A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers

A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers

Act Two

Draco arrived in the tower before the last Astronomy class had ended. He found a small room and sat in a chair by the unlit fireplace. He briefly thought of lighting the fire, and decided he liked the cool darkness better.

It won't matter much anyway, thought Draco. She'll come in, and denounce me for deceiving her, and accuse me of molesting her in the greenhouse. Or perhaps it will not be her at all, but a brother seeking vengeance. No - she is a brave Gryffindor, she will do this herself.

But she returned that kiss, in the greenhouse. She enjoyed being with me, before she knew better. It was only my name she ran from ... and yet ... I cannot help but remember her gasp, her eyes, her lip trembling. Gah, if I could get that image out of my head!

Draco closed his eyes. I don't care. She's just a Weasley, and means nothing to me. Better for her if she hates me.

The door to the room opened, and Draco, already still, felt his heart cease to beat. The door softly closed again, and he heard footsteps cross the room. Carefully, Draco looked toward the window, and caught his breath.

Ginny Weasley stood, illuminated by the moonlight and the single candle sitting on the mantle. Her forehead was pressed to the glass, her palms splayed on either side, and her hair in the candlelight glowed golden around her.

"Ay me," she sighed, and Draco's heart leapt. "Why did you have to be a Malfoy? Why must I be a Weasley? Had either of us been any other, I wouldn't be in such a state."

How long do I let her go on, thought Draco.

"It's only our families that are against us," continued Ginny softly, "I think you liked me, before you knew it was me."

Draco stood. "I did. You felt the same for me, I think."

Ginny spun around and pressed her back to the window. "Draco," she whispered.

Draco smiled. His name on her lips warmed him. "Ginny," he replied.

Ginny frowned, and straightened. "You needn't be so casual with me," she said stiffly. "I know how you feel about me. I want to talk about last night."

"As do I," said Draco.

"I thought you were someone else," said Ginny. "I wouldn't have kissed you otherwise."

"So you admit you kissed me," said Draco, pleased. "Good."

Ginny stamped her foot. "I did no such thing! You kissed me! Stop joking about it! This is very serious! Suppose someone saw."

"No one saw us."

"Suppose they told our parents!"

"We were masked, who would know it was us?"

"It's not right!" cried Ginny. "I don't want to be in love with you!"

Draco fell silent. "You're in love with me?" he choked.

Ginny fell onto the windowsill, covering her face with her hands. "I don't know. I don't know anything, except that you're a Malfoy, and I'm a Weasley, and my whole life I heard my parents say that Malfoys aren't worth the ground they walk on. All I know is that if you were anyone else, I might be happy. Instead I have found you, and for the first time in my life, I wish I weren't a Weasley."

Draco took a step toward her, and she looked up, startled. "Don't come any closer!"

"Why not?" asked Draco, anger creeping in his voice. "Don't you think I felt the same, when I saw it was you? I've hated you and your brothers as long as I've known you existed, and to see that I'd spent the happiest hour of my life talking and kissing the Weasley girl - can you imagine the way I felt, that the one girl I'd want to spend another hour with was the only girl I should shun?"

"Do you hate me so much?" asked Ginny softly.

"No," said Draco. "Things have changed between us. I cannot hate you any longer."

"Do you still hate my brothers?"

Draco sighed. "Don't ask me to answer that question."

Ginny lowered her head. "So what do we do now?"

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

Ginny was quiet. "I don't know."

"Then I'll tell you," said Draco. "You would be with me, if I were someone else. I would be with you, if you were someone else. Let's be together then, and forget what our families would say. We don't know that anything might come of this. We might hate each other in another two weeks, for entirely different reasons. But I think we should find out."

Ginny blinked. "I cannot equate the boy I kissed last night, for whom I felt such kinship, with the boy who was my enemy for so long."

"I'm not that person anymore," said Draco softly, and he moved to stand next to her. Ginny looked up at him.

