Goodnight Sweet Girl

Seventeen: Everybody's Fool

Draco entered the school, fighting to keep his composure as everything seemed to hit him and fall into place. Yes, something hit him all right. Something caught him in the back of the head, and he immediately fell into darkness...

Slowly feeling returned as he regained consciousness, and then he groaned and began to open his eyes, only to close them against the harsh light in the room. Fear laced up his spine and his headache was forgotten, as he opened his eyes once again, this time keeping them open and getting them accustomed to the light.

He looked around the room, recognizing every inch of it. He was in Malfoy Manor, or more precisely he was in his father's study. He tried to move, but found that his wrists and ankles were bound magically to the chair he sat on. The harder he struggled the tighter the bonds held. Draco sighed and melted into the chair, awaiting whatever else fate had in store for him.

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Harry grew tired of the view quickly. He gathered up the basket that had held their food, he folded up the comforter, and then he noticed Draco's sketchbook laying on the ground by the tree Draco had been leaning against. Harry knelt down, picked it up and began flipping through it. He stopped at the most recent drawing, a landscape of the lake and the edges of the Forbidden Forest.

He then turned to the next page of the sketchbook and instead of a drawing found a poem written in the small neat writing that was Draco's hand:

I thought it would be easy;

It's different when you try.

Oh, how hard it can be

Just to say goodbye.

Choices that I have made,

Leave in me nothing to be saved.

There is something pulling at me.

I can't be certain,

My conscience, maybe?

Who dares to call me back?

Who could hold dear my sorrowful remains?

I can't go back, I wouldn't be the same.

What ladens me with shame,

And makes me regret that I am changed?

I can't be taken back,

Can you not see?

Stop being selfish,

Please set me free.

Looking back, I feel the first tears in my eye,

Even the happy moments make me cry.

It's very different to try,

It can't be easy

To just say goodbye,

Not even when you die.

So for my last breath,

I'm left only a whisper to yell,

Cruel world, I owe to you only farewell.

Closing my eyes one final time,

I know I tried,

But still, I couldn't say goodbye.

Harry swallowed thickly as he read through the poem several times over. Fear raced up Harry's spine, and he knew that something was wrong, something had happened. He quickly closed the sketchbook and ran towards the castle, leaving the comforter and food basket in his wake. He headed straight for Gryffindor Tower. He quickly gave the fat lady the password and ran in, the book clutched against his chest and shouted out Draco's name.

The Gryffindors in the common room looked at him in stunned silence, wondering what was going on. Harry Potter looked like a madman holding a sacred book against his chest. Ron and Hermione rose from their chairs by the fire and rushed over to Harry to find out what was wrong.

"Harry? Where is Draco?" Hermione asked gently.

Harry turned wild green eyes in her direction. "Draco's not here? But he left me out there almost ten or fifteen minutes ago. He should be here. He left his sketchbook out there and I found it. Oh, gods! Hermione, check your room or the bathrooms, just hurry."

"Whoa, mate, slow down, what's got your knickers in a twist? Draco hasn't been in the tower since this morning. No one's seen him come in. We thought he was with you..." Ron said and was cut off by Harry.

"I think something might have happened to him, or maybe he did something to himself. Someone go check the hospital wing, say it's an emergency and they can't take house points," Harry continued in a rant. "Well go! Isn't anyone going to help me?!"

Hermione looked at Harry and then asked, "What has you thinking like this?"

Without another word Harry turned to the poem in Draco's sketchbook and handed it to Hermione. She read over the poem, her eyes growing wide and her hand flying up to cover her mouth as it fell open. "Oh Circe!" she said and then took charge. "Well you heard him people! Move! Creevy brothers check all the boys' dorms, Neville, hospital wing, Dean, Seamus to the library, Ron check the prefect's bathrooms, Parvati, Lavender, you check all of the girl's bathrooms. Harry you come with me."

With that the whole of Gryffindor broke up into several search parties and began to scour the school not caring about curfew. Harry and Hermione went upstairs to her room, but needless to say Draco wasn't there, and then they headed straight to the headmaster's office. Harry knew that something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones, and then his scar began to burn.

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The door of his father's study was shoved open and a very pregnant girl with bright red hair was thrown into the room. Draco looked up and saw Ginny and he closed his eyes feeling sympathy for the poor girl. She'd never asked for any of this, and yet fate had dealt her a cruel blow. The door was shut as soon as she was inside.

Her whole body was shaky, her face and clothes were dirty, and tears streaked her face. Draco felt something constricting his chest and realized that it was the urge to cry. He swallowed thickly and looked at the trembling girl.

