Wings of an Eagle

Well I'm looking up at an overcast sky in the morning

I can't hear the warning as it calls to you

Draco Malfoy peered up at the ceiling at breakfast on Saturday morning .He smirked...perfect. It was overcast; not a peep of sun in sight. Sunny mornings usually tended to make him look drawn and washed out. His calculating gaze swept across the four tables in the Great Hall and settled on one Ginny Weasley. Even though she was a Weasley, Draco had a habit of "checking out", as it were, every girl he laid eyes on, and Weasley was no exception.

She really had filled out nicely since her first year, Draco observed. If she wasn't a Gryffindor, he might have actually considered asking her out. Any girl would kill to go out with him. He supposed he did cut a rather dashing figure on his broomstick, and green robes definitely did not make him appear sickly, as many people would have thought they would.

Hmmm, soon-to-be Head Boy, Quidditch captain, prefect, devilishly attractive, Draco mused. He really was an excellent catch. Well if any girl could make him stay the night he would be.

He snickered, then chanced another look at the pretty redhead. There was something about her that made him want to be near her...always.

Draco blinked at this startling realisation, and shook his head violently. Pansy Parkinson stared at him then patted his arm from across the table.

'Are you alright Draco?' she simpered.

'Either you're going to remove that hand, or I will, Parkinson,' he drawled, raising an eyebrow at her plump manicured hand resting on his lean forearm. He had stopped pretending to respect her in any way at the end of fourth year, because, well, he'd just grown tired of it.

Pansy flinched, withdrew her hand and lowered her head to her plate. Draco did not notice that she'd barely touched her food, and he did not notice that all the while he'd been "talking" to Pansy they were being watched by Ginny who was, unbeknownst to everyone else, having an internal war at that very moment.

She had realised that, while watching Pansy stroke and crawl to Draco Malfoy, she was torn between a desire to curl under the table and cry like the little girl she used to be, and what her head was telling her to do. That of course was to stop being a fool and to not think about Draco ('Malfoy! Malfoy' she mentally chided herself) and how the overcast sky made his face look so angelic and cold at the same time. That boy was bad news and he cared for no one but his own gorgeous ('damn, damn!') self!

As the birds migrate and the wind is raised

I'll see the eagle soaring

Although I'm just a pawn in nature's game like you

As the two students struggled against their feelings for each other, an eagle owl that Draco recognised immediately flew into the Hall. It was his father's...and his father rarely sent good tidings. He sighed inwardly as he received the letter and slit it open with his knife.

Anyone who wasn't watching closely wouldn't have seen a flicker in Draco's smirk that seemed a permanent fixture on that pale face, and they wouldn't have seen his eyes dart over in the direction of the Gryffindor table before returning to the piece of paper in front of him. But Ginny Weasley was watching closely, and if her confidence weren't so low (that's what comes of 6 years of chasing after the same boy with no results) she would have been sure that Draco looked at her.

But even though she'd convinced herself that she must have been imagining things, she couldn't help staring at him. When he abruptly stood up and his eyes flicked over to her again she started and her elbow landed on her spoon, flipping her cereal onto the front of her robes. She cursed, causing Hermione to goggle at her in shock, for Ginny never swore. She never got to ask what was bothering her though, for as soon as Draco strode out of the Hall Ginny followed suit.

She trailed behind him; occasionally checking her watch just in case he looked around she could say she was late for something. But he did not look around; he just kept walking, obviously with a purpose. He finally paused at the door at the base of the Astronomy Tower, before opening it and entering. Ginny hesitated before making up her mind, taking a deep breath and following. Whatever he was doing she wanted to know. Those two brief glances he had given her (she'd decided that it was her that they were directed at) somehow made her feel like it was her business now.

She stayed in the shadows all the way to the top of the tower, and when she reached the top she could not see Draco. She looked around interestedly for she had not been in the Astronomy Tower before (though pretty as she was, she was also too shy too be of much interest to most males in the castle).

Ginny wandered around for about a minute and a half before spotting Draco, and freezing. He was standing on the balcony outside, the wind whipping through his seemingly unnaturally blonde hair, loosening it from the liberal amounts of gel he usually applied to it. She darted outside and shrieked, 'What the hell are you doing?!'

He turned around and blinked those beautiful silver eyes at her bemusedly.

'Weasley? What are you doing here?'

