention of Ginny's secret relationship with him, or how his actions caused her death. After finding Draco clutching Ginny on that deadly night, Dumbledore alerted Draco that it was best for his safety to keep silent. Anyone with any common sense knew that the Weasley men hated the Malfoys enough, but to give one the knowledge that their enemy played a part in their little sister's death proclaimed war. So the most Draco could do was to ignore what people said about Ginny, and then hide in his room when it got to be too much.

The following days after Ginny's death were a blur to him. He walked around like a zombie with all of his tears spent and his heart completely gone. Apart of him refused to believe that Ginny was even gone, and every morning he half expected to see her walk into the Great Hall, give him a quick smile, and then join her friends at the table. One time while eating his cold cereal, he saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of his eyes. He immediately dropped his spoon, causing his food to splatter everywhere, and quickly stood out of his seat to run to his love. His rapid heart immediately dropped and his knees went weak at the sight of the fourth year Hufflepuff with long red hair that he mistaken for Ginny's. Ignoring the startled looks around him, he grabbed his books and nearly ran out of the room to only hide in Slytherin's room the rest of the day, crying over Ginny leaving him and knowing that it was his entire fault.

He knew he could never get the closure to get through this, but he needed something. He needed to see her precious face one more time, so that he could apologize for what he did to her and hopes of lessening his remorse.

Draco paused himself to stare at his reflection from the water. He still looked as handsome and as calm as he always did, but inside all he felt was sadness and emptiness. It weighed down his broken heart and didn't give him one peaceful night of sleep.

He suddenly felt a presence behind him, but instead of turning around he waited for the person to step next to him and stared at her reflection in the lake. "What do you want?" Draco snapped as he stared at the thin girl with blue streaks.

Laura gulped before speaking. "I wanted to tell you that there's a wake for Ginny tonight in the Great Hall, but Dumbledore wants to speak to you about your attendance."

Draco diverted his eyes back to his own reflection, refusing to acknowledge Laura in any way. After it was clear that Draco was not going to speak to her, Laura sighed heavily before she started to walk away.

"This is just as much as your fault as it is mine," Draco said suddenly.

Laura paused in her footsteps and said without turning around, "What do you mean?"

Draco glared at her back. "You're the one who went to my father and told him everything. You had to be aware of what the consequences would be for your actions."

Laura quickly turned around. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy."

Draco laughed so harshly that it made her cringe. "Don't play games with me! You told me before that you went to my father when you found out about me and Ginny!"

"I went to Pansy!" Laura yelled quickly. "I told you that I went to someone who I thought could handle it, and I knew that you and Pansy were friends so I was hoping that she could make things better than I would be able to." She paused her ranting at the shocked look on Draco's face, and with a deep breath she calmed down. "How is your father involved in Ginny's death?"

Draco stared at her long and hard before slowly shaking his head at her. "Do you realize what you did?" he asked quietly. "You told Pansy, who told my father, who threatened Ginny's life if I didn't end it with her."

It took a minute for what Draco said to register into Laura. "Oh my gosh," she whispered quietly. "Is that why you broke up with her? To protect her?"

"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" Draco snapped back. He roughly pushed past her as he walked quickly back to Hogwarts. He had to pay a little visit to Pansy.

He paused at the door to glance back at the lake, and found that Laura collapsed to the ground in tears. He stared at her before shaking his head once more and walking inside. He could no more comfort her than he could himself.

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Draco walked into the Slytherin common room beyond furious. He bumped into Dumbledore on the way down, who told him that his appearance at Ginny's wake would be too suspicious, and he would be given no privacy to give her the proper goodbye she deserved. He also told Draco to meet him at the Great Hall entrance at 10pm that night, and to wear a black robe with his hood up.

Before he could make preparations for tonight, he first had to seek out Pansy. A quick glance around the common room showed she wasn't there, so he quickly stormed up the girl's stairs. Without knocking on her door, he barged into her room and found her alone in the room and reading on her bed.

She smiled brightly at his presence, but that quickly changed at noticing how angry he was. She sighed quietly as she put her bookmark in her Potions book as she stood out of her bed. "So you found out?" she asked as she put her belongings away.