"I wish I could believe it," she said softly. "How do I know you won't betray me, make a fool of me before the entire school?"

"I'll promise you - "

"No, don't promise anything," said Ginny, and she reached up and touched his lips with her fingers. "Your word is still that of a Malfoy."

"Give me some way, then," said Draco, taking her hand in his own. "Any task you know for me to do."

"You are the undisputed leader of your house. End the feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin." Ginny's voice was cool and firm. Draco blinked.

"You know I can't do that," he said. "There exists years of hatred between our two houses. One romance cannot bring to an end that much contempt. But I can promise you I will not raise wand to any Gryffindor among you."

Ginny smiled. "That is enough."

The noise in the hall of the Astronomy class dispersing startled them both. Ginny quickly blew the candle out, and the two stood still, waiting for the last student to leave.

"I must go," whispered Ginny when the hall was quiet again. "People will be looking for me soon, and my brother would kill you if he found us together."

"No, wait," said Draco, and took her arm, holding her close. "Not even a kiss goodbye?"

Ginny smiled. "I will send a message to you, and we will meet," she said. "Only, you must promise not to kill the messenger."

"I have already promised not to raise a hand against any Gryffindor," said Draco.

"But this is hardly any Gryffindor," said Ginny, and her eyes twinkled merrily. She took the candle in her hand and smiled. "This particular Gryffindor was the one who convinced me it would be best to clear the air between us."

"Then I am in debt to her, and won't hurt her," said Draco solemnly, and was startled when Ginny began to laugh. She slipped her arm away and pushed away from him. She moved across the room lightly and opened the door to the hall. "Who is it?"

The light reflected on Ginny's smile. "Harry Potter."

And she disappeared through the door.

* * *

"But they danced together? And then - "

"They disappeared. I think it bodes well for them. And I know Ginny met with someone last evening. She was looking mighty pleased with herself this morning."

"A pity about Macmillan ... but at least it's Harry," mused Charlie. "You are sure she was with him?"

"Very certain," said Hermione.

"Good, good," mused Charlie Weasley from the fire. He looked away briefly, and Hermione could hear the shuffling of papers on his desk. When Charlie spoke again, Hermione knew from the change of his tone that he had switched subjects. "Have you talked to Ron about the plan yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I can't get him alone. I still don't think he'll agree to it. He's too loyal to Harry, he won't want to go."

Charlie sighed. "He'll die by Harry's side rather than be the secret weapon in the final assault. There's friendship and loyalty for you."

Hermione remained silent, biting her lip. Charlie's eyes narrowed.

"You would be there with him?"

"I would," she said quietly.

"You're a fool."

Hermione winced. "I'll talk to Ron. And I'll talk to Ginny, make sure she's ready to go. Two weeks, yes?"

"Twelve days," said Charlie firmly.

***

Harry's eyes were narrowed, and he looked as if someone had dared him to give Snape a hug. He stomped angrily through the halls, glaring at all he passed. When Colin Creevey attempted to greet him with a cheery "Hi, Harry," the poor boy was nearly reduced to cinders by the resulting fire in Harry's green eyes.

Harry saw his prey outside the Arithmancy classroom. He reached out as he passed and took Draco Malfoy by the collar, dragging the boy into the nearest closet.

"What the hell, Potter?" said Draco, rubbing his neck and straightening his robes.

"I've got a message for you," said Harry coldly.

Draco's eyes gleamed, and he looked slightly less upset. "Then let's have it."

"Oh no," said Harry. "You're not getting it that easy. I don't trust you a moment, not with Ginny. You tried to kill her once before, how do I know this isn't another scheme of yours?"

"That was my father, not me," said Draco stiffly. "I didn't know anything about it. And you forget, she's perfectly capable of defending herself against me, should it come to that. Or shall I hex you as she hexed me once to remind you?"