"Ginny," he whispered in that soft elemental voice that had been his since that fateful December day. She looked up and then he continued, "Are you all right? What happened? Who took you?"

She whimpered and then slowly crawled toward the chair that Draco was bound to. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear and worry. "I don't know, but they took my mum and dad, and they separated me from them. I was taken here. They were wearing black robes and white masks, so that would make them Death Eaters, but I couldn't tell who exactly they were. I wish I had my wand."

Draco sighed and then sat up bolt straight. Ginny had mentioned a wand, but Draco didn't need a wand. He could feel the moonstone beneath the sweater he wore, and it began to grow warmer against his skin, as did the ring on his right ring finger, the ring with the stone that had been the seat of Morgana Le Faye's power.

Draco focused on the ring and he felt electricity begin to spark in his blood until fire raged in his veins. The ring on his right finger began to glow and Ginny Weasley quickly back away until she was pressed against the wall, as Draco finally stood up from the chair, rubbing his wrists and taking a few steps.

"That's much better, now Ginny, what do you say to getting out of this place? I'm sure we could find a way to get safely back to Hogwarts and then we will alert Dumbledore that Death Eaters have your parents. For now, however, you are my priority. So are you ready to go?"

"How did you do that?" she asked in awe.

A small smile tugged at his lips. "The power has been awakened in my blood, now we need to get out of here, before my father arrives."

Ginny nodded, and then Draco reached out and took the slight feminine hand of Draco Malfoy. She felt an immense power radiating throughout the pale girl with the silvery blonde hair. Ginny took a deep sharp breath and Draco held up his hand toward the door of the study and it flew back off of its hinges. Then together the two went out into the corridor and Draco began to lead the way out of the house he'd once known as home. He had one destination in mind, knowing that once he was in his bedroom he could Apparate with Ginny to the gates of Hogwarts and they would be safe.

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Harry and Hermione made it to the gargoyle just as it stepped aside and the headmaster stepped out of the spiral stairwell leading to his office, and he appeared very grave indeed. He looked at Harry and Hermione and then asked about the whereabouts of Mr. Weasley.

Hermione and Harry exchanged a look as Hermione said, "Headmaster, why would you want to talk to Ron? Draco is the one missing."

"Draco?" the headmaster said and his eyes widened. "It is as I feared. It appears that our young Draco and the Weasleys have been taken, and if I am correct in my assumptions I suspect Death Eaters were the perpetrators, and this kidnapping was orchestrated by Voldemort."

Suddenly Harry moaned, his eyes shutting with a snap as images of an elaborately decorated study and a pale young silvery blonde haired woman bound to a chair filled his mind, then flashes of red hair and cold stone rooms with chains hanging from the walls flashed before his closed eyes. His scar burned fiercely as he collapsed to his knees, breathing hard, and suddenly looking around wildly.

"Voldemort wants to use Draco's power. He knows about the prophecy, and he has Ginny. I think I might have seen something like a dungeon with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but I'm not sure. Oh gods! I think he wants to kill Ginny..." Harry trailed as he couldn't bring himself to speak anymore, and then darkness flooded his blurred vision and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

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Draco rounded the last corner of the corridor, his hand firmly grasping Ginny's. She was out of breath and needed a rest, but they couldn't afford the time to stop, so they pressed onward, and finally they reached their destination, Draco's bedroom. The one place that only Draco could Apparate from. Draco threw open the door and hastily pushed Ginny in before him.

There were shouts coming from the corridors, and Draco knew that time was running out. He quickly closed, locked, and warded the door, and then he noticed Ginny crawl over to his bed, struggling desperately to catch her breath. She looked at the lovely young woman that was Draco Malfoy, her eyes wide as she looked around the room, noticing that there was no way out except for the way they'd come.

"We're trapped," she managed to wheeze.

He hurried over and took the redhead's hands into his and looked her straight in the eye, noticing the flecks of gold in the chocolate brown for the first time. She really was a pretty girl. He brushed away that thought quickly as a loud banging from the other side of the door brought him back to the present.

"Ginny," Draco said and she let out a deep breath as he continued, "I know how this looks, but I can get us out of here. We have to go now, but I need to know if you trust me, because this can only work if you trust me."

"What do I have to do?" she asked calmly.