Draco took two long strides over to her before grabbing the books out of her hands and throwing them across the room in anger. "How could you?" he yelled at the top of her lungs, his face nearly turning red. "How could you do that to me?"

Pansy's eyes widened a bit at his temper, but she quickly narrowed them at him. "You're supposed to be with me, Draco. There was no way I was going to let that filthy Weasley replace me. Honestly, Draco, I thought you had better taste."

Out raged, Draco roughly shoved Pansy back onto her bed. "Don't you ever talk about Ginny like that!" he exclaimed. "She's dead because of you!"

Pansy brushed the hair out of her face. "If I remember correctly," she said with glinting eyes, "it's your fault she's dead. You did lead her to her suicide, after all."

Draco's hand paused to slap her hard across the face as she continued to tell him more. "But I didn't need Weasley's little backstabber of a friend to come and spill everything to me. I would have figured it out eventually, especially after you cursed me from behind to save your precious angel."

Draco's eyes widened. "How did you know I called her that?"

Pansy laughed as she stood back up. "That whole promise ring episode was too mushy," she said as she walked over to her mirror to brush her hair. "I nearly barfed when I saw you two kiss."

Draco nodded his head after putting everything together. He knew that his temper wouldn't get him anywhere, and the best way to get to Pansy was to ignore her. "Well I guess you got what you wanted," he said as he slowly walked towards the door. He got when he came for, and it didn't take any pressure off of him.

Pansy stopped grooming her hair as she turned to face him. "That and more," she said as she slowly walked towards him. "Your father's rewarded me greatly for my service."

"What deal did you make with him?" Draco asked, his hand pausing on the door.

Pansy's smile widened. "He promised if all ends well, that you and I will be married the day after graduation."

Draco's eyes refused to widen, as nothing else could surprise him today. "Malfoy's aren't known for their promises, so keep dreaming," he said harshly as he walked out and slammed the door on her disappointed face.

He stalked back to his own room and yelled at his roommates to get out, leaving them to scatter quickly. Once alone, Draco quickly went to his desk and pulled out his writing supplies, two pieces of parchment, and two envelopes. With a deep sigh, Draco began to write.

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Later that night, Draco did as Dumbledore requested him to and met the old man in front of the closed doors. Before Draco could question his Headmaster on his intentions, Dumbledore quickly motioned to be quiet and moved Draco to the side of him as the doors suddenly opened.

Draco watched under his hood with wide eyes at eight crying Weasleys walking out, some holding each other for comfort, and others looking like they were just hit with a powerful dueling spell. Draco was too absorbed at staring at Ron who was walking silently with tears running down his cheeks to notice Arthur Weasley approach him and Dumbledore.

"I'm so sorry about your loss, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said as he slowly shook his hand.

Draco watched their conversation with suddenly anxious eyes. "I just don't understand, Dumbledore," Arthur quietly. "She didn't leave a note or anything. What was so bad that my baby girl would take her life?"

Draco's eyes moved over to Molly Weasley who started to cry louder at her husband's spoken words, and watched as she nearly collapsed with grief. All of her sons, spare Ron who now stood there like a statue, moved to help her stand still and walked her over to a chair in the entrance hall.

Draco hesitantly looked back at Ron's father, and moved uncomfortably under his disguise. Never has he seen his father shed a tear, and to see Ginny's crying like he was filled Draco's heart with even more culpability and sadness. Half hearing Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore's conversation, and going from staring at Ron and the rest of the family, Draco felt like they could all see under his hood with accusing eyes, blaming him for killing their daughter. He was near ready to just run away to the comfort of his bed when Dumbledore motioned to him.

"This is the man that will take care of the preparation arrangements for your daughter's funeral tomorrow. Her casket will be ready for burial tomorrow morning when your family arrives at the cemetery."

Mr. Weasley eyes drifted to Draco's figure for a second before returning to Dumbledore. "Thank you for everything, Dumbledore," he said as he shook the older man's hand one more time. He started to walk away before back tracking and grabbing Ron's arm and motioning that it was time to leave. Ron glanced at him blankly before finally walking again towards his mother.

