Chapter 17 - Forgetting Forever
Draco and Ginny stepped out of their rooms at approximately the same time. It was too late to try other rooms, and they were both very hungry. Returning to the inn, they found a house-elf making the bed. Draco approached him. "Where can we find food around here?"
The house-elf folded his hands in front of himself. "I deliver the foods also, sir. Did you wants some?"
Ginny nodded. "Definitely. What do you have?"
They ate turkey with plum pudding and butterbeer as they sat on the couch. As they finished their meals, Ginny shifted to look at him. "What did you see in your rooms?"
Draco hesitated. "The first one?"
Ginny nodded. "Sure."
"I worked with my father in his company."
Ginny looked hopeful. "And?"
"And I was married to Pansy." Draco noticed her expression change.
"Oh," she said, trying to hide her disappointment.
"I'll be forced to marry her at graduation." Draco nearly winced as he admitted it.
Ginny couldn't help but look disappointed now. "Oh." She looked up at him. "Well," she hesitated, "unless you don't want to marry her..."
Draco grimaced. "Frankly, I'd rather be shot than marry her, but if I don't, I have to give up my position in my father's company and break all contact with him. I got to see that, too." He looked disheartened.
"And then you didn't have to marry Pansy?"
"No, I worked for the Ministry."
Ginny smiled. "That sounds better than a stuffy company, anyway. The Ministry's a very respectable place to work."
Draco shook his head. "Yeah, well, the girl I was with wasn't. What about you? Did you run off with that stupid Finnigan boy?"
Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Seamus is not stupid. And, for your information, no, I didn't."
Draco prodded for more information. "Oh? Someone must have snatched you up, then."
She looked at him with a bit of a smile. "Since when would you understand why anyone would want me?"
He scoffed. "Understand? I wasn't saying anything about…" He caught her eyes. His negativity melted, and he felt a strong urge to kiss her then and there. Maybe she did too. Maybe he should...
Draco cupped his hand against Ginny's cheek. She rested a little on it, enjoying his touch. As he started leaning toward her, the house-elf returned.
"Ah, is you finished with your foods, sir? Miss?" Draco and Ginny nearly sprung apart.
Ginny moved quickly, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress, and Draco stood up. "Yes, I think we're quite done."
The house-elf left quickly, and Ginny still sat uncomfortably on the couch. She stood up when he moved to sit next to her. "We should go to sleep, now."
Draco shrugged and Ginny started getting ready for bed. She fluffed her pillow and turned her back to him as she changed into the most comfortable of her dresses. Draco could see a bit of her bra as she changed - a piece of shoulder strap and a bit of lace from the side where the cup of her breast began. He groaned quietly. He wanted her. He wanted to tear off her pretty new dress, throw her on the bed and...
"Did you want to use the bathroom, too? She tilted her head as she asked him.
He just wanted to stare at her. "Yeah. Okay." Draco took a cold shower and went to bed.
The next morning, Draco woke up to Ginny poking him in the chest.
"Morning! I've got bacon and pancakes..."
Draco squinted to look at her and to block the blinding sunlight that was coming from the window behind her. "Pancakes?" It smelled like pancakes. He looked at the plate in her hands. It looked like pancakes. He smiled. "Thank you."
Ginny felt a tickle in her heart when he smiled and took the plate of pancakes. Where had he suddenly gotten these manners from? She couldn't complain; it was nice. She smiled back at him. "You're welcome."
After they'd eaten, Draco and Ginny entered the octagonal room. Ginny immediately turned to the "Love" room and grabbed the handle. Turning back to look at Draco, she smiled.
Ginny entered the room.
Ginny's mind raced in the blank room. What kind of guy would she love? Seamus was sweet, Neville was kind, and Harry was familiar. Dean and Michael Corner were old news, and Draco was... Well, Ginny would find out soon enough. The room had begun showing Hogwarts. Ginny smiled. Hogwarts was decorated for the Graduation Ball. Ginny was dancing with Neville. Ginny's heart sank when she saw it. So it was Neville. She sighed. Ginny was wearing a dress she recognized. The green dress Draco had bought her was paired with a set of strappy heels.