'Get down, you'll fall you fool!' she said hysterically, although she'd already guessed that probably was the point.

'I'm not going to fall, you silly girl,' he said, insulting her back. 'I see you've inherited those famous Weasley deduction abilities. I didn't come to "fall."'

'Insult my family all you like, Malfoy, just get down!'

'No,' he said simply. 'I've been my father's pawn for too long, and he's gone one step too far this time.'

'What...? You're not thinking about...' Ginny swallowed. '.... Killing yourself, are you?'

'Well it's better than killing someone I care about.

'Draco, what happened?'

Draco raised his eyebrows at her use of his first name but didn't mention it.

'Well, see there's this family that my family has been at war with for centuries. My father, being the scummy, slimy git that he is, has decided to take it beyond cutting this family down at every turn and now he's planning on threatening the life of one of the children, to blackmail the father. What the father won't know is that he's going to kill the girl anyway. The thing is, he can't access her easily because she's at Hogwarts, so he's left the task to me. But he doesn't know, and what I've only just realised, is that I'd rather die than harm this girl. So that's why death is the only option, my life won't be worth living if I tell my father I care for a...'

At this Draco's voice faltered and he looked back out over the balcony, avoiding Ginny's eyes. She could not look at him either, for she felt ashamed and incredibly guilty. One of the first things that had popped into her head when he had said that he cared for a girl was an overwhelming sense of jealousy and only rage second, and she'd wondered who this girl was that was causing Draco so much pain...and probably his life.

Draco cleared his throat suddenly and said, 'Anyway Weasley, you never told me why you're here...you're here with a boy perhaps? Or just to fantasise about Potter?'

Ginny frowned at his comments, not realising that he wasn't smirking and under that heavily sarcastic tone lurked a slight note of...jealousy.

'For your information, I came because I was worried about you! You left suddenly at breakfast and...'

She trailed off, and turned a brilliant shade of pink for she'd just admitted she'd been watching him at breakfast.

Draco's mouth opened slightly and then he recovered himself.

'Oh really Weasley? I never knew you cared.'

At that Ginny decided that was it. She looked up at him, large brown eyes narrowed and flashing, and her mouth twisted in a snarl to rival his own.

'Yes I do! I care about you, you stupid prat! And don't ask me why, I mean, you're selfish, conceited, pugnacious, vituperative...sure you can be urbane, but you aren't omniscient and you certainly aren't omnipotent! You're pretentious and you obsess about wealth and "social standing" and you've forgotten or you never knew that that's not important...at all! You're so absorbed with yourself and this girl who's going to cost you your bleedin' life that you're blind to anyone else that might care about you...like me and I...I'm in love with you!'

Draco went pale, hopped down from the balcony and handed her the letter from his father. Ginny scanned down the page until she saw the words .'..Virginia, the youngest Weasley child.' Wordlessly she closed her eyes as they filled with tears of both immense happiness and incredible sadness. Then Draco unexpectedly put his arms around her and kissed her forehead. She tilted her face up towards his and their lips met. This was not an urgent kiss; it was slow, pleasant but bittersweet, for one of them would be dead soon...Lucius Malfoy would see to that.

On the winds of an eagle I find myself lifted through the skies

Lifted up above the world to sing

On the winds of an eagle I find myself lifted through the skies

Lifted up above the world to sing

As they held each other, Ginny realised, astonished, that they would both die for each other already. She untangled herself from Draco and walked over to the balcony lost in thought. Oh why did all romantic flights of fancy inevitably crash land? How could she think that a Malfoy and a Weasley could ever be happy together? Was that so impossible?

Suddenly she laughed, but without humour, struck by an odd thought. They were sort of like Romeo and Juliet; in love but separated by their family's hatred for each other. But that thought offered no consolation, considering what had happened to those two.

There was no way they could beat Lucius Malfoy, she thought bitterly, he was just too powerful and had too many connections. Maybe Draco was right. Maybe death was the only option.

She turned and looked at Draco, beautiful Draco whom she loved so very much, for the last time and climbed onto the balcony. He too had been lost in his thoughts and only realised what she was doing far too late.

'Ginny,' he screamed, calling her by her first name for the first time.

'This is for you, Draco,' she said, and then she jumped.

Can you see me? Can you see me?