Mr. Weasley sadly shook his head after his son. "Ron's been taking it the hardest," he said quietly to Dumbledore. "Him and Ginny always were the closest, never kept a secret from each other. In all truth, Ron feels responsible for what Ginny did, saying that he should have known that something was troubling his sister." Mr. Weasley sighed loudly before nodding at Dumbledore once more before gathering his family to leave for home.

As Draco watched all the Weasleys leave, Dumbledore whispered near his ear, "You have fifteen minutes until the real funeral arranger comes."

Draco turned his head swiftly to Dumbledore in curiosity to find him smiling gently at him. "I know this is the hardest on you, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said gently. "Say your goodbyes while you still have time."

Draco looked past Dumbledore and for the first time looked into the Great Hall. Hundreds of chairs replaced the four house tables, and flowers of every color surrounded the outline of the room. The banners were changed to black for grieving, and candles floated in mid-air to give the room light. Draco's breath caught in his throat at the sight of a white casket that lay where the house table once was, and behind it where the Hogwarts banner usually stood was a huge muggle picture of a smiling, happy Ginny.

Draco slowly walked up to the front of the room, his eyes only focused on the white casket. He didn't notice that Dumbledore closed the doors behind him for privacy, or that he was holding his breath. All he was aware of was how it took forever to walk to the front, and that half of him was too afraid and nervous to take another step.

Before he could brace himself, Draco was only a foot away when he lowered his hood to stare into the casket as his beloved. She was wearing a simple, but beautiful white gown that was fit at the top but flowed from her hips and down. Her hands were rested upon her stomach, and in-between them laid her wand. Draco stared into the pale face with a tint of red from the makeup, and felt the tears start to come again. He gently ran his fingers through the red hair that framed her face before carefully touching her cheek. It was ice cold.

Draco sighed quietly as he withdrew his hand to his neck. "See this, Gin?" he asked as he pulled out the promise ring around his neck. The night she killed herself and left it in his hands, he took to wearing it everywhere. "It's still clear and I never take it off. I, I think about you all the time." His voice started to shake as he felt a sob catch in his throat. "You're everywhere I go. You're in my dreams smiling at me, kissing me like you used to. Sometimes I'll go into our secret room and still smell peppermint on the blankets."

He broke off for a second to wipe away a tear that escaped his hard eyes. "There are mornings that I wake up suddenly to your touch, only finding that you aren't there. Those days, especially those days, I pray that you are my angel and are watching me from above. But no matter where you are, you will always be my angel."

Draco carefully grabbed her hand to hold, his heart breaking at how perfectly her hands fit in his. He missed everything about her, from her teasing him across the Great Hall to her butterfly kisses when they would cuddle at night. Everything that was red or smelled of peppermint made him think of her, and the feel of her ring around his neck reminded him of what he has done.

Draco bent over her body and kissed her softly on her still lips. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into them. "All I wanted was for you to be safe so we could have a future together. I wanted to marry you the second you graduated, and have children with you. All I ever wanted was to be with you and to protect you, to only bring you happiness. But I failed, I failed miserably. And I will never forgive myself for what I've done."

He slowly brought his head back up and wiped off the tears he left on her skin. "Before you, Ginny, there was nothing in me. I had no heart, barely had a soul. But you became all of that. You filled all of my empty spaces, Gin. You gave me life only to have me return the favor by death."

Tears freely fell from his eyes, and before he could stop himself he let out a loud sob. His knees buckled on him, and he fell to the side of the casket, still clutching Ginny's hand. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed as he clutched onto the casket with his other hand. "All I wanted to do was save you from death. I'm so sorry, Gin."

He didn't bother to hide his tears as he heard the doors open behind him, even though he was well aware that Dumbledore was watching him. "Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said hesitantly, "it's time to let go and say goodbye." He once again closed the doors for more privacy.

Draco sniffed loudly, and squeezed his eyelids hard together to stop the tears. After taking a deep breath, he stood up to gaze down at Ginny's face. "I will never let go," he whispered to her as he went to remove the chain around his neck and slid off the ring. He took her left hand, and carefully put the promise ring on her ring finger. "And there's no need for goodbyes, for I will see you soon."

