Unofficial Portkey Archive

DISCLAIMER: In an alternate universe somewhere, I own Harry Potter. In this universe… not so much.

A/N: Warning… NC-17 scene coming up… if you're not up for that, you have been warned…

"Some say love is holding on, and some say, letting go.."
- Perhaps Love

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
(until you)

"Did you sell the family heirlooms?" Draco asked his mother, noticing for the first time the absence of an ornate porcelain vase that Lucius Malfoy had displayed prominently.

"Only the ones on Lucius' side of the family," said Narcissa. She smiled wryly. "In other words, almost all of them. But I kept the ones from my own parents."

"I see." Draco glanced at a spot behind him, where he knew his father kept a circular painting of two snakes intertwined. It was gone. Though he'd never liked it, he felt a twinge of wistfulness at how quickly things were changing. Soon they would be moving to a new house with no house elves, no heirlooms, no Lucius Malfoy…

Narcissa saw the look on her son's face, and her own face fell. "I'm sorry, Draco," she said quietly. "We needed the money."

Draco saw that his mother had misinterpreted his expression, and went to her side. He would have put an arm around her, but, even with Lucius gone, they had never been demonstrative.

So he only said, "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. I don't care about the heirlooms." She looked unconvinced, and he added, "I really don't." He meant it. "I was just surprised, that's all."

Narcissa studied him. "I do not leave you empty-handed, Draco. I've never put my own heirlooms on display, and Lucius never noticed, but I do have three. Come to my room with me, and I'll show them to you. I think it's time I gave them to you for safekeeping."

"You don't have to do that," said Draco. "You can keep them as long as you want."

"I insist," said Narcissa firmly. "From my father I got a statue of a dragon, and a pair of mirrors. The dragon's supposed to be good luck. As for the mirrors, well, when you look into one you will see what should be reflected by the other." She grinned. "I think my father used them to spy on people. These heirlooms were given to me in secret by my father, because he said he loved me best, but I suspect he gave my sister a few things of equal importance and told her the same thing. He got such a kick out of pretending to have favorites. My mother didn't have the heart to tell him that my sister and I were onto him. I never told my sister what our father gave me, and she never told me what he gave her."

Draco asked with interest, "What's the third heirloom?"

"A necklace. That one came from my mother." Narcissa's smile became nostalgic at the thought. "It's quite striking. You have to see it to understand. It gives warmth to its wearer when it's cold, and gives off light when it's dark. It's not automatic. The wearer has to will warmth or light to emanate from the necklace." She laughed. "My sister and I had such an argument over who would get to keep that. But I won."

Draco laughed with her. "They sound great. Why did you hide them for so long?"

Instantly, all traces of a smile vanished from Narcissa's face.

She said, her voice deadly serious, "Because I couldn't bear to think of what Lucius would use them for. All these years I've resisted the urge to even bring my precious heirlooms out of their hiding place. I would have thrown them away before seeing them in Lucius' hands."

She turned and walked away, into her room. Draco, regretting his question, followed.

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The necklace was, to put it mildly, beautiful.

Ginny gaped at it in shock. An exquisite pendant, in the shape of a flame, was strung along a slender chain. The flame was composed of delicate honey-colored fragments, melded with translucent splashes of crimson.

She thought with rising disbelief that those were real. Real rubies! And real gold! Intertwined in so strikingly lovely a pattern that the whole thing must have cost a fortune!

Hastily she dropped the necklace back in the box, wondering if whoever had given it to her had made some sort of mistake. What lower year Gryffindor could own a such a treasure? She'd return the necklace as soon as possible. Even she, who knew next to nothing about jewelry - which was understandable, since she had spent her childhood with a horde of older brothers who always forgot there was a girl around - recognized that it was priceless. No one would possibly give away something like that.

She picked up the folded note under the necklace and opened it.

Meet me at the astronomy tower at midnight. -D.

Ginny took a deep breath.

Unless "D" stood for Dennis Creevey, she had a feeling she was in for a long night.

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Draco stood by the window, one hand in his pocket. He gazed at the stars, his face expressionless.

Ginny saw his head first, as she tiptoed silently up the stairs. She wondered what he was thinking. Unable to resist, and unseen in the invisibility cloak she had borrowed from Harry, she snuck up behind him and poked him in the shoulder. "Hey."

