Unofficial Portkey Archive

Ginny sat motionless on the stone railing of the balcony on the West End Tower. The last rays of the setting sun were cast all over the grounds and she found herself momentarily blinded before the sun dipped below the horizon. Dusk now settled and Ginny felt her mood completely matched the grayness of the world. Since she and the other Heirs had returned to Illustris, the only thing that had been on her mind was the prophecy she had made at Hogwarts. It haunted her and she found herself saying the words over and over again in her head and trying to decipher their meaning.

"...He shall take the one and hold the weapon in his hands...." she whispered.

Who is "the one" and what is "the weapon?" That question had plagued her the most and she often slipped into daydreams, frantically searching her brain for the answer. She felt like she should know, as if locked deep in a corner of her brain the answer was waiting. No matter what though, she came no closer to finding it and she was beyond frustrated.

Ginny shivered as a great gust of wind suddenly blew at her and she hugged her dark blue sweater closer around her body. Tomorrow would be the first day of December and Ginny had never felt a bleaker approach to the holidays. She was having a horrendous time in lessons, she was worried sick about Ron and the possibility of Luna betraying him, and she was finding herself head over heels in love with Draco Malfoy.

Yes, she had finally admitted to herself that she loved the bloody ferret. Despite how selfish and self-centered he was, despite that he hated her and called her every name in the book, despite what he did to her and her friends, she couldn't get him out of her mind.

Ginny had always found herself oddly intrigued by Draco. The way he acted toward people had to be a mask to hide who he truly was. Ever since their strange meeting in the corridors of Hogwarts several months ago, when she had witnessed a sudden flood of emotions from him, she had watched him. The more she watched him, the more interested she had become. This interest slowly grew to more, a burning desire to find and know the real Draco Malfoy.

But with this desire, Ginny realized something else. The feelings toward him were no longer innocent and carefree. She began to think of Draco more and more, her thoughts always leading to him. Suddenly, her stomach started to do little flip-flops at the thought or mention of him, and whenever she caught sight of him, she blushed furiously and her skin tingled. Ginny yearned even more to know him but also to touch him, wanting to be near a person that seemed so forbidden.

Ginny desperately tried to squash all of this though, knowing it would come to no good. Draco Malfoy despised her and by ever right, she should hate him too. But she didn't and there was no use in trying to ignore that fact anymore. Their heated arguments and subtle flirtations had made it even harder on the red-head and she had a feeling if he touched her once more she would internally combust.

A small, sparkling snowflake drifted down from the clouded sky above and landed on her nose. Ginny sighed deeply, feeling very much like that snowflake, alone and drifting to nowhere. Her life felt like a complicated mess, so many things happening at once. Nothing felt for sure and an empty pit settled in her stomach.

The coldness getting harder to bear, Ginny leapt off of the railing and onto the floor, stepping into the sheltering walls of the castle. Night continued to descend its curtain on the world and Ginny felt guilt wash over her. With all of her thoughts so consumed with Draco, she had barely thought about Ron and the danger he might be in. After she had passed out, Ginny had woken up at the Hospital Wing at Illustris, having never gotten her warning out to her brother. She had immediately sent him an owl, telling him to be careful, and she had talked to Dumbledore when he had made his weekly visit to the castle. Dumbledore had assured her he would watch out for Ron but, as Ginny had refused to mention Luna's name, there was not that much he could do.

Ginny didn't know why she had chosen not to blurt out Luna's name, she felt so sure it was her. Maybe it was because she was friends with Luna and didn't want the other girl to hate her. Maybe she wanted Ron to have some happiness in his life. Or maybe it was that, deep in her heart, Ginny truly did not believe Luna was capable of such an act. Luna could not be like that, could she? There was something more to the vision Ginny had had, but what was it? Where were all the answers to these endless questions?

Ginny buried her face in her hands, feeling utterly lost. Nothing in her life was right at the moment, nothing. Every emotion the world had to offer was crowded into her small frame and she wanted to burst.

With a shaky laugh, she lifted her head up slightly, watching a few more snowflakes trail down to the stone floor in front of her. So perfect, so innocent.

"I'm losing it," she mumbled with amusement.

Ginny pushed her long hair out of her face and begin to walk toward the wooden door that led back to the Common Room, fully intent on going to her room and curling up under the covers with a good book. She just wanted to read and watch the snow fall outside, forgetting her worries for a short while.

Just as her hand was reaching toward the metal doorknob, the door banged open with a sharp crack against the wall. Ginny shrieked in fright and skidded backward, tripping and landing hard on her backside. She fumbled frantically for her wand but ceased when a harsh voice muttered, "Lumos!"

A bright light blinded her eyes and she sat up quickly. "Get that out of my eyes!" she shouted angrily.

A cold chuckled emitted from the person above her. "Well, well, if it isn't my favorite Weasel."

Ginny's heart leapt up to her throat and her mouth went dry. No, she thought weakly, Go away, I don't want to see you right now. Just leave!

The light left her eyes and she was dazzled by spots before they receded and the dark outline of Draco Malfoy was seen in the open doorway. Ginny's heart continued pounding as her mind kept up its feeble pleading. Does he always have to look good? she thought anxiously.

He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a light blue shirt that really showed off the color of his eyes. His silver hair fell endearingly into his eyes from the wind and Ginny felt the strongest urge to brush the strands away. His gaze was intense as he stared down at her and she blushed even harder.

The perfect moment was shattered though when Draco sneered at her and said loudly, "In the dirt where you belong I see? At my feet, no less."

White hot anger burned in Ginny's veins and the famous Weasley temper reared its ugly head.

"If anyone belongs in the dirt, its you, Malfoy, you selfish bastard," she snapped.

Draco clutched his chest in mock pain. "That one hurt, Red, got me right here."

He chuckled coldly before stepping away from the door and slamming it shut. The faint light at the end of his wand disappeared as he walked toward the railing, both of them being submerged in darkness. Ginny squinted her eyes at him for a second before realizing she was still on the cold, hard ground and jumped up, brushing snow off of her. She inched her back toward the wall, her eyes firmly on Draco's back.

Ginny found it odd that he was ignoring her, he never gave up a chance to taunt her. And here she was, in close proximity to him, all alone, and he was silent. Now noticing she was alone with Draco made Ginny feel lightheaded and her knees wobbled as she gripped the rugged stone. She needed to get away from him. Now. Before she did anything stupid and rash.

Ginny fled toward the door but Draco wheeled around and muttered a spell, effectively locking the door, her only way of escape. Ginny froze in horror and her breathing came out in short gasps.

"Why did you do that?" she muttered.

"I didn't say you could leave," Draco responded simply.

Ginny growled, a fire rising in her stomach. She spun toward him and noted with anger that his back was toward her once more. Oh yes, she still loved him but she bloody well wanted to kill him at the same time.

Clenching her hands into fists she spoke in a low, dangerous voice. "Open the door, Malfoy."

He laughed. "No."

"I said, open the bloody door," she repeated, her voice rising.

"Save your breath, Red. I'm not opening the door and you have no right to order me around. Besides, I need to humor myself and you're good amusement." Draco felt odd pleasure at bringing a rise out of the young Weasley.

Ginny's eyes blazed with fury at his words and she took a step forward, shaking from head to toe in anger. "You're not my superior, Malfoy. I'm not your bloody slave or your verbal punching bag. Don't mess with me right now, I'm not in the mood."

"Oh ho!" he said with glee, finally turning to face her. "You're not in the mood? What's wrong? Did your family lose their house finally, if you can call that shack a house."

Ginny flushed but stared back determinedly, feeling a great urge to wring Draco's neck.

"At least in my "shack" I have a family who loves me." She stressed the word "love" and felt a smirk of satisfaction spread on her face when Draco turned pink with anger at her remark.

"Watch it, Weasel," he said in a menacing voice, "you're stepping into dangerous territory with that comment. You have no right to talk about my family."

A strong surge of guilt washed over Ginny when she remembered that Draco had lost his sister, who had been "the only he loved." Feeling ashamed, she took a hesitant step forward and reached her hand out.

"Oh, Draco, I'm--" she started.

"Shut up," he hissed harshly, "I don't need any damn pity."

Ginny quickly dropped her arm and stared at him with wide eyes, trying to read into him. Draco turned his back on her again though and looked across the grounds, which had been swallowed up in the darkness.

"You can't keep doing this, Draco," she whispered, "you can't keep pushing everyone away. We want to help you, we all want to be in this together. But we can't unless you start to learn how to trust. Everything here is pointless without trust, don't you understand that? So much is at stake. Why can't you put your differences with everyone aside for once and be the person you're suppose to be? Show that you're worthy to be the Heir of Slytherin."

Draco stiffened at her words and didn't answer for a few moments. Ginny waited with bated breath, wondering if there would be an explosion.

"Get out," he said shakily. He flicked his wand and she heard the door click open.

Ginny moved away from the door though, and came directly behind Draco. He sensed her and shifted away.

"I said, get out. I opened the door, which is what you wanted, now leave. I don't want you here, you're too much of an annoyance to me."

"Just talk to me, Draco," Ginny pleaded softly.

"Goddamnit, Weasley," he shouted, pounding his fist down on the railing. The grounds around Illustris shook violently and a small crack formed in the stone between the two.

Ginny jumped backward in fright but quickly regained her thoughts. By that point, Draco was only a few inches away from her and his silver eyes were blazing in fury.

"Stay out of my life!" he continued shouting. "You don't know me and you never will! I don't give a damn about anything! I hate everything about this place and I hate being a bloody Heir! Go run back to Potter and Granger, I'm sure the three of you will be able to save the world just fine without me."

Ginny's eyes flashed. She was through with being nice now. If he wanted to yell and play this game, she would play right along with him. Gathering up some control, she glared at a spot along the railing not far from Draco. Within seconds, a burst of flames shot up and lit up the balcony. Draco jumped away from the fire and scuttled into a corner.

"Put that out, damnit," he yelled. "I don't need to see a display of your bloody powers."

Ginny relaxed and the flames disappeared. Draco moved cautiously out of his hiding place, his eyes never leaving her. She was breathing hard, taking in deep, ragged breaths. Her eyes were very bright and remnants of anger still reflected in them. She turned her head sharply toward Draco and their gazes remained locked for several minutes. Finally, Ginny broke the stare and backed up until she was against the wall. She slid down to the floor and brought her knees up to her chest. Tears formed in her eyes and silently slipped over, onto her cheeks and then hitting the floor. Draco masked his surprise and kept his face blank as he watched her.

"Why do you do this, Draco?" she cried. "Why must you fight with people and make them get angry as well? Why must you always bring the worst out of a person? Don't you see that we only want to help you, to be your friends. Why must you make something so simple, difficult? You may find this hard to believe but I do care about you, I want to be your friend, and I want to get to know you. I want you to be able to trust me. I know you hate me and think I'm below you and I know I felt the same about you but, can't we put that all aside? We're equals now. We're both Heirs, along with Harry and Hermione, we're all suppose to work together and trust each other. Can't you understand that?"

Ginny paused and sniffed, her flow of tears seeming to increase. "Will.....will I ever get through that.....icy heart of yours?"

Draco's eyes fell to the floor and he kicked his shoe against the stone. For the first time in a long while, he felt ashamed at his actions. The wall he had so harshly and painstakingly put up between himself and the rest of the world was starting to crumble. The crack that had formed around his heart was growing larger and fear took over at the thought of someone finally getting through to him, especially a Weasley, Ginny Weasley, no less. He hated himself for letting emotions take over but he almost couldn't help it. Ever since his sister had been killed, Draco's view of things had changed. He questioned even more the actions of his father and Voldemort and the hate he had had for people was slowly disappearing. He had always despised his father but over the past few months it had been growing even more, fueled by something he hadn't figured out yet.

Now, as Draco watched Ginny sob on the floor in front of him, a strange new feeling washed over him. Maybe the plan he had been devising for so long was meant to go the other way. Maybe the other three Heirs really did care for him as Ginny said. Maybe he didn't want his loyalties to sway. Maybe.

Draco refused to change who he was for others though, he had too much pride to do that. No matter how much Ginny cried and yelled at him, he would remain stubborn and be the selfish bastard once more. Potter would always be Scarhead to him, Granger would be the Mudblood, and Ginny…well…he hadn't figured that out yet.

Draco raised his eyes again and saw that Ginny had stopped crying and was staring at him, waiting for an answer. Draco gritted his teeth, shoving down a mess of confusing emotions. He shook his hair out of eyes and stared determinedly at a spot above her head.

"I am who I am, and you'll never be able to change that," he began. "I know what you want me to be but that won't be the real Draco Malfoy. Maybe I do hide a part of myself but I've been taught to do that from the moment I was born. I don't know what else to be and frankly, I don't want to be anything else. I don't want to be my father, that's really the only thing I know for sure."

Draco paused and sighed, considering his next words. "I'm not saying I want to be friends with any of you but I will try and work on trusting you three. But don't try to change me. If you truly do care, you'll accept me this way……..If you're wondering why I'm telling you all of this, maybe, for once, I want you to understand me."

Not believing that he had actually told her all of that, Draco dropped his head once more. He didn't hear when Ginny stood up and slowly walked toward him. He didn't notice that she now stood directly in front off him. He did notice when her hand came up and hesitantly rested on his cheek. Draco stiffened and pulled away sharply, icy eyes coming to meet ones of fire.

Fire can melt ice but Draco refused to give in completely, feeling his resolve dropping already by just looking at Ginny. He quickly moved away from her and broke their gaze.

"Stop pulling away from me," Ginny snapped. "I don't care if you want to be the stubborn bastard as always but you can't keep doing this. Didn't you hear anything that I said?"

Tired of arguing with her, Draco simply said, "Yes."

Surprised that he answered her in that way, Ginny was unsure of how to continue the conversation. Maybe she should just leave now and let him wallow in his own thoughts. He would come around eventually, she hoped. She thought that by staying up here with him, Draco might suddenly confess that he loved her too. Ginny's luck was small though, and she now knew she would never get the icy Prince of Slytherin to like her back.

Sighing deeply, Ginny turned away from Draco, tears filling her eyes. She needed to leave, now, and this time, nothing would stop her. Her hand clutched the cold doorknob tightly, her eyes shutting as a few tears spilled over. Light filtered onto the balcony from the crack in the doorway, but before she could open the door even further, a hand reached out and slammed it back shut.

Ginny gasped and spun around, finding herself trapped between the door and Draco. Her breathing quickened when she noticed how close he was standing next to her.

"Don't go yet," he said, so softly she almost didn't hear him.

Draco's head lowered a bit more and now their lips were only inches apart. Ginny's heart was racing and her hands began to shake. The lightheaded feeling returned and all she could focus on were his eyes and how beautiful they suddenly looked. She wanted to touch him so bad, but her arms remained latched to her side, knowing, understanding how forbidden he was, how forbidden this was.

But then his lips brushed hers and all sense of thought was lost. Ginny felt herself drowning and Draco was the only one who could save her. The kiss was nothing like their first one, it wasn't the bruising, harsh, unfeeling kiss. This one was gentle and sweet, innocent, like the snow falling around them. Only pure emotions were behind it and Ginny wanted it to never end.

Her hand raised up and lightly played with a strand of blonde hair on his forehead while Draco's grip on her waist tightened. Ginny needed to break away from him soon but she was reluctant to do so, for she knew reality would then set back in.

The need for air became too great though and Ginny and Draco slowly pulled back. Time stood still for a minute as Ginny's eyes fluttered open and she looked directly at Draco, trying to read into him and what that kiss had meant. He stood frozen before noticing her gaze and giving her the smallest of smiles.

Then the mask fell back over his eyes and Draco pulled the door open and descended down the stairs, leaving Ginny all alone. But she merely wrapped her arms around herself and smiled out into the night, watching the snowflakes swirl down to the earth. She had finally broken through to Draco and she knew now that things would start changing. The fire of hope was now rekindled in her heart.

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Author's Note: Oh, I am so so so sorry for taking forever with updating this story! As most of you know, I was in Ireland for two weeks and now I'm at my grandparents and I just finished this chapter. I wasn't able to write anything as I had hoped on the trip and this chapter took forever to write. I had a lot of trouble getting it going and I'm still not sure if its completely right, I don't feel its my best chapter but I've written worse, lol. I'm sorry about the length as well but since not a lot of action is in this chapter, it was hard to keep it going. I'll try and write longer chapters but they're not my speciality! Please bear with me!!

I want to thank all of my reviewers for sticking with me and I hope you can bear with me until the end of this story, which is a long ways away! You are all so wonderful and your comments are all appreciated. Again, I am so sorry about taking forever with this. I really hope you liked it, and please review, it would mean a lot to me. I'll put a better author's note up next chapter, I'm exhausted right now and really need my sleep.

Much Love,
PhoenixFirebolt