The cool stare Harry gave him made it perfectly clear that Draco wasn't trusted one bit. "Listen, Potter," sneered Draco. "The message is for me - just hand it over already."

"I want to know your intentions with Ginny Weasley!"

Draco looked at Harry, who was so angry the jars of cleaning solutions on the shelves rattled. He glared at the boy.

I won't bare my soul to anyone, much less this Gryffindor git.

"I don't know what my intentions are," snapped Draco. "I met a girl at the Halloween ball, I liked her, I kissed her. I want to spend more time with her and get to know her better. It just so happens that girl is Ginny, and should we conduct our relationship in the open it won't be very pleasant for either of us. I didn't expect to be in this situation with Ginny, much less in a closet with you."

Harry was worrying his bottom lip, and Draco could tell he was bothered by something. The anger had dissipated, replaced by something else altogether. "You could still leave her alone," said Harry finally.

"No, Potter," said Draco. "I can't. That is, I could - but I don't want to."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "You called her Ginny."

"That's her name, isn't it?" said Draco, confused, and then he smiled, understanding what Harry was saying. "So I did."

"I'll give you your message, but first let me tell you, if you should lead her on and drop her, or deal double, or otherwise break her heart, you will live to regret it."

Draco blinked. The coldness of Harry's voice convinced him of the boy's seriousness. "Potter - I won't hurt her without hurting myself first."

"I'll tell her," said Harry. "I'll not keep secrets from her. Don't expect me to cover for you."

"I wouldn't want you to," said Draco.

"Eleven this evening, behind Hagrid's hut," said Harry shortly. He reached for the door and was about to leave when Draco's voice stopped him.

"Thanks, Potter."

Harry's hand froze on the doorknob. "You're welcome."

***

Ginny waited for him near the pumpkins, and without a word he extended his hand to her. She took it, and Draco pulled her away from the house, toward the nearby stables. They climbed the ladder into the hayloft above, where they promptly sunk into the loose hay. Laughing, they found their way to the far end of the loft where they could peek out the window to the stars.

There they sat, quiet and holding hands, for some time before Ginny spoke. "Harry told me what you said earlier."

Draco glanced at her, and saw that Ginny was focused entirely on Cassius Major. "I never thought I'd be the witness to Harry Potter coming out of the closet," he said, and Ginny giggled, turning to him.

"You don't mind Harry knowing?"

"No. You ought to have someone who knows. Secrets are hard to keep."

"It's a mighty big secret, isn't it?" said Ginny quietly. "A Death Eater could never be in love with a Weasley."

"I'm not a Death Eater," growled Draco. "And I never wanted to be. Should it come to that, I'll take Snape's route."

"Professor Snape?"

"Be a spy for Dumbledore."

"I thought you hated Dumbledore?"

"I don't care for him. I think he favors Gryffindors too much, and he is woefully out of touch with what those who disagree with him really think."

"Then explain it to me," said Ginny. "Why the insistence on Purebloods being better? How can you say any one person is better than anyone else?"

"This coming war is less about Pureblood or Muggleborn than it is about wizarding rights in general," said Draco. "I don't think that anyone is better than anyone else. That's why I don't agree with Dumbledore. Muggleborns are given certain rights that Purebloods do not have."

"I don't understand."

"We have secluded ourselves from the world so much, wizards have few rights in the Muggle world. Do you know what would happen should a wizard attempt to fly in a plane to America? We'd be charged ten times the rate Muggles are charged, simply because we're magical. The airlines believe our magic would crash the plane! Or politics - the Minister of Magic has virtually no power in Parliament, and we aren't allowed to vote in a general election for the Prime Minister or any sort of representative. Yet fully a third of our taxes goes to pay for Muggle roads, schools, armies."

Ginny was quiet, and her face was troubled. "I - I hadn't thought about it."

