**Chapter One**
The Accident
He entered his office as per usual, right at eight o'clock. All his files were on his desk, and he could tell from the size of it, that it would be a long day.
"Annie! Get me some coffee!"
He sat down heavily in his chair, eyes closed tightly. He had had a dream about her last night. He thought he was over this. He had sent her that letter, nearly nine years ago now, and hadn't had any contact with her since. But he hadn't pined after her, no. He'd had plenty of girlfriends over the years. And if he was honest with himself, he would wonder why those relationships had never lasted more that two or three months. He would wonder why they all had had some sort of resemblance to the girl of whom he had a picture hidden in his desk. If he were honest with himself, he would wonder why he never stopped staring at that one picture when the mood struck, even when he had been with one of these girls. If he were honest with himself, he would wonder why he was staring at that picture now.
Jerked out of his thoughts, he stared disbelievingly at the photograph in his hands. This was going too far. It was bordering on obsession. This one picture he had of her, nicked from that Creevey kid in the end of seventh year, had to go. But Draco knew he had thought of this many times, and had never had the heart to throw it away.
'She's moved on, Malfoy. Stop thinking about her!'
"Mr. Malfoy, there is a floo call for you. It's your mother." The voice of his secretary called loudly.
Draco sighed and got off his chair, heading towards the fireplace. He lit the fire with a flick of his wand and a whispered word, and his mothers' head popped into it.
"Draco, dear! How are you sweetheart?" Narcissa Malfoys' head asked him.
"Mother, I've got mountains of work to do, is there a point to this?" he asked her tiredly, rubbing his temples.
"Draco," her face, gone serious, said. "There's been a problem with The Quidditch Team."
"How can there be a problem with the Quidditch Team? I only officially owned it yesterday!"
"There's been a problem with one of the players. The Wood boy, I think." she told him.
"Wood's always causing trouble. What does it have to do with me?" he asked her resignedly.
"The press is all over it. I don't even know what exactly happened yet, but I received an owl this morning from Wood's publicist. She says there been a…personal problem."
"And what, mother, needs my attention? I fail to see why I'd care about Woods' 'personal problems'." He demanded in a tight voice.
"He's talking about quitting, Draco."
"All the better for me then."
"Draco! Be serious! He's the star player! The best keeper in at least a few decades! If he leaves the team, it could loose you the cup next year!"
Draco sighed. This day was just getting worse. Why, oh why, did he get out of bed this morning?
"Right. So, what's this problem?"
Narcissa hesitated. "It seems that there was an accident. At practice yesterday, a bludger went into the stands. It hit someone." She paused.
"Who, mother?"
"His ex-fiancé. He's devastated. She's in a coma at St. Mungo's. I think they broke up only a few days ago. You should see the pictures of him, sweetheart, he looks like death itself…" she trailed off. Draco's face had changed. It had gone to stone.
"I'll take care of it. Goodbye mother."
"But darling-" He turned off the floo. He knew all to well who Wood's ex-fiancée was. Ginevra Weasley.
**
She lay in the white bed in the white room, people crowded all around. Her dark red hair spilled onto the bed, the contrast looking morbid. Oliver Wood sat on one side, holding her hand. Her mother sat on her other, stroking her hair. For a room with fourteen people in it, it was oddly quiet. There were hushed whispers between family, dark circles around tired eyes, and worried faces. When the doctor came into the room, there was immediate silence.
"I'm going to have to ask you all to move the waiting room." The doctor said gently. "It's time for her check up"
As thirteen people filed out of the room noiselessly, one didn't move. He looked at her longingly; gaze filled with sorrow and whispered to the doctor "Can I stay?"
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Wood. Please go wait outside. This will only take about twenty minutes."
And he left.
Dr. Parkinson moved towards her unconscious patient.
"When Draco finds out you're here, Little Weasley, you won't be able to get away this time."
AN: Well, that's Chapter One. It's short and it took me a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with this, but I hope you all liked the result. The style is a lot different from before, but I needed to change it. I usually avoid dialogue, as it often turns out…less than satisfactory, but it was unavoidable here. Sorry. -grins- Didn't mean to cause any of you physical pain.
Until next time,
Wrong-Turn24