He whirled so quickly it stunned her. In an instant she had been forced against a wall, an arm pressing into her neck, holding her immobile. A wand was pointed at her, inches from her face, and the invisibility cloak lay in a heap at her feet.

Ginny stared into silver eyes, burning with intensity, then gasped as the pressure on her neck eased.

"Don't ever sneak up on me like that again," Draco snarled, dropping his wand arm to his side. "I was about to cast the bloody Imperius curse on you."

Ginny drew in a deep breath, trying to sort out her thoughts. The wall was cold against her back, and Draco was still standing very close to her, his eyes boring into hers. She swallowed hard.

"The Imperius curse?" she said finally. "That's odd. Why not the Cruciatus, or Avada Kedavra? You'd control your enemies, instead of torturing or killing them? Or is it that you yourself fear being controlled worse than pain or death?"

"Bloody hell," Draco growled. He finally stepped back, giving Ginny some space, but he continued to glare at her. "I almost curse you, and instead of weeping or fainting like any self-respecting female, you stand there spouting crap."

Ginny chose to overlook that charming bit of sexism. Softly, she said, "Except it's not crap, isn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco snapped.

His voice was very loud. Accepting that Draco didn't want to discuss it, Ginny sighed and pulled out her wand. She turned her back on him. She closed the door to the astronomy tower behind her and turned the lock, then cast a silencing charm on it, so that Filch or Mrs. Norris wouldn't overhear them.

"Why did you ask me to come here?" Ginny asked, facing him.

Instead of answering, his silver eyes raked over her. "Where's the necklace?"

Ginny dug her hand into the pocket of her robe. She brought out the box with the necklace inside. "Here it is."

"What is it doing in that box?" Draco sounded more irritated than ever.

Ginny knew at least one of them had to keep from getting mad, and she knew it should be her, but it was really hard to keep her temper in check with a Slytherin glowering at her. Through gritted teeth, she said, "I assume you put it there, Malfoy. And while we're on the subject, it was really rather stupid of you to pass the box off to some random Gryffindor instead of giving it straight to me. Anyone could have opened it and taken the necklace."

"If anyone else had opened the box, they would have seen nothing but a rock inside," said Draco. "Basic transfiguration, Weasley. It wears off after a few hours. I figured the necklace would have made it to you by then. I was only asking why you're not wearing-" Suddenly he cut himself off. His face devoid of any emotion, he asked, "Don't you like it?"

Ginny gazed at his hard, closed face, and something inside her softened. She took a step closer to him and touched his arm. "Of course I like it. It's beautiful."

Draco relaxed, and Ginny dropped her hand, stepping away. His voice turned mulish again. "Then why aren't you wearing it?"

"Because I can't accept it." She held out the box to him.

Draco didn't take it. "Why the fuck not?"

"It's too expensive. We're not even friends."

"You're bloody right we're not just friends. I didn't buy the necklace. It's an heirloom from my mother's side of the family."

As soon as he said it, he knew he had made an error. Ginny's eyes widened, and she all but tossed the box at him. He had no choice but to catch it.

"It's an heirloom? Are you insane? That must have sentimental value for your mother! You can't give it away. You can't." And, as if repeating the statement would make it irrefutable, she said again, vehemently, "You can't."

Draco opened the box and pulled out the necklace. "I just did."

"No, you didn't, because I refuse it."

Draco seemed to think for a moment, then he moved towards her. Ginny backed away. The corners of his lips turned up, and, annoyed, Ginny stopped in her tracks. She held her ground as he came nearer and nearer.

"Turn around and hold up your hair, Ginny, so I can put this on you."

"Are you deaf? I'm not taking the necklace!"

"I'm afraid refusing it is not an option."

"Why are you giving it to me, Draco?"

He grinned, and she realized that it pleased him when she used his name. "As an apology. I got into a fight with your brother and Potter, remember? In Hogsmeade," he said, as though she needed reminding. "I've decided I may have been wrong."

"There's no `may' about it," Ginny informed him. "You threw the first punch without provocation. But I'm really not that mad about it anymore. I mean, Ron and Harry are fine, and they're used to you acting like a git anyway." That earned her a scowl, but she went on. "A simple `I'm sorry' will do."