"I don't like that Muggleborns have these rights, while I do not," said Draco bitterly. "If you're Muggleborn, you can vote in general elections; you can fly on an airplane, you can travel without any sort of notification of the local wizarding government. But if you're born into the wizarding world - you have no such freedoms. You and I are both at a disadvantage, simply because of our births. That's why my father has always spoken of Weasleys as being too Muggle-loving for their own good. He could never understand why you were willing to give up the rights they take for granted."

"I never knew I didn't have them," said Ginny slowly.

"So yes, I do agree with the ideals behind the fight - but Voldemort is focused solely on revenge and not on change. I cannot support that sort of fight. It will never succeed."

Ginny squeezed his hand. "Do you believe your father will call you to him, then?"

"Oh yes," said Draco, laughing bitterly. "Before Christmas, I wouldn't doubt. I'm ready for it. I wish it wouldn't happen - but I'm ready."

"You'll fight then - Harry and Ron will. I think Ron looks forward to it. I don't understand how anyone would want to meet pure evil head on..." She shivered.

"Was it frightening?"

"Yes," said Ginny flatly. "So much so I didn't know to be afraid. That's what I see when the Dementors come near - Tom standing there, growing more solid, laughing and saying, 'Good-night, Ginny, time to die'."

She fell silent, and Draco squeezed her hand.

"Another joke on me," he said after a moment. "I owe Potter one."

"Why?" Ginny turned her brown eyes to him, glistening with unshed tears. Draco tipped her chin up with one hand and smiled.

"He saved you, so you could come to me," he said just before his lips descended on hers.

***

"Potter! That's enough!" snapped Severus Snape from the front of the Potions classroom. "See me after class."

Ron glared at Snape. "You didn't do anything," he muttered under his breath. Harry shrugged, and glanced at Malfoy, who was paying no attention to him, studiously chopping his dandelion weed.

Twenty minutes later, Harry went up to Snape's desk as the rest of the class filed out, talking and laughing. Snape waited until the last student had gone, and the door closed behind them, before he spoke.

"Five in the morning, Sunday, Quidditch pitch," he said curtly, and Harry blinked.

"Sir?"

Snape sighed. "The next meeting between our personal Romeo and Juliet, Potter. Or are you that dense?"

"I didn't know you knew, sir," said Harry slowly.

Snape snorted. "I've known since the day after the ball. Mr Malfoy came to confide his confusion to me."

"Ginny told me that night," countered Harry, and Snape raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, Potter, then I suppose you win at being the world's best confidante," he said dryly. "You must tell me sometime how you continue to gain the confidences of winsome young lasses."

"You're just going to sacrifice Ginny on the alter of Malfoy to try to win him to our side!" snapped Harry. "It makes me sick!"

"Your assumption that Draco can be won does the same to me," said Snape coldly. "The boy has no wish to be like his father, and I've no wish for him to be like me. His path is set, however, and little Miss Weasley cannot change it. I don't wish for either of them pain, however, and keeping them apart can only result in suffering. So keep your opinions to yourself, Potter. I don't like it any better than you."

Harry left the room to find Ron waiting in the hall. "What did he want?"

"A word about last week's essay, is all," said Harry, fumbling with his books so he wouldn't have to look Ron in the eye.

"Stupid git," said Ron, but the words lacked enthusiasm. "I thought he'd seen us spiking Malfoy's potion with asphodel."

"Ron! We didn't - "

"You didn't. I did."

"Well, stop. You heard Dumbledore, there's to be no more fighting between the houses."

"But it's Malfoy!"

Harry shook his head, and Ron grumbled to himself about injustice in the world. Harry's heart sank. Now I'm covering for Malfoy after all, and lying to my best friend to do it. That's just bloody brilliant.

* * *

The sun rose over Hogwarts, bathing the grounds with diffused light. The sky went from deep purple to blue to grey, and the sun peeked through the cloudy skies as best it could.

