Grey Clouds

Mr. Weasley stared with disbelief at his daughter, her eyes welling up with tears. The room had fallen silent and all eyes were fixed on the sobbing red head.

"Ginny, get up," Mrs. Weasley said to her daughter, biting her lip nervously.

"No, Mum. I love him, and I'm not leaving him."

"Ginny, listen...just get up..." Mrs. Weasley pleaded. She reached for her daughter's arm that was still clinging on to Draco. She tried to hold it, but Ginny shrugged her off.

Draco got up off the floor, with Ginny by his side. He stood by the wall, Ginny still holding him and stared at faces flooded with anger and disbelief.

"Just come over here, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley urged, but she didn't budge. "Arthur, try to reason with her!"

Mr. Weasley didn't react immediately nor did he speak abruptly. He looked at the sight and finally uttered a few words after a heavy silence. "How long has this been going on?"

Ginny looked at Draco, and he knew how scared she was. They were both in this together. He loved her, she loved him, and that was it. He nodded to her gently and looked at Mr. Weasley. "A few weeks."

"And in these few weeks," Mr. Weasley said to Ginny, his voice building up, "you couldn't have sat down for one moment and told us about this?"

"Dad, I'm sorry," Ginny pleaded. "I was going to tell when it was the right time. I didn't want you to find out about Draco until you were ready."

"We were never going to be ready for this, Ginny!" Mr. Weasley bellowed. "This man came into our house and tried to defame your family-"

"It's not true, Dad!" Ginny urged. "He didn't know this was going to happen, I promise you. Draco didn't know that Scrimgeour was going to break into your vault."

Mr. Weasley ignored his daughter, who was now sobbing profusely, and turned to Draco. "Do you know what I've always prided myself in, Draco?" he asked, disappointed. "Even through the worst of times, when we had little food, I could take pride in my family. We were always together, there for each other, in the worst of times."

Draco looked away, unable to bear the look of sadness in Mr. Weasley's eyes. Mr. Weasley continued, "I have always taken pride in the honestly of my family. We may have been poor, but we always had our morals, especially Ginny. She was always the best of us all, always praying before bedtime, helping us with work that wasn't hers, and talking to us whenever she had a problem."

Draco looked at Ginny. Tears were escaping her eyes at a remarkably fast pace.

"But today," Mr. Weasley said, "when I look at my girl, I'm not proud. She lied to us about something as big as this. She hid a terrible secret from us and that was because of you, Draco."

Draco looked up immediately. "I'm a man of principle," Mr. Weasley said, "so, I'm going to give you one last chance. Not the chance at forgiveness but a chance to leave this house, leave our lives and never show your face ever here again."

"Dad, please," Ginny sobbed.

"Ginny!" Bill said firmly. He walked over and pulled his sister away from Draco. She resisted, but he pulled harder and finally broke the two apart. Ginny felt herself give in as Bill turned to Hermione. "Take Ginny upstairs, Hermione."

Hermione nodded silently and gently held Ginny's hand, patting it soothingly. Ginny's salty tears drenched her face as Athena and Fleur came up from behind and went with them upstairs. Ginny turned and met Draco's eyes one last time, gazed into his pale grey pupils and saw the defeat that echoed within.

***

When Ginny and the others were finally out of sight, Bill turned to Draco, his wand at the ready. "You're very lucky, Malfoy," he said angrily. "If my father wasn't this generous, you would be on the floor right now with a few missing limbs."

"Take your chance now," Charlie said. "If you don't go, you're going to be in a lot of pain."

Draco didn't say anything. He just gazed at the empty stairwell, where Ginny had stood a moment ago. He felt his heart weigh him down heavily as he tried to think of words to express what he was feeling. "I'm sorry," he said after a while. "I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you."

Fred and George were ready to jump on him, but Mrs. Weasley gave them a stern look as Draco continued sombrely, "I'm sorry that this happened. My Portkey is arranged to leave in an hour. I'll go get my luggage."

He was leaving. He braced himself for the painful months that would lie ahead as he tried to get over the only woman he ever truly loved.

***
Upstairs, Ginny was in her room, sobbing uncontrollably on Hermione's shoulder. Fleur and Athena were at the top of the staircase, trying to listen to what was happening downstairs, but Ginny didn't care. She had seen that look in Draco's eyes and she'd known. He was going to leave her; Ginny knew how much Lucius's imprisonment had affected Draco's perception of family. Under no circumstances was Draco going to make Ginny sacrifice her family for him.

