My Angel

Ginny came home from work feeling as if she were going to collapse. She quickly greeted everyone upon entering, then proceeded to flop down on the couch in the sitting room. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, taking in the warmth of the fire in front of her. Dimly, she could hear the door open then close and urgent voices. She then heard footsteps approaching and she opened her eyes, looking around. Harry and Lupin were standing in the doorway, faces grave. Ginny sat up quickly.

"What's going on?"

"Lucius Malfoy escaped from Azkaban," Harry replied, face composed but his eyes flashing. "We have information about where he and the other Death Eaters are due to strike next."

"Where?"

"Just outside of Hertfordshire, but you're not coming."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous."

"Harry, I'm not a little girl anymore. I know the risks involved, and I'm willing to put my life on the line if it means helping to stop You-Know-Who. I can make my own decisions."

"Yes, but Ginny--"

"Harry," Lupin said calmly, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder, "she's right. She can make her own decisions and she's not a little girl anymore." He then turned to Ginny. "Be ready in two minutes."

"Got it!"

Ginny dashed upstairs and grabbed a small leather case. It contained several different potions for interrogation, healing, antidotes, and even a few poisons. She checked to make sure her wand was stowed, then ran downstairs to find Tonks, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Lupin congregated by the door, as well as Draco, who appeared to be arguing with them.

"Malfoy, Dumbledore was kind enough to offer you a safe haven until Voldemort is defeated, we were kind enough to give it to you, and you're willing to waltz out of here just to act all brave," Harry was saying.

"No, I'm willing to leave to finish what I had started," Draco replied coolly.

"Which is?"

"That's my business."

"Malfoy, unless you tell us what it is you're determined to do, we can't let you out," Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone. "In fact, we really can't let you leave anyway because we're under orders to keep you here where you'll be protected."

"Listen, we're losing time sitting here arguing with him," Ron said, exasperated. "Who cares, if he wants to risk his neck, fine with me. He can't say we didn't try to stop him." He looked up and noticed his sister. "Ready to go, Gin?"

Ginny nodded and joined the group. Lupin was holding an old hat, which he held out. Everyone put a finger on it and waited.

"Three...two...one..."

Ginny felt a jerk behind her navel. In a few moments, they had arrived in some sort of forest, and Ginny stumbled and fell into Draco, who lost his balance and fell as well. There was a moment where they awkwardly looked at each other, then Ginny quickly got up and brushed herself off. Draco followed suit.

Harry was gesturing for them to follow him, and put a finger to his lips to let them know to keep quiet. They crept slowly to the edge of the forest and peered through the trees. They were looking at someone's house...Hermione's parents' house.

"No," Hermione breathed, searching the sky for the dreaded Dark Mark.

"They haven't struck yet," Harry assured her. Of course, there was no Mark in the sky. "We've got one chance to do this right. Lupin and I will be waiting inside. The rest of you will be waiting here to strike once we've surprised them."

"And my parents?" Hermione asked, distressed. Ron put an arm around her and hugged her close, kissing the top of her head.

"They're hidden," Harry replied, pulling something silvery out of the depths of his cloak.

"Remember, don't strike until the signal," Lupin said.

"What's the signal?" Ginny asked.

"A red feather," Harry replied, before disappearing beneath the invisibility cloak along with Lupin.

The sky was cloudy and gray, and it was slowly starting to rain. It was only a light drizzle, so they had nothing to worry about yet. Ron was still holding Hermione close. Draco was leaning against a nearby tree, gazing up at the sky. Tonks was sitting on a large, moss-covered rock, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. Ginny was simply standing in the same place, letting the reality of everything sink in. This was not her first time battling Death Eaters, but this time, Hermione's parents' lives were at stake. She was also going to be fighting alongside Draco, in some way, which in a million years she would have never imagined to happen. She was unaware of the passing of time, and pretty soon she heard a sharp intake of breath from Hermione, who was then shushed by Ron.

Upon looking up, Ginny saw the ranks of the Death Eaters sweeping up the street to the front door. There was only the inner circle, the important ones so to speak, with Voldemort at the head of the group. Their hoods were up, their faces in shadow. Ginny was perplexed, because to her knowledge Voldemort was supposed to be weak, but here he appeared to be able to sweep menacingly up the steps in perfect health. However, she had no time to fathom this because a sudden movement made her look over and see that Draco had whipped out his wand and was now stealthily moving through the trees, closer to the Death Eaters.

"Malfoy!" Ginny hissed. He looked back at her. "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," and with that, he continued on his stealthy way.

There was then a resounding bang as Voldemort blasted away the door. The Death Eaters started slipping into the house. There was another bang, a strangled cry, and then a red feather appeared in the air in front of Ginny. She caught it, held it up, and immediately everyone sprang into action. As they all moved towards the house, Ginny glanced back and caught a glimpse of a blond head in the woods before turning back around and losing track of Draco.

Inside the house, the hexes were already flying. Ginny jumped immediately into the fray, hitting three Death Eaters before her presence became known. She was battling people left and right, along with her comrades, when suddenly a hush fell over the room and everyone stopped and stared, with the exception of Harry and Voldemort, whom everyone could here battling it out upstairs, the noises drifting through the floorboards. Draco was standing at the foot of the stairs, wand in hand, his expression triumphant. There was a body at his feet; the same white-blond hair, the same cold, gray eyes, the same pale complexion.

Lucius Malfoy was dead, at the hands of none other than his only son.

Ginny gasped upon seeing the body, cold and lifeless. She then shifted her gaze to Draco, who was breathing hard through his nose, his hair damp and sweaty and hanging in his eyes. His gray eyes, so often cold and forbidding, now flashed with a fire Ginny had never seen before. He had killed his own father, though the reason was one that Ginny could only speculate for the time being.

The Death Eaters all Disapparated with one loud crack! The noises continued from upstairs for a few more minutes, and then there was silence. Harry thundered down the stairs, sweaty and red-faced, saying:

"They must've given him a Strengthening Solution," Harry panted. "He just suddenly up and Disapparated. I have no idea why..." He trailed off upon looking around Draco, who was blocking his path down the stairs, and seeing Malfoy Sr.'s corpse. He looked from it to Draco, then back again, his expression that of complete and utter shock.

"That definitely gives new meaning to the term 'unfinished business,'" Ron remarked, breaking the silence. Draco looked around at everyone, his expression cryptic, and launched into a very short explanation.

"He deserved that," he said, his tone cold. "He deserved that more than anyone. He made my life a living Hell, so I sent him straight to the real one." He bent down and pushed his father's eyelids shut. "Goodbye, Father dearest," he said mockingly, taking his father's wand and staring at it for a moment, before breaking it in two. Ginny just gaped, absolutely stunned over what she had just witnessed.

Draco looked around at everyone, took one final look at his father's corpse, then Disapparated with a crack that seemed to echo in the silent house.

~~~~~

The next day, Ginny worked from home (or rather Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place), being too tired to go into the office. She hauled her stacks of letters, parchment, quills, and her inkwell down to the sitting room, where she flopped down onto the couch in front of the fire and got straight to work, cup of coffee in hand. Once again, the letter that she could not answer caught her eye. She quickly shoved it out of sight. She worked steadily until around noon, when she was interrupted by a knock. She looked up and saw her mother rapping on the doorjamb with her knuckles, as tray in her other hand.

"Ginny, dear, I've brought you some sandwiches and pumpkin juice." She brought the tray over and laid it down on the coffee table. Ginny thanked her mother and put her work aside, pulling the tray onto her lap. As she was eating, Draco wandered into the room, so quietly that when he came around into Ginny's view, she jumped.

"Malfoy! Holy crap, what're you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Ginny exclaimed.

Draco simply shrugged and sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her. Snuffles came wandering into the room and Draco scratched him behind the ears, while the dog panted happily. Ginny smiled; seeing the evil Draco Malfoy look soft while petting a dog was quite a sight indeed.

"What?" Draco asked, seeing her smiling.

"Nothing, nothing at all..." Ginny replied, returning to her lunch. When she was done, she found that Draco was now gazing into the dancing flames.

"So," Ginny found herself saying, "what did your father do to you?"

Draco looked at her, and for a moment Ginny regretted having asked that question. For a second, she could've sworn she saw pain in his eyes, but it passed so quickly that she was sure she had imagined it. It seemed as though he wasn't going to answer, but then he sighed.

"He used to beat me," Draco said quietly, "whenever I didn't do as he wished. He believed that pain was the best teacher. He used to beat me every time I messed up, or didn't agree with him. I learned at an early age to block out emotion. When people called me an unfeeling bastard, they weren't that far off."

Ginny looked at him. She had had no idea of his tough life. But that didn't change the fact that he was evil, she added as an afterthought. That was no excuse to have tormented her. Though she told herself this, she couldn't help think that she had secretly hoped he hadn't had a reason for killing his father, so she could have something really bad for which to hate him, so she wouldn't feel like she was actually starting to like him. No, Ginny, you do not like Draco Malfoy in the least! Though she had to admit, she had a heightened respect for him since he had gotten rid of his father, who had been a prominent Death Eater.

There was an awkward silence in which they both stared into the fire. Then Ginny, ever the straightforward one, asked a question.

"Why do you hate me?" Ginny asked. She immediately saw the vulnerable side of him, which had surfaced while he talked about his father, melt away and he returned to his usual self.

"Who says I hate you, Weasley?"

"Well, gee, the fact that you spent all six years that we were at Hogwarts together making fun of me, that was bit of a giveaway."

"Who says I haven't changed?"

"Well..."

"Who says I wasn't like that to please my father, or to protect myself from feeling, or simply because I was a stuck-up schoolboy?"

"Er..."

"I'm not the same person I was then, Weasley."

Ginny fixed him with an even gaze. "Prove it."

Draco met her gaze for a moment, then, keeping his eyes locked with hers, got up and walked to stand right in front of her. He then leaned down and braced himself against the back of the couch with his arms on either side of her, his face inches from hers, never once breaking eye contact. They gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like ages, Ginny noticing how terribly hot he was. Finally, Draco tore his eyes way and stood upright again.

"I don't have to prove anything to anyone, especially not you, Weaselette," he said, his Malfoy air returning as though the past few minutes had never happened. Ginny felt herself start to get angry with him, though the reason was one that she couldn't figure out. She made a frustrated noise, then gathered her things and stormed out.

As she stomped up the stairs, Ginny's mind replayed again and again what had just happened. He had been so close, and she had felt something, something that scared her. She had felt actual chemistry between them. But then he pulled away and took up his conceited Malfoy tone again, and her heart, which had risen on a bubble of hope, had fallen. She made another frustrated noise as she reached her room and shut the door, not even knowing why she bothered with him.

It had been so much easier when I hated him and was convinced that he was evil scum without the capacity of feeling! Ginny thought as she flopped onto her bed, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. But she had seen real emotions flash behind his eyes in that moment when he had let his guard down. And she had felt real emotions in her heart too, as he held her gaze like he never had before.