One such sunbeam found its way into the Ravenclaw tower at the Quidditch field, where it fell on the laughing face of Ginny Weasley. Her companion saw the light shine on her hair, making it glow in the early morning light. He smiled, and reached for a lock of the red-gold tresses, brushing her cheek with his fingers.

"Cold fingers," said Ginny mischievously. "You'll have to warm me up again."

Draco smiled. "Such a wretched prospect that is," he said. "We'll be late for breakfast if we stay much longer."

"Oh, breakfast!" scoffed Ginny. "It's Sunday; the house elves will have breakfast available until it's time for dinner. I'd rather be here with you. In the Great Hall, I can't even look at you for fear that my brother might see."

"I love you," said Draco suddenly, and Ginny looked startled.

"I - why?" she cried.

"Because I think of you as Ginny," said Draco. "Not Weasley. Because your laughter haunts my dreams. And because you said you would rather stay with me, when not two minutes ago I heard your stomach rumble."

Ginny blushed. "That's not love, that's friendship," she protested, fiddling with her robes, unable to meet Draco's eyes.

"This is friendship?" And Draco leaned over and kissed her harshly.

Ginny's heart was pounding in her chest so strongly she could barely breathe. Draco's mouth was taking complete control of hers, his hands holding her cheeks so firmly she dared not move. To her surprise, Ginny found she didn't want to move. She reached for Draco, closing the space between them, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and responded wholly to his kiss. Desperately they clung to each other, breaking one kiss only to move their lips to other tantalizing locations, finally ending with Ginny's forehead pressed to Draco's chest, his face buried in her hair.

"I wish I didn't love you," said Ginny so softly that Draco had to strain to hear her. "My life would be so much easier if I did not."

"Say it," said Draco, his voice thick and muffled. "Say it!"

"I love you," said Ginny into Draco's robes, and he pushed her away a bit and lifted her chin.

"Say it properly!"

"I love you," said Ginny again, face awash with tears. "Dammit! I love you, from the first kiss, and I don't care what anyone thinks. I'd walk with you into the Great Hall today if I could. I love you. There, I've said it half a dozen times, surely that is enough?"

"It could never be enough," said Draco, but he was smiling.

"How many then?" cried Ginny. "I love you, I love you, I love - " She was cut off by Draco's gentle kiss.

When he broke off a moment later, they were both smiling. "I love you too," he said quietly, and the sun was high in the overcast sky before they left the tower.

***

Ginny had long since returned to the Gryffindor tower when Draco began his journey to the Slytherin dungeons. Lost in thought, he did not notice the brewing tension outside the Charms classroom until he was in the thick of it.

"There he is!" shouted Ron Weasley, flanked by Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. "I have a word or two for you, Malfoy! You've gotten me into trouble with Snape for the last time!"

Draco was bewildered. "I've done nothing to you, Weasley," he said quietly. "Go look for someone else."

"Like hell!" said Ron, eyes flashing. Harry laid a restraining arm on his friend, but Ron shook it off and took a step towards Draco. "Snape gave out the marks for our Potions essays today, and failed me because my paper was nothing but a series of insults. I didn't write them, and the handwriting matched yours. What else am I supposed to think, Malfoy, except that you did this to me?"

Draco glanced at the group of Slytherins behind him. Blaise shrugged, but Goyle and Crabbe looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Draco had an idea who might have played the prank on Weasley. He turned back to the angry boy and tried to remain calm.

"I don't play silly games with Gryffindors any longer," he said coldly, and was just turning to walk down the hall when he heard Weasley's shout of rage, and then the crack of a spell being cast. Draco spun around in time to see Ron pointing his wand in his direction, before Crabbe jumped in the way.

The force of the spell that hit Crabbe was so great it toppled the boy over into Draco's arms. Draco fell to his knees, with Crabbe ending up in his lap, and quickly was surrounded by the rest of the Slytherins.

"Get Pomfrey! And Dumbledore!" shouted Blaise, and one of the first year students went running off in the direction of the Infirmary.

