Learning to Breathe

She boards the train home from Hogwarts with a heavy heart. Things have changed dramatically for her since the last time she was at home, and she knows that her parents are going to want to talk to her as soon as she walks in the front door. It is not a conversation that she's looking forward to.

Draco has already told her that he'll be behind her in boarding the train, but that he wants her to save room for him in the compartment she chooses. She smiles to herself as she selects the smallest compartment on the train and hoists her bags onto the shelf above her seat.

Draco has been true to his word since giving her the promise ring. He has not kept her hidden in any capacity, no matter who has asked him about her. He has even braved the Gryffindor table to sit with her, and to her surprise, no one has (to her knowledge) ever said a word to him about it.

She sits down to wait for him, and turns her head to look out of the window. She wonders how the rest of her family will react to seeing Draco at the Burrow. She doesn't doubt him any longer when he says that he'll be there sometime; he's proven to her a hundred times over that despite what people think, he is nothing less than a man of his word.

She looks up when the door to the compartment opens, and before Draco can close the door again, she has launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He chuckles and guides them both to the long seat, and wraps his arm around her shoulders as they sit down.

"Goodbyes go all right without incident, love?" he asks, resting his left ankle on his right knee. She smiles and rolls her eyes.

"Well, sort of. Millicent Bulstrode asked if we were going to get married over the summer."

"Mad cow."

"I know," she says, snuggling closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "But everything else went fine. You looked wonderful this morning."

"Hard to believe that graduation is over."

"It's even harder to believe that my brothers didn't hex you to hell and back when you planted that kiss on me in front of them." He laughs at this.

"I don't think that they're as opposed to the idea of us together as you like to think."

"It's strange how they've almost accepted you," she agrees.

The rest of the train ride home is mostly quiet, though there is scattered conversation throughout. She is mostly content to be within the circle of his arms, and he is more than content to hold her.

When they reach King's Cross Station, he pulls her to him for a deep, intense kiss. When they part, he is surprised to see tears welling up in her eyes. "All right there, love?"

"I just don't like the thought of having to leave you," she admits, sighing. She brushes the moisture away from her cheeks and smiles at him. "I'm so used to sneaking up to your room to sleep in your bed with you that I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do without you."

"You have plenty of sleeping draughts, don't you?" he asks, absentmindedly playing with the back of her long hair.

"I do," she concedes, nodding. "It's just not as fun as sleeping next to you, though."

They say their goodbyes and he promises to owl at least once a week before he leaves with his Mother, and she goes home with her family. Four whole days pass with no word from him, and she begins to mope. Perhaps he's decided that she is a silly little girl after all, and he's found better things to do.

She is tossing and turning in her bed in an attempt to force her body to rest without the draught, but it doesn't seem to be working. Her brow is sweaty and her nightshirt is clinging to her skin, so she kicks off the covers. Her room has always been overly warm in the summer and too drafty in the winter, but she has never gotten used to the inconsistent temperature.

She is about to get out of bed and head downstairs for a glass of water when she hears a tapping on her window. She looks up, and to her surprise, there is a large black owl at the window. She gets up and slides the window open, and the owl drops a parchment in her lap before perching himself on the headboard of her bed.

She sees the deep crimson wax seal with a large, regal-looking M pressed into it, and excitement floods through her. It must be from him.

19 June

Ginny,

I'm not going to waste time with the usual pleasantries of asking how you're doing. Why? Because if you're doing anything like me, you're happy to be home, but you're miserable about it, too. I have missed you more in these last few days than I ever thought possible, and that's saying something.

I'm sorry it took so long to write - as soon as I returned home, Mother whisked me away to Paris for the weekend. While we were there, I told her about you, and when we go back in two weeks, she wants you to come with us.

She took the news of us much better than I'd thought she would. She was definitely surprised, but that's to be expected. Who'd have ever thought it - a Weasley and a Malfoy, almost-engaged?

Anyway. I just wanted to write to you to let you know that I'm miserable without you, and I'm going to come and see you tomorrow, if I can get away from Mother long enough. (She doesn't want to let me go, because the last time she saw me was before Father died.)

I love you, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Yours,

Draco

She folds the parchment up and shoves it deep into her dresser drawer, just beneath her knickers. This is where she keeps all of her private things. Just as she has closed the drawer, something dawns on her.

Ron knew what her knickers looked like.

Her mouth drops open in horror and she can feel her cheeks start to burn as she runs back to the drawer and flings it open, then removes all of her private papers and her journal. She puts them in a small box and minimizes it, then puts it on the top shelf of her closet.

Sneaky bastard.

She sits down at her desk and begins to write on a piece of parchment.

19 June

Draco,

I've just realized something terribly disturbing. Remind me to tell you about the knickers and Ron when you arrive. I don't know about going to Paris (if my parents will allow it), but if I can, I'd love to. I've been to Egypt, but never France.

I'm glad that your Mum wasn't too upset when you told her about us. My parents saw us at your graduation ceremony, so I don't need to tell them - now I just have to explain it to them. They don't quite understand everything. Ron has been terrific about the whole thing and has been running interference for me so I don't have to deal with them just yet.

I can't wait to see you. Please hurry!

Love,

Ginny

She rolls up the parchment and hands it to the owl, who takes off immediately. After he is gone from sight, she is finally able to sleep.

The first thing she hears when she wakes up is the sound of someone's feet pounding on the floor in the hallway just outside her door. She jumps out of bed, and as soon as she reaches for the door, it swings inward, hitting her square in the nose.

"Holy Merlin!" she swears loudly, covering her already bruising nose with both hands.

"Sorry, Gin," Ron apologizes, trying his hardest not to laugh. "But I thought you'd want to know that your boyfriend is here."

"Great," she mutters, her eyes squeezing shut. "Now he gets to see me with a bloody broken nose!"

"Doesn't make too much of a difference." Ginny swings at her brother as hard as she can. When her fist makes contact with his arm and he yelps, she feels better.

"Prat."

"Do you call all of the men in your life that?" She turns at the sound of Draco's warm drawl.

"Just the ones who really deserve it," she replies, giving Ron a glare. Ron rubs his arm and rolls his eyes.

"Look what you're getting yourself into," he whispers to Draco. Ginny's eyes widen as Ron turns and heads back downstairs and Draco grins after him.

"He's an alien," she pronounces finally. "He has to be. I've never seen him talk to you without making faces or saying something nasty. What have you done with my brother?" she calls down the stairs after him.

"Had him for breakfast," Ron calls back casually. Draco snorts.

"Aren't you going to invite me in and show me your room?"

"I can't believe my parents let you up here," she says, massaging her nose as she steps aside to let him in. He walks in and sits down on her bed.

"They didn't. They're not home."

"Oh. OH!" she breathes, her eyes widening. "They'll kill me if they find out you're in here!"

"They won't - I'll be gone before they get back. Would you please uncover your nose?"

"But it's all bruised now," she protests weakly, dropping her hands.

"Doesn't make you any less beautiful."

"You're being facetious, but I like it anyway." She hesitates only for a moment before leaping onto him and knocking him backwards on the bed, showering him with kisses.

"Damn, if this is how you're going to greet me every time I've been gone, I'll start leaving for days at a time." She laughs and shakes her head at him.

"You like me attacking you, remember?" He grins at this and presses a soft kiss to her lips before gently pushing her off of him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something is wrong."

"What?" she asks, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

"I've been thinking about this," he says, lifting her left hand and indicating the emerald ring. Her heart sinks. She has been afraid of this moment since he gave her the ring.

"And?"

She is fighting back tears as he takes it off and moves it to the ring finger of her right hand.

"Oh."

"I've been thinking about it a lot, and I think it's time for this instead." He pulls something out of his pocket and holds it out to her. She gasps and raises a shaky right hand to cover her mouth as he slides a diamond engagement ring onto her left ring finger.

"Draco-"

"I love you, and being away from you for these last four days has made me realize that I don't like not being near enough to touch you. I just wanted to give you this to ensure that my property remains mine."

She laughs and throws her arms around his neck.

"But I still have a year of school left," she protests finally, pulling away from him. "What are we going to do then?"

"I'm not too worried about that," he says coolly.

"Why not?"

"As a Professor, I'm not officially allowed to date a student, but the rules don't say that I can't be engaged to one." His words take a moment to sink in, but when they do, she lets out a loud whoop and squeezes him tighter.

"Oh, Gods," she murmurs, tears blurring her vision. "I love you so much, it hurts."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," he whispers, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

He holds her there for a long time, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms again, but longing for the time when he won't have to let her go and leave her. He remembers back to their first meeting; the first tutoring session.

If anyone had told him that the road he'd chosen would lead him here, he would never have believed them. Love was the stuff of fairy tales, and he was a murderer. Murderers do not get happy endings, because they don't deserve them.

He wonders if perhaps he died that night when he killed his father. That would make her love for him make more sense. He died that night, and she came to him and brought him back to life.

She has helped him learn to breathe again.