Ginny smiled at Neville. He smiled back, then left to join his date as the song ended. Ginny returned to the refreshment table and took a cup of punch. A man walked up behind her and hugged her. Was this him? Ginny grinned as she turned to face him. "You look great, Harry."
He smiled at her and took a piece of cake from the table. "Thanks," he replied. "So do you."
She gave him a sentimental smile. "It's going to be weird not seeing you here anymore."
Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it's going to be weird not being here." Hermione called to him. Harry turned and nodded to her. He winked at Ginny. "Don't worry, I'll be around." With a smile he left to catch up to Hermione.
So maybe her man wasn't Harry. She sighed. She had broken things off with Seamus when they had returned from Lyseria. Ginny hadn't been able to give Seamus what he needed in a relationship, but he had soon found someone who could. Seamus and Dean had been together for several months. Ginny finished her punch as a lively song began. She liked this one. Ginny closed her eyes and listened. Within a few moments, she felt a hand on her waist and another on her arm. Ginny felt a deep voice in her ear. "Why aren't you dancing?" he asked her.
Ginny turned and faced Draco. He looked really good in his soft black dress robes. "Well, I..."
Draco hadn't spoken to her in months. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. "I thought you liked dancing."
"Well, I do, but..." she narrowed her eyes a little. "When did I say that?"
Draco smiled. "You didn't. I can just tell." She tried to hide a smile. He gestured to the dance floor. "Come on." Draco put his hand out to her. She took it.
Draco had entered his own room. He was sitting on a couch in his two room apartment. His head was in his hands and he looked like a mess. For the past year, Draco had been establishing himself as a researcher in a potions lab and taking classes at a wizarding university in London. The job was paying for school and just about nothing else. However, that didn't matter anymore. Ginny would be graduating from Hogwarts within a few weeks.
Draco took at picture out of his wallet that Colin Creevey had sent to him after Draco had left Hogwarts. If Colin's hobby had never seemed worthwhile, one thing Draco approved of was taking pictures of Ginny. Draco studied the photo. Ginny sat in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room. Draco, watching, recognized this photo as the same one he had seen in the "Power" room. He worried. Was this the love he was destined to have- endless and unrequited?
He had thought everything through. Getting off the couch, Draco took some heavy parchment and ink from his desk. Sitting down, he began to write.
My Dearest Ginny,
I know it's been a long time since we've spoken, and I hope you're doing well. I don't know what you've heard or if you've heard anything of me, but I'm fine. Meet me at Platform 12 at King's Cross once you arrive after graduation. I need to see you.
Draco
Draco led Ginny to the dance floor. He kept her hand in his and put the other on her waist. He was an exceptional dancer, which came as no surprise to Ginny, due to his upbringing. Ginny giggled as he spun and dipped her. They must have drawn a bit of attention, but neither of them cared. Soon the song ended, and the two of them separated.
The new song was a slow one. Ginny shifted uncomfortably for a moment, and was opening her mouth to suggest that she could go back to the refreshment table when he took her hand again. She looked up into his eyes as he spoke. "Dance with me." He pulled her close to him. Suddenly, Ginny's heart was beating faster than it had when he had been spinning her.
It was far too overwhelming. His arm was around her waist, her hand was in his and the look in his eyes made her want to confess every warm thought she'd ever had of him. She almost did, but he pulled her closer and she began to worry. Why couldn't the situation be easier? He would be gone in a few days and she might never see him again. If she could...
"Come with me," he told her.
Come with him? Where? When? How could she... "Come with you?" she asked. He was already leading her away from the party and out the doors of the castle. It was a little chilly outside, so he placed his cloak over her shoulders and pulled her toward him.