"Crabbe?" said Draco, shaking his friend's shoulders. "Vincent?"

Vincent Crabbe blinked, and squinted. His face was contorted in pain. "Sorry, Draco," he whispered. "Thought ... funny ... you've been so odd lately."

Draco winced, knowing what Crabbe meant. "Sorry, Vincent," whispered Draco. "You're not badly hurt, take heart."

"See!" laughed Ron Weasley from the other side of the hall. "Do you see what Slytherins are like? They get their lackeys to take their hits for them! Malfoy won't even stand up to me himself!"

"Ron," said Harry behind him, and tried to pull his friend back.

"Come on, Malfoy!" taunted Ron. "Show some courage!"

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Don't talk to me about courage," he snapped. "You're the one who cursed me while my back was turned, and Crabbe risked himself to protect me. Which of your friends would do that for you?"

Ron's eyes flashed. "Words, Malfoy," he sneered. "I'm waiting." And he stood defiantly in the center of the hallway, wand loose in his hand.

"Ron, this isn't a good idea," said Neville nervously.

"Dumbledore's coming," said Harry.

"No," said Ron. "I've been waiting for this."

Draco stood, careful to ease Crabbe's head to the floor.

"Draco," said Blaise behind him, but Draco did not hear.

"Give me one reason to fight you," said Draco evenly.

Ron grinned. "Because you've wanted to fight me your entire life. Because you hate the name Weasley, and you'd like to rid yourself of me forever."

Draco shook his head slowly, and held out his wand. "Not anymore." And he dropped his wand with a clatter onto the floor.

Ron's face grew red. "Fight me, you damned Slytherin snake!" he shouted, and Harry took him by the shoulders and began to pull him away.

"No," said Draco, and turned his back on him.

Ron let out a scream, and wrestled away from Harry. He leapt forward to Draco, wand raised -

Draco heard the yell, and instantly threw himself to the floor, grabbing Crabbe's wand. He rolled onto his back and pointing the wand at Ron, shouted "Expelliarmus!"

The blast surprised even Draco. Ron had managed to get so close to Draco that he was barely two feet away when the magic hit him. The force of the blast sent Ron flying through the air, backwards across the hall, hitting the wall some twenty feet above the ground. His body hit with a noticeable crunch, and fell to the stone floor with a thud. The Gryffindors, save Harry, ran to Ron's crumpled body.

Draco stared across the hall for a moment, and then looked at Harry, who was staring at him. Harry's green eyes were vacant, shocked, and it was as though the dark haired boy was as lifeless as the body on the far end of the hall.

"He's dead!" came the cry.

"Draco, run!" said Blaise in his ear. "You're a goner if Dumbledore finds you."

"I am fortune's fool," whispered Draco despairingly, and Blaise pulled him from the ground and shoved him away.

"Draco, for the love of Merlin, go!"

Draco ran.

***

Gryffindor Tower was empty, save for Ginny. She was curled up by her window, in her perch, watching the sun set, remembering how it rose when she was with Draco.

Was it only this morning that he said he loved me? And I like a fool mocked him! Like a goose, like a child. I shouldn't trust him but I do. And I suppose at some point we must decide what we will do. Surely this war can't go on forever, and my parents might be won over to his side yet? They only want my happiness - if my happiness is him, they won't hold me from it?

It doesn't matter. This morning I was a child. Now I'm his, and he mine, and it doesn't matter to me anyone what my parents should think. Ginny blushed, and rested her head against the glass. I'll wait for his message, and then run to his side.

The slamming of the entrance door startled her, and she leaned out of her perch to see Harry pace the floor. "Harry!" she cried out gaily. "Do you have a message from my Draco for me?"

Harry stopped pacing and stared at Ginny with wild eyes. He was panting, and his robes were askew. "Message? I've a message indeed! He's dead, Ginny - he's been killed, there is your message!"