Still grasping onto her hand, Draco put his free one into his robe pocket and pulled out a shiny dagger with a green handle. It was a present from his father when he became a Death Eater for extra protection when they would one day go to war against the Ministry. His father had it especially made so that the tip of the dagger was filled with snake venom to poison the victim incase the dagger itself did not do its job.

Draco kissed Ginny's hand before hesitantly letting go to help grasp the handle of the dagger. No more tears fell from his eyes as he stared hard at Ginny's picture, and he didn't even flinch at feeling the pointy tip resting over his stomach.

"I'd rather be dead with hopes of being with you on the other side, than living a life without you. All I ever wanted was to be with my angel."

Keeping his eyes set on Ginny's smile, Draco plunged the dagger hard into himself. His eyes closed quickly at the force of pain that flowed through him, and rapidly felt the venom already penetrate his body. He slowly fell to his knees first before falling onto the ground next to Ginny's casket. Blood covered his shirt and hands, and soon seeped to the ground below him. All that was on Draco's mind was Ginny, and with one last breath he whispered, "I love you, Ginny. Even after my dying day."

With that, his hands relaxed around his weapon, and the ring on Ginny's hand turned black.

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Around the time that Dumbledore found Draco's dead body next to Ginny's casket, did the Weasley family and Lucius Malfoy receive letters from Draco.

The letter to Lucius was very short, and all Draco said was, "You may think that you won, but in reality Ginny and I did. Nothing can win against true love. And there will be no wedding between Pansy and I, as I will not live to my graduation day."

Even though the relationship was supposed to be kept a secret, Draco explained to the whole Weasley family about him and Ginny, and what really led her to her death. He apologized profusely for what came of them being together, but that he loved her more than anything. He never once asked for their forgiveness, only to not look at their deceased daughter with shameful eyes, for she didn't die by suicide. She died of a broken heart.

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Days had passed since Draco's death and a wake was held for him just like Ginny's. Exhausted with all the death and guilt, Laura went outside and sat on a fairy bench for a bit of fresh air. She closed her eyes tightly to block out any more tears, and inhaled deeply for air to only smell peppermint.

Laura's eyes opened, immediately recognizing that smell. She held in a startled gasp of surprise as her eyes flew upon a very familiar person.

"Ginny?" she said startled as she stared at her dead friend whose body was silvery white. "Are you a ghost?"

Ginny smiled brightly at her, never answering her question. Laura wanted to know what was making her so happy, when suddenly another figure appeared next to her with an equal smile and color.

Laura watched with a smile and teary eyes as she watched the clear Draco grab Ginny's hand and give her a quick kiss on her cheek. Laura watched them stand in front of her in amazement, and even though she could distinctively see that Ginny was wearing a ring on her wedding finger, she could see through them and at the rose bushes.

Ginny and Draco both looked up at Laura and with a wave from Ginny and a nod from Draco, the two entwined their hands and walked off together until they completely disappeared.

Long after they were gone, Laura still continued to stare at the spot where the presence of Draco and Ginny just stood. She wiped away her tears with a smile as she slowly got up to walk back to Hogwarts. Draco and Ginny's tragic ending was just marking the beginning of a happy eternity together, one they can live in without fear or pain. Not even death could put a halt on love.

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"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

Act V Scene III

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Sob! My story is all done! I want to thank everyone who reviewed. You all made me so happy with your kind words, and encouraged me to finish this story as quickly as I could. There were worries about the ending, and some of you encouraged me to write it however I wanted to. This was the way I pictured in my mind, and just so happens that it worked out well for everyone. So I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Once again thank you to everyone, and special thanks to Mary and Laura who let me use them in my story, and again to Laura and Vanessa, who I tested my story on.

Also quick comment so no one will get confused. After Draco kills himself, the ring turns black because he died. A reviewer on another site wasn’t sure if it turned black because he didn’t love her anymore. His promise on the ring was “I will love you until my dying day,” hence the ring turned back to black because the promise was over-he died.

Liz21