All this was so unexpected. They hadn't spoken to each other since they had left Lyseria, and now all this... Ginny had thought that maybe she had just been one of his conquests, a fleeting interest that wouldn't last. But she hadn't forgotten about him. It seemed he hadn't forgotten about her...
Draco had owled Ginny his letter a week ago. He paced as he waited at the train platform. The Hogwarts Express should have arrived five minutes ago, but Draco had seen no sign of Ginny. He sunk into a black metal bench and sighed. Maybe she wouldn't come. He couldn't blame her if she didn't. He hadn't seen her since the Graduation Ball last year, so why would she? She could have a boyfriend, or, worse, a fiancé. He should just give up on her.
"Do you always look this upset when you ask someone to meet you?" Draco looked up. Ginny smiled and her head was tilted a little to the left in the way it always had when she was making fun of him.
He stood up. "No, not usually." Ginny threw her arms around Draco's neck and rested her cheek against his shoulder. He held her and moved her to face him as he wove his fingers through her hair. "How have you been?"
Draco studied her as she spoke. "Could've been better."
"I've had a lot of time to think recently."
"And?" she asked him.
"And I've thought a lot about you." Ginny expected him to shift his eyes from her when he had said that, but he looked at her all the more intensely.
She looked teary. "I thought I'd never see you again." She closed her eyes. "I didn't date, I couldn't, but Neville asked me to marry him."
Draco shifted his eyes then.
"He sent me letters and visited on holiday."
He couldn't blame her. He'd told himself this could happen. Draco hadn't married Pansy, had given up his place in his father's heart and his father's company and was working his way through University. He had given up his fortune for a chance at a future with her, and now she was engaged. He thought about leaving. Draco looked at her one last time and walked back toward the station.
A cool wind whistled around Draco and Ginny outside the castle. "I thought," Ginny began. "I thought we agreed to forget about everything in Lyseria. I thought we agreed to forget about each other."
"But you haven't."
"No," she admitted.
Draco smiled and kissed her. It brought her back to the inn and the woods and the dress shop and everything that made her think of him. It had been torturous to see him walk past her without even a hint of a smile, to see him and Pansy together and pretend she didn't care. Now it was all right. Ginny fell into the kiss. Who could ever make her feel that way but him? She enjoyed the chill of the night and the warmth of him. Ginny imprinted the feeling in her mind for fear that she may never see him again. He broke the kiss and held her hand.
"My father insists that I marry Pansy by the end of the summer and begin work in his company immediately when I return home."
Ginny lowered her head.
"That's why I'm not going home."
She looked up. "You're not?"
"No."
Her voice was quiet. "Where then?"
"I don't know," he told her. "I just wanted to say goodbye."
"So, I won't see you again?" Ginny looked pained. "Ever?"
Draco held her closely and whispered in her ear. "It's best for both of us, you'll see. Maybe someday..." He pulled a velvet pouch from his pocket. "Here." Draco placed it in her hand and disappeared back into the castle.
Ginny paused, trying not to cry. He was gone. Ginny snuggled into the garment over her shoulders. He had left his cloak on her, and the smell his cologne lingered there. She sighed. Pulling open the pouch, she found three things. First was the amulet. It was as black now as it had been when she had first found it. Slipping it into her pocket, she moved to the next item- a necklace she recognized. Her features softened as she held it. Draco had reacted as if he'd known the Periclitari necklace from someplace else. It had seemed so important to him...
The last thing in the pouch was a note.
My mother received this necklace as a gift from my father. She wouldn't have sent the Periclitari if she hadn't wanted me to have it. I want you to have it. Ginny shook as she read it. In case we don't meet again... I love you, Ginny.
Walking up to the castle wall, she slid down into a seated position. Wrapping her arms around her legs, Ginny's head sunk. How was she supposed to forget him now? He loved her... Ginny pulled Draco's cloak around her and cried. The room changed to white.