It was as though Harry had fired a bullet straight into her heart. All at once she lost all sensation of her body, and the world spun around her. Ginny gripped the curtains surrounding her perch with white knuckles and slid from her seat to the ground. "Dead?" she whispered. "Killed? By whom?"

"Draco, that's who!" shouted Harry, and fell to his own knees before her. Ginny reached out blindly and touched his shoulder.

"He killed himself?" whispered Ginny. "Oh no. Not my Draco!"

"No, not your Draco!" said Harry. "He's only one side of the equation! Here's your message Ginny - Ron is dead and Draco's wand cast the spell!"

Ginny shook her head, and she began to double over. "No - it can't be - he promised - "

Harry took her shoulders and held her straight, shaking her. "Ginny, don't you get it?" he shouted. "Draco killed Ron! I saw him do it, I saw Ron's body. His blood is on my hands!"

Ginny looked at her shoulder and saw the blood staining Harry's fingers. With all her might, she shoved him away from her and stood, and fell onto her perch again.

"He lied to me," she whispered. "A snake who kissed me, a dragon who said he loved me." She looked at Harry. "I trusted him - why?"

Harry's eyes were burning. "He has no regard for promises," he said angrily. "He attacked Ron in front of half the school."

"No!" cried Ginny. "That I'll not believe. I see the hate in your eyes. You've never liked Malfoy, true - but for Ron to pass him in the hall and not make an adverse remark? I'll never believe Draco was unprovoked. I love my brother, but he was rash and quick to anger. I won't hear a word against Draco."

Ginny brushed past Harry, who grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"To find Draco," she replied, her eyes ablaze with anger and unshed tears.

"Every moment you spend with him you dishonor your brother's memory!" snapped Harry.

Ginny shook her arm free of him. "Every moment I stay away, I am untrue to myself," she said, and ran.

***

Ginny wasn't certain of the exact location of the Slytherin dungeons, only that they were near the Potions laboratories. She hadn't gotten very far when she ran into - very literally - Severus Snape.

"Oh, Professor," she said, falling to the floor. "I'm sorry, I - "

"Come with me," said the Potions Master grimly, and he swept down the corridor. Ginny scrambled to her feet and followed his swiftly retreating form. When Snape went into his private offices she paused, and followed him.

Ginny had never been in Snape's office before. She had to stand near the doorway and blink until her eyes adjusted to the dim light. The walls were lined with jars and boxes; dried sprigs of rosemary and thyme hung from the rafters. A cauldron sat smoking in the centre of the room, and on the far end, a desk was overflowing with scrolls, quills, books, and various half-filled flasks. Snape was already sitting at his desk, scribbling furiously onto a piece of parchment, and paying not the slightest heed to the young girl in the doorway.

"Sir?"

"Sit, Miss Weasley," said Snape, and Ginny walked through the room, glancing over her shoulder as if something might jump out at her. She perched on the chair by Snape's desk, ready to run if need be.

"I seldom find Gryffindors roaming the dungeons, Miss Weasley," said Snape, concentrating on his parchment.

"I was looking for someone."

"Ah, yes. I thought as much. Might I remind you that revenge is a dish best served cold?"

"I wasn't looking for revenge," said Ginny, annoyed. "You mistake me for one of my brothers. I know that revenge won't bring my brother back to me."

"Then pray tell, what were you wanting? An explanation? Surely you found that from any number of sources - "

"Not the source that truly matters to me," said Ginny softly.

"Your brother?"

"No," said Ginny, and Snape looked out of the corner of his eye at her.

"I'm sure, Miss Weasley," he said dryly, "that your intentions are noble, but they are pointless. Mr Malfoy has already left Hogwarts, per Dumbledore's edict."

"Left?" Ginny whispered, her face draining of colour. "But ... without leaving me word? Did he not give you a note for me, anything?"

"Why would he leave you a note, Miss Weasley?" said Snape cruelly. "What are you to him but the sister of the boy who tried to kill him?"

