Dragon's Fire

A few days after Potter had gone off to search for more pieces of Voldemort's soul, I made my first move. She'd been sitting underneath a willow tree. Tears had made paths down her delectable cheeks. Her hair stood out to me, not for the first time, as a beacon of hope. She would be my steady place in this ever-changing and inconstant world. Her eyes, a gorgeous cross between cinnamon and chocolate, looked up at me with a soul-weary glance that one so young should never bear. I tried for a smile, but she only took it as an insult.

"What do you want, Ferret- Boy?" she asked, her voice full of daggers.

"Just to understand you," I replied honestly. I didn't mean for it to come out, but she seemed to have that effect on me.

"What the hell are you on about?" she asked again, still angry.

"I want to talk to you," I said.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you. I'm sure the Dark Lord has another task for you, so why don't you go away and leave me be?" she practically screamed at me. Yes, what she said had hurt my feelings, but as I said, trust takes time.

"I've never killed anything, let alone for some coward, too afraid to face what he's afraid of," I replied quietly. She raises puzzled eyes and furrowed brows to meet my face.

"But you're a Junior Death Eater," she said defiantly.

"Yes, that is true. I'm also a spy for Dumbledore. He asked me to keep in the Dark Lord's circle, to feed Him false information about the Order of the Phoenix."

"Then why does no one know about this at the Order?" she asked haughtily.

"Because if the Dark Lord were to use his Occlumency powers on me, he'd never find out the truth."

"Fine. But that still doesn't explain why you're here, talking to me," she said.

"I want to learn to be a good person; to move into the light," I said.

"Yeah, right. Who put you up to this? Fred? George? No, wait: it was Ron, wasn't it? This is just the sort of thing he'd do," she said, jumping to her own misguided conclusions.

"I'm telling you the truth, Ginny. Ask Dumbledore if you like; he will tell you that I am not lying."

"I will do no such thing! I know you're lying because Malfoys don't have hearts!" Yeah, that hurt a lot, but I still refused to be derailed. I loved her and nothing would stop me from being in her life.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm not evil?" I asked. A simple question, really.

"You can't tell me; you have to show me. Actions speak louder than words, Malfoy." Truer words had never been spoken.

"Very well. I shall escort you to class," I said bravely, butterflies fluttering wildly in my stomach.

"Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you, Malfoy." I proffered my arm, which she denied. Not to be outdone, I grasped her wrist and gently pulled her to her feet. The momentum was too great and she fell forward into my arms. How I had dreamed of this moment. My thoughts went fuzzy, and she slowly regained her balance and backed away from me. Some of the fog left my brain, allowing me to pick up her books and hand them to her. When my hand accidentally brushed hers, a jolt of awareness blazed up my arm. She was the one; I'd known all along. She took my arm after a moment's hesitation, and I led her to Potions.