He smiled, "Good girl, now we are going to have to Apparate to Hogwarts. You see I'm the only one who can Apparate from this room. My father would have to go to his room to Apparate, and all of the other Death Eaters would have to go out onto the grounds to Apparate, so that will give us time to get safely into Hogwarts. Of course if I am to Apparate with you in your current condition I need your complete trust in me. It's the only chance I know of, unless we wait for Harry to come barging in with a raging battle cry and a nice fireworks show."

Ginny smiled at the mention of Harry and then she jumped as another loud bang sounded from the door. She bit her bottom lip and then made her decision. "As good as the fireworks sound, we can't afford to wait that long. I trust you Draco, now hurry, get us out of here."

With that the pale blonde girl wrapped her arms around the younger redhead whose slight form was bulging from the child in her womb and a moment and a loud crack later they were huddled before the gate of Hogwarts.

Ginny opened her eyes; she hadn't even realized that she'd closed them. She looked up at Draco wide eyed and saw that the blonde was opening her eyes as well. Draco then helped her to stand and hustled her through the gates, and once they were inside he lifted his hand and the gate clanged shut and glowed fierce silver, with a ward of protection. Then the two hurried to the castle as quickly as they could, Ginny clinging to Draco for support, because she didn't know how much longer her legs could support her.

They were almost there, ten feet from the castle steps when Ginny collapsed completely. Draco knew that he couldn't leave her there. He looked at the girl and feared using a levitation charm on her because of her condition. Then he turned to the castle and saw his solution. There stood Blaise.

"Blaise!" Draco shouted, and the Slytherin turned and upon seeing Draco kneeling over a pregnant girl he ran out.

"Draco?! You're back. I heard that you'd been kidnapped!" Blaise said and then his eyes widened as he looked at the unconscious girl on the ground. "Oh dear Merlin! Is that Ginny Weasley?"

Draco nodded, "Yes, now could you help me get her inside? I don't know how long we have before the Death Eaters show up, and once they do I have no idea how long the ward I put over the gate will hold. The gate is the only penetrable thing about the entire school."

"How do you know that?" Blaise asked as he hefted up a very pregnant Ginny Weasley into his arms.

Draco rolled his eyes, and sounding a bit like Hermione, said, "Doesn't anyone ever read Hogwarts: A History?"

Blaise groaned under the weight of Ginny Weasley and soon Draco and Blaise were moving as quickly as possible toward the doors of the castle. Once they were inside they ran into a surprised Snape, who relieved Blaise of his burden and carried Ginny Weasley to the hospital wing with Draco and Blaise following close behind.

They ran into several Gryffindors along the way, all of whom were surprised to see Draco back, and even more stunned by the fact that Snape was carrying a very unconscious and pregnant Ginny Weasley to the hospital wing. Finally they reached the hospital wing, where Snape laid Ginny down on the nearest bed, and Madam Pomfrey bustled over to have a look at her, as did Ron Weasley who'd been standing vigil at another bed, and it was the other bed surrounded by Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom, that caught Draco's attention. He hurried over and saw the form of his fiancé out cold on the mattress, his complexion the same color as the white sheets of the bed.

Those surrounding the bed looked up startled as Draco joined them, but Draco didn't notice them. All he saw was Harry lying deathly pale on that hospital bed, and he felt something ripping apart inside of him.

He looked across the bed at Albus Dumbledore and then asked, "How long has he been like this?"

Dumbledore looked up gravely at the young fair skinned silvery haired woman. "For the past several hours I'm afraid. He had a vision of you, Miss Weasley, and Arthur and Molly Weasley, and shortly afterward he fainted. He is very weak and has lost a gret deal of energy, energy that is used to sustain life. It does not look good for our young Mr. Potter."

Draco sucked in a deep breath of air, and suddenly it was clear in his mind, and he knew what to do. He reached at the back of his neck, undoing the clasp of the delicate chain around his throat and then he took the stone from beneath his shirt. He then took Harry's left hand in his right hand, and placed the wishing stone between their joined palms. Draco looked up at the people crowded around Harry's bed.

"I'm everybody's fool, fate's, my father's, the Slytherin's. I've always played into their hand. This is my moment, where I choose, where I bend fate to my will. Harry will die unless I can do something about it. It's his scar. My father mentioned something about it over the summer, I didn't know what he meant, but it's how Voldemort is gaining power, he's taking it from Harry. Tonight Harry opened the door for him to take it all. I was used against Harry, but I know what I have to do," Draco said and then he locked eyes with Dumbledore. "Tell them to stay back, whatever happens, and if anything should happen to me, tell him I loved him."