Ginny stiffened. "I knew it! I knew Draco could never have struck Ron without cause."

"Your devotion is heart-warming," said Snape dryly.

"Why should Draco be punished for something that was surely done in self-defense!" cried Ginny. "And why should I be punished for loving the one who killed my brother? I could suffer Ron's death far easier if Draco were here with me."

"Your tears are wasted on him, girl. Go to your parents. Lucius Malfoy sheds no tears for Ronald Weasley."

The papers on Snape's desk were swept away, knocking the inkwells and flasks to the floor with a crash. The potions and ink ran together in a puddle on the floor, but neither Ginny nor Snape took notice. Severus Snape looked up from his work to see the young Gryffindor's eyes flashing as she stood opposite him.

"When my parents have spent their tears on Ron, mine will still flow for Draco," said Ginny coldly. "My parents have lost their son, but they have others. I am twice punished, because I have lost my only lover, and that is something I cannot so easily replace."

A movement in the shadows startled them both. "You have not lost me," said the familiar voice, and Ginny nearly fell over with the shock.

"Draco," she whispered, and in a moment was in his arms. Her knees were weak, and she felt the emotions of the last hour burst, and collapsed against him. His arms held her steady, and she leaned against him, the force of her tears near breaking her in half.

"Mr Malfoy," said Snape coolly, "you were to have left nearly half an hour ago."

Draco did not answer, but held Ginny in his arms, his own shoulders heaving. Severus Snape watched the two children for a moment, and it struck him quite quickly that his presence was no longer necessary or even desired. He took the parchment he had been writing, signed it, sealed it and rested it on the now empty desk. Silently he left the room, locking the door behind him.

You ought to tell Dumbledore that Malfoy is still here, he thought to himself. You have worked too hard to gain his trust to risk it for those children's silly affair.

Instead, the Potions Master went to his own private rooms, and there watched the fire for half the night, before finally retiring to bed.

***

Morning does not come to the dungeons. There are no birds to awaken sleeping lovers, nor can one observe how morning light shines on a loved one's sleeping form. It remains dark and cool, and fevered bodies drenched in sweat quickly find ways to keep off the chill of stone walls and floors. Wrapped in each other and blankets besides, lovers might pretend that night stretches on into infinity, and they need never part.

In the world above, day does indeed dawn, and despite their ignorance, the lovers' bliss is soon to end. Others wake and begin their day, to mourn, to plan, to prepare. In the lovers' absence, decisions are made for them and belongings are stowed away. When the lovers wake at last, their fates have already been sealed.

"Why must you leave me?" asked the girl from the rumpled blankets. Transfigured from books sometime earlier, the blankets would eventually fade, but now her companion knelt beside her and lifted her lips to his own.

"I would stay and face Dumbledore's wrath, if you bid me so," he whispered. "What is banishment but another word for Azkaban, if I cannot be with you?"

Ginny shook her head, her hair brushing her shoulders and his chest lightly. "No, you must go, and quickly, before you are discovered."

"I will owl you a dozen times a day," said Draco.

"No! They'll trace the owls back to you," said Ginny. "My brothers will want your head on a platter."

"Then take this," he said, and removed the signet ring from his finger, and set it in her palm, closing her fingers around it and kissing the hand. "Hold to this, and send it to me, that I'll know you need me."

Ginny smiled, and pressed her cheek to his. "Every hour you are gone will be a day to me; every minute another hour. When you see me again, I shall be a withered old hag."

"Never old, never withered," said Draco solemnly. "I can't promise about the hag."

Ginny choked back a laugh, and Draco smiled. "I'll dream of your laughter tonight," he said softly.

"I'll dream of you," said Ginny, and Draco kissed her again. When he pulled away, she kept her eyes closed, and did not reopen them until she heard the flames in the fireplace roar, and hear his voice say the words that took him away.

When she opened them, she was alone.