It was over.

Suddenly, Athena came slowly into the room and sat down beside Ginny. She stroked her hair soothingly and grabbed her hand. "Ginny," she said quietly, "Draco's leaving."

Ginny was quite certain that she heard her heart shatter into millions of pieces at the point. "He's finished packing, and he's leaving in a half hour. Your father has forbidden him from seeing you."

Hermione patted Ginny's cheek and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Ginny."

"But," Athena said, "he's allowed Draco to speak to you one last time before he leaves."

Ginny didn't reply. It was too much for her to take. She just sobbed until she heard a soft voice call her. "Ginny."

Ginny looked up immediately and saw Draco standing in her doorway. She looked at Hermione, who nodded. The two girls exited the room, leaving Draco and Ginny alone.

"This is it," Draco said, unable to contain the sadness. He looked over at Ginny's red face and smiled gently. "Don't worry, Ginny."

"How can I not worry, Draco? I'm never going to see you again."

"Ginny, our paths crossed that one winter morning, and I know that they'll cross once again. This isn't the end of our story, I promise you. We will meet again."

Ginny wasn't all that comforted, but she still embraced Draco. "I love you," she whispered into his ear.

"I love you too, and I always will."

"I know."

Draco placed one last kiss on her cheek and went towards the door. "Wait," Ginny said. She reached into her drawer and pulled out something that she placed in Draco's hands. He looked down at the item that Ginny had just given him and saw the diamond necklace. He remembered putting this on her neck at the Ministry Ball and smiled. "I gave this to you," he said, "and it's yours."

Ginny shook her head. "If we do meet again," she said, "I want you to give this to me when we do."

With one final glance at each other, Draco walked downstairs and left the Burrow, as Ginny looked out the window and into the stars. Her mother had always told her that these stars contained our fates. Somebody had written the destiny of every person and placed it in the stars. Ginny gazed at the millions of twinkling sparkles, praying Draco was her destiny. She wept to herself. If these stars wouldn't give her the destiny she wanted, she would squeeze them, twist them and tread over them to meet the man she loved.

***

The next day passed much happier. The whole family was in high spirits that Draco had gone, but all of them were worried about Ginny. She had been neither eating nor sleeping properly and rarely spoke anymore. Tonight was Christmas Eve, and a week later, it was New Years. Soon after the holidays, everyone was due to return back to their own homes, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were worried if Ginny would be okay by herself.

Ron was sitting by the window in his own room, Hermione by his side.

"Did you eat lunch yet?" he asked his fiancée.

She nodded quietly. "Don't worry, the Healers said that the baby is fine. If anyone, it's Ginny whom you should be worried about."

"Is there something wrong with her?"

"Not medically, but she still isn't eating her meals properly. I'm worried, Ron."

"I know," Ron sighed. "I...I just can't stand to see her like this. She used to be so bubbly and spirited, and now..." Ron looked at the window and crumpled a piece of parchment in his hand.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, gesturing to the piece of paper in Ron's hand.

"It's from Harry," Ron said. "He said that he's coming back tonight."

"Harry? Oh my...Ron, Harry doesn't know about any of this." Hermione squirmed.

"What's the big deal, Hermione?" Ron asked. "We'll just tell him when he gets back. I bet he'll be pretty happy to see Malfoy gone."

"Ron, it's- you don't understand..." Hermione stuttered. She wasn't sure if she should tell Ron, but circumstances called for it.

"Hermione, is there something you're not telling me?" Ron asked shrewdly.

Hermione laughed. "You have become smarter, haven't you?"

"I've learned from the best," he said, winking at Hermione. "What is it?"

"Ron, Harry doesn't know that Malfoy and Ginny were...are in love."

"Does it really matter?" Ron asked thickly.

"You know what, Ron?" Hermione said sarcastically. "I don't think you've gotten any smarter. Think about it...have you ever seen Harry happy with another woman?"

Ron thought about it a moment and shook his head. "Not really. Well, unless you count Ginny. Harry always seems to be really happy around her and-"

"Exactly," Hermione said as she saw Ron's expression suddenly flash in understanding. "Harry's still in love with Ginny."

Ron was stumped. "Now that you mention it, he's always...I dunno...so cheerful around her..."

"Exactly, Ron. Harry has never been happier with anyone else, but Ginny has. She was overjoyed when she was with Draco. Trust me, I noticed her mood change. She was always so positive and just giggly."