'Oh God, Ginny, why? Why did you do this? It should have been me! Oh God it hurts! Hurts so much!' Draco moaned and babbled incoherently while holding Ginny's body in his arms and rocking back and forth. He had run, almost crawled, down the stairs from the Astronomy Tower and into the grounds where Ginny lay.

'Ginny, wake up please, oh darling, I need you, need your love, my fault, oh God please, can you hear me? Say something, are you still mine? Can you see me? Can you? Ginny, please.'

As the days roll on and the nights get long

'May Virginia Weasley find peace after death,' said Dumbledore soberly.

Everyone in the Great Hall lifted their glasses and spoke her name as one. Draco remained silent. He hadn't spoken since before "it happened." Many of the staff feared he would never recover. The story was also splashed cruelly all over the newspapers so his wound was not healing any quicker.

He raised his eyes occasionally to peer over at the Gryffindor table where Ginny should have been next to Hermione...but she wasn't and Hermione was sobbing unrestrainedly. There was only one red head at the table where there should have been two. Ron was also sitting numbly, looking the same as Draco probably did. The trio had actually spoken peacefully to Draco just the other day. Well it was Harry who had talked, it had hit the other two the hardest. Ron; being her brother, and Hermione; being her best friend. He had said that they didn't blame him at all for they had seen how he had reacted to her death...everyone had. Draco couldn't reply. He had wanted to make peace, but he didn't want to become friends for they would remind him too much of Ginny. Ron especially, having her exact hair and eye colour. He wanted to tell them so much; he wanted to ask them if they dreamt about her, if they couldn't sleep most nights. The only nights he got any sleep were the ones when he dreamt of her, of her death.

The changing of the seasons

And the falling autumn leaves they bring me down

They bring me down, they bring me down

Draco stared out of his window, before closing his eyes and wishing for the umpteenth time that he could cry. It was autumn and the leaves were falling from the trees. Leaves that were so much the colour of Ginny's hair. Autumn would be his least favourite season from now on. He was slowly recovering from the shock of losing her; well at least that was what everyone had thought, for he had started talking again. He really had to try to get over her death, he thought. He couldn't live a life like this, for she had died so he could live and this wasn't living. He may be sad, but the leaves would still fall and the seasons would still change and the sun would still set every night and rise every morning and the world would still turn, and Ginny would still be gone.

He cast his mind back to the first day he had met her, in Flourish and Blotts in her first year. He'd just given Potter a hard time and she had stood up to him. He was head and shoulders taller than she was and she'd still told him to leave Potter alone. Oh he missed the fiery redhead so much.

Do you lose your way in the middle of the day

Do you see your brother crawling?

And all the while he's calling out for help from you?

It was almost 5 years since Ginny sacrificed herself, and Draco still hadn't gotten over her. Mrs Weasley had taken him in as her own son since his father had disowned him, and almost the entire family accepted him. All except for Arthur Weasley who was polite enough, but Draco suspected the father blamed him for Ginny's death. At this moment Draco was sitting at the dining table pushing his food around his plate with his fork. Just then, Ron wandered in and gave him a weary smile.

'Hey Malfoy, how's it going?'

There was genuine concern in that casual question and they both knew it.

'Slowly Weasley, very slowly.'

Ron nodded understandingly.

'Hey, you wanna go for a fly? Might help clear your head a bit.'

Draco looked up.

'Yeah ok. Why not? It might.'

They both picked up their new brooms bought with the money that Draco had inherited from his father. Lucius may have disowned him but shortly after he was discovered to be trying to bring the Deatheaters back together, so he was sent to Azkaban and was declared of unstable mind. So Draco received the family fortune.

They walked out of the house and hopped over the fence into the back paddock. Draco mounted his broom slowly, hoping he could remember how to fly. He hadn't used a broomstick for 6 years.

On the winds of an eagle I find myself lifted through the skies

Lifted up above the world to sing

On the winds of an eagle I find myself lifted through the skies

Lifted up above the world to sing

Suddenly as he kicked off on his broom, the "Eagle," a strange thing happened. He felt like Ginny was with him and all was well with the world. Every morning he had to force himself to get up and to eat, but he could fly without trying. All of a sudden he remembered the day Ginny had stood up to him in Flourish and Blotts and he laughed. Ron looked over, startled for he'd never heard Draco laugh like that. He removed his hands from his broom and let out a scream of pure ecstasy for the time she had declared her love for him.

Ginny had died for him so by God he was going to live for her.