A sob hitched in Hermione's throat, and Ron hurried over as he'd heard Draco's words. Minerva McGonagall looked at the young woman and noticed how the pale silvery haired girl seemed almost to be made of light. Her hand rose to her mouth in horror as she realized what the young woman meant to do.

"Please, Headmaster, get them back now, or I will do it," Draco said.

Dumbledore ushered them back, having a hard time with Hermione and Ron, finally it was Seamus and Neville that managed to pull back Ron, while McGonagall held on to Hermione. They all watched as pale blue light began to emit from the interlocked hands of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

Strange ancient words began to fall from the lips of the pale young woman as the light grew brighter until it was blinding to look upon and surrounded the young couple, then the two began to rise in the air, both convulsing as the power surged through them both, then the light became green, and finally disappeared and Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter fell back to earth, Harry landing unceremoniously on the bed and Draco falling, barely prevented from hitting the floor as Snape rushed forward and caught the girl in his arms. She felt light, almost weightless, and she was boneless in his arms.

Suddenly the girl arched forward, her eyes snapping opened, and she looked around, her eyes mismatched, the right lavender and the left a bright green, and from her lips spilt a voice that seemed to be composed of the purest light and magic, "My will is done, and now my blood is left to their own fate. You my good servant," the voice from the girl's mouth said as the girl's pale hand lifted and pointed to Dumbledore, "Shall receive many thanks and rewards, sent from Avalon. I thank you for aiding me in gaining my freedom. And many blessings to all those witness."

Then the pale girl turned to look at the man holding her. She smiled at him, her mismatched eyes locking with Severus Snape's black ones. "You have redeemed yourself to light. Think nothing of your past my child. You are free and pure once again." And with that the girl leaned up, one hand snaking to the back of Snape's neck, drawing him down until their lips met in a chaste kiss.

Snape nearly dropped the girl as something surged through him, a power, a burning power rushed from where his lips touched the pure girl until it flowed through his body, and the burning became most searing on his left arm, the arm bearing the mark. He set the girl down on her feet and when the girl pulled back, he felt years younger, and all of his past burdens were lifted away.

The girl then looked up at him. "I have but one request of you Severus," she stopped and looked at the black haired man, smiling at the change that had overcome him, his black hair was no longer greasy, but silky and healthy, his skin was no longer sallow, but fair, and the age had dropped away from him, and he looked to be about in his early to mid twenties. He looked at her in awe and she smiled at him, her fingers lightly tracing down his cheeks. "Use wisely the time I have given you and take care of my dragon and his brother, see to it that my dragon marries the other half of his soul, for he nearly sacrificed himself to breathe life into his love."

Then the girl turned to face the rest of the people in the room, all of them staring at the girl they'd known as Draco Malfoy, and yet they knew that they were seeing someone else. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Neville, and Blaise all watched in awe, a few with their mouths hanging open.

"All of you bear witness to the sacrifice that was made tonight, and you bear witness to a great change in the fate of my blood. Take care to remember this moment always, and let it be known that I and mine are no longer cursed to bad fate, but have become as everyone else. We have been given the power to choose. So now as with my first change their eyes may reflect the new power the lies within the blood of mine," she said, and then slowly walked toward where the unconscious Ginny lay. She placed her hand gently on Ginny's rounded stomach where her baby rested. She smiled and then kissed the girl's cheek lightly. "Little mother, you have been greatly harmed, but this child is special, as you will know upon looking into his eyes. See that he is given a wonderful life, child."

She then turned to the others in the room. "When my dragon awakes, tell him that he has been given a new name, my true name, he is no longer the Dragon of Bad Fate, but simply the Dragon of Fate. He that is in a woman's body will now be Draco Le Faye. That is my final wish."

And with that the pale figures eyes closed and she slumped to the floor. The glowing light surrounding the pale form faded and there in its wake lay Draco, unconscious and on the floor. Madam Pomfrey rushed to the girl's side and then Severus hurried over and gathered the girl in his arms and put her on the bed beside Harry's. Hermione and Ron drew closer to the bed and Hermione gasped as she noticed something about Harry, the lightning shaped scar was gone.

She then looked at Snape and said, "Professor Snape, sir, Harry's scar is gone, quick lift up your left sleeve."

Snape looked at the girl as though she were mad until he noticed that Potter's scar was indeed gone, then he lifted up his sleeve and saw that the dark mark was gone. He looked up and his eyes met with the twinkly blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore, and then Severus Snape sat down in a chair by Draco's bed and wept in happiness. Those gathered in the room, already stunned from everything that had happened, simply gaped at the weeping Potions Master.