"So, what does this mean? Do we tell Harry?"

"Alright, promise me you won't say anything to anyone about this. I think Harry's going to tell Ginny how he feels, but I'm not so sure it's a good idea anymore."

"Why not? Ginny needs to know how Harry feels..."

"Ron, Ginny's in love with Draco Malfoy. She's in love with someone else."

"That doesn't matter. Hermione, you and I both know that Harry and Ginny are perfect for each other. For the love of God, they're more compatible than you and I are."

Hermione smiled. "I know," she sighed, "and I'm almost positive that Harry's going to talk to Ginny before the holidays are over."

"Then we don't tell him about Malfoy," Ron said flatly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think we should tell Harry about anything that happened between Malfoy and Ginny. We'll just say he left or something...unless Ginny tells him."

"Don't worry about that," Hermione said. "If she wanted to tell Harry, she would've told him a long time ago. But...that doesn't mean that she'll agree to go out with Harry."

"Who knows? Maybe she still has feelings for Harry, and maybe this whole Malfoy thing will help her see that she's meant to be with him."

"I...I just don't know, Ron."

"Listen, Hermione, Harry's not going to tell Ginny anything if he finds out that she loves another man. All he needs to do is tell Ginny how he feels so that she knows. When she's ready for a relationship, she'll know that Harry loves her. Right now, she thinks that they're just friends."

"Well, Ronald Weasley," Hermione said, grinning, "I must say you are very attractive when you're so organized and logical. And if it wasn't for my inability to bend down because of this blimp, I would give you a kiss."

***
Narcissa Malfoy was sitting down to dinner when she heard the front door of the villa creak open. At first, she was afraid that a stranger may have broken in, but as a figure came into view, a huge smile broke out on her face.

"Draco!" she said joyously. She got up and hugged her son as tightly as she could.

"Mother..."

Narcissa let go of her son and smiled at him, excitement bubbling in her. "Oh, honey, I can't wait to tell you about all the things that have happened here. You know those wilted rose bushes-"

Narcissa stopped as she saw the look of blankness in Draco's eyes. "What's wrong, Draco?" she asked.

"Nothing...I just...I...it's nothing."

"Come on, sweetheart, cheer up! It's Christmas Eve!

"Yeah...I'm going to...I think I'm going to call it a night."

"Draco, are you quite sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Mother. I'm fine. I just had a very tiring journey. Goodnight."

Draco took his luggage upstairs and walked towards his room. Narcissa watched him go out of sight, and knew there was something wrong. Though she wasn't very great with maternal instincts, any mother could tell when there was something bothering her child. From what Narcissa could tell, it was big.

***
"Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley peered into Ginny's room and saw her reading a book.

"Ginny, I brought you some lunch, sweetheart."

Mrs. Weasley walked inside with a tray full of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. She placed the tray gingerly in front of Ginny and sat down beside her.

"Listen, Ginny, I know you're upset, but you have to understand, what your father did was for your own good."

Ginny didn't reply. She picked up a piece of steamed broccoli and started to chew on it mindlessly. "I need to talk to you about something," Mrs. Weasley said.

"What is it?" Ginny asked in a barely audible voice.

"I want to talk to you about Harry."

"What about Harry?"

"Ginny, I know you're no fool, you know that Harry still has feelings for you."

Ginny didn't respond for a while but nodded sombrely. "He's not very good at hiding these kinds of things," she said quietly.

Mrs. Weasley laughed softly. "No, he isn't. But he loves you very much, and he's returning tonight."

Ginny looked away. "Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said kindly. "Give him a chance. Don't let some other boy come in between something really special."

"He's not some other boy, Mum! I love him! I love Draco!"

"Draco! Draco! That's all I hear. Ginny, it's too late. He's gone; he's out of your life. Let go of the past, Ginny, or one day you'll wake up and find you have nothing left."

Ginny got up and shrugged her mother's hand off. "Mum, please go."

"Life plays cruel tricks, Ginny. One day, you're in love and the next, you're on the street begging. Don't dream too big. Take what you have."

"Mum, please..." Ginny pleaded.

"Please think about it," Mrs. Weasley said. "I love you, Ginny, and I want to see you happy."

"If you wanted to see me happy then-"

"Molly! Come down here!" Mr. Weasley's voice called from downstairs. "Harry's here!"

***