"All right." His eyebrows drew together, and he muttered, "I'm sorry."

Ginny smiled, resisting the urge to kiss him. He was so cute. "Apology accepted."

"That's a lie."

This time it was Ginny's eyebrows that slammed together. "What?"

"If you really forgave me," said Draco smoothly, "You would accept the necklace. I gave it to you as an apology. If you don't take it, then you don't accept my apology."

"That is so convoluted, it doesn't even deserve a response," Ginny told him. She folded her arms across her chest. "Look, let's settle this. I don't know what crazy guilt impulse makes you think you have to hand over a family heirloom that's also the most beautiful necklace I have ever seen in my life, but I'm not going to take advantage of it. Am I making myself clear?"

"Absolutely," said Draco. He placed the empty box on the window ledge, still holding the necklace. Ginny watched him warily.

He reached out, and Ginny froze, thinking he was going to touch her face. Instead, he slipped a hand behind her neck and pulled her towards him. Her lips parted in surprise, and he kissed her.

Ginny kissed him back. His mouth was warm. She felt his tongue, welcomed it. She curled her fingers in his hair and pressed herself fully against him, wanting more-

Draco pulled away. He grinned. "You're welcome."

Bemused, Ginny could only look at him. What…

Then her mouth dropped open, and her hands flew to her neck. The pendant was nestled just above her breasts. She fumbled with the clasp. It was secure.

"You arse!" she yelled, trying to take the necklace off.

Draco gripped her wrists, stilling her. "What are you so angry about? You said the necklace is beautiful."

"It is! It's too beautiful, you jerk, and -"

"Nothing is too beautiful for you," Draco interrupted, gazing at her intently. His silver eyes took in every detail of her face, and Ginny flushed.

"I bet Pansy's heard that line a thousand times." She tried to say it lightly, but Draco was still holding her wrists, and she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears.

"You're right," he agreed, and her heart plummeted, but then he said, "However, I've never meant it. Until now. Until you. And I do mean it, Ginny. Do you believe me?"

She shook her head, even as her spirits soared.

He let go of her wrists and put his arms around her, holding her to him. "I guess I'll have to find some way to convince you," he murmured into her hair.

And Ginny fought it, she really did, but her head leaned into his chest, and she could hear a rapid heartbeat. At first she thought it was still her own pulse in her ears, then she realized that it was Draco. His heart was beating as fast as hers was.

And that was when she tilted her head up and kissed him.

Their mouths were open and wet. She felt his hand travel down to her rump, caressing her, while his other hand crept towards her breast. With Dean and Harry, she had always stopped things from getting too far, but now she felt wild. Uninhibited. She leaned her head back as Draco's lips moved to her throat.

He pushed his knee between her legs. A whimper escaped her as she spread her legs wider. She ran her hands down his chest, but she had barely grazed his hard erection when he caught her wrists in one hand and held them above her head, pushing her back against the wall.

She moaned, straddling his thigh. "Keep your arms up," Draco ordered, releasing his hold. He grabbed the edge of her robe and drew it up to her waist, revealing her legs. His palms were hot on her bare skin.

He unclasped her bra under her robe and moved his hand into the space between her breasts and the cups of her bra. He rubbed her nipples gently, then harder. Ginny grasped him by the shoulders, and he stopped.

"Hands against the wall, sweetheart," he said, kissing the base of her throat.

She lifted her arms back up, straining against him. She was rapidly losing all her inhibitions. Never, never, had she felt anything like this… it was so intense, it scared her. The crotch of her panties was wet against his thigh.

"Draco…"

He loved how she said his name, all breathy and needy. In a quick motion he lifted her robe and pulled it up over her head, throwing it behind him. Now she was wearing only her bra and panty, and the necklace.

He pulled off her bra and tossed that aside too. He saw with satisfaction how exquisite the pendant looked, resting on her bare skin.

She flushed, trembling, and gazed at him. She was so far gone she didn't even care that she was practically naked. "Please," she whispered.

He bent his head and took a nipple into his mouth. With one hand he cupped her other breast, pinching and squeezing the nipple. At the same time, his other hand was drifting up her leg. He sucked her nipple hard just as he gripped her by the waist and pulled her forward, hard, her crotch sliding up his thigh. She wrapped her legs around him and moaned, looping her arms around his neck.

Again, he stopped. She whimpered and raised her hands again.

Then he moved his mouth to her other breast. Cool air wafted around her still-moist nipple as he began laving her other nipple. He didn't suck, he just licked. She strained against him.

He touched the edge of her panties, then slipped a finger between her legs. Her panties were soaking wet.

He pushed his finger under the cloth of her panty and stroked between her slippery folds. She was making incoherent sounds now, grounding herself against him. He removed his finger.

She gasped. He brought up his finger and inserted it between her lips. She sucked desperately on it, and he began thrusting his finger, wet with her moisture, out and into her mouth just as he began jerking his leg up and down.

She rode his thigh, hard, panting. She brought her hands to his chest, and he forgot to stop. His finger was still thrusting between her lips. She frantically squeezed her legs around him, almost sobbing, as he clamped his mouth on her nipple and flicked it hard with his tongue.

She screamed as she came, her hand closing around Draco's hardness and squeezing. He stiffened, barely remembering to pull his finger from her mouth and muffle her scream with a kiss. Bloody hell.

She rubbed his penis through his robe, fondling him, even as he felt her pulsing through her panties, on his thigh. She dug the base of her hand into his erection, massaging him through the cloth. Humping him, actually humping him, rhythmically, she kissed him back ardently.

It was too much for him. Burying his groan in her hair, he, too, came, panting harshly.

The two of them collapsed on the floor. Draco gathered Ginny in his arms and held her, his cheek resting on the top of her head.

"That was…"

"Fantastic?" Draco suggested, a slow grin curving his lips.

Now that she had regained her wits, Ginny blushed, completely mortified. She pushed Draco's arms away and hurried to her clothes, hastily putting them on. She was all too aware of Draco's gaze on her.

"I can't believe anyone who did the things you just did could be so modest," he said.

Ginny's flush deepened. "I've never done anything like that before."

His smile told her just how much he liked hearing that. "Never? You mean the great Potter always kept his hands to himself?"

Ginny was not about to get into a discussion of Harry with him. "Mind your own business." She smoothed down her robes. She was so rattled, she didn't even notice that she was still wearing the necklace.

Draco came to her, and rested his hands lightly on her waist. She stopped in the middle of running her hands through her hair, in an attempt to restore the thick auburn waves to some semblance of neatness.

He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you a virgin?"

Ginny schooled her features not to betray her shock at his blunt question. Was whether she was a virgin or not an issue? Was that why he hadn't gone all the way? And yes, the question was not why she hadn't gone through with the dirty deed, but why he hadn't. She was honest enough with herself to admit that if Draco had initiated it, they could have had real, true, honest-to-God sex, right here on the floor of the Astronomy tower. She hadn't exactly been pushing him away.

He watched her. "Well? Are you a virgin?" he repeated.

She had had enough of being nervous and embarrassed while he stood there, all calm and cool and collected. Meeting his silver-gray eyes, she challenged, "Are you?"

Draco tightened his arms around her, grinning. "I think we've reached an impasse."

"We have classes tomorrow. We should go now." But Ginny made no move to leave his embrace.

"Meet me here again tomorrow." It wasn't a request.

Ginny didn't even think of saying no. "All right."

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The two Death Eaters stood a few meters away from each other, their wands held out in front of them. They were alone. Both fugitives, they had no choice but to stay together in hiding. Perhaps it was this enforced companionship with each other that had driven them to near-madness.

"Traitor!" spat Bitter Wand.

"We have no choice!" Shadow shouted.

"The Dark Lord should have killed you long ago!"

"Think about it! If we stay in hiding for one more day we'll end up killing each other."

"Then so be it. I'll kill you before I let you do that." Bitter Wand's grip on his wand tightened.

"Or I'll kill you." Shadow had long ago passed the stage where he would have qualms about killing someone whom he felt deserved it.

Their cold eyes met and clashed.

"Sectumsempra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

The duel began.

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It was breakfast. Sunlight streamed into the Great Hall. Ginny blushed just thinking of last night, and she couldn't stop smiling. Two tables away, Draco tried to force his face into his usual expression of aloof indifference, but found it impossible.

"You're smiling like a lunatic," said Ron to Ginny.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Crabbe said to Draco, "You look real happy about something."

Hermione had been talking to Harry, but she looked up immediately. And Zabini had been interested only in his eggs and toast, but his fork stopped moving halfway to his mouth.

"Can't a person smile for no apparent reason?" Draco asked mildly.

"Not when that person is you. You look like you got laid last night," said Zabini bluntly.

Draco choked on nothing, and Crabbe pounded him on the back.

Unaware of the theatrics across the hall, Hermione asked, "What are you so happy about, Ginny?"

"Nothing! Everything!" she exclaimed. She continued to smile. "I don't know."

"That makes no sense," Ron complained.

"I did not get laid," Draco declared.

"Why don't you speak louder so Pansy can hear you?" said Zabini, smirking.

Draco lowered his voice. "All I'm saying is, keep your insinuations to yourself."

"It's hard to feel intimidated when the person making the threats is smiling," Zabini commented.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry told Hermione, "Ginny received a gift last night."

"From who?" But Hermione's face told Ginny that she already knew.

"Some lower year Gryffindor who gave it to Dennis, who gave it to Colin, who gave it to Ginny," Ron said.

Hermione nodded, but she glanced inquisitively at Ginny. Luckily, Neville chose that moment to enter the Great Hall, and while Ron and Harry were calling for him to sit with them, Ginny, unnoticed, shook her head almost imperceptibly at Hermione.

"Is this going to be a nightly thing? Warn me, so I can wear shades in the morning. Your smile is positively blinding," said Zabini.

"You should be onstage," said Draco. "You're a comedian, you know that? A bloody comedian."

"And judging by your smile, a really funny one," said Zabini.

"What are you so happy about?" Neville asked Ginny.

"Just… stuff," she said vaguely, beaming at him.

"Don't bother asking," said Ron. "You're not going to get a straight answer."

On they went, bantering cheerfully with each other, both Ginny and Draco careful to not even glance in each other's direction in case people guessed why they were smiling. There was no telling how long that might have gone on if the owls hadn't arrived.

A copy of the Daily Prophet landed in front of Hermione, and when she saw the headline, she completely forgot about Ginny.

RENEGADE DEATH EATER SURRENDERS. And below that, CONFESSES TO ATTACKING AUROR.

"It's the one who attacked Tonks," breathed Hermione, scanning the article. Harry knocked over his juice glass in his haste to lean over and read with her. Ron and Ginny jumped up and stood behind them, squeezing their heads between them in an attempt to see for themselves. Everyone was so caught up in the article that Hermione and Ron didn't even notice that their cheeks were pressed together.

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A wounded Death Eater showed up on the Ministry of Magic's doorstep - literally. Sources claim that at no one took the wizard asking to see an Auror seriously until, seemingly exasperated, he pulled up his sleeve and showed them the Dark Mark. That was sufficient to rouse Ministry officials into action, and he was immediately apprehended and locked up.

He confessed to being behind the recent attack on Nymphadora Tonks, an Auror who is currently held in St. Mungo's. He refused to reveal how he sustained his wounds or why he chose to surrender himself. Even his name is unknown.

"He will prove invaluable in tracking down the few Death Eaters who managed to elude capture," said Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic. "They are the dying sputters of a quenched flame. As soon as they are captured, those difficult days will be behind us completely."

A high-ranking Ministry official, on condition of anonymity, allowed this comment to be printed. "Not completely. The Wizengamot is getting ready to begin proceedings on the case of Demetria Laguna vs. Ministry of Magic. I think many difficult days lie ahead."

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In the Slytherin table, the discussion of Draco's love life had been abandoned in favor of the mail. Draco, relieved, was busy eating his breakfast when Goyle thrust a copy of the Daily Prophet at him.

"Look at this," Goyle grunted.

Draco, his curiosity piqued - Goyle never read, unless he could help it - took the Daily Prophet. When he read the words `Death Eater' in the headline, his lips thinned.

Hermione wasn't quite so restrained. "This is unbelievable," she said, rereading the article.

"It's Saturday tomorrow. Let's go see Professor Lupin," Ron suggested.

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"I'm coming with you," said Ginny and Neville together.

A/N: Lots of fluff here. Yay. ^_^ Please review.

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