Unofficial Portkey Archive

She stood, her body moving, her auburn curls whipping across her face as she lost herself in the music. She was dressed simply in torn jeans, a tight black vest, yet she received many admiring glances as she danced and shouted out the lyrics along with the band. She wished she'd discovered Muggle music earlier on, as for Ginny it expressed how she felt. The war was officially over; Voldemort was gone, yet teams of Aurors and Phoenix Warriors were still fighting all over the country to catch remaining Death Eaters. It had been two years of hell, they had lost so much, and it was finally time for her to let go. She had been looking forward to this night for so long as a break from the suffocating quiet of home, her Mother crying in the night when she thought no one would hear, the screams of Ron's nightmares the only break in the silence. This was her favourite band, finally touring Europe again, and it seemed like a sign that things were going to be better at last, things were going to move on.

She froze for a moment as she heard the opening notes to a familiar song…it was their song. She remembered him as she let the familiar words wash over her.

"You make me feel again
slide across my skin again
let me uncover you
to rediscover you

So, we will be again, another time
and I will do what I need to do
to leave the others all so far behind
just so I can be
just so I can be
with you"

A silent tear streaked down her face. This was it; this was goodbye to the past.

Maybe now she would be able to forget him, forget the pain, the not hearing from him, the realisation he had been using her…he was a spy…after she'd believed in him…sacrificed so much for them to be together…he had betrayed her and returned to his Father's side, breaking her heart. She couldn't take the guilt anymore. She'd kept him so close to the centre of the Order, her family, and her friends, Harry. Just how much had she compromised them? They should hate her yet they didn't. Harry was so understanding, something unexplained flickering behind his green eyes as he'd broken the news that Draco had gone. Hermione had said nothing, simply held Harry's hand and looked at Ginny sympathetically. How could her friends be so good to her when she could have placed their lives in even more immediate danger?

She hadn't needed to ask for any more details. She had simply nodded her understanding. Harry wouldn't have been able to tell her anything else anyway. She had Level Two security clearance, but only Harry, Hermione, Ron, Lupin, Snape, Dumbledore and Moody had Level One. They were the core of the resistance to Voldemort, and everybody else was on a need to know basis. She drew her eyes back to the stage and smiled as the band and the crowd went wild shouting and dancing to `Out of Control'. Ginny laughed and moved forward to the front of the crowd, jumping and shouting the lyrics along with the rest of the crowd. Doug was looking as amazing as always as he performed, she grinned remembering how Draco had always teased her about her crush on the singer.

The crowd and the band got progressively louder and crazier as the night went on, and as Doug stepped up to the microphone after swigging some water he announced they would play just two more songs.

"This song goes out for a favour for a good friend of ours…" The crowds screamed and yelled as the familiar opening chords of `The Reason' were heard throughout the stadium. Ginny's breath caught in her throat as she saw the image on the large screen behind the stage…it was a photograph of herself, taken the day after she graduated from Hogwarts.

"I'm not a perfect person
there's many things I wish I didn't do
but I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you"

She was transfixed, her eyes glued to the screen as the image changed and she saw an image of herself and Draco hugging each other and laughing. The crowd continued to move around her as she stood. The image changed again and she gasped as she saw an image she had never seen before, Draco stood next to Harry, wands drawn, at their feet lay Voldemort…he had fought with Harry?

"and so I have to say before I go
that I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you"

A few people around Ginny now looked at her curiously, connecting the face from the screen with the beautiful young woman standing near them. She was oblivious to their gazes as she saw a photo she hadn't known was ever taken, she was sitting, her arms around her knees, by the lake at Hogwarts, crying. It had been the day he had left. Who had taken it? Across the bottom of the screen the words `I'm Sorry' appeared written.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you
it's something I must live with everyday
and all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
and be the one who catches all your tears"

She smiled sadly as she saw the next image. A room, bare other than a simple bed, and photographs over the walls of the two of them together smiling and laughing together. She recognised that some of the pictures of herself had been taken in the months since he'd left, and that they'd been taken by Harry or Hermione…which meant Draco had been in contact with them…

"that's why I need you to hear
I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you
and the reason is you
and the reason is you
and the reason is you"

Ginny felt a single tear trickle down her face as the now black screen was filled with the words `we caught Lucius this morning.' He had been working to capture his Father…he hadn't betrayed her, he'd put his life in danger to act as a spy…

"I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
and so I have to say before I go
that I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
a side of me you didn't know"

The screen was now filled with a series of images in quick succession, candid shots of the two of them, group shots of them with her family and friends, Harry and Draco laughing together, Hermione blushing and sitting on Draco's lap - Ginny laughed out loud at that one - he must have changed more than she knew if Hermione was sitting on his lap. She saw him smiling at her, she saw herself giggling, smiling, hugging him, and kissing him.

"A reason for all that I do
and the reason is you"

As the band played the final notes of the song a single close up image filled not only the screen behind the stage but also the screens to the side of the stage - an image of a diamond ring in an elegant jewellery box. She hadn't realised she was even moving, but she found herself now standing at the very front of the crowd, at the metal railing. She wasn't quite sure what was going on, or what she was going to do next, but the question was answered as a hand reached down from the stage and took hers, pulling her up onto the stage. She looked up into the eyes of Doug Robb, lead singer of Hoobastank and looked at him questioningly. All eyes in the stadium were now on her. Doug winked at her and kissed her on the cheek making her blush, before gesturing to the side of the stage. She turned as a spotlight illuminated the area and a very familiar blonde stepped onto the edge of the stage. The cameras followed her gaze as she drank in the sight of him after so long apart, noting how his hair had grown longer and fell in front of his silver eyes. She loved him, but could she trust him? She hesitated, looking at him as he watched her. Doug placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see him smiling encouragingly at her.

She turned back to look at Draco…she was still in shock that he'd gone to all this effort…she remembered the images that only Harry could have passed onto him and knew that if Harry trusted him then he was telling the truth. A grin spread over her face and she saw his eyes light up as she walked towards him. He took a few steps towards her and she ran the last few feet into his arms, kissing him passionately.

When she pulled away she suddenly became aware of the thousands of people screaming and cheering them. She laughed and turned to see Doug come up to them, exchange a high five with Draco and turn back to the audience.

"Looks like a happy ending for these two" He screamed. "Now, to rock this place to the ground!" He screamed as the band struck up the opening chords to `Crawling in the Dark'. Ginny turned back to Draco and smiled up at him. He held the diamond ring in his hand. The music and the crowd were so loud she couldn't hear him but she could see the words he was mouthing and she smiled and held out her left hand. Draco slipped the ring onto her finger and she mouthed three words back at him.

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All songs by Hoobastank

Couldn't resist writing this short fic when I got home from the